A jolly old time
Helping hands
Big Band Christmas
Belinda Lee Caviness
Belinda Lee Caviness, 65, of Pampa, passed away December 13, 2019, in Pampa.
Memorial service will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 21, 2019, at Carpenter’s Church with Pastor Jim Sinyard, officiating. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors.
Belinda was born October 28, 1954, in Azle to Peggy and William Holmes. As a young girl her family moved to the Texas Panhandle where she lived and attended school in Clarendon and later in Pampa.
She worked in the service industry at Taylor Mart, Black Gold Restaurant and Hampton Inn. Belinda enjoyed music, puzzles, crafts, especially sewing, but what brought her the most joy was being with her family.
She is survived by two daughters, Brandie Wolfe and husband Chris of Oregon, and Megan Ferrell and husband Reid of Pampa; her significant other, Alex Ruiz; five grandchildren, Lyndon Wolfe and wife Katie of Hawaii, Nathan Mears, Natalea Worley-Whittley, Ashton Whittley and Zoie Whittley, all of Pampa; one great grandchild, Orion Wolfe; and nine siblings. She was known as Aunt BB to all her nieces and nephews.
Sign the online guest register at www.carmichael-whatley.com
Mac Charles Dunham
Mac Charles Dunham, age 42, of Clarendon passed away on Thursday, December 12, 2019.
Services will be held Saturday, December 21, at 2 p.m. at the Body of Christ Church in Clarendon.
Mac is survived by his wife, Jamie Dunham of Dallas; one son, Quintin Dunham of Clarendon; three daughters, Kyla Dunham of Amarillo, Kinliegh Dunham of Clarendon, and Jaelyn Dunham of Lubbock; his father, Walter Dunham of Lubbock; a brother, Clay Dunham of Lubbock; and two sisters, Amber Dunham and Jodi Dunham, both of Clarendon. Also left behind are a host of family and friends.
Mac was preceded in death by his mother, Linda Dunham; and Chuck and Marylee Longan.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Christ’s Kids Ministries, PO Box 45, Clarendon, TX 79226.
Daniel “Danny” Stepp
Daniel “Danny” Stepp, 65, of Sayre, Oklahoma died Tuesday, November 19, 2019, in Sayre.
Services were held on November 23, 2019, in Robertson Funeral Directors Saints’ Roost Chapel in Clarendon with Joe Neal Shadle, officiating. Burial will follow in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.
Arrangements were under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Daniel was born April 6, 1954, in Eudora, Arkansas to Arlie Nile and Etta Jane Cotton Stepp. He was the baby out of seven children and was raised on the Mississippi River. He married Elizabeth Green on August 23, 1988, in Eudora, Arkansas. He had been a resident of Clarendon and Dalhart before moving to Sayre, Oklahoma in 2014. Danny was a truck driver and it was his love, passion, and way of life. He had worked for Crete Carriers, Jack B. Kelly, Affiliated Foods, Combined Transport, Groendyke, C&J Energy, Intregrity Ag., and Stepp Trucking. While trucking, he drove through blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and various other natural disasters. Danny drove 5 Million miles accident free, and hauled everything from eggs to nukes including hydrogen fuel for the space shuttle Discovery. He loved hunting, fishing, aviation hobby planes and drones, archeology, and paleontology. Danny was loved by his family and never had a bad thing to say about anybody.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and four brothers, Robert, Jody, Richard, and Bill Stepp.
He is survived by his wife Beth Green Stepp of Sayre, Oklahoma; two sons, Hoss Watts of Childress and Shelby Stepp of Elk City, Oklahoma; two daughters, Charolette Sandel of Plano and Amanda Stepp of Oak Grove, Louisiana; two sisters, Ann Bryant of Cassville, Missouri and Sue Cotner of Shreveport, Louisiana; 13 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Sign the online guest book at www.robertsonfuneral.com
Donald Odom
Funeral Services for Donald Odom, age 83, of Como, were held on Saturday, December 14, 2019 at Fellowship Baptist Church in Como with L.D. Baxley officiating. Mr. Odom passed away on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at his home in Como.
Donald was born on May 17, 1936, in Jackson County, Oklahoma to Tom Brian Odom and Lillian Alberta Roberts Odom. He married Clara Joyce Conley in Hale Center, Texas on June 24, 1955. Mr. Odom was a farmer/rancher and a member and Deacon of the Fellowship Baptist Church in Como.
He is survived by his wife, Clara Joyce Odom; daughters: Patricia Diane Fouse and husband, Mackey and Helen Janice Moss and husband, Larry; 10 grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren; brother: Jimmy Odom and wife, June.
He was preceded in death by his parents: Tom and Lillian Odom; daughter: Donna Joy Thomas; son: Kenneth Ray Odom; brothers: Jesse Brian Odom, Tommy Odom; Billy Odom and baby George Odom; sister: Juanita Pettit.
Clarendon CISD names Bellar as lone finalist
Clarendon new school superintendent will be no stranger to the community after beginning his education career here.
Jarod Bellar was named December 4 as the lone finalist for the top school position during a called meeting of the Clarendon CISD Board of Trustees.
Bellar, who is currently the superintendent of Baird ISD east of Abilene, began his career as a junior high social studies teacher and coach in Clarendon in 1994.
“It’s a great time to reconnect,” Bellar said of coming back to Clarendon this week.
After spending two years at Clarendon Junior High, Bellar returned to his hometown of Sudan for three years and then moved to Olton. He later spent four years teaching at Springlake-Earth before moving up to the high school principal’s position for another four years.
Bellar and his family then moved to Baird in 2008, where he began as an elementary and middle school principal before taking the superintendent’s position there in 2011.
“I’ve kept up with Clarendon from a distance,” Bellar said. “The school has done well academically and athletically.”
The school’s reputation along with the close proximity to Canyon, where his son now plays football for West Texas A&M University, made it attractive for Bellar to apply for the superintendent’s position in Clarendon. He also said he believes the school will be a good fit for his daughter, who is a high school sophomore.
Bellar’s wife, Jenifer, is a school counselor and federal programs coordinator in Baird. She and their daughter will move to Clarendon after this school year is over.
“I just want to get to know everyone and learn the inner workings of the school and move forward as an even better district,” Bellar said. “The people here seem very welcoming and supportive.”
High school principal Larry Jeffers and elementary principal Mike Word were also here when Bellar was here in the 1990s, he said.
Last week’s unanimous board decision followed the third and final interview in a second round of meetings with top applicants, according to Interim Superintendent Mike Jackson.
“I think his prior experience here was a factor in his selection,” Jackson said. “When you have someone who knows the community, it says a lot.”
Bellar says January 6 is his tentative start date. School trustees must wait 21 days from last Wednesday to formally hire Bellar.
CC Regents take new vote on president
The Clarendon College Board of Regents this week rescinded a November 21 vote to end the contract of Dr. Robert Riza as president and voted to put him on administrative leave instead.
During a called meeting Monday, December 9, the board without discussion approved a motion reversing their action on November 21, which would have ended the president’s contract by December 31. That was followed by a new motion from Regent Carey Wann to place Riza on administrative leave effective immediately “due to some things that have been brought to light recently.” That motion was also approved with no discussion.
Last week, the regents met in another called session and met behind closed doors for more than an hour with the college’s attorney for an agenda item labeled as “Report from attorney concerning personnel.” Earlier in the week, Board Chairman Tommy Waldrop had told the Enterprise the board would receive a report from the attorney concerning Riza’s contract. In which case, that agenda item should have been more specific, according to court rulings under the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Don R. Richards, a Lubbock attorney serving as an Advisory Director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, told the Enterprise the wording of last Thursday’s agenda item should have specified that regents were going to talk about the president.
“The simple use of ‘personnel’ in the [November 27] agenda clearly appears to me to violate the ‘Cox Enterprises’ court opinion requiring such specificity with a high-level employee such as college president/superintendent, etc.,” Richards said.
Waldrop said at last week’s meeting that the board was going into closed session to discuss legal liability matters facing the college and did not mention personnel as indicated on the agenda.
In other board action last week, regents approved giving full time employees a $500 stipend.
“We’re in a state of flux and turmoil, and if they don’t get their annual stipend, they may worry,” Waldrop said.
On Monday, the regents also revisited the position of interim president. At a called meeting on November 27, the regents had named Vice President Tex Buckhaults as the “part time interim president.” This week the regents named Buckhaults as the “full time interim president” with compensation of $17,000 and rights to a vehicle leased by the college.
The board also approved updated bank resolutions Monday in a 6-0-2 vote with Jerry Woodard and Ruth Robinson abstaining.
Alert system glitch causes confusion
A computer malfunction activated a regional Emergency Management Warning System last Saturday night, confusing citizens and resulting in Donley County’s 911 system being overwhelmed.
Sheriff Butch Blackburn said the trouble began at about 6:45 p.m. when the PARIS alert system operated by the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission (PRPC) was triggered to activate all of the programmed alert templates. Donley County Judge John Howard said the error was later determined to have been caused by a software update that had been installed six hours earlier.
During the malfunction, residents in Donley County began receiving multiple phone calls and messages from the office of emergency management but with no details of the supposed emergency.
The malfunction also impacted the Clarendon College alert system, activating templated messages for various emergency situations, and alerts were activated in Ochiltree, Swisher, Gray, and Hansford counties as well, according to Howard.
Blackburn said confused citizens then began calling 911 and the direct line to the sheriff’s office. Three people were answering calls, but the volume still overloaded the 911 system, which began diverting calls to dispatchers in neighboring counties.
PRPC shut down the system, which was repaired and brought back online this week, officials said.
“This had nothing to do with anything that was done here, but I apologize to the citizens for the concern and confusion this caused,” Blackburn said.
Blackburn said residents should be aware in the future that actual emergency alerts will contain details of the emergency as well as any instructions for how residents should respond to that emergency.
The sheriff also said that in an actual emergency his office will work with The Clarendon Enterprise to get information out to citizens quickly through the web and social media.
Also in case of an actual emergency, Blackburn urges people to not call 911 or the sheriff’s office direct line unless they are in actual distress to avoid overloading the system and emergency personnel.
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