Morgan Wheatly

For five years the Bread of Life ministry has been feeding people’s bodies as well as their souls thanks to the faithful service of several volunteers, but the growing ministry also has a growing need for support.

Operation of Clarendon’s food pantry moved to the First United Methodist Church in 2011 and began by serving about 30 families per month.

But as time went by, the ministry has grown, according to Katherine Monroe, the lead coordinator of the ministry.

“We served 169 families in December,” Monroe said. “That represents 250 to 300 individuals.”

Although it operates out of the Methodist church, it is a community-wide ministry with volunteers coming from many different denominations for the common purpose of serving others.

“The object is to help others,” Monroe said. “It’s great that so many people help. I like it, and I’ve met so many great people doing this that I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise.”

When Monroe and her husband started helping with the food pantry, they were buying food themselves at a discount store to try to help. But they soon affiliated the ministry with the High Plains Food Bank to provide the most food for the most people.

“We can get food boxes for about 16 cents per pound through High Plains,” she said.

For a time, the ministry re-boxed the food so that each family received about 25 pounds of food, but the labor was too intensive. Now each 35-pound box goes straight to a family in need.

The schedule varies some, but the family boxes and surplus food are distributed on one Monday each month, and then a second distribution of surplus-only occurs another Monday.

Working with the High Plains Food Bank also helped the ministry with its structure by providing guidelines that recipients must meet in order to qualify for assistance.

Monroe along with Carole Braddock, Lynn Calvert, and Lisa Watson serve as coordinators for the ministry, and they are assisted by a team of about 30 volunteers who help unload the food truck and prepare for each distribution.

With the number of recipients more than doubling since 2014, the Bread of Life is in need of both volunteers and financial support. Thanks to the High Plains Food Bank, a little bit goes a long way.

“Twenty-five dollars will pay for about four boxes,” Monroe said.

To make a donation to the ministry, make checks payable to Bread of Life and mail them to the First United Methodist Church, PO Box 157, Clarendon, TX 79226. To volunteer or for more information, call the church at 806-874-3667.

 

Clarendon Chamber of Commerce officials reported Tuesday that tickets were selling briskly for this week’s Awards Banquet, and a large crowd is expected in the Bairfield Activity Center Thursday evening.

Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at the door for the event, which features a reception and silent auction at 6 p.m. followed by the banquet, entertainment, and awards at 7 p.m.

Several table sponsors will be competing to see who has the best decorations reflecting their business and featuring the Mardi Gras banquet theme.

Texas humorist Tumbleweed Smith will be the headline entertainment, and the Chamber will honor the Business of the Year and three of Donley County’s top citizens with the Saints’ Roost Award and Man and Woman of the Year. Outstanding youth from Clarendon and Hedley high schools will also be recognized.

Smith is producer of The Sound of Texas, a radio series that began in Big Spring and became the most widely syndicated feature radio show in Texas. In doing his daily program for more than 45 years, Smith has gathered the largest private collection of oral history in the United States. Texas Highways magazine says he has probably recorded the voices of more Texas characters than anyone else.

Tumbleweed taught broadcasting and speech in the University of Texas system 34 years. He is a syndicated newspaper columnist. His one-man shows have been performed all over Texas and in six other states and four foreign countries. His honors include two CLIO advertising awards, two Telly statuettes, the governor’s award for tourism, the West Texas Chamber of Commerce Cultural Achievement Award, The (2012) DAR Texas Media Award, and two Freedoms Foundation Awards.

 

With just over a week to go in the sign-up period for the spring elections, local candidates have begun filing for local offices.

Filing runs through 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.

Clarendon Aldermen Beverly Burrow and Larry Jeffers have signed up to run again, but Alderman John Lockhart had not signed up for re-election as of Monday afternoon.

Three positions in Hedley are expiring this year. Mayor Leon Ward and Aldermen Lonnie Roby and Dusty Wilkinson have not yet signed up for re-election. One citizen has turned in paperwork to run for office but has not decided whether to run for mayor or alderman.

Incumbent Howardwick Alderman Mac Miller is seeking re-election, and Eric Riddle has also signed up to run for one of the three positions up this year. Incumbents Robert Brewster and Sam Grider have not filed yet.

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

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.

Clarendon College Regents Ruth Robinson, Susie Shields, and Lon Adams are all seeking re-election to their full terms. Darlene Spier, who was appointed to a partial term after John Howard resigned to serve as county judge, had not filed as of Monday afternoon.

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. None of the incumbents had signed up at press time.

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.