News

An Amarillo man remained in the Donley County Jail this week on charges related to a sexual assault in Howardwick.

The Donley County Sheriff’s Department received a call at 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 2, of a possible rape in progress at a residence on Janny Drive. Sheriff Butch Blackburn said officers arrived and were told by a person from that residence that a man was beating and raping a woman inside. They entered and found an unconscious 48-year-old female.

The woman was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, where she was treated for sexual assault and released that night, Blackburn said.

Joel Dean Lester, age 42, was arrested at the scene for sexual assault, a second degree felony. He was arraigned by Donley County Judge Jack Hall last Tuesday and indicted by the Grand Jury last Friday. He remains in custody with bond set at $50,000.

Blackburn said three Amarillo residents had come to Howardwick for the weekend. When one member of the party began assaulting another member of the party, the third person ran to a neighbor’s house to call the authorities.

The sheriff also said that alcohol was a contributing factor to the crime.

More than 50 people braved a chilly wind and cloudy skies at Rowe Cemetery near Hedley Monday morning as a native son of Donley County returned to honor the sacrifices of America’s fighting men and women.

Randall County Judge Ernie Houdashell delivered the keynote address for the morning.

“This cemetery is full of veterans and friends who served in World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam,” said Houdashell, who is a native of Hedley.

The judge recognized Hedley’s Johnny Hoggatt, who has served in the War on Terror, and said that the fight for freedom will always continue.

“We’re engaged in a different type of war today,” Houdashell said. “It was something that most of us couldn’t understand would happen here until 9-11.”

He spoke of freedom being worth fighting for and recalled his own service to America.

“In 1966, I took with me the clothes on my back and a Bible when I joined the Army,” he said. “I also took a value system with me from Hedley, and it has stayed with me.”

Houdashell closed by reciting a narrative he wrote in 1991 entitled “Don’t Weep For Me,” which discusses the sacrifices of the American soldier over the centuries.

“Being a true American means believing in freedom at all costs and accepting the fact that freedom is never free,” he read. “A true American will never believe that freedom can never be taken away. A true American is a person that will preserve freedom at all costs, anywhere, anytime.”

Monday’s ceremony was hosted by the Adamson-Lane Post 287 of the American Legion. Post Commander Jack Moreman welcomed those in attendance and said that approximately 200 flags had been placed on the graves of veterans this year.

Connie DeBord gave the invocation, and J.D. Skaggs and Doyle Messer posted the colors. Tommie Saye led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Hedley School Choir sang the National Anthem as well as two patriotic melodies. The service was closed with the playing of “Taps.”

Shopping at home for the holidays is easy and affordable as local banks have again teamed up to provide 0% interest “Christmas Cash” loans this year.

Interested parties must make application for a loan up to $3,000 with any of the participating local banks.

The annual program has proven popular with many consumers and is seen as way to encourage folks to shop at home with hometown merchants and to keep our local economy strong.

Once a Christmas Cash loan has been approved, the borrower will be issued specially printed Christmas Cash Dollars, which may be spent like US currency toward new purchases of products and services (excluding Lottery tickets, gasoline, and tobacco products) at all of the participating businesses. Businesses display posters indicating they are participants of the promotion.

There will be no exchange of US currency to make change. For example, if someone purchases items valued at $72.95 and gives the merchant $80.00 in Christmas Cash, the merchant can give them $7.05 in-store credit. The customer may also pay $70.00 in Christmas Cash and the remaining $2.95 in US currency.

Christmas Cash Dollars are available in three denominations: $10, $20, and $50. There are two signature lines, the same as there are on traveler’s checks.

The borrower’s signature is placed on the signature line before they leave the bank, and then they must sign on the endorsement line when they spend the “Cash.”

Christmas Cash must be spent at the participating merchants by December 31, 2003. Unspent Christmas Cash may be applied toward your 0% loan at the bank through January 7, 2004.

This cash may not be used as a regular monthly loan payment. It can only be applied toward the principal amount due at the end of the Christmas Cash note. Christmas Cash notes are paid back in ten equal monthly installments.

After January 7, 2004, Christmas Cash becomes worthless.

It’s amazing the variety of products Christmas Cash can purchase. Some of the items purchased in years past included: replacement windows, vehicle repairs, groceries, furniture, entertainment equipment, cook-tops, dry cleaning for summer bedrolls, catered goodies, Christmas dinner, car stereos, special gift items, centerpieces, clothing, and much more.

The Donley County State Bank, The Herring National Bank, and Community Bank will buy Christmas Cash from participating merchants at a rate of 95¢ for every $1.00. Participating businesses are “interested in keeping your business here in Clarendon.”

This year’s participating merchants are: Amigo’s Mexican Restauranté, Bar H Dude Ranch, B&R Thriftway, The Clarendon Enterprise, Clarendon Outpost, Clarendon Veterinary Hospital & Supply, Cornell’s Country Store, Country Bloomers Flowers & Gifts, Don Stone Signs, Duckwall’s, Eads Furniture & Appliance, Every Nook & Cranny, Floyd’s Automotive, Floyd’s Motor Company & Body Shop, Henson’s, Hitchin’ Post, J&W Lumber, Kidd’s Texaco & Clarendon Auto Supply, McKinney Motor Co., Mike’s Pharmacy, Millie B’s,  S&V’s This and That, Saye’s, The Shop, “Sam Hill” Pit BBQ, Signs Plus, Suna AutoMall, Thompson Upholstery, 287 Tire and Tube, and White’s Feed & Seed.

This is the ninth year banks have participated in the Christmas Cash program. The idea of 0% loans up to $3,000 began in 1995 through the cooperation of the Clarendon Merchants Association and all the local banks.

Clarendon residents will soon be paying higher rates for city services following last week’s Board of Aldermen meeting.

Ordinance 347 was approved by a 2-1 vote and raises water rates by $2 per month, sanitation charges by $1.80 per month, and sewer rates by $5 per month.

Aldermen Tommy Hill and Bobbie Kidd voted for the fee increases. Alderman Michael Tibbets voted against the measure.

Alderman Janice Knorpp was absent, and Alderman Mark White was presiding as mayor pro-tem in place of Mayor Tex Selvidge, who was ill.

Tibbets again restated his opposition to the rate increases. He said he had been against accepting the airport grant and against hiring a city administrator and had therefore voted against the budget, which contained both of those items.

Earlier last month, other city aldermen reacted with surprise when Tibbets voted against the rate increases, in light of what they saw as his expressed support for the increases during the budget writing process.

In other city business, aldermen approved an ordinance designating as a reinvestment zone the property on which a new motel being built at US 287 and SH 70 North. The action clears the way for local governments to consider a property tax abatement for that business.

The board voted to cast all the city’s votes for the appraisal district board of directors for Alderman Tibbets. The city does not expect their candidate to be elected since the Clarendon school district and the county have the most votes. Tibbets abstained.

Former mayor Steve Smith and resident Darrell Leffew presented individual proposals for street paving. Both men want to be put in charge of the paving, using city crews and city equipment. Both say some used equipment would have to be purchased for their proposals to work, and both men want to employ the same person to run the maintainer.

The main difference between the proposals is that Smith would have the city crew build the curbs and gutters, and Leffew would like to see that portion of the work subcontracted.

The board tabled both proposals until the entire board could review the ideas.

The Clarendon High School Class of 2003 outperformed students at both the state and national levels on the ACT college entrance exam, according to a report from the organization which runs the test.

With about 80 percent of regular education students testing, ACT officials reported the CHS average composite score was over two points higher than the Texas average and about one and a half points higher than the national average. 

“What is very impressive, besides just the scores themselves, is that we outperformed the state while having such a high percentage of students testing,” said CISD Counselor John Taylor.

The CHS Class of 2003 topped the state and national averages on all tests, beating the state average in English by 3.7 points, math 0.9 points, reading 3.0 points, and science 1.1 points.

Clarendon’s composite score of 22.2 shows an increase over the last five years of 1.9 points.  During the same period, both the state and national composite averages dropped by 0.2. 

CHS has also shown growth on all test scores over the last five years.  The most significant increase has been in English with a 3.6 points- an increase of 18.5 percent.

“While the Texas Education Agency Gold Performance Acknowledgment Standards were suspended for 2003 due to the change from the TAAS to the TAKS test, had they been implemented, the testing rate met the Gold Performance standard set for 2002,” he said. 

“While CHS is following a national trend of increased numbers of students taking the ACT, it is doing so while increasing, not decreasing average scores.”

Scores for the ACT composite range from 1 to 36 – distributed over a normal, or bell, curve with about 60 percent of all students scoring between 16 and 23.  Scores for CHS students graduating in 2003 ranged from 16 (at the 7th percentile) to 33 (at the 99th percentile).

CHS Principal Larry Jeffers cited several reasons for the increasing scores, including campus wide initiatives such as block scheduling, the College Board Advanced Placement Program, the emphasis on the Recommended and Distinguished Achievement graduation plans, and the implementation of the TEKS, or Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. 

Jeffers said the scores, “primarily represent the hard work and dedication on the part of Clarendon High School students and teachers.”

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen may have violated the law last week with a 2-1 vote to allow a zoning variance.

“What they did [last week] was spot zoning, and that is illegal in the State of Texas,” City Administrator Sean Pate said.

City Attorney James Shelton would not comment on the issue.

Clarendon resident Sue Leeper came to the October 28 meeting with proposal to build a 16-unit assisted living center on three lots behind her house at 621 S. Taylor Street.

Leeper requested a variance because her property is in the Residential One Zone, which primarily restricts buildings in that area to single-family houses, two-family houses, duplexes, apartment houses, and multiple-family dwellings.

An assisted living center is considered a business of a medical nature and is therefore not allowed in that part of the city under the zoning ordinance.

Alderman Michael Tibbets said he had no problem with Leeper’s request and moved to allow the variance with a second by Alderman Tommy Hill. Tibbets and Hill voted for the measure, and Alderman Bobbie Kidd voted no.

Alderman Janice Knorpp was out of town, and Mayor Pro-tem Mark White was presiding in the absence of Mayor Tex Selvidge, who was ill.

Kidd said he thought the way the city handled Leeper’s request was improper.

“If you have a problem with the ordinance, you change the ordinance,” he said. “You don’t just ignore the ordinance.”

 Kidd said he wasn’t against having an assisted living center built in the city but said the zoning ordinance needs to be upheld.

 “I don’t know why we have to have a fixation with codes and zones,” Tibbets said. “Houston doesn’t have zoning, and they’re prosperous. We have zoning, and we’re not prosperous.”

Tibbets also said he wants the city to consider doing away with all zoning.

Following a call to the Texas Municipal League, Pate this week said no building permit would be issued because the board’s action was not binding.

The administrator said Clarendon’s zoning ordinance does not allow for variances to be given, and certain procedures have to be followed to change the ordinance, including publishing notice, informing neighbors, and holding a public hearing, none of which was done.

Former Clarendon board consultant Colby Waters of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission agreed with Pate and also said last Tuesday’s action was illegal.

Waters said there are two ways of making an exception to a zoning ordinance. The first is a variance, which is given when a certain property doesn’t meet space or set back requirements but otherwise will be used as the zone intends.

The second is spot zoning, which allows a property to be used in manner prohibited by the zone. And that, Waters said, is illegal under state law.

Waters also agreed the zoning ordinance could be changed but said due process procedures would have to be followed. He cautioned against repealing Clarendon’s zoning laws and said other small Panhandle – namely White Deer and Claude – wish they had zoning.

“People put a significant investment in their property; and when things are not zoned, it can devalue other property,” he said. “You can have a $150,000 home with a detail shop or a feedlot across the street.”

Pate also expressed concern about repealing the zoning laws, saying, “The purpose of zoning is to protect citizens.”

The administrator agreed with Alderman Kidd’s assertion that the city needs an assisted living center, but he thinks other properties should be available which are in the correct zone.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) opened two new Safety Rest Areas in Donley County with great fanfare and celebration Tuesday afternoon.

The twin rest areas on both sides of US 287 are located between Hedley and Giles and were built at a cost of about $10 million with a combination of federal and state money, a TxDOT official said.

Each facility features two sets of restrooms, a storm shelter, drinking fountains, telephones, a playground, and ample parking which separates cars and large trucks. Indoor kiosks feature displays of local history and locations of historical markers, local eating and lodging establishments, current weather conditions, and travel guides.

Rainwater from the roofs of the structures is collected and stored for irrigating the native plants that make up the landscaping. A lagoon system at the north rest area uses biological processes to treat wastewater and serves as a habitat for birds and other wildlife.

The main building at each site reflects the image of a train depot, and adjacent restroom and picnic facilities mirror passenger train cars. Hedley High School graduate Josh Collins sketched the original design for the facility while he was a member of the HHS chapter of Business Professionals of America.

“We thought it should have a railroad theme since the railroad was so important to the development of Clarendon, Hedley, Giles, and Memphis,” Collins said. “There is a lot more here than I thought there would be. I see a lot of my ideas, but it’s different from what I thought it would be.”

Following Collins’ concept, the facilities were professionally designed by Phillip Swager Associations and constructed by Sedalco, L.P. The Donley County Safety Rest Area has won the Excellence in Construction Award for North Texas.

The dedication of the facilities began with a barbecue for local dignitaries with the Hedley Lions Club serving more than 200 plates.

The official opening ceremony was preempted by a great “train robbery” in which actors from the Canadian Red River Regulators in period dress terrorized several accomplices and were then shot dead by a sheriff’s posse.

With law and order restored, the Honor Guard from the Wellington National Guard unit posted the colors, and the Hedley School Choir performed the National Anthem followed by an invocation from Bruce Howard.

TxDOT Childress District Engineer Craig Clark gave the welcome and said the rest area shows TxDOT at its best with regards to its mission to provide safe transportation for the people traveling Texas highways.

Representatives from State Sen. Robert Duncan’s and US Sen. John Cornyn’s offices spoke, and State Rep. Warren Chisum also praised the new facility.

County Judge Jack Hall gave a brief history of the settlement of Donley County. He addressed the importance of the influences of ranching, farming, the railroad, and the highway in the county’s development, and he noted that Giles was once one of the largest cattle shipping points in the state.

“Donley County was formed on the strong character of the people who live here,” Hall said.

Hall County Judge Jack Martin said the area is blessed to have both state and federal dollars spent on the Safety Rest Area, and he gave a long history of Hall County.

TxDOT Executive Director Michael W. Behrens said the new facility is intended to encourage drivers to stop and rest in order to reduce fatigue, which causes 100,000 accidents and 1,500 deaths each year.

Behrens then officially opened the facility by driving the customary golden spike in a replicated section of train tracks.

The Donley County Safety Rest Areas will be open 24 hours a day and will have round the clock security with cameras and people both watching the facility.

While state officials tout the benefits of new Safety Rest Areas on US 287, one local law enforcement officer is less than enthusiastic about the project’s grand opening.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn says the new rest areas near Giles will be a drain on local taxpayers and on his department, which is stretched thin already.

“The only thing this is going to do for Donley County is cost us money and manpower,” Blackburn said. “I hate to be that way. I mean, they’re nice – a nice place for people to stop – but they’re a nice place for thugs, too.”

Blackburn said the distance from his office in Clarendon to the new rest area is 19 miles, which makes it hard to respond to an emergency in a timely manner. The sheriff’s department already has trouble responding to the new Safety Rest Area 23 miles away on the far northern edge of the county along the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40.

“If it weren’t for Gray County’s deputies in McLean, we would be in trouble,” the sheriff said. “They answer those calls a lot because they can get there before we can.”

Blackburn said the types of calls that come in from the rest areas are the types of calls that require a fast response.

“The one on I-40 has caused an average of an extra two calls per week,” he said. “And they are usually either assault or psychotic calls.”

A psychotic call is one that results in a trip to mental health facilities at the Pavilion in Amarillo, and Blackburn says that costs Donley County taxpayers $300 each time. Calls from the I-40 facility have resulted in three of those calls this year for a total of $900.

Blackburn said he understands there are a lot of good things about the rest areas, but he believes the Texas Department of Transportation could have spent the money better.

“They could have extended Farm Road 2471 into Clarendon with that money. That would have benefited our farmers.”

The Bronco Parents Annual Fall Festival will be held this Saturday, November 1, at the Clarendon Community Center. 

The festival begins at 6:00 p.m. with the game booths ending at 9:00.  In addition to the games, there will be a concession stand, and the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department Firebells will provide an outdoor haunted house. 

Festival admission is free, but tickets may be purchased for the games and the haunted house.

All proceeds from the games and concession stand will go to the All Sports Banquet for the Broncos and Lady Broncos in May.  Come out and have fun playing all of the games and treat yourself to a snack at the concession stand.  The Bronco Parents appreciate your support of the Broncos and Lady Broncos.

 The Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District is extending the time period for public comments on proposed district rule changes.

The original deadline for public comment was November 3, 2003, but officials now say they have moved that back indefinitely.

“We are confident that this additional time for public input will ensure a fair and constructive set of rules that preserve and protect the groundwater for present and future generations of users,” said district general manager C.E. Williams.

Copies of the proposed rules can be obtained by contacting the district office in White Deer at 806-883-2501.