After less than a week on the job, Hedley’s incoming city secretary has called it quits. Bill Farris was hired last Tuesday and went to work Wednesday to succeed Randy Shaw, who is leaving the city July 31. But City Hall says Farris quit Friday after the job turned out to be more than he could handle.
News
Hedley hires new staff
The Hedley Board of Aldermen hired new staff members during a called meeting Tuesday night, July 20.
Mayor Dusty Wilkinson tells the Enterprise that Bill Farris will succeed Randy Shaw as City Secretary, and Leah McCleskey and Jason Conatser will be the city’s new clerk and maintenance worker.
Farris began work Wednesday, Wilkinson said. McCleskey and Conatser will begin next Monday.
Jury finds Randall guilty of assault
A Donley County jury convicted Michael Randall of the second degree felony offense of sexual assault of a child last Thursday, July 15, and sentenced him to 13 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Randall, a 22-year-old Clarendon resident, was arrested for the offense of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a sexual assault on May 29, 2009. The Donley County Sheriff’s Office earlier that day had received a report that a man had forced his way into an apartment on Rosenfield Street and assaulted a 15-year-old girl.
Randall was indicted by a Donley County Grand Jury on June 22, 2009, for three different felony counts that occurred on May 29, 2009.
The trial began last Tuesday morning with jury selection taking most of the day. At four o’clock, District Attorney Luke Inman presented the opening for the State to the 12-member jury of Donley County residents.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the State called its first witness, the victim to the sexual assault, which had occurred on the last day of school for Clarendon ISD in 2009.
“It takes great courage to get up before your attacker, your family, members of the court and 12 complete strangers and tell them all about the horrific events that you just want to forget,” said Inman. “Our victim is a courageous young person and made this guilty conviction possible.”
After the victim testified on Tuesday afternoon, the court recessed.
On Wednesday morning, the State continued its case by calling five more witnesses. State’s witnesses included Virginia Young, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Sheriff Charles “Butch” Blackburn and Chief Deputy Randy Bond.
The Donley County Jury deliberated on Thursday morning before returning their verdict of guilty to the lesser included offense of sexual assault of a child.
“Like always, the Donley County Sheriff’s Office did an excellent investigation and provided this office with all the information to proceed in this very serious trial.” Inman said. “Sheriff Blackburn and his deputies, along with the SANE nurses in Amarillo, place high importance on offenses involving children and they cannot be commended enough for the outstanding work they all do.”
Sheriff Blackburn commended Inman’s efforts to convict Randall.
“I appreciate the hard work the DA’s office put into this case,” Blackburn said. “He worked closely with us, and the end result was we sent a rapist to prison.”
Randall was also assessed a $3,000 fine by the Donley County Jury. Randall has four felony counts still pending in District Court. This trial was continued two previous times due to the defendant’s requests.
Enterprise wins WTPA awards
The Clarendon Enterprise received three first place honors in the West Texas Press Association’s 2009 Better Newspaper Contest last Saturday, July 17.
Results of the contest were announced during the WTPA’s 79th annual convention at the MCM Grande Dome in Odessa.
The Enterprise won first place in Advertising with two ads. One was a Cornell’s Country Store ad designed by Julie Shields, which judges praised for its ability to attract the right target audience through the good use of photography and copy. The other ad was an Enterprise-D “Postal Hike” ad designed by Ashlee Estlack that pokes fun at the Post Office. Judges said the headline and illustration worked hand in hand to get the selling point over immediately which is the key to a strong ad.
Roger Estlack earned a first place plaque for Editorials about last year’s sheriff’s contract with the city and about the impact to the community when Stanley’s closed its General Motors dealership last spring.
The local paper also received first place honors for Photography from last year’s basketball playoffs, and Estlack received a third place recognition for Column Writing.
The Enterprise competed in Division D for small weeklies. The Albany News was recognized as the top paper in that division.
Good beef… naturally
All Natural Beef. It’s what’s for dinner at the 3-H Beef Ranch.
The Gene and Kathy Hommel family are in their ninth year of raising and selling USDA Certified All Natural Angus and Charolais Beef on their certified USDA All Natural Age and Source Ranch.
Each calf born on their ranch is under the All Natural Program, meaning they are personally cared for all the way through harvest and are never given growth additives, hormones, or antibiotics.
“These cattle are under strict guidelines,” said Gene, owner and manager of 3-H Beef Ranch. “You can’t give them anything that will leave residue in their system. Once a calf is doctored from a sickness, it can’t go back into the program.”
Gene cooked up the idea to grow and sell All Natural Beef about 11 years ago.
“I just wanted to get premiums and grow the best product we can produce,” Gene said. “There is a new market for it, and we decided we wanted to tap into that.”
To get into the program, the USDA had to audit the Hommels’ management system.
“They check records of when you turn your bulls out, when the first and last calf is born, how you identify calves you doctored, your cattle handling techniques, pens, water, working facilities and grass management,” Gene said.
“There’s a standard for everything you do when raising these cattle.”
The Hommels first marketed their all natural cattle through the US Premium Beef and Myers programs, but last year they decided to get a label and package their own brand of beef.
“Packaging our own beef is a way to take advantage of our genetics and what facilities we have,” Gene said. “It’s been a challenge getting our own label though.
You have to prove everything on it, even that we have five generations in our
family.”
In order to follow one of the many rules, the Hommels have to substitute paddles for hot shots and incorporate new techniques for handling their cattle.
“In the USDA guidelines, it says that ‘cattle must be handled quietly and firmly to avoid unnecessary distress or pain’,” owner and bookkeeper Kathy said. “There is even a certain way we have to put them down if we can’t get them well, like a
Hospice Center.”
Each animal in the program has an Electronic Identification (EID) tag that keeps record of them from their birth to when they are packaged.
“We have been EID tagging our cattle for several years now,” Kathy said. “Gene has truly been on the cutting edge of everything new that has come out.”
The EID tags and the All Natural Program helps consumers know exactly where their beef comes from and what processes the animal has been through up to harvest.
“Some people don’t trust big corporate organizations,” Kathy said. “They hear about beef on the news and then they want to know where it came from, and most people trust home-grown beef and the records we keep.
“We don’t cut corners, and our family works hard to produce a safe product that we can place on our table and one you can place on yours.”
The 3H Beef Ranch’s All Natural Beef brochure says that their healthy beef “emphasizes safety, quality, tenderness, flavor, and marbling.”
“Gene has heart problems, and since we started eating All Natural Beef he hasn’t had anything wrong,” Kathy said. “I know it has everything to do with Prayers, but
I also believe that it has something to do with our healthier diet.”
Gene and Kathy stress that their All Natural Beef is just an option, and they respect other beef production programs.
“We want to promote this positively,” Kathy said. “We also grow beef that isn’t All Natural, and if it was true that it is bad for you, then we wouldn’t be alive right now.”
The Hommel family is now in their 77th year in the cattle business through six generations. They plan to continue their legacy in the cattle industry through their All Natural Program.
“We want to pass this down,” Kathy said. “Gene’s granddad was very into passing the beef business down to our family. We want to make this size operation work so we can pass it on to our kids and grandkids.”
City aldermen discuss issues with water lines
The Clarendon Board of Aldermen were meeting in called session to discuss water lines as the Enterprise went to press Tuesday night after the topic generated comments at last week’s regular meeting.
Following a public hearing last week on the city’s application for a state grant to replace an aging main sewer line, Alderman Kyle Davis inquired as to why a grant couldn’t be applied for to replace water lines in problem areas of the city. A representative of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission responded that grants are most likely to be awarded in neighborhoods with the low incomes.
As the meeting drew to a close, Davis again brought up water issues and asked if residences in the west side of the city were all tied in to new water lines yet.
Interim Administrator Phyllis Jeffers replied that the city only had two men to do that work and discussed some of the delays they have had in working on that.
Several aldermen said they understood the constraints of time and being understaffed, but they expressed a desire to see more attention paid to tying into the new lines.
“I have been chewed out royally about it,” Alderman Larry Hicks said, noting that there are many residences with black pipe stubbed up in their yards.
Alderman Will Thompson said he thought addressing water concerns should be more important that some other activities from a health perspective.
Jeffers explained that if the city pulled more resources to address the water issues other work around the city could suffer, but also said she would speak to the city engineer about the possibility of hiring a contractor to finishing tying things together.
In other city business last week, the Board of Aldermen took the following actions:
Approved a resolution authorizing the application of a $275,000 grant for sewer line replacement; Approved a new five-year contract for law enforcement with the Donley County Sheriff’s Office; Approved a request for a curb cut at 621 S. Leroy Street; and Approved allocations from the Motel Bed Tax Fund of $5,000 each for the Buck’N Blowout Rodeo and the Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff.
The board also voted to change the time and location of its regular meetings, which will now be held on the second Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in the Burton Library.
Summer Celebration to spotlight Clarendon
Clarendon will be in the spotlight this Thursday evening as NewsChannel 10 comes to town with its 2010 Summer Celebration on the Donley County Courthouse Square.
The Clarendon Tourism Committee invites everyone to be on hand as the news team broadcasts live at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 p.m. Activities scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. KEFH and KLSR radio stations are also going to be broadcasting from the celebration.
This fun-filled event will showcase Clarendon as a progressive community with a rich heritage of Agriculture, Education, Religion, and the Arts. The Celebration promises to have something for everyone including local musicians, an antique car show, a Farmers’ Market, demonstrations, and raffles.
One of the highlights of the celebration will be the Amarillo Star contest, which is reaching out this year and opening auditions to soloists, duets, trios and quartets.
“We thought it would be fun to add more competition to the event this year by opening the contest up to more than soloists,” said Maryann Hueston, Amarillo Star Chairman. “We look at this as an event to showcase our areas talent and since we encompass the Tri-State area we wanted to open the competition up to groups.”
For more information about the Amarillo Star contest, call (806) 376-7767.
Summer Celebration organizers have also planned games for kids of all ages, such as a dunking booth, water games, a bounce house, a Busy Town Mystery, a greased pig catch, a stick horse rodeo, horseshoes, washers, marbles, sack races, limbo, redneck golf, wagon rides, marbles, a cow train, watermelon seed spitting, and more.
Food vendors are scheduled to offer a wide variety of tasty morsels, including candy, sausage wraps, chopped beef sandwiches, stuffed jalapenos, burritos, pizza, cotton candy, nachos, cakes and pies by the slice, funnel cakes, ribbon fries, corn dogs, and brownies.
The evening will conclude with a special movie showing of The Karate Kid at the Sandell Drive-In from 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Contact Terry Askew at 874-5001 or Denise Bertrand at 874-2846 for more information.
New City Judge
One big flower
City, county okay sheriff’s contract
Donley County Commissioners’ Court approved a new contract between the Sheriff’s Office and the City of Clarendon last Tuesday, and city officials followed suit this week.
Sheriff Butch Blackburn said the new five-year agreement for law enforcement services in the city will provide his office with annual two percent increases.
The current contract amount is for $130,000.
“This way each entity knows every year what’s going on, and we don’t have to worry about it,” Blackburn said. “It’s good for everybody.”
Details of the new agreement were ironed out during a meeting last month which included the sheriff, County Judge Jack Hall, Mayor Chris Ford, and Interim City Administrator Phyllis Jeffers.
Also under the new contract, fines collected in the city will go to the city, and the sheriff’s office will enforce city ordinances, Jeffers said.
“We had a good meeting with a spirit of cooperativeness,” Jeffers said. “(The contract) is fiscally responsible and maintains a high level of law enforcement. I was pleased with the outcome.”
Jeffers said the city and county will still meet annually to review the agreement and make sure it is working well.
The Clarendon Board of Aldermen approved the contract at their regular meeting last night.
In other count business last week, commissioners approved employees’ health insurance for the coming year through, which includes an eight percent increase in premiums. The court also approved a bid on tax delinquent property and approved a request for a deed to clear up title to an acre of land in Section 14 that was once part of the Watkins School.
The commissioners also met in regular session July 12 and took the following actions:
Approved the 2010 Summer Celebration activities on July 22 on the Courthouse Square; Voted to sponsor the 2010 Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff with $500; Voted to approve the schedule of County Road & Bridge Fees for 2011, leaving those fees at the current levels; Approved the purchase of a storage building for use by the Justice of the Peace in Precincts 3&4; and Renewed guidelines governing tax abatements in the county for another two years.
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