News

Just three years after the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) completed a $3.2 million overhaul of US 287 through Clarendon, the city’s main thoroughfare is under construction again.

A crew from J. Lee Milligan of Amarillo will be in town for approximately two weeks, according to TxDOT spokeswoman Barbara Seal.

Workers will be milling out the ruts that have formed in some places along the highway and laying down a more durable hot mix in their place.

Seal said the work is the first phase of a 77-day project that will take the Milligan crew from Clarendon through several towns along US 287 and ending in Chillicothe. Similar work will be performed in each town. The entire project will cost $621,000.

The crew will return to Donley County in the middle of August to start another project, Seal said.

Starting at the Armstrong County line and working to the west city limit of Hedley, the southbound lanes of US 287 will be receiving a new overlay, costing an estimated $3.5 million. No work related to this project will be done in Clarendon, Seal said.

Clarendon city officials are once again asking rural Donley County residents to support a proposal that would close the county dump and bring that trash to town. But county officials say some rural residents want nothing to do with the idea.

“They just don’t want to see any changes made,” said Rhonda Aveni, who works in the county judge’s office and has fielded calls from rural residents.

Judge Jack Hall said comments were running about 50-50 pro and con regarding the proposal.

The city is making improvements to the Three Feathers Recycling Center, which includes five new roll off boxes that will be used to collect trash and recyclables. When completed this September, the facility on Front Street will be open seven days a week.

The county facility, located near the municipal airport about four miles from town, is open three days per week. BFI hauls off the trash through a contract with the county. The proposal calls for the county to contract with the city to provide the same service at Three Feathers.

Mayor Tex Selvidge says he thinks the idea would be more convenient for county residents and says the city already hauls a lot of county trash for nothing since many rural residents bring their trash to town.

According to Selvidge, a one-year contract would let the county try this idea and if it doesn’t work, they can always go back to the old way.

But Aveni said rural folks have told her they don’t want to haul their trash through town.

“It’s further for some of them, and many have the attitude that ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,’” she said.

Commissioners will take up the matter again at their next meeting. City officials hope rural residents will ask commissioners to make the change.

To make comments on this proposal, contact any of the county commissioners. They are Ernest Johnston, Don Hall, Bob Trout, and Henry “Buster” Shields.

State Senator Tom Haywood, 61, died at his home in Wichita Falls last Thursday morning after apparently suffering a heart attack.

Haywood’s death comes on the heels of what he considered his most successful session as a member of the Texas Senate. Governor Rick Perry signed thirty-nine bills either written by Haywood or House bills sponsored by him in the Senate. Additionally, several Haywood initiatives passed as amendments to other bills. In May, The Associated Press named him one of the six “Movers and Shakers” of the 77th Legislature.

Haywood was a former associate professor of physics at the University of North Texas in Denton and Midwestern State University (MSU) in Wichita Falls. While at MSU, he also served as the director of University Affairs. In 1979, Haywood left the education field to become vice president of the North Texas Oil and Gas Association (NTOGA). Under his leadership, NTOGA became one of the most respected industry organizations in the nation.

During his tenure in office, the senator made family values, tax incentives, and agricultural issues his focus. He served on the Education, Natural Resources, Economic Development, State Affairs, Military Affairs, and Nominations Committees. He was also chairman of the Senate Sub-Committee on Agriculture and co-chairman of the Joint Interim Committee on Agriculture Policy.

Senator Haywood, along with his wife Pat, was a native of Dallas. He resided in Wichita Falls since 1971.

Gov. Perry said there had been no better example of courage and selfless service to Texas than Haywood.

“Despite the personal challenges he faced daily, Tom never let them interfere with his commitment to serving the people of his district and of this state,” Perry said. “Texas has lost more than a senator. We have lost someone who truly loved Texas and personified what public service is all about.

“I will always remember Tom as an outstanding state senator and a loyal ally, but most of all, as a good friend. His leadership in the Senate will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Haywood family during this difficult time.”

Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, a longtime friend and colleague, said Haywood’s death is a great loss.

“Tom Haywood was a gentleman, a leader, and one of the best friends Texas ever had. Senator Haywood blessed the Texas Senate and our entire state with a special brand of bravery that was a daily inspiration to everyone who knew him. Tom was a dear friend and a loyal colleague.  Sally and I extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Pat, and his entire family as we share their loss.”

Haywood is survived by his wife, Pat; three daughters: Alisa Green of The Colony; Denise Haywood of Wichita Falls; Jamie Ratliff of Grand Prairie; and eight grandchildren. His son, Tommy, preceded him in death on May 27.

Funeral services were Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Wichita Falls.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to: The Society for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Inc., Woodholme Medical Building, Suite 515, 1838 Greene Tree Road, Baltimore, MD  21208, or to the First United Methodist Church, PO Box 2125, Wichita Falls, TX  76307.2125

A common phrase was repeated last Tuesday as word spread of a quirky discovery near Clarendon’s wastewater treatment plant – “You’re kidding me.”

It was no joke, however. City employees had, in fact, found an alligator that morning – a run-over, smelly, maggot-infested, dead alligator, but a gator nonetheless.

“I thought my cold medicine had finally kicked in,” city employee Alton Gaines said recalling his discovery. “I asked Mike [Bishop], ‘Do you see what I see?’”

Gaines and Bishop were headed to the sewer plant for the daily check of the facility when they found the gator lying halfway in Jefferson Street and halfway in the weeds.

“It looked like someone had run over it,” Gaines said. “But it was really in pretty good condition.”

The beast measured six foot from snout to tail, and Gaines said they figured it had been dead for about 36 hours based on the fly larvae that had hatched in the carcass.

Other than tire tracks, Gaines said he could make out paw prints and raccoon tracks near the body, which he and Bishop later buried. City workers say the plant on the north edge of town is a popular place for animals – particularly wild boars and deer.

Alligators are not commonly found in Donley County, but it is not unprecedented. The Donley County Leader reported on February 2, 1950, that Bud Hermesmeyer had found a dead six-foot alligator in a coyote den near a playa lake northwest of the city.

The common belief amongst the townspeople currently is that the gator was probably someone’s pet that was either thrown out or escaped. That was also the reckoning in 1950.

The American alligator’s natural habitat encompasses most of the southeastern United States from the Carolinas and Florida to the eastern one-third of Texas and as far north as Arkansas, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  One website, <www.pnx.com/gator>, says alligators grow about one foot per year until they reach 11 feet long, which would make the local reptile about six years old.

The Donley County State Bank made a donation to the Clarendon College Foundation totaling $50,000 Tuesday afternoon.

The money was earmarked for use as seed money for the college’s proposed library, one of the projects of the New Horizons Campaign.

“This is something we’re very pleased about,” said CC President Myles Shelton. “The library is very important to the future of Clarendon College.”

Shelton said the current CC Library, which is a part of the Administration Building constructed in 1968, is not big enough to meet the present needs of the institution. The library now has approximately 4,000 square feet of space and holds 22,000 volumes. For a school the size of CC, it should be 8-10,000 square feet and hold 30-40,000 volumes, the president said.

“The library is a major project of our capital campaign,” Shelton said, “and we’re very pleased that this gift will set the standards for this project.”

An adequate new library is expected to cost CC at least $1 million, but Shelton said the “ideal” facility would cost about $2 million.

Donley County State Bank President Jimmy Fowler said his bank has been a longtime supporter of the Panhandle’s oldest institution of higher learning.

“Hopefully this gift will be a little start that they can build on to reach their goal,” Fowler said.

The New Horizons Campaign was authorized by the CC Board of Regents in May of 2000. Its two main objectives are the construction of a new library and a livestock and equestrian center. Secondary goals include raising money for scholarships, upgrading technology, and other campus improvements.

A new location and a new rodeo did nothing to dampen enthusiasm for the 123rd annual Saints’ Roost Celebration held here last week, but visitors and townsfolk did have to contend with temperatures that soared above 100°F.

The celebration got started Wednesday, July 4, with a bicycle parade on Kearney Street. Winners in the youngest division were Taylor Knorpp, first; Hannah Hommel, second; and Branson Cruse, third. In the middle division winners were Haley Chambless, first; and Tyler and Taylor Smith, second and third. In the big kids’ division winners were Chris Tiedeman, first; Amanda Rice, second; and Deston Chambless, third.

Events on the Fourth continued at Thunder Junction with ice cream and sloppy joes being served all day and fireworks being fired that night.

The town took Thursday off and got back to celebrating on Friday, July 6, with the Stick Horse Rodeo sponsored by the Donley County Horse Club and the Depression Lunch sponsored by the Main Street Ministry Center. The first day of a three-day carnival started that afternoon at Thunder Junction.

Friday night, the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association marked its 50th anniversary by changing its traditional rodeo to a ranch rodeo competition. Comments were positive from those in attendance as local and area ranches battled it out to see who had the best cowboys. Twelve ranches competed on Friday night, and another 12 competed on Saturday. Results were not available at presstime.

Saturday was the big day of the celebration with the craft fair, barbecue, parade, turtle race, and more.

Some grumbling had been heard around town about moving the festivities from their traditional place on the courthouse square to City Park due to the courthouse restoration project. But right away Saturday, the roominess and beauty of the park and the convenience of the covered pavilion had people making positive comments. In the days that have followed, some citizens are even saying they prefer the new location.

During the Old Settlers Reunion, Clara Mae Carter and C.E. Welch were recognized as the oldest folks in attendance. Mildred Housden was honored as the person having lived in the county the longest, and Dr. Buddy Hudson from Colleyville, Texas, was the person traveling the greatest distance to the celebration. W.K. Hardin and Claudine Todd were the Pioneer Man and Woman of the Year.

Attendance for the barbecue was down again this year. The Al Morrah Shrine Club reports serving only 850 people. Last year, the Shriners served 1,100. That figure was 1,134 in 1999 and over 1,500 in 1997. A total for 1998 was unavailable.

The Lions Club’s Cow Patty Bingo winner was Paulette Kidd. She won $50.

The parade followed a different route this year, turning on Third Street instead of Second Street and thus not disrupting traffic on US 287. It was a change which had the effect of shortening the duration of the parade and easing the traffic directing pressures on members of the Donley County Sheriff’s Department.

Popular television and screen actor Barry Corbin was the Grand Marshall this year, leading the parade of 54 entries on horseback.

Winners of the parade this year were: Float Division – CHS Cheerleaders driven by Eddie Eads (first), Herring National Bank/Mr. & Miss CHS (second); Riding Units – Cheyenne Noble (first), Khiva Shrine Temple Mule Skinners (second); Antique Cars – Wondell & Ann Luttrell’s 1925 Model T (first), James Nelson’s 1952 Chevy Pickup (second); Other – Lone Star Transportation Escort Vehicle (first), and Khiva Shrine’s Mini-Vettes (second).

Following the parade, Henson’s Turtle Race was held at its usual location with eight-month-old Gavin Hollan of Clarendon, six-year-old Benjamin McDonald of Amarillo, and 10-year-old Leigh Ann Layton of Clarendon racing the fastest terrapins this year.

The VFW Post raffled off a shotgun, and Wiley Reynolds of Lelia Lake was the lucky winner. Russell Estlack of Clarendon won the trip for two to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas given by the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce.

The National Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States has awarded several Donley County citizens with the National VFW Life Saving Award. 

Sheriff Charles “Butch” Blackburn, Jr., dispatcher Clarice Hoggatt, firefighter James Hinton, and local man Max Rippetoe were recognized for rescuing two people this spring.

Vic Jeter and his companion were rescued from his truck when it was swept into the drainage behind Renee’s Diner during a heavy rain on May 3, 2001.

Donley County Post 7782 and its Quartermaster William Holden made the recommendation. Post Commander J.D. Hopper presented the awards.

The certificate reads, “In grateful recognition and sincere appreciation of your prompt and selfless life-saving action. Your personal initiative and prompt action resulted in saving the life of another and is one of the highest obligations to humanity. Your efforts will serve as an inspiration to others and especially the Veterans of Foreign Wars.”

The 123rd annual Saints’ Roost Celebration gets underway this week, and visitors can plan to enjoy a new kind of rodeo and a new venue for the barbecue and crafts fair this year.

The celebration begins Wednesday, July 4, in downtown Clarendon with the Bicycle Parade at 10:00 a.m. Kids can sign-up the day of the parade at Eads Furniture & Appliance or the Chamber of Commerce Office. Line up will begin at 9:15 a.m. by the Post Office.

The fun continues on the Fourth at Thunder Junction with the Clarendon Tourism Council. They will serve sloppy joes and ice cream beginning at 1:00 p.m. while everyone enjoys the water slide, go carts, and miniature golf. Kids can pop their own fireworks from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. in a designated area at Thunder Junction. Parental supervision is required. 

The Donley County Horse Club will get Friday started with their Stick Horse Rodeo. The rodeo will be held in the vacant lot across from the Post Office from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. The rodeo is a fun event for all children nine and under. There will be an entry fee of 50¢ per event.

The annual Depression Lunch will begin at 11:00 a.m. inside 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 delicious desserts.

The annual Rodeo has changed this year to a Ranch Rodeo. The competition begins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night at the rodeo ground with 24 different teams from ranches around the area.

Local teams include Cook Ranch, O’Brien Ranch, Finch Ranch, Running H Ranch, Matthews/Darsey Ranch, High Card Ranch, Sombrero Cattle Company, Spring Creek Ranch, Hall Ranch, JA Ranch, 3H Cattle Company, I Bar Ranch, Bar W Ranch, Spade Ranch, and the RO Ranch.

Ranch rodeo events will include Bronc Riding, Wild Cow Milking, Calf Branding, Team Doctoring, Team Sortin’, and the Open Wild Mare Race.

A junior calf and steer riding contest for kids ages 4-12 will be held each night along with the calf scramble for kids ages 12 and under. A free $200 beef certificate will be drawn each night. On Saturday night the drawing for the National Finals Rodeo/Las Vegas trip and the custom spurs by Wade Brannon will be held.

The rodeo dance will begin at 10:00 p.m. at the Panhandle’s largest open-air dance floor at the Rodeo Grounds with Young Country Friday and Saturday night. The dance concludes at 2:00 a.m.

The celebration gets in full swing on Saturday morning with the VFW breakfast at 7:00 a.m. at the VFW Hall. The RHAA Ranch Horse Competition begins at 8:00 a.m. at the rodeo grounds. The event is sponsored by McLean Feedyard and Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association.

The annual fair and barbecue on the courthouse square has been moved to the City Park due to construction beginning on the Donley County Courthouse. The relocation lends itself to the new “Art in the Park” designation.

The fair begins at 10:00 a.m. The Old Settler’s Reunion will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the City Park. The Shriners will begin serving a delicious barbecue lunch at 11:00 a.m. The annual Lions Club Cow Patty Bingo will be held at 1:30 p.m. also in the park.

The line up for the parade will begin 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 Jefferson, and then back to the ball fields.

Actor Barry Corbin, star of screen and television, will lead this year’s parade.

Henson’s annual Turtle Race will be at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Sign-up your turtle at the store from now until the race day. After the kids race their turtles, the VFW will raffle their shotgun.

Early this week, a last minute addition was made to the celebration. A carnival will be here Friday, Saturday, and Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. each day at Thunder Junction.

Have a safe and happy celebration!

By Mary Beth Nelson

W.K Hardin and Claudine Todd have been named as Clarendon’s Pioneer Man and Woman of the Year for 2001.

W.K, born September 17, 1909, in Hardin County, Tennessee, moved to Donley County in 1922 with his parents, Watt and Lola Hardin, one brother, Hall, and three sisters, Ruth Cearley, Mary K. Todd, and Annie Marie Estes. Another brother, Homer, was born to the family after their move from Tennessee.

Settling in Sunny View community, six miles east of Clarendon, the Hardins continued farming, a lifelong occupation to which W.K. has been happily dedicated. He grins as he mentions the family’s first car, a Model T with curtains for windows.

“In the summertime, we’d take the curtains off,” recollects our Pioneer Man of the Year.

In 1940, W.K. entered an Army one-year training program. After Pearl Harbor’s 1941 bombing, he spent 36 months in Europe and North Africa serving as wench operator in 591st Engineer Boat Regiment. After his World War II service discharge in 1945, he returned to the farm.

June 10, 1947, W.K. married Maxine Ellis, daughter of former Clarendon Doctor T.H. Ellis and Elizabeth Dyer Ellis. After a Colorado Springs honeymoon where the prestigious Broadmoor Hotel charged $23.00 a day (meals included), W.K. and Maxine established residence at 902 West 3rd Street where they currently reside. They attend Clarendon’s Episcopal Church and have parented five children – David, Cheryl, Shauna, Brent, and Kelli.

This hard-working gentleman continued to farm for 50 years. Is he still active? To answer that question, one has only to drive by his home to see an immense, flourishing garden and well-kept lawn on lovely, spacious grounds to which he tends, himself. Spending only three or four days in a hospital during his entire life, he remains healthy and enjoys staying busy with his accomplishments. While discussing his eagerness and obvious zest for daily work, W.K. remarked, “When I die, I want to have my shoes on.”

W.K and Maxine are both avid readers. His reading preference extends from National Geographic and numerous other magazines to authors, Louis L’Lamour and John Grisham.

Through the years, W.K Hardin has supported the Clarendon community and is proud to be one of its citizens. He sums it up best in his statement, “Clarendon is the best little town in the country.”

Claudine has always expressed a special pride in the Clarendon community of which she has been a loyal citizen most of her life.

Her earlier years were spent in Comanche County, her birthplace on January 24, 1911. At age 13, she moved to Brice, Texas, with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. D.T. Smallwood, and two sisters, Frankie McAnear and Mamie Cross.

Claudine was never a stranger to farm life. Having cut stalks and plowed, she relates, “I helped my daddy with farm work every day. I really liked the horses.”

With a sparkle in her eye, she reminisces about Clarendon’s early days. Her fondness isn’t concealed when she mentions Perkins’ variety store, Piggly Wiggly, Taylor’s Hardware, Rathjen’s shoe store, Stocking’s Drug Store, Caraway’s Cafe, and Clifford’s Grocery store. She loved the Saturday afternoon visits with “everybody” on Clarendon’s “buzzing” main street, and munching popcorn while absorbed in a Tom Mix movie at Mulkey Theater. A few years later, she attended Clarendon High School and Clarendon College.

Through the years, our charming Pioneer Woman of the Year and husband, Bill Todd, whom she married in August 1935, has vividly and constantly supported Clarendon’s growth.

One of the most invaluable contributions anyone can make to their community was made by Claudine Todd during her 41 year teaching career. Parents, students, and professional people will always remember her matchless encouragement and concern for Clarendon’s children.  When they realized she had something valuable to offer them, respect, desire, and possibility to succeed usually became more dominant in their lives. Her priceless, lasting contribution of touching so many lives in a positive way is irreplaceable.

Clarendon folks and Claudine share a mutual respect for our community. “Donley County has been good to me, and is made up of the best of people. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

Congratulations to W.K. and Claudine as Pioneers of the Year.

Donley County officials filed papers Friday saying they broke no laws and did not abuse their discretion when they set Constable Jimmy Swinney’s salary last December.

County Judge Jack Hall and Commissioners Don Hall and Bob Trout filed a motion for summary judgment in the recent lawsuit brought against them by Swinney. The motion filed with the 100th Judicial District Court claims the constable’s salary is not unreasonable as a matter of law.

The county’s two other commissioners also filed a separate motion for summary judgment. Ernest Johnston and Henry “Buster” Shields say they were not in office when the commissioners’ court set Swinney’s salary on December 28, 2000. Johnston and Shields took office January 1, 2001.

A hearing for the defendants’ motions has been set before District Judge David McCoy in the Hall County Courthouse in Memphis on July 23, 2001.

Swinney was elected last year as a write-in candidate for constable of Precincts 1&2, an office that had been vacant for 30 years. He filed suit on June 19 against the commissioners’ court, the county judge, and Donley County itself. 

Swinney’s petition asks the district court to command the county to set and pay him a reasonable salary. Previously he had sought a salary equal to the constable of Precincts 3&4, which is $17,146.95.

According to the papers filed by county officials on Friday, the commissioners’ court gathered information and sought advice from the county attorney, the county treasurer, and the Texas Association of Counties regarding a reasonable salary for Swinney. The court also gathered input from Precinct 1&2 Justice Jimmy Johnson and Sheriff-elect Butch Blackburn regarding the duties to be performed by the new constable.

The defendants say the commissioners’ court set Swinney’s salary at $3,170 based on the work he would be expected to do. The court used the following formula to set the salary: (1) $100 per month to serve an average of 14 notices or citations; (2) $20 per month to attend an average of one justice court jury trial lasting two hours; and (3) $10 per citation to compensate for any additional time based on serving 173 per year.

The defendants also claim that Swinney “has been overpaid” since he received $1,452.92 from January 1 to June 15 and, based on the commissioners’ formula, “actually earned only $667.50.” Their motion says Swinney has “served less than seven notices or citations per month since assuming office.”

The motion also claims that Constable Swinney’s salary amounts to $10 per hour while a deputy sheriff in Donley County earns $8.64 per hour.