Archives for April 2022

Polar Bear Plunge to be held May 7
The Clarendon Lions Club has announced Saturday, May 7, at 11 a.m. as the date and time for the second annual Polar Bear Plunge at the Clarendon Aquatics Center.

The event will be open to all comers for a donation of $10 to the club, and city officials promise the water is sufficiently frigid to be worthy of the event’s name.

Prizes will be awarded in several categories, including Best Costume, Biggest Splash, and Most Enthusiastic. Sign-ups will be available ahead of time at the Clarendon Visitor Center or at the gate the day of the event. All participants must sign a release to participate. Costumes and creativity are encouraged!

The Clarendon City Council met with Fire Chief Jeremy Powell about fire safety in the historic downtown area during the regular city meeting last Thursday, April 14.

The meeting comes after a February fire that destroyed several historic buildings on the square in Memphis. Powell and city officials discussed what could be done to prevent such a disaster from happening here.

While no action was taken last week, the discussion centered on the possibility of encouraging downtown property owners to allow the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department to conduct a safety evaluation of their structures. The purpose of the evaluation would not be to find code violations or issue citations but rather to point out any potential fire hazards and also allow the department to become familiar with the layout of buildings should they ever need to access them in an emergency.

Powell noted that the former fire chief, the late Delbert Robertson, was familiar with the buildings downtown and knew, for example, which buildings have basements that could present a hazard to firemen. Firemen could not go in one building in Memphis, Powell said, because of a cistern under the building.

More discussions are expected on this issue in the future.

In other city business, proclamations were issued for the Clarendon Broncos’ Repeat Class 2A State Basketball Championship, for the community service efforts of Clarendon College in cleaning up the community, and for Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month in April.

The council appointed Bunny Owens as the election judge and Annette Osburn as the alternate judge for the upcoming city election on May 7.

Hours for the Clarendon Aquatics Center were set for this season. The center will be open Sundays and Tuesday through Thursday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The council also set ten years old as the minimum age that children can swim at the center without an adult but said children will have to pass a swim test administered by the center.

City Administrator David Dockery, as part of his monthly report, gave the council notice that he plans to retire on or about April 5, 2023, in order to give officials time to find a suitable replacement.

A special presentation at the Mulkey Theatre this Thursday, April 21, at 6:30 p.m. will look back on the deadly tornado that struck what is now Howardwick 52 years ago this week.

Hosted by the Clarendon Lions Club, “In the Dark of Night” will feature stories of survivors and first responders who lived through the storm on April 18, 1970, and its aftermath.

Pantex Staff Meteorologist and former Amarillo weatherman Steve Kersh will describe the conditions that existed when the storm struck what was then known as Sherwood Shores.

Kersh will also describe what weather conditions to be on the look-out for; how to prepare for severe weather; and what this year’s storm season might bring.

The presentation will feature a tribute to the storm’s victims, and every family attending the meeting will receive information to help prepare themselves and their families for severe weather as well as an emergency dry bag. Six lucky winners will receive disaster preparedness kits as door prizes.

Admission to the event is free and is sponsored by the Saints Roost Expedition Company.

An Amarillo man was sentenced last week to a total of 80 years for the sexual assault of a child in Donley County.

Vinson Darnell Williams, 51, was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the first-degree felony offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child, and a separate 20-year term in prison for the second-degree felony offense of sexual assault of a child when the 100th District Court met in Clarendon for his contested hearing.

District Attorney Luke Inman, along with Assistant District Attorney Harley Caudle, prosecuted the case for the State of Texas, with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.

Notably, Messer ordered that the 60-year sentence not begin to run until the 20-year sentence is complete.

Following his arrest on April 29, 2018, Williams was placed on probation for eight years on July 21, 2021. The State filed a motion asking the Court to revoke Williams’ probation on October 21, 2021, based upon his violation of certain conditions of his probation.

At the hearing on Wednesday, the State called three witnesses. Meghan Gribble, Deputy Director of the 100th Judicial District probation department, testified to Williams’ violation of several conditions of probation. Ashli Ernst of the Amarillo Police Department testified that Williams failed to comply with sex offender registration requirements, and Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn testified regarding the circumstances of the sexual assaults.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Messer found that Williams violated the terms of his probation, and sentenced Williams to the separate 60- and 20-year prison terms. Due to the nature of Williams’ offenses under applicable Texas law, he will be required to complete at least 50 percent of each sentence, separately, before becoming eligible for parole.

“Today we saw the best possible outcome for this case,” said Caudle. “Putting this defendant on probation saved the victim the trauma of being re-victimized by having to testify at a trial.”

The court also heard three pleas last week, resulting in sentences in three cases.

James Durkes, 43, of Denver, Colo., was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the state jail felony offense of possession of a controlled substance.

Following his arrest on March 29, 2021, Durkes was placed on probation for three years on July 21, 2021. The State filed a motion asking the Court to revoke McIntosh’s probation on October 19, 2021, based upon Durkes’ multiple violations of conditions of his probation.

At the hearing on Wednesday, Durkes admitted to violating probation and Messer sentenced him to 18 months in prison. Durkes was also ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and $305 court costs.

Jeffrey Aaron Brinson, 44, of Childress, was placed on eight years’ probation for the first-degree felony offense of assault by impeding breathing. Brinson was arrested by Childress Police Officer Jessie Zuniga on December 13, 2019.

Brinson was also ordered to pay a $8,000 fine to Childress County, $374 in court costs, have no contact with the victim and complete 400 hours of community service. If his probation is revoked, Brinson faces up to 99 years or life in prison.

In a separate case, Brinson was placed on eight years’ probation for the first-degree felony offense of assault family violence, enhanced. In this case, Brinson was arrested by former Childress Police Officer Tyler Kincaid on May 26, 2020.

Brinson was also ordered to pay $374 in court costs, have no contact with the victim and complete 400 hours of community service. If his probation in this case is revoked, Brinson faces up to 99 years or life in prison.

Additionally, if the probation is revoked, Messer can order that any prison sentence in this case be served consecutively to any prison sentence in Brinson’s other case.