Oh, deer!
Riddle lone candidate at Howardwick forum
Howardwick Mayor Pro-tem Eric Riddle had the stage all to himself last Tuesday, October 17, as a small crowd gathered at City Hall for a question and answer forum.
Riddle is running for mayor in a special election next month and is being challenged by fellow Howardwick resident Greta Byars, who told the Enterprise she chose not to attend the forum.
Howardwick citizens submitted questions before the event, and moderator Maverick Cruise, a Clarendon College student from Memphis, selected the questions.
Riddle answered a broad range of questions and said he fell into the job of mayor pro-tem by first being appointed to the city council.
“I’ve only lived here a couple of years,” Riddle said. “I didn’t want to be mayor, but I do now. I want to make a difference.”
Riddle said he wants to see Howardwick grow and said that younger residents will bring change to the community.
The mayor pro-tem dismissed the idea of re-opening a limb dump in the city, saying it would be problematic and that Clarendon’s sanitation department accepts Howardwick’s limbs and debris for a fee. He likewise said the city attempting to operate its own landfill would create more problems than it would solve in terms of the expense of construction and regulation.
Riddle said he’s familiar with the duties of mayor, already conducts city meetings according to Robert’s Rules of Order, and is also familiar with government codes and knows when to consult with others on those issues.
His top priorities are unifying the community, working with the fire department to mitigate the fire hazard in Carroll Creek, and working on utility rates through Red River Water Authority.
Asked about the condition of roads in the city, Riddle said it would take $9 million to replace the main roads in Howardwick and a bond to do that would cause a dramatic increase to property taxes.
“We will continue to patch the roads,” Riddle said and noted that the city is exploring caliche or gravel as an alternative for some of the roads.
Riddle said running the city should be like running a business and said officials should never forget their decisions affect other people.
Early voting in the Howardwick special election began Monday, October 23, and runs through November 3. Election day is November 7.
At press time, Howardwick candidates for alderman – Doc Holladay and Jada Murry – were scheduled to appear in a question and answer series Tuesday night, October 24.
Amazon’sGrand Tour to ‘takeover’ local drive-in
The Sandell Drive-In will be getting some national attention next weekend when Amazon Prime Video sponsors a double feature at the theatre as part of its Grand Tour Drive-In Takeover on Saturday, November 4.
As part of the promotion, local and area folks will get to enjoy free admission and free food as well as other giveaways during the evening.
The Grand Tour is a fun traveling car show that follows Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May as they spend more than 100 days across five continents, testing out the world most exotic cars attempting to avoid any further mishaps and injury along the way.
The Grand Tour Drive-In Takeover is a double feature event featuring one episode of the hit Amazon Prime Exclusive series, The Grand Tour, and The Italian Job motion picture.
Sandell managers say the Clarendon drive-in is the only Texas drive-in featured on The Grand Tour, which will bring its own take on the classic drive-in movie theatre experience in six states. Fans of all ages will be thrilled by a double-feature screening of a classic car film and an episode from the hit series. A must-see for families, guests will be welcomed by a custom built-out marquee sign (perfect for taking photos), gifted branded blankets, air fresheners, and snacks from the concession stand as they enter this immersive drive-in experience.
Season two of The Grand Tour starts streaming December 9 on Amazon Prime Video. Season 1 is now available on Prime. Gates open for the Drive-In Takeover next Saturday at 6 p.m.
Arts club hosts festival this weekend
The ninth annual Clarendon Arts Festival will be held this Saturday and Sunday, October 28 and 29, at the Donley County Activity Center one mile north of the city on State Hwy. 70.
Organizers have been working all week setting up displays and taking entries for the festival, which will also feature Junior Art exhibits by students from Kindergarten through high school.
The event, sponsored by Clarendon’s Les Beaux Arts Club, opens to the public this Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Live musical entertainment is being provided during the day Saturday by Micah Talley of Happy, Joel Louis of Clarendon, and Jesse Lincycomb of Howardwick.
The VFW Auxiliary will provide concessions during the day Saturday, including stew and chili with cornbread for lunch.
Saturday evening the Preferred Buyers Reception will be held from 6:00 to 9:00, where buyers will be delighted with the variety being offered at the Clarendon Arts Festival this year. Anyone is welcome at the reception; and if you haven’t already pre-paid as a preferred buyer, you can pay that night at the door.
Along with the large selection of art being offered, buyers enjoy the heavy hors d’oeuvres prepared by the ladies of Les Beaux Arts Club.
The Arts Festival resumes Sunday at 11 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. Those attending the Sunday can enjoy St. Mary’s famous Annual Enchilada Dinner.
In addition to the art show, there are many artists setting up booths with hand-constructed items for sale.
The 2017 Clarendon Arts Festival is sponsored by the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation and Hotel Occupancy Tax, and Donley County Activity Center. With all the fine art and crafts showing here this weekend, everyone should be able to find a unique gift or treasure.
For exhibit guidelines or other arts festival information, contact Chriss Cummins-Clifford at 806-206-6767.
Word, Overstreet advance to state
Clarendon High School runners Gavin Word and Kenny Overstreet are headed to the state level after finishing eighth and eleventh at the Region I 2A Cross Country Meet in Lubbock at Monday.
The junior and sophomore will make the trip to Round Rock to run in the State CC Meet on Sat., Nov. 5. Word’s time for the 5K course was 17:26.12 and Overstreet ran it in a time of 17:31.39.
The duo have been running strong all season with coach Kalen Grahn as their driving force. They have consistently fin-ished in the top 10 at nearly every meet and worked out in disciplined practices to accomplish their goals. Their goal now is to continue to practice diligently and run good races at the State Meet.
“(It was a) very exciting day for us,” Grahn said. “Gavin and Kenny represented Clarendon very well. I thought we could get both our runners in the top ten, and they almost pulled that off. We are looking forward to the next 10 days. Gavin and Kenny have had their sights set on Round Rock from day one. “We did not buy a team cross country shirt, but we will buy a state shirt.”
Broncos roll past Lockney
Two hundred forty-six yards of rushing elevated the Bronco offense Friday night at home and allowed them to keep their winning streak alive at 6-0.
The 36-7 win over Lockney in Bronco Stadium was a great way to open their district season.
The Broncos’ running game has been stellar this season with several different Broncos running the ball. Daquawne Oliver is continuing to do what he has done all season, and that is rack up good yardage for the team. Friday night Oliver posted 126 yards from 12 carries, which ended in two touchdowns on runs of 45 and seven yards each.
Damarjae Cortez carried six times for 83 yards finding the end zone twice 18 and 10 yards out. Ryan McCleskey scored the other TD for the Broncos before halftime from five out. He carried the ball five times for 20 yards.
Bear Smith added four bonus kicks, and Cortez made good on a two-point conversion. Dalton Benson had three carried for five yards, Noab Elam had one carry for six yards, Collin Butler carried twice for seven yards, and Antwan Butler carried twice for two yards.
N. Elam was seven of 11 passing for 40 yards and hit Colt Wood twice for 20 yards. Nathan Shadle caught one pass for two yards, and Cortez reigned in three passes for 23 yards.
“Offensively, we had several guys carry the ball, and I thought we played really well,” head coach Clint Conkin said.
The Bronco defense never missed a beat against the Longhorns as they held them to on 193 total yards. One hundred twenty-three of those yards were in the air.
“I thought our kids played a great game Friday night,” Conkin said. “Our defense played awesome. We held Lockney to 70 total yards rushing and 123 passing. Dalton Benson and Damarjae Cortex both had an interception.”
Benson played solid and grabbed 10 tackles and had one sack while Wood had seven tackles. Cortez had four tackles as did Oliver, who also added a sack. Shadle hustled up four tackles and one sack, Justin Christopher had five tackles and one sack, and Andy Davis added four tackles and one sack.
The Broncos will put their perfect record on the line next Friday night when they travel to Crosbyton to take on the Chiefs. The second district match up begins at 7:00 p.m.
Ready for action
Pumpkin tour
Gobs of goobers
Courthouse trees topic of county talks
Donley County Commissioners met in regular session last Tuesday, October 10, with trees on the Courthouse Square being one topic of discussion.
The Courthouse Lighting Committee, with assistance from the county, recently removed five diseased trees from the square, and other trees are in need of attention as well.
County Judge John Howard said some trees are needing to be treated for beetles that are infesting them and all the trees are in need of professional trimming. There is also the possibility of a separate non-profit organization being established to help with the maintenance of the trees.
For now, the commissioners are looking into replacing the trees that were removed.
“This will be an ongoing conversation,” Howard told the Enterprise. “These old trees are important to the courthouse and to the community. We want to take care of them and plan for future generations’ enjoyment as well.”
In other county business, commissioners approved the annual contract for tax assessment and collection services with the Donley Appraisal District and nominated Lon Adams and Jacob Fangman to serve on the appraisal district board.
The court approved increasing the amount of Judge Howard’s bond from $5,000 to $100,000. This was necessary to comply with Senate Bill 40, which was passed by the 85th Legislature and pertains to judges handling probate cases. Howard said it was example of an unfunded mandated from Austin.
Sharon Braddock was re-appointed to represent Donley County on the board of the Texas Panhandle Centers for Behavioral & Developmental Health.
Commissioners approved Judge Pam Mason and Judge Denise Bertrand to attend Justice Court trainings in Austin and Lubbock respectively but denied a request to have Mason’s assistant attend a software seminar in Kerrville.
Walt Knorpp addressed the court to express his firm’s interest in making an offer on the county’s property and liability insurance coverage when it comes up next summer.
The court also approved Treasurer Wanda Smith to conduct her annual audit of the county jail’s commissary account.
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