‘Tis the season
Betty Lou Johnson
Betty Lou Johnson, 77, died Sunday, Thursday, December 9, in Amarillo.
Services were held December 11, at 2:30 p.m. in the First Baptist Church in Early, Texas with Rev. Eddie Ailshie, pastor, officiating. Interment was held at Eastlawn Cemetery in Early. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Betty was born June 11, 1933, in Harrison County, Texas to Horace and Lucille Morris Weaver. She married Charles Lonzo Johnson on December 25, 1949, in Texarkana, Texas. She had been a longtime resident of Brownwood before moving to Clarendon in 2005. She loved sports, especially bowling. She was a wonderful well known seamstress and sewed many outfits. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Early where she was a GA teacher, sang in the choir, and taught Sunday school.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband on August 1, 1993.
Survivors include a son, Charles Johnson, Jr. and wife Pamela of Lubbock; 2 daughters, Kathy Hommel and husband Gene of Clarendon and Donna Knorpp and husband Todd of Clarendon; 5 sisters, Billy Finch of Baton Rouge, LA, Jane Washington of Linden, Dot Perkins of Shreveport, LA, Sue Merritt of Dangerfield, and Louise Cook of Nashville, TN; 8 grandchildren; 19 great grandchildren; and 1 great-great grandchild.
The family request memorials be sent to BSA Hospice in Amarillo.
Wyoma “Dolly” Huey
Wyoma “Dolly” Huey, 93, died December 8, in Amarillo.
Graveside Services were held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 14, in Lusk Cemetery in Lusk, Wyoming. Texas Arrangements were under Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon. Wyoming Arrangements were under Pier Funeral Home of Lusk, Wyoming.
Wyoma was born at the homestead of her parents – Emma Charlotte Damme and Roy Leslie Rogers of Prairie Center Community, south of Van Tassel, Wyoming. When she was two years old the family moved to Lusk where they lived for five years and then moved to a ranch south of Lusk, where she lived till graduating from Lusk High School.
She was also a graduate of Parks Business College of Denver, Colorado.
Wyoma was baptized as an infant and confirmed at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Lusk at the age of 14, and remained a faithful member until her death. She was also an active member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Ridgecrest, CA, from 1980 – 2009.
Wyoma was married to Archie Huey on March 31, 1935, in Hot Springs, South Dakota, and they had two children, Robert J. and William R. Huey.
Wyoma and her late husband built the Trail Motel in Lusk in 1954 and operated it until 1965. They also had a small ranch in the Manville area. She was active in her church, taught in Sunday School and was a member of the Lutheran Women’s League. She was a member of the American Legion Auxillary, Daughters of the American Revolution, Farm Bureau, Stock Growers Association, and was one of the organizers of the Niobrara County Hospital Auxillary of Lusk and was its first president.
She is preceded in death by her parents and her husband.
Survivors include her sons – Bob and wife Kathy of Ridgecrest, CA, and Bill and his wife Ann of Clarendon, TX; Grandchildren (Rob and Bonnie Huey of Ft. Collins, CO; Jenelle and Bart Spedden of Superior, CO; Aaron and Kristin Huey of Seattle, Washington; Jennifer and Scott Cooper of Angleton, TX, and Jim Huey of Amarillo, TX;); Great Grand Children (Orion, Nolan and Phoebe Huey; Ryan and Emily Cooper and Hawkeye Huey); Sister Minnie McCleerey of Manville, WY; Nieces (Nancy Fitzwater, Shelley and Brian Bruch); Nephews (Bill McCleerey, Raymond Fitzwater); and many grand nieces and nephews.
Ronald Brown Vorheis
Ronald Brown Vorheis, 70, died Friday, December 10, in Claude.
Memorial services were held at 10 a.m. December 13, 2010, in Robertson Funeral Directors Saints’ Roost Chapel in Clarendon with Jeff Booth, minister of the Christian Church of God, officiating. Interment was held privately with a family burial held at Vorheis Family Cemetery in Clarendon. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Ronald Brown Vorheis of Clarendon died December 10, 2010, after a lengthy illness. Ron was born March 6, 1940 in Geneseo, Kansas. He grew up in Littlefield where he met his future wife, Mary Pitman. After graduating high school, he attended Hardin Simmons University.
Soon after, he joined the US Army and served in Korea. After returning to the states, he worked at Littlefield Butane, then went to West Texas College in Canyon. He then married Mary on August 27, 1965, in Littlefield. He earned his bachelors degree in Mathematics in 1967 and his masters in Mathematics in 1968. He taught math at Howard County Junior College in Big Spring, then went on to a lengthy career teaching math, English, Spanish, and computer programming to high school and junior high students. In 1989, Ron moved to Clarendon with his family where they ran Clarendon Family Café for a number of years. He was an avid student of God’s Word all of his life and loved spending time outdoors enjoying nature. He passed these loves to his family. He was the anchor of his very large and very loving family.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Mary Vorheis of Clarendon; 4 daughters, Rhonda Lopez and husband Matt of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Becky Pillow and husband Greg of Lubbock, Elisabeth Vorheis of Mansfield, and Leah Carruth and husband Tony of Lubbock; 6 sons, Ike Vorheis and wife Elsa of Van Horn, Josh Vorheis and wife Susan of Allen, Jonathan Vorheis and wife Marci of San Antonio, Jeremy Vorheis of Sugarland, Ben Vorheis and wife Julie of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phillip Vorheis of Lubbock; 22 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
The family request memorials be to the Alzheimer’s Association.
The family will be at 4005 County Road 13 in Clarendon.
Teamwork can bring Mulkey back
By now you’ve seen the signs or pamphlets around town and likely have seen our front page article this week all touting the same message – Bring Back the Mulkey.
For several years, the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation Board (of which, your humble editor is a member) has dreamed of saving the Mulkey Theatre and returning it to operation. Acquiring the theatre was itself a process that took quite a lot of time and work; but after that was accomplished in 2008, the CEDC took immediate steps to replace the theatre’s roof and secure the building from the elements.
The board has since looked into the cost to restore the theatre’s façade and marquee as part of the CEDC’s ongoing effort to make downtown more attractive, and then recently a citizens committee was appointed to help raise funds for the further rehabilitation of the facility.
What do we want to do with it? Well, eventually we want to see movies dancing across a silver screen and have a wonderful facility for public meetings, conferences, and more. But we don’t have the funds to jump out there and do it all at once, so this will have to be a project that is accomplished one step at a time. It won’t happen overnight, and it can’t be done without the strong backing of the community.
For many of us who grew up here, the Mulkey holds treasured memories. Maybe it was just a fond part of your childhood, the site of your first date, or the setting for a story that demonstrates your mischievous youth. Did you sit in the balcony? Did you work for Mrs. Mulkey (or Mr. Mulkey at one of his earlier theatres) or for Gary Barnhill? Did you park your bicycle in the rack out front on Saturday?
I remember seeing several movies at the Mulkey growing up. I recall hating when my cousin got to pick the night we were going and she wanted to go see “Coal Miners’ Daughter.” I was nine years old, and I guess that was my first “chick flick.” But I also have very fond recollections of movies I loved. Disney movies and comedies were always good.
The popcorn, the Cokes, the neon, and the whole experience – the theatre was past its prime by the late 1970s, but a night at the Mulkey was still a special treat. My favorite memory was when I was seven or eight, sitting on the left side of the middle section, toward the back of the theatre, as I watched Superman come to life on the big screen, and Christopher Reeve made me believe a man could fly. It was a time before computer generated imagery or THX surround sound or most of the fancy things you find in 21st century films and theatres. But right there, right then, the Mulkey Theatre was a magical place for one little boy.
Sadly, we now have two generations who have never seen a show at the Mulkey or even seen its neon lights brighten the night sky. My own son and daughter can see only a lifeless building. But we can change that and make the Mulkey again a showcase for Hollywood hits and set the stage for memories that will last lifetimes. Together, we can “Bring Back the Mulkey” for our children, our grandchildren, and ourselves.
To find out how you can do your part, visit www.ClarendonEDC.org and then click over and leave us a comment on our website – www.ClarendonLive.com – or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TheEnterprise.
Judge gives bitter pill to Obamacare
A federal judge this week ruled that an important part of the president’s health care reform is in fact unconstitutional.
District Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled in favor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which had argued that the provision of the landmark law which requires all Americans to purchase health insurance or be penalized exceeded the authority granted by the Constitution to Congress.
“It is not the effect on individuals that is presently at issue – it is the authority of Congress to compel anyone to purchase health insurance,” Hudson wrote in his decision.
The Obama Justice Department responded that it would take the case to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and all sides agreed that the case will ultimately land before the US Supreme Court. Meanwhile a separate case brought by Texas, Florida, and several other states is moving forward on much the same grounds as the Virginia case.
Hudson let stand all other provisions of the health care law, but maybe someone will strike down the entire behemoth, which tramples on economic freedom and personal choice and will, in fact, cause health care premiums to increase dramatically.
There is always talk of compromise in Washington, but this decision illustrates perfectly why Republicans were justified in their unanimous opposition to this law. There should be no compromise when it comes to the integrity of the Constitution. The president, Pelosi, and Reid don’t understand that, but hopefully the will learn it very soon.
Sex offender in custody after assault
The Donley County Sheriff’s Department arrested Gabriel Callis of Lelia Lake after he assaulted a relative and threatened suicide last week.
Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his office received a call at 7:28 p.m. last Thursday, December 9, from a residence in the 300 block of South Woodrow Street in Lelia Lake, reporting that Gabriel Callis was in the house with a gun and had been threatening suicide for two hours.
Callis had assaulted a female relative by shoving her down onto a brick fireplace and was making threats with a BB pistol, the sheriff said. The subject ran out of the backdoor of the house prior to officers arriving. A search was made for Callis, and he was arrested at 8:48 p.m. as he walked back into the house from hiding in some nearby weeds.
Blackburn said Callis was jailed for a violation of probation and bond was denied by District Judge Stuart Messer. He is facing additional charge of Family Violence – Aggravated Assault.
Callis, who is a professional gospel singer, was found guilty in 2007 of Indecency with a Child. The victim was 13 years old at the time.
The jury in 2007 also found Callis not guilty of a second count of the same charge.
Jurors heard testimony of two prior assaults the defendant had committed, but Callis
had no prior history of sex offenses.
Callis also threatened suicide wielding a knife the day of his sentencing in 2007, but was talked out of doing anything by local officers.
Callis is a registered sex offender and was originally sentenced to five years confinement probated to eight years probation and a fine of $10,000 probated to $5,000. He could face prison time for violating his probation.
Court sentences Butler to state jail for violation of probation
A Clarendon man will spend 24 months in the state jail for violating his probation terms, the district court ordered last week.
A contested revocation hearing resulted in the conviction and sentence of Edward Butler to two years in the State Jail Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the maximum range of punishment allowed by law for the state jail felony offense.
On March 25, 2009, Butler originally pleaded guilty to the state jail felony offense of evading arrest that occurred on April 12, 2008, in Donley County.
The State filed the motion to adjudicate on July 14, 2010, alleging seven violations of community supervision.
Butler, a 22-year-old Clarendon resident, pleaded not true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant.
During the contested revocation, evidence was provided by District Attorney Luke Inman that Butler failed two drug tests, failed to pay certain probation fees for certain months in 2009 and 2010, and failed to perform court ordered community supervision hours.
Inman called three witnesses at the contested hearing.
Mark White testified as Butler’s probation officer through the 100th Judicial District Community Supervision Corrections Department. Becky Fuller, the Director of the CSCD and Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn provided testimony during the punishment phase of the hearing.
“We have a fantastic probation department that works with the probationers to make sure they are following the conditions of probation,” said Inman. “Once we arrive at a contested revocation hearing, we’ve usually exhausted all remedies of alternative sanctions.”
At the close of all the evidence, District Judge Stuart Messer sentenced Butler to 24 months in the State Jail Division of the TDCJ. Butler is also required to pay $390 in court costs to Donley County and a $2,500 fine.
Also in district court here December 9, Christi Thryselius-English pleaded true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant and was convicted and sentenced to ten years in the Institutional Division of the TDCJ, but the sentence was probated for a period of five years.
On October 19, 2009, English originally pleaded guilty to the second degree felony offense of possession of certain chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance that occurred on September 24, 2009, in Carson County.
The State filed the motion to adjudicate on April 6, 2010, alleging two violations of community supervision.
English is also required to pay $313 in court costs to Carson County, $140 restitution, and a $1,000 fine.
And in another case of local interest, Derek Lee Thomas pleaded true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant when the court met in Wellington on December 8 and was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in the State Jail Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
On April 12, 2010, Thomas originally pleaded guilty to the state jail felony offense of tampering with a witness that occurred on April 12, 2010, in Donley County.
The State filed the motion to adjudicate on October 4, 2010, alleging seven violations of community supervision.
Thomas pleaded true to violations contained in the State’s motion and was sentenced to eighteen months in the TDCJ. Thomas is also required to pay $478 in court costs to Donley County and a $1,000 fine.
New CC president will face challenges
Clarendon College’s new president will have to hit the ground running when he arrives next month, facing an immediate cut in state funding and the departure of one of CC’s top administrators.
The governor’s office informed the college December 1 that another 2½ percent will be withheld from the current state appropriation, which amounts to the loss of about $150,000, outgoing CC President Bill Auvenshine said.
“It is extremely unfair for a new president to have to deal with cuts as soon as he takes office,” Auvenshine said, speaking of Dr. Phil Shirley, who will take over on January 1.
“It makes it extremely difficult because the budget has been passed by the board of regents based on promised funding, contracts have been let for the year, and supplies have been purchased to accommodate an increased enrollment,” Auvenshine said.
The college has about $80,000 in a contingency fund, the president continued, and depleting that will leave no money for emergencies that might come up.
Shirley will also have a vacancy to fill in the dean of instruction’s office after Dr. Debra Kuhl accepted a job as Vice President of Instruction at Galveston College, where former CC president Myles Shelton now presides.
“I will truly miss this community and the college,” Kuhl said.
Kuhl was hired here by Shelton as he was leaving CC. Her final day will be this Friday, and her new job at Galveston starts January 3.
Auvenshine said he would not make an interim appointment to fill the dean’s position in his final days as president.
“I’ve spoken with Dr. Shirley, and he thinks he might hold the position open until he can do a thorough search for a replacement,” Auvenshine said.
The CC Board of Regents will meet to discuss Kuhl’s resignation and matters of college business this Thursday, December 16, in the Bairfield Activity Center.
Bring Back the Mulkey
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