Morgan Wheatly

The 100th District Court met in Clarendon on Monday, October 7, and heard four pleas resulting in two convictions and two deferred adjudications.

District Attorney Luke Inman prosecuted the cases for the State of Texas with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.

A total of $11,500 in fines was assessed as a result of the pleas that took place on October 7. In addition to the fines, the defendants were required to pay a total of $1,834 in court costs and $420 in restitution.

Jacob Israel Brashears, a 22-year-old resident of Amarillo, pleaded true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Revoke and was convicted and sentenced to six years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

On May 6, 2011, Brashears originally pleaded guilty to the third degree felony offense of injury to a child that occurred on October 31, 2009, in Donley County.

The State filed the motion to revoke on January 31, 2012, alleging five violations of community supervision.

Brashears pleaded true to all of the violations contained in the State’s motion and was sentenced to six years. Brashears is also required to pay $599 in court costs to Donley County, and a $3,000 fine.

Carolyn Sue Daniel was placed on probation for a period of four years for the second degree felony offense of possession of a controlled substance. Daniel pleaded guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication for the offense.

Daniel, 40-year-old resident of Greenville, KY, was arrested in Carson County for the offense that took place September 6, 2013 by DPS Trooper Max Honesto. Daniel pleaded guilty to an information filed by the State on October 3, 2013.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Daniel is required to pay a $4,000 fine to Carson County, $336 in court costs, $140 restitution, and successfully complete 300 hours of community service. If Daniel violates probation, she could face up to 20 years in the Institutional Division of the TDCJ.

Timothy Allen Meunier was placed on probation for a period of four years for the second degree felony offense of possession of a controlled substance. Meunier pleaded guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication for the offense.

Meunier, 51-year-old resident of Siloam Springs, Ark., was arrested in Carson County for the offense that took place September 7, 2013, by DPS Trooper Danny Nunez, and pleaded guilty to an information filed by the State on October 3, 2013.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Meunier is required to pay a $4,000 fine to Carson County, $336 in court costs, $140 restitution, and successfully complete 300 hours of community service. If Meunier violates probation, he could face up to 20 years in the Institutional Division of the TDCJ.

Jason David Herbert was convicted for the third degree felony offense of driving while intoxicated 3rd or more. Herbert pleaded guilty for the offense that took place on March 29, 2013, and was sentenced to ten years in the Institutional Division of TDCJ, but the sentence was probated for a period of three years.

Herbert, 37-year-old resident of Clarendon, was arrested by DPS Trooper Kellan Roberts and was indicted by a Donley County Grand Jury on June 4, 2013.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Herbert is required to pay $563 in court costs to Donley County, a $500 fine, $140 restitution, successfully complete 200 hours of community service, and complete all DWI requirements under Chapter 49.

Donley County voters are taking advantage of early voting in the local option election on the sale of alcoholic beverages in the county.

The county clerk’s office reported 95 people cast ballots on the first day of early voting on Monday, and election officials said that tally had reached 153 Tuesday afternoon as the Enterprise went to press.

Early voting continues through November 1 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Extended voting hours will be held October 24 and October 28 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Election Day will be Tuesday, November 5.

The alcohol question appears on ballots countywide along with several proposed amendments to the state constitution. Voters will be asked to choose FOR or AGAINST the following option: “The legal sale of all alcoholic beverages including mixed beverages.” The election for the Clarendon Board of Aldermen will be on a separate ballot.

Early ballots may be cast at the Donley County Courthouse Annex.

Those unable to vote in person during early voting or on Election Day can apply for a ballot by mail by contacting the county clerk’s office or by downloading the application from http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/pol-sub/5-15f.pdf. In order to vote by mail you must be 65 or older or your ballot must be sent to an out of county address. The completed application must be received (not postmarked) by October 25. Photo ID is not required to vote by mail.

Texas now requires voters to show photo ID at the polls. IDs that can be accepted include: one of four Texas Department of Safety issued photo IDs (driver’s license, personal ID card, concealed handgun license, and election identification certificate) or one of three US government issued photo IDs (passport, military ID card, US citizenship or naturalization certificate). The photo ID must be current or expired no more than 60 days.

Clarendon ISD students will soon have an improved storm shelter following action by the Board of Trustees last Tuesday, October 15.

The board unanimously accepted a proposal from Wiley Hicks, Jr., Construction for $34,431 to pave a 5,400 square-foot area under the library and cafeteria to make it more usable.

The area commonly known as the “bomb shelter” by school alumni was used for decades as a storm shelter after the school’s 1960s construction. But school officials stopped using it several years ago partly over concerns about the dust stirred up from the dirt floor when hundreds of students were in there.

Superintendent Monty Hysinger said over the summer the school had a National Weather Service representative tour the school and she felt the heavy concrete construction under the library and cafeteria would be the safest place to take shelter from severe weather.

“She was impressed and said that we were fortunate to already have what some schools needed to build,” Hysinger said.

After the school clears the area of items being stored there, the contractor will come in a do some initial dirt work and set forms in place before the Christmas break, Hysinger said. Then while students are gone for the holidays, the contractor will pump concrete through an access hole in the cafeteria and pave an area 150 feet long and 36 feet wide with a concrete floor that is four inches thick.

The school also intends to add more lighting to the area and to install emergency lights that can run off battery reserves.

Storage racks may also be installed for blankets and other supplies, Hysinger said.

“I’m really excited about the kind of shelter we could have under there,” Hysinger said. “In time we could add some benches or chairs and possibly signage to divide the area by grades.”

The school will also be coordinating with local emergency personnel to let them know exactly where kids will be in the event of a disaster and plans to work on communications with parents to keep order during emergencies, Hysinger said.

The improved storm shelter will house all students from Pre-K through eighth grade, Hysinger said. High school students would still take shelter in the basement of the high school building.

In other school business last week, Trustees:

Approved an additional fund contribution to support continued litigation efforts by the Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition;

Nominated Max Myer to the Briscoe County Appraisal District Board of Directors; and

Nominated Dan Hall, Steve Carter, and Darrell Leffew to the Board of Directors of the Donley County Appraisal District.

Clarendon College Regents will meet October 24 to decide which of three finalists will be the next president of CC.

College officials, employees, and students as well as the public got to meet each of the men being considered for the job last week during open forums, and regents interviewed the candidates behind closed doors.

Dr. Robert Riza of Hill College in Hillsboro was the first to visit Clarendon on Wednesday, October 16. Riza currently serves as the Vice President of Student Affairs at Hill, but he came up through athletics, starting as a high school coach before going into higher education and eventually becoming an athletic director and director of student life. He has been in his current position since 2009.

Riza is involved with the Hillsboro ISD Foundation as well as the economic development foundation and chamber of commerce in Hillsboro. He has also overseen Hill’s branch campus in Cleburn.

Riza said, as a graduate of a community college, he knows the impact the college can have on students’ lives and that the college’s job is to show them there are bigger things and make their experiences better. He said athletics can be a great thing for a college in terms of rallying community support and noted that CC and Hill have both used athletics to drive enrollment. He also said that though the college has three locations, it still must be one college.

Dr. Riza also said he would have an open door for students at his office and said he would focus on building dual credit hours with area high schools to increase enrollment.

Dr. Gary Stretcher visited the campus on Thursday, October 17. He is the current Vice President of Academic Affairs at Lamar State College in Port Arthur, a two-year school that operates under the Texas State University System.

In his current position since 1996, Stretcher, among other things, is Lamar’s reporting officer to the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools, the same accrediting agency that governs Clarendon. Stretcher is also a tenured professor in the math and science department at Lamar and said he is “first and foremost about making sure students succeed.”

During his time at Lamar, Stretcher said he’s helped develop and expand the student computer lab, start a student success center, remodel the library, and expand dual credit opportunities. He encouraged creative scheduling to allow students to attend classes two or three days a week and worked to expand or improve technical programs.

“I sense there is a lot of interest in doing more in Clarendon,” he said, “and I would love to develop a niche program just for Clarendon.”

Stretcher also said community colleges provide the only option for success for some students. He said athletic programs attract a core group of college age students.

Stretcher’s activities outside the college included serving on a school board and a zoning board, and he is active in the Masonic lodge, Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Red Cross.

Dr. Steve Rook of Mena, Ark., finished the week on Friday. He is currently the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Rich Mountain Community College.

Rook said he came up through student services and has a special place for students, and he likes small towns and small schools. His hometown has a population of about 1,200 people and Rich Mountain has an enrollment of about 1,000 students.

Community colleges in Arkansas have faced the same budget and funding challenges that Texas colleges are facing, he said, and so he is familiar with the “success based” funding formula that Texas is moving toward.

Rook has been involved in several fundraising efforts both from private and public sources, including a grant to fund the development of an aviation maintenance program, funding for an industrial maintenance program, and a $7 million federally funded cooperative program with other community colleges to start nursing programs at rural colleges in Arkansas.

Rook also has focused on student success initiatives that focused on better tutoring and building connections between faculty and students. He is the accreditation liaison for Rich Mountain, and he said would actually enjoy working under the accrediting body that governs Clarendon College because its guidelines are more specific and less arbitrary.

Rook said his management style would be participatory and the first thing he would do if he is president of CC is listen to people.

“I would want to hear what you think needs to be changed,” he said. “I also think any president ought to walk around and be involved, and the president needs to be the face of the institution.”

He also pledged to attend college student activities to show his support for students.

Rook’s outside interests include high school band boosters, public school activities, serving on a water utility board, serving as Lions Club president, working as a second grade basketball coach, and providing color commentary for high school football games.

Clarendon Family Medical Center is proud to announce the addition of a new member to their staff, Misty Nobles, who has been working as a Physician’s Assistant at the clinic for about five weeks.

Nobles grew up and went to high school at Bells, Texas, a small community near Sherman. She then did her undergraduate work at Southeastern Oklahoma State University before going to PA school at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth and graduating in May.

Nobles said she received a National Health Service Corps scholarship and also wanted to serve a small community. She first made contact with the folks from Clarendon Family Medical Center at a job fair in Grapevine last December, and she followed up on that contact after graduating.”

“Bells is a small town of 1,200 people, and I knew I would be comfortable here,” she said. “I called Lori [Howard] in August, the position was still open, and I started September 23.”

Nobles worked in a pharmacy in high school and college, which sparked her interested in medicine. Her desire to have more interaction with patients led her to choose the path of a physician’s assistant, she said. Before graduating, she also joined a mission to India with her church to provide pediatric health care. Now she says she wants to give back and be an asset to the local clinic.

“Everyone is so supportive here. I’m very blessed to have help and to have three great mentors,” she said, referring to Dr. John Howard and fellow PA’s Devah Pittman and Sarah Burcham. “Sarah and Devah have helped me tremendously, and Dr. Howard is great and always available to answer questions or look at X-rays with me.”

With growing families, Pittman and Burcham have shifted their work schedules to part-time rolls, and Nobles works full time at the clinic.

Nobles says she enjoys Clarendon and the close knit nature of the community and the nice people that she meets.

“Everyone is nice and welcoming. I love it here and enjoy waving at people when I walk or run,” she said.

A statewide charitable organization that builds wheelchair ramps is looking for volunteers to take up that mission in Donley County.

Texas Ramp Project representative John Laine says his organization needs 14 to 16 people who want to lead a local ramp team, and two ramps are scheduled to be constructed on Saturday, November 2 – one in Clarendon and one in Lelia Lake.

The Texas Ramp Project is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization funded through a variety of public and private sources throughout the state. Laine says the group has received a challenge grant to help spread its mission throughout the Texas Panhandle. If the local community can come up with $1,000, Texas Ramp Project will match it with $1,000 and use the money to buy all the tools a local team will need to build ramps for people who need them but can’t afford them.

Laine said the effort has to be locally driven, but the state organization will provide support and funding for new ramps moving forward. Youth groups, service organizations, and churches are typical groups that come together to form local ramp teams, Laine said.

The Texas Ramp Project builds more than a thousand ramps across the state every year and wants to expand to build ten times that amount. Requests for ramps are not accepted from individuals or family members but must instead come from a third party health provider, Laine said.

For more information about the Texas Ramp Project, contact Laine at 214-675-1230 or view the online video at www.TexasRamps.org/story.