Morgan Wheatly

With just more than a week to go in filing, 12 candidates have stepped up to take positions on six local boards, but six seats have not yet drawn candidates.

As the February 17 filing deadline approaches next week, there have been no contested races emerge as of Tuesday afternoon.

At the City of Clarendon, Mayor Sandy Skelton has signed up for re-election, and Britton Hall has signed up for one of two positions open on the city council.

Howardwick has one incumbent, Alderman Eric Riddle, signed up so far with two board positions and the mayor’s seat available.

All of the incumbents have signed up for re-election at the City of Hedley, including Aldermen Carrie Butler, Kathy Spier, and Tonya Metcalf for full terms and Alderman Guy Watt for the remainder of the unexpired term he is serving.

All three incumbents have filed for re-election on the Donley County Hospital District Board. Those officials are Wayne Tubbs – Place One, Jeff Robertson – Place Two, and Melinda McAnear – Place Three.

Hedley ISD has had two candidates file, incumbent trustees Cindy Lambert and Troy Monroe. A third position is also open.

Clarendon ISD has not had anyone sign up with two board positions up for election.

All local boards are elected at-large, but hospital board candidates must file for a specific place on the ballot.

Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 6, 2017.

Clarendon and Hedley students could start back to class earlier this fall as those schools become what the state calls “Districts of Innovation.”

School officials say becoming a District of Innovation simply allows more local control and more flexibility when it comes to scheduling and setting calendars.

Clarendon ISD Superintendent Mike Norrell said the designation is an option schools can pursue under House Bill 1842 that was approved two years ago.

The state doesn’t have to approve a district’s decision to become a District of Innovation. The district simply follows a procedure to inform the state of its decision.

“Becoming a District of Innovation gives us greater local control and allows us more flexibility to tailor programs and procedures, the calendar for example, in more innovative ways to the needs of our students, staff, parents, and community,” Norrell said.

Hedley ISD Superintendent Colby Waldrop said the HISD Board of Trustees approved becoming a District of Innovation last month and that his employees are in favor of the idea, and he says Hedley will look at starting school about a week earlier than the state calls for.

“It just puts too much pressure later in the year if we can’t start about two weeks before Labor Day,” Waldrop said. “We need more class time before the test than after the test.”

Clarendon ISD will hold a public hearing at 4 p.m. next Wednesday, February 15, to get citizens’ feedback before trustees give final approval to becoming a District of Innovation, Norrell said. If CISD chooses that option, the school calendar will also adopt an earlier start date.

“We want to be able to balance the semesters better,” Norrell said.

Both Clarendon and Hedley have already taken advantage of another law, House Bill 2610, that changed the requirement from a school year comprising 180 days of instruction to one that is comprised of 75,600 minutes. That change also gave more local control over scheduling and district calendars.

In Clarendon, the school has adopted more half-days, including one at the end of each semester and one at the end of each six-weeks grading period, to give teachers time to enter grades.

Norrell said becoming a District of Innovation would give CISD more opportunities to do things like that while keeping the last day of school where it is at the end of May. Norrell said the new freedoms also allow Clarendon to have more three-day weekends during the year.

Hedley took a different approach to meeting their 75,600-minutes requirement. Waldrop said HISD lengthened each school day by 15 minutes and shaved six days off the school calendar.

“We get out about a week before Clarendon does for summer,” Waldrop said.

Both superintendents say their schools studied the District of Innovation concept carefully and consulted with other schools before pursuing the designation.

“We looked at this for a while and couldn’t see any negatives,” Norrell said.

In addition to calendar flexibility, Districts of Innovation have a bit more freedom to locally certify people to teach in certain instances, Norrell said. A designation as a District of Innovation lasts for five years.

Clarendon CISD has announced that there are two opportunities for parents to be directly involved in the local school this month.

The first is the annual “Our Bronco Parents Matter Survey” that the district uses to make decisions on services they provide for students.

School officials believe parent involvement in Clarendon CISD is key for the success of students.  In order to understand the school’s effectiveness in building parental partnerships, they encourage people to participate and give feedback.

This year the school has two survey methods available – online or printed versions – in each of the district’s campuses.  Take a moment to fill out the confidential survey which will be available until February 17.

The second opportunity is a presentation by Dennis Eichelbaum, of the Educational Law Firm Eichelbaum, Wardell, Hansen, Powell, & Mehl, P.C.,  who will conduct a Social Media Training for CISD staff and interested parents and community members on Monday, February 13, from 3:45-5:00 p.m. in the CHS Auditorium.  No students will be permitted during this presentation.  Junior high and high school students will attend sessions at 1:00 and 2:15 earlier that day.

The school appreciates the community’s continued support and involvement in the school.

The City of Clarendon has gotten some breathing room on federal requirements to upgrade City Hall, according to information presented as last Thursday’s regular meeting of the City Council.

Officials had been informed before the New Year that a condition of USDA funding for water system improvements would be the total compliance of City Hall with the Americans With Disabilities Act. An ADA assessment of the building then led to projections of $100,000 to $200,000 that could be needed to upgrade the 1918 building.

Further discussions with USDA, however, has resulted in more flexibility in those requirements, City Administrator David Dockery told aldermen last week.

Dockery said USDA will give the city three years to bring the building into compliance, provided that the city develops a plan and a budget to meet certain objectives each year. Additionally, requirements calling for electrical switches and receptacles to be made ADA complicate were eliminated entirely, which resulted in about $40,000 in potential savings, the administrator said.

As the first step in making plans and developing a budget for the ADA compliance work, aldermen approved a $2,100 proposal from the architectural firm of Playa Design Studios in Amarillo. Playa’s work will allow the first upgrades to be planned for in the 2018 fiscal year and will allow the city to continue with its USDA funded water system improvements.

In other city business, aldermen approved the audit report for fiscal year 2016 as presented by Foster & Lambert, approved a backup animal control agreement with the City of Pampa, and approved changes to the city’s employee handbook.

The council met closed session with the city’s attorney regarding a tort claim. Following the closed session, the aldermen approved a motion to allow the city attorney to negotiate in the case.

Aldermen approved a motion to call a general election for the positions of mayor and two aldermen on May 6, 2017. Britton Hall at that time had filed to run for alderman, and Mayor Sandy Skelton and Alderman Nathan Floyd announced their intentions to seek re-election.

In his administrator’s report, Dockery said that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality had notified the city of additional testing that will be required of the city’s water supply. Dockery said the notice came about because water wells were brought online by Greenbelt Water Authority during a drought declaration. With the lifting of that declaration, certain requirements that were previously exempted must now be met and therefore additional tests are required.

The district court heard six pleas when it convened in Clarendon on Monday, January 23.

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

Matthew Eugene Lucas was placed on probation for a period of two years for the Class A misdemeanor offense of possession of marihuana.  Lucas pleaded guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication for the offense.

Lucas, 27 from Bedford, was arrested in Donley County for the offense that took place on May 15, 2016 by DPS Trooper Lynn Mays.  Lucas plead to an information filed by the State on October 21, 2016.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Lucas is required to pay $458 in court costs, a $4,000 fine upfront, $180 restitution, and complete 100 hours of community service. If Lucas violates probation, he could face up to one year in the Donley County Jail.

Danny Wayne Mullins was convicted for the third degree felony offense of driving while intoxicated 3rd or more and was sentenced to 10 years in the Institutional Division of TDCJ, but the sentence was probated for a period of three years.

Mullins, 43, from Clarendon, was arrested in Donley County for the offense that took place on August 7, 2016 by DPS Trooper Justin Dillman. Mullins was indicted by a Donley County Grand Jury on October 3, 2016.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Mullins is required to pay $573 in court costs, a $3,000 fine, $60 lab fee, complete 200 hours of community service, and all DWI requirements under Chapter 49.

Cesar Bello was convicted for the third degree felony offense of driving while intoxicated 3rd or more and was sentenced to two years in the Institutional Division of TDCJ.

Bello, 42, from Dumas, was arrested in Donley County for the offense that took place on August 12, 2016 by DPS Trooper Kellan Roberts. Bello was indicted by a Donley County Grand Jury on December 12, 2016.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Bello is required to pay $573 in court costs and a $60 lab fee.

Rickey Lewis Row was convicted for the third degree felony offense of driving while intoxicated 3rd or more and was sentenced to four years in the Institutional Division of TDCJ.

Row, 58, from Clarendon, was arrested in Donley County for the offense that took place on October 15, 2016 by DPS Trooper Chad Baize. Row was indicted by a Donley County Grand Jury on December 12, 2016. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Row is required to pay $573 in court costs.

Donnie Ray Matthews was placed on probation for a period of one year for the Class A misdemeanor offense of deadly conduct.  Matthews pleaded guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication for the offense.

Matthews, 57 from Memphis, was arrested in Donley County for the offense that took place on May 29, 2016 by DPS Trooper Kellan Roberts.  Matthews was indicted by a Donley County Grand Jury on October 3, 2016.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Matthews is required to pay $573 in court costs, a $4,000 fine, $60 restitution, and complete 100 hours of community service. If Matthews violates probation, he could face up to one year in the Donley County Jail.

Devin Shay Lambert was placed on probation for a period of ten years for the second degree felony offense of sexual assault of a child. Lambert pleaded guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication for the offense.

Lambert, 18 from Shamrock, was arrested in Hall County for the offense that took place on June 1, 2016 by Memphis Police Chief Chris Jolly.  Lambert was indicted by a Hall County Grand Jury on December 14, 2016.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Lambert is required to pay $381 in court costs, a $1,000 fine, complete 300 hours of community service, and register as a sex offender. If Lambert violates probation, he could face up to 20 years in the Institutional Division of TDCJ.

The Best Western Plus Red River Inn has received the Best Western Chairman’s Award, the hotel chain’s highest honor for outstanding quality standards.

The Chairman’s Award recognizes Best Western International hotels with a cleanliness and maintenance score in the top five percent of more than 2,100 properties in North America. Hotels must also meet Best Western’s requirements for design and high customer service scores to qualify for the award.

“Receiving the Chairman’s Award from Best Western is a tremendous honor,” said Steve Hall, General Manager.  “It recognizes our commitment to providing accommodations of the highest quality for visitors to this area.  Our entire staff works diligently on a daily basis to achieve this level of excellence. We are proud of what we have accomplished and proud to be part of this community.”