News

Two Amarillo residents are lucky to be alive after their single-engine plane crashed Sunday afternoon about four miles southwest of Clarendon on FM 2162.

George and Linda Cole were en route from Addison to Amarillo when the cockpit of their Cessna 210 began filling with smoke, according to a Department of Public Safety report. They shut off the engine, and Mrs. Cole, who was piloting the craft, attempted a forced landing on the farm road.

The DPS report said the airplane’s landing gear did not deploy for an unknown reason. The plane hit approximately 100 feet from the roadway, crashed through a barbed wire fence, spun around in the right-of-way, and came to rest in the right-of-way on the north side of the road.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his office received a call from Federal Aviation Administration officials in Albuquerque at 12:42 p.m. reporting a plane in trouble. He said the Coles had radioed the FAA when they began experiencing difficulty.

The sheriff’s office dispatched law enforcement officers, the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department, and the Associated Ambulance Authority.

Blackburn also said a military cargo plane was also in the area and had begun an independent search for the downed craft as emergency personnel arrived.

Dr. Cole was able to get out of the wreckage on his own, but Mrs. Cole had to be extricated by rescuers. DPS reported the couple was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital with Dr. Cole in good condition and Mrs. Cole in serious condition.

An investigation of the wreck was conducted this week by federal officials. No cause had been reported to local officials at press time Monday.

Clarendon officials reconfirmed the employment of City Administrator Sean Pate last week following a six-month evaluation of his performance.

Pate was hired by the Board of Aldermen in June and became the city’s first administrator in 38 years. The work he has done since then received mixed reviews last week, but most aldermen said Pate has been doing a good job.

The performance evaluation normally would have been conducted in a closed session of the board. Pate, however, requested it be done in open session.

“I’m a public employee, and the public has a right to know,” he said.

Mayor Tex Selvidge started the evaluation and reminded the board of some of the goals they had set for the administrator, specifically ordinance enforcement.

“I looked at the evaluation. I didn’t rate him ‘excellent,’ but I didn’t rate him ‘unsatisfactory’ either,” Selvidge said. “I think he’s doing a ‘satisfactory’ job and will get better.”

Alderman Mark White agreed.

“There have been a lot of positive things accomplished,” he said. “He’s handled the job better than some would have. I’m happy with his performance.”

Alderman Tommy Hill said Pate needed to improve on some areas.

“He’s done good on the ordinances, but there have been some short falls,” he said. “His relations with the employees is not the best. He is the boss, and he needs to take control.”

Pate’s harshest criticism came from Alderman Michael Tibbets, who was the sole board member to have voted against filling the administrator’s position earlier this year.

“I have some real problems,” Tibbets said. “Going back to the newspaper articles, that was insubordination.”

Tibbets was referring to a November 6 article in The Clarendon Enterprise about action taken at the October 28 board meeting. The story quoted Pate as saying, “What they did [last week] was spot zoning, and that is illegal in the State of Texas.”

That meeting had only three voting aldermen present, and Tibbets and Hill had voted to allow a local resident to build an assisted living center in a residential zone. The action was later determined to be improper and was reversed at a subsequent meeting on the advice of the city attorney.

Tibbets said last week he felt Pate had accused him and Hill of being criminals.

“I was offended, and Tommy ought to be offended,” Tibbets said.

Pate said he did not consider the remark to be insubordination, and other board members said they had not taken the quote the same way Tibbets had.

Tibbets asked Pate if the quote in the paper was accurate.

“I am not going to deny anything I’ve said in that paper,” Pate said.

“The paper can say whatever it wants because its owned by a member of the press,” Tibbets responded, “but you should avoid the appearance of stating legal and policy positions for the city in the paper.”

Pate said he would apologize if he had offended Tibbets in any way but also said Alderman Tibbets had made no effort to work with him or get to know him.

“You’ve made it no secret that you didn’t like me from day one,” Pate said. “Every other person on this board has come to talk to me, but you have never once been in my office.”

Pate went on to say that Tibbets does not listen to what he says and does not pay attention at meetings when administrative reports are made.

Tibbets responded that he was too busy to come to Pate’s office and said he had not criticized Pate until the administrator’s comments came out in the Enterprise.

Other board members disagreed with that assertion.

Tibbets said he wanted a written apology from Pate to be placed in the administrator’s personnel file. Pate said he might agree to that if Tibbets would pledge to work with him and get to know him.

“I think if you would get to know me, we might find that we could have a conversation and even find that we have some things in common,” Pate said.

But Alderman White urged caution on the administrator’s part, saying, “I don’t know, Sean. I think I’d want to try this new working relationship before I wrote an apology. We know how it’s been.”

Alderman Hill then moved to table the evaluation. There was no second.

Alderman Janice Knorpp said she thought Pate was doing a good job but that the board had tied his hands.

Alderman Bobbie Kidd agreed with Knorpp and said he thought Pate has some doubt as to what authority he has. He said Pate needs more authority over the employees and also criticized the $500 spending limit the administrator must work with.

“He has to wait until a board meeting to spend $502. That’s ridiculous.”

The board voted 4-1 to continue Pate’s employment. Alderman Tibbets opposed.

The board then considered Pate’s salary, which was set at $30,000 per year initially. The budget allows for $35,000.

Hill moved to give Pate an additional $2,500 per year at this time and another $2,500 per year in six month if his performance improves. There was no second.

The board then approved a motion by Kidd to set the annual salary at $35,000 by a 3-2 vote. Tibbets and Hill opposed.

In other city business, Pate presented a resolution to the board authorizing the submission of an application for a solid waste grant from the state.

If successful, the city would receive $8,000 for an 18’x26’ storage building at the recycling center. Since the amount requested is less than $10,000, it would be a 100 percent grant, requiring no matching funds from the city. The board approved the resolution, 4-0-1, with Tibbets abstaining.

Clarendon EDC Executive Director Bob Watson presented a resolution supporting the “Texas Yes!” program administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

“Texas Yes!” is designed to encourage development in rural Texas, and the CEDC is currently working on grant opportunities through the program. The board approved the resolution.

The city’s contract with the Donley Appraisal District was reviewed, and the composition of the district’s governing board was discussed. The board noted that the city cannot collect its own taxes for less than what it pays the district to do the work but also expressed continued displeasure with how appraisal board members are chosen.

“We are in this entity with no representation on the board, and I will vote ‘no,’” Tibbets said. “It’s taxation without representation.”

The board approved the contract, 4-1.

Applications for emergency farm loans for losses caused by drought, high winds, static electricity, and heat that occurred from June 1, 2003, are being accepted at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office located at 321 Sully Street in Clarendon, Larry Goetze said.

Donley County is one of seven in Texas recently named by Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman eligible for loans to cover part of  actual production losses resulting from the heat, drought, high winds, and static electricity.

Goetze said farmers may be eligible for loans of up to 100 percent of their actual losses or the operating loan needed to continue the agricultural business, whichever is less.  For farmers unable to obtain credit from private commercial lenders, the interest is 3.75 percent.

“As a general rule, a farmer must have suffered at least a 30 percent loss of production to be eligible for an FSA emergency loan,” Goetze said.  Farmers participating in the Federal Crop Insurance program will have to consider proceeds from those programs in determining their loss.

“Applications for loans under this emergency designation will be accepted until July 6, 2004, but farmers should apply as soon as possible.  Delays in applying could create backlogs in processing, with possible delays into the new farming season,” said Goetze.

The FSA office in Clarendon is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Twenty-four members of the Clarendon High School Bronco Band auditioned for the All-Region Band, and eight of those members made the band.

Ottis Scrivner, Lydia Hartman, Laura Dziedzic, and Robert Shelton were named to the Symphonic Band. Branson Carter, Destiny Weatherton, Andra Helms, and Vanna Holton were named to the Concert Band.  They will perform at the All-Region Concert on January 17 at the Amarillo Civic Center.  The Concert Band will perform at 4:15 and the Symphonic Band will perform at 4:15.

Scrivner and Hartman were first chair in the symphonic band and will audition for the All-State Band on January 10, 2004, at Lubbock Cooper.

Each band has 110 students from all over the Panhandle.

Construction of Clarendon’s new $1.8 million three-story Best Western hotel is ahead of schedule and could open as early as February 15, according to reports this week.

One of the hotel’s owner’s, Jimmy Sindha, said he is excited that the work is about two weeks ahead of schedule.

“I got a big surprise when the contractor told me we might be finished the middle of February,” Sindha said. “Usually contractors are behind schedule.”

Sindha reports most of the work has gone smoothly and said he has several calls regarding the speed with which the building at US 287 and SH 70 North has gone up.

The exterior of what will be called the American Inn is pretty well finished although Sindha says he and his partners are considering repainting some of the accents around the windows to give them more contrast.

Finish work has begun on the third floor where wallpaper has been hung in some rooms and part of the corridor. Drywall work is continuing on the first and second floors.

The 50-bed hotel will be a showplace for Clarendon and the tourists who come here. The main entrance will feature a large front desk on one side and a spacious breakfast area on the other. Sindha said that the breakfast will be served in a buffet style and that the seating area will have dataports available for business travelers to connect to the Internet.

Business travelers will also be able to take advantage of a work center with a photocopier and Internet access. Twenty rooms will be set up as business rooms featuring a king size bed, a sleeper sofa, and a partitioned desk area.

All guest rooms will have dataports and will feature granite tub surrounds, counters, and windowsills. Thirty rooms will be set up with two queen size beds; and some of those will have sleeper sofas, which will be the equivalent of having three beds. Two rooms will be fitted with Jacuzzis, and two rooms will be suitable for handicapped guests.

Vending and ice machines will be available on the first and second floors, and a coin-operated laundry will be installed on the first floor. A fitness center and indoor swimming pool will also be located on the first floor.

The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation provided more than $31,000 to assist with bringing hotel to this city. The new facility is expected to employ ten people including the manager.

Sindha, who also owns the local Western Skies Motel, says he will continue to keep the current motel operating even after the American Inn opens next year.

Donley County Commissioners gave their approval to the appointment of a new county agriculture agent during their regular meeting Monday.

Leonard Haynes will assume the position vacated by Gary Rudolph on January 1, 2004, and will be in the local Extension office on January 2.

Haynes is a native of Johnson City and has been with the Texas A&M Cooperative Extension for four years. He is currently the county agent in Liberty County.

The new agent holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Ag Science & Education from Texas A&M. He is a member of the State Quality Counts Committee and is active in both the Texas Association of Extension 4-H Agents and the Texas County Ag Agents Association.

In 2002, Haynes received the Texas County Agents “New Agent” Award.

Donna Brauchi with the Extension office in Amarillo said this week that the service is still seeking applicants for the County Family Consumer Science Agent’s position in Donley County. The search is being conducted within the Cooperative Extension for the time being.

In other county business this week, commissioners considered a tax abatement for the new hotel being constructed in Clarendon but took no action.

Amber Ford was approved to take the place of former County FCS Agent Dawn Watson on the County Child Welfare Board.

The court rescinded a motion from an October meeting in which street names in the Saints Roost subdivision near Howardwick were renamed at the request of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission.

County officials said residents of the subdivision did not like the new names and requested different ones, which were approved Monday by the court.

Under the resolution Amarillo Lane will become Austin Lane, Pampa Lane will become Lakeview Lane, Plainview Lane will become Memphis Lane, Cooper Lane will become Houston Lane, and Ligon Drive will become Texas Drive.

Saints Roost Drive, Tascosa Drive, Mobeetie Drive, Lubbock Lane, and Clarendon Lane will all remain unchanged.

Local businessman Cal Thomas addressed the court regarding the division of wrecker calls dispatched by the sheriff’s office among local services. Judge Jack Hall said Thomas felt he wasn’t getting his fair share of the calls, but Hall also said that was a matter for the sheriff’s office not the commissioners’ court.

The court approved resolution casting the county’s votes to elect Becky Jackson and Anthony Knowles directors for the Donley Appraisal District for 2004-2005.

The court approved the contract with the Donley Appraisal District for calendar year 2004.

A resolution supporting the need for a state constitutional amendment to prohibit unfunded mandates from the state was approved.

The court also voted to remit $100 from the Jury Duty Donation fund to Child Protective Services.

Filing for next year’s General Election is underway in the Donley County Clerk’s Office, and already four incumbents have signed up for re-election.

Sheriff Charles “Butch” Blackburn, Jr., Tax Assessor/Collector Wilma Lindley, Commissioner Pct. 1 Ernest Johnston, and Commissioner Pct. 3 Henry “Buster” Shields have all filed to run for their respective offices. None had drawn opponents at press time.

Other positions up for election next year include District Judge, District Attorney, and Constable of Precincts 3&4.

The deadline for candidates to file is January 2, 2004.

Plans are continuing for the Greenbelt Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament December 29-31 hosted by the Greenbelt Water Authority and Clarendon Bronco Athletics.

It will include 16 boys’ teams and 16 girls’ teams.  Both Bronco gyms and Clarendon College’s Bulldog Gym will be used for the three-day tournament.

Several sponsorship levels are available, and the money received from the sponsors will be used to offset the expenses of the tournament. 

The Gold level of sponsorship is a $200 donation and will list your name as a Gold Level member with a full-page ad in the program.  The Silver Level is a $100 donation and will list your name as a Silver Member and one half-page ad in the program. 

The Bronze Level is a $50 donation and will list your name as a Bronze Member and will allow a one-quarter of a page ad in the program.  Personal sponsorships are also being collected at $10 per person.

This tournament will make a great impact financially for our community as well as will be a great start to a long-lasting tradition at CHS.  Tournament organizers urge you to consider becoming a sponsor at any level, and your support will be greatly appreciated. 

For more information or to sign up as a sponsor, contact CISD Athletic Director Roger Hoeltzel at 874-2181.

The Christmas Spirit is taking hold as Clarendon gets ready for holiday festivities starting downtown this week.

The Girl Scouts will open the season with their annual lighting ceremony at the Lions Hall this Thursday at 6 p.m., which is followed by the start of Late Night Shopping at several local merchants.

The Girl Scouts will be caroling up and down Kearney Street and will have an Open House at their office building with cookies and hot chocolate. They will also be accepting donations of canned goods to go in the Christmas Baskets for the needy that the Lions Club will distribute later this month.

The Chamber of Commerce office will be open, and refreshments will be available.

A wagon and team will be available to give free rides to anyone who wants them. Several local businesses have joined forces to provide this service.

Local Cub Scouts will have a bake sale set up at the Burton Memorial Library.

The kids can visit Santa Claus at the library and have their picture, taken with the jolly old elf for a small fee.

The Clarendon College Chorale has scheduled its Fall Choir Concert for 7:00 p.m. in the Harned Sisters Fine Arts Center.  Admission is free.

The holiday activities continue this weekend with the lighting of the Nativity scene at the Howardwick City Park on Saturday at, which is dusk followed by refreshments and singing in the Howardwick City Hall.

The Saints’ Roost Museum Christmas Party starts at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday in the Clarendon Community Center. Tickets are $50 per couple for beverages, dinner, and dancing and are available in limited numbers from Henson’s. Each ticket has the chance to win $5,000.

Clarendon College will host the West Texas A&M University Opera Workshop performance of “Amahl & The Night Visitors” by Gian Carlo Menotti on Sunday in the Harned Sisters Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

This one-act opera is a touching Christmas story about the journey of the Three Kings to see the newborn Christ-child.  Along the way, they stop to rest at the home of a poor widow and her crippled son, Amahl.  Through his selfless act on this holiest of nights, a miraculous gift is given to Amahl. 

The cast includes Landree Woodward of Spearman; Benjamin Oheim of Amarillo; Brian Kuhnert, instructor of music at Clarendon College (WT alum); Justin Loe of Canyon; Michael McBride of Amarillo; and Robert Cardwell of Laredo. Piano accompaniment will be provided by Rolando Salazar from Beeville.

Everyone is welcome at the opera performance. Donations will be accepted. 

Citizens of all ages are encouraged to participate in these local events, and homeowners are urged to decorate since the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce and the Howardwick Beautification Club will judging holiday decorations this year.

Clarendon city officials are reporting that work is nearing completion on drainage and street improvements funded by two disaster grants.

City Administrator Sean Pate says contractor J. Lee Milligan is finished laying down the first course of two-course paving in a ten-block area in the southeast part of town. Workers still have some clean up work to do and will have to return in the spring when warmer weather will allow them to put down the final course.

The project, funded by the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Texas Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA), includes paving and curbing portions of Hawley, McClelland, Goodnight, and Montgomery streets and part of Wood Avenue.

“It’s been pretty smooth,” Pate said. “Obviously, we would have liked to have seen the project done rather than have to wait until next spring for the final course.”

Pate said gas and electric utilities did not move their lines in a timely fashion in the early stages of the project, which resulted in delays for the contractors.

Another part of the project, which is being done by L.A. Fuller & Sons, should be completed this week. That work includes drainage improvements that tie the new paving into the city’s main drainage system and street and drainage work on Thurman Avenue on the east city limits.

Pate said all the work on this project has been paid for by the NRCS and ORCA grants except for one block of Goodnight Street, which the Board of Aldermen authorized the city to pay for in order to help tie the drainage work together.

In other city news, the Board of Aldermen held its regular meeting last Tuesday, November 25, to address items on a short agenda.

The GreenLight Gas Franchise Agreement was discussed and approved. The only change was that the city will receive its franchise fees quarterly rather than annually.

The board approved a contract with the new Panhandle Revenue Recovery Association, which has been set up by the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission. The new association will be made up of a group of area towns to assist each other in collecting past due utility or waste disposal fees.

Once implemented, the association would set up a system to crack down on persons who leave one city with a past due account and move to another city. For example, if a person is overdue on their water bill in Clarendon and moves to Memphis, then Memphis would be authorized to add that overdue balance to their bill and collect the money. Clarendon would get 75 percent of the collected money, and Memphis would get to keep 25 percent.

Aldermen also heard a report from the city administrator in which he briefly discussed new technologies which are helping cities of all sizes read water meters more efficiently.

“If the city is to be run like a business – which it should be – then we need to make every minute count,” Pate said this week.

Currently, it takes four city employees about four days to read some 960 municipal water meters. That takes those workers away from their usual duties, and sometimes emergency jobs – waterline breakages or animal control calls – can delay getting the meters read.

There are several new methods of meter reading available, but each essentially attaches a device to monitor water usage and then transmits that information using radio waves that could be read with a handheld wand or by other means. Most of Clarendon’s water meters could be fitted with the new technology.

Pate said its possible such an improvement could be phased in over three to five years to allow one person to read the entire town, thus freeing up the other employees for other tasks.

“We have to modernize to a certain extent to become more effective and more efficient,” he said. “If we want to do more work with the same resources, this would be a way to accomplish that.”

No action has been taken on this topic by the board. Pate said he may attend a meeting in Canyon next week which would provide more details about new methods of meter reading.