Ben Estlack

Garbage was high on the agenda of the Clarendon City Council when it met in regular session last Thursday.

With some residents continuing to report Dumpsters not being picked up, the council met in closed session with the city attorney for about 25 minutes to review the city’s franchise agreement with Waste Connections for the collection, hauling, and disposal of solid waste.

After the council returned to open session, aldermen approved a motion to retain the Underwood Law Firm and direct them to send a demand letter to Waste Connections.

City officials also heard a presentation from G&H Waste and Recycle Contracting. Clayton Vickers said his company is not in the garbage collection business but instead provides management solutions for trash service. G&H would be a middleman between the city and the current or any future solid waste company. G&H would handle solicitation of bids when the time comes next year, customer complaints once a company is on board, and review the billing between the city and the trash company. Customer billing would still go through the city.

The city council took no action on G&H’s proposal pending an opinion from the city attorney as to whether or not doing so would violate the current agreement with Waste Connections. The council also wants G&H to provide references.

In other city business, the council selected a proposal from Tascosa Office Machines for a new multipurpose printer for the Burton Memorial Library and also approved a motion to confirm AW Broadband for internet services after the company completed trial services.

The city’s fund investment policy was updated, and the city administrator and city secretary were again appointed as fund investment officers. Operating procedures were adopted for the city’s animal control department, and The Clarendon Enterprise was named the city’s newspaper of record for the coming fiscal year.

The city’s contract with the Donley Appraisal District for the assessment and collection of property taxes was approved for fiscal year 2025.

The council approved requests from the Chamber of Commerce to close the 100 block of S. Kearney on October 26 for Halloween activities and on November 2 for a Street Party sponsored by REFZ Sports Bar & Grill.

Spookfest ‘24 will be a fun-filled evening of trunk-or-treating, games, food, movies, and more next Saturday, October 26 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

The Mulkey Theatre Trunk or Treat will start at 5 p.m. along with games and activities hosted by local organizations. Setup for these events will begin at 4:00, and those interested in have a trunk or activity must call the Visitor Center at 806-874-2421 by Friday, October 25, at noon to have a space reserved.

The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce will hold a costume contest during the event. Registration and judging will be at the Chamber booth in front of the Visitor Center from 5:00 to 6:00.

Following the activities, Robertson Funeral Directors will sponsor a free movie at the Mulkey. Casper the Friendly ghost will show at 7:00 p.m.

The Mulkey Theatre will welcome back the Texas Comedies team to present “Bonnie & Clyde: A Musical Comedy” on Sunday, October 20, at 1:30 p.m.

In this irreverent new musical comedy about the notorious Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, a man obsessed with Bonnie pursues the two gangsters relentlessly.

This “mostly true” one-hour show with a live band is based on postman-turned-deputy Ted Hinton’s memoir, as well as newspaper and crime magazine stories of the 1930s.

Tickets for “Bonnie & Clyde” are $15 each and are on sale now at MulkeyTheatre.com and at the door.

The Clarendon College Stampede Rodeo starts this week with more than 800 contestants signing up for about 1,000 entries.

“This is about 100 more contestants than last time [in 2022],” Franks said. “It just keeps growing.”

The rodeo will run Thursday through Saturday, October 10-12, with nightly performances at 7:00. Slack runs and preliminary contests will be held each day, starting at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday with 133 contestants in Break-Away slack followed by 50 entries in team roping.

Franks said the rodeo will feature contestants from 16 colleges in the NIRA’s Southwest Region.

Cowboys and cowgirls competing in the Stampede are some of the best in college rodeo, and several will make their way to the national finals later this year.

There is no admission to attend any of the daily competitions or the nightly performances. All contests will be held in the indoor Matlock Arena at the Clarendon College Livestock & Equine Center. Concessions will be available, and Franks says at least two food trucks will be on site also.

Rodeo events will include bull riding, barrel racing, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, and more.

Hedley school officials are hoping voters will approve a higher tax rate this November to help the district compete on faculty and staff salaries and keep up with maintenance and safety issues.

The Voter-Approved Tax Ratification Election (VATRE) will be held Tuesday, November 5, which is the same day as the presidential election. Early voting will be from October 21 to November 1.

Voters are being asked to approve a 12-cent increase in the school district’s ad valorem rate, which would bring it to $0.7892 per $100 valuation, and would bring in an additional $257,394 to the district.

“We don’t have the money to compete with other districts, and we’d like to give just a little more for salaries and stipends,” Superintendent Tracey Bell said. “We’d also like to put some back for maintenance and operations.”

The school just recently had to pay out of pocket for a new roof, Bell said, and officials want to be more competitive on salaries while addressing safety concerns as well.

Bell said the Region 16 Education Service Center first brought up the idea of a VATRE election in the spring and the school board spent several meetings considering the idea before moving forward. She said a presentation two weeks ago at the Hedley Lions Club received positive feedback.

“People see it as a way to keep the school going,” Bell said.
Homesteads valued at $100,000 or less are exempt from school property taxes. A 12-cent increase would raises the Hedley school taxes on a $200,000 homestead by $120 per year.

Bell said more information is available on the school’s website, https://www.hedleyisd.net/page/voter-approval-tax-ratification-election-vatre. A calculator on the site can help taxpayers figure what their added tax burden would be.

The school will hold a public meeting on Monday, October 21, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for the board and superintendent to answer any questions citizens may have.

The Clarendon City Council will be talking trash during its regular meeting this Thursday at 5:30.

The city and residents have been grappling with issues of Dumpsters not being picked up in a timely manner, and this week’s council agenda includes reviewing the city’s agreement with Waste Connections as well as consulting with an attorney on the matter.

Last week, City Administrator Brian Barboza posted a statement on the city website addressing citizens’ complaints of overflowing trash bins. Barboza said truck maintenance issues and new truck drivers who were unaware of some Dumpsters have led to delays. He encouraged residents to notify the company directly when their trash is not picked up by going online. Click the “Missed Pickup” tab at https://www.wasteconnections.com/contact-us/.

Barboza said the following is a schedule of when trash should be picked up: Monday, Downtown and College; Tuesday, Nursing Home and Greenbelt Lake; Wednesday, West Side Clarendon; Thursday, East Side Clarendon; and Friday, Businesses and North Side Clarendon.

“We apologize for the inconvenience the trash service has caused for our citizens,” Barboza said. “Please contact City Hall at 806-874-3438 if dumpster(s) have not been picked up in a timely manner.”