Roger Estlack

Citizens interested in serving on local boards have only until this Friday, February 18, to sign up for office.

As of Tuesday, only one board will be having an election, and three boards do not yet have enough candidates for all the seats that are available.

Clarendon College, with six of its nine board positions available this year, has only one candidate so far. James Shelton is running for a full term on the board. Three full six-year terms are available on the college board – the positions of Shelton and Susie Shields as well as one vacant seat. Two partial terms are available for two years – one seat is held by Lon Adams and the other is vacant. And one other partial term is available for four years, and that seat is currently held by Chris Matthews.

Clarendon CISD incumbent Trustees Robin Ellis and Chuck Robertson have filed for re-election. One other open Clarendon school board position is currently held by Zack Robinson.

Hedley Mayor Carrie Butler has filed for re-election with no opposition, and Sandy Wilkinson has filed to run for one of the two seats available on the city council. Aldermen Tom Carson and Danny Russell have not yet filed for re-election.

The City of Clarendon has four people running for three seats on the city council. Incumbent Aldermen John Lockhart, Larry Jeffers, and Eulaine McIntosh will be joined on the ballot by former alderman Tommy Hill.

A full slate of candidates has filed for re-election in Howardwick without opposition thus far. Incumbent Aldermen Mary Grady, Terry Barnes, and Del Essary are all seeking new terms.

All incumbents on Donley County Hospital Board have filed for re-election, including Jan Farris – Place 4, Nikki Adams – Place 5, Mark C. White – Place 6, and Lori Howard – Place 7.

Hedley CISD also has candidates for both of its open board seats with incumbents Bruce Howard and Michael Metcalf both signed up.

All local boards are elected at-large, but hospital board candidates must file for a specific place on the board. Candidate applications are available from the administrative offices of each entity.

Filing continues through Friday, February 18. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 7, 2022.

Early voting begins Monday, February 14, in Texas Republican and Democratic Primaries, and the Donley County Republican Party will host a Meet & Greet with the GOP candidates on this Thursday, February 10, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Bairfield Activity Center.

Voters of both parties can cast early ballots at the Donley County Courthouse Annex. County Clerk Vicky Tunnell reminds everyone that voter’s registration cards have not gone out but says voters do need to bring their driver’s license or other form of identification with them to vote.

The county positions up this year are all being sought by Republicans, and only two races are contested.
Three Republicans are running to be Justice of the Peace of Precincts 1 & 2 – Sarah Hatley, Connie Lane, and Kristen Taylor. Ashley Savage is also on the ballot but said last week that she had withdrawn as a candidate.

The JP office is currently vacant after Judge Pam Mason resigned her office in December.

The other local competitive race on this year’s Republican ballot will be Precinct 4 Commissioner Dan Sawyer, who is being challenged by Brad Dalton.

Other local positions are uncontested, and those candidates are Judge John Howard, Treasurer Wanda Smith, Clerk Vicky Tunnell, Precinct 2 Commissioner Daniel Ford, and Precinct 3 & 4 Justice of the Peace Pat White.

Former Donley County deputy Randy Bond is also running for Constable of Precincts 3&4, a position that is currently vacant.

Early voting will continue through February 25. Election Day will be March 1.

With less than two weeks remaining in the sign-up period, only one out of seven local governments has enough candidates to hold an election this year, and some positions have no candidates at all as of Tuesday morning.

The City of Clarendon has four people running for three seats on the city council. Incumbent Aldermen John Lockhart, Larry Jeffers, and Eulaine McIntosh will be joined on the ballot by former alderman Tommy Hill.

A full slate of candidates has filed for re-election in Howardwick without opposition thus far. Incumbent Aldermen Mary Grady, Terry Barnes, and Del Essary are all seeking new terms.

All incumbents on Donley County Hospital Board have filed for re-election, including Jan Farris – Place 4, Nikki Adams – Place 5, Mark C. White – Place 6, and Lori Howard – Place 7.
Hedley CISD also has candidates for both of its open board seats with incumbents Bruce Howard and Michael Metcalf both signed up.

Hedley Mayor Carrie Butler has filed for re-election with no opposition, and Sandy Wilkinson has filed to run for one of the two seats available on the city council. Aldermen Tom Carson and Danny Russell have not yet filed for re-election.

Clarendon CISD incumbent Trustees Robin Ellis and Chuck Robertson have filed for re-election. One other open Clarendon school board position is currently held by Zack Robinson.

Clarendon College has six positions available on the board of regents with no candidates as of press time. Three full six-year terms are available – the positions of Susie Shields and James Shelton as well as one vacant seat. Two partial terms are available for two years – one seat is held by Lon Adams and the other is vacant. And one other partial term is available for four years, and that seat is currently held by Chris Matthews.

All local boards are elected at-large, but hospital board candidates must file for a specific place on the board.

Candidate applications are available from the administrative offices of each entity.
Filing continues through Friday, February 18. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 7, 2022.

The Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department is reminding everyone that there is still a Burn Ban in effect for Donley County.

CVFD asks that everyone use common sense when performing any action could result in a wildfire. Recent snows have done little if anything to lessen the wildfire danger.

While the Donley County Burn Ban attempts to prevent wildfires by banning burning on the worse days, a day the burn ban is not in place is not an indication that conditions are safe for an individual to conduct a burn.

If you do plan on welding or performing any burning, make sure you have a method of fire suppression at hand and clear the work area of fuels such as grass. Check the weather forecast and pay close attention the wind.

If in doubt, contact any of your local fire officials for advice. Do your part to keep your local fire departments in the station.