Morgan Wheatly

 The Clarendon Enterprise placed second in the hunt for top honors during the 2013 Better Newspaper Contest hosted by the Texas Press Association.

Contest winners were announced last Saturday during the TPA Summer Convention in Corpus Christi, and the Enterprise finished behind The Red Oak Record for the Division 10 Sweepstakes Award.

The Enterprise received a first place plaque for General Excellence and second place honors for Column Writing and for Advertising with ads for Country Bloomers, the Chance Mark Jones 5K, and the Mulkey Block Party.

Sports Photos by Roger Estlack and Kari Lindsey received third place, and the Enterprise received fourth place honors for Editorials and News Photos.

This year 159 newspapers submitted 1,566 entries in the contest. The contest is broken down into 10 divisions in which newspapers compete against papers of similar circulation size.

Clarendon College Regents took their show on the road last Thursday, June 19, holding their regular board meeting in Pampa.

Several Gray County dignitaries were on hand for the meeting, including County Judge Richard Peet, Pampa ISD Board President Lee Porter, Pampa ISD Superintendent David Young, and members of the Clarendon College Pampa Center Foundation.

Going through their agenda, Regents approved a $60 per hour flat rate tuition for courses offered in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice unit in Pampa. CC will be offering classes there this summer during the next academic year.

The board approved a purchase of a welding simulator from Lincoln Electric in Lubbock for $24,000. The simulator consists of a welding mask with a 3D display inside so that the student “sees” an image of what they are working on.

The board acknowledged the resignations of Annette Ferguson, Raymond Jaramillo, Aaron Lopez, and Raquel Hawkins and approved the new hires of Kelly McDonough and Cannon Roberts to teach English and Catheryn Bailey as an RN instructor.

The board also acknowledged the reassignment of Becky Green as the Associate Dean of Enrollment Services to coordinate admissions, recruiting, testing, and financial aid in an effort to streamline the enrollment process for students. Green will work under Vice President of Student Services Tex Buckhaults.

David Hall was also reassigned as the college’s Associate Dean of Career, Technical, and Continuing Education under the Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Roger Schustereit.

Regents approved updated signature cards at Herring Bank and the National Bank of Commerce to include Buckhaults, Schustereit, and Alice Cobb and updating the college’s investment committee to include Dr. Robert Riza, Alice Cobb, and Ashlee Estlack.

In his president’s report, Riza said CC is in discussions with Amarillo ISD to offer cosmetology classes for dual credit in four high schools in Amarillo.

Riza also updated the board on the college’s new Registered Nursing program, which started this week with 20 students.

The first LVN to ADN bridge cohort at Clarendon College started classes Monday morning in Pampa. Dr. Robert Riza, president of CC, welcomed the students and shared his excitement about this being the first class in the new ADN program at CC.

Twenty students from all around the Panhandle make up this first cohort. After successful completion of their courses next summer, these students will sit for the RN exam.

A traditional ADN – Associate Degree in Nursing – cohort will start in the fall. For more information, interested students are asked to call Jackie Sublett in the Nursing Department at 806-665-8801.

Addie Lees had been selected to lead the Clarendon College women’s basketball team.

Lees, a graduate of Plainview High School, was recently hired as head coach of the Lady Bulldogs and is most excited to work with the young ladies who are joining the basketball program this fall.

 “I am also looking forward to working in the positive environment,” Lees said. “There are many people on campus and in the community who support the athletic teams and coaches.”

 Lees started playing basketball in grade school and says she loved the challenge and truly wanted to improve her game.

 “Each year I looked forward to attending Plainview High School, where it would count.”

 While at Plainview High, she helped lead the team to three state championship games, coming away with a pair of titles in 2002 and 2003 and runner-up in 2004.

 “I played the point guard position,” she said. “After high school I had the opportunity to play college basketball at Midland College.”

 After earning an associate’s degree at Midland, Lees went on to play basketball at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in health and physical education at UAM, graduating Magna Cum Laude, and earned a Master of Science in Sport Administration from Eastern New Mexico University in 2011.

 “My coaching career began immediately after receiving my bachelor’s degree,” she said. “I worked as a graduate assistant for two years at Eastern New Mexico University before becoming the assistant and then the Associate Head Coach at Howard College. I spent two seasons with the lady hawks before coming to Clarendon College.”

 Lees believes believe that both her playing and coaching experiences have most prepared her for this position.

 “From a young age I always took something away from each coach,” Lees said.

 When asked who has inspired or mentored her, Lees said the person who has taught her much about basketball and running a program is the Head Coach at Howard College, Earl Diddle.

 “His knowledge of basketball cannot be compared to most,” Lees said. “He’s a phenomenal teacher of the game and has proven that over many decades.”

 She said Diddle gave her insight each season and set a great example.

 “Coach Diddle brought a competitive spirit to every single practice and game,” Lees said. “He gives his all to improving the skill of athletes both on and off the court. He gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, and for that I am forever grateful.”

 Clarendon College Athletic Director Brad Vanden Boogaard said Coach Lees comes to Clarendon with a background of the conference and region from her playing days and time as an assistant.

 “Coach Lees is an energetic and confident individual,” he said. “I feel she will be very demanding of our athletes and give them great guidance in representing our college on and off the court.”

Clarendon residents were put on edge in the early morning hours Monday as law enforcement personnel searched the city for a man who fled from police.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Trooper Daniel Hawthorne said a 2011 Ford Mustang was stopped for speeding near the west city limits about 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The southbound car had three occupants, and the trooper asked for IDs from the driver and passengers.

One passenger fled the scene, and the other individuals – identified as Camron Meyers, age 18, of Belton and Kentrel Hilt, age 24, of Killeen – were placed under arrest. The men were charged with Possession of Marijuana and Theft of a Firearm, both of which were found in the car.

The third man, who has not been identified, fled on foot onto the Clarendon College campus. DPS and officers of the Donley County Sheriff’s Office began searching for the man. Search dogs from the DPS and Amarillo Police Department were brought in, and a DPS helicopter also attempted to find the man, Sheriff Butch Blackburn said.

As morning broke, authorities believed the man was still on the west side of the city based on cell phone signals, prompting Clarendon College to cancel its outdoor Kids College activities for that morning. As the morning progressed, the signal moved out of the county, and Sheriff Blackburn called off the search about 8:30 a.m.

The suspect is still wanted on charges of Evading.

Myers and Hilt were arraigned Tuesday and charged with Possession of Marijuana and Theft of a Firearm. Bond was set on both men at a total of $6,500 each. They remained in the Donley County Jail at press time.