Archives for December 2022

The district court sentenced a Clarendon woman to prison on drug-related charges when it met Tuesday, December 20, in Donley County.

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

Brandie Chambless, 52, from Clarendon, was sentenced to five years in prison for the third degree felony offense of possession of a controlled substance in penalty group one, methamphetamine.

Chambless was arrested on October 1, 2019 by Donley County Sheriff’s Deputy Jakey Longan. Chambless was originally placed on two years probation on October 29, 2021.

The State filed a motion asking the Court to revoke Chambless’ probation on June 15, alleging three violations of community supervision. Chambless pleaded true to all violations which included the commission of a new offense of leaving the rehabilitation facility.

“When Defendants like this one request help, and we allow them to go to rehab, it’s in their best interest to complete the program,” said Inman. “Court-ordered rehabilitation only works when these defendants are committed to getting off substances to successfully complete probation.”

Chambless was also ordered to pay the remaining $500 fine, $180 restitution and $458 in court costs.

A Christmas Eve lunch will be held at the Clarendon School Cafeteria on December 24 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Dine-in and carry-out options will be available.

An important survey will be conducted in the coming weeks by Donley County, the City of Clarendon, and the City of Hedley, which should help local communities become eligible for more grant funds.

Donley County Judge John Howard says the survey will determine whether our communities can apply for grants to purchase new ambulances when needed and conduct street repairs in our cities as well as other municipal projects.

“Based on current census data we are not eligible to apply for these important CDBG funds,” Howard said. “We must correct the wrong information in the census by conducting our own survey.”

The surveyors will be local citizens, who most people should be familiar with as having grown up here in Donley County.

Participation is voluntary, but it is vital that local officials collect enough responses to correct the census information and ensure county and city eligibility to apply for these grants to help the community.

County and city officials ask that when you see the surveyors, thank them for their community service, and they thank you for your assistance in this vital project.

“Spread the word and let’s bring some of our federal tax dollars home to help our communities,” Howard said.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar has asked the federal government to extend the deadline by 60 days for states and stakeholders to provide input on the accuracy of the proposed National Broadband Map (national map). The national map will be used to allocate federal funding to states to expand broadband in unserved and underserved communities.

On Nov. 18, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its initial version of the national map, which displays location-by-location views of high-speed internet availability across the country, as reported by internet service providers (ISPs). It gave state and local officials until Jan. 13, 2023, to challenge the map’s accuracy. The FCC and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) play a critical role as federal partners in allocating Texas’ share of the $42.5 billion provided through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

In a Dec. 13 letter to the FCC and NTIA offices, Hegar requested the federal government extend the deadline for states and individuals to file challenges to the national map by 60 days, to March 14, 2023; and to postpone release of the final map by 60 days, from May 15, 2023, to July 14, 2023.

Hegar said it is imperative that Texans participate in the challenge process in time for the FCC to include updated data in the final national map. Any underestimation could potentially reduce Texas’ allocation by billions of dollars. Go to the Comptroller’s website for instructions to challenge the map.

“This is clearly a flawed map,” Hegar said. “Some of the responsibility lies with the service providers who are overstating the coverage they provide in their territories. This practice has become so routine that we often don’t notice it, but it will substantially limit competition as well as our ability to accurately allocate resources to those Texans whose access is inadequate. Some of the responsibility lies with our federal partners who have assumed that public spaces like schools and libraries have access. This is inaccurate and reveals a lack of understanding regarding the challenges facing many communities in Texas and other states.

“I applaud all the hard work of so many trying to connect Texans and our nation, yet these issues are substantial hurdles that must be addressed to ensure we have accurate maps that support successful expansion of broadband access.

“My office will work with stakeholders and local governments around the state to establish the best possible avenues for challenging broad inaccuracies through the bulk challenge process,” Hegar said. “But it is critical that individual Texans also engage in the challenge process to ensure the maps are as accurate as possible and funds are fairly allocated to areas that lack service.”

The Texas Legislature created the Broadband Development Office in 2021 to award grants, low-interest loans and other financial incentives to ISPs that expand access to broadband service in underserved areas. The Comptroller’s office released the Texas Broadband Plan in June.

For more information about the Texas Broadband Development Office, go to BroadbandForTexas.com.

Donley County Commissioners learned more about the state’s plan to replace a local bridge during their meeting Monday, December 12.

Texas Department of Transportation representatives Chuck Steed and Annabel Jurado addressed the court about a bridge near Lelia Lake on CR 20.

Donley County Judge John Howard said TxDOT plans to replace the bridge with a new concrete structure in 2025 at a cost of about $250,000. The county will be required to provide a ten percent match for that money, but it can do so by performing “in kind” work approved by the state.

County officials discussed the idea of doing away with the bridge and having a low water crossing instead. However, if the location is removed from the bridge system, the county would bear the entire cost of building any future bridge at that location, Howard said. It was decided then to proceed with the state’s bridge replacement plan.

In other business, commissioners discussed the merits of purchasing or leasing a scraper to try to mix different materials into some of the county’s sandy roads to make a better surface. Howard said the court agreed instead to advertise for bids to contract out that work.

Officials also agreed to re-bid work needed on the windows of the 1890 Courthouse.

The court agreed to administer the oaths of office to newly elected officials on December 30 at 9 a.m.. Terms office will still begin on January 1.

County policies and procedures were also discussed regarding how to canvass future election results.