News

By Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

It’s Cotton Festival time in Hedley; and folks there are ready for the 54th annual event to be held this weekend.

The Lioness Club kicks off events with their Chili and Stew Supper on Friday at 5:00 p.m. at the Lioness Hall. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3.00 for children under 6.

The Lionesses are also selling tickets for a queen size hand-made quilt. The drawing will be held on Saturday. Tickets are available for $1 each or $5 for a book of six. Tickets may be purchased at the Donley County State Bank, Herring Bank, Community Bank, Lowe’s Family Center, Burton Memorial Library, or at the Lioness Hall.

A Tractor/Car Show will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.  The Rowe Cemetery Association will hold a bake sale at the City Hall, also beginning at 10:00.

The Lioness Club will hold a Quilt Show on Saturday beginning at 10:00 a.m.. Old and new quilts will be on display. Admission is free. If you want to display a quilt, then prepare a card with the quilt’s information/history and your name.

The annual Lions Club Barbecue will begin serving a delicious meal at 11:30 a.m. The barbecue tickets are good for the drawing for a Bale of Cotton which will be given away at 6:00 p.m. at the Lions Den. You must be present to win.

The Hedley Senior Citizens will serve hamburgers all day for $5 a plate, which will include chips and a drink.

The Hedley Cheerleaders will be calling Bingo throughout the day.  There will be many prizes given away throughout the day to winners of Bingo.

The Lioness Club is also selling tickets on a half of beef, which was donated by Crow Hollow. That drawing will be held at 6 p.m. at the Lions Den.  Tickets are $2.00 each or a book of 5 for $10.  Your donation will be helping the organization roof their 100-year-old building.  The Lioness Club building houses the floats that are used for the Cotton Festival, and it has been leaking and ruining the floats.

The Kiddie Parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. down Main Street, promptly followed by the Community Parade at 2:00 p.m. Line-up for the parade will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Hedley school.

The annual Hedley School Reunion will begin after the parade at 3:00 p.m. at the school. Attendees are asked to bring finger foods and snack items. Everyone is invited to join them for a good time. The classes of the 1970s are the hosts.

At 4 p.m., barbecue sandwiches will be available at the Lions Den.

Drawings for all the give-aways will begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Lions Hall.

The Hedley First United Methodist Church will hold a Fellowship Singing on Saturday night beginning at 7:00 p.m. The fun continues on Sunday at the Methodist Church’s 100 Anniversary Celebration. The regular church service will begin at 11:00 a.m. with a great dinner and fellowship afterwards.

The City of Clarendon suspended its search for the next city administrator during the board of aldermen’s meeting last Tuesday.

After deliberating in closed session for over an hour, the board voted not to hire anyone at this time but to send letters to all the applicants for the administrator’s position thanking them for their applications.

Alderman Mark White said the city believes it may need the money earmarked for the administrator’s salary to help finish the street project, but they intend to revisit the issue and possibly conduct another search for a new administrator at a later date.

The city has been without an administrator since July 28 when former administrator Sean Pate resigned to take a position in Poteet, Texas.

In other city business, Clarendon Economic Development Corporation President Jerry Woodard addressed the aldermen and presented the 2005-2006 proposed CEDC budget for their approval. City Secretary Linda Smith noted that the CEDC board had budgeted $800 for its annual audit but that the city’s auditors had said it would cost $1,000. Aldermen approved the budget with that correction.

An amendment to the 2004-2005 municipal budget was presented and approved.

Mayor Tex Selvidge reported that he had met with County Clerk Fay Vargas regarding the possibility of having her office conduct next year’s city election using the county’s new electronic voting machines. She is willing to do this, but the charge for it will have to be approved by the commissioners’ court.

GreenLight Gas customers should sign up for the company’s 12-month average billing and do it now to ease the pain that’s going to come with this winter’s heating bills.

“I’m going on it, and everybody else should,” GreenLight General Manager Brent Wheeler told the Enterprise this week.

The dual blows of hurricanes Katrina and Rita have caused the natural gas industry to anticipate shortages this winter that could drive prices higher, and the Texas Railroad Commission reports that prices could increase 39 to 95 percent and be as high as $15 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf).

Wheeler said his company paid $8 per Mcf last year, and this week his price is at $14 per Mcf.

“Last winter, I thought it was ridiculously high,” he said. “Now we wish we had bought all we could at $8, but we thought it would come down from that.”

A consumer’s gas bill is made up of three components, and only two are regulated (the pipeline transportation and local distribution cost).  The actual commodity cost is unregulated and varies according to market conditions.

Although the industry’s storage capacity is currently a little above the five-year average for this time of year, Wheeler said market anticipation and volatility are driving prices higher.

“Everybody is scared,” he said. “Forecasters are talking about hurricanes in October. We’ve already taken two big hits (to production), and any bad news now will drive prices even higher. Supply is shut down (in some areas), and it needs to get back up and going quickly.”

Unlike crude oil and home heating oil, there are no national reserves for natural gas. But Wheeler notes that natural gas prices do track the price of oil; and some industry analysts think that if President Bush taps national oil reserves to lower those prices, gas prices might follow.

In the meantime, Wheeler says gas customers should prepare for the worst and expect those record high bills to show up in December.

Using his own personal gas bill from a peak month last year, Wheeler said gas usage that cost $143 last year will cost $206 at the current price this year. That’s a 44 percent increase, and it could get worse.

“I’ve got a fireplace, and I’ve already started chopping more wood,” Wheeler said. “My wife and I have purchased electric blankets, and we’re going to try to lower the thermostat ten degrees before going to bed each night.”

The railroad commission is also encouraging consumers to practice conservation measures that include insulating, sealing and weather-stripping windows and doors; adding insulation to attics; making sure duct work is properly insulated and sealed; and keeping blinds and draperies open on sunny days to let in the sun’s warmth.

Commissioner Victor Carrillo also said, “It is important to note that natural gas utilities are not allowed to profit off the commodity of natural gas. Instead, utilities pass the commodity cost onto customers when the price rises or falls. Utilities are only allowed to profit off transporting gas to customers. And ultimately, the RRC does not have the authority to regulate natural gas prices.”

High energy costs hit small communities hard, Wheeler said. Higher fuel prices show up not only in utility bills and at service stations, but also at supermarkets and local merchants.

Wheeler urges all his customers to call his office at 259-1444 today to sign up for 12-month average billing, and he says people should call their electric provider and do the same.

The Hedley First United Methodist Church is holding their 100th Anniversary on October 9, 2005, during the annual Hedley Cotton Festival. 

The church will hold a Fellowship Singing on Saturday night, October 9, at 7:00 p.m.  The regular church services will begin Sunday at 11:00 a.m. with a great dinner and fellowship afterwards.

In 1904, Rowe Mission, the forerunner of the Hedley Methodist Church, was started in Rowe, Texas, according to “A Century of Methodism in the Eastern Texas Panhandle” by Darlene Birks of the Pampa District.  Prior to 1904, circuit riders held services there and in 1903 Charles W. Foote, father of Dr. Gaston Foote, former pastor of the Pampa First Methodist and White Deer Methodist, was one of the visiting circuit riders.

This church was later moved to the new township of Hedley and records indicate that Rev. J.B. Wood, a circuit preacher serving on the extreme outposts, was the organizer of the church in 1907.  According to the Hedley Informer of June 28, 1912, groundbreaking services were held to start the basement.  The church was nearly finished in December 1912 and on May 2, 1913, the District conference and Sunday School Institute were held in the church.  According to the Hedley Informer of May 9, 1913, the Hedley citizens “royally” entertained the Conference delegates.  The delegates were met at the train by autos and carried to the homes assigned them, showing that not only were their homes open to them, but conveyances were also at their services.

Throughout the years, the Hedley Methodist Church has sponsored nearly everything from ice cream suppers to dinners for soldiers, to revivals and conferences. The church in the past up through the 1960s and 1970s had standing room only with about 250 members, and today they proudly support 20 wonderful members, some of whom grew up in the church.

The public is invited to help the members celebrate their 100 years of Christ.

By Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

It’s Cotton Festival time in Hedley; and folks there are ready for the 54th annual event to be held October 7, 8, and 9.

The Lioness Club kicks off events with their Chili and Stew Supper Friday at 5:00 p.m. at the Lioness Hall. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3.00 for kids under 6.

The Lionesses are also selling tickets for a queen size hand-made quilt. The drawing will be held on Saturday. Tickets are available for $1 each or $5 for a book of six. Tickets may be purchased at the Donley County State Bank, Herring Bank, Community Bank, Lowe’s Family Center, Burton Memorial Library, or at the Lioness Hall.

A Tractor/Car Show will begin at 10:00 a.m.  The Rowe Cemetery Association will hold a bake sale at the City Hall also at 10:00.

The Lioness Club will hold a Quilt Show on Saturday beginning at 10:00 a.m.. Old and new quilts will be on display. Admission is free. If you want to display a quilt, then prepare a card with the quilt’s information/history and your name.

The annual Lions Club Barbecue will begin serving a delicious meal at 11:30 a.m. The barbecue tickets are good for the drawing for a Bale of Cotton which will be given away at 6:00 p.m. at the Lions Den. You must be present to win.

The Hedley Senior Citizens will serve hamburgers all day for $5 a plate, which will include chips and a drink.

The Hedley Cheerleaders will be calling Bingo throughout the day.  There will be many prizes given away throughout the day to winners of Bingo.

The Lioness Club is also selling tickets on a half of beef, which was donated by Crow Hollow. That drawing will be held at 6 p.m. at the Lions Den.  Tickets are $2.00 each or a book of 5 for $10.  Your donation will be helping the organization roof their 100-year-old building.  The Lioness Club building houses the floats that are used for the Cotton Festival, and it has been leaking and ruining the floats.

The Kiddie Parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. down Main Street, followed by the Community Parade at 2:00 p.m. Line-up for the parade will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the school.

The annual Hedley School Reunion will begin after the parade at 3:00 p.m. at the school. Attendees are asked to bring finger foods and snack items. Everyone is invited to join them for a good time. The classes of the 1970s are the hosts.

At 4 p.m., barbecue sandwiches will be available at the Lions Den.

Drawings for all the give-aways begin at 6 p.m. at the Lions Hall.

The Hedley First United Methodist Church will hold a Fellowship Singing on Saturday night beginning at 7:00 p.m.

The fun continues on Sunday at the Methodist Church’s 100 Anniversary Celebration. The regular church service will begin at 11:00 a.m. with a great dinner and fellowship afterwards.

Motorcycles and classic cars are expected to flock to Clarendon this weekend for the first Heritage Poker Run to benefit the residents of Medical Center Nursing Home.

Administrator in-training Vicky Robertson says MCNH anticipates upwards of 300 participants for what supporters think will become an annual event.

“We’re planning for 400, and we anticipate between 300 and 400,” Robertson said. “We know we’ve got people coming from Lubbock, and we expect several from Amarillo and Pampa.”

Registration starts at 9 a.m. at the south boat ramp at Greenbelt Lake. Participants will draw one card at each of five stops for $10 per hand and can play as many hands as they want. Prizes will be given for the high and low hands.

Motorcycles will leave the lake, travel north on SH 70 to I-40, go east to the rest areas, travel on to McLean, travel SH 273 to Hedley, and then return to Clarendon. Classic cars will take the same route in reverse, and all participants will wind up between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m. at the nursing home.

A hamburger feed will close out the event. Participants and visitors can have a burger, chips, drink, and cookie for a suggested five dollar donation.

Door prizes will be given away, and a 50-50 raffle will also be held.

MCNH officials are also encouraging participants to visit some of Clarendon’s unique attractions, such as the Saints’ Roost Museum, the 1890 Courthouse, the Bar H Maize Maze, and others.

Proceeds from the event will be used to help MCNH purchase a new handicapped accessible van. The new van would be used in conjunction with the current van, which isn’t big enough carry all the residents to various activities.

For more information, contact Linda Hill at MCNH at 874-5221.

A Chuckwagon with local history was named the top winner at the eleventh annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff last Saturday.

The Adamah Ranch Chuckwagon was chosen for the best wagon and camp; and under the direction of head cook Don Johnson, it placed in two out of five food categories.

The wagon was once owned by Fred G. “Bar-O Kid” Patching and was used on the family ranch near Clarendon and on the North Tule Creek in Swisher County from the late 1800s to the early 1940s. Today, it is owned by Patching’s great grandson, Dr. A.V. “Sam” Bass, and is based at his ranch at Wayside.

The cookoff, which benefits the Saints’ Roost Museum, was hailed as a great success by museum board members.

Tickets for the authentic Chuckwagon supper sold out early last week; and just as happened the last three years, extra tickets were prepared and divided among the wagons along with additional food to meet the high demand.

Museum officials estimate 1,300 people attended the daylong event. Seven hundred people went through the lines to enjoy the Chuckwagon supper.

Breakfast and lunch concessions on the museum grounds were provided by Boy Scout Troop 433. A trade show was held throughout the day, and live entertainment was provided by local and area talent. Relatives of legendary cattleman and Chuckwagon inventor Charles Goodnight also were on hand for their annual family reunion.

The third annual Saints’ Roost Gun & Knife Show was held at the Clarendon Community Center in conjunction with the cookoff. Each cookoff ticket holder received free admission to the gun show, and attendance was believed to have exceeded that of last year.

For the prologue to the eleventh cookoff, 178 people enjoyed a delicious steak dinner Friday night on the museum grounds. The event was held exclusively for Chuckwagon team members and members of the museum and their families.

Twelve wagons competed in this year’s cookoff, and each served a menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, beans, and cobbler. Prizes totaling more than $3,000 were paid out to the winners.

Complete results are as follows:

Overall Wagon & Cooking: 1) Adamah Ranch of Wayside, 2) Gayland Ward Wagon of Hereford, 3) Rocking K Chuckwagon of Southland, and 4) Quarter Circle KC of Lockney.

Overall Cooking: 1) Rocking K, 2) JA Ranch of Paloduro, 3) Gayland Ward, and 4) T Half Circle Wagon.

Best Wagon Camp: 1) Adamah Ranch, 2) Quarter Circle KC, 3) JS Chuckwagon of Shallowater, and 4) Gayland Ward.

Best Meat: 1) Rocking K, 2) Gayland Ward, 3) C.W. Chuckwagon of Hereford, and 4) Quarter Circle KC.

Best Beans: 1) Gayland Ward, 2) JA Ranch, 3) JS Chuckwagon, and 4) Rocking K.

Best Dessert: 1) JA Ranch, 2) Rocking K, 3) Quarter Circle KC, and 4) Adamah Ranch.

Best Bread: 1) Adamah Ranch, 2) JA Ranch, 3) Gayland Ward, and 4) Rocking K.

Best Potatoes: 1) Gayland Ward, 2) Rocking K, 3) T Half Circle, and 4) Honey Do Spoiler.

Wagon Judges this year were Billy D. Bowman, Shirley Creacy, and Tonya Whipkey. Food Judges under the direction of Tashia Duncan were Jack Hall, Eddy Eads, Edwin Campbell, Mike Word, Earl Shields, MaryRuth Bishop, Susie Shields, Holly Eads, Melinda McAnear, and Terri Floyd.

Among the other winners during Saturday’s activities was Terry Ashcraft of Clarendon, who won a pair of James Owens handmade boots.

Clarendon Aldermen unanimously approved a $1.29 million municipal budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year during their regular meeting last Tuesday.

The new budget comes in approximately $30,000 below the current $1.32 million budget but still includes a three percent raise for city employees and more money for certain city functions.

City Hall anticipates collecting $439,200 from water and sewer services, $251,000 from sanitation services, $248,573 in property taxes, and $251,800 in sales taxes. The remainder of the city’s revenue comes from fines, fees, franchise taxes, and other sources.

The municipal budget reflects a savings from combining the positions of the city administrator and the city superintendent, creating one new salary of $45,000 instead of two salaries of approximately $35,000 each. The new position has yet to be filled by the board.

Aldermen also approved a tax rate of $0.4955 per $100 valuation for the coming fiscal year.

In other city business, aldermen accepted a bid from First Care for employees’ health insurance.

A contract with the City of Pampa for a solid waste disposal agreement was accepted. Clarendon’s solid waste is currently taken to the Memphis landfill, but the city maintains a contract with Pampa as a backup.

The board voted to recognize September as being National Preparedness Month and adopted a resolution encouraging local residents to give heed to this campaign.

City Superintendent Jim Roberts reported the street project to be going good, and he sought and received board approval to add Clemmon Weatherton and James Watts as full time employees.

Fourteen wagons will be rolling into Clarendon this weekend for the eleventh annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff to be held September 23-24 at the Saints’ Roost Museum.

The second annual Saints’ Roost Gun & Knife Show will again accompany the Cookoff and is the opening activity for the event, opening Friday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Clarendon Community Center. Admission is free with a cookoff ticket or $3 at the door.

Friday evening on the museum grounds is an exclusive members-only Dinner With The Cooks that starts at 6:30 p.m. 

On Saturday, the gates will open at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and lunch concessions provided by Boy Scout Troop 433. The tradeshow starts at 10 a.m., and museum tours will be available throughout the day. The gun show will resume at 9 a.m. at the Community Center.

Patrick Robertson and KEFH-FM will provide music at 11 a.m. on the museum grounds.

Live entertainment follows with afternoon performances scheduled by Audrey Brown of Clarendon; the Saints’ Roost Jamboree Band; music by Katie Askew, Dan Hall, Chandra Holman, Amber Gatlin, Tracey Rhodes, and Bill Houston, all of Clarendon; Delbert Trew of Alanreed; cowboy poet Oscar Auker of Clarendon; Andi and Alex Kitten of Lubbock; and Payton Kane of Dodson.

The Chuckwagon meal will be served at 5 p.m. with a menu of chicken fried steak, potatoes, beans, and cobbler.

At 6:30, the museum will raffle off a pair of James Owens Handmade Boots, followed by the presentation of the cookoff awards.

Admission to the all-day event is free. Tickets for the authentic Chuckwagon supper are $10 each and can be purchased in advance at Henson’s in Clarendon by calling 806/874-3517.

Boot tickets are also available at Henson’s or from any museum board member.

On Sunday morning, cowboy church will be held under the tent at the museum with preaching by Shannon Hall of Loco, Okla.

Proceeds from the cookoff and the gun show benefit the Museum’s continuing efforts to preserve the history of Donley County.

With one arrest last week the Donley County Sheriff’s Department solved three local burglaries and cleared 20 other crimes in eight Panhandle communities.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn and Chief Deputy Randy Bond traveled to Pampa and arrested 22-year-old Cody Williams on a warrant related to the August 24 burglary of Sam Hill’s BBQ.

“We really just went over there on a hunch, and it paid off big,” Blackburn said.

Williams had recently been arrested in Vega on a crime using the same modus operandi as in the Sam Hill’s break-in and was also recently found with several two-dollar bills on his person – a peculiar denomination which was the only thing taken from the barbecue restaurant.

Blackburn and Bond acquired a confession on the Sam Hill’s break-in as well as burglaries at Country Bloomers Flowers & Gifts and the Asian Café.

Williams also gave confessions and signed statements on two burglaries in Panhandle, two in Groom, two in White Deer, two in Fritch, two in McLean, three in Wheeler, three in Borger, and four in Gruver.

“This guy had basically been on a crime spree for three or four weeks,” Blackburn said.

Williams, who has a prior criminal history for theft, remained in the Gray County Jail on Monday morning on three Donley County warrants, and other counties a preparing to file charges on him.