News

It’s time to dance the night away at the second annual “Summer on the Slab” benefit concert in Clarendon Saturday, June 22.

Gates and a burger bar open at 5:30 followed by live music and open air dancing on the COEA Slab at the rodeo grounds from 6:00 to midnight.

Ed Montana will serve as master of ceremonies and will open the entertainment with musical performances scheduled to follow from the Gary Nix Band, the Buster Bledsoe Band, and the Drake Hayes Band.
A cowboy breakfast will follow the dance at 12:30 a.m.

Proceeds benefit the St. Mary’s Catholic Church Building Fund. St. Mary’s is the oldest Catholic church in the Texas Panhandle. The building was damaged beyond repair by an automobile accident, and the congregation is working to rebuild their historic church.

Tickets are $20 for the Summer on the Slab. Bring your own cooler for only $10 more, and VIP tickets are also available for $50 each and include the gate fee, waiver of the cooler fee, and access to the Coors VIP Tent. Families are encouraged to attend, and children three years old and under get in free.

Major sponsors for the event are Reed Beverage, Floyd’s Automotive, Charles Lynch Architect, and the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association.

For more information, check out the “Summer on the Slab” Facebook event page or call Chriss Clifford at 806-206-6767.

All three Donley County municipalities posted higher sales tax revenues this month when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar delivered June allocations last week.

The City of Clarendon, coming off a record sales tax allocation last month, posted revenue of $31,879.42 for its June allocation, reflecting a 6.05 percent increase over the same period last year.

Clarendon is now 6.19 percent ahead for the calendar year-to-date with 2019 revenue totaling $213,203.88 so far this year.

Hedley was up 1.44 percent for the month at $709.14 with a year-to-date total at $5,485.86, up 12.91 percent.

Howardwick’s June allocation was $1,176.85, which is an increase of 24.72 percent compared to last June. That city is now running 6.96 percent ahead for the year with revenue of $6,825.11.

June allocations are based on sales made in April by businesses that report tax monthly.

Statewide, Hegar delivered $782.1 million in local sales tax allocations for June, 10.1 percent more than in June 2018.

The Donley County Court met in Judge John Howard’s office Tuesday afternoon for a pre-trial hearing in the case of a man who is fighting a traffic citation by saying the state’s laws do not apply to him.

County Attorney Landon Lambert said Caleb Nathaniel Hudson was given a citation for speeding on December 20 near Mile Marker 166 on US 287 west of Clarendon.

Lambert said a jury was assembled for a trial in the court of Justice of the Peace Pam Mason last month but nothing happened because Hudson objected and said he wanted to have a trial “on the record.”

During that court appearance, Hudson was found in contempt, jailed for a few hours, and fined $50. He was also compelled to enter a plea.

“He could have entered any plea,” Lambert told the Enterprise. “Guilty, not guilty, or no contest – but he had to enter a plea. He pled not guilty.”

During Tuesday’s county court hearing on the record, Judge Howard explained his court’s legal jurisdiction in the case. Hudson objected, and Howard asked the defendant, who was representing himself, whether or not he believed the law applied to him as the defendant.

Hudson responded that the law of the US Constitution applies to him but the laws and statues of the state do not. He also repeatedly asked for his rights under the “laws of the Republic” as a “free man” and asked for an “Article Three court.”

Judge Howard explained that Article Three defines federal courts under the United States Constitution but that county court, which has jurisdiction in the Texas Transportation Code, is defined by Article Five of the Texas Constitution.

“I believe I have a right to the laws of the Republic,” Hudson said.

Howard ruled that the laws of Texas apply to the defendant. Hudson objected and was overruled. The judge also explained how court proceedings would work in a jury trial in county court.

The defendant got into a disagreement with the Lambert about whether or not the defendant had entered a not guilty plea. At one point, the county attorney declared Hudson had “wasted enough time” and asked the defendant if he needed to be sent to a mental health facility.

Judge Howard told the defendant he was “making this a lot more complicated than it should be,” and said that, from his writings, the defendant was trying to apply the Uniform Commercial Code when the Texas Transportation Code applies.”

When Howard said Hudson was driving at the time of the alleged violation, Hudson claimed he wasn’t “driving,” he was “traveling,” and “the Constitution guarantees my right to travel.”

He also claimed that case law says traffic citations can’t be heard by criminal courts. Howard and Lambert both challenged him to produce such case law.

“You’re telling me that every court in the State of Texas is doing it wrong?” Howard asked.

Later, Judge Howard further explained how a jury trial will be conducted.

“We will not argue matters of law before the jury,” Howard said. “We will not waste their time. The trial will be on the question of if Caleb Hudson…”

“I’m not Caleb Hudson,” the defendant said, cutting off the judge.

“If you’re representing someone else, then you are practicing law without a license, so I’m not accepting that,” Howard said.

The judge also said if Hudson attempted to argue matters of law that he had already ruled on in front of the jury, he would warn him once and then find him in contempt.

The court set Hudson’s jury trial for Tuesday, August 6, at 9 a.m.

Clarendon College graduates and employees now have a new pathway to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees through online, non-profit university WGU Texas.

Through the new agreement, CC graduates, faculty, and staff will receive a five percent discounted tuition at WGU Texas, exclusive partner scholarships, valued at up to $2,000, and can select from more than 60 accredited bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in information technology, business, health professions and teaching.

CC President Robert Riza said he is very excited to give students a way to earn higher degrees while still living and working in their hometowns.

“This is another opportunity for our graduates to complete their education at the next level while being allowed to remain employed and not have to move their families,” Dr. Riza said. “WGU is a great institution that has been at the leading edge of online education for years.”

The agreement also includes Amarillo College and Frank Phillips College in Borger.

“WGU Texas is thrilled to expand its presence in the Panhandle by providing more CC, AC, and FPC students a seamless pathway to completing their bachelor’s and master’s degrees and preparing them to enter some of the state’s most in-demand careers,” said WGU Texas Chancellor Steven Johnson.

“Community colleges enroll almost half of all students in the state – more than 700,000 students. This partnership creates an opportunity to link those students to alternative, viable pathways to earning a degree,” Johnson said.

WGU Texas’ current enrollment is more than 12,500 students, Dr. Johnson said. He added that WGU Texas students are in 17 of the counties that make up the Texas Panhandle, including Potter, Randall, and Hutchinson Counties, with students enrolled in 233 of the state’s 254 counties.

Students transferring from Clarendon can expect a comprehensive transfer policy. Information about WGU Texas’ community college partnerships and scholarship opportunities is available at texas.wgu.edu/cc.
WGU Texas is an online, nonprofit, competency-based university established to expand Texans’ access to higher education throughout the state. Formed through a partnership between the state of Texas and nationally-recognized Western Governors University, WGU Texas is open to all qualified Texas residents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Since the university’s launch in 2011, more than 11,000 graduates have earned their undergraduate or graduate degrees.

The daughter of Clarendon College’s longest serving regent and the president of CC’s regional accrediting body addressed the Board of Regents during its May 16 meeting following an April decision not to extend President Robert Riza’s contract.

Debbie Thompson, the daughter of the late Delbert Robertson, spoke to the board during public comment about what she called the discord of recent meetings.

“I’m here today in the name of my father,” Thompson said. “He served on this board for more than 50 years and was proud of this college. I stood on this land and watched my Daddy dig dirt with a gold shovel. He was so happy and proud of this college.”

Thompson said her father often spoken to her after board meetings to brag on the good things that were happening and how proud he was of the college. But she said before he died in 2017, “he saw discord starting, and he worried about it.” After a motion in April to extend Riza’s contract failed by a vote of 4-5, Thompson said she had to speak out.

“As I read the paper, my heart was breaking, and I wondered what my Daddy would think about what was said and written and the discord,” Thompson said. “My Daddy thought Dr. Riza was the best thing to happen in a long time. My grandson is graduating [high school] with 47 [college] credit hours. He wouldn’t have that.”

Thompson, who is a nurse at the public school, also praised the president’s wife, who is a third grade teacher. Although Riza still has a year left on his contract, Thompson said the prospect of losing the him as college president “is a big heartache” for her and said Clarendon would be losing “an amazing teacher” if Mrs. Riza leaves.

“Our kids are learning from us,” Thompson said. “It was discord that caused this. I beg you not to destroy what’s been built.”

Later in the meeting, Dr. Belle Wheelan, the president and CEO of the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools – Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), addressed the board.

The vote not to extend Riza’s contract apparently prompted the SACSOC president’s visit to the college board as she opened her remarks by saying, “I thought it would be good to review what SACSCOC does since you’ll obviously be going through a change in leadership.”

Wheelan presented a PowerPoint presentation of more than 30 slides, defining the role of the accrediting body and the necessity of accreditation and then focusing on the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation.

Under the Principle of Integrity, Wheelan said that it’s not what colleges do but what they don’t do that calls attention to whether they have integrity.

“If you don’t follow policies and you cover things up, that shows a lack of integrity,” she said.

She also drew attention to two separate principles – “Governing Board” and “Administration and Organization.”

“Please recognize these are two different functions and never the two shall meet,” Wheelan said. “When they do, that’s when we come in.”

SACSCOC has also adopted new principles in the last couple of years addressing board responsibilities.

“We found that many boards didn’t remember their roles,” Wheelan said. “Board members as individuals have no power.”

Wheelan said SACSCOC oversight requires that an institution not be controlled by a minority of its board members.

“When you have a handful running the board, then the board is not running the college,” she said.

SACSCOC rules also require that the board’s presiding officer and a majority of other board members are free from any contractual, employment, personal, or familial financial interest in the institution.

This requirement led to SACSCOC requiring Jerry Woodard to step down as chairman of the board of regents over a year ago due to his position as president of Herring Bank, which is the college’s depository.

“You have to keep the college free from that crap,” Wheelan said. “You all had a problem with this, and thanks for letting me in the room today because I know you were pissed about that.”

Wheelan also said it is important that the board keeps a distinction between policy-making and the responsibility of the administration to implement policy.

“This is the challenge,” Wheelan said. “Remember: ‘Eyes in; Hands off.’ Ask questions but don’t tell him [the president] how to do it.”

The college also needs to have a fair and appropriate process for the dismissal of a board member, Wheelan said.

“The state may have guidelines. Otherwise you need to have a policy to address this,” she said, noting that is important to keep undue political influences out of the college’s business and to prevent outside influence “by persons or bodies” on the president’s office.

Following her presentation, Wheelan offered to answer any questions the board might have. They had none.
SACSCOC is CC’s regional accrediting agency, assuring the quality and integrity of the college and its programs. Accreditation by SACSCOC ensures that credits earned by Clarendon College students transfer to other colleges and universities and it also ensures CC can receive federal financial aid funds.

CC had previously drawn SACSCOC’s attention a few months ago after a complaint filed by former CC Vice President of External Affairs Ashlee Estlack raised questions regarding compliance with four SACSCOC accreditation standards. The complaint followed almost two years of rising tensions between Regents Jerry Woodard and Darlene Spier and members of the college administration.

The SACSCOC Board of Trustees is expected to address that complaint next week.