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The Donley County Courthouse Annex has an entirely new look inside following a renovation completed Monday.

Judge John Howard said the county spent about $50,000 with local designers and contractors A Fine Feathered Nest to update the space.

“The work returns the space to the architect’s original design with updated finishes,” Howard said. “I think it is more functional and more attractive.”

The project took about two weeks to complete and focused on the clerk and tax assessor offices as well as the main hallway in the building.

Asbestos in the original floor tile was abated and new flooring installed, new ceiling tiles were installed, and the space was painted throughout.

The biggest changes, however, came with the removal of a partition put up in front of the clerk’s office and the re-opening of the customer service wall of the tax assessor’s office. The result is a space that is more open, more accommodating, and more accessible, officials say. New countertops also make the space look even more attractive.

Visitors to the clerk’s office now are not trapped in a tight space between the counter and a partition, and folks renewing their vehicle tags or registering to vote at the tax assessor’s office can now be easily waited on two at a time since the long counter and service window is now fully restored to its original design.

While a roll down gate had continued to be used at the clerk’s office. The gate of the tax assessor’s office service window was sealed in the ceiling but still fully functional once the wall was removed.

Judge Howard said county officials are now considering what might be done to exterior of the 1970s annex building to make it look more complimentary of the 1890 Courthouse.

Clarendon’s Downtown Revitalization Project continued this week, moving to the east side of Kearney Street and the removal of trees in front of Herring Bank.

Taking down the shade trees has sparked some comments from residents, but it was necessary to protect the new sidewalks being installed and to give way to the light fixtures that will come with the project.

Jacob Fangman, who is Clarendon’s mayor and the head of the local Herring Bank, said the trees were causing problems with the existing sidewalks. The trees’ roots have lifted and cracked the sidewalks. One section of sidewalk had been raised about 2½ inches and the gutter was starting to lift out of the street in one spot.

“People have been tripping because of them,” Fangman said. “I’ve had at least two people tell me they’ve fallen because of the damage.”

Herring Bank planted the trees and installed the existing sidewalk in 1998, but Fangman said the way the trees were planted near the bank made that section of the sidewalk not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Fangman said if the city had not gotten the grant to install new sidewalks, the bank would have had to do it for their customers. New sidewalks would have ultimately been likewise damaged if the trees were not removed.

The Clarendon Enterprise received 14 awards and a former local publisher was recognized at the 114th annual Panhandle Press Association Convention in Canyon last weekend.

Competing in Division One for weekly newspapers, Sandy Anderberg won First Place for the Enterprise for Sports Writing, and the crew of Tara Allred, Ashlee Estlack, and Roger Estlack won First Place for Advertising Initiative for ads created for the Chamber of Commerce, the Clarendon Lions Club, and the Saints’ Roost Museum.

Serious Columns by Benjamin Estlack and Roger Estlack won first place.

The Enterprise was also first place in Front Page Layout, News Writing, Spot News Photos, Society & Lifestyles, Feature Stories, Special Section, Editorials, and Website.

The Enterprise won second place honors for Sports Photos by Elaina Estlack, Human Interest Photos by Elaina and Roger Estlack, and Headline Writing.

The General Excellence in Division One went to the Enterprise this year as well.

During a luncheon on Friday, former Clarendon publisher the late Carroll Koch was inducted into the PPA Hall of Fame. Koch began her newspaper career working in the office of the Quanah Tribune-Chief for her husband J.A. Koch, who was the editor and publisher. Upon his untimely death in 1956, Koch took over the reigns as editor and publisher and became the caretaker of the news for Quanah.

In 1958, with the hiring of Ed Eakin as editor, Koch focused on being a working publisher until her retirement and sale of the Quanah Tribune-Chief in 1978.

Koch along with Eakin and Dean Singleton launched The Clarendon Press in 1972 and purchased The Donley County Leader and The Clarendon News in 1974, merging all three papers under the Press nameplate in 1975. Singleton left the partnership in 1976, and Koch and Eakin sold the paper that eventually today’s Enterprise to Helen Woody in 1978.

Jim Steiert of Hereford was also named to the Hall of Fame.

PPA officers for the coming year are President Tim Ritter of the Canyon News, Vice President Tara Huff of the Eagle Press in Fritch/Borger, Immediate Past President Jeff Blackmon of Hereford, and Secretary Roger Estlack of Clarendon. They are joined on the board by directors Shane Lance of Quanah, Shannon Cook of Canyon, Mary Dudley of Perryton, Suzanne Bellsnyder of Spearman, and Michael Wright of Dumas.

Attending this year’s annual Panhandle Press Association convention from Clarendon were Roger, Ashlee, Benjamin, and Elaina Estlack and Tara Allred.

Clarendon’s 146th annual Saints’ Roost Celebration was a big success with several new events this year and weather that was almost picture perfect on Saturday, July 2, at the Donley County Courthouse.

After triple digit heat earlier in the week, temperatures began dropping Friday, and the area was blessed with a good rain Friday afternoon and evening with some precipitation falling even early Saturday morning.

Celebration organizers were undeterred, forging ahead with setting up in wet conditions but were rewarded when the sun came out.

The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce introduced two major new events this year in addition to Herring Bank Parade and the Liberty Electric Kids Parade the Chamber has organized for many years. The Diversified Waste Lawnmower Race was held following lunch, and the Best of Donley County Blue Ribbon Exhibition was also added to the celebration. The Chamber also had fun games set up at its booth on the square. The results of the Chamber events are listed in a separate article here.

The Al Morrah Shrine Club served about 500 plates of barbecue this year. A portion of the proceeds from the annual barbecue are used in conjunction with the Khiva Shrine Temple in Amarillo to help pay for the transportation of kids to the Shriners’ burns and crippled children’s hospitals.

The Donley County Junior Livestock Association raffled off a gun, and Rhett Renner won it.

The Clarendon Lions Club’s Cow Patty Bingo was won by Pam Phillips, Katy Tubbs, Terri Floyd, and Linda Crump.

Henson’s annual Turtle Race was also held Saturday afternoon in its traditional location at Third and Kearney. A total of 169 entries competed in four different age divisions. Winning turtle jockeys this year were: age 0-4, Mac Wann; age 5-8, Cutter Ashbrook; age 9-16, Jace Conway; and 17 and up, Riley Shadle.

The annual Depression Lunch was held Friday at the Crossties Ministry Center.

The Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association hosted its ranch rodeos on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, and those results are also listed in a separate article here.