News

Spring enrollment figures at Clarendon College are down after four years of record growth.

CC Interim President Tex Buckhaults said total enrollment was 1,441 following the 12th class day last Wednesday, a drop of 2.1 percent from last spring’s figure.

Head count on the home campus in Clarendon dropped nine percent from 295 to 268, and the count at the Pampa Center was down about 19 percent from 206 to 167.

Buckhaults said the Childress Center was a bright spot in the enrollment report with the head count there increasing 100 percent from 21 to 42.

A year ago, low unemployment in the Childress area was pointed to as the reason for enrollment dropping there by 22 students from spring 2018.

Area high school students taking dual credit classes through CC continues to rise, up 2.5 percent from 631 to 647. The number of distance education students taking classes strictly online was up slightly from 124 to 129.

Numbers were down somewhat in the Jordan and Roach correctional units, from 73 to 65 at Jordan and from 84 to 76 at Roach.

Cosmetology students in Amarillo and Canyon were up, and Pampa saw increases in both cosmetology and nursing.

Buckhaults said thanks to the increases in cosmetology and nursing, the college only lost 0.3 percent in contact hours. He also said the college can take some steps to improve enrollment in the future.

“We need to work on scheduling in Pampa,” Buckhaults said. “Students can’t find what they need at the time then need it, and 30- and 40-year-olds don’t necessarily want it online.”

Contested elections have emerged for the Clarendon school board and for the Howardwick City Council as the deadline to sign-up for local offices approaches next week.

Seven local governments are scheduled to have elections this spring, but as of Tuesday afternoon Clarendon CISD and the City of Howardwick were the only entities to report more candidates having filed than there are seats available, which will give the voters something to decide.

School board incumbent Reneé Mott has filed for re-election to the school board and will be joined on the ballot by challengers Kyle Davis and Chrisi Tucek. There are two seats up this year on the Clarendon CISD Board of Trustees. The other incumbent, Weldon Sears, has not filed for re-election as of Tuesday.

In Howardwick the terms of Aldermen Mary Grady, Johnny Hubbard, and Marietta Baird are expiring, and there are now four people running for those three seats. Challengers Jeremy Kindle and Terry Barnes have signed up for alderman, and Grady and Baird are seeking re-election.

The five remaining local governments do not yet have enough candidates to hold elections.

In Clarendon, the two-year terms of Aldermen John Lockhart, Larry Jeffers, and Eulaine McIntosh are up this year. Jeffers and Lockhart have filed for re-election.

The Donley County Hospital District Board of Directors has four two-year terms up this year. Those are currently held by Jan Farris – Place 4, Nikki Adams – Place 5, Mark C. White – Place 6, and Lori Howard – Place 7; and all of those incumbents are running again.

Hedley ISD has three full three-year terms up this year. Those seats are held by Troy Monroe, Cindy Lambert, and Susan Cosby. Lambert and Monroe have filed for re-election.

Three positions are up this year on the Clarendon College Board of Regents. Darlene Spier and Carey Wann hold two of those seats, and the third is currently vacant. Wann has filed to keep his position on the board.

The City of Hedley still has no candidates so far. Hedley has two aldermen’s seats and the mayor’s position up this year. Those are currently held by Mayor Carrie Butler and Aldermen Dustin Shatswell and Danny Russell.

Filing continues through next Friday, February 14. Candidate applications are available from the administrative offices of each entity. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 2, 2020.

Candidates continue to step forward for the 21 local offices up for election this spring, but some local governments have had no interest shown in their boards.

Chrisi Tucek has joined Kyle Davis as new candidates for seats on the Clarendon CISD Board of Trustees. Two positions are up for election on that board this year with Reneé Mott and Weldon Sears being the incumbents though neither have filed yet.

In Clarendon, the two-year terms of Aldermen John Lockhart, Larry Jeffers, and Eulaine McIntosh are up this year. Jeffers has filed for re-election.

In Howardwick the terms of Aldermen Mary Grady, Johnny Hubbard, and Marietta Baird are expiring. Those are all two-year terms. Jeremy Kindle has signed up for alderman.

The Donley County Hospital District Board of Directors has four two-year terms up this year. Those are currently held by Jan Farris – Place 4, Nikki Adams – Place 5, Mark C. White – Place 6, and Lori Howard – Place 7; and all of those incumbents are running again.

Hedley ISD has three full three-year terms up this year. Those seats are held by Troy Monroe, Cindy Lambert, and Susan Cosby. Lambert and Monroe have filed for re-election.

The City of Hedley and Clarendon College had no candidates filed as of Tuesday.

Hedley has two aldermen’s seats and the mayor’s position up this year. Those are two-year terms and are currently held by Mayor Carrie Butler and Aldermen Dustin Shatswell and Danny Russell.

Three positions are up this year on the Clarendon College Board of Regents, which serve for six years. Darlene Spier and Carey Wann hold two of those seats, and the third is currently vacant.

Filing continues through Friday, February 14. All local boards are elected at-large, but hospital board candidates must file for a specific place on the ballot. Candidate applications are available from the administrative offices of each entity. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 2, 2020.

A Childress man died in a traffic accident in Hedley Monday morning, January 27, becoming the third fatality in the US 287 construction zone there and leading the state agency to close crossings there.

Department of Public Safety Trooper Kelly Hill said 46-year-old Ronald Shane Simpkins was pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace Pat White after his westbound service truck collided with an eastbound semi-truck driven by Calvin Wayne Renfro, 43, of Irving, pulling a double trailer.

Hill said an eastbound pickup truck pulling a trailer was stopped on US 287 preparing to turn north onto the Bailey Street railroad crossing and another semi-truck was parked behind that vehicle. When Renfro came up on the stopped vehicles suddenly, he “took the wrong evasive action,” Hill said, steering to the left into the oncoming westbound traffic.

Simpkins, going westbound, steered to the right when he saw the oncoming semi-truck, and the two vehicles collided in closed lanes which are under construction.

Renfro was uninjured in the accident. A passenger in Renfro’s semi, 52-year-old Keith Williams of Waco, was transported to Amarillo for medical treatment.
Earlier this month, two women lost their lives in a January 6 accident in the US 287 construction zone in Hedley, and Trooper Hill said at least six accidents have occurred in the zone.

On January 17, the Texas Department of Transportation Childress District closed the Hwy. 203 / Main Street railroad crossing on US 287 in Hedley. Monday afternoon, TxDOT closed the remaining two railroad crossings in the city at Bailey Street and McDougal Street.

TxDOT says travelers needing to access Hedley from US 287 are advised to take FM 1260 east of Clarendon then take FM 2471 to either FM 1932 or State Highway 273. Justice of the Peace Pat White also advises travelers coming from Memphis can take CR 28 near the Giles rest area and then CR W to enter Hedley.

On Tuesday afternoon, TxDOT had reports of drivers going around the barricades on the closed intersections in Hedley. Those violators could face fines of up to $400 if workers were present.