![](http://www.clarendonlive.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/WEB-pic-hisd-IMG_1587-300x162.jpg)
Running owl
![](http://www.clarendonlive.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/WEB-pic-hisd-IMG_1587-300x162.jpg)
The Clarendon Enterprise - Spreading the word since 1878.
Tojuana Lynn Sullivan, 60, of Clarendon died Wednesday, September 11, 2019, in Goodnight.
Memorial services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 21, 2019, in Robertson Funeral Directors Saints’ Roost Chapel in Clarendon with Jeremy Pierce officiating.
Cremation & Arrangements are under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Tojuana was born March 21, 1959, in Channing, Texas to Daphine and Charlie Sullivan. Both Daphine and Charlie were school teachers and had recently moved to Channing. They tried for many years to start a family and Tojuana’s arrival was received as a tremendous gift. When she was born, Charlie took Daphine’s hands and laid his head on her hospital bed and through tears said to her, “I am so proud of that little girl.”
Tojuana grew up in towns across the panhandle as Daphine and Charlie’s careers progressed and they worked to advance their educations. She was soon joined by a brother, Jon Sullivan. The two were frequent partners in crime and kept their parents on their toes.
Although Tojuana graduated from Mobeetie High School, she always considered Clarendon her hometown. She attended Clarendon College after completing High School, and she settled into a tiny house on the family farm as she began her own family with the birth of her daughter. She moved to Lefors before her son was born and raised her family in Lefors and, briefly, Midland. She also spent time living in Houston and Seguin and lived in Wheeler after her mother passed away in 2012, devoting herself to caring for her father at the end of his life. She moved back to Clarendon upon his passing in 2014.
Tojuana was a beloved Mom and Grandma (or “Pa-Pa” as her grandbabies called her, and no matter their age, she always called them “the grandbabies”). As a friend, she is widely known for her devotion and generosity of spirit. She was fiercely devoted to her children and grandchildren and dedicated the focus of her life to caring for her family.
She was intensely creative and adventurous and loved gift giving and traveling far and wide across Texas and anywhere else life might take her. She was a talented artist and baker and a social butterfly.
Tojuana was a lifelong Christian and was an active member of Lefors Church of Christ for decades. In addition to immersing herself in the work of the church and in motherhood, she spent many years providing a loving environment for babies and children in her home as a childcare provider. Tojuana spent many years as a school volunteer and later became a Pre-School teacher for Lefors ISD.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
She is survived by her brother, Jon Sullivan and wife Kristie of Wheeler; her ex-husband Ricky Pierce of Claude; her daughter Brandie Neal and husband Adrian of Clarendon; her son Jeremy Pierce and wife Amanda of Fort Worth; her grandchildren Xavier, Orian, Isabella, Dahlia and Charlie Neal of Clarendon.
Linda Sue Smith, 76, of Clarendon died Friday, September 13, 2019, in Clarendon.
Services were held on September 17, 2019, at the First Presbyterian Church in Clarendon with Nancy Ruff, officiating.
Arrangements are under the direction Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Linda was born on October 8, 1942, in Amarillo to Charles Ross and Lillie Elizabeth Rapstine Hughes. She married James Montye Smith on September 13, 1975, in Amarillo. She moved to Clarendon in 1994 and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church. She was employed by the City of Clarendon, as a secretary, for 13 years.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; a son Ross Welch; a grandson Kenny Welch; and a stepson Joe Smith.
She is survived by two sons Mark Welch of Mayer, Arizona and Rusty Welch of Beaumont; a stepdaughter Sara Ussery of Franklin, Tennessee; a stepson Mike Smith of Newport Beach, California; five grandchildren Christy Maxwell, Chris Welch, Cory Welch, Mark M. Welch, and C.J. Welch; three great-grandchildren Wade Brown, Chloe Maxwell, and Jacob Defreese; three step-grandchildren Ryan Ussery, Jennifer Hoover, and Nicole McFadden; four step-great-grandchildren Olivia, Madison, Ayla, and Jamison.
In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be sent to the Donley County Associated Ambulance Authority.
Sign our online guest book at www.RobertsonFuneral.com
Clarendon ISD Superintendent Mike Norrell resigned effective immediately Monday night at a meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Board President Wayne Hardin said Norrell resigned for personal reasons and that his decision to leave was not due to anything illegal or anything involving the school or its students.
“It was a total bombshell,” Hardin said. “No one foresaw this. It was totally out of the blue.”
Hardin said Norrell contacted him about 2 p.m. Monday to tell him he was leaving. Hardin then consulted with the district’s attorney to get the proper notice of the resignation added as a supplement to Monday’s regular board meeting agenda.
Hardin, along with Trustees Reneé Mott, Chuck Robertson, and Robin Ellis, were in attendance that night and unanimously accepted the resignation. Three other trustees were absent.
The board president said Norrell had spoken with campus principals and personnel in the administration office Monday afternoon to make sure the district continues to run smoothly. Hardin will be communicating with the Region 16 Education Service Center to guide the school in finding an interim superintendent after which a search for a replacement for Norrell will begin.
Norrell had been superintendent of Clarendon schools since April 2015.
The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce will hold its next Business After Hours and its third Totally Locally $500 drawing at Saye’s Tack Store this Thursday, September 12.
The come-and-go event will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will provide Chamber members and prospective members an opportunity to learn more about what’s happening in the local business community. Refreshments will be served.
In addition to learning more about Saye’s, one of the highlights of the September After Hours will be the Chamber’s third Totally Locally drawing. Shoppers can sign up for the drawing at eleven local stores, and one will win $500 in Clarendon Cash at the After Hours.
A list of participating businesses and more information is on the ad on page six this week.
The last pre-20th century catholic church building in the Amarillo Diocese was demolished here Monday as St. Mary’s parishioners make plans to be in a new home by the end of next spring.
The 1892 building that has housed the Texas Panhandle’s oldest catholic church was torn down after being severely damaged by an automobile more than two years ago.
Preservation architect Chuck Lynch told the Enterprise he knew the building had to come down after surveying the damage that had been done to it.
“It was one of the most dangerous things that I’ve seen,” Lynch said.
Looking at the building not long after the accident, Lynch said he told parishioners that he was concerned about anything of value inside the building because, he said, “it’s going to fall down.”
Lynch the automobile had traveled about 40 feet, missed trees, and then struck the side of the building concaving the east wall and convexing the west wall. Lynch said the floor was damaged and stress had been put on the roof.
“There was very little foundation to the building,” he said. “There was no engineering done in 1892, and someone at some point had tried to level the building and left leveling jacks under it. That was all that was really holding it up.”
Lynch said fixing the building would have cost three times what building a new building would cost, and the old building was no longer meeting the needs of the church.
“There was very little plumbing, no bathrooms,” Lynch said. “You couldn’t get a wheel chair down the side aisles.”
Church members have also noted that the building had suffered several bad remodeling jobs over the last century, particularly the removal of the original gothic church and bell tower.
Several elements of the original church were salvaged from the building, including the restored high alter, the stained glass windows, some original flooring, and some original bead board that was found behind drywall. Those items and other will be worked into the new building in a way that Lynch says will honor the past.
“We’re trying to rebuild in honor of what was there originally but with modern codes,” he said. “Original elements will be a nice tribute. The new building will also have a proper sacristy and confessional and should be more functional than the old church.”
The new building will connect to the church’s new Parish Hall and will seat up to 140 where only about 60 could fit into the old building.
Prior to Monday’s demolition, Bishop Patrick Zurek prayed with parishioners outside of the old building and asked God’s blessing on the work ahead. Father Arokia Raj Samala oversaw the demolition of the building and kept a close eye on its progress.
The locally produced PBS series Two for the Road will hold a special season three premier event next Saturday, September 21, at the Mulkey Theatre in Clarendon.
Stone Ranch Media announced last week that the highly anticipated third season of the international travel and adventure show, produced and hosted by Howardwick residents Nikki and Dusty Green, will premiere on Panhandle PBS Thursday night, October 3, at 8:00 p.m.
The new season of the three-time Lone Star Emmy nominated show follows the Greens and their adventures around the world once again, this time as they explore more than a dozen countries across four continents, including Bolivia, Iceland, Vietnam, the Galapagos Islands, Ireland and more. The thirteen new episodes will begin running concurrently on PBS stations nationwide in early October as well.
“We are incredibly proud and excited to finally get season three out there,” said Dusty. “We’ve been blessed to be able to visit and film in some truly spectacular places for this new season. And a lot of really amazing places in fact that a lot of folks might not be familiar with, or have ever heard about. It’s all coming together really beautifully and we can’t wait for folks to see it.”
The Greens, who continue to shoot, produce and edit the series entirely on their own out of their home studio in Howardwick, say they also hope that viewers will notice a few key differences in the new season from the past two seasons, from overall improvements in production and voiceover to a greater focus on storytelling.
“Yes, one thing that’s different about this new season is that we hope viewers will notice more of a focus on storytelling,” Nik said. “In the past two seasons, there’s been a lot of adventure, a lot of adrenaline for sure. And there’s still plenty of adventure in the new season too, but this time we wanted to focus more on these really touching stories and these fascinating people that we’re meeting out on the road.”
“And the visuals too,” Dusty said. “We put a lot more effort in on the production side in terms of really trying to capture the spectacular beauty of these places. So, there are lots of big, epic, lingering drone shots for example. We really want folks to feel like they’re being drawn into these places we visit, like they’re right there along for the ride with us.”
The first season of Two for the Road premiered in the fall of 2016, and since then the show has grown to be available in more than 90 percent of television households across the United States, via nationwide broadcasts on local PBS affiliates like Panhandle PBS and the popular public television lifestyle network Create TV.
And as the show’s audience continues to grow and the Greens continue to travel and film around the world, they say it’s their home and their roots in the Texas Panhandle that keep them both grounded and motivated.
“It doesn’t matter where in the world we’ve been or what we’ve been doing, we always love coming back home. The folks here in Donley County especially have always been so kind and supportive, and we really hope to make them proud,” Nik said. “In fact, we mention Clarendon a couple of times in a couple of shows in the new season, so we hope everybody enjoys the shout-out.”
Details of the season three premiere event in Clarendon on September 21 are still being finalized, but the Greens say it will feature the first two episodes of the new season, which follow their adventures in Bolivia. In addition to the screening, a free ice cream social is planned at Stocking Ice Cream Parlor before the Mulkey event, and an after party is in the works at the Whistle Stop. Admission will be free and open to the public, although a $5 per person donation is suggested at the Mulkey event, with all proceeds going to benefit the Donley County Community Fund.
Two for the Road is produced by the Greens through their company Stone Ranch Media and is distributed by the National Educational Telecommunications Association. And as in seasons past the series is presented nationally to the public television system by Panhandle PBS in Amarillo. And even with the premiere of season three approaching, they say production has already begun on season four of Two for the Road.
“We’ve already shot one episode for season four and production will really ramp up again in November,” Nik said. “We just feel so blessed and thankful to be able to do what we do, and we really want to thank everyone for all the love and hope they enjoy the ride.”
The City of Clarendon will break ground its water recreation facility next week after aldermen approved cost saving measures last Thursday.
Mayor Sandy Skelton said the groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled for Tuesday, September 17, at 2 p.m. at Fourth and Kearney streets, the site of the new Clarendon Aquatics Center.
“All the numerous donors and others are encouraged to attend,” Skelton said. “A&S General Contractors will begin moving equipment to the site prior to the groundbreaking and construction will start soon after the 17th.”
The city council met September 5 with Lloyd Finley of A&S General Contractors of Amarillo and Craig Kooda of subcontractor Gold Medal Pools of Frisco. After consulting with pool designer Dave Schwartz, the council accepted value engineering recommendations that lowered the cost of the facility by more than $320,000.
The pool project was also boosted last week by the donation of $25,000 from Jerry and Margaret Hodge in the name of the High Card Ranch.
“We cut $321,000 and did not affect the size or features of the project,” Skelton said.
Significant savings, more than $122,000, came from an apparent over estimation on the cost of outdoor overhead lighting at the facility.
Another large savings was the acceptance of switching the construction method of the pool walls from poured-in-place concrete to a shot concrete method known as gunite.
City officials had been wary of gunite construction, by Skelton said Gold Medal has an extensive portfolio of gunite pools they have done.
Mayor Skelton also said that the pool designer agreed to the gunite method after Finley and Kooda agreed to eight specific construction method requirements proposed by Schwartz.
Skelton said the estimated date of completion for the project, depending on weather, is June 15, 2020.
James Montye Smith, 83, of Clarendon died Thursday, September 5, 2019, in Amarillo.
Services were held on Saturday, September 7, 2019, in the First Presbyterian Church in Clarendon with Nancy Ruff, officiating. Burial followed in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.
Arrangements were under the directions of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Montye was born April 5, 1936, in McLean to James and Edna Louise Smith. He married Linda Sue Hughes on September 13,1975, in Amarillo. He had been an owner of Central Accounting Systems in Amarillo for 15 years. He had been a resident of Clarendon since 1994 and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Joe and Montye Leonard Smith; a stepson, Ross Welch; a step grandson, Kenny Welch; and a sister, Doris Hays.
Survivors include his wife, Linda Smith of Clarendon; a daughter, Sara Ussery of Franklin, Tennessee; a son, Mike Smith of Newport Beach, California; two step sons, Mark Welch of Mayer, Arizona and Rusty Welch of Beaumont; his grandchildren, Ryan Ussery, Jennifer Hoover, Nicole McFadden, and Olivia Smith; his step grandchildren, Christy Maxwell, Wade Brown, Chloe Maxwell, Chris Welch, Cory Welch, Mark Welch, and C.J. Welch; his great grandchildren, Madison, Ayla, and Jamison; several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Sign the online guestbook at www.robertsonfuneral.com
Velda Ruth David, 78, of Clarendon died Thursday, September 5, 2019, in Wheeler.
Services were held on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, at Robertson Funeral Directors Saints Roost Chapel in Clarendon with Billy Snider, officiating. Burial followed at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.
Arrangements were under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Velda was born on March 30, 1941, in Wheeler to George and Cora Hall Helton. She married Ray David on November 5, 1986, in Clarendon. She then moved from Wheeler to Clarendon, where she resided for 32 years. She loved being in and tending to her beautiful garden. She also enjoyed canning, reading bible, cooking, and feeding her pet raccoons and turkeys that always came up to her porch.
She was preceded in death by her parents; three brothers Monroe Helton, John Helton, and Steve Helton; and two sisters Mary Esther Helton and Minnie Southern.
She is survived by her husband; three sons David Chapman and wife Karla of Ringling, Oklahoma, Ralph Chapman of Ringgold, Georgia, and Randall Chapman of Higdon, Alabama; three brothers Pat Helton and wife Alberta of Allison, Perry Helton and wife Paula of Wheeler, and Sam Helton of Allison; one sister Irene Snider of Spearman; niece Amy Hunt and husband Freddy of Wheeler; seven grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous other nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be sent to the American Heart Association.
Sign our online guest book at www.RobertsonFuneral.com
Reader Comments