News

The Donley County Courthouse Square will be getting a modern sprinkler system thanks to a grant from the Charles E. and Thelma A. Bairfield Foundation.

Donley County Commissioners were informed of the award during a called session Monday afternoon, and the court voted to accept a bid to install the system for $21,750 from a local contractor, Lowrie Lawn & Landscape.

“We certainly appreciate the Bairfield Foundation’s concern and interest in the courthouse project,” County Judge Jack Hall said. “We feel like the courtyard will greatly benefit from this. It was a nice gesture on their part.”

The Bairfield Foundation was set up in 1993, and Hall said it was one of the earliest supporters of the courthouse restoration.

“They gave us $2,000 back when we did our master plan, and they were really the first ones who gave us money for this project.”

Commissioners also agreed on Monday to advertise for bids for sodding the square.

Restoration work on the 1890 courthouse is expected to be mostly completed for a July 4 rededication ceremony. Some work – such as the yard work, finials on the roof, and exterior stone repairs – will be completed after the dedication.

Commissioners reviewed plans for the July 4 rededication of the courthouse and went over the program for the event.

The commissioners’ court authorized Judge Hall to purchase 10 chairs from the Furniture Factory in Claude for the district courtroom to be paid through the courthouse restoration fund. The chairs are to be stained to match other furnishings in the courtroom.

Also this week, the court agreed to split the cost of maintenance performed on the radio tower with the City of Clarendon.

In other county business, the court met in regular session June 9 and approved reserve deputy bonds for Ed Bailey and Mark C. White.

Texas Association of Counties President Bill Bailey was appointed as a voting delegate to the National Association of Counties Annual Conference.

Road reports were accepted from commissioners, and the court approved Sheriff Butch Blackburn’s attendance at the state sheriffs’ meeting in Dallas and Treasurer Becky Jackson’s attendance at a workshop in Lubbock.

Engineer Che Shadle gave a report on the bridge approaches at Troublesome and Mulberry creeks.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen received a dose of “sticker shock” last week when estimates were presented for a project to pave streets in all parts of town.

The plan, which would pave and curb 95 percent of the streets in Clarendon in just 18 to 24 months, carried a total price tag of $4.9 million.

“It liked to give me a heart attack,” said Mayor Tex Selvidge. “We’ve got to do a lot of work and take some time to figure out the best way to do it, but we can’t afford the first plan.”

Vince Viaille, a financial advisor from First Southwest Company in Lubbock, presented bond options to the board. With an interest rate of 4.75 percent, bond payments on $5 million in bonds would be about $400,000 annually for 20 years.

The city currently only generates about $200,000 per year in ad valorem taxes with a tax rate of $0.45555 per $100 valuation, which has remained unchanged since 1999.

The municipal tax would have to triple to generate the income necessary to pay $5 million in bonds, and the aldermen seemed united in not taking that route. They took no action on the plan and instructed engineer Che Shadle to return for the June 23 meeting with a plan in the $2 million range.

“We haven’t heard a word from the citizens on this – pro or con,” Selvidge said. “I don’t feel like property owners should foot the whole bill. We should look at a combination of increased fees and increased taxes.

“I wish we had done this in the late 1970s and early 1980s,” Selvidge said, referring to the first time he served as mayor. “It would be paid off today if we had.”

The mayor expressed frustration with the current state of the streets and the need to make improvements.

“I feel like we need to do something if we’re going to grow,” he said. “If we want to bring people to the community, one thing they are going to look at is the streets.”

In other city business, the board formally denied Gary Hunt’s request for a building permit for his property at 8th and Leroy Streets after meeting in closed session with City Attorney James Shelton for nearly an hour. Aldermen Janice Knorpp and Mark White voted to deny the permit; Aldermen Tommy Hill and Michael Tibbets abstained; and Mayor Selvidge broke the tie. Alderman Bobbie Kidd was absent.

Hunt had sought to erect commercial storage buildings on his property, but the area is zoned for residential use only.

Jean Stavenhagen with the Saints’ Roost Museum presented the museum board’s recommendation to accept a bid from Phoenix I Restoration, Ltd., to renovate the old Ft. Worth & Denver Railroad Depot. The city is the sponsoring entity for the Texas Department of Transportation grant which will pay for the depot work. The board accepted the bid of $196,200 with the stipulation that the museum has the right to negotiate with the bidder.

The board voted to keep Colby Waters on retainer for consulting services through September 30, 2003, when the city’s contract with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission will expire.

The board also discussed purchasing the Thunder Junction theme park and voted against the idea.

“It’s got a lot of possibilities, but I don’t think we can afford it right now,” the mayor said.

After more than three years of anticipation, the newly restored 1890 Donley County Courthouse will be formally rededicated during this year’s annual Saints’ Roost Celebration.

The ceremony scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 4, will be the highlight of the 125th anniversary celebration with guest speakers scheduled to include US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), State Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa), and Larry Oaks of the Texas Historical Commission.

 An open house of the renovated courthouse will be held after the ceremony until noon.

Other festivities this year include the annual Arts and Crafts Fair from 10:00 a.m.  to 4 p.m. at the City Park. If you would like to be a part of the action by exhibiting at the fair, contact the Donley County Extension Office at 874-2141 to reserve a space.

The Old Settlers Reunion starts at 10:30 a.m. at the City Park Pavilion.

The Shriners will begin serving a delicious barbecue lunch at 11:00 a.m. Tickets are $6 per plate and are available at Henson’s, at the Enterprise office, or from any Shriner.

The annual Lions Club Cow Patty Bingo will be held at 1:00 p.m. also in the park.

The Bicycle/Tricycle Parade will be held right before the big parade at 2:00.  Kids will meet at the bridge at City Park at 1:45.  Kids 12 years old and younger will ride for only one block by the park so they can enjoy the rest of the parade.  Bicycle and tricycle entries will be judged for best in each age division.  Motorized entries will not be judged.  Prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third place in each age division. Registration forms are available in this week’s Clarendon Enterprise and may be dropped off or mailed to the Chamber of Commerce office.  Entries are due July 1, 2003.

The annual Fourth of July Celebration Parade will follow the bicycle parade. The line up begins at noon two blocks west of the City Park. The parade route will be from the baseball fields on Seventh Street to Kearney, then up Kearney to Third Street, west to Sully, and then back to the ball fields. Registration forms are available in this week’s Enterprise and may be dropped off at the Burton Memorial Library or the Chamber of Commerce office.  Entries can also be mailed to the Chamber of Commerce.  Entries are due June 28, 2003. For more information on the parade, call Jerri Ann Shields at 874-3685

The Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association will sponsor an Open Ranch Bronc Ride on Thursday, July 3, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Rodeo Arena.  An open junior calf ride for ages 0-8 and a steer ride for ages 9-12 will be held that evening.  There is a $20 entry for the contest.  The evening will also include a calf scramble for kids age 0-12.

Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association will present the annual Ranch Rodeo beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night at the rodeo ground with 20 different teams from ranches around the area. The teams will compete in several events including Bronc Riding, Wild Cow Milking, Team Branding, and Team Doctoring/Team Sorting.  The junior calf ride, the steer ride, and the open calf scramble will also be held each evening.  The kid’s events are sponsored by Donley County State Bank, Walco, and West Texas Western Store.

An open Wild Mare Race with six horses will be held each night of the Ranch Rodeo.  Entry fee is $90 with $150 added money. A drawing for a $200 beef certificate will be held each night of the rodeo.

The rodeo dance will begin at 10:00 p.m. at the Panhandle’s largest open-air dance floor at the Rodeo Grounds with Country Classics on Thursday, Copper Head on Friday, and Santa Fe Band Saturday night. 

The Chamber of Commerce will give away the trip for two to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas Saturday night during the rodeo.  Tickets are available for $10 each or 3 for $25.  Tickets can be purchased from any board member or by calling Bobbie Thornberry at 874-3581, Greg Henry at 874-3571, or the Chamber office at 874-2421.

The fun continues with the RHAA Ranch Horse Competition at 8 a.m. Saturday at the rodeo grounds.

The Donley County Horse Club Stick Horse Rodeo will be 10:00 a.m. Saturday across from the Post Office. The rodeo is for children seven and under. The entry fee is $5.  This is a fund-raiser for the Horse Club. To pre-register, go by Saye’s.

The Depression Lunch will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Main Street Ministry. The First Baptist Church will help serve the beans and cornbread for a low price. They will also be selling drinks and desserts.

Henson’s annual Turtle Race will be at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Sign up at the store from now until the race day.

The time has come once again for the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District to start its annual water quality program. 

The District will begin collecting samples from around the district during the week of June 9 and ending around September 1.  Some 275 samples will be tested for nitrates, sulfates, iron, fluoride, ammonia, chloride, alkalinity, hardness, specific conductivity, total dissolved solids, and pH.

Since this is the 2003 season, wells in the program with odd state well numbers or any well that exceeded a state secondary drinking water standard in years past will be sampled.  Depending on whether or not the water well ever exceeded a state standard, the District will test the same well on an every year or every other year basis.  Knowing the water came from the same well and water source enables the District to compare past results to the newly gathered data.

If you would like to have your well water tested, please call us at 883-2501; and we will set up an appointment at your convenience.  Last, but not least, please remember to conserve water.  Future generations are counting on it.

AUSTIN — Mutual Energy-SWEPCO (ME-SWEPCO) has filed a request with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to increase the fuel factors for electricity customers in Donley County as well as portions of Childress, Collingsworth, Hall and Wheeler counties. 

The request was filed because the existing fuel factors do not reflect the market price of natural gas used to generate electricity.

ME-SWEPCO began serving the approximately 7,100 customers when retail electric competition began in January 2002 for most of Texas.  This is the first time that ME-SWEPCO has requested permission to increase the fuel factors although electricity customers in neighboring areas have seen two increases in their fuel factors over the last 12 months.

If approved as requested, the increase would go into effect by the end of June.  Residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours electricity a month would see their average monthly bill increase from approximately $92 to $111.80 if the factor increase is approved as requested.

By comparison, WTU Retail Energy customers who use the same amount of electricity in neighboring areas currently pay a monthly average of $112.80.

ME-SWEPCO is a subsidiary of American Electric Power.  American Electric Power owns and operates more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and select international markets and is the largest electricity generator in the U.S. 

AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with almost 5 million customers linked to AEP’s 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid.  The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.

The Texas Panhandle’s first newspaper and Clarendon’s oldest business dedicated a state historical marker last Thursday in observance of its 125th anniversary.

Mayor Tex Selvidge gave the official welcome during ceremonies at The Clarendon Enterprise, which was established June 1, 1878, as The Clarendon News. Current publisher Roger Estlack gave a brief history of the newspaper and the men and women who shaped its history.

“Each editor brought his own style and his own beliefs and introduced progressively changing technology from Ed Carhart’s handset type to Joe Warren’s Linotype to the digital revolution begun by Bob Williams,” the publisher said. “From Blake to Beville to Braswell and from Estlack to Singleton to Woody – each editor has made their own contribution and left their own lasting mark.”

Donley County Historical Commission Chairman Jean Stavenhagen spoke of the paper being here since the beginning of the town while other businesses were started, prospered, and then passed into history.

“We are here today to honor the long line of men and women who worked diligently through the years to get the news to the presses and the newspapers to the community,” she said.

Stavenhagen then presided over the unveiling and read the inscribed text of the marker.

Following the ceremonies, 112 people toured the Enterprise’s newly remodeled offices and enjoyed cake and refreshments.

Ken Long with the Texas Press Association flew from Austin for the event and presented the Enterprise with a certificate for esteeming “to the highest standards of Texas journalism” and recognizing the paper as a leader in the newspaper industry.

Also in attendance were representatives from area newspapers, several former employees of the local paper, and numerous friends, readers, and advertisers.

No one came with the much talked about first issue for which a $1,000 reward has been offered. But Willene Judd did win the oldest newspaper contest with the February 17, 1893, edition of The Industrial West.  She received $125.

“We appreciate Mrs. Judd’s participation in the contest and everyone else who brought in old copies of the paper,” Estlack said. “We’re not giving up on that first edition though. Everyone keep digging, because our offer still stands. We’ll give $1,000 for the first edition of The Clarendon News dated June 1, 1878.”

Clarendon College faces an additional 2.8 percent cut in state funding if the current budget in Austin is approved, but CC President Myles Shelton hopes to avoid any further cuts in services or personnel.

“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Shelton said. “With the cuts we’ve already made and the increase in tuition and fees, we feel like we won’t have to make further cuts.”

Looking at the current numbers coming from the Legislature, Clarendon College’s state funding has been slashed from $2.318 million to $2.09 million, a total reduction of about 9.8 percent. CC already cut its spending by seven percent in February, resulting in the elimination of five staff positions as well as spending restrictions.

While Shelton says his intentions are to not have any more personnel reductions, the college is not yet absolutely certain of its funding for next year.

“We’re still sorting through the bills,” Shelton said. “There’s a lot of things we don’t know. The state comptroller has to certify the budget, and then the governor has to sign it.”

The college is also uncertain about the financing for its employee health insurance. The state mandates coverage and last year funded CC with $401,465 to cover its employees. Now that number has been slashed to $299,224, and the state has stopped providing any funds to cover physical plant employees.

“There have been a lot of changes in the way the health insurance is administered, and we don’t know yet what our $299,224 will buy.”

The situation for CC is better now than it was four months ago in that the college is about to write its budget for the 2003-2004 year.

“We’ve got more flexibility going into this budget than we did when we had to cut spending in the middle of the year.”

In March the CC Board of Regents approved increasing in-district tuition by $15 per semester hour, $16 for Texas students, and $20 for out of state students. That made CC’s total tuition costs $51, $66, and $81 in each respective category, which is not anticipated to harm the college’s competitiveness.

The college also is introducing new programs to help bolster enrollment and bring in more money.

Numbers for the first summer session this year are way up. Total enrollment for the college and its satellite campuses is 225 compared to 167 last year.

Bomb squad personnel were called to Clarendon last week after a suspected pipe bomb was found in a city trash truck.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said city employees James Watt and Joe Shadle discovered the suspicious object snared on the truck after it emptied its load at the Clarendon Recycling Center last Tuesday. They immediately contacted local law enforcement.

“It was about eight inches of one-inch galvanized pipe,” Sheriff Blackburn said. “It had wires coming out of it and was wrapped in duct tape.”

The sheriff said he didn’t think it was dangerous, but contacted the Amarillo Police Department’s Bomb Squad to err on the side of caution. APD arrived within an hour and blew up the device under controlled conditions.

“It didn’t have any powder or explosive material in it,” Blackburn said.

Officials say they are still investigating the origin of the device; but Blackburn says since the unarmed device was discarded in the trash, no crime was apparently committed.

“Now if they had put it somewhere – like the school or a business – that would have been a crime,” he said. “In that case, a hoax bomb would be treated just as serious as a real bomb.”

Blackburn said his office doesn’t get many calls on bombs, but the APD told him they receive about 50 such reports each year.

Emergency crews will no longer be confused by duplicate street names when trying to get around the City of Howardwick because by the end of the summer some streets will be renamed in honor of the men and women who perished aboard the space shuttle Columbia.

After receiving a request from Panhandle Regional Planning Commission (PRPC) to rename their streets in order to resolve confusion among emergency workers, the City of Howardwick held several open meetings in February asking citizens and aldermen for their suggestions on what to rename the streets.

“Alderman Dewey Linley came up with the idea to name the streets after the fallen members of the space shuttle Columbia,” Howardwick Mayor Nancy Davis said.  “The meeting wasn’t long after the Columbia tragedy, and it seemed like a wonderful tribute.”

The city submitted the names of 17 astronauts from Apollo 1 and the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia; but due to the costs of renaming the streets, only eight of those names were chosen.

“We didn’t get to choose which names were picked,” Davis said.  “The aldermen voted on and approved the list we submitted, and PRPC chose which ones to use.”

Emergency workers have had to deal with the obstacles of having two streets named Carroll Creek, two named Pampa, and three named Sailfish, and they are excited about the changes taking place.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said.  “We’ve had numerous calls on ‘Carroll Creek;’ and if you’re not careful, you’ll wind up on the wrong side of town.”

Over the summer, workers at a Lubbock plant will inscribe metal signs bearing the names of the fallen astronauts as well as new signs for all of the streets in Howardwick. 

Sherwood Blvd. will become Rick Husband Blvd.; Swanson St. will be Anderson Dr. in honor of Michael Anderson; Sherwood Dr. will be renamed Columbia Dr.; Sadie Dr. will become Chawla Dr. in honor of Kalpana Chawla; Sailfish Dr. will be Ramon Dr. in honor of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon; Carroll Creek East will become McCool Dr. in honor of William McCool; Brown Dr. will be renamed Clark Dr. in honor of Laurel Clark; and an unnamed street running along the park will be named Grissom Dr. in honor of Apollo 1 Commander Gus Grissom  Having already had a Brown St., the officials in Howardwick will keep the name in honor of Columbia crew member David Brown.

Two other streets in Howardwick will be named after two of the first manned American space capsules.  Palacio North will become Liberty Dr., and Sailfish St. South will become known as Freedom Dr.

In order to solve other problems in the street names, Pampa Dr. will be known as Pampa St. and Park St. will become part of Palacio Dr.

Sean Pate took the helm as Clarendon’s new City Administrator on Monday after the Board of Aldermen approved his hiring last week.

“Nobody likes change,” said Mayor Tex Selvidge, “but I think and most of the board feels like this is going to be the best thing for the city in the long run.”

Pate, a graduate of Canadian High School and West Texas A&M University, began the week by meeting with employees and learning about the operation of the city, and Mayor Pro Tem Mark White showed him around town.

“I won’t make a lot of drastic changes,” Pate said. “I want to get to know the city and the people.”

The first objective for the new administrator is to get the city ready for the annual Saints’ Roost Celebration in July.

“We’re going to be busy getting the city cleaned up. We want to get the park ready. We’re going to get the parking spaces striped on Kearney Street and get the weeds pulled.”

City workers are also going to be busy replacing some old water meters, work in which Pate intends to help.

“I’ve been very impressed with the enthusiasm shown by our workers.”

Pate says he wants to serve the people and says his office – as soon as he has one – will keep an open door policy so citizens can stop by, and he will be happy to speak with them any time. A contractor is expected to enclose a corner in City Hall this week for use as the administrator’s office.

The new administrator has also been familiarizing himself with the newly codified city ordinances and said he plans to work on improved code enforcement over time.

Pate previously worked as the city administrator and director of public works at Dalworthington Gardens, a bedroom community of Arlington. He says he moved back to the Panhandle because the area is better suited to his family, and they are now living in Shamrock where his wife’s parents are.

Pate, his wife, Melanie, and his 15-month-old daughter, McKenna, will move to Clarendon as soon as they find a place to stay.

Hired by a 4-1 vote, Pate knows he has to prove himself to some people who are not in favor of having a city administrator. Alderman Michael Tibbets voted against hiring Pate and has been a consistent objector to the idea of filling the office, which has been vacant since 1965.

“You can’t be everything to everyone,” Pate said. “You have to earn respect, and I’m going to work hard to work with the board. I want to be a source of information for them.”