Chamber Award Winners
Broncos’ two-year reign ends
Carter earns top Chamber honor; Floyd, Newhouse are Man, Woman of 2022
The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce recognized Janet Carter with the 2022 Saints’ Roost Award for her lifetime of service and commitment to the community during the annual Chamber Awards Banquet last Thursday, February 23.
Man of the Year honors went to Keith Floyd, and Anndria Newhouse was named the Woman of the Year.
Mike’s Pharmacy was named the Business of the Year, and, in a new category, the Donley County Courthouse Lighting Committee was named the Volunteer Organization of the Year.
The Saints’ Roost Award is the highest honor given annually by the Chamber to recognize a lifetime of volunteering and community service.
Carter was recognized for a lifetime of passionate service to the kids of our community. She and her late husband, Steve Carter, started working with Ted Shaller’s children’s ministry at the Methodist Church more than 20 years ago before eventually founding Christ Kids Ministry and dedicated themselves to helping kids in need. Together than ran the summer food program, delivering 100 or more meals to children in Clarendon five days a week. Over time, she helped the ministry as it established the first community free Thanksgiving lunch in 2008 and started the Christmas Angel Tree project. She was also active with her husband in supporting Troop 433 of the Boy Scouts of America. After her husband passed away in 2019, she has continued to lead the ministry, which served 90 lunches five days a week last summer and helped 85 kids on the Angel Tree
The Man of the Year for 2022 was Keith Floyd, who has volunteered for many causes, including Little Dribblers, Cub Scouts, the Chamber Kids Parade, the Bread of Life food ministry, and the senior citizens center. He’s also a loyal volunteer for the Christ Kids, which led to his involvement with the annual community Thanksgiving lunch. This past year, when it looked like that service might not happen, he stepped up and helped ensure it continued. He also led the start of a new tradition – a Christmas Eve lunch for the community.
Anndria Newhouse was named Woman of the Year for working tirelessly to help with many activities throughout the community. In addition to being a faithful helper in her church, she delivers Meals on Wheels, helps at the senior center, helped organize the Senior Thang fundraiser, and leads service projects with the Lions Club. This past year, in her role as president of the Pony Parents organization, she saw a need and led fundraising efforts that have culminated in the upcoming construction of a new playground that will serve our elementary children with hours of outdoor fun.
The Chamber of Commerce named Mike’s Pharmacy as the Business of the Year. Mike’s has been serving Donley County for 44 years after being founded by Mike Butts inside Gibson’s Discount Store before eventually moving across the highway to its present location in the mid-1980s. Following Mike’s retirement in 2013, Clarendon native Mark Land purchased the business, kept the name, and hired Brandon Frausto as the chief pharmacist. In 2022, the community faced a challenge when the Outpost Pharmacy closed after 40 plus years in business. Brandon and his team worked hard and made the transition very smooth and simple for Outpost customers to transfer their accounts and prescriptions to Mike’s Pharmacy, going above and beyond to serve their new customers with ease, caring, and friendliness.
The new Volunteer Organization of the Year was presented to the Donley County Courthouse Lighting Committee. For nine years this group has taken time out of their weekends to labor on the Courthouse lawn and decorate it for Christmas. Each year requires many hours of work, but the work pays off on Thanksgiving weekend when the 1890 Courthouse grounds is lit with thousands of lights and the community gathers to sing carols and officially start the Christmas season. The program is led by Denise Bertrand, but she will be the first to tell you that it is a group effort that involves people from all over town as well as college students.
The Chamber also recognized outstanding youth from Clarendon and Hedley.
Makenna Shadle is the Young Woman of the Year from Clarendon. She has been a class officer, a member of NHS and a Student Council officer. She plays basketball for the Lady Broncos and is a team captain. She has received All-District recognition and the CHS Fighting Heart Award. She is a member of the First Baptist Church youth group and has been a lifeguard at the Clarendon Aquatic Center. She is actively involved with Christ’s Kids Outreach Ministry. She has prepared and delivered meals for the Summer Lunch Program and participated in the school supply hand out and the Angel Tree project.
The Young Man of the Year from Clarendon is Tyler Harper. He is a member of the National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is involved in stock shows and livestock judging through 4-H and FFA. He advanced to the Regional Cross-Country meet in 2019 and 2020. He and his varsity basketball team won the UIL 2A State Championship in 2022. He and the varsity baseball team made it to the Regional Quarterfinals in 2022. Tyler enjoys helping others, especially if it pertains to ranching, welding, and mechanics. He has helped with cemetery clean-up, courthouse lighting, serving veterans, canned food drives, toy drives, and the Senior Citizens Center. He is currently taking dual-credit classes with Clarendon College and will obtain an Associates in Science degree shortly after graduating high school. He will be attending Texas State Technical College in the fall to pursue a degree in Wind Energy Technology.
Josh Booth is the Young Man of the Year from Hedley. He has participated in track, tennis, football, basketball, cross country and One act play all four years of high school. He has made regionals in cross country all four years and made the state meet once. He has been selected to the academic all-state teams in football and cross country this year. He was district champ back-to-back years in the 1600 meter. While playing basketball he was named MVP of his district in 2022 and has been named all district in the 4 years he has played. He has been a member of the Hedley National Honor Society and president for 2 years. He volunteers his time to help the younger classes of his school.
He also made regionals 3 out of his 4 years in UIL events. He is taking dual credit classes from Clarendon College and will graduate with 28 hours of classes and will be 2 hours shy of completing his freshman year of college. In his spare time, he works at Monroe’s Peach Ranch and stays in the gym as much as possible.
Savannah Trent was the Young Woman of the Year from Hedley. She is a senior and member of the NHS. She is a captain for the basketball team and runs track and cross country. She played tennis her junior year, getting fourth place in girls doubles at district. She has been a cheerleader and was the captain this year as well.
She was a part of the one act play and advancing to regionals each year in UIL. She is a member of the FFA and was crowned homecoming queen this year. She has been taking dual credit classes for the last three years through Clarendon College. As member of the NHS, she has helped with many events including food and toy drives.
This year’s Chamber banquet followed a 1950s “Sock Hop” theme with many in attendance dressing the part and was catered by Great Western Dining. Approximately 175 people attended the event, which was held in the Bairfield Activity Center.
Entertainment for the evening was provided by the band “Geezers Gone Wild” of Amarillo and Borger.
Tables were sponsored by the City of Clarendon, Clarendon College, The Clarendon Enterprise, Donley County Courthouse, Donley County Senior Citizens, Herring Bank, Phelps Plumbing, Pilgrim Bank, Saints’ Roost Museum, Shelton & Shelton Law Offices, and Tony Clemishire.
Chamber President Ashlee Estlack named the City of Clarendon as having the Best Dressed Table during the banquet.
Alderman Eulaine McIntosh decorated the table complete with a recreation of the Old Gym with opening doors and a Sock Hop going on inside. Characters from Grease and some local faces could be seen in the table decorations also.
This year’s corporate sponsors were Best Western Red River Inn; The Clarendon Enterprise; Greenbelt Electric Cooperative; Greenbelt Water Authority; GreenLight Gas; Robertson Funeral Directors; Nutrien Ag Solutions; Liberty Electric, Plumbing, & Construction; Lowe’s Family Center; and Budweiser.
City okays CEDC deal to bring in restaurant
The Clarendon City Council met in called session last Wednesday, February 22, to consider engineering firms for upcoming projects and to consider an economic development agreement for a new downtown restaurant.
Aldermen scored High Plains Engineering as the highest ranking firm to handle the city’s next proposed CDBG grant for water and wastewater systems improvement. City officials also selected OJD Engineering as the highest ranking firm for the second phase of Downtown Revitalization improvements.
The selection of engineering firms is part of the process in applying for grants to fund those projects.
City aldermen also discussed the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation’s proposed agreement with Ricardo Santillan to open a second location of his Guymon, Okla., based REFZ Sports Bar & Grill to CEDC owned property at US 287 and Kearney Street in the former Clarendon Steakhouse building.
CEDC Vice President Taylor Shelton answered questions about the agreement, and the council gave its unanimous approval, clearing the way for Santillan to take possession of the property and begin renovations.
Santillan plans to have REFZ open for business here this October.
Attracting a new downtown restaurant has been a priority of the CEDC Board of Directors for several years.
CC Spring enrollment down 7.4%
Clarendon College’s spring enrollment is down 7.4 percent compared to a year ago.
Following the census date after the first 12 days of spring classes, CC was down 99 students total with a student headcount of 1,237 in all locations compared to 1,336 in 2022.
CC President Tex Buckhaults said the college expected numbers to be off when fall enrollment was down, noting that spring numbers are typically lower than the fall headcount.
The Clarendon campus is down 13.5 percent at 39 students at 249, which is above 2021’s enrollment of 249 but not as high as last year’s 288.
Pampa is down 32.8 percent at 86 students compared to 128 last spring.
Distance education – students taking strictly online classes – fell from 145 last spring to 127 this spring, but dual credit enrollment – students taking college classes through area high schools – was up 18 students at 587.
The Childress Center was down by four students at 33, and the Amarillo Center stayed even with 55 cosmetology students.
Classes taught in area corrections institutions fell by 56 students.
Total contact hours for Clarendon College for the spring 2023 semester show an overall decrease of 8.3 percent at 257,808 compared to spring 2022. Contact hours are the basis for state funding for CC.
Last year’s spring enrollment was up 4.46 percent with CC reporting 1,336 students compared to a total headcount of 1,279 in 2021 following the COVID-19 outbreak. Before the pandemic, CC’s 2020 spring enrollment was 1,441.
Jury finds local man guilty of evading
A Donley County jury convicted Darren Ray Gunnels for the third-degree felony offense of evading arrest in a motor vehicle in last Wednesday, February 22, in district court.
After hearing that the State filed a notice of enhancement in the punishment phase to increase the punishment to a second degree felony, the jury sentenced Gunnels to 20 years, the maximum available punishment, in the Texas Department of Justice, Institutional Division.
District Attorney Luke Inman, along with Assistant District Attorney Harley Caudle, prosecuted the case for the State of Texas, with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.
Gunnels, 45 from Clarendon, was arrested by Donley County Sheriff’s Deputy Wesley Christopher on August 12, 2022. Gunnels was originally indicted on October 3, 2022, for three felony counts.
“Gunnels has been a degenerate burden on our community for 25 years,” said Caudle. “This is his ninth felony conviction and will be his fourth trip to prison. I can only hope that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles will keep him locked up for the full 20 years this time, because we don’t want him back.”
The State called three witnesses in its case in chief, including Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn and Deputy Wesley Christopher.
Christopher testified to the Gunnels’ vehicle pursuit and Gunnels jumping from the vehicle illegally parked in the middle of the road through the passenger window.
Christopher said there were multiple turns and blown stop signs while Gunnels was accelerating away from his unit, according to testimony.
“Our unsuspecting children are not looking both ways across the street every time like we would hope for, looking for vehicles taking erratic turns and speeding down residential streets,” said Inman. “This defendant’s actions were just as dangerous as the perpetrators that drive over 100 miles per hour down 287. They all have to be stopped and arrested before they injure our loved ones.”
Blackburn informed the jury that, contrary to Gunnels’ assertion at the time of his arrest, the syringe found in Gunnels pocket was not for the treatment of a medical condition such as diabetes.
“I can’t even count the number of times a defendant has claimed he is a diabetic in hopes that would explain away his possession of a syringe,” said Caudle. “I guess methamphetamine degrades critical-thinking ability so much that the subject actually thinks law enforcement will believe it.”
After all the evidence, Gunnels was convicted of the evading offense and acquitted on two other charges before the evading took place.
Juries get to hear the testimony and see the evidence presented at trial and make an informed decision from there, according to Inman.
“We appreciate all of [the jury’s] hard work and attention during the trial,” said Inman. “When we get the same type of punishment we are asking for in these evading cases from a jury it makes us and law enforcement feel like we are looking out for everyone’s best interest.”
The enhanced second-degree felony, which Gunnels was convicted for, had a maximum of 20 years.
CC Rodeo team wins in Odessa
The Clarendon College men’s rodeo team got off to a good start for the second semester by picking up right where they left off, winning the Odessa College rodeo this past weekend.
Five of the ten saddle bronc riders in the championship round were from Clarendon College.
Will Pollock won the event average by scoring 83 points to win the final round and placing 3rd in the first round with a 79 point ride. Dylan Hancock was 2nd overall with his 79.5 and 81 point rides.
Weston Patterson was the All-Around Champion by winning 6th place in the saddle bronc riding average and 4th place in the bareback riding.
Cauy Masters and Slade Keith finished 7th and 8th with their rides. Clarendon College alum and Sul Ross University cowboy Cole Franks won both rounds and the average to claim the championship in the bareback riding. The Bulldogs will have a month off before the season picks back up at the Ranger College rodeo in Sweetwater March 23-25.
City releases two administrator candidates
The Clarendon City Council released two candidates from its search for the next city administrator during last Thursday’s council meeting.
Brian Barboza – City Administrator at Knox City and Vance Lipsey – former Town Manager at Lake City, Colorado, were both personally interviewed by the council February 2 but have now been removed from consideration.
That leaves Fred Ventresco – Town Administrator at Pine Tops, North Carolina, as the last remaining candidate, but city officials say he has not been named as a finalist for the job. Instead, the council last week approved up to $500 in travel and accommodation expenses for Ventresco to visit Clarendon later this month for a face to face meeting.
Aldermen conducted a virtual interview with Ventresco on January 26.
In other city business last week, the council approved a resolutions calling for an election on May 6 to elect the mayor and two aldermen and also to reauthorize the one-quarter percent sales tax for street maintenance and repairs. A resolution was also approved to have the city election conducted by the Donley County Clerk’s office in conjunction with the hospital district and the school district.
A PanComm radio tower lease agreement for emergency communications was approved.
The council accepted the low bid of $406,924 for a CDBG grant project to replace a sewer lift station.
The figure is over budget, however, so officials will value engineer the project to get it back into budget.
The city also renewed its agreement with the City of Pampa as an alternate location for animal control services.
Filing deadline Friday
Candidates continue to sign up for local offices as the deadline to sign up approaches this Friday, February 17.
Howardwick Mayor Tony Clemishire and Aldermen Johnny Floyd and Jada Murray are all running again.
Hedley incumbent Aldermen Trisha Chambless, Alicia Hanes, and Jennifer Floyd have also filed paperwork to seek reelection.
Clarendon Mayor Jacob Fangman and Alderman Eulaine McIntosh have filed for re-election. Alderman Terri Floyd had not filed at press time but told the Enterprise she will be a candidate for re-election.
At Clarendon ISD, incumbent Chrisi Tucek and challenger Mike Word have filed to run for the two open spots on the Board of Trustees.
Rose Lemley, Jeff Robertson, and Melinda McAnear has filed to run again for their Place 1, 2, and 3 positions on the Donley County Hospital District Board of Directors.
Hedley ISD has two full three-year terms and one unexpired term up this year, and incumbents Troy Monroe and Shauna Herbert have filed for reelection to her full term.
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. Applications for the City of Clarendon positions are also available at cityofclarendontx.com.
Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 6, 2023.
City sales tax hits new February high
Comptroller Glenn Hegar Distributes $1.3 Billion in Monthly Sales Tax Revenue to Local Governments
Clarendon bucked a two-month decline in sales tax revenues and set a new record when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar delivered February allocations last week.
The city brought in $52,610.48 for the month, an increase of 7.02 percent over the same period in 2021 and an all-time high for February sales tax revenue. Clarendon now has received $90,252.04 for the calendar year to date, up 3.23 percent compared to one year ago.
Hedley’s sales tax revenue increased 55.39 percent to $1,836.40 for the month. Hedley’s year-to-date total is now $2,660.97, up 33.81 percent.
Howardwick was also up with an allocation of $2,142.63 for February, up 22.98 percent and pushing that city’s year-to-date figure up 19.54 percent from a year ago at $3,355.04.
Statewide, Hegar sent $1.3 billion in local sales tax allocations for February, 9.3 percent more than in February 2022.
These allocations are based on sales made in December by businesses that report tax monthly; October, November and December sales by quarterly filers; and 2022 sales by businesses that report tax annually.
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