Morgan Wheatly

By Ted Harbin

Many would love the opportunity to win $1 million.

Wyatt Casper has that opportunity.

The Clarendon College sophomore will ride at The AMERICAN, a one-day rodeo that will take place Sunday, February 28, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The event offers a purse of more than $2 million, with $1 million being paid to the winner or winners who earned their way via a series of qualifiers. That’s where Casper’s opportunity lies.

“I don’t know if it’s set in on how big of a deal it is,” said Casper, a member of the Clarendon College rodeo team from Balko, Okla. “I’m confident in my bronc riding, and I think I can compete with all the best guys there. I’m sure that riding in front of that big of a crowd it will be real nerve-racking.”

It’s all a bit of a whirlwind for the young cowboy, who grew up roping at his Oklahoma Panhandle home. He has competed in team roping and tie-down roping all his life and actually just started riding bucking horses three years ago as a way to increase his opportunities for all-around championships.

“It was a pretty goofy deal,” he said. “They had two bronc riders (in his high school rodeo region) in the first semester, and the pot filled up to about $700. That’s what motivated me to start riding. I’ve roped my whole life, ever since I could walk.

“Rodeo is all I wanted to do when I was little bitty. My parents didn’t start roping until they met each other, and my dad and grandpa picked it up as a hobby. I’m almost a first-generation rodeo cowboy.”

He’s taken to it well. For the Clarendon College rodeo team, he sits third in the Southwest Region saddle bronc riding standings and is eighth in heading. His primary focus before advancing to The AMERICAN was to qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo. Now his eyes are set firmly on the top prize available.

“It’s a chance at a million dollars,” Casper said. “It’s what everybody hopes to do, and it could really set you up for the rest of your life.”

In The AMERICAN’s inaugural run in 2014, bareback rider Richmond Champion became the first cowboy to win the $1 million prize. Most of the field is made up of invited contestants, and none of the seeded cowboys and cowgirls is eligible for the $1 million. Champion was the only non-seeded winner in 2014.

A year ago, there were two, bareback rider Taylor Price and tie-down roper Reese Reimer. They split the top prize. They, along with the other event winners, also won $100,000. That kind of money great incentive for any rodeo competitor.

While the saddle bronc riding field at The AMERICAN will feature many of the top cowboys in the game, Casper has had some tremendous lessons, especially from Clarendon rodeo coach Bret Franks, a three-time qualifier in saddle bronc riding to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

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

For his part, the longtime cowboy-turned-coach realizes there’s something special in Casper, who is a big part of the school’s rodeo team.

“He’s got a natural talent, and he approaches things very mental,” Franks said. “He was a high school quarterback, so he’s always been a leader. He’s definitely our leader.”

That mentality can go a long way in rodeo. Not only does it take tremendous athleticism to compete in the sport, it takes a strong mind and a willingness to overcome any challenge that comes a cowboy’s way.

“There’s nothing better than getting tapped off on a bronc,” Casper said of matching the rhythm of the horse’s bucking action with a strong spur stroke. “Everybody else tries to stay away from bucking horses, and I try to ride them.”

In just a few days, he will try to ride a couple for his chance at a million dollars.

 

Frances Skelton was honored by the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce with the 2015 Saints’ Roost Award for her lifetime of service and commitment to the community during the annual Chamber Awards Banquet last Thursday, February 11.

Man of the Year honors went to Bob Weiss, and Katherine Monroe was named the Woman of the Year. The Sandell Drive-In was named the Business of the Year.

The Saints’ Roost Award is the highest honor given annually by the Chamber to recognize a lifetime of volunteering and community service, and Mrs. Skelton was honored for doing just that. She has been a loyal member and volunteer at the First United Methodist Church, where she and her late husband helped organize the Fellowship Sunday School Class, which now bears their name. She was a charter member of the Clarendon Country Club and is a three-time past president of the Ladies Golf Association.

She is also an avid bridge and poker player. For many years following World War II, she was an election clerk in Donley County. And today, in her ninth decade, she continues to serve others by volunteering with the senior citizens center and delivering Meals on Wheels.

The Man of the Year for 2015 is Bob Weiss, who is involved in many activities and is always willing to lend a helping hand to a good cause. He’s a hard working member of the Saints’ Roost Museum board and a former member of the Chamber board. In 2015, he helped organize and revamp the Saints Roost Celebration parade. He also has been an integral member of the committee that plans the annual Mulkey Block Party and he was part of the team that has helped light the historic Donley County Courthouse for Christmas.

Nominations for Weiss summed it up best: “He’s always available to help Clarendon,” and “He is always ready to volunteer.”

Katherine Monroe is the Woman of the Year for 2015. She has a big heart for people who are hurting and wants to help them meet their needs. In the past she’s headed up school supply and coat drives for needy children and she’s also served has a local Girl Scout leader.

Monroe was specially nominated this year for her work with the Bread of Life food pantry. Along with a team of volunteers, she works tirelessly to make sure the needs of hungry families in the community are met. What started as an effort that served about 30 families has grown to the point that the Bread of Life serves more than 160 families each month, and Monroe is there, with her team, to make sure the truck from the High Plains food bank is unloaded, that things are sorted and organized, and that the people get what they need.

The Chamber of Commerce also started a new tradition this year of honoring a business that makes a significant contribution to the fabric of our community and named the Sandell Drive-In as its first Business of the Year.

The Sandell got its start 60 years ago when Gary and Nell Barnhill combined their daughters’ names and opened the drive-in. The Barnhills helped Donley County residents make lasting memories for 24 years before changing times and lifestyles darkened the Sandell’s movie screen, seemingly forever in 1984.

But in 2002, one local man had a vision of bringing the Sandell back to life. Now, thanks to John Morrow and his family, our families have something to do on summer weekends and Clarendon has a place to brag about. John, Vicki, Evie, Dillon, Katy, and other friends and family members don’t do it for the money. They operate the Sandell because of their love for this community.

The Chamber also recognized outstanding youth from Clarendon and Hedley.

The Young Woman of Year from Clarendon is Kendra Davis. She has been in Student Council for four years, was president her junior year and acting president for her senior year. She is a member of the National Honor Society and has been on the A Honor Roll every six weeks during her high school career. She participates in UIL Academics where she has qualified for regional journalism contests. She also serves as a trainer for the Bronco athletic teams.

The Young Woman of the Year from Hedley is Kelsey Wells. She has participated in cheerleading and served as a class officer for four years. She has been in one act play for three years and has participated in UIL and National Honor Society, and is an NHS officer this year. She’s also received several academic recognitions for her performance in the classroom. She has helped with the annual Hedley chicken barbecue for four years and the NHS canned food and toy drives for three years.

The Young Man of the Year from Clarendon is Chesson Sims, who has a knack for science. He’s medaled in the last seven UIL science meets he’s entered since the spring of 2014 and won first place overall science and in Chemistry for the last four invitational meets, was the 2015 overall science district champion and the 2015 district Chemistry champion, and placed second in the regional Chemistry contest in 2015. He has already qualified for induction into the CHS Science Hall of Fame and has received Honor Cs in Chemistry, and Research & Design, Physics, will likely receive one for Problems & Solutions this spring. He’s been nominated for the US Achievement Academy in Science for 2014, 2015, and 2016. He’s involved in theatre and One Act Play, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Assembly of God youth group. He was also a member of the Bronco football and basketball teams, and was named to the district first football team.

The Young Man of the Year from Hedley is Heath McCleskey, who has had a busy career at Hedley High School. He’s played football for three years and received all-district honors this year, and he’s played basketball for four years and has been a team captain his senior year. He’s been active in the NHS and is currently an officer of that body, he’s been active in the SWAT church youth group, and he’s active in FFA and participates in livestock judging competitions. He enjoys showing animals in stock shows, and he’s been an active participant in the annual Saints Roost Celebration rodeos.

This year’s Chamber banquet followed a Mardi Gras theme, and caterer Great Western Dining reports that it served 186 people at the event, which was held in the Bairfield Activity Center.

Texas humorist Tumbleweed Smith was the speaker for the evening and entertained the crowd with funny tales and hilarious quotes from interesting characters across the state before he closed with an inspiring passage about the people of the Texas Panhandle.

Tables were sponsored by Clarendon College, The Clarendon Enterprise, Herring Bank, the Donley County Senior Citizens Center, Floyd’s Automotive Supply, Donley County Farm Bureau – Virginia Patten, Jason Ward, and the Skelton family. Tumbleweed selected the Skelton table as having the best table decoration reflecting the banquet theme and the business. Diane Skelton received the ceremonial Mardi Gras necklace for her award.

This year’s corporate sponsors were Best Western Red River Inn, The Clarendon Enterprise, Greenbelt Electric Coop., GreenLight Gas, Lowe’s Family Center, and Pioneer General Contracting.

 

Clarendon’s sales tax revenues continued to slip this month, but Hedley and Howardwick saw increases in their numbers when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar made February allocations last week.

These allocations are based on sales made in December by businesses that report tax monthly; October, November and December sales by quarterly filers; and 2015 sales by businesses that report tax annually.

Clarendon’s figure this month was $39,061.65, down 6.44 percent compared to the same period last year. That brings the city’s calendar year-to-date total to $65,700.22, a decrease of 7.97 percent.

Hedley was up 26.14 percent this month to $1,256.46 and a year-to-date figure of $1,761.73, which is up 42.76 percent.

Howardwick’s revenue for the month was up 39.23 percent at $1,464.47, bringing that city’s year-to-date figure to $2,526.84, up 33.92 percent.

Other communities in the southeast Panhandle were mostly seeing postitive news in the comptroller’s February allocations.

Claude was up 6.87 percent, Memphis was up 15.84 percent, Wellington gained 5.97 percent, Childress climbed six percent higher, and Panhandle rose 4.25 percent.

Silverton and Shamrock, however, dropped, 7.57 percent and 16.87 percent respectively.

Across the state, Hegar sent local governments $867.1 million in sales tax allocations for February, 0.7 percent less than in February 2015.

“Energy-centric cities such as Odessa, Midland, Corpus Christi and Houston continued to see decreases in sales tax allocation,” Hegar said. “Other areas of the state helped to somewhat offset those losses as cities such as San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and Dallas saw moderate increases in allocations.”

State revenues are also hurting. Hegar said state sales tax revenue in January totaled $2.47 billion, down 4 percent compared to January 2015.

“As expected, reduced spending in oil and gas-related sectors resulted in a fall in total sales tax revenue,” Hegar said. “Collections from industries mainly driven by consumer spending, including retail trade, restaurants and services, continued to grow, as did receipts from the construction sector.

“I would also note the sales tax collections in January 2015 were a record high and represented a double-digit percentage increase over January 2014, meaning this month’s collections are being compared to unusually high collections from a year ago.”

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in January 2016 is down 2.8 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Sales tax revenue is the largest source of funding for the state budget, accounting for 56 percent of all tax collections.

 

Most local governments still had positions available for candidates early this week as the filing deadline looms this Friday, February 19.

Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 7, 2016.

The cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick; the Clarendon and Hedley school districts; the Clarendon College District; and the Donley County Hospital District all have board positions available this year.

The City of Clarendon was the reporting that it had candidates for every position available this year. Incumbent Aldermen Beverly Burrow, Larry Jeffers, and John Lockhart have all filed for re-election.

Clarendon College also has a full slate of candidates with Regents Ruth Robinson, Susie Shields, and Lon Adams all seeking re-election to their full terms. Darlene Spier has also filed to run for the remainder of the partial term she was appointed to.

Three positions in Hedley are expiring this year – the positions of mayor and two aldermen. Alderman Lonnie Roby has filed to run for mayor, and one citizen has turned in paperwork to run for office but has not decided whether to run for mayor or alderman.

Howardwick City Hall could not be reached Tuesday, but last week, city officials reported incumbent Alderman Mac Miller is seeking re-election. Eric Riddle had previously signed up to run for one of the three open positions but has withdrawn. Incumbents Robert Brewster and Sam Grider have not filed.

Clarendon ISD has three Trustee positions up this year, and incumbents Robin Ellis and Chuck Robertson are seeking re-election. Incumbent Jim Shelton had not filed as of Tuesday.

Hedley ISD has two incumbents that intend to seek re-election – Michael Metcalf and Billy Hall. Two other terms are also up, those of Aaron Harper and Lana Ritchie. There are two full terms and two partial terms available on the Hedley Board of Trustees this year.

The Donley County Hospital District has four two-year terms up this year. Those are currently held by Jan Farris – Place 4, Jennie Owens – Place 5, Lori Howard – Place 6, and Mark C. White – Place 7. As of Tuesday, only Owens had filed for re-election.

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

City positions and hospital board members serve two year terms, school board members serve three-year terms, and college regents’ terms are six years.