The Clarendon Enterprise received seven awards during the 105th annual Panhandle Press Association Convention in Amarillo last Saturday, April 25.
During the annual PPA Better Newspaper Contest, the Enterprise received two first place plaques in the categories of Best Feature Stories written by Roger Estlack, and Best Sport Photography for photos taken by Roger and Alice Cobb.
The paper got second place honors for Editorials, Best Website, and Best Society & Lifestyles featuring Bob Watson, Peggy Cockerham, Kathy Spier, and Ben Estlack. The Enterprise also tied for second place Best Serious Columns. Ben Estlack’s “Cub Reporter” column also received praise from the judges in the Humorous Columns contest.
The PPA was led this year by Shamrock publisher Jeff Blackmon. He will continue on the PPA board as Immediate Past President and is succeeded by Clarendon’s Ashlee Estlack as president – the fourth member of the Estlack family to lead the Panhandle Press in its 105-year history.
Other board members include Vice President Larry Thornton of Muleshoe and Secretary/Treasurer Roger Estlack of Clarendon along with directors, Tara Huff of Fritch, Joni Yara of Booker, Amanda Rogers of Canyon, Mary Smithee of Canadian, and Robin Brooks of Dumas.
The PPA represents 35 member newspapers in the Panhandle region. The association’s 106th convention will be in Clarendon on April 14-16, 2016.
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Sign up now for Mulkey booth space
Booth space reservations and car show entries are now being taken for the third annual Mulkey Block Party scheduled for Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 23.
This year’s Herring Bank Car Show has been expanded to include motorcycles, and entry fees are $20 per vehicle. Entry forms are available online here and at the Clarendon Visitor Center.
Booth space for activities, food, or vendors is $50 each on a first come, first served basis. Forms for booth spaces are also available online here or at the Visitor Center.
“Insufficient Funds” will be back on stage to entertain for the evening. Steve Hall and Jesse Lincycomb, both of Howardwick, will provide the opening musical entertainment starting about 6 p.m., and a live auction benefiting the Mulkey Theatre Project will also be held.
Entertainment activities for kids are being lined up as well, including showing cartoons in the Mulkey.
For more information on the third annual Mulkey Block Party, to rent booth space, or to sign on as a sponsor, contact the Clarendon Visitor Center at 806-874-2421.
Franks brings experience to CC rodeo
By Ted Harbin, Rodeo Media Relations
Bret Franks is a cowboy.
For the past two years, the Guymon, Okla.-born man has served as the Livestock and Equine Center director and ranch horse coach at Clarendon College, a community college in the Donley County seat. Now he’s adding rodeo coach to his list of duties, recently hired to take over the 30-year-old program.
“I feel like the Good Lord led me here,” said Franks, a graduate of Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell and a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier in saddle bronc riding. “When the rodeo coaching job came up, it was the perfect fit. It was almost like it was meant to be.”
He was raised two and a half hours north in the Oklahoma Panhandle in an agriculture family. He participated in ag-based programs and attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M on a livestock judging scholarship. He transferred to Panhandle State on a rodeo scholarship and won the Central Plains Region bronc riding championship while there.
He began a 10-year career in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1993, qualifying for the NFR as one of the top 15 bronc riders in world standings in 1997, ’98 and 2000. He won the Prairie Circuit saddle bronc riding title twice and was the 2002 National Circuit Finals Rodeo champion.
From 1995-99, Franks served as rodeo coach at his alma mater, guiding the men’s team to the national championship in 1997 and 1998. He did that while also juggling a prolific rodeo career.
“I think the biggest thing I can bring to the kids on the rodeo team is my ability to coach the mental aspect of the game,” said Franks, who lives in Clarendon with his wife, Darla, and their sons, Clint and Cole. “With my 20/20 vision of the past, I can look at the mistakes and struggles I had in the sport, and I can help them deter those problems and challenges before they ever get there.
“I can help them mentally prepare to win.”
Though he slowed down his rodeo career considerably after the 2002 season, he always was close to the game. He was the livestock supervisor and rodeo coordinator for Carr Pro Rodeo from 2005-09, then took a job as assistant manager at Cattlemen’s II Feedlot in Hedley, Texas, just a short drive from his Clarendon home. He worked there for four years until the business closed, then began his duties at Clarendon College. The institution is the first Texas junior college to have a ranch horse team, which promotes the college and agriculture in ranches and stock horse events. As the Livestock and Equine Center director, he is in charge of all events at the facility, including ropings, barrel racing competitions, bull ridings, clinics and practices, just to name a few. Now he’ll add to that list.
“It’s a big undertaking and a huge responsibility, but I’m really looking forward to everything,” he said
Bret Franks has a powerful career of rodeo experiences to use in order to help teach the young rodeo stars at Clarendon College.
Broncos claim district championship again
By Sandy Anderberg
The Clarendon Broncos are the District Champs yet again, going perfect at 8-0 in their District schedule and 14-5 overall.
Their last victim was the Kress Kangaroos on last Tuesday night at home. The Broncos started strong and only used five innings in their 14-4 win.
Clarendon got their bats going strong in the fourth inning, after putting three on the board in the opening inning, when they scored on an RBI single by Kade Hunsaker, an RBI double by Chance Lockhart, a two-run single by Clay Koetting and RBI single by Izzy Osburn. Caleb Cobb was in on the action in the first inning when he slammed an RBI double. Hunsaker posted a good game from the plate with five RBIs on just two hits.
Lockhart was on the mound for the duration and struck out 11 hitters. He allowed no earned runs, only four hits and no walks.
“Chance pitched a great game,” coach Brad Elam said. “We made a few too many mistakes in the field, but that is correctable. We hit the ball well. I am very proud of the way the kids have played in district.”
Earlier in the week, the Broncos only needed six innings to state their case against the Memphis Cyclones on the road Monday in another district match up. The Broncos scored six runs in the fourth inning that set the tone in their 15-2 win. They were able to add seven more in the final inning to seal their victory.
Kade Hunsaker was on the mound and threw 11 strikeouts and allowed no earned runs. Memphis did manage two hits and three walks over the five innings Hunsaker threw.
“It took us awhile to get going; but once we did, we were hard to stop,” Elam said. “I thought we hit the ball well, and Kade pitched a good game.”
The Broncos really got thing rolling in the fourth when Cobb hit a two-run single and Charles Mason slammed a two-run triple to add six runs to the board. Osburn and Koetting connected in the sixth with an RBI single each and Zack LaRoe made good on an RBI double.
Before the scoring ended in that inning, Caleb Cobb turned up the heat with a two-run homer. Overall, the Broncos racked up 14 hits from eight hitters, 13 RBIs and 13 scored runs.
The Broncos will play at home on Tuesday, April 28, against Nazareth beginning at 4:00 p.m. to wrap up their regular season.
Mason, Weatherton Area champions
By Sandy Anderberg
Clarendon High School’s Charles Mason out jumped and outlasted every other opponent in the long jump at the Area Meet last week at West Texas High.
Mason posted a distance of 22’2″ in the contest, outdoing his closest competitor by 10 inches.
Sprinter Amelia Weatherton ran for gold in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.90 to earn the championship in that event. Weatherton will also compete in the long jump due to her third place finish in the Area meet with a distance of 16’2 ½”, and Mason will be running in the 100-meter dash, also. He finished fourth with a time of 11.44 and earned the right to advance. Both athletes will compete at the Regional level in Odessa May 1-2 along with other athletes who finished in the top four of their event. Both the Broncos and Lady Broncos finished seventh in the final team standings.
The Bronco 400m relay crossed the wire just out of the top four, finishing fifth with a time of 45.16 and was run by Keandre Cortez, Steven Johnson, Cedrick McCampbell, and Mason. The 1600m relay took eighth place with a time of 3:54.64. Running the mile relay was Caleb Cobb, Cortez, Bryce Grahn, and Colt Wood.
The Lady Broncos’ sprint relay finished eighth at 54.45 and was run by Taylor DeGrate, Taylor Gaines, Weatherton, and Jensen Hatley. The mile relay took seventh place with a time of 4:42.36 and members were Hanna Howard, MaRae Hall, Carlee Johnson, and Abby Johnson.
Caleb Cobb will advance to the next meet with a second-place finish in the 800m run with a personal best time of 2:02.22. Cobb also competed in the 400m dash and finished sixth at 57.69. Bryce Grahn will advance in two long distance events. He ran a time of 10:24.68 in the 3200m run for second place and took third place in the 1600m run with a time of 4:51.12. McCampbell finished seventh in the triple jump with a distance of 39’7″ and was seventh in the 200m dash at 24.47.
On the Lady Bronco side, senior Abby Johnson finished second in the 400m dash with a time of 1:00.66 and fourth in the 200m dash at 27.76. Carlee Johnson ran a 2:38.66 in the 800m run to advance and Taylor DeGrate had a good run in the 100m hurdles to finish second with a time of 16.76. Berkeley Alexander took sixth in the discus with a throw of 98’10″ and seventh in the shot put with a distance of 32’6″. Allyson Grahn took eighth place in both the 1600m and 3200m runs with times of 7:01.47 and 14:51.96 and MaRae Hall ran seventh in the 400m dash with a time of 1:10.28.
“All of the athletes competed very well and I am very thankful and proud for the way they competed,” coach Johnny Nino said. “Caleb Cobb dropped his time in the 800m a full eight seconds from a personal best of 2:10 to a personal best of 2:02. He made up his mind he was going to run with the Canadian runner and it was a two-man race to the finish.
“The last time he raced the Canadian runner, Caleb lost by about 120 meters. He ran a really good race. Charles Mason is moving on in the 100m and long jump and he is getting better at both events. Bryce Grahn is moving on in the 3200m and the 1600m. I appreciate the hard work that all the track athletes have put in this year,” Nino said.
Hogan propels Lady Broncos to victory
By Sandy Anderberg
Excitement was the name of the game in the Lady Broncos’ duel to the end with the Claude Lady Mustangs last week.
After shifting the lead back and forth for the duration, the Lady Broncos came out on top 11-9 in the seven-inning game. Allyson Hogan came to the plate with Clarendon trailing by one run at 8-9. Her count was two balls and one strike and on the next pitch, Hogan slammed the homerun beyond the fence to drive in two runners and herself to give the Lady Broncos the win.
“We came to the last bat trailing,” head coach Gary Jack said. “Our first player made an out and the next two walked and then advanced to second and third on a passed ball. Then Allyson was up to the plate, and she hit it over the cars parked outside the fence for the three-run walk off.”
Jack gave credit to Sterling King for her job on the mound.
“Sterling pitched the first five innings and did a great job,” Jack said. “Taylor DeGrate pitched the last two innings and did well.”
According to Jack, Brooke Martin, DeGrate, Taylor Gaines, Hogan, and Brittney McAnear hit the ball well.
“Brooke made some good catches in the outfield, while both Taylors, Briley Chadwick and Sterling played good defense in the infield,” Jack said. “This (win) puts us at 7-2 in District and in second place alone, one game behind Follett.” The Lady Broncos are looking to begin post-season play next week.
Donley courthouse turns 125 this year
The Donley County Courthouse is turning 125 years old this year, and officials are taking steps to make sure the Jewel of the Plains is in tip top shape.
Twenty-four trees were planted on the Courthouse Square Saturday, replacing some trees that have died and planning for future shade on the west side of the square.
County Judge John Howard said lace bark elm trees were chosen for the east side of the courthouse for their hardiness and quick growth and that red oaks were placed behind the building.
The county is taking care not to obstruct the main views of the 1890 Romanesque Revival building.
During their regular meeting last Monday, April 13, commissioners discussed maintenance issues facing the courthouse house, including plaster repair near the round window on the building’s east façade, grip sealant for the courthouse steps, and expanded electrical capacity for the annual courthouse Christmas lighting.
Howard said Commissioner Dan Sawyer will work with electrical contractors on a proposal to add electrical outlets on the back of floodlights on the square.
Commissioners also approved allowing Trane to conduct an energy audit of the courthouse and other county facilities to determine if mechanical upgrades might pay for themselves through costs savings.
The county is also planning on purchasing 125th anniversary banners for light poles on the square and will be ordering patriotic bunting to go in the arches of the courthouse’s main entrance.
Howard said the commissioners’ court is committed to taking care of the courthouse and making sure it lasts for another 125 years.
Construction on the Donley County Courthouse began in 1890 and the building was opened the next year after a cost of $35,000. In 2003, the county, with state aid, donations and tax dollars, completed a full restoration of the building at a cost of $4.2 million. Today, the building is the oldest functioning courthouse in the Texas Panhandle.
County sees rise in foreign residents
By Tim Marema and Roberto Gallardo
Like most of the United States, Donley County saw an increase in the number of foreign-born residents over the last decade.
From 2000 to 2012, the number of Donley County residents who were born in a foreign country grew by 28 people to an estimated 91, according to U.S. Census data.
The percentage of county residents who are foreign born also increased during the period, from 1.6 percent to an estimated 2.5 percent.
The findings could be important locally because a new study by the Daily Yonder indicates rural counties with a higher percentage of immigrants are doing better economically.
The study looked at the nation’s 1,966 nonmetropolitan counties, including Donley County. Nonmetropolitan, or rural, counties have no cities of 50,000 or more residents and don’t have strong economic ties to a county that does.
The research showed that counties with a higher percentage of their population born in foreign countries generally had a higher per capita market income and more jobs. These same counties also tended to have lower rates of unemployment and better poverty than counties with a smaller proportion of immigrants.
In Donley County, the economic results were mixed throughout the period of the study.
• Total employment grew by 7.6 percent to an estimated 2,260 full and part-time jobs.
• Unemployment rose by 1.4 percentage points to 5.4 percent.
• And the percentage of people living below the federal poverty line fell slightly from 18.6 in 2000 to an estimated 18.2 in 2012.
The county’s overall 2012 population estimate was 3,700, a decrease of 4.6 percent over the past decade.
The connection between more immigrants and better economic performance did not surprise James H. Johnson Jr., a University of North Carolina business professor who has researched the economic impact of immigration.
“What people don’t understand is that immigration is a selective process,” he said. Immigrants tend to be younger and healthier than the general population, he said. “They are risk takers by definition. For them, the glass is always half full.”
But the demographic change can be challenging for smaller communities, said Daniel T. Lichter at the Cornell University Population Center.
“Whether communities take advantage of the potential of immigrant communities to improve the local economy depends on local leadership and how well they respond to immigrant populations,” he said.
The study is based on the 2000 U.S. Census and five-year American Community Survey data from 2012, the last year available when the study was conducted. The survey data is an estimate and has a margin of error that varies with county size.
More details on the study are available at www.dailyyonder.com/immigration2015.
Tim Marema is editor of the news site DailyYonder.com. Roberto Gallardo, Ph.D., is a Daily Yonder researcher and an associate extension professor at the Mississippi State University. The Daily Yonder (www.dailyyonder.com) is published by the Center for Rural Strategies, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Whitesburg, Ky.
Thornberry introduces taxpayer rights bill
WASHINGTON – On Tax Day last week, US Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced legislation to lessen the burden on small business owners and assist taxpayers in cutting through IRS red tape.
The Small Business Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2015 would lower compliance burdens for taxpayers, strengthen taxpayer protections, compensate taxpayers for IRS abuses, and improve taxpayer access to the U.S. Tax Court System.
“All too often, the federal government, especially the IRS, places unnecessary burdens on our nation’s most important job producers: small businesses,” said Thornberry. “The laws and regulations that come out of Washington should always first do no harm, but they should also help grow our economy and American jobs.
“This bill provides hard working small business owners with important protections against an IRS that has been out of control for far too long.”
“Tax Day serves as an annual reminder of the complexity and inefficiency of our federal tax system, and especially the burdens the IRS places on jobcreating small businesses,” Cornyn said. “This bill takes concrete steps towards easing that burden so the small businesses that drive our economy can get back to what they do best – innovating and creating opportunity across America.”
CC Regents authorize renewing 33 faculty
Clarendon College Regents approved renewing 33 faculty contracts during their regular meeting last Thursday, April 16.
Regents met in closed session for about 45 minutes before seven people addressed the board in public comments on behalf of three current faculty members who were not on the list of renewals and in support of two athletic programs being shuttered by the college.
Students of drama instructor Leslie Schnaufer, rodeo coach Cody Heck, and English instructor Cannon Roberts spoke up for their teachers, and a member of the CC cross-country team also asked the board not to end his program.
Mr. Heck also spoke on his own behalf, and Interim faculty member Dr. Lauraine Paul spoke in favor of keeping the cheerleading and cross-country programs as well as asking the board to look into why her employment was not being continued.
The board voted unanimously to renew the contracts of the following faculty members as presented: Jay Anders, Welding; Dale Askew, RFO; Cathryn Bailey, ADN; Melvin Balogh, Volleyball Coach/Instructor; Erinn Campbell, Cosmetology; Dr. Edward Caraway, Biology; Valerie Conrad, ADN; Charla Crump, Speech; Kory Dunn, VN; Russell Estlack, Biology; Scarlet Estlack, Biology; Amanda Fefel, Softball; Bret Franks, Ranch Horse; Brian Fuller, History; JoAnne Genn, ADN; Alicia Hunter, VN; Kim Jeffrey, Criminal Justice / Government; Dr. Russell Killingsworth, Chemistry; Addie Lees, Women’s Basketball / Instructor; Melissa McCoy, English; Kelly McDonough, English; Devin McIntosh, Baseball /Instructor; Andy McLatchy, Government / History; Jamie Mears, VN; Jana Oliver, Cosmetology; Linda Rowland, Math; Dr. Jeremy Sain, Math; Letha Storrs, Cosmetology; Johnny Treichel, Ag / Judging; Daniel Trejo, VN; Laban Tubbs, RFO; Frank Vance, Math; and Ken Wilson, Psychology / Sociology.
The board also voted unanimously to end the cross-country and cheerleading programs.
This week CC President Robert Riza said the cheerleading and cross-country programs were designed to bring in specific numbers and never hit their marks. Resources for those programs will be folded back into the CC athletic department so that the college could focus on its core programs. Cheerleading and cross-country students under scholarship at CC will have their scholarships renewed despite the elimination of those programs, Riza said.
Riza also said the college was not backing away from its commitment to fine arts or to rodeo.
“We are not shutting down rodeo or drama,” Riza said. “We want to make those programs stronger. In fact, expanding fine arts is part of our strategic plan.”
On Tuesday, the Riza administration announced that CC Ranch Horse Team coach Bret Franks will be overseeing the rodeo team, and the college began taking applications for a drama instructor.
In other college business last week, Regents approved a $77,328 proposal to purchase Microsoft Surface tablets for its Ranch & Feedlot Operations and ADN nursing programs. The expenditure will be partially offset by student fees and will eliminate a lot of paper waste at the college. Each RFO student currently receive 14 three-inch, three-ring binders of information, and this pilot program will put all that information at the students’ fingertips on a digital tablet. Students who graduate from the programs will get to keep their tablets.
Regents also ratified the employment of Lisle Rowland as an accountant and JoAnne Genn as nursing instructor.
Amarillo College Board Chairman Don Nicholson addressed the board on legislative affairs and issues facing community colleges in Austin right now.
In his President’s Report, Riza said new bathrooms under construction at the Livestock & Equine Center were nearing completion and should be finished by mid-May.
Riza also said an energy study done by Trane has identified $45,000 to $50,000 in potential savings if mechanical equipment was updated at the college. Trane will have a more detailed report in three to four months.
Interim Vice President of Instruction Roger Schustereit gave a short report for his office and said he was proud of the students who had addressed the board in open forum for speaking articulately and rationally for their views.
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