News

Former Hedley city secretary Kim Gossman has accepted a plea agreement in the 100th Judicial District Court related to misappropriation of city funds in 2022.

According to the terms of the agreement filed last week in the Donley County Clerk’s Office, Gossman, identified in court documents as Kimberly Sims, was placed on three years of deferred adjudication community supervision for the third degree felony of Theft by a Public Servant for an offense that occurred on July 28, 2022.

Gossman must pay a $500 fine and $290 in court costs and restitution to the City of Hedley in the amount of $15,000.
If her probation is adjudicated, Sims faces up to 10 years in prison.

Gossman’s resignation from her position as city secretary was accepted by the Hedley City Council on January 19, 2023, following allegations of misappropriation of funds in 2022 first uncovered by the city’s auditor, city officials said at the time.

She was formally arrested and charged with Theft by a Public Servant on December 5, 2023.

District Attorney Luke Inman, along with Assistant District Attorney Harley Caudle, represented the State of Texas in the case with the honorable Judge Cornell D. Curtis presiding by appointment.

The court met by Zoom on January 9, 2025.

Also in district court, Nicholas Charles Moore accepted a plea agreement for the state jail felony charge of Driving While Intoxicated with a Child Passenger.

Moore was arrested by Donley County Sheriff’s Deputy Marasco on April 25, 2022. Moore was indicted by a Donley County Grand Jury on June 13, 2022.

According to court documents filed last week, Moore received a sentence of two years in the state jail division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice probated to two years of community supervision. He must pay a fine of $2,000, court costs of $390, and restitution of $60. Moore must also have a SCRAM device installed on his vehicle.

Waste Connections discussions continue; City okays road ‘test strip’

Clarendon’s efforts to revitalize downtown may take a giant leap forward following information presented at the City Council meeting last Thursday, January 16.

The work on the 100 block of Kearney Street was completed just over a year ago with improvements in the 200 block expected to begin this year under a new grant followed in about two years by a third round in the 300 block.

However, after opening bids for work on the 200 block of Kearney, the low bid of AAJ Concrete came in at $300,000, which is $200,000 less than the funds available for the project.

City Administrator Brian Barboza said $500,000 was available for the project. Most of that money is grant funds with the city adding a match of $98,000.

Officials with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission and OJD Engineers told the city council it had two choices – give back $200,000 in grant funds, would score negatively on the city’s next grant application or put additional city funds with the excess grant funds and try to do the 300 block of Kearney at the same time as the 200 block. Barboza said the city would possibly need to put another $150,000 into the project to overmatch and finish the work, but he said the city has the money in its investments.

Aldermen agreed that the city should seize the opportunity to finish downtown revitalization on Kearney Street in this upcoming work. The council voted to accept AAJ Concrete’s bid, and the will solicit another bid for work in the 300 block.

The council also agreed to pursue a Texas Department of Transportation grant that could potentially pay for other sidewalk improve-ments downtown, specifically in front of City Hall and neighboring county-owned buildings on the east side of Sully Street.

In other city business, representatives of Waste Con-nections were present to discuss trash collections in the city. The parties agreed that service is improving but communications can still be improved to help resolve trash pick-up issues. City officials and Waste Connections discussed steps to better quantify missed pick-ups and target efforts to address those issues.

Waste Connections District Controller Joe Landon told the council that contrary to comments made last month, his company does not want to end its relationship with Clarendon.

“We want to continue this relationship,” Landon said. “If you want to go to RFP (requests for proposals) early, we’re fine with that. We just want to be invited to the process.”

The council voted to not take legal action against Waste Connections at this time as they continue to work together. Landon agreed problems in the past have been the fault of the company, but Alderman Eulaine McIntosh noted that it is the council that gets the “brash from the citizens” when pick-ups are missed.

The council approved an easement request for American Electric Power for a new transmission line that will go from Clarendon to Jericho.

Desert Mountain Corporation representative Pamela Tuttle made a presentation about a proposal to rehabilitate Front Street from Jefferson to McClelland. The $14,400 project would use new materials to mix with millings and stabilize the road and control dust while making the road resistant to water.

The council approved the project as a “test strip” with the possibility of using the method on other dirt roads in towns if it is successful.

A request for $1,000 from the Donley County Senior Citizens Center for its meal program was approved.

The council also appointed Mayor Jacob Fangman to a vacant seat on the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation Board.

One week into the sign-up period and only the City of Howardwick has any candidates lined up to run for office this spring.

The cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick; the Clarendon and Hedley school districts; and the Donley County Hospital District all have a total of 19 positions available this year.

Howardwick Alderman and Mayor Pro-tem Johnny Floyd has signed up to run for the vacant mayor’s position, while Alderman Jada Murray has filed to run again. Matt Moore has also filed for the other available alderman’s position.

In Clarendon, the full two-year terms of Mayor Jacob Fangman and Aldermen Terri Floyd and Eulaine McIntosh are up this year along with partial terms expiring in one year held by Aldermen Ashlee Estlack and Mandy Smith.

Hedley has three aldermen’s seats up this year. Those are two-year terms and are currently held by Aldermen Larry Ely, Tanya Gibson, and Jennifer Floyd.

Howardwick has the full two-year terms of the mayor and two aldermen up this year. The mayor’s seat is currently vacant, and the aldermen’s positions are held by Johnny Floyd and Jada Murray.

Clarendon ISD Trustees serve three years, and the terms of Robin Ellis, Chuck Robertson, and Donny Howard are expiring this year.

Hedley ISD has two full three-year terms up this year. Those seats are held by Bruce Howard and Michael Metcalf.

The Donley County Hospital District Board of Directors has three two-year terms up this year. Those are currently held by Rose Lemley – Place One, Jeff Robertson – Place Two, and Cindy Shelton – Place Three.

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 14. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 3, 2025.

Bingo lovers will win gift cards and enjoy chili and cornbread when the Clarendon Lions Club holds its Valentine’s Bingo Saturday evening, February 15.

The event will start at 5:30 p.m. at the Clarendon Lions Hall, and proceeds will go to help the club improve the kitchen facilities in the building to help better serve the community.

The building that now serves as the Lions Hall was originally moved to Clarendon following World War II after its service ended as a German POW barracks in McLean. The building has served the Lions and the community well for more than 70 years. In addition to the weekly club meetings, the Lions Hall hosts the regional office for The Bridge – Children’s Advocacy Center, has been available for many community events over the years, and is often rented by families and businesses throughout the year.

Tickets for the Valentine’s Bingo are $30 each. Seating is limited so get your seat reserved early by going by the Enterprise or calling 806-662-4689.

Citizens wishing to serve their community can now start signing up next for positions at six local governments that are scheduled to hold elections this spring.

The cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick; the Clarendon and Hedley school districts; and the Donley County Hospital District all have a total of 19 positions available this year.

In Clarendon, the full two-year terms of Mayor Jacob Fangman and Aldermen Terri Floyd and Eulaine McIntosh are up this year along with partial terms expiring in one year held by Aldermen Ashlee Estlack and Mandy Smith.

Hedley has three aldermen’s seats up this year. Those are two-year terms and are currently held by Aldermen Larry Ely, Tanya Gibson, and Jennifer Floyd.

Howardwick has the full two-year terms of the mayor and two aldermen up this year. The mayor’s seat is currently vacant, and the aldermen’s positions are held by Johnny Floyd and Jada Murray.

Clarendon ISD Trustees serve three years, and the terms of Robin Ellis, Chuck Robertson, and Donny Howard are expiring this year.

Hedley ISD has two full three-year terms up this year. Those seats are held by Bruce Howard and Michael Metcalf.

The Donley County Hospital District Board of Directors has three two-year terms up this year. Those are currently held by Rose Lemley – Place One, Jeff Robertson – Place Two, and Cindy Shelton – Place Three.

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 began Wednesday, January 15 and continues through Friday, February 14. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 3, 2025.

Municipalities in Donley County started off the calendar year with positive sales tax growth when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar distributed January allocations last week.

The City of Clarendon’s revenue was up 2.81 percent for the month at $39,535.48 compared to $38,454.40 at this time in 2024.

Hedley was up 9.68 percent with an allocation of $874.43 compared to $797.23 last January.

Howardwick’s allocation was up 42.85 percent to $1,812.53 this month, beating last January’s revenue of $1,268.81.

The new Donley County Assistance District Number One in Howardwick brought in $1,132.90 to assist law enforcement in the county. That sales tax started being levied in October following approval of Howardwick voters last May.

Statewide, Hegar delivered $1.1 billion in local sales tax allocations for January, 0.3 percent more than in January 2024. These allocations are based on sales made in November by businesses that report tax monthly.

Nearby, the City of Claude’s January allocation was down 7.89 percent at $21,304.92, and the City of Memphis dipped 7.37 percent with an allocation of $27,388.68.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and PanTeXas Deterrence LLC, (PXD) Manager and Operator (M&O) of the Pantex Plant, last week announced completion of the last production unit of the B61-12 modification.

The B61 nuclear weapon has been in service since 1968, with numerous performance modifications. For more than a decade, thousands of workers across the nation’s Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) have focused on the B61’s life extension program (LEP), updating or replacing weapons components, extending its service life by at least 2 decades.

“Completing the B61-12 is the result of extensive collaboration across the nuclear security enterprise and represents a major technical achievement,” said Teresa Robbins, Assistant Principal Deputy Administrator for Operations at the National Nuclear Security Administration.

“For over 40 years, Pantex has been the nation’s primary nuclear weapon assembly, disassembly, and life-extension center – the work you do here is critical to our nation’s security and your performance reflects positively on the entire enterprise.”

“It’s complicated to execute our mission, and that entire team has to operate to near perfection, in order to achieve this kind of milestone,” according to Kelly Beierschmitt, PXD President and General Manager.

The ending of the current version of the B61 weapon marks one of the biggest modifications ever attempted within the NSE.
“So, this is a very large program,” said Todd Welchlen, Senior Project Manager for NNSA. “We have Pantex, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos, Savannah River, and Kansas City. We’ve also integrated Boeing and we’ve got the Department of Defense represented as well.”

“I think it’s really been a good collaboration between all the organizations, all the sites in the country, have contributed in some way to making sure we have this modification that helps deliver something that the military needs,” said Joseph Papp, PXD Senior Director of Production Engineering.

“I am very proud of the teamwork and want to personally thank the entire NNSA for making this happen. Teamwork was essential in completing this very important milestone. The challenges were communicated early, and this dedicated team worked to resolve them with urgency,” said Jason Armstrong, Pantex Field Office Manager.

Realizing a final completion of a record for any weapons system’s modification is a major milestone and it represents another successful chapter in the history of the B61-12.

“The significance of this accomplishment is great when you zoom out and think about the role the B61-12 plays in our overall nuclear deterrent, not only for our nation, but for our allies, as well as the globe,” said Colby Yeary, PXD Mission Assurance Officer. “The analogy of having a puzzle and all the puzzle pieces fitting together comes to mind…and without the B61-12, we would have an incomplete puzzle.”

That sentiment was echoed by Beierschmitt. “The world’s not gotten safer, it’s gotten more challenging with geopolitics, and every time we make a delivery, every time we do something on schedule, it signals to the entire world that this deterrent is strong.”

Pantex’s modernization efforts continue as antiquated structures are removed and new buildings are erected as replacement facilities. Two years ago, Pantex broke ground on the Advanced Fabrication Facility (AFF), replacing structures built nearly 80 years ago.

For more than 58 years, Pantex has manufactured high-explosive (HE) charges for every weapon in the nation’s nuclear stockpile. The AFF, with an approximate cost of $21 million, has a footprint of 20,000 square feet and will provide a more efficient and cleaner workspace for development and testing operations.

“The AFF will enable Pantex to support Weapon Modernization Program production, which directly impacts deliverables to our Department of Defense customer and global security for the nation,” said Jason Armstrong, Pantex Field Office Manager. “Completion of this facility is another example of our commitment to our mission and to our designation as the National Nuclear Security Administration High Explosives Center of Excellence for manufacturing.”

Pantex HE production is wide-ranging; providing cradle-to-grave HE manufacturing for all weapons programs. The AFF replaces an inadequate legacy facility with an annual maintenance cost exceeding $470,000. It also allows for consolidation of operations from three World War II-era buildings, allowing for improvements in operations and efficiency.

Senior Director of Explosives Technology Operations Monty Cates is proud of the unique HE work performed at Pantex. “The AFF is a testament to the talent, dedication, and hard work of the people who worked on it, such as the contractor and subcontractor partners, Construction Projects, Engineering, Production Projects, the Advanced Fabrication team, and many others,” said Cates. “This facility houses some of the most technically advanced subtractive and additive manufacturing machines available, which will positively impact Pantex’s ability to support the Global Security Mission now and in the future.”

Other near-term construction projects supporting the HE mission include the High Explosives Science and Engineering Facility and the High Explosives Synthesis, Formulation, and Production Facility.