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Farm 2 Table
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The Clarendon Enterprise - Spreading the word since 1878.
Moving forward with repairs to the 1890 Courthouse will be among the agenda items Donley County Commissioners will consider when they meet Monday in a called session.
Donley County Judge John Howard said commissioners will consider qualification proposals from architects during the meeting. After an architect firm is scored and selected, the county will negotiate with that firm for services to oversee repairs to the water damage caused by February’s winter storm and ensure that the work is done to the standards expected by the Texas Historical Commission.
The judge said the damage is covered by the county’s insurance, but it is likely to be expensive because the cost of materials and labor has gone up.
Howard also said that in discussions with the THC, it is possible that county could be awarded more money for courthouse restoration work and that part of that work might be focused on the sandstone around the base of the building, which has had a problem with spalling.
Preservationists had hoped to address that problem almost 20 years ago when the courthouse was restored, but the work at the time was cost prohibitive.
Howard says it’s possible that technological advancements may now help the county permanently solve that problem.
The county will also be looking to replace the HVAC units in the attic, one of which was the source of the water leak that destroyed the county attorney’s office and caused damage throughout much of the building earlier this year.
In other county business, commissioners met in regular session July 12 and continued discussions on overtime pay and compensation for sheriff’s deputies and county jailers/dispatchers. Howard said county officials are still working out the details of those issues.
The county is developing a paid leave quarantine policy for those exposed to a communicable disease while on duty, which, Howard said, the county was doing in practice anyway. County officials are also considering revisions to its holiday pay policy.
Commissioners approved allowing the clerk’s office to charge a $10 records archive fee and approved allowing employees in the clerk’s office to attend election law training.
Special annual budgets for the district attorney’s office were approved, and the county voted to reappoint Judge Willis Smith to the Texas Panhandle Center Board of Trustees.
Clarendon city officials are optimistic about the chances of acquiring two big grants after preliminary scoring was released by the state.
City Administrator David Dockery said Clarendon is in the top 12 applicants for a Downtown Revitalization Grant and in the top five for a Community Development Block Grant, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.
The preliminary scoring does not guarantee the grants will be awarded, but it does mean the city is still in the running for the fund as the application process continues to move forward.
“I feel very good about it at this point,” Dockery said.
If awarded, the downtown grant would improve sidewalks, accessibility, and lighting on Kearney Street, and the CDBG grant would replace some aging wastewater lines in the city.
The city is also pursuing securing funds available through the American Recovery Act, which could be used for water or wastewater infrastructure or broadband infrastructure.
In other city business, the city council met July 8 in regular session to consider several agenda items at its regular meeting.
Aldermen approved closing a portion of Gorst and Fourth streets for “That Senior Thang” on August 21.
The council also approved a job description for the assistant public works director and approved Jason Bingham to fill that position.
A request from the JRCA was approved for a one-day aquatics center pass for its rodeo participants.
At a called meeting on Monday night, the council also approved a request to vacate several platted but undeveloped streets on property owned by Jack Moreman.
The Howardwick Hoedown will be “Celebrating Freedom” this Saturday, July 17, as the Lakeside City hosts a fun-filled annual event.
“It’s hoedown central out here right now,” City Secretary Sandra Childress said Monday as preparations were being made for Saturday.
The Hoedown starts at 11 a.m. with a community barbeque in McMorries Memorial Park. Barbecue will be $5 for sandwiches or $10 for plates. After lunch, the events will continue until 6 p.m.
Events for the day include local arts and crafts vendors, live music, and an hourly raffle that features great prizes such as garden baskets, tackleboxes, a Google Nest, Play & Stay Airbnb credits, restaurant gift cards, grocery cards, and a $300 Academy gift card. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5 and can be purchased at the event or at City Hall ahead of time. You must be present to win.
Another big drawing will be held for a 16-foot Lowe John fishing boat. Those tickets are $50 each, and only 250 will be sold. Childress said a few tickets are still available at City Hall this week. The winner does not have to be present to win.
There will be plenty of entertainment for the kids at the Hoedown. In addition to the playground in the park, there will be a water slide, a petting zoo, and tractor train rides.
The live music will be from 3 to 6 p.m. with The Tweeks performing with special guest Donna Timmons.
Proceeds from the Hoedown will go to help make improvements to the Howardwick Community Center at the park.
“It’s getting a lot more use, and it’s just time to make some upgrades,” Childress said.
In addition to new paint and the possible addition of a porch, Childress said the center needs new appliances to better host activities.
The Howardwick Hoedown started in 2019, but the 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic. For more information about Saturday’s event, call City Hall at 806-874-2222.
Family entertainment is free this weekend at the Mulkey Theatre thanks to Clarendon Masonic Lodge covering the cost of admission to “12 Mighty Orphans.”
The movie tells the true story of the Great Depression Era Mighty Mites football team of the Masonic Home & School in Ft. Worth. An inspiring coach, Rusty Russell, takes his team of orphans from playing without shoes to playing for the Texas state championship. Coach Russell is credited for developing innovative strategies that would come to influence modern football and help his boys compete against bigger opponents.
The film stars Robert Duvall, Michael De Luca, Luke Wilson, Wayne Knight, Scott Haze, Jake Austin Walker, Angelique De Luca, and Martin Sheen.
Clarendon Lodge #700 is the oldest masonic lodge in the Texas Panhandle, chartered in 1890. Past masters of the lodge include former theatre owners Homer Mulkey and Gary Barnhill.
“12 Mighty Orphans” is rated PG-13 and will show with free admission for all ages this Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 2:00.
The Donley County Garden Club will hold its second annual Tour of Gardens this Sunday, July 17, from 1 to 6 p.m. to benefit the Christ’s Kids Ministry.
A total of five family gardens are on the tour this year, and a map is available here.
The Tour of Gardens will be self-guided with people being able to start and stop with which ever spot on the map they choose. Each location will have a donation bucket for the Christ’s Kids.
Garden tour locations in Clarendon are at the residences of Gary and Judy Thomas at 508 W. Barcus Street, Marsha Bruce at 703 S. Carhart, and Diana Ross and Joan Copelin’s flower garden at Carhart and Montgomery as well as outside of town at Dale and Amanda Askew home at 4240 S. Hwy 70 and Bill and Deanna Cornell’s home at 4166 CR 13.
To learn more, contact Judy Thomas at 806-206-5278.
A wet spring and summer have improved conditions significantly at Lake Greenbelt with a water level increase of as much as 2.5 feet.
Greenbelt Water Authority General Manager Bobbie Kidd said Monday that the reservoir is currently at 43.99 feet, which is higher than it has been since September of 2019.
“We’ve caught a lot of water,” Kidd said. “We’ve gone up 1.5 feet just from Memorial Day to July Fourth.”
The last time Greenbelt had a significant increase was in May of 2015 when the lake went up ten feet, Kidd said.
The National Weather Service in Amarillo said the Mesonet site southwest of Clarendon has recorded 8.56 inches of rain since Memorial Day. KVII-TV’s SchoolNet site in Clarendon has recorded 17.01 inches since the first of the year, and the SchoolNet site on the Matthews Ranch north of Clarendon has measured 24.78 inches.
A fast rising water level is good for the lake and for area residents who depend on it, but Kidd said it does come with a downside. Fast flowing water and covering up vegetation on the shores causes the water to develop a taste and an odor that longtime area residents are familiar with but is a new experience for some people. That phenomenon is compounded, Kidd said, when temperatures swing from 105 degrees and then drop 30 or more degrees to the 70s.
Kidd said Greenbelt did get a few complaints when that happened recently.
Also helping the lake level is lower usage by its consumers this summer, but it may not be just cooler, wetter weather that has contributed to that.
“I think COVID had a lot of people staying home and planting gardens last year,” Kidd said.
Kidd said Greenbelt continues to supplement usage of surface water with about 30 percent groundwater from well fields in Clarendon and on Kelly Creek. Most of the groundwater comes from Kelly Creek, he said.
Kidd also said that despite what some experts are saying, the recent rainfall has not snapped the continuing dry spell in the Texas Panhandle.
“We’re still in a drought. Let’s be honest,” Kidd said. “Down south they can get this kind of rain and heal up, but it will take more than this to heal us up here.”
If fresh produce and locally made food is what you’re looking for, Donley County Farm 2 Table is ready to serve you this Saturday, July 17, from 9 a.m. to noon at Cornell’s Country Store.
The new farmers market will run the first and third Saturdays through September, and organizer Deanna Cornell is happy to see the new community project get off the ground.
“People are excited,” Cornell said. “I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from vendors but more so from consumers. I’ve had zero complaints.”
Eleven vendors are scheduled to have tables at the first market this Saturday.
“We’ve got produce, aloe vera, baked goods, pork, beef, eggs, and more,” Cornell said.
Items at the market are all things that were either grown locally or made in local kitchens, she said.
Cornell’s Country Store is hosting the market in their garden center, which they completed in 2020 right before the COVID-19 shutdown. They were left with a big space and wondering what else it could be used for. Cornell later was inspired by a farmers market while visiting her son in Nashville.
“Zach and Liberty sell eggs there, and they have flowers and berries also,” she said.
With information from that market, Cornell started making plans for a market here and got a good response from locals.
“I really have a heart for Texas-made and locally-made,” Cornell said.
Cornell’s has proven the market for locally produced food with their own beef this year. Demand has been strong for homegrown beef, which will be available during the market Saturday.
For more information about the market, contact Deanna@CornellsCountryStore.com or check out the Facebook group online – Donley County Farmer’s Market.
Gregory Wayne Henry, 59, of Big Spring, passed away, Monday, July 5, 2021. Funeral services were at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 10, 2021, at the First Baptist Church in Big Spring.
Greg was born August 8, 1961, in Big Spring to Wayne Henry and Londa Coker Henry. He graduated from Big Spring High School and Southwest Texas State University. He married Lori Henry in 1988 and they lived in Big Spring, Mt. Pleasant, and Arlington before returning to Big Spring in 2015.
Greg’s jobs included Howard College Asst. Baseball Coach, North East Texas College Asst. Baseball Coach, Clarendon College Facilities Director of Development, and Donley County Bank Marketing Director. He was an excellent salesman with an eye to detail and incredible patience to win the sale. It was no surprise that these skills helped him build a successful used pallet company in Dallas with two partners, Philip Shoffner and Travis Burgess.
In his most recent position as Executive Director of the Big Spring Area Community Foundation, he found joy and success yet again as he “jumped in the deep end” with all he had and quickly brought the Foundation to a broader public awareness. He served the community on the boards of Rotary, Chamber of Commerce and Runnels Classical Christian Academy.
He served as the master of ceremonies for the past several years at Clarendon’s Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff, and he was an active member of Life Church and involved with several ministries of the church.
He had multiple interests and he was as comfortable in a boardroom as on a horse. As a baseball coach, he developed baseball players and nourished lifelong relationships with them. He was especially proud of the JUCO World Series Championship that they won in 1996.
He had a strong Christian faith and valued his Christian heritage. He loved to study the Bible and wrote over 300 Cowboy devotionals that used the many activities of a working ranch to illustrate God’s love, truth, creation and salvation.
He was a great athlete who excelled in football, baseball, golf, snow skiing, and waterskiing. His love for the outdoors was only surpassed by his love for people. He never met a stranger. He was the life of the party and would make everyone laugh with his illustrative way of telling stories.
He was preceded in death by his father, Wayne Henry and grandparents, Lonnie and Evlyn Coker and Woodrow and Cecil Henry and aunt, Gloria Petterson.
He is survived by his wife Lori Henry of Big Spring; his mother Londa Henry of Big Spring and his in-laws Jeffie and Ricky Phinney of Coahoma; his sister Shawna Ashlock (Larry) of Granbury; his brother Kurt Henry (Amy) of Peaster; his brother-in-law Jay Phinney (Kim) of Big Spring. He was the proud uncle of Lauren Barksdale (Ben) of Keller; Zac Phinney (Andrea) of Big Spring; Aaron Ashlock (Diana) of Aubrey; Ashley Brown (Hunter) of Big Spring; Heston Henry (Emily) of Cleburne; Holland Henry (fiancée Hannah) of Frisco, and Kord and Rawlins Henry of Peaster, and great nieces and nephews – Evie, Hudson and Moses Barksdale, Baylor and Lucia Ashlock, Dylan and Atticus Brown. Also, cousins Dane and Philip Shoffner of Trophy Club, TX; Cort Petterson (Marci) of League City, Bruin Petterson (Chelsea) of Odessa, and Uncle Paul Petterson (Laura) of Odessa, as well as a host of other cousins and family members.
Pallbearers will be Zac Phinney, Hunter Brown, Heston Henry, Holland Henry, Ben Barksdale, Roy Worthy and Jeb Worthy.
The family suggests memorials to Big Spring Area Community Foundation, 707 Scurry, Big Spring, TX. 79720, or Baptist Center for Global Concerns, 1417 W Arkansas Ln., Suite 201, Arlington Tx 76013.
Online condolences can be made at www.npwelch.com.
Henry Isaac Like, 81, of Clarendon died on Sunday, July 4, 2021, in Amarillo.
Family directed memorial services were held on Saturday, July 10, 2021, at the Arena of Life Cowboy Church in Clarendon with Bunk Skelton, officiating.
Cremation and arrangements are by Robertson Funeral Directors.
Goodbye Dad, we bid you farewell. Your beautiful family is here, And your friends as well.
Onward to heaven, your soul has gone. No longer to suffer, meeting a new dawn.
Oh God we know dad is with you. But right now, we sure feel blue.
Didn’t expect you to leave us so soon. We’re sad and heartbroken, but our lives will resume.
Broad were your talents, with experiences galore. But being our father, to us, meant a whole lot more.
YouTube and Dusty Filmed 10 episodes with you. Telling bout the good old days and trapping too!
Each soul here knows you in a unique way. We grieve and heal as we love and pray.
Dad: You’re probably kicking up your heels! As you enjoy Heaven’s green luscious fields!
And don’t get too boisterous and prim! We’re spreading your ashes, like you wanted at Kim!
Daily we need to dwell in the Lord. Heaven shall be your great reward.
Dad was a jack-of-all trades- nothing he couldn’t do! He was the greatest horseman and cattle-hand around- that is true!
You know he was an excellent rifleman as well. A perty good windmill man too, especially after a windy spell!
– We love you Dad, From the Like Family
He is preceded in death by his father, Joel Like; mother, Buelah Jackson Like; and his brother, Westley Like.
He is survived by 4 sons, Joel Like and wife Michelle, Billy Like and wife Lynn, Henry Like and wife Alice, and Leonard Like and wife Norma; Daughter, Sue Weese and husband Billy; brother, Freddie Like and wife Nora; two sisters, Juanita McClure and husband Bob, and Jewel Kay Like; 16 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by special friend, Sammie Doering.
Sign our online guest book at www.robertsonfuneral.com.
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