Morgan Wheatly

A new face is greeting drivers who push the boundaries of the speed limit in Donley County.

Deputy Miranda Betts joined the Donley County Sheriff’s Department as its new traffic officer effective June 1, continuing a lifelong passion she has had.

“Being in law enforcement is something I was always interested in from a young age,” Betts said.

The Burkburnett native graduated from Quanah High School in 2000 and joined the Army at the age of 17 where she spent eight years serving as an MP.

She rose to the rank of sergeant, and her military experience took to Missouri, Texas, Korea, and Kentucky before she left the service and entered civilian law enforcement in Louisville. Life eventually brought her back to the Texas Panhandle, and she joined the Childress Police Department in 2013.

She later met and married Grett Betts of Clarendon and moved here in 2014 but kept working in Childress.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said he had an opening for a deputy and Betts was the logical person to hire.

“She was living here, she has military and police experience, and I think the community will be very pleased with her conduct,” Blackburn said. “She is very professional.”

Betts’ duties mainly include working highway traffic and working accidents inside the city limits, and she will fill in wherever needed, she said.

Blackburn said the county is working to receive a grant that would actually pay for Betts position and the cost of her patrol truck for fiscal year 2017, but as it is, her job was already in the current budget.

Betts is the first female deputy to work in Donley County in more than 30 years, according to Blackburn. The first female deputy was hired in the 1970s by then sheriff Truett Berhens.

Even though she’s the only woman officer, Betts says she’s enjoying working with Blackburn’s department.

“It’s much more relaxed here than in Childress,” she said. “The guys seem to have adjusted well to me.”

Betts enjoys being a law officer because it gives her an opportunity to serve and help people.

“I always wanted to do something honorable with my life, and I like to think can do something positive,” she said.

 

Clarendon’s monthly sales tax revenue plummeted when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar distributed June allocations last week.

The city’s collection fell 12.04 percent to $30,692.02 compared to $34,897.06 for the same period one year ago.

The June figure brings Clarendon’s calendar year-to-date figure to $188,702.75, a drop of 2.78 percent.

June’s allocation was disappointing, especially after Clarendon’s May allocation was up more than 15 percent following several months of poor performance.

The current allocation is based on sales made in April by businesses that report tax monthly.

Statewide local sales taxes were down 1.8 percent at $618 million.

Hedley’s allocation was up from $278.86 one year ago to $291.99 this month, bringing that city up 16.68 percent for the year-to-date at $3,845.65.

Howardwick was up 1.08 percent at $922.10 but slightly behind for the year-to-date at $6,335.97, down 0.88 percent.

For the same period, Memphis dropped 10.27 percent to $23,390.31, Wellington rose 3.24 percent to $18,969.60, Clause was up 55.69 percent to $11,377.94, and Childress was down 7.15 percent to $82,751.42.

“Energy-centric cities such as Midland, Odessa and Corpus Christi continued to see decreases in sales tax allocations,” Hegar said. “Meanwhile, other areas of the state helped offset those losses as Austin, El Paso and Irving saw moderate increases in allocations.”

Larger area cities also saw mixed returns this month. Amarillo was up 1.45 percent, but Canyon was down 2.71 percent, Pampa was off 16.31 percent, and Plainview was down 8.49 percent.

A proposal to preserve historic county records was among the several agenda items considered by Donley County Commissioners at their regular meeting Monday, June 13.

County Clerk Fay Vargas presented a proposal from Data Preservation Solutions to conserve one county survey records book dating back to 1873. The proposal would have cost approximately $2,000 and would have been paid for from the Records Management Fund.

County Judge John Howard said commissioners took no action on the proposal but instead asked Vargas to solicit additional proposals and to include more than just the one book.

“We may do as many as ten books and might get a better price per book,” Howard said.

In other county business, the court approved a resolution opposing HB 2202, which created the state Department of Motor Vehicles Fund. The judge said the bill, which intends to take vehicle registrations online, would cost Donley County about $10,000 per year in revenue.

“Going online would probably be fine as long as the revenue still comes to the county,” Howard said.

Commissioners also accepted a bid on tax delinquent property at Howardwick, authorized a New York Life representative to present a life insurance option to county employees, and approved purchasing a used refrigerator for the Courthouse Annex.

The court voted in favor of installing a “Ring” video wireless doorbell for the main entrance of the Courthouse to admit probationers after courthouse hours. The system is already installed for the rear entry to the building, Howard said.

The county turned down a proposal of more than $2,000 to trim trees on the courthouse square and will instead trim out dead limbs on its own.

Commissioners also approved setting county fees for alcohol permits as follows: Package Store – $500, Beer Retailer’s Off Premise Permit – $60, Wine and Beer Retailer’s Permit – $175, and Wine and Beer Retailer’s Off Premise Permit – $60. The permits would be valid for two years.

County commissioners reviewed recommendations for upgrades to the courthouse elevator but took no action at this time.

Commissioners also met in called session last Wednesday, June 8, for a short agenda, which included the consideration of purchasing equipment.

The court approved buying a 2013 John Deere Wheel Loader, a 2016 Cat Skid Loader, and a 2000 Mac dump truck for a total cost of about $286,000 financed for five years at 2.25 percent interest.

Judge Howard said the county acted on an opportunity to purchase the idled equipment from the oil field at a drastically reduced price.