Ashlyn Tubbs

A young Ethiopian girl of about four years old climbs onto the lap of Laura Wilson. Her small feet are bare, and her nose needs wiping. She lacks the attention of a caring, attentive mother. Reaching up with cold fingers, she touches Laura’s face and begins to giggle.

Her giddiness, despite the hardships in her life, makes her an inspiration.

“She was so happy, and that’s something you cannot teach a child her age,” Laura said. “That’s how all the children were. They were so happy and had nothing but precious smiles.”

Moments such as this one occurred frequently on the Community Fellowship Church’s mission trip to Ethiopia on July 7-21. Team members included Ronny, Laura and Lauren Wilson, Brandon and Jill Frausto, Michael and Emily Keough, Jaclyn and Linda Benson. All eight agree that the trip changed their lives.

“God called us to serve these people for a special reason,” Ronny said. “This was a group of people that we have to take under our wing and help. They have so little, and our little helps them so much. You can’t imagine the blessings that were showered upon us.”

Before attending the trip, the team fasted in order to prepare themselves mentally and physically for their upcoming adventure.

“We chose to do a Daniel fast, which only allowed us to eat fruits and vegetables with no sugar, meat, dairy, or anything processed for 40 days,” Jill said.

During their stay, they served mostly at orphanages and schools, reaching out to people of all ages.

“We brought suitcases and supplies with clothes, school supplies, money, and toys,” Jill said. “We went and fed the street people, visited the Sisters of Charity with over 800 mentally ill, orphans, young girls who had babies or sick people. They slept everywhere, with two or three to a bed. It was absolutely crazy. We talked to the kids, did crafts with them, taught them songs, did plays, and mainly just loved on them.”

The team will go down in history for their selfless service. Literally.

“The Gafat people were so blessed by us coming that they believe that we are the answer to 700 years of praying and actually wrote us down in their history,” Emily said. “It’s really humbling.”

The team members were also served by those they were serving. Each of them have a positive testimony of their time with the Ethiopians.

“The one village that had nothing asked us for nothing,” Jill said. “They wanted to bless us and give us everything. The Ethiopians have absolutely nothing, and they’re happy. They know that their duty is to serve God, and that’s all they have to live for. They don’t live for things. Here in America we take everything for granted. We can have everything and still not be happy. They would give you anything just for speaking to them.”

Brandon and Jill will continue to financially support one woman who touched their lives.

“At one point we were swarmed by little kids trying to sell us little chips,” Jill said. “A little angel dressed in red came up and saved us. Her name is Ester, and she is an amazing woman of God. She spoke English but not that well. She ended up staying with us throughout our orientation meeting and as the night went on, she told through an interpreter that it was late and she needed to go but she just couldn’t leave.

She just felt that God was there with us, and she wanted to stay the night with us, so she did. She wants to become a missionary and Brandon, and I want to help her out with that.”

Michael and Emily said they are blown away by the poverty in Ethiopia, and are currently sponsoring a child there.

“She is a beautiful little girl,” Michael said. “We gave her a doll that opens and shuts its eyes, and you would’ve thought we gave her gold the way she was with it. It broke our hearts to see this poverty, and we know that we can help.”

Brandon and Jill said that they will continue to serve in third world countries and touch others’ lives, as well as their own. To help support the missionary work, contact the Community Fellowship Church at 874-0963.

“We have a hope for the Ethiopians, that they can be able to live and not stress about all the things they have to worry about, like where their next meal is coming from,” Jill said. “There is still a lot of work to be done. This has changed our lives, and we will continue to take a stand and help out so we can make a difference in their lives.”

The voluntary water restrictions suggested by the City of Clarendon due to drought and water shortage conditions are affecting the lifestyles of many citizens.
For Peter and Marilyn Odima, residents of Clarendon for 12 years, the water restriction hinders their lawn care routine.

“This is the first year they’ve cut us down like this,” Marilyn said. “We spend money buying plants to make our yard look good, and I spend a lot of time working on it. Everyone tells me it looks nice, and I don’t want it to die.”

The Odimas said their exceptionally high water bill this month is due to the heat.
“We water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and the water bill has never been this high.” Marilyn said. “When there are 107°-114° temperatures, it’s hard not to water your lawn if you want it to look good. I don’t want to have to replace my plants that will die.”

Joe’s Lawn and Tree Care is one business that is slightly affected by the water shortage.

“I’ve lost some business by it, but I’ve also gained business,” Joe Hall said. “More trees are dying and they need me to trim the branches. It’s definitely affected me, not necessarily in a negative way though.”

City Administrator Lambert Little said that citizens need to be aware of the severe conditions of the level three drought and the need for a 30 percent reduction in water usage.

“According to Greenbelt Water Authority General Manager Bobbie Kidd, we’re expected to be at stage four by August, which will be emergency conditions,” Little said. “If this happens, then the Greenbelt Water Authority will have the right to allocate water to all customers.”

In order to avoid a penalty if the City exceeds the allocation, Little asks citizens to comply with the water restriction requests. Last month Clarendon consumed 16,880,000 gallons of water while Hedley consumed 3,383,000 gallons.

“Be conservative while doing simple tasks like brushing your teeth,” he said. “Small savings will really add up. In stage four conditions, the City would have to prohibit car washing or even watering the lawn because we need drinking water.”

Little will present water overuse penalties at the public hearing on July 26 at 6:00
p.m.

“I don’t want to penalize people, but we’ve got to reduce consumption,” Little said. “We just don’t have the supply.”

Clarendon ISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger said the school has its own well.
“I’m certainly glad our school has this well because we need to keep our lawn up since we get heavy traffic, especially during ball games,” he said.

“We’ll have to get with the City to work out a watering schedule for the baseball and softball fields.”

Clarendon College also has its own well.

“Even though we’re not with the city [water], we’re still going to work with our maintenance crew to set up a water schedule,” Annette Ferguson, Dean of Administrative Services at Clarendon College, said.
For citizens who are concerned about their lawns, Hall said he has one suggestion.

“Leave your grass about two and a half to three inches long,” he said. “This helps the grass hold moisture and creates its own ecosystem.”

Hysinger agrees with the water restrictions and now only waters his yard on his designated days: Thursdays and Sundays.

“We need to do this because we have no other choice,” he said. “Even if it makes it hard to keep your yard up, it’s just one of those years and times. We’re all in this together.”

A large crowd gathered at the Courthouse Square to continue the tradition and celebrate this year’s 134th annual Saints’ Roost Celebration on Monday, July 4.

The Kids’ Parade started the day, and the winners were: Landon Stavenhagen and Mario Flores in the bicycle division, Tandie and Kennadie Cummings in the tricycle division, and Maloree Wann and Kai Floyd in the motorized division. Honorable mention went to Jayde and Braxton Gribble.

The annual Craft Fair drew a big crowd to the courshouse square, where the Al Morrah Shrine Club served 800 plates of barbecue this year. That is up from 597 last year.

Funds from the annual barbecue are used in conjunction with the Khiva Temple of the Shrine in Amarillo to help pay for the transportation of kids to the Shriners’ burns and crippled children’s hospitals.

In the Western Parade Monday afternoon, the Girl Scouts won first place in the float division. In the Vehicles division of the parade, the Bronco Parents-Cheerleaders won first place. The Cars 2 Train by Paulette Kidd and Trisha Hewett won first place in the Miscellaneous division.

Several organizations held fundraisers during the celebration. The winners of the Lions Club Cow Patty Bingo were Danny Askew; $250, Nikki McGlaun; $50 and Linda Blucher of Burlington, Iowa; $50.

Russell Keown won the John Deere riding lawn mower given by the Friends of Donley County Activity Center that supported Donley County 4-H. Neva Spier was the winner of the St. Mary’s Catholic Women Quilt Drawing. Callie Hargrove won the BBQ grill given by the Clarendon FFA Scholarship Fund. 

The Cash for Kids drawing fundraiser for the Donley County Child Welfare Board raised a total of $10,000, half of which went to the grand prize winner of $5,000, which was Courtney Newhouse. Kenny Black, Melinda McAnear, and Kathy Haggerman each won $200 in prizes. The community’s support towards this fundraiser was appreciated.

Henson’s annual Turtle Race was held on Saturday afternoon. There were altogether 73 participants; and the winners were two-year-old Pierce Wilhelm of Nazareth for the 0-4 division, eight-year-old Roxie Adams of Clarendon for the 5-8 division, and 12-year-old Kenzy Middleton of Memphis for the 9-14 division

Weather for this year’s celebration was more favorable that in recent weeks, and the community even received some light showers, which put everyone in good spirits. The community was very busy, and this year’s celebration was seen as a success.

Cornell hangs up the gas nozzle after sixty years

For Clarence Woodrow “Dude” Cornell, March 18, 2011, is a rather significant date. It was when the 83-year-old hung up his gas nozzle and watched his customer drive away for the last time in 60 years as he sold his final tank of gas.

“I finally ran out of insurance for my tanks, and it was time to renew, so I just ran out of gas,” Dude said. “I couldn’t afford it anymore.”

Cornell Service, which first opened in 1951, was the last full service station in Clarendon.

“When I first started, there was no such thing as self service,” Dude said. “It was always full service, and I just stayed with it. We would fill up the vehicles with gas, wash the windshield, then check the oil and tires. The main reason I hated to quit was because a lot of older people can’t pump gas, especially older women.”

Dude began working at a service station in the late 1940s.

“I worked for Dub Scott at a Conoco station,” Dude said. “I was paid $18.75 a week and worked 7 days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. I had 30 minutes for lunch and 30 minutes for supper.”
When he first started, about 15 other service stations were in Clarendon.

“In the 1950s, we would have gas wars, and the prices would sometimes drop to 18¢ a gallon,” he said. “Several customers would come get one dollar worth of gas at a time.”
The station moved from three different locations before finally settling at 201 W. 2nd St.

“When it was Sinclair, it was located behind Herring Bank from 1951-1952 and was called Cornell Brothers because I ran it with my brother Bill Cornell,” Dude said. “From 1952-1979, it was Cornell Texaco, where I partnered up with Bob Kidd after my brother became sheriff. Then we changed it to Cornell Shell from 1979-1987 and moved where Taylor’s and Subway is. I have been at my current location since 1987.”

Many memories come from Dude’s gas stations.

“I remember jumping on the hoses to make the bells ring so Papa would think there was a car needing gas,” Dude’s granddaughter Holly Cornell said. “My sister Jill and I loved doing that.”

Some memories could have turned out not to be humorous.

“Once after receiving gas, I was checking tanks after the truck unloaded, and the truck driver didn’t realize I was on top of the tank so he took off with me down the highway,” Dude said. “I could just see myself riding to Amarillo on that thing. Luckily he finally saw me in the mirror and stopped.”

Throughout the years, Dude has witnessed many changes in the petroleum industry.

“I sold millions of gallons of gas for 21¢ a gallon,” he said. “Gas prices now are ridiculous. We used to sweep out cars with a whisk broom while we filled them up. Back before cars had carpet, we would blow the inside out with an air hose or even wash it out if the car had drain holes.”

He has many customers who have traded with him from the start. One them is Tommie Saye.

“We’re going to miss Dude and his full service station,” Saye said. “A lot of the older generation is going to have to learn how to use their credit card to pump their gas now. But I understand that when the time comes you have to quit. He has been a good friend and helped out so many people.”

Cornell Service will still provide state vehicle inspections and change oil and filters despite the white paper signs on the gas pumps that in Dude’s handwriting read, “No Gas.”

“If you do anything for this long, you’re going to miss it,” Dude said. “Thanks for 60 good years.”

It can happen to anyone anywhere at anytime.
Everyone is vulnerable: the young, the old, the weak, and the strong.

It can strike during the day or at night.
Or in Ronna (Edwards) Newman’s case, while running track.

“I was fourteen in 1999, and it was the first day of eighth grade track practice,” Ronna said. “I don’t remember that day at all, but from what they told me, I didn’t feel good. We were supposed to run three laps, and the beginning of the third lap I collapsed and went into cardiac arrest.”

February is American Heart Month. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in women and 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing the disease.

In fact, if not for fast reactions from two coaches, Ronna probably would not be here today.

“The coaches performed CPR until the ambulance got there,” Ronna said. “They had to use the external defibrillator two times, and the third time they finally got a heartbeat. They took me to Claude and then airlifted me to Amarillo where I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks.”

Ronna was diagnosed with a rare heart condition, called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia, which is known to be among the top causes of sudden cardiac death among young athletes.

“My heart rate would get over 200 beats a minute,” Ronna said. “I didn’t know it though because I was born that way, and it was just normal for me. There had been no other heart problems in my family, just high blood pressure.”

Ronna left the hospital with an internal defibrillator and an altered lifestyle.

“I can’t do anything that will get my heart rate up, so of course I couldn’t run anymore,” Ronna said. “That’s when I started playing golf. I haven’t had any problems with my heart since then.”

Ronna is not the only woman in Clarendon who has experienced a heart attack. For Melinda McAnear, president of the Donley County Hospital District, she was watering her flowers when it happened.

“I was 56 on June 23, 2006, and I had a pain in my chest,” Melinda said. “It was nothing real bad, so I blew it off for a little bit. In ten minutes it had not gone away, but it had not gotten worse. It was like nothing I had ever experienced.”

After calling her husband, Ronnie, Melinda decided to call the ambulance. She now regards this as one of the best decisions she ever made.

“The EMTs told me that I was having a heart attack, and I didn’t believe them at first,” Melinda said. “I always thought that having a heart attack would be excruciating pain, but it wasn’t. I had none of the classic symptoms of a heart attack, like radiating pain in my left arm or shortness of breath. It was just ‘uncomfortableness’ in my chest.”

Melinda remained conscious throughout the ambulance ride to BSA , where she was diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease. She received a heart stint.

“I had never had heart problems before that, but there are cases of heart disease on both sides of my family,” she said. “Fortunately there was no heart or muscle damage. I had 90 percent blockage; and if I would’ve waited any longer, I probably would have died from a massive heart attack.”

From her heart attack, Melinda said she learned a valuable lesson.

“When you have a gut feeling that something is wrong, you need to listen to your body because it’s trying to tell you something,” Melinda said. “I listened and paid attention, and I’m sure glad I did.”

In recognition of Heart Month, Melinda wears a red dress pin, which is the symbol for women fighting heart disease.

“My cardiologist gave it to me the year after my heart attack, and I’ve worn it ever since in February,” Melinda said.

Ronna and Melinda stress the importance of heart check-ups, because neither one ever expected to have a heart attack.

“It’s a good thing to get checked up, because it can happen to anyone,” Ronna said. “You never know when it may happen.”

School boards across the nation are receiving recognition in January due to School Board Appreciation Month.

Each campus of Clarendon and Hedley Independent School Districts presented its school board with various gifts, cards, and even a meal in gratitude of their service.

“We have a really terrific board that is focused on what is best for the students of our district,” CISD superintendent Monty Hysinger said. “They stay up to date on issues and challenges we face and keep their focus on providing the vision for the district. I think that they’re the best board in the state.”

Members of the Clarendon ISD school board include President Wayne Hardin, 22 years of service; Vice President Weldon Sears, 16 years; Secretary Lance Thornberry, 12 years; Marvin Thompson, 12 years; Robin Ellis, four years and Wes Hatley, two years.

“We have a great team, and we all work very well together,” Hardin said. “We may disagree on issues in a meeting because we all have our own ideas, but once we take a vote we always agree to abide by the decision.”

Members of the Hedley school board include President Bonnie Brown (one year), Vice President James E. Potts (four years), Secretary Lana Ritchie (two years), James L. Potts (three years), Tonja Ruthardt (three years), Karen Watt (one year), and Ted Wright (six months).

“I’ve been here two years, and I’ve found the board extremely good at making decisions that are in the best interest of the district,” Hedley ISD superintendent Eric Hough said. “They are very supportive, and I am pleased with their performance.”

HISD school board president Bonnie Brown described their board as a “good group of people.”

“We are all committed to seeing that Hedley ISD is the best it can be,” Brown said. “I respect everyone on the board; and even though we have different views at times, we work well together.”

Both boards are thankful for the appreciation shown to them throughout this month.

“We appreciate everything that’s been done for us because we don’t get paid to serve on the board,” Hardin said. “It’s been very nice having an appreciation month.”