News

More than 70 contributors have responded to the efforts of the Donley County Historical Commission (DCHC) to raise funds for the courthouse renovation and restoration, but more money is still needed to complete the project. 

Last summer construction bids came in much higher than anticipated. Now, efforts are being made to raise $400,000 to ensure the completion of the restoration. The county intends to solicit a good portion of these funds from private foundations, and a demonstration of significant local financial support is now needed to bolster those applications for larger donations.

The DCHC has set the goal of raising at least $75,000 locally. A recent mail-out campaign has netted donations ranging from $4 to $1500, indicating interest and support from all parts of the county. As of Monday morning, more than $11,000 has been donated to the project.

In addition to completing the project, the goal of the DCHC fundraiser is to help reinstate work, which was eliminated from the original plans when it became evident that state grant money could not cover all restoration costs. Restoring the stained glass window and replacing some of the more deteriorated exterior stonework are examples of work which can only happen if fundraising efforts are well supported.

The Donley County Courthouse Preservation Fund needs the financial support of all individuals, organizations, and businesses throughout Donley County. A special request for financial assistance to this unique and unusual project is also extended to those with roots or family ties to this historic county.

The Donley County Courthouse was constructed more than 110 years ago and is the oldest operating courthouse in the Texas Panhandle. In its earliest days, the building housed jurisdiction over 10 other Panhandle counties. A year ago, the courthouse was in desperate need of repair. A year from now, that same building will resemble the fine, sound structure that County Commissioner Col. Charles Goodnight helped dedicate in 1891.

The DCHC board extends its gratitude to those who have already chosen to help restore an important part of Panhandle history with their financial contributions for having the foresight to restore and preserve this building for future generations to enjoy. Now the DCHC is asking for the support of other citizens, businesses, organizations, Donley County natives, and people from the surrounding area to help write a new chapter in the history of the Donley County Courthouse.

Those wishing to assist in this historic project may send donations to Donley County Courthouse Preservation Fund, PO Box 825, Clarendon, TX 79226.

For more information about the courthouse restoration, check out our website at www.ClarendonOnline.com and click on the courthouse logo. Information is also available from the state at http://www.thc.state.tx.us/courthouse/CH1.html

US Rep. Mac Thornberry will be the keynote speaker when the Clarendon-Donley County Chamber of Commerce holds its annual Awards Banquet this Saturday night.

“Let Freedom Ring” is the theme for the event, which will be held at the Bairfield Activity Center on the campus of Clarendon College. The Silent Auction begins at 6 p.m., and dinner will be served at 7 p.m.

Also at Saturday’s banquet, entertainment will be provided by local singer Dan Hall, and community awards will be given for Man of the Year, Woman of the Year, Pioneer Man and Woman of the Year, and the Saints’ Roost Award.

Thornberry was born in Clarendon in 1958 and was raised on the family ranch in Donley County. He graduated from Clarendon High School, received a B.A. in history from Texas Tech University, then graduated from the University of Texas Law School in 1983. He spent several years working for San Antonio Congressman Tom Loeffler and Lubbock Congressman Larry Combest before going to work for President Ronald Reagan as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs in 1988.

He returned to Texas in 1989 to join his brothers in the cattle business and to practice law in Amarillo. He was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994 and is now serving his fourth term representing Donley County and Texas’ District 13 in Washington.

Thornberry currently serves on the House Budget Committee, Armed Services Committee, and the Committee on Resources. He has taken a leading role on issues of national defense, property rights, and federal fiscal responsibility.

Chamber officials are urging local residents to buy their tickets early as seating is limited. Tickets are $10 per person and are available at Community Bank, the Donley County State Bank, Herring National Bank, the Chamber office, or any Chamber board member.

Dress for the evening is casual, and reserved tables are available for groups or businesses.

Clarendon ISD will be competing with schools closer to its size and closer to home for the next two years following a realignment by the University Interscholastic League in Austin. But Hedley ISD received the opposite news.

  The biennial UIL reclassifications were announced Monday at the Region 16 Service Center in Amarillo, and CISD will move from District 6-2A to District 3-1A for football and to District 2-1A for basketball.

“We’re real excited about the new district,” said CISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger. “It was the best case scenario for us.”

Hysinger was on hand for the announcement along with Athletic Director Roger Hoeltzel and CHS Principal Larry Jeffers.

Other schools in District 3-1A will be Claude, Shamrock, Memphis, Wellington, and Wheeler. The same schools make up District 2-1A for basketball.

Hysinger said the change in CISD’s status from 2A to 1A reflects a drop in local enrollment and an expansion of the cutoff for class 1A schools. In the last reclassification in 2000, CISD’s high school enrollment was 173 and the cutoff was 169. This year, the local high school has an enrollment of 145, and the cutoff is 179.

District wide enrollment has dropped from 535 in 1999 to 495 this year.

Hysinger said the new district should make Clarendon more competitive academically and athletically and will reduce the school’s transportation costs. Under the old district, Clarendon had to travel more than 110 miles for games in Spearman and Sunray. Now, the farthest competitor will be 70 miles away in Wheeler.

Clarendon school officials may be happy with their new UIL alignment, but Hedley ISD is less than enthusiastic about the news it received Monday.

Following Monday’s reclassification, Hedley finds itself facing competitors further away from home.

“Do you know where I can rent a plane?” Hedley Principal Terry Stevens asked.

HISD moves from to District 2-1A for six-man football, a district which includes Happy, Valley, Matador, Patton Springs, and Silverton. The school will be in District 4-1A for Division II basketball. That district is composed of Valley, Silverton, McLean, Samnorwood, and Groom.

Stevens said Hedley will have to travel more than 110 miles for two of its competitors – Patton Springs and Happy – where the old district was much closer to home.

“We would have liked to have been closer,” Stevens said, “but it’s just for two years. Then it will change again.”

Stevens said Hedley will be in a strong six-man football district with some larger schools and a strong boys basketball district with HHS graduating several seniors. But he expects the Hedley girls will continue to be the district leaders in basketball.

Enrollment for the Hedley Public Schools is currently at 187.

The UIL will solidify the new districts later this month. The realignments will take effect in the 2002-03 school year and last through the 2003-04 school year.

Work continues on the new ambulance facilities on the Medical Center campus, and officials anticipate moving in by the end of the month.

The Donley County Hospital District began work on the 3,600 square foot barn for the Associated Ambulance Authority in September.

“We had to replace the concrete,” district administrator Alan Graham said, “so we lost two months there, but things are going along smoothly.”

The work is progressing steadily, and Graham is optimistic.

 “Right now the men are finishing hanging up the Sheetrock,” Graham said. “Then they will texture, paint, finish electrical and mechanical work, and lay carpet. That all should be done by the end of the month.”

Exterior finish work on the building calls for a brick and stucco veneer that will match the Community Services Building, which was completed last fall. Graham said the ambulance barn was originally intended to have a hipped roof instead of a gable roof, but that idea was cost prohibitive.

“The ambulance barn is intended to house the three current box units,” Graham said, “but four vehicles could easily fit.”

The three current ambulances are in good shape, but in the future, the Ambulance Authority may purchase a fourth vehicle that would save wear and tear on the box units.

“We hope maybe to add a Suburban or some kind of four-wheel-drive emergency response vehicle to respond to calls in rural areas,” Graham said.

When all the work is complete, the barn will house all the equipment with room to spare. Office space is included for the ambulance director and the authority’s billing operations. Ambulance crews will also have space to shower and sleep.

Additional space on the west side of the facility has been set aside for possible future use as an urgent care center for minor emergencies, and a landing pad for a helicopter will be built south of the ambulance barn.

Carrie Helms, Clarendon Enterprise

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen voted last week to accept a $46,060 planning grant that would allow the city to map streets, sewers, drainage, water, economic development, zoning, and more to make future plans.

Grant manager Kay Howard of Lubbock-based HOWCO presented the plan at the regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen January 22.  The city applied for the grant two years ago, was approved last year, and received funding this year from the state Office of Rural Community Affairs.

 “The maps would be like a blueprint,” Mayor Tex Selvidge said, “that would help us find what we need to do, a time frame for projects, and cost estimates.”

The current maps have not been updated in more than 15 years.

“The flood zone maps were updated in 1986, and the zoning maps are dated 1965,” secretary Linda Smith said. “The new maps will be more detailed, and it will help us to know exactly where everything is in Clarendon.”

Plans call for the new maps to be stored on digital media for easy access and reproduction. Detailed housing maps will show the exact position and condition of dwellings around the city.

The city is expected to pay $6,060 of the total cost of the four to six-month long project. 

 “When it is completed, we will have an overall plan of where we are now,” Selvidge said, “and where we would like to be in five to ten years.”

Among the items on the city’s drawing board is a proposed paving project that would cover 60 blocks of the city’s most traveled streets, Selvidge said. Those same streets also carry a lot of water during rainstorms.

While it is still in the planning stages, the mayor said the city intends to contract with a professional paving company to do the street project. Aldermen are looking at a variety of ways to fund the paving, including asking the city voters to approve bonds.

“I think we could probably make the payments with what we already budget each year,” the mayor said.

The planning grant should help fill in the details and cost projections of the street plan and may boost the city’s chances of receiving a grant to replace a large section of 1920s-era sewer line, which is in danger of collapsing.

In other city business last week, Gordon Maddox presented the audits for the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation and the city. Both audits were approved.

Building permits were discussed. The board voted to waive the permit fee for the Donley County Courthouse restoration project and to refund the fee paid by Community Fellowship Church. A permit was still required for both projects, however.

The city fire marshal position was discussed, but no action was taken. And the board discussed revising the city’s Personnel and Procedures Manual.

“United We Stand” was the theme for the fourth annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., birthday celebration held January 22 at Clarendon College.

Approximately 45 people assembled in the Bairfield Activity Center last Tuesday night for the celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Special guest, Bill Houston, opened the program with a beautiful rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.” Students of Clarendon College took an active part in the program. Chungu Nkhazi of Central Africa gave the welcome, and Ravon Justice of Atlanta, Texas, was the mistress of ceremonies.

Other students who participated on the program were Justin Steward of Texico, New Mexico; Zendra Burns of Quanah; Josh Marks of Seymour, Texas; and Lee Robinson of Fort Worth.

The guest speaker for the evening was Minister W.L. Scott of Abundant Life Fellowship Church in Borger. Mr. Scott spoke of the need to love and the importance of unity, family, and moral living.

Others on hand who delivered words of enlightenment were Clarendon College president Dr. Myles Shelton, Rev. James Ivey Edwards of the First United Methodist Church, Ann Alexander, and Don Stone.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Drum Major Awards were presented to Mr. and Mrs. Don Stone for their untiring work and leadership in the community, to Ann Alexander for her service to the community and for accomplishing her dream of going to college and opening a successful restaurant, and to Ms. Vickie Liles, English instructor at the college, for her dedication and enthusiasm toward learning and for being instrumental in making the dreams of many students come true in the classroom.

The Panhandle Livestock Association will hold its 87th annual convention this Saturday, February 2, 2002, at the Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo.

 A marketing panel will be held featuring Jim Reimann, president of Certified Angus Beef; Nick Hammett, a geneticist for Future Beef Operations; and J. D. Sartewell, owner of Port City Stockyards in Sealy. The panel discussion will begin at 9:30 a.m.

A luncheon and general meeting will be held at noon.

Guest speaker will be Paul Terrill of Hazen & Terrill Attorneys of Austin. He will address the “Current Status of Water Rights in Texas Courts.”

A prime rib dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. with Robert Howden appearing as the featured speaker in place of Texas Governor Rick Perry. The cost of the dinner is $25 per person. Attendees will also enjoy musical entertainment provided by the String Technicians.

The Panhandle Livestock Association was started in 1917 by Col. Charles Goodnight, among several other prominent Panhandle cattlemen.

The association is a regional organization which attempts to identify and address problems concerning the local cattle industry. PLA has endowed scholarships at West Texas A&M University and Clarendon College and is currently working on two more scholarships for each of these schools.

For more information about the Panhandle Livestock Association or the annual conference, contact Jack Craft at 806/874-3747 (or email to OCRC@arn.net) or Swasey Brainard 806/669-6124

Five CHS students placed in UIL academic contests held recently at West Texas High.

Micah Sparks and Cameron Word placed 3rd and 6th in Computer Applications; Eric Pitts placed 5th in Ready Writing; Lacey Anderberg and Eric Pitts placed 1st and 5th in Editorials; Valerie Taylor placed 1st in Literary Criticism and 3rd in Headlines.

The students are busy practicing for their next practice meet on February 9 at Canadian High School.

https://www.clarendonlive.com/2002/01/3015/

Donley County won a summary judgment ruling last week in the lawsuit brought against it by former constable Jimmy Swinney.

District Judge David McCoy ruled on January 14 that the Donley County Commissioners’ Court did not abuse its discretion when it set Swinney’s annual salary at $3,170 in December 2000.

“We won every issue,” said County Attorney Pro Tem Kaye Messer. “The judge found that the county followed the law. I think the commissioners did their job and did it right”

Noting that the commissioners’ court is the sole body that can determine what is a “reasonable” salary, McCoy stated that the local commissioners received input from both the sheriff’s department and the relevant justice of the peace along with using several other criteria to determine the expected workload for Swinney’s position and then set a salary accordingly.

McCoy noted the county had contacted the Attorney General’s office to make sure they had followed the law in setting the constable’s salary and had, “at least tacitly,” received approval for the steps the commissioners used.

McCoy also denied Swinney’s attempt to have the county pay his attorney’s fees and stated that Swinney should have first approached the county attorney pro tem before hiring his own counsel.

“[Swinney’s] actions are likened to the person who is in a health care program but who does not use the program but goes outside the program without approval to seek services from a doctor not approved and then insists that the insurance company pay his doctor,” McCoy wrote.

Swinney has 30 days to file an appeal. As of press time, no appeal had been filed in the clerk’s office.

County Judge Jack Hall said he was pleased with the ruling and with Messer.

“I am very proud of the commendable job that Kaye did representing the county,” he said.

Swinney won a write-in campaign in November 2000 to fill the position of constable in Donley County’s Precincts 1&2, which had been vacant for more than three decades. He took office in January 2000 and sued six months later alleging, among other things, that his $3,170 annual salary was unreasonable. He petitioned the district court to command the county set and pay a reasonable salary for his term. The petition also sought back pay with pre-judgment interest, attorney fees, and punitive damages.

In September, Swinney resigned his office after he failed to become a certified Texas peace officer.

Clarendon College is planning to build a new residence hall to meet the growing needs for on-campus housing.

“We need 12,000 to 14,000 square feet to accommodate an additional 80 beds,” said CC President Myles Shelton, who hopes to have the hall ready for the fall 2003 semester. “We’re going to move forward with this fairly expeditiously in the next few months.”

The number of students seeking campus housing has exceeded the current capacity of the residence halls for the last two years. Enrollment has grown from 331 on the main campus in the fall of 1999 to 363 in 2001.

CC Regents will not know the estimated cost of the new hall until a final site and design is selected, but Shelton said he anticipates construction costs to be $100 to $120 per square foot. The facility would be financed with revenue bonds, which would be paid by fees on students using the building and not by taxpayer monies.

“The low interest rates provide an opportunity for Clarendon College to go after revenue bonds at this time,” Shelton said. “The opportunity is here, and we clearly have the need.”

This last fall, the college met the need for beds by making several two-bed rooms into three-bed rooms. In the past students who requested on-campus housing were put up in a local motel when dorm rooms are not available.

The CC Board of Regents authorized BGR Architects and Engineers of Lubbock to draw up proposals for two sites for the facility on College Hill during their regular meeting January 17. The school hopes to go to bid on the project in 60 to 90 days.

The first site under consideration is now occupied by the former Vo-Tech Building. That structure was originally a World War II era barracks that was moved to CC’s modern campus in the 1970s and bricked for use as a student union building. In recent years, the college had taken steps to renovate the aging facility for use as a dormitory before realizing that the idea was unfeasible.

The old Vo-Tech Building would be torn down to erect a two- or three-story building, Shelton said.

The second site is the area between Vaughan Hall and Phelan Hall. Shelton said a three-story building might be erected there that would connect the two existing halls.

The challenge for the architect at the second site, Shelton said, would be to come up with a design that connects the two-story Vaughan Hall with the one-story Phelan Hall in the same architectural style as the rest of the campus and that would look as though it had always been there.

On either site, the new facility would be a co-ed facility, which would likely use a magnetic strip card to control access to different levels. The facility would also need to provide some flexibility for changing campus demographics in the future. The college currently needs 15 to 20 new male beds and 60 to 65 new female beds, and Shelton said that gender breakdown should meet CC’s needs for the next three years.

While local enrollment has grown steadily since 1999, enrollment at the school’s largest satellite slipped this year. Enrollment at the CC Pampa Center was 167 for fall 1999, surged to 243 in the fall of 2000 after the opening of the new campus there, then dropped back to 177 last fall. The numbers are picking up in Pampa, however; and Shelton says he expects spring 2002 enrollment to settle around 190.

Overall enrollment for the home campus and all CC satellites last fall was 891.