Morgan Wheatly

Gov. Greg Abbott wants the targeted killing of a police officer to be deemed a hate crime in Texas and urged lawmakers to send him such a bill to sign during next year’s legislative session.
Abbott announced Monday his plan to lobby for adding his Police Protection Act to Texas law. Along with extending hate crime protections to law enforcement, the measure would increase criminal penalties for any crimes in which the victim is a law enforcement officer and “create a culture of respect for law enforcement by organizing a campaign to educate young Texans on the value law enforcement officers bring to their communities,” according to a statement from Abbott’s office.
Abbott’s proposal follows weeks of targeted killings of police officers and growing tension over disproportionate encounters between black Americans and law enforcement. In the most recent event, Gavin Long, 29, of Missouri fatally shot three police officers in Baton Rouge on Sunday, according to Louisiana officials.
On July 7, Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, opened fire on officers in downtown Dallas, where protestors had assembled to protest the recent deaths of two black men by officers in Louisiana and Minnesota.
“At a time when law enforcement officers increasingly come under assault simply because of the job they hold, Texas must send a resolute message that the State will stand by the men and women who serve and protect our communities,” Abbott said Monday in a statement.
Abbott’s proposal comes after US Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would make killing a police officer a federal crime.
Under that federal proposal, someone who killed or conspired or attempted to kill a public safety officer, a federally funded law enforcement officer or a federal judge would be eligible for the death penalty as well as a mandatory minimum 30-year-sentence for murder and 10 years for attempted murder, according to Cornyn’s office. Cornyn’s bill also would create additional federal crimes for fleeing a state to avoid prosecution for such offenses or for assaulting an officer.

Turning a page in the history books, Tyler Harper, from Clarendon pitched to Alabama during the Southwest Regional Tournament held in Pampa last weekend.
Tyler, a member of the High Plains West Minor League All-Stars, and his teammates are the only High Plains team to ever get to go to the Southwest Regional tournament.

High Plains All Star teams are made up of members from Clarendon, Claude, White Deer, and Panhandle. The minor leaguers have had a successful season, winning first place in the Perryton Tournament June 18 and 19, winning District Championship at Gruver on June 23-26, and receiving third place in the State Championship Tournament June 30-July 3.
The High Plains All Star West team, coached by Justin Brannon, Andy Conrad and James Blanford, were invited to compete in the Southwest Regional Tournament, and were the only team from Texas to win a game during the Regional tournament.
Teams competing in the tournament were from Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The winner of the Southwest Regional Tournament will go to the Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth League World Series on August 4-12 in Palm Beach Garden, Florida. The team ended their season with a 13-4 record.
High Plains West were successful over Plainview in game one, and lost to Alexander City, Ala., in game two, and also lost to East Central, Miss., in game three.
Members of the team are Jayden Blanford from Claude, Blaine Brannon from Claude, Braygon Conrad from Claude, Dawson Ensey from Claude, Tyler Harper from Clarendon, Luke Knox from Claude, Broxton Robinson from Panhandle, Rush Waltersheid from Panhandle, Alex Warren from Claude, Brodie Weathers from White Deer, Aiden Whitaker from Claude, and Kyler Young from Panhandle.

One year after an anonymous benefactor offered a $500,000 challenge grant to help Clarendon build a water recreation facility, slow but steady progress is being made toward meeting that goal, city officials say.

City Administrator David Dockery says the project is about to enter its most critical point – fundraising.

“The next phase will be the most important and will determine whether we get the facility, whether we can match the challenge, and what the facility will look like,” Dockery says.

A city-appointed steering committee spent several months evaluating two different locations for the project before voting in April to select property already owned by the city on the southeast corner of Fourth and Kearney Streets, east of the Post Office.

Prior to that, the committee had considered the old Texas Saddlery building (or red school building) located south of Prospect Park and even had a professional evaluation of the building before deciding not to proceed with that site

The downtown site was selected for several reasons, among which were the fact that it is already owned by the city, the fact that it is connected with the city’s park by a lighted walking trail (making it eligible for a state park grant), and its proximity to the central business district.

With site selection completed, the committee then met in May to consider three preliminary designs submitted by Waters Edge, the same design firm that worked on the Wellington Aquatic Venue. The committee’s initial reactions to those designs were relayed back to the designer, and a second meeting was held last week.

The committee met in conjunction with a called meeting of the city council last Wednesday, July 6, to discuss the project with designer Dave Schwartz of Waters Edge.

Dockery says that meeting helped focus what the committee wanted to see as the size of the pool – about 4,500 square feet of water area – and helped narrow down what amenities are to be considered. Schwartz is taking the committee’s suggestions and is expected to submit another preliminary drawing within about 30 days.

The committee is looking at a project that will cost about $2 million, Dockery said.

Meanwhile, the city council this Thursday will consider approving a Master Park Improvement Plan that documents public support for some type of water recreation facility connected to the park.

The document, prepared by the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, is one of the necessary first steps in the city applying for matching funds from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for the water recreation project.

The city is planning to apply for the state funds in 2017, and fundraising will have to be done ahead of that, Dockery said.

Alderman Sandy Skelton, who chairs the steering committee for the project, agrees that the next steps are critical.

“I appreciate the work of the Steering Committee over the past year,” Skelton said. “A great deal of research has been completed and we are close to beginning the all-important phase of fundraising to include local citizens (current and former), Donley County land owners, foundations, grants, and others.”

“Once funded, Clarendon will have a long awaited water recreation facility of its own,” Skelton said.

Those interested in making a donation to the project at this point can contact Dockery at City Hall or tax deductible contributions can be mailed to the Donley County Community Fund, PO Box 906, Clarendon, TX 79226, and note “water recreation project” in the memo.

Donley County Commissioners approved a revised tax abatement agreement with EDF Renewable Energy Monday that could result in additional money coming for the county.

Judge John Howard says the new agreement provides for EDF to pay the county $100,000 per year more if the company pursues Phase Two of the original Salt Fork Wind Project.

Phase One project originally called for 126 megawatts of wind generated power to be built in Donley County, and 54 megawatts are planned for Phase Two.

Howard said the original agreement would have capped out on the payments to the county but several legal factors opened up the possibility of renegotiating the terms, which resulted in the opportunity for added money to the county.

In other county business, the court approved the budgets of District Attorney Luke Inman’s office.

Insurance proposals from the Texas Association of Counties were considered and approved. The county will see a two percent increase in health insurance premiums and get a rebate on the current fiscal year in the amount of about $39,000.

The county budget was on the agenda for Monday, but no action was taken. Judge Howard says the county will probably see a modest increase in taxes in the new budget due to increased state mandates.

Taylon Knorpp of Clarendon and Grace Kiker of Wellington journeyed to Washington, DC, June 8-17, courtesy of Greenbelt Electric Cooperative.

The all-expense paid trip was part of Texas rural electric cooperatives’ Government-in-Action Youth Tour, during which students visited national landmarks and met their congressional representatives.

US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) said of the 15 young people making the journey from District 13: “Being around such bright young students increases my confidence in the leaders of tomorrow we have coming out of Texas.”

Knorpp, who will be a senior at Clarendon High School this fall, said the journey was “the trip of a lifetime” and said that he made great friends with the other students from Texas.

“We began viewing the beautiful monuments erected to commemorate the most important people in United States history,” Knorpp said. “We stood where MLK gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. We stood at the base and awed at the gigantic Jefferson, Washington, and Lincoln memorials. We walked through in amazement at Washington’s home on Mount Vernon and the Smithsonians. We relished in the pure history radiating from the Declaration of Independence in the National Archives.

“And my personal favorite was the Arlington Cemetery, where we were able to witness the Changing of the Guards and the Wreath Laying Ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. That compiled with the grave sites of the Kennedy family, and the rows upon rows of white headstones for all of the soldiers who have died serving our country was truly a humbling and unforgettable experience.

“By the end of the trip, I couldn’t imagine living life without all of the beautiful people I befriended on Youth Tour, and I will never forget all of the breathtaking sights I was fortunate enough to see with my own eyes. I am beyond grateful to Greenbelt Electric for allowing me this opportunity. I don’t care how how cliché it may sound now, the only accurate way to describe Youth Tour is by saying it is the trip of a lifetime.”

Clarendon is riding a roller coaster when it comes to sales tax revenue this season with the latest allocation from Texas Comptroller Glen Hegar showing a gain for the month.

The city’s July allocation was up 6.45 percent at $29,835.93 compared to $28,027.09 for the same period one year ago.

That’s a sharp difference from the June allocation which was down more than 12 percent but not as positive as the city’s May figure that came in with an increase of more than 15 percent.

Overall, Clarendon is still running behind for the calendar year-to-date with total sales tax revenue at $218,538.68, a decrease of 1.62 percent compared to the same time in 2015.

Howardwick also continues to struggle with sales taxes for the month down 24.27 percent at $879.13 and running behind 4.48 percent for the year-to-date at $7,216.10.

Hedley is up 44.39 percent for the month at $261.46 compared to $181.07 last July, and that city is up 18.13 percent for the year at $4,107.11.

These allocations are based on sales made in May by businesses that report tax monthly.

Across the state, Hegar delivered $624 million in local sales tax allocations for July, 2.3 percent more than in July 2015.

“The cities of Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth saw noticeable increases in sales tax allocations,” Hegar said. “Energy-centric cities such as Houston and Midland continue to see decreases in sales tax allocations.”

Hegar said the state received $2.2 billion in sales tax revenue for the month, down 0.8 percent compared to one year ago.

“Sales tax revenue growth continues to be hobbled by reduced spending in oil- and gas-related sectors,” Hegar said. “Despite the recent increase in oil prices, spending is below even the reduced levels seen a year ago.”

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in June 2016 is down 1.9 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Sales tax revenue is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 56 percent of all tax collections.

Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes, motor fuel taxes and oil and natural gas production taxes also are large revenue sources for the state.

In June 2016, Texas collected the following revenue from those taxes:

Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes – $421.7 million, down 0.1 percent from June 2015; Motor fuel taxes – $295.1 million, up 7.6 percent from June 2015; and Oil and natural gas production taxes – $205.1 million, down 31.8 percent from June 2015.