Morgan Wheatly

Quick action by a passerby and volunteer firemen saved a Clarendon home last Wednesday, March 29.

Fire Marshal Jeremy Powell said individual called 911 at 3:55 p.m. after noticing smoke coming from a house owned by Darrell Thomas at 1516 W. Fifth. The Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene at 3:58 to find smoke and fire showing from the back of the house near the kitchen window.

An investigation later revealed that electricity and the residence had been turned off at the home since December because no one was living there, but the power was turned back on at about 3:42 p.m. Powell said the homeowner had sent someone to check the house before the power was connected, and that person had found all appliances to be disconnected except the stove.

Powell said two burners on the stove were on the “on” position and some flammable materials were on the stove following a moving and remodeling period.

The fire was ruled accidental but Powell suggests always having someone at a property when power is established because another local home was threatened by fire just a few years ago due to this exact same scenario.

Last week’s fire damage was contained to the kitchen and dining area of the home, Powell said. The remainder of the home suffered moderate to heavy smoke damage.

Fifteen firemen and seven units responded from the CVFD. Clarendon EMS and the Donley County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the blaze, and the sheriff’s office assisted with the investigation of the fire.

Runners and walkers will gather at Clarendon College this Saturday to raise awareness about child abuse during the fifth annual Chance Mark Jones Roar ‘N Run 5K.

About 70 people have registered for the event, which is hosted by the Clarendon Lions Club and coincides with Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Sign-ins start at 8 a.m. at the Bairfield Activity Center. The 9 a.m. race will start and end at the Bulldog Gym and run through the city; in front of the First Baptist Church; down Fifth Street along Clarendon Junior High; past several historic structures, including the S.W. Lowe House, the First United Methodist Church, and the Donley County Courthouse; around Prospect Park – the site of the Chance Mark Jones Memorial Playground; and then back up through the southwest part of the city to the college.

Race packets will be available for pick-up all day this Friday, April 7, at the Clarendon Visitor Center.

Proceeds from the race will benefit the charitable community activities of the Clarendon Lions Club. The race honors the life of four-year-old Chance Mark Jones, who died from abuse in 2011.

For more information about this weekend’s Chance Mark Jones Memorial 5K, contact Lion Ashlee Estlack at 806-874-4808 or 806-662-4687 or Lion Roger Estlack at 874-2259

CASA of the High Plains is encouraging everyone to wear blue this Friday, April 7, as part of Community Wide Go Blue Day to support child abuse awareness.

The event coincides with CASA Day at the Clarendon Outpost where individuals can learn more about being a CASA volunteer and precedes the annual Chance Mark Jones Roar ‘N Run 5K to raise child abuse awareness.

When a child enters the foster care system because his or her home is no longer safe, a judge may appoint a committed volunteer to help them. That volunteer is called a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA.

CASA continues to provide valuable volunteer advocacy for every abused child in this area. CASA volunteers serve as the “eyes and ears” for the judge in child welfare cases. This includes researching each child’s situation and making objective recommendations to help them reclaim their childhoods from abuse and neglect. CASA volunteers are frequently the only stable presence in these children’s lives as they navigate the foster care system.

These volunteers bring three critical qualities to their work: they focus on one case at a time; they bring a unique perspective to the court case; and their sole objective is representing the best interests of the child.

A second CASA Day will be held in Pampa at the Plaza Restaurant on April 13, and then on April 15 Cinema4 in Pampa will be partnering with CASA and The Pampa Child Welfare Board to offer a free showing of the movie Boss Baby 10:30. Tickets will be available for the first 300 people.

On April 30, CASA asks everyone to participate in National Blue Sunday for churches to take a moment of prayer for children who are victims of child abuse.

Last year, according to Texas Child Protective Services, nearly 60,000 Texas children were abused or neglected. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect and to promote the social and emotional well-being of children and families.

Children of all backgrounds can be victims of abuse. It’s a problem that spans all ages, races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Children ages 4–7 and 12–15 are most likely to be physically abused, but very young children are the most vulnerable to serious injuries as a result of child abuse.

If you do find yourself frustrated and angry at your child, please try the following to avoid hurting them:

• Take a deep breath and count to 20 slowly.
• Put your child in a safe place and WALK AWAY. The crib is usually a good choice for children who have not yet learned to climb out. For older children, walk out of the room but remain within hearing range to make sure the child is safe.
• Now that your child is safe, take the time you need to calm down. This could just be a couple of minutes. If you need more time, reach out to a family member or friend to babysit for a while. Let them know how upset you are and that you need some help.
• Call for help! Never be afraid to call for help. Reach out to family, friends, your church, or a trusted adult. If you can’t get help and feel like you might hurt your child, call 911. They will help make sure you and your child are safe.
• Get rest. We are NOT at our best when we are over-tired and over-stressed.

Child abuse prevention should be the shared responsibility of every community member. The Children’s Hospital Association of Texas (CHAT) offers the following advice to help prevent child abuse in our state.

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Steven McCraw, Texas Public Safety Commission Chair Cynthia Leon, and members of the Public Safety Commission (PSC) were recently joined by Texas Rep. Tony Dale as the department commissioned 134 men and women as the state’s newest Highway Patrol Troopers during the recruit graduation ceremony.

Among the new troopers is Kennith Brady, who has been a resident of Clarendon since 1990 and is now assigned in Clarendon.

Brady is married to Christina Brady, and the couple has four children: Dominique Brady-Foster, Maritta Brady, John Brady, and Chris Brewer.

Rep. Tony Dale was the keynote speaker during the ceremony, which was held February 24 in Austin.

“The men and women here today have selflessly pledged their lives to protect the people of Texas by joining law enforcement – a noble profession that requires immense courage and sacrifice,” said Rep. Dale. “The state is profoundly grateful for your dedication to becoming our newest Texas Highway Patrol Troopers.”

The D-2016 class, which is the department’s 158th training class and the largest since August 2000, includes 16 women, 16 former peace officers and 58 military veterans. The oldest graduate is 51-years-old and the youngest is 21-years-old. The new Troopers will report to duty stations across Texas in the coming weeks and spend the first six months in on-the-job training.

“I know each of you has worked tremendously hard in order to get where you are today, and your perseverance and achievements have been nothing less than remarkable,” said Chair Leon. “We are honored to welcome you to the DPS family, and I know you will make us all proud as you walk out these doors to begin your new career serving and protecting your communities.”

The Troopers began the 24-week training academy in September of last year. Instruction covered more than 100 subjects, including counterterrorism, traffic and criminal law, arrest and control procedures, accident reconstruction, first aid and Spanish. They also received training in use of force, communication skills, firearms, driving, criminal interdiction, cultural diversity and physical fitness.

“These 134 men and women have risen to the challenge of DPS’ months-long training to prove their proficiency and dedication, and the department is honored to add them to our law enforcement ranks,” said Director McCraw. “From this day forward, you will serve on the front lines protecting our communities from the full gamut of public safety threats, and Texas will be a safer place because of your commitment to duty.”

As part of the recruits’ community service project, the class raised funds for several causes, including $6,866 for the Green Beret Foundation; and $1,150 for the Louisiana State Troopers Association (to assist Troopers affected by flooding in Louisiana). In addition, the class established the “158th Fund,” which will provide future recruits with financial assistance for miscellaneous medical expenses. Members of the class also volunteered to be tested as potential donors for a national bone marrow registry.

DPS is currently accepting applications for recruit classes scheduled for 2018. The next application deadline is June 20 for the class beginning Jan. 7, 2018. To apply or for more information, visit www.joindps.com.

The 2017 Donley County Health Fair will be held next Thursday, April 13, from 8:30 to 12:30 in the Bairfield Activity Center at Clarendon College.

Northwest Health Care System will be paying for the processing of tests for cholesterol- LDL/HDL and triglycerides but you must provide your mailing address and must be fasting for accurate results. The paramedics of Donley County Hospital District will be drawing the blood for these tests.

Free medical testing will be available in the following areas: blood pressure, pulse, oxygen, glucose/blood sugar, balance, glaucoma, cholesterol- LDL/HDL, STD’s and PSA’s. Additional services and information may be available at the fair.

Health fairs are excellent ways to offer screenings for some health problems like diabetes and high blood pressure. Catching them early can help reduce the risks for costly complications. Both diabetes and high blood pressure can go undetected for up to ten years.

The fair is being sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Clarendon Family Medical Center, Donley Hospital District, Northwest Health Care System , Pilgrim Bank, Clarendon College, Donley County Memorial VFW Post #7782 Ladies Auxiliary and Mike’s Pharmacy. Donations are still being accepted at the Donley County Extension Office to help with the expense and keeping it a free event for the attendees.

For more information, contact the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service at 874-2141.

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The old front door opens and closes, and pine floor boards begin to creak. It’s Monday morning in Hedley’s Moffitt Hardware, and another customer needs serving.

“Bill, can you make me a key?” asks Hedley city worker Victor Abrago.

Bill Carson steadies himself on his cane and ambles over to the man’s assistance, continuing a tradition that is more than 100 years old.

Carson hands the new key to Abrago, who thanks the storekeeper and tells him he’ll be back for about ten more later.

Over the next hour, customers trickle in, grabbing a handful of peanuts off the stove, while satisfying their need a furnace filter, a hoe head, a three-quarter inch PVC coupling, and some window screen to protect their vegetable garden from rabbits.

“Earlier today we even sold a man some bicycle pedals that were marked by Hobart (Moffitt),” Carson’s daughter Susan Cosby says.

Hedley residents have depended on this store for generations, and will have a chance to celebrate its century of service this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with free hot dogs, birthday cake, and door prizes.

The business began when Thomas Robert Moreman and Charles Battle opened Moreman & Battle Hardware & Furniture back in 1916 on Hedley’s Main Street. In 1918, they employed a young man named Hobart Moffitt to be their bookkeeper. That same year, a competing store opened right next door – Thompson Bros. Hardware. After nine years, Hobart left Moreman & Battle and moved to the competition next door.

Then in 1952, Hobart realized his dream. He bought both hardware stores, combined them into one store, and tore out the wall dividing the two businesses and named the venture Moffitt Hardware. Some things didn’t change though… and haven’t. Hobart kept the wood floors, the tin ceiling, the display cabinets, Thompson Brothers’ safe, and a cabinet with “LARIAT ROPE” spelled out on the doors with lariat rope, of course.

All of that remains today and the present owners have no intention of changing a thing.

“These old pine floors have held up all this time,” Carson says. “The ceiling, they tell me, I could take to Houston and make big money. But it’s not for sale.”

It’s Carson’s determination that helps keep the authenticity of Moffitt Hardware… a place frozen in time, a living museum that preserves part of Hedley’s history but still has a role to fill serving its people today.

“You could get just about anything you needed from Moffitt’s,” longtime resident Ruthie White says. “That store saves farmers a lot of miles. Sometimes you just need a handful of screws, and they have them. It means a lot to Hedley.”

Hobart Moffitt operated the store for 36 years before his death in 1988 brought his personal 70 years of service to an end. But Hobart had such an impact on his community, that he is still remembered fondly even three decades after he passed away.

“He was just a real sweetheart,” Hedley Senior Citizens director Kathy Spier said. “I worked one winter for him wrapping Christmas presents.”

The holidays were a special time at Moffitt Hardware in the 1950s and 1960s, Spier and White remembered. Hobart would fill a loft (originally used by Moreman & Battle to store caskets) in the south half of the building with toys, and he would place temporary shelving above his regular stock and line them with toys also.

Back then, Moffitt’s was also the go-to place for furniture and appliances.

“I bought my first television set there in 1966,” Spier said. “It was a color TV, and I gave it to Mom and Dad.”

White also remembers that when her daughter Tanya was born, she shared her birth date with Hobart.

“He always gave her a gift on her birthday,” White said. “He did that until she got married, and then he told her that her husband could get her gifts now.”

Hobart was known for his friendly demeanor, saying “Howdy, howdy, howdy,” and for his love of trains.

“If he was waiting on someone and a train came through, he would just say, ‘Excuse me,’ and he would go outside and watch the train,” White said.

After he passed away, Hobart’s sister Ruby Moffitt Beeclker inherited the store and ran it for a while.

“She said she just couldn’t take care of it,” Carson said, “so I bought it in 1991.”

Carson was no stranger to the hardware business. He had worked for and then owned Morton Lumber Company in Borger for several years before retiring in 1981. He and his wife, Jaunell, moved back to her family’s farm near Hedley at that time. Mrs. Carson’s family, the Tates, were pioneers in Donley County.

“When I sold the lumber yard in Borger, I thought that was it for me,” Bill Carson said. “I had a good business, but it was stressful. I probably wouldn’t be alive today.”

In Hedley, he found a more easy-going lifestyle, and from time to time he would mind the store for Hobart.

“He was a real good guy, and I got acquainted with him,” Carson said. “He would have me work for him when he would go to the mountains.”

After the Carsons took over the store, they prospered for a long time. The store even started carrying feed, but stopped after several years.

“It was really good when I first got it, but it has fallen off considerably,” Carson said. “We just don’t have the people here that we used to. But it’s been here so long, I feel like it ought to stay.”

Carson says he keeps the store open because he enjoys it and its important to the community. In addition to the typical hardware stock, the store also houses the old choir chairs from the Hedley Methodist Church, an old set of local Post Office boxes with names still on the back, and the scales from the Hedley Gin.

“They used to weigh the cotton bales on those,” Carson said. “When they took them out, I said they needed to stay in Hedley.”

Susan Cosby and her husband, Stan, plan to move to Hedley this year when Stan retires; and she has plans to help her parents keep Moffitt Hardware open.

There are also some really good deals to be found shopping Moffitt Hardware, Cosby says. Just like Hobart, Bill Carson hasn’t been in the practice of ever changing a price once it’s been marked.

“There is still some of Hobart’s stock marked with his price,” she said.

She intends to add a coffee drinking area where her dad previously sold feed, but other than that, she wants to keep things the same, keeping the store open from 8:00 to 5:00, Monday through Friday, and 8:30 to 1:00 on Saturdays.

“You can go to Home Depot or Lowe’s,” Cosby said, “but there is just something about this old store. I love the glass cases and just the unique way that Dad and Hobart have stuff displayed. It says something about that era.”

 

Clarendon College will hold its annual Invitational Judging Contest this Saturday and attendance may be the biggest attendance in the event’s history.

The contest attracts more than 2,000 high school FFA students and 4-H students from around Texas and nearby states, doubling the city’s population. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were more than 2,500 contest registrations for the event, and college officials were expecting that number to increase as registration continued.

The number of registrations doesn’t include the hundreds of parents and coaches who accompany the students to the contest. According to the 2010 US Census, Clarendon has a population of 2,026.

“We are very happy to host these young people,” Clarendon Chamber of Commerce President Roger Estlack said. “This boosts our local economy and gives many students who otherwise may not ever consider coming to Clarendon an opportunity to see what we have.”

Past contests have had huge impacts on the local economy. Hotels will be busy Friday night, and restaurants are typically packed the day of the event. This year will hopefully be equally successful.

The annual judging contest is the single biggest event to attract visitors from out of town for one day.

In addition to helping local merchants, the event also presents a great opportunity for CC to showcase its campus, faculty, and programs for prospective students. Johnny Treichel, Clarendon College livestock and meats judging coach, said the event is a big recruiting tool for the college.

“This is the only time each year the college has this many potential students on campus,” he said. “And we are pleased to have such positive support from the community year after year.”

Also attracting people from out of town this weekend, the Whistle-Stop Trade Days will be open Saturday and Sunday, and several area Little Dribblers teams will participate in a tournament all day Saturday in the gymnasiums at Clarendon ISD. The tournament will feature kids in grades six and under, and proceeds of that event benefit the high school boys’ and girls’ basketball teams.

The fifth annual Chance Mark Jones Roar ‘N Run 5K is Saturday, April 8, but the early registration deadline is April 1.

The Clarendon Lions Club is hosting the event to coincide with Child Abuse Prevention Month. Those interested in running or walking the 5K (about 3.1 miles) are encouraged to sign up before April 1 to take advantage of the early bird discount. Registration costs $25, but those who sign up early save $5. Signing up by April 1 also guarantees participants the official 5K t-shirt.

Those who don’t want to run or walk can still support the race and get the T-shirt with the popular “sleep-in” option.

The race will begin at 9 a.m. Race registrations are available at the Clarendon Visitor Center at the Mulkey Theatre, at the Enterprise, or online at http://bit.ly/2nwGpv1.

For more information, contact Lion Ashlee Estlack at 806-874-4808 or 806-662-4687 or Lion Roger Estlack 806-874-2259.