Eruption!
Nelda Sue Burton Norris
Nelda Sue Burton Norris(Sue), 88, passed away on January 13, 2013, in Midland.
She was born on November 4, 1924, in Clarendon, Texas, and was the daughter of H.T. and Clara Burton. She attended Old Clarendon College and went on to graduate from North Texas State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Music in 1946. In October of 1946 she married John L. Norris in Clarendon, Texas. They moved to Roswell, New Mexico and subsequently moved to Midland in 1947. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Midland. Sue worked as a teacher in Midland Elementary Schools in Kindergarten, first grade and fifth grade. She had a talent for teaching young children to read including those with disabilities, this gave her great joy. She was active in several clubs including Retired Teachers, Woman’s Club, and American Association of University Women. She was a great cook, particularly desserts. Sue was a courageous survivor and a friend to many and was a good bridge player. She was a loving wife and caring mother.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John L. Norris, and her parents.
She is survived by her daughters, Clarra Norris, Linda Mach and husband Ed. Her special friends and caregivers Penny and David Self, who made it possible for her to live in her home into old age. A special thanks to Shylesh Ganta M.D., Gregory Bartha M.D., and Bart Mayron M.D. for their excellent care and concern throughout the years. A funeral service was held on Wednesday, January 16, 2013, at the Ellis Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor David Johnson officiating. Interment followed at Resthaven Memorial Park.
Lucile Pickering Eanes
Lucile Pickering Eanes, 100, died Saturday, January 19, 2013 in Amarillo, Texas.
Services were held were held Wednesday, January 23, 2013 in Park Place Towers Parlor in Amarillo with Chaplain Jerry Bell, officiating. Private burial will be in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.
Arrangements are under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Mrs. Eanes was born June 17, 1912, in Goodnight, Armstrong County, Texas to William and Maud Jacobs Pickering and had lived in the Clarendon area most of her life. She married Edwin Eanes on November 19, 1933. She was a primary school teacher and taught at the rural community of Fairview, and at Lelia Lake. After her retirement, she spent 18 winters in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico where she enjoyed doing charity work, and especially being interested in orphan homes and in fund raising for the newly organized First Aid Station. She was an avid traveler, homemaker, and gardner. She was a member of the Archaeology Club in Clarendon, the San Carlos Bay Yacht Club where she helped with search and rescue efforts, the Home Demonstration Club, Garden Club, Quilting Club, and was a member of the First United Methodist Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband and several other family members.
She is survived by several cousins and numerous special friends and her extended family at Park Place Towers.
The family request memorials be sent to a favorite charity.
Editorial: Use history to take our city forward
If you have any doubt that great things can happen in Clarendon, just look around this week.
In addition to the continuing work on the Mulkey Theatre, construction has gotten a quick start on a new business on US 287 – Family Dollar – that represents a $750,000 investment in our community, a new fitness center is getting closer to reality, and another new business is taking shape south of Every Nook & Cranny downtown.
Clarendon is a place of promise and opportunity, and this column continues the look forward that we began two weeks ago. Our focus this week is on our heritage, and the point that our history can be an important element of our future.
There is no better example of tapping into our rich heritage than the annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff, which brings people flocking to our town each September. It is hosted by the Saints’ Roost Museum, the board of which knows full well the value of history, and it does an excellent job of promoting a local gem – the museum – while celebrating a local legend – Col. Goodnight.
Another big draw is the 1890 Donley County Courthouse that was restored in 2003 at a cost of $4.2 million (most of which was state money). There were some critics at the time, but now the courthouse is perhaps our community’s most treasured landmark, attracting visitors from far and near on a weekly basis. We are home to the Jewel of the Plains – the Panhandle’s oldest operating courthouse – and we are proud of it.
Heritage tourism is a big business. There are many people out there that like to tour old courthouses and museums and learn more about our regional, state, and national history. Recent survey information from the Texas Historical Commission states that tourists who visit historical sites spend an average of $340 more in a community than other visitors.
We have a lot to offer these travelers now, but that is one asset that could easily be expanded. I like to call it the “low hanging fruit.” It is right there for easy pickings if we just use a bit of creativity.
Very easily we could develop self-guided – or guided – tours of historic landmarks throughout Clarendon. A simple brochure could walk visitors to our historic buildings and businesses and take them to some of the Texas Panhandle’s most historic churches and homes.
But with a little coordination, that could even be a bigger draw. Perhaps a combined effort could be joined between the county, the county historical commission, and the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation to research and apply for one historical marker every year for the next few years. We have many “firsts” or “oldest” that aren’t properly recognized right now. The area’s oldest African American church (St. Stephen’s Baptist) and the first Masonic lodge in the Panhandle come to mind right away. Clarendon College deserves its own marker, and there are other historic sites, buildings, and homes that might qualify under the right circumstances. The rock walls at City Park and around Broncho Stadium are also unique to our community.
The city, county, and other entities could be persuaded to develop tax abatements favorable to historic preservation or efforts to restore historic structures. There are at least three buildings on Kearney Street that were built in the 1890s. What treasures those might make! Turn of the century homes are dotted all across our city, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could encourage restoring these places the way the late Zell SoRelle did the S.W. Lowe house back in the 1980s?
We might consider creation of a designated historic district and offer incentives to invest in those properties or perhaps there are other ways to capitalize on the structures that our forefathers built.
We can also do more to tap our local history and expand our museum to tell a broader story of Donley County beyond just the cowboy and ranch aspect. Perhaps we could work with the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum and others around the country to develop a paleontology wing to the museum that would feature the three-toed horses, mammoths, and other extinct creatures that have been found here from the Clarendonian Stage of geologic history.
More could be done to feature the Native American heritage of this area. The Quanah Parker Trail is a fine thing to be on and will be a nice addition, but we also need to talk in our museum about the Indian village that once existed near Greenbelt Lake.
And we can’t forget that history doesn’t just stop. It is ongoing, and we need to support our museum in such a manner that it can include the accomplishments of more recent events. Shouldn’t Kenny King be featured in the museum somewhere? What about our native son in Congress?
As the oldest thriving town in the Panhandle, we have no shortage of history, the depths of which we can plumb for our future. Just stop and look around. We’re surrounded by potential and stories that are waiting to be told, and buildings and jewels that are waiting to be polished.
As we resolve to get involved in 2013, let’s make the past part of our future and make some new history to make our kids and grandkids proud.
Opinion: I’m moving on… but not very fast
Sometimes we must do things that we really don’t enjoy doing. At the moment, I’m doing that – moving. And if you must know, I’m not very good at it. Actually, I’m terrible at it, since I’ve been engaged in this move since before Christmas. That’s right, I’ve now been moving for a little over a month, and I’m only moving two-tenths of a mile, to the 300 block of Sixth Street, from the 600 block of Hwy. 70, South (Orpe St.).
A friend of mine, whom I won’t mention lest I embarrass said friend, cackles and repeatedly doubles over with laughter, while gleefully pointing out the absurdity of my lack of speed and progress in this endeavor. Heaven only knows what my previous (still sorta current) landlord must be thinking.
After many hours of laser-like focus and pondering, I’ve had one of those “ah-ha” moments about why it has taken me so long to do so little. Obviously, I’ve been writing about the ineptness of Congress for so long, that I’ve been infected with a subliminal Congressional flaw – which is a cross between procrastination and a stupor of thought.
Of course, I do have a somewhat valid excuse for two weeks of my procrastination, but the stupor of thought may be a permanent affectation. A couple of weeks ago, I was assaulted by some sort of aggressively vile bug that ripped my lungs out of my chest, stomped them into mush, and mercilessly crammed them back into the general area where they were previously located. Additionally, my nose and sinus cavity ran about a dozen continuous marathons, running nonstop for what seemed like 16 consecutive days, give or take a couple of weeks. Now, I realize that more than a few of my readers may consider this to be too much information, but it is so fundamental to my lack of productivity that I feel the need to point out vast depth and great importance of this rationalization.
Another culprit in slowing down my move is my capability to be easily distracted. While packing, I have exhibited a unique ability to stop and peruse the record and story of my life. It’s amazing how compelling long-ago records, bank receipts, holiday cards, letters from friends, Dear John letters, etc., can suddenly become when one is preparing for a move. I have caught myself wasting endless hours reviewing the clutter of my life. What’s even more amazing is the amount of clutter one can accumulate in the course of going about the process of daily living.
To me, moving also represents a passage of sorts. Each time we move, our lives tend to veer off into another direction, even if it’s just a subtle change of direction. Consider this move, for example. I’m moving out of a place that allowed me to heal from another brain surgery, as well as a broken heart. For the past three years, I’ve been surrounded by family members and friends who love me, and provided me with an environment that allowed me the time needed to heal my mind and spirit. It has almost been like a womb to me, giving me the chance to regain my physical and spiritual health. In a very real way, I hate to leave this place.
It is good to reflect on our past from time to time. To decide which memories are worthy of keeping and which memories warrant being discarded. It can be uplifting to remember the good times, filled with wonder and joy. Remembering the challenges we’ve overcome, and relishing past accomplishments are worthy of a permanent place in our hearts and minds. When we move on, we want to take the good with us, and discard the not-so-good.
Even so, the act of moving into a new home offers me the opportunity to begin life anew. It represents the chance to once again create a life that offers exciting new opportunities for growth and personal development. It gives me the chance to love and be loved, to experience new things, and to enhance my creativity. I am excited about my life and the bright future that lies ahead for me. I know it is a bright future because I will do whatever it takes, within the bounds of high character and the law, to make it a bright and productive future.
So, I have an absolute certainty that I will complete this move in a more timely fashion, and get on with this wonderful thing we call life. I’m grateful for the love of my family and my friends. And finally, I’m grateful that I live in the best region of the best state in the best nation in the world.
Hedley man gets life for assault on child
A Hedley man received a life sentence from a Collingsworth County jury last Thursday, January 17, for sexually assaulting a child.
Bryan Keith Price, age 42, was found guilty of the first degree felony offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child, under the age of fourteen. At the conclusion of the three-day jury trial, the jury sentenced Price to life in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Price, a Hedley resident, was arrested by the Donley County Sheriff’s Department on April 25, 2012. Price was later indicted by a Collingsworth County Grand Jury on June 27, 2012 for the first degree offense.
District Attorney Luke Inman prosecuted the case for the State of Texas with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding. During the State’s case in chief, the State called seven witnesses.
Testimony was provided by the victim to the present offense, Childress Independent School District Counselor Sherry Davis, Childress County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Danny Gillem, Donley County Sheriff Charles “Butch” Blackburn, Collingsworth County Deputy Kent Riley, Ian Diaz with the Bridge Children’s Advocacy Center, and Becky O’Neal, the coordinator for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners at North West Texas Hospital.
“The jury heard testimony from a child who had to endure some of the most unimaginable things from her biological father,” said Inman. “That testimony was key in convicting this defendant which resulted in the life sentence he received from that jury.”
The jury convicted the defendant on Thursday morning after a short deliberation, and the State called three witnesses during the punishment phase of the trial.
Testimony from Gillem established that Price had been previously convicted of Indecency with a Child in 2001. The victim from that previous offense also testified and provided insight on how Price’s actions have affected her life ever since the incident.
Blackburn concluded the State’s evidence where he requested the maximum punishment allowed by law against Price.
After the close of evidence, the jury sentenced Price to life imprisonment.
The Texas Penal Code provides for a life sentence for the aggravated sexual assault of a child if a defendant has been previously convicted of a number of different offenses, including indecency with a child.
“These cases are always difficult for the victims and we appreciate this young victim’s cooperation that allowed us to go forward with this very emotional jury trial,” Inman said.
Sheriff Blackburn said he appreciated the jury’s decision.
“I think it was a very fitting sentence, and I want to say ‘thank you’ to the Collingsworth County jury,” Blackburn said. “I think Bryan Price is a very sick individual who needs to be locked up for the rest of his life.”
Blackburn told the Enterprise that Price will be eligible for parole in 30 years.
The sheriff also said Price is facing an additional aggravated sexual assault charge in Donley County with the same victim, and he hopes the district attorney will pursue that charge and “stack the sentences” so that Price never gets out of prison.
After the sentence by Messer, allocution statements were provided by both the victim’s mother and the victim, which was read by Hattie Sanderson, the crime victim’s assistance coordinator for the 100th Judicial District.
Both statements focused on the fact that the one person who should have been protecting the victim, the biological father, was the one person causing her the most harm.
H’wick looks for leaders
By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise
The end may be near for the city government of Howardwick if people don’t get involved with their community.
This is the word from Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Hubbard who says the city needs people to step up and run for office this year to keep the city going.
Currently, Howardwick is operating with just four aldermen after Tanis McMories left the board last year and Del Essary resigned as mayor over a year ago.
Hubbard, the city’s mayor pro tem, has retained his voting power on the board by not stepping up to fill Essary’s position.
Officials say the city has been troubled by a lack of people willing to take an interest and either run for office or be appointed to office.
Last year’s city election drew only one candidate for, at that time, three vacant aldermen’s positions, and no candidates for Essary’s unexpired term, resulting in the election being canceled.
Hubbard says if no one runs this year, the board will not have a quorum come May, and legal advisors have told him that will mean the city government would effectively be dissolved.
“We will have to lock the doors, the state will come in here and pay the bills, and there will no longer be a City of Howardwick,” Hubbard said. “There will be no mowing, no trash service, no fire department, and no regulations at all.”
Howardwick City Hall reports three people have picked up applications for office, but filing for those positions won’t begin until January 30.
The city will have a town hall meeting next Tuesday, January 29, at 7 p.m. in Howardwick City Hall to discuss the community’s future and try to attract people to serve on the board.
Hubbard says he believes his community will rally and have people fill the open positions, but he wants them to know the situation.
“I want them to be aware of what’s going on, and it’s time for someone to step up and pick up the slack,” he said.
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