Archives for August 2020

Two longtime Hedley traditions were canceled last week in hopes of keeping the community safe from the COVID-19 virus.

The Hedley Lions Club voted Friday morning to cancel for this year its annual chicken barbecue on September 6 as well as the Cotton Festival in October.

Lion Jean Taylor said it was not an easy decision to make.

“We’ve got some members who can’t afford the risk,” she said. “It was a hard decision that we hated to make, but we intend to start next spring with plans to bring [these events] back next fall.”

In addition to the poor health of some of the Lions members, Taylor said the club depends on the school kids to help with the chicken barbecue. In addition to not knowing if they could get enough chickens, the club didn’t want to risk exposing the school to the virus.

“We just want to keep our school going and keep our community going,” she said.

Figuring out how to host the events and follow the suggested safety guidelines was also an obstacle to holding the events this year.

The Lions have held the chicken barbeque since the mid-1950s, and Taylor said the Cotton Festival started in the fall of 1952. While other organizations help with the festival, the Lions have traditionally organized the barbecue lunch and the parade for that day.

Another fall event, the Veterans Day program at the Hedley Public School, has also been canceled following the Lions’ decision. Superintendent Garrett Bains said that, similar to the Lions’ concerns, the school didn’t think it was a good idea to have the aging veterans inside for the usual ceremony.

Bains did say that if the Veterans Day cemetery service and cemetery clean-ups are held this year, Hedley students will attend and help with those outdoor events.

New security improvements at Clarendon’s Smiley Johnson Airport have been completed thanks to community donors and a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation.

The state Routine Airport Maintenance Program (RAMP) grant paid fifty percent of the $19,186.96 needed to install multiple security cameras at the airport this summer, according to City Secretary and Airport Advisory Board Member Machiel Covey.

Covey said security has been an issue with people breaking into the pilots’ lounge and driving on the runway, damaging runway lights.

“It’s actually a federal crime for the public to drive on the runway,” Covey said.

Airport Board Chairman Chris Schollenbarger said planes have also been damaged at the airport.

“We had some airplanes that were shot, and we didn’t ever catch the culprits,” Schollenbarger said.

Those crimes will be harder to get away with now that the new cameras have been installed. Four cameras now monitor the airport with a 24/7 live feed going to the sheriff’s office. Two of the cameras can actually be repositioned remotely, and an app will soon allow airport board members to monitor the cameras from their smartphones or electronic devices.

“We can actually set up motion alarms,” Schollenbarger said, “but we have to be picky about how we set those because a bird or the wind blowing through a tree could set those off.”

Schollenbarger expressed his appreciation to Omega Electronics of Amarillo for their work to install the new security system and for them bringing the project in under budget.

“We appreciate so much the members of the community who donated to the airport,” Covey said. “Without their funds, this work would not have been possible.”

A total of $25,250 was donated to the city for airport improvements in 2019, Covey said.

That money along with more than $14,000 set aside many years ago by the city for airport improvements has been used to match RAMP money.

Last year, the airport board was able to crack seal and seal coat the runway and install new runway lights. Now, with about $9,000 leftover to work with, the airport board intends to apply for another grant to refurbish or replace the pilots’ lounge.

Donley County voters will now be faced with a three-way race to be the next Tax Assessor / Collector when they go to the polls November 3.

The local Republican and Democratic chairs each announced candidates for that position last week in addition to Deedra Keen, who launched a write-in candidacy for the job earlier this month.

Donley County Republican Party Chairman Bill Word said Kristy Christopher will be the Republican candidate. She will replace Tammy Morrow on the ballot following Morrow’s July withdrawal from the race.

Tony Dale will also be on the ballot as the Democratic candidate, according to Donley County Democratic Chair Jean Taylor.

Hedley CISD is taking extra precautions this week after a school teacher there was confirmed to have the COVID-19 virus.

Superintendent Garrett Bains said the school learned of the teacher’s condition Sunday evening and had the classroom and adjacent common areas deep cleaned before students returned Monday morning.

The teacher is in quarantine, but Bains said since masks had been worn and social distancing had been practiced, the teacher’s students did not have to be quarantined.

“We’re really closely monitoring things now and have stepped up making sure masks are in place and hands are being washed,” Bains said. “We were doing that already, but not we’re in hyper mode.”

Bains said the school realizes it can only do so much as kids come from several different communities to go to school in Hedley and they are all going to stores, to church, and to other activities.

“We’re not the only place that someone could be exposed,” he said “but we’re being extra careful in taking temperatures every day and watching for symptoms.”

Total Donley County positive cases of COVID-19 moved up to 53 this week, with the Clarendon Family Medical Center monitoring two active cases. Seven tests were pending at the local clinic as of Tuesday morning.

Clarendon recorded its second highest monthly sales tax revenue when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar distributed monthly allocations to municipal governments last week.

The city’s August allocation was $49,677.44, reflecting an increase of 21.96 percent compared to the same period one year ago.

That’s greater than the previous second highest allocation of $45,914.54 in February of this year. The best month on record for the city was May of last year with an allocation of $56,593.

Clarendon City Administrator David Dockery said he thinks three factors have led to the increased sales tax revenue – people shaking of the cabin fever that set in with the COVID-19 quarantine, increased highway traffic, and taxes on online sales finally making their way to Texas cities.

The August allocation brings the city’s calendar year-to-date total to $285,652.67, an increase of just 0.33 percent over the same point in 2019 but putting the city on track to meet or exceed its budgeted revenue projection for the fiscal year.

Hedley was also up 24.46 percent to $1,383.01 this month and is 3.33 percent ahead for the year at $7,375.24.

Howardwick’s sales tax revenue almost doubled from $913.18 last August to $1,736.95 this month. The lakeside city is now 26.96 ahead for the year at $11,767.74.

Statewide, Hegar distributed $908.7 million in local sales tax allocations for August, 3.6 percent more than in August 2019.
These allocations are based on sales made in June by businesses that report tax monthly and on sales made in April, May and June by quarterly filers.

Widespread social distancing requirements were more relaxed across the state in June than in previous months, the comptroller’s office said.

CHILDRESS – During the COVID-19 pandemic, the 100th Judicial District Attorney’s (DA) office took precautions to limit the number of people it came into contact with but convicted more felons to prison than normal.

“Although the total number of cases moved were drastically lower, the District Court was successful in obtaining final convictions resulting in pen time for offenders at a much higher percentage than the previous year,” DA Luke Inman said. “I commend my staff on being willing to adapt and improvise during this crazy time.”

During the quarantine, the DA’s office received the fewest number of cases ever presented during any quarter in the past 12 years, Inman said. From April 1 to June 30, 41 cases were moved in District Court with 21 deferred adjudications and 20 defendants sent to the penitentiary. In 2019 during that same time, 177 cases were moved with 31 defendants being sent to the penitentiary.

A total of $97,000 in fines were assessed during the 2020 second quarter with $20,000 being upfront fines which were collected by the counties, Inman added. Another $14,723 in court costs were assessed along with $5,515.97 in restitution.
Inman and Assistant District Attorney Harley Caudle established a protocol and procedure list for the Court, Probation Department, Defense Bar, Clerk’s offices, law enforcement agencies and many more to make this happen. This policy streamlined the everyday approach in continuing to move criminal cases on a regular basis, Inman said.

“Harley and my administrative staff worked hard with our Judge’s office in welcoming new ways to use technology in the courtroom to finalize cases,” Inman said. “The coordination of all the players towards the concerted effort of finalizing cases is a testament to our commitment to removing the criminal element from our community even during unprecedented times like this.”

Since June, the Supreme Court of Texas changed the date when a jury trial could begin three different times, Inman explained. Over the past two months, trials have been set, rescheduled and set again. Court proceedings were halted. Jails had to limit who could even be brought in on criminal charges, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division and State Jail Division denied transports from local jails after defendants were sentenced.

“So how do offices, agencies, businesses, you name it, overcome and accomplish the essential objectives?” Inman asked.

“Innovation. There are times in life and in business when you must become innovative to overcome unforeseen obstacles.”

As necessity is the mother of invention, difficult times can unleash a myriad of refinements in the approach of criminal prosecution that actually make it easier and better, Inman explained.

“We were thrust into the world of unknowns like everyone else,” he said. “But instead of waiting for normalcy to return, we hunkered down and found solutions to continue to move as many cases as we could.”

There are several players involved in plea hearings: judge, prosecutor, defense attorney and defendant. Then there are law enforcement personnel and bailiffs, clerk’s office employees and probation officers.

“It was a challenge to get everyone involved in a concerted effort moving to pleas via Zoom, but we accomplished that in a very short timeframe,” Inman added.

While business was down, they thrived considering the circumstances, Inman said. The DA’s office, with the approval and participation of 100th Judicial District Judge Stuart Messer, began utilizing the internet-based meeting app Zoom for pleas and hearings to keep everyone in a safe environment, while still moving a substantial number of cases.

Zoom hearings and pleas are still occurring in the 100th District Court, as well as live hearings. Inman said the zoom hearings are beneficial to most defendants and defense attorneys who don’t have to travel long distances for brief court hearings.

“When the opportunity is there, zoom is a form of technology the District intends on using for years to come,” Inman said.