Morgan Wheatly

Clarendon College is one of 67 colleges and universities selected nationally to participate in the US Department of Education’s Second Chance Pell pilot program, which will allow incarcerated Americans to access Pell Grants to pursue post-secondary education.

Only seven colleges in Texas were named for the program, and CC is the only college in the state selected west of I-35.

“This is a great opportunity that will allow motivated students to begin or continue their educational goals,” CC President Dr. Robert Riza said. “The recidivism rate for inmates that complete educational credentials is amazing, if they achieve their GED, or college degree, while incarcerated, their odds of returning go down into the single digits. This program allows those inmates a chance to better themselves once released.”

The Second Chance program launched in July 2015 as an experiment to test whether participation in high-quality education programs increases after expanding access to financial aid for incarcerated individuals. The pilot program will allow eligible incarcerated Americans to receive Pell Grants and pursue postsecondary education with the goal of helping them get jobs and support their families when they are released.

Clarendon College began offering courses again in the prison in 2014 after a prior program ended in 2011 due to action by the state Legislature. The College currently has about 50 students enrolled at the Jordan Unit in Pampa, Texas, and plans to expand offerings to the T.L. Roach Unit in Childress this fall. With this new experimental Second Chance program, CC expects to reach 100 Pell-eligible students in 2016-17.

“We are extremely excited to be one of seven institutions in the state to be chosen for this program,” Riza said. “We have been working hard with the units in Pampa and Childress to expand our course offerings and prepare for the Second Chance Pell Program, if it was approved. This is an initiative of extreme importance for the College.”

This announcement builds on the Obama Administration’s commitment to creating a fairer and more effective criminal justice system, reduce recidivism, and combat the impact of mass incarceration on families and communities through educational opportunity.

The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world with approximately 2.2 million people incarcerated in American prisons and jails. Hundreds of thousands of individuals are released annually from these facilities. A Department of Justice-funded 2013 study found that individuals who participated in correctional education were 43 percent less likely to return to prison within three years than those who did not participate in any correctional education programs.

“The evidence is clear. Promoting the education and job training for incarcerated individuals makes communities safer by reducing recidivism and saves taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration,” said US Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. “I applaud the institutions that have partnered to develop high-quality programs that will equip these students with invaluable learning. The knowledge and skills they acquire will promote successful reintegration and enable them to become active and engaged citizens.”

Experimental sites, such as the Second Chance Pell pilot program, allow the Department to test innovative practices in the delivery of Pell Grant dollars and use the resulting evidence to inform improvements in policies and processes in federal student aid. Under the experimental sites authority of section 487A(b) of the Higher Education Act (HEA), the Secretary will waive existing financial aid rules that prohibit otherwise eligible students who are incarcerated from accessing Pell Grants. A 1994 Congressional change to the HEA eliminated Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals in Federal and state penal institutions.

Selected colleges and universities will partner with 141 federal and state penal institutions to enroll roughly 12,000 incarcerated students in educational and training programs. Through the Second Chance Pell pilot program, these institutions may provide Federal Pell Grants to qualified students who are incarcerated and are likely to be released within five years of enrolling in coursework.

 

Clarendon College’s Ashlee Estlack was elected as the secretary of the Texas Association of Community College Marketers (TACCM) during the group’s annual conference in Corpus Christi, June 12-14.

Estlack will serve as a member of the executive committee of association’s 15-member board during the next year. Additionally, she is serving on the statewide Communication Advisory Board for the Texas Association of Community Colleges.

CC President Robert Riza commended Estlack’s election and the role she is playing for community colleges on the state level.

“This is a reflection of the work Ashlee has done not only here at Clarendon College but also in getting our message out to legislative officials in the Panhandle and across the state,” Dr. Riza said. “We’re proud of her accomplishments and know she’ll do a great job representing the association.”

Topics addressed at this year’s TACCM conference focused on marketing and communication tools as well as issues facing the state’s 50 community colleges.

The Texas Association of Community College Marketers is a statewide consortium of marketing and public relations professionals for public community and technical colleges in Texas. The organization serves as a clearinghouse for information, promotes public community and technical colleges in Texas, and serves in an advisory capacity to other statewide organizations.

 

It was the same subject with not much of a different outcome when the Clarendon City Council met last Thursday, June 23, and discussed the old Neece house at 602 Bugbee Avenue.

Owner Linda Lewis again appeared before the council to discuss work that has been done and work that is planned for the property, and aldermen again expressed little satisfaction with the progress that has been shown.

The house was facing a condemnation process in 2014 before Lewis got a grace period from the city to address code compliance issues.

Last July, she successfully avoided the condemnation process by rectifying certain dangerous conditions on the property under what was then termed Phase One of improvements to the property. Lewis is now at the end of the first year of Phase Two, which has been previously described as a three-year plan to rehabilitate the property.

Mayor Larry Hicks said the city council took no formal action on the property last week but did urge Lewis to keep the property cleaned up.

In other city news, aldermen approved a request from the Christ’s Kids Ministry for $1,000 from the city’s community programs budget line to support a summer lunch program. City Administrator David Dockery said the program feeds as many as 150 meals per day and costs about $8,000 to operate.

Aldermen also approved a budget adjustment to hire a new road grader operator for 20 hours per week for the rest of the fiscal year.

The council approved applying for a Community Development Block Grant for waste water improvements, specifically to improve lift stations and deteriorating collection pipes. City officials say, however, that there is little chance of receiving the grant because the city has not raised sewer rates and has not raised the tax rate more than the effective rate recently. Both of those factors will negatively affect the scoring of the city’s application.

The council also met in closed session to review the job performance of City Secretary Machiel Covey, and she was commended for her work when the council reconvened in open session, the mayor said.

 

Clarendon College’s Wyatt Casper won the 2016 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association saddle bronc riding title this weekend at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo.

Wyatt turned in a score of 73.5 during the final round Saturday night and had a four-ride total of 290 points.

In addition to saddle bronc riding, Wyatt competed in team roping heading with his heeling partner, Trevor A. Kirchenschlager of Ranger College. Together they won the second round with a time of 5.0 seconds.

After the team roping round and the saddle bronc riding national championship, Wyatt finished third in the men’s all-around.

Casper already gave Clarendon College national attention earlier this year when he rode in the one-day AMERICAN event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on February 28.

The Balko, Okla., native grew up roping and competed in team roping and tie-down roping before starting in bucking competitions three years ago.

In an interview with Ted Harbin before his AMERICAN ride, Casper credited Clarendon College Rodeo Coach Bret Franks with a large measure of his success.

“He’s been a great role model to me and taught me everything I know about bronc riding,” Casper said of his coach.

Franks said Casper has natural talent and called him a leader on the CC rodeo team.

 

Clarendon College received word last week that it has been fully reaccredited by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges.

The official decision of the SACS board came last Thursday and was announced at the regular meeting of the CC Board of Regents, bringing a close to the lengthy decennial accreditation process.

“I was very pleased by the report,” said CC President Robert Riza. “There were no negative remarks and no probation.”

The college began work on its ten-year accreditation review in 2014 and completed in 13 months what most schools spend 2½ or three years doing, Dr. Riza said.

“This is the result of a lot of hard work especially by Executive Vice President Tex Buckhaults, former Vice President of Instruction Roger Schustereit, Marketing Coordinator Ashlee Estlack, and QEP Chairman Brian Fuller,” the president said.

In October, a ten-member SACS on-site team spent three days in Clarendon reviewing 27 compliance issues an off-site team had flagged six months earlier and found only two issues that still needed to be addressed. One of those was development of a facilities master plan, and the other concerned hours and staffing levels in the college library. The first has been addressed, and the second will be satisfied when SACS receives a monitoring report on the library one year from now.

Accreditation by the regional association is important because it ensures that credits earned by CC students transfer to other colleges and universities and it also ensures CC is able to receive federal financial aid funds.

In other college news, regents approved purchasing approximately $47,000 for nursing lab equipment in Childress using grant funds, authorized Riza and Athletic Director Brad Vanden Boogaard to negotiate with firms who submitted athletic insurance proposals, and accepted bids on tax delinquent properties.

The board also ratified the hiring of Spenser Shields as Administrative Assistant to the Executive Vice President, Debra McCoy as an administrative assistant in Childress, Connor McKowen as the Assistant Livestock Judging Coach, Sharah Brown as a tutor at the Childress Center, and Bruno Castel as a Spanish instructor and Resident Life Coordinator.

 

More activities have been added to the lineup for Clarendon’s 139th annual Saints’ Roost Celebration on July 1, 2, and 4.

Activities recently updated on the schedule include a washer pitching tournament, a flag retirement ceremony, and the Depression Luncheon.

Most of this year’s activities will be happening on Saturday, July 2, as organizers hope keeping the main celebration on a Saturday will allow more people to participate and enjoy the festivities.

As the celebration begins Friday, July 1, a Depression Luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Crossties Ministry Center next to the Library on Kearney Street. The Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association then opens its Ranch Rodeo Friday night, at 7:30 at the COEA Arena followed by a dance at 9 p.m. featuring the music of Parker McCollum.

Saturday, July 2, will follow the schedule of activities established last year, beginning with the Arts & Craft Fair on the square at 9 a.m. The Craft Fair is sponsored by the Donley County 4H, and booth space is $25. Booth space needs to be reserved by June 27 by calling 874-2141.

The Chamber of Commerce’s Old Settlers Reunion and the Kids’ Bicycle & Tricycle Parade also begin at 9 a.m. The Kids’ Parade will line up and register at 8:30 at Keith Floyd’s shop at Third and Sully.

Line up for the Herring Bank Parade will also start at 9 a.m. on Sixth Street north of Prospect Park. At 10:00, the parade will then take its usual route – north on Kearney to Third Street, west on Third to Sully, south in front of the Courthouse, and then wind back to the ball parks.

The Herring Bank Parade features $850 in cash prizes with $200 available for the best float, $100 for the best car or truck entry, $100 for the best animal or riding unit, $100 for the best tractor or farm equipment entry, and $100 for the best “other” entry. From those first place winners, judges will select a Grand Prize winner who will receive an additional $250. Parade winners will be announced at 1 p.m.

Entry forms for the Kids’ Parade and the Herring Bank Parade are available in this issue or at the Clarendon Visitor Center at Mulkey Theatre.

Ed Montana will be handling the parade and celebration announcing and will also be performing live music during the festivities on the square.

Following the parade, the Al Morrah Shrine Club will have its annual barbecue lunch at approximately 11 a.m. and will serve until the food is gone. Tickets will be $10 per plate.

The Clarendon Lions Club will again have Bounce Houses and Water Slides at the Lions Hall from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A five-dollar wrist band will let kids bounce and slide to their hearts’ content all day.

The annual Henson’s Turtle Race will be held on 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The COEA’s Ranch Rodeo will continue the celebration Saturday night at 7:30 with Flatland Cavalry headlining the dance at 9:00.

Rodeo box seating tickets are still available for all three nights of rodeo for $150. Call Theresa Shelton for 654-2993 for information.

Activities for Monday, July 4, begin with a flag retirement ceremony hosted by the Clarendon Girl Scouts on the courthouse lawn at 10:00 a.m. The public is invited to this solemn occasion.

The Clarendon Country Club will hold an 18-hole scramble Monday afternoon at 1 p.m., and a Washer Pitching Tournament will be held at the COEA Arena grounds with sign-ups at 1 p.m. and the tournament starting at 2 p.m. There is a $30 fee per two-man washer team.

The celebration closes Monday night with the Junior Ranch Rodeo at the COEA Arena at 7:30 p.m.

To add your activity to this listing, call the Enterprise at 874-2259.

 

The Clarendon Enterprise received two first place plaques last Saturday during the Texas Press Association’s Summer Convention in Montgomery.

The Enterprise competed in Division 9 this year and received two third place awards in addition to the plaques.

The paper placed first in Feature Photos by Roger Estlack, Morgan Wheatly, and Matthew Martinez. The winning entry was comprised of three photos featuring the Mulkey Theatre.

The Enterprise’s Fall/Winter Welcome Guide won first for Special Sections, eliciting strong praise from contest judges.

Sports Photos by Morgan Wheatly and Roger Estlack took third place, and the Enterprise also received third place for News Photos by Ella Estlack and Roger Estlack.

Sweepstakes in Division 9 went to the Hico News Review.

This year 148 newspapers submitted 1,530 entries in the Texas Better Newspaper Contest. The contest is broken down into 10 divisions in which newspapers compete against papers of similar circulation size. Eighteen papers competed in Division 9.

Attending the convention to represent the Enterprise were Roger, Ben, and Ella Estlack