Questions remain about 2020 celebration

The schedule of the 143rd annual Saints’ Roost Celebration was still undetermined Tuesday morning as various event organizers had yet to make final decisions about the festivities that are on the calendar for July 2, 3, and 4 this year.

As the Enterprise was going to press this week, representatives of different organizations involved with the celebration were being contacted to attend this Thursday night’s regular meeting of the Chamber of Commerce board to try to make decisions about the celebration.

Concerns all around focus on requirements for social distancing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and how to pull off a large event without people crowding together.

The Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association board, which advertises the celebration and hosts the ranch rodeo, met Monday night with Donley County Judge John Howard, Sheriff Butch Blackburn, and Scoutmaster Russell Estlack. Discussions were held about safety measures required by the state that would need to be in place if the rodeo is to proceed.

Dances usually held after the ranch rodeos have definitely been canceled, but the fate of the rodeo itself was still up in the air with COEA President Alex McAnear saying his board voted Monday night to table any decisions until June 15 to see if Gov. Greg Abbott releases updated guidelines for events.

“This is a new deal to everybody,” McAnear told the Enterprise. “There’s not any way to control [the crowd] once everybody gets out there.”

Officials said under the guidelines released by the governor on May 18, rodeo participants and volunteers would have to be screened and have their temperatures taken before the event. Bleachers would have to be marked with spectators skipping rows and keeping six feet of distance between groups. Bleachers and other surfaces would also have to be sanitized after each night’s performance, and other safety measures would also have to be followed.

County Judge John Howard said state and local officials would not be writing tickets or policing the rodeo, but he encouraged organizers to follow the state guidelines.

“Anything where you bring in a group of people who can’t social distance is opposite the spirit of the guidelines,” Howard said. “We’re basically on the honor system here, so how honorable do we want to be? We ask people to take responsibility for themselves; but if we host an event and invite people to it, the we have to bear some responsibility also.”

Howard and McAnear also both spoke to the Enterprise about possible liability issues, but McAnear said COEA deals with that risk every time it hosts a rodeo.

Regarding the COEA’s decision to wait until June 15, Howard said that trend is for the state to make things more open, but he said he doesn’t see the recommendation for social distancing going away.

Meanwhile, the Donley County Extension Office also had not reached a decision as of Tuesday morning about the 4-H sponsored craft fair held annually on the courthouse lawn. The Shriners’ barbecue has not been set at press time, as Al Morrah Shrine Club members continue to watch what happens with the craft fair.

The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce, however, did vote in early May to proceed with the July 4 Herring Bank Parade, but entries have been slow coming in at this point.

Henson’s also has indicated they would proceed with the Turtle Race regardless of what other activities are held or not held.