Morgan Wheatly

The Junior Rodeo Cowboys Association will have 230 kids putting their cowboy skills to the test this weekend when during its spring competition at the Clarendon College Livestock & Equine Center on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 9, 10, and 11.

Admission is free to the event, and JRCA President Scottie Davis say kids ranging in ages from three to 19 are registered for more than 1,100 runs over the three-day period.

Scheduled events including barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, tie down roping, team roping, ribbon roping, bull riding, bronc riding, and mutton busting, Davis said.

Friday’s events will begin with rough stock competitions at 7:30 p.m. until about 9:30. Barrel racing will start the day Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and events will run throughout the day with about 600 runs and conclude about 7:00 p.m. Sunday’s lineup will run from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

About 1,000 people are expected to attend this weekend’s rodeo over the three-day period.

JRCA is a non-profit organization serving the rodeo interests of youth from across the Texas Panhandle, Northwest Texas, and Western Oklahoma. Organized in 1998, the JRCA has enjoyed steady growth and now includes about 300 members.

Members compete in traditional rodeo events in six different age groups for both girls and boys with regular season rodeos plus the two performance finals.

Members of the JRCA come from Lubbock on the southwest to Oklahoma City on the northeast and from Vernon on the southeast to the Oklahoma Panhandle on the northwest.

This weekend’s event is sponsored by the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation with Hotel Occupancy Tax Funds, and the Chamber of Commerce is preparing welcome bags encouraging rodeo attendees to support Chamber members.

For more information, visit www.jrcarodeo.com.

The 140th annual Saints’ Roost Celebration is coming up soon, and organizers are getting ready for the festivities on Friday, June 30, and Saturday, July 1, with events also being held on Sunday, July 2, and Tuesday, July 4.

Friday’s daytime details are still being finalized at press time, but the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association will open its Ranch Rodeo Friday night, at 7:30 at the COEA Arena followed by a dance at 9 p.m. featuring the music of Luke Koepke & Indian Creek.

The big day will be Saturday, July 1, beginning with the Arts & Craft Fair on the square at 9 a.m. sponsored by the Donley County 4H. Booths are $25 each and should be reserved through the Donley County 4H by calling 806-874-2141.

The Chamber of Commerce’s Old Settlers Reunion and the Kids’ Bicycle & Tricycle Parade also begin at 9 a.m. The Kids’ Parade will line up and register at 8:30 at Keith Floyd’s shop at Third and Sully. Ed Montana will provide music and serve as master of ceremonies on the square.

Line up for the Herring Bank Parade will also start at 9 a.m. on Sixth Street north of Prospect Park. At 10:00, the parade will then take its usual route – north on Kearney to Third Street, west on Third to Sully, south in front of the Courthouse, and then wind back to the ball parks.

The Herring Bank Parade features $850 in cash prizes with $200 available for the best float, $100 for the best car or truck entry, $100 for the best animal or riding unit, $100 for the best tractor or farm equipment entry, and $100 for the best “other” entry.

From those first place winners, judges will select a Grand Prize winner who will receive an additional $250. Pre-registration is required for entrants to be judged for the prize money, and entry forms are due in the Visitor Center by 5 p.m. on June 29. Entry forms are in this week’s Enterprise and are available at the Visitor Center.

Also this year, the Chamber and Cornell’s Country Store will hold a “Show Us Your Boots” contest as part of the parade. One grand prize winner will get a $100 Cornell’s gift card, and one second place winner will get $50 in Chamber Cash. More information is available on the entry form in this week’s Enterprise and at the Visitor Center.

The Al Morrah Shrine Club barbecue will follow the parade at about 11 a.m. Tickets are $12 each and will be available at the Visitor Center and the Enterprise.

The Lions Club will not be having bounce houses this year but will instead bring back their Cow Patty Bingo following the barbecue.

Parade winners will be announced at 1 p.m. The Henson’s Turtle Race will follow at 3 p.m. And the Ranch Rodeo will close out the day at the COEA Arena beginning at 7:30 p.m. with the dance to follow with Dalton Domino providing the music.

Also happening during the celebration weekend, the Whistle-Stop will have its monthly trade days Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the former Chamberlain Motor Company property. The Whistle-Stop features more than 100 vendors as well as live music, food, and fun for the entire family.

COEA will hold a washer pitching contest Sunday afternoon. Two-person teams can sign-up beginning at noon with the pitching to start at 1 p.m.  The entry fee is $30.

Tuesday, July 4, will be celebrated with the Junior Ranch Rodeo that evening at the COEA Arena.  Team entries are still being taken for $125 each and can be made by calling 806-679-2738.

More celebration will be available as it becomes available.

For more information about the celebration, contact the Visitor Center at 806-874-2421 or visit ClarendonTX.com

Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) will host a local open house this week to discuss the company’s plans to upgrade its transmission line in Donley County.

The a come-and-go informational meeting will be held this Thursday, June 8, between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. at Bairfield Activity Center at Clarendon College.

Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. and visitors can arrive at any time to learn more about the planned improvements, review maps, and talk with project representatives.

SWEPCO plans to rebuild about 60 miles of existing transmission line in between Clarendon and Childress. The Clarendon-Childress Transmission Line Rebuild Project will ensure continued electric reliability to area customers and provide vital support for local economic development.

The project involves replacing approximately 60 miles of existing 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission wood poles with single-pole steel structures. The company will also replace the existing electrical wire with new conductor. These upgrades will reduce the likelihood of extended outages to customers in the area.

Construction is expected to begin in Fall 2017. The company expects to complete construction in late 2019.

Additional information about the project including an interactive map, timeline and updates can be found at http://bit.ly/2qTnRUd.

SWEPCO serves 530,000 customers in western Arkansas, northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle. SWEPCO’s headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at www.SWEPCO.com. SWEPCO is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states.

By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune

Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday called a special session of the Texas Legislature starting July 18 and promised to make it a sweeping one if lawmakers cooperate.

Abbott gave legislators an ambitious 19-item agenda to work on — including a so-called “bathroom bill” — after they approve must-pass legislation that they failed to advance during the regular session. An overtime round, Abbott said, was “entirely avoidable.”

“Because of their inability or refusal to pass a simple law that would prevent the medical profession from shutting down, I’m announcing a special session to complete that unfinished business,” Abbott told reporters. “But if I’m going to ask taxpayers to foot the bill for a special session, I intend to make it count.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had been pushing Abbott to call a special session on the bathroom issue, as well as property taxes. Abbott also added the latter item to the call, reiterating his support for legislation that would create automatic rollback elections when a city or county wants to raise property taxes above a certain amount.

In an effort to force the special session, Patrick had held hostage legislation, known as a “sunset bill,” that would keep some state agencies from closing. That “will be the only legislation on the special session [agenda] until they pass out of the Senate in full,” Abbott said.

In a statement, Patrick congratulated Abbott on his “big and bold special session agenda which solidly reflects the priorities of the people of Texas.” Patrick noted that “almost every issue” Abbott mentioned Tuesday has already passed out of the Senate.

The sprawling list of items ranges from unfinished business in the regular session — school finance reform and school choice for special needs students — to longtime conservative priorities, such as anti-abortion measures and a crackdown on mail-in ballot fraud. But the bathroom issue, a priority of Patrick that dominated the regular session, is likely to be among the most controversial charges.

The debate over bathroom policies was, in part, what left Abbott to consider a special session. Patrick — who championed strict policies to limit bathroom use to sex at birth — forced the special by holding hostage legislation needed to continue some state agencies, including the Texas Medical Board which licenses the state’s doctors.

Editor’s Note: This has been edited for length. The full article can be accessed at http://bit.ly/2sAZ6O0.