Bronco candidates
‘Two’ on stage
Deconstruction work
Pool progress
Incident leads to rescheduling HHS homecoming
Hedley High School’s homecoming activities for Sept. 20 have been rescheduled following an incident at the school on Sept. 19.
Superintendent Garrett Bains says a joke taken too far led to the decision to cancel even though the administration and law enforcement determined there was no threat to the school or its students.
“It was a bad topic for comedy,” Bains said. “It would be like yelling ‘bomb’ in an airport. You just can’t do that, and we decided to take a tough stance.”
Bains said the school consulted with the Donley County Sheriff’s Office which agreed there was no threat to the school. The superintendent said the administration’s policy is that disciplinary action means a kid cannot participate in an athletic event that week, which can have a big impact when a school only has eight football players.
“If you take out two or three, then you don’t have a team,” Bains said. “If you have two or three that can’t play, you have to cancel.”
Bains said it’s important for kids to learn when a joke isn’t funny anymore.
“These are good kids, and it’s part of growing up,” he said. “It was a bad decision by a couple of young men. It looks terrible. It looks much worse than it really is.”
Bains said all homecoming activities have been moved to Sept. 27. He also said there has been a mixed reaction from parents but he thinks most parents support the school’s decision.
Ceremony kicks off pool work
City officials and approximately 100 spectators gathered at the site of the future Clarendon Aquatics Center Tuesday afternoon to break ground on the $2.7 million project.
“We are extremely pleased to reach this milestone after years of efforts,” City Administrator David Dockery said afterward. “We are so grateful to have these residents and students help us with the ground-breaking for this momentous occasion for the City of Clarendon.”
Before the dirt was turned, Mayor Skelton recognized those in attendance and reflected on the work that had been done since an anonymous donor first offered half a million dollars to get the project started four years ago.
Project designer Steve Shank of WatersEdge, the Kansas firm that has designed this pool and the one in Wellington says this will be a great facility for Clarendon.
“This is going to be a good pool and the citizens here will love it,” Shank said.
Accident claims life of local woman
A Clarendon woman lost her life in a two-vehicle accident last Thursday afternoon near Goodnight.
Tojuanna Pierce, age 60, was pronounced dead at the scene by Donley County Justice of the Peace Pat White, according to a report from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
DPS Sgt. Cindy Barkley said Pierce was a passenger in a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe, driven by 58-year-old James Powell, also of Clarendon. The couple was traveling in the outside lane of eastbound US 287 when they were struck from behind by a 2002 Peterbilt truck tractor-trailer driven by Galyean Sawyer, 22, of Childress.
The Santa Fe spun around clockwise and travel into the center median. Once in the center median, the vehicle struck the far slope of the median and then spun around counter clockwise before coming to rest facing east. The unsecured passenger, Pierce, was ejected.
The semi-truck crossed over the center median, jackknifed and came to rest across both westbound lanes.
Powell and Sawyer were both wearing seatbelts, the DPS said. Powell was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital with serious injuries where he was listed in stable condition late last week.
Economy leads to dip in CC enrollment
Clarendon College’s fall enrollment is down from last year’s all time high but still secured a spot in the record books as the institution’s third highest enrollment in 121-year history.
The fall head count following the 12th class day last Wednesday settled at 1,589, which is down from last year’s figure of 1,639 and only one below the second highest enrollment of 1,590 set in 2017.
A strong economy and low unemployment typically leads to lower college enrollments, according to CC President Robert Riza.
“Unemployment is at 2½ percent right now,” Dr. Riza said. “If you can pass a drug screen, you can get a job.”
Riza said low unemployment hurts general enrollment as well as career technical programs, but he also said he still feels strongly about the programs being offered by CC.
“Our students are getting employed from our programs,” he said. “And it’s important to remember that we’ve pushed some of these career technical certifications down into the high schools. Some kids with a certificate can start making mid-30s to low-40s right out of high school, and that may be more than their parents make. That makes it hard to argue they should go to college.”
Some families also opt to send kids straight to universities over community colleges when they feel good about the economy, the president said.
Enrollment in Dr. Riza’s first fall semester enrollment in 2014 was 1,211, and Clarendon College has posted growth every fall except this one since then. This fall’s enrollment is still more than 31 percent higher than 2014’s headcount.
Enrollment on the Clarendon campus this fall is 316 compared to 340 last year, and residence halls in Clarendon are at 95 percent capacity.
Enrollment at the CC centers in Childress and Gray counties are down. Pampa is at 176 compared to 196 one year ago; and Childress is 32 compared to 34.
A total of 110 students are enrolled in strictly online classes, also known as distance education, this fall compared to 125 one year ago.
The main driver of CC’s enrollment growth has been dual credit offerings, which the college now has in 22 area school districts. That enrollment segment actually increased this year with 776 students taking dual credit classes up from 735 last fall and 678 two years ago.
“Over the last five years, we’ve increased dual credit head counts by about 225 percent,” Riza said. “Our credit hours through dual credit are up about 250 percent.”
Clarendon High School has 26 students enrolled in dual credit this semester. Hedley has 12.
The number of Donley County residents enrolled in traditional college classes is up this year with a total of 37 compared to 29 last year. Nine of those students are enrolled in CC’s Honors College.
Running owl
Tojuana Lynn Sullivan
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.
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