News

By Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

Events are being lined up for the 126th anniversary Saints’ Roost Celebration and Ranch Rodeo to be held in Clarendon July 1, 2, and 3.

Kicking off the celebration will be the Star Spangled Small Town Celebration held at participating merchants in Clarendon.  Businesses will have sales, give away prizes, and hold special events each day of the celebration.  For more information, call Terry Saye at 874-3844.

An Open Ranch Bronc Ride will be held on Thursday night at the Rodeo Grounds.  The Ranch Rodeo will be held Friday and Saturday night with ten teams competing each night.  Events include Bronco Riding, Wild Cow Milking, Team Branding, and Team Doctoring/Team Sortin’. The rodeo will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night. There will also be a RHAA Ranch horse Competition at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The Outdoor Entertainment Association will also hold an open Junior Calf Ride for ages 0-8 and a Steer Ride for the older kids each night of the rodeo.  The entry fee is $20. They will also have the Donkey Ride and Open Calf Scramble. These events are sponsored by Donley County State Bank, Walco, and West Texas Western Store.

Several giveaways will be announced during the rodeo, including a $200 beef certificate drawn each night. The National Finals Rodeo Trip and the Utility Trailer Giveaway will announce their winners on Saturday night.

The Rodeo Dance will be held throughout the celebration with Gary Alan Bruce performing on Thursday and Friday nights.  The band for Saturday night has not been announced.

On Friday, the Donley County Horse Club will hold its annual Stick Horse Rodeo for the kiddoes at the parking lot by the Post Office beginning at 10:00 a.m.

The Depression Lunch will also be held on Friday beginning at 11:30 a.m.  A meal of beans, cornbread, and dessert will be served in front of the Downtown Ministry building.  Later that day, that will also be the site for the Battle of the Praise Bands, which will begin at 2:00 p.m.  For more information about the Battle of the Praise Bands, please call Joburta Helms at 874-2528.

The celebration swings into full motion on Saturday with the Arts and Crafts Fair at City Park.  The event is being organized by the Donley County 4-H.  Booths are $25.00 each, and you can get your entry form today by calling 874-2141.  The fair will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Bicycle Parade will begin at 10:00 a.m.  Entry forms are available at the Chamber of Commerce Office or will be printed in The Clarendon Enterprise next week. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. at 601 S. Kearney, which is across the street from the City Park. 

The annual old Settlers Reunion and Shriners barbecue will be held at the City Park beginning at 11:00 a.m. under the pavilion. 

The parade starts at 2 p.m. Entries need to line up at noon near City Park. Entry forms are available at the Chamber Office.  The deadline for entry forms is June 25.

Kids, get your turtles ready for the annual Turtle Race to be held at 4:00 p.m. at Henson’s.  Registration will begin soon at Henson’s.

Mark your calendars now for the celebration and bring the whole family out to enjoy the festivities.

A ten-year-old Clarendon boy drowned at Lake Greenbelt Sunday, and officials have ruled the death an accident.

Neal D. Harris and three young friends rode their bicycles from Clarendon to go swim on the north side of the Greenbelt Dam near Sandy Beach, according to information from the Donley County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said Harris had asked his mother to take them swimming and she had told them no and said she would take them later. They boy and his friends then went without her knowledge.

Harris had told a friend that he was able to swim but apparently got into trouble in an area where the depth of the lake changes quickly.

Emergency personnel were dispatched at 4:50 p.m. with units responding from the sheriff’s office, the Greenbelt Lake Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety, the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department Dive Team, and the Associated Ambulance Authority.

Dive team members recovered Harris at 5:37, and he was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy performed in Lubbock on Monday gave the cause of death as an accidental drowning with no signs of foul play. No charges are pending in the case, Blackburn said.

Chief Deputy Randy Bond called the accident a tragedy for Clarendon and Donley County but praised the work of the dive team.

“We are really blessed to have a local dive team,” Bond said. “There ain’t nothing harder than pulling a child out like that. They have to live with that. That’s a hard job.”

Services for Harris will be held at 11 a.m. this Saturday at the First United Methodist Chruch.

The TAKS results are in, and Clarendon public school officials are mostly happy with the scores of local students.

Students in grades three through eleven were given the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exam this year with the main concern noted by administration being the math portion of the exam.

“We are very pleased with how the students performed this year,” CISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger said. “But our math needs to improve.”

“At the elementary level, we have a few concerns we’re going to address, and at the Junior High and early high school levels statewide and across the region, there are math concerns as well.”

State law requires that third-graders must pass the reading portion of the exam to be promoted to fourth grade, and 100 percent of the third-graders at Clarendon Elementary passed.

The third grade students also were tested in math and scored 86 percent, which is below the state average of 90 percent.

Clarendon fourth graders scored above the state average of 85 percent in reading with 91 percent passing, but fell below the state averages in math and writing. 76 percent passed in math compared to the state average of 86 percent, and in writing 88 percent passed compared to the average of 90 percent.

The fifth grade students in Clarendon were tested in reading, writing, and math and scored above state and regional averages in all three.

“You always want better scores,” Clarendon Elementary Principal Mike Word said. “It’s a hard test now, and I know that in each group, our kids came up on an individual basis.

Word also said that he met with his staff and looked over the test results to determine which areas needed improvement.

“We need to focus more on math, and we’ll do that,” Word said.

Sixth grade students at Clarendon Junior High were tested in reading and math. They fell below the state average of 86 percent in reading with 84 percent passing, but scored higher than the state average of 77 percent in math with 79 percent passing.

The seventh graders were tested in three areas and scored 93 percent in reading, 73 percent in math, and 90 percent in writing. The scores were higher than the state averages of 83 in reading and 70 in math, but fell just below the average of 91 percent in writing.

CISD’s eighth graders exceeded the state averages in all three of the areas they were tested in.

Clarendon Junior High Principal Marvin Elam said the students came close to the level of performance that was expected in both reading and writing, but in math the students still needed improvement.

“We were pretty close to where we thought they’d be and where we set our goals,” Elam said. “In math we’re still struggling, but we’ll get there.”

Clarendon ninth graders exceeded the state averages in both reading and math, while the tenth graders surpassed the state averages in writing, math, social studies, and science.

Clarendon juniors scored above state averages on all four portions of the exam, with passing rates of 88 percent on the writing exam, 97 percent on math, 100 percent on social studies, and 97 percent on science. The state average scores were writing 87 percent, math 85, social studies 97, and science 85, according to information from CISD.

When asked how he felt the high school students did on the TAKS exam, Clarendon High School principal Larry Jeffers simply responded “Vini, Vidi, Vici.”

“We were really pleased with the juniors’ results,” Jeffers said. “We have some that will retake the test this summer and hopefully pass, and the freshmen’s weakest test was math, but that was statewide.

“The sophomores did a great job overall and probably did better than any other class. The teachers did a great job, and we know where we need to go from here to continue to get better,” Jeffers said.

Districtwide, Clarendon students stayed above the state averages in reading, math, writing, social studies, and science.

The school administrators are in agreement that the students did well, but they now see the areas that need improvement.

“We’re starting to break down the test results to see what areas we need to address.” Hysinger said.

“We plan to continue to stay above the state and regional levels to make the students as well as the community proud,” he said.

This marks the second year for the TAKS standardized test. The state began a focused approach to provide scientifically based reading instruction after the creation of the Texas Reading Initiative in 1997.
Local boy drowns at Lake Greenbelt

COLLEGE STATION — Fed cattle prices are predicted to decline slightly this summer as beef supplies become seasonally larger, but prices should rebound again this fall as feeder cattle supplies tighten, a Texas Extension economist said.

“We’re going to be pulling cattle forward in July, August, and September; but we’re not going to have large numbers,” said Dr. Ernie Davis, Extension livestock marketing economist. “And the weights on those cattle may not go up if grain prices increase.”

Cattle prices have remained strong through the first quarter of 2004, but several key factors could stir the market: Future discovery of mad cow disease, high grain prices, and future terrorist attacks leading up to the November presidential election could impact trading activity, Davis said.

The current beef market continues to ignore what some in the industry thought would be negative effects on pricing. Upon announcement of the first confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States last December, the market dipped for only a week before bouncing back.

Most recently, the futures market continued to climb amid a federal investigation as to why a suspect cow at a San Angelo packing facility was not tested after staggering and falling down. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is continuing its investigation into the incident.

The scenario during the fall of 2003 could happen again in 2004, Davis said. Ranchers last fall were marketing cattle at a furious pace to take advantage of high prices. Packers were also pulling feeder cattle “green” from feedlots to keep up with demand.

While Davis said the United States will not run out of feeder cattle, supplies are tight because of liquidation among cattle herds the past five years. Drought conditions in the Midwest forced a number of cattle to be sold off, and many producers have been taking advantage of high prices and selling off heifers.

Also contributing to the shortfall, Davis said, is the continued ban on live cattle trading with Canada, which has not allowed feeder steers and heifers to enter the USA.

The second quarter of 2004 saw beef production down 4.8 percent from a year ago, said Jim Robb, director of the Denver-based Livestock Marketing Information Center.

“The first quarter saw beef production down 7.8 percent,” Robb said. “There’s not many quarters in history with a minus 7 percent in front of it. Given our cattle supply, we’re still cyclically tight on cattle. With our export market representing 10 percent of our beef production, it’s something that gets harder and harder to compensate for as you get into summer months.”

Weekly slaughter has been below 600,000 head a week, he said. “We need to be around 650,000 in the next few weeks and on into summer. We’re very current right now.”

US beef cow inventory as of January 1 was at 32.86 million, compared to 32.98 million head the same time a year ago.

“That’s a reduction of 100,000 head of beef cows in the United States,” Robb said.

International trade with Japan and Korea also plays an important role, and ongoing negotiations could re-open those borders by the end of the year, increasing demand, Davis and Robb suggested.

Both Japan and Korea are big consumers of chuck and round cuts, which “as we move into the summer months, they are hard to move,” Robb said. “You don’t want to lose sight that Korea is the second or third largest export destination for U.S. beef,” he said.

Feeder supplies are predicted to remain tight on through 2006.

“The heifers being held this year, it will be 2006 before they calve,” Davis said. “It will be 2006 before we see a significant increase in beef tonnage,”

Robb added. “The fall of 2006 will be the first time you will see a decrease in feeder calf prices.”

Davis noted the marketings from the weaned calves in the summer and fall of 2006 will be big, “Then we’ll see softening in the prices for these feeder calves, probably for the first time.”

WHITE DEER – The Board of Directors of the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District last Wednesday remanded to the rules committee a proposed decline limit of 1.26 percent a year for the Ogallala Aquifer.

Board members said they wanted to carefully consider all the comments made at the public hearing and ensure that water users clearly understand the rule’s ramifications.

The limit proposal is part of a newly proposed Rule 16 intended to implement the District’s goal of preserving 50 percent of the groundwater in 50 years time.

The District’s hallmark 50/50 Standards says that at least 50 percent of the aquifer must be left in 50 years, starting in 1998.  The standard underpins the management plans of both the District and the Panhandle Water Planning Area.

In other business, the District approved 113 Initial Production Permits and four single well production permits.  The District also approved one Agricultural Conservation Equipment Loan.

Mary Ruth Bishop of Lubbock will become the family and consumer sciences agent with Texas Cooperative Extension in Donley County effective June 2.

The appointment was announced by Donna Brauchi, district Extension administrator in the Panhandle, in cooperation with the Donley County Commissioners Court.

Bishop earned a Bachelor of Science degree in family studies from Texas Tech University, Lubbock. She pursued graduate study in higher education at College of the Southwest, Hobbs, N.M. She earned an associate of arts degree in home economics from South Plains College, Levelland.

Since 1998, Bishop has been the program coordinator of professional development and community outreach in Extended Studies at Texas Tech. Her duties included developing and implementing community education courses and certificate programs. She was responsible for maintaining and reporting course and event budgets per semester. Also at Tech, Bishop was an administrative assistant for business administration in the Department of Marketing for a year and as a departmental secretary from 1993-1996.

Bishop served for two years as the 4-H agent and home economist with New Mexico Cooperative Extension for Lea County in Lovington, N.M. She was responsible for 4-H programs with 400 members and 18 clubs. Bishop developed a monthly newsletter and established advisement committees for the state and national 4-H alumni associations.

She also served as an adult volunteer for other 4-H clubs. Bishop has been active in civic activities and served as officer in a local Lions Club.

“We are pleased to have someone with Mary Ruth’s expertise in 4-H programs and curriculum enrichment. She will enhance the successful youth development efforts under way in the county. Mary Ruth’s professional experience in organization and management, coupled with her expertise in family and consumer sciences, will benefit education programs for Donley County families.” Brauchi said.

A hero of World War II joined local veterans’ organizations this past weekend in paying tribute to those citizens who have given their lives for freedom’s cause.

The commander of the most decorated infantry platoon to come out of a single engagement in the history of the United States addressed events at Rowe Cemetery and on the Courthouse Square. Major John Keith Wells (USMCR retired) led the men who raised the flag at Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, – an event that was immortalized by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal in one of the most famous images of World War II.

Wells recalled that victorious battle during ceremonies Monday at the Donley County War Memorial hosted by the Donley County Memorial Post 7782 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said his platoon never stopped once they landed on Iwo Jima, and he personally was injured so severely that he did not make it to the mountaintop. His men later carried him to the top.

“I want to honor the men who fought at Iwo,” Wells said. “Most of them were killed or wounded. There’s no way I can give them enough credit. They fought, they fought, they fought.”

In opening remarks for the event, VFW District Commander-elect Bill Holden praised the veterans of World War II, calling them “our greatest generation” and noting that of 16 million veterans, only one in four is alive today.

The men and women who served in that conflict are dying at a rate of 1,100 per day, he said.

“The generals and the politicians get the glory,” Holden said. “But it is the ordinary people we depend on. Our responsibility to remember their sacrifices does not end on Memorial Day.”

Special recognition was given to local veterans of WWII and to Army Spc. G.J. Martindale of Clarendon, who was present on leave from the conflict in Iraq.

Other highlights of Monday’s ceremony included the reading of a Memorial Day Resolution of the Commissioners’ Court by County Judge Jack Hall, the posting of the colors by Boy Scout Troop 433, and the singing of the National Anthem by Katy Askew.

Earlier Monday, local Girl Scouts hoisted the colors in a brief ceremony at Citizens Cemetery.

On Saturday, Wells also spoke when the Adamson-Lane Post #287 of the American Legion held services at the Veterans Memorial near the north entrance of Rowe Cemetery outside of Hedley.

When baseball made its debut at Clarendon High School four short years ago, few knew what direction the new sport would take.  Some are still wondering.  But the players and fans of Bronco baseball were confident in the days leading up to the semi-finals. 

Continuing their successful year, the Broncos defeated Nazareth in two straight games last week. 

The first game ended 17-10 after the Broncos kept the Swifts from regaining any momentum in the final innings.  The Broncos began the game slowly as they allowed the Swifts the early lead, but a big third inning gave the Broncos a slight edge. 

The fourth inning was crucial for the Broncos as they slammed in five runs and held Nazareth scoreless.  The Swifts scored two more runs in the sixth inning, but the Broncos already had the game well under control.

“We started off slow again,” coach Brad Elam said.  “We gave up seven runs, and five of our six errors were in the first two innings. Defensively, we settled down after that and made some plays.”

Elam was pleased with the pitching effort of Quentin West and noted that the defensive play of senior Jeremy Howard was crucial in the fourth inning. 

“We put a lot of pressure on Nazareth, and they had a hard time making plays, and we took advantage of it,” Elam said. 

“We took the lead in the third inning and never looked back.  We need to find a way to start better, but we never get down when the other team has a lead.  This team keeps fighting back.”

The second game in the series went the Broncos’ way as well, but not without on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense.  It wasn’t until the sixth inning was over that the Broncos took the lead for the first time in the game. 

An enormous fifth inning for the Swifts appeared to be the end of the Broncos’ attempt to win.  But just as they have all season, the Broncos wouldn’t be denied and fought their way back to get the win and the trophy. 

“This was another close game for the Broncos,” Elam said.  “As usual we got off to a slow start and had to fight our way back.”

Again it was West on the mound, and he threw good strikes at crucial times in the ball game.  Several players made critical plays when the Broncos needed them most. 

Elam knows his team has the ability to defeat opponents but feels they are not working alone. 

“I do not think it is a coincidence that we have been able to pull wins out,” Elam said.  “We are getting some divine help.”

The Broncos faced Hamlin Tuesday night in Vernon. Complete results of that game will be printed next week.

Donley County deputies subdued and arrested a Ft. Worth man last week after he assaulted a local family and then vowed he wouldn’t be taken alive during a 34-minute standoff with authorities.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said 46-year-old George Wayne Weatherly was seen exiting the northeastern county residence of Larry and Alice Laroe on state highway 273 at about 3:20 p.m. last Thursday when the couple returned home.

The suspect carried something to a white GMC pickup, approached the couple’s vehicle, and asked them if they lived there, Blackburn said. The Laroes responded that they did, and the suspect then reportedly told them he had just robbed them.

Blackburn said Weatherly produced a hunting knife and tried to stab Mrs. Laroe, who was in the passenger’s seat. The couple rolled up their windows, backed away from the suspect, and drove to a nearby hill in order to get cell phone reception to call for help.

Constable Mike Wallendorff intercepted Weatherly on SH 273. The suspect then fled down County Road 27, which is a dead end. The constable stopped the suspect and held him at gunpoint until backup could arrive, the sheriff said. Chief Deputy Randy Bond and Deputy Mike Spier responded along with Department of Public Safety troopers Chris Ward, Tony Polito, and Sgt. Richard Gribble.

Bond reported the subject waved a knife and made aggressive moves directed toward the officers.

“He said he wouldn’t be taken alive and would kill anyone who got close to him,” Bond said.

The deputies loaded beanbag cartridges into their .12 gauge shotguns and disarmed the suspect after Bond shot him once in the torso and Spier shot him in the hand. Bond then subdued the suspect.

Weatherly was booked into the Donley County Jail, where he remained Monday afternoon under a combined bond of $1.4 million on charges of aggravated robbery and nine counts of aggravated assault.

“All the officers involved did a remarkable job handling this situation,” Sheriff Blackburn said. “This could have been very serious and could have resulted in the death of the subject if not for the experience and expertise of Deputies Bond and Spier.”

Earlier the same day, Weatherly had been released from the Childress County Jail and placed on probation related to a DWI charge, the sheriff said.

Clarendon taxpayers could save at least $8,000 on airport renovations, according to information presented to the Board of Aldermen last Tuesday.

Alderman Janice Knorpp, who heads the committee overseeing grant-funded renovations at Smiley Johnson Municipal Airport, reported E.D. Baker had received the bid for the project and said the job should be about $80,000 under budget.

The $886,000 grant through the Texas Department of Transportation will fund runway and other improvements at the airport. The state will provide 90 percent of the funds, and the remaining ten percent will come from municipal funds.

City officials say it will be months before all the paperwork is done on the grant, but City Administrator Sean Pate said Clarendon could ultimately save between $8,000 and $10,000 thanks to the project bid coming in under budget. The savings could also provide a cushion if workers run into anything unexpected during construction.

The project should start the middle of this summer.

In other city business last week, aldermen considered a new sign for the airport and decided to have it read “Smiley Johnson Municipal Airport / Bass Field.”

Joe Shadle addressed the board concerning limbs being brought to the Recycling Center for chipping. The board discussed charging utility companies and construction companies to discard limbs. City Hall will check with other cities in the area.

In his Administrator’s Report, Pate said he had received a notice from AEP/Mutual Energy that they will start doing electrical disconnects. If a customer does not make payment arrangements, the electric company will disconnect service 15 days after the date of the mailed notice.