Morgan Wheatly

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Cielo Wind Services and Donley County officials this week moved closer to tax abatement agreement 161-megawatt wind farm that is proposed for the northwestern part of the county.

During the regular session of the commissioners’ court, the county approved a letter of engagement with the Underwood Law Firm and met with attorney James Wester, who presented local officials with updated tax abatement guidelines and criteria. Commissioners voted to accept those guidelines and adopted a resolution continuing the county’s interest in participating in tax abatements.

Cielo representative Robert Peña presented county officials with a tax abatement application and said the project will be constructed in 2014 and operational in 2015.

The proposed wind farm will be split between Gray County and Donley County, and Peña said his company intends to put 161-megawatts of turbine capacity in Donley County using 2.0 to 2.2 megawatt turbines.

According to Cielo’s application, the project will bring approximately 150 to 200 construction jobs and seven full-time permanent jobs to Donley County. The market value of the project would be about $95 million, and the project expects to generate about $1 million in direct sales taxes.

The company proposes a 100 percent tax abatement for ten years, but Peña said that direct payments in lieu of taxes were not spelled out in the application and needed to be discussed in a closed session of the court.

Commissioners agreed to hold a public hearing on September 9 to create a reinvestment zone for Cielo and consider the terms of the tax abatement.

The proposed project area does not fall in the Clarendon Independent School District, Peña said. The project would be within the Clarendon College District and the Donley County Hospital District, but Peña said Cielo does not ask college or medical districts for tax abatements.

In other county business, commissioners worked late Monday to work on their proposed budget for fiscal year 2014. That budget is now on file with the clerk’s office, and budget hearings will be held September 13 and 19.

Commissioners also approved several agenda items, including the purchase of a computer system for the county attorney; collection of optional fees as provided by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Transportation Code; attendance by the county attorney at a conference in Galveston; attendance by the county clerk at a conference in Horsehoe Bay; and acceptance of a bid on tax delinquent property in Howardwick.

A Childress man lost his life Monday afternoon in a two-vehicle accident east of Clarendon.

Department of Public Safety Trooper Daniel Hawthorn said Johnnie Lee Lott was driving a 2012 Cadillac SRX in the outside lane of eastbound US 287 at 3:25 p.m. There was heavy rain and low visibility, and Lott stopped his vehicle in the outside lane and was struck from behind by a 2004 Ford F250 pickup driven by Teddy Joe Atwood, Jr., of Pampa.

Both vehicles ended up in the median with the pickup running into a pine tree.

Lott, age 77, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:56 by Justice of the Peace Denise Bertrand.

Lott’s wife, 77-year-old June Hall Lott, was in the passenger seat and was hurt critically with internal injuries. She was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo. Mr. and Mrs. Lott were both wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident.

Responding to the accident were personnel with the Department of Public Safety, Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department, Associated Ambulance Authority, Donley County Sheriff’s Office, and the Texas Department of Transportation.

An attorney for convicted child killer Robert Babcock is asking an appeals court to take a second look at the case.

The Donley County Clerk’s office says Babcock’s attorney filed a motion for discretionary review on July 12 with the Seventh Court of Appeals in Amarillo. The motion came less than one month after the court upheld the decision of a Hall County jury that found Babcock guilty of killing his four-year-old son, Chance Mark Jones, and sentencing him to life in prison.

District Attorney Luke Inman says the defense’s next course will likely be to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, but the DA remains confident that the trial court’s decision will hold.

“We prepare all of our trials to minimize the number of issues that can be raised on appeal,” Inman said. “The Babcock trial was no different and at least one appellate court has agreed with the trial court’s rulings and judgment in affirming the case.

“I am confident that this case will not get overturned, and Chance’s justice will stay in place which resulted in the life sentence of his killer.”

 Donley County Commissioners acted on two petitions Monday calling for county election on alcohol sales and a special election to fill vacancies on the Clarendon Board of Aldermen.

The Commissioners’ Court first considered a petition with 547 verified signatures and voted 3-0-1 to order a Local Option Election to legalize the sale of all alcoholic beverages in the county, including mixed drinks. Judge Jack Hall and Commissioners Dan Sawyer and Andy Wheatly voted to accept the petition and order the election. Commissioner Donnie Hall abstained, and Commissioner Mark White was absent.

The court then considered the petition of 35 legal voters in the City of Clarendon asking the county to adopt a resolution ordering a special election, and the court voted 4-0 to accept that petition and order the election.

Both elections will be held Tuesday, November 5, 2013. Voters must be registered by October 5 to be eligible to vote.

 Donley County cities continued to enjoy higher sales tax revenues when Texas Comptroller Susan Combs made her August allocation last week.

The large increase in local sales has been attributed to a petroleum by-product pipeline crew that has been making its temporary home in the area.

After seeing growth of more than 40 percent each of the last two months, Clarendon’s sales tax revenue for this month was up 23.62 percent compared to the same period in 2012. The city received $44,009.31 compared to $35,600.20 last August and is now running 26.04 percent ahead for the calendar year-to-date at $276,214.96.

Hedley’s revenue this month was up 46.57 percent at $896.16 and is 44 percent higher for the year at $4,964.40.

Howardwick has also seen some growth with revenue this month up 9.22 percent and an allocation of $1,791.32. That city is up 3.7 percent for the year.

“Texas sales tax revenue has increased for 40 consecutive months,” Combs said.

Combs said that statewide sales tax revenue in July was $2.2 billion, up 7.3 percent compared to July 2012.

The sales tax figures represent monthly sales made in June as well as April, May and June sales by businesses that report tax quarterly.

Donley County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Vance Killian has announced that the original Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) emergency grazing deadline has been extended to September 30, 2013.

The CRP emergency haying authorization was not extended and will expire on August 31, 2013. However, under this current authorization, producers are permitted to sell hay that is harvested prior to August 31 as long as the hay was not sold from the same land under contract anytime during 2011 or 2012.

Producers who take advantage of the emergency grazing extension will not incur an additional CRP rental payment reduction, and through a recent FSA National Office initiative, the 25 percent CRP payment reduction is reduced to 10 percent for 2013 emergency grazing and haying authorizations.

If a producer chooses to lease eligible CRP acres, the producer cannot profit on the lease agreement. The amount charged for lease of CRP emergency grazing acres cannot exceed the value of the rental payment reduction.

Texas CRP participants who were previously approved for managed grazing may elect to switch to emergency use by contacting the Donley County FSA office to request approval. The restrictive emergency use criteria must be met for each site to qualify for the new emergency designation approval.

Based on a revised policy decision made by the Texas FSA State Committee, CRP acres grazed during fiscal year 2011 or 2012 will be considered eligible for emergency grazing if NRCS verifies, on a case-by-case basis, that the conservation cover will sustain grazing. CRP acres grazed in the fall/winter of fiscal year 2013 will not be eligible for spring/summer grazing. FSA’s fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.

“The grazing extension was approved by the Texas FSA State Committee in order to provide more resources for livestock producers facing forage and feed shortages as a result of drought,” said Killian.

The eligible CRP acreage is limited to qualified acres located within the approved county. Eligible producers who are interested in grazing CRP under this emergency authorization and current CRP participants who choose to provide land for grazing to an eligible livestock producer, must first request approval from their local FSA office and obtain a modified conservation plan from the NRCS to include site specific grazing requirements.

For more information, contact the Donley County FSA office at 806-874-3561.

The Former Texas Rangers Association/Foundation held a cross ceremony at the Goodnight Cemetery on Saturday honoring Col. Charles Goodnight.

Goodnight was a Texas Ranger, and the cross, made by Kevin Johnson of Clarendon, is on permanent display at his gravesite in Goodnight.

Some of the honored guests included Ruth Robinson, who is a relative of Charles Goodnight; Benny Tahmahkera who is the great, great, great-grandson of Quanah Parker; and many former Texas Rangers from around the state.

The cross includes symbols to honor Goodnight as both a Texas Ranger and a Mason. Is it identical to another cross made by Johnson which was placed on the tomb of Stephen F. Austin earlier this year.