Archives for August 2020

Clarendon and Hedley schools are moving forward with plans to welcome students back next Thursday, August 13, while working to keep kids safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

School officials say they are doing their best to follow state guidelines, which have been constantly changing, as well as staying in contact with Donley County Judge John Howard, MD, to make sure they are in compliance with what is expected.

“Judge Howard has been a tremendous resource,” Hedley Superintendent Garrett Bains said.

Clarendon CISD released a twelve-page Guide to Reopening Campuses on Tuesday, which can be accessed on at this link, and Hedley ISD last week published an eight-point document answering frequent questions about their reopening plans. That document is also available online here.

Both schools have moved to have registration online, although Clarendon students may still have some campus-specific packets that will go home with the kids the first day of school.

“Also if anyone has trouble with the online registration, they can set up a campus appointment to register face to face,” Clarendon Superintendent Jarod Bellar said.

For Hedley’s part, most of their registration was already online because so many kids live outside the district, Bains said.

“We’ve been doing this already,” Bains said, “but parents can also come in person from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to register. They have to wear a mask, and we can only have one parent per kid at a time.”

Masks will be a big deal as school gets underway with both Clarendon and Hedley saying they will follow the orders of Gov. Greg Abbott. Hedley will require masks of everyone ages ten and up, and Clarendon, noting that different ages exists within grades, will require masks in grades five through 12.

“Students in lower grades can wear masks if their parents want them to,” Bellar said.

Bellar also noted that Clarendon CISD doesn’t expect students to wear masks all day but will encourage them between classes especially.

Both schools also will be trying to practice social distancing as much as possible, which Bains says is easy for Hedley since most classes don’t have more than ten people in a room.

Clarendon and Hedley both will be following disinfection practices, and Hedley has even purchased new tables for its cafeteria to allow for better separation during lunch time.

Both schools will be participating in UIL extracurricular activities approved by the state, but Clarendon and Hedley both also have taken the position that students who do not enroll in on-campus instruction cannot participate in extracurricular activities.

“It just makes sense,” Bains said. “If you’re at risk or worried about being around people, why would you want to be in an activity with close contact?”

School officials realize that this is a challenging time. Bains says most of his parents have been very supportive of the school so far, understanding that some of the decisions are not his or the school’s but rather the state’s.

Schools are also looking forward to classes starting.

“My people are just ready to get back to work and see the kids,” Bains said.

“We’re just looking forward to having a great year,” Bellar said. “We’re all excited.”

 

 

Clarendon CISD officials Tuesday published new guidelines for the re-opening of school next Thursday, August 13.

The 12-page document covers several questions that parents may have about what protocols will be followed in the face of the COVID-19 document.  Read the entire document here.

An elderly local woman has died while battling the COVID-19 virus, and two new cases of the disease have been confirmed in Donley County this week.

A family member of Eunice Ward told the Enterprise they have not been given an official cause of the July 28 death of the 97-year-old Hedley resident but said she had been living at home with family and doing well for her age before she was hospitalized June 27 and tested positive for COVID-19.

“I think it’s safe to say that it put her on a downward spiral,” Ward’s daughter-in-law Carole Ward said.

Carole Ward said her mother-in-law spent a week in the hospital before being moved to a skilled nursing facility. She was later moved back to the hospital for a time before returning home under hospice care.

“She was still testing positive when she came home,” Carole Ward said.

An official cause of death is expected later this week.

County officials say they have known anecdotally about Ward’s COVID-19 status, but the Donley County Judge’s office has yet to be notified by the state that the woman tested positive for the disease even though more than a month has passed since she was first tested.

Since her official notice of her condition has not been received, Ward’s case of COVID-19 is still not included in the running tally published by the Enterprise.

Meanwhile, the Clarendon Family Medical Center on Tuesday reported two new cases of COVID-19 in Donley County.
That brings the official total number of confirmed cases locally to 45 with 42 of those listed as recovered and three cases still active.

A fund has been established at the Donley County State Bank for Loyd Weatherton’s medical expenses following a one-vehicle accident last Thursday evening, July 30.

DPS Trooper Lynn Mays said Weatherton was going north on SH 70 below the Greenbelt Dam when he went off the right side of the rode, apparently steered back left and rolled his vehicle.

The Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department extracted Weatherton and his passenger, Clemmon Weatherton, from the wreck. A third passenger, a minor female, was up and walking at the accident, the trooper said.

Mays said the cause of the accident remains under investigation. A family member says both Loyd and Clemmon Weatherton remain hospitalized, but Loyd is in much worse condition.

Those interested in making a donate can do so by going by the Donley County State Bank.

Both local political parties are looking for potential candidates interested in running for Donley County Tax Assessor / Collector after the lone candidate for the job withdrew.

Tammy Morrow, running as a Republican, had been the only candidate for the upcoming November election but withdrew from race for medical and personal reasons last month.

Filling Morrow’s spot on the ballot is the responsibility of Donley County Republican Party Chairman Bill Word; however, Morrow’s withdrawal also gives Donley County Democratic Chair Jean Taylor the opportunity to place a candidate for her party on the ballot as well.

The party chairs must name candidates by August 21, and Word has set a deadline of August 9 at 8 p.m. for expressions of interest from potential Republican candidates. Word can be reached at 806-277-0246.

Those interested in being a Democratic candidate for the office can call Taylor at 806-856-5961 or 806-677-4242.

The office is currently held by Linda Crump who plans to retire when her term expires at the end of this year.