News

Apathy was the word of the day last Saturday as the City of Clarendon and the Hedley Independent School District held local elections.

A grand total of 119 people voted in the city election. Only 63 cast ballots in the Hedley CISD.

In Clarendon, five candidates were vying for two seats on the Board of Alderman. Former Collingsworth County Judge Bob Watson and incumbent Alderman Michael Tibbets were the voters’ top picks with 91 and 79 votes respectively.

Other candidates for alderman were Bill Holden, 22; Jim Wright, 17; and Carl Draper, 15.

Mayor Tex Selvidge was running unopposed and received 95 votes.

City winners will be sworn in at the next regular board meeting on May 22.

In Hedley, four candidates sought three positions on the school board.

Top candidates were Jan Farris with 45 votes, Jason Sargent with 38, and Mark Montgomery with 37.

Longtime board member Carole Ward lost her re-election bid by one vote. Thirty-six voters checked her name on their ballots.

The Hedley trustees were also sworn in Tuesday night.

Turnout percentages were not available at press time as officials with neither the city nor the Hedley schools could say how many people were registered to vote within their boundaries.

Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

The faculty and administration of Hedley CISD are proud to announce the top two students of the 2001 Senior Class.

This year’s high school valedictorian is Lana Wallendorf with an average of 97.667.

Lana is the daughter of Mike and Lori Wallendorff of Hedley. She was active in basketball, golf, Pep Club, Spanish Club, NHS, BPA, Yearbook, and One-Act-Play.

Lana successfully competed in UIL Science and Math on the district, regional, and state levels as she was a member of the 2000 Texas State 1A Championship Science Team. In addition, Lana has competed successfully on the regional, state, and national levels in BPA Accounting and Banking and Finance.

She is the current NHS President and was awarded by the Donley County Chamber of Commerce the Hedley Young Woman of the Year.

Over the years, she has received Honor H’s in biology, chemistry, social studies, physics and math. She is a recurring member of the A Honor Roll. This year, Lana was voted Most Dependable, Most Spirited, and Most Likely to Succeed.

Lana plans to study medicine and become a family physician.

Rachel Bennett, daughter of Travis and Tonja Ruthardt of Lelia Lake, is the salutatorian with an average of 94.364.

Rachel has participated in basketball, Pep Club, Cheerleading, golf, Track, Spanish Club, One-Act Play, HHS Choir, Yearbook Staff and Business Professionals of America.

Rachel was an officer for the HHS National Honor Society, competed on the regional level in UIL Accounting, and on the state level in BPA accounting.

She has been on the AB and A Honor Roll numerous times in addition to attaining Perfect Attendance awards.

She has plans to attend West Texas State University where she will study pre-med.

The HHS Class of 2001 will have their commencement on Friday, May 25, at 8:00 p.m. in the Owl Gym.

Christmas has come early for the local city-county library this year thanks to the estate of Mary Stocking McConnell.

The Gabie Betts Burton Memorial Library has received a check from that estate in the amount of $97,500.

Librarian Carolyn Blackerby says the library has been a beneficiary of Mrs. McConnell’s estate in the past, receiving smaller amounts from interest on a trust. The generous sum received in April is a partial termination distribution of the estate, according to a letter from a Bank of America representative.

The bank is reportedly in the process of completing the administration of the estate, and a smaller, final payment will be made to the library at a later date.

The money comes with no apparent strings attached other than it must be used for the library; and while there are several pressing needs, Blackerby has zeroed in on a project she hopes to see undertaken completed.

“We plan to use the money as seed money for a grant to remodel the second floor of the library,” she said.

Currently the upstairs area is unfinished. Part of it is used for storage and mechanical purposes, but most is underutilized space.

“The library should be for everyone in the community,” she said, “and we want to make sure it is just that way.”

Blackerby envisions the upstairs being used for meeting rooms, a literacy training area, periodical archives, and genealogy research. Access to the approximately 2,750 square foot second floor would be made easier by the installation of an elevator.

No plans have been carved in stone yet, but Blackerby has already contacted an elevator company for an estimate and plans to consult an architect regarding the feasibility of the project.

A portion of the estate’s gift may also be used to update the library’s reference material, she said.

Over the last year and a half, the Burton Library, which is jointly operated by the City of Clarendon and Donley County, has come to be utilized more and more by local people.

“Our traffic has doubled,” says Blackerby. “We started at 30 to 40 people a day. Now, it’s not unusual to have nearly 100 people daily.”

In addition to traditional research and reading, the Burton Library has become a popular meeting place for various groups – most notably the Donley County Tourism Council – and has enjoyed an up tick of activity thanks to the availability of Internet access. Many travelers stop to use the library to check their e-mail.

The surge in daily visitors has necessitated the addition of another full time employee. Recently city aldermen and county commissioners approved increasing Sabrina Burrow’s hours, moving her from part time to full time as of this week.

The Burton Memorial Library is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The City of Clarendon unveiled plans for a new solid waste transfer station during a public hearing prior to last Tuesday’s board of aldermen meeting.

The station will be built in front of the city’s Three Feathers Recycling Center on W. North Front Street near the grain elevator, and construction will be partially funded by a grant from the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission (PRPC).

When the job is completed, citizens will be able to back their cars or trucks up a slope to dump trash, tree limbs, or recyclables into one of five roll-off boxes.

City Superintendent Jim Roberts says the facility will be open seven days a week for the convenience of local citizens.

The concept of a transfer station pre-dates 1995 when the Three Feathers center was opened, and the design of the station will be based on a similar facility Alderman Billy Jack Land visited near Possum Kingdom a couple of years ago.

Mayor Tex Selvidge believes the station will be a benefit to the city.

“Now [citizens] have to dump their trash on the ground if they can’t lift it high enough to get it in the box,” he said. “This will be a lot easier; they can just drive straight in there and drop it in. It will also help keep that whole area cleaner and neater.”

The $52,800 PRPC grant will cover the cost of concrete bays for two roll-off boxes and a movable metal gatehouse. The city will provide an in-kind match by doing all the dirt work for the project. Final total cost estimates are not yet available pending completion of designs by the city’s engineering firm.

While the grant only covers two bays, the city plans to build five because it will be more economical to do the whole project at once, city officials say. City Hall has been putting money back to pay for the remainder of the project.

The city estimates it will save at least $182.50 per month in trash dumping costs. No decisions have been made regarding fees for using the new facility.

Roberts says city workers will begin the dirt work soon. Under the terms of the grant, the project must be completed by August 31, 2001.

No adverse comments were made during the public hearing, and the plans were approved.

In other city business, representatives of Planned Parenthood addressed the board of aldermen during their regular meeting. The local office closed last week, and efforts are being made to re-open it in September.

Planned Parenthood officials say they provide reproductive health services to uninsured people, and the majority of patients of the local office were poor, married, working women. The local office was opened in 1972, but the agency’s budget has not been increased in the last ten years. Representatives say finding a facility that would house their office at no rent or with free utilities would help make up their budget shortfall.

The board voiced support for Planned Parenthood. No action was taken at last week’s meeting.

The board also heard from directors of the Audie L. Murphy Rural Preservation Foundation, which is based in Memphis. The newly formed foundation hopes to preserve the rural way of life and plans to raise money that could be granted to homegrown projects primarily in Donley and Hall counties.

 Alton Gaines and Jay Gage addressed the board regarding the desire of Mrs. L.B. Matheson to donate her property on N. Jefferson St. for use as a park. Playground equipment is already on the property, and a new community organization has begun improvements to the area.

Water meters and water valves were discussed. The board voted to have Roberts and City Secretary Janice Barbee get together and write an ordinance requiring a valve be placed on the customer’s side of the meter when new meters are requested and new taps put in. The cost will be borne by the consumer.

A resolution was passed to authorize the fire chief to represent the volunteer fire department in applying for a grant to purchase ten sets of bunker gear and ten air packs for the firefighters.

With the first ever Turkey Strut behind them, the people of Donley County are turning their attention to Independence Day and focusing their energies on the 123rd annual Saints’ Roost Celebration.

This year’s festivities will be different than any in recent memory. Celebration organizers are dealing with the twin obstacles of July 4th being in the middle of the week and the Courthouse Square being unavailable due to the courthouse restoration project.

In addition, Clarendon’s three-day traditional rodeo is being changed to a two-day ranch rodeo because the old rodeo has lost money in recent years. Organizers hope the ranch rodeo will be more successful.

With just a couple of months to go before the big event, the calendar is quickly being nailed down, although some changes could still be made.

Here’s the lineup as it now stands, according to Genella Eads with the Chamber of Commerce.

On Wednesday, July 4, a Bicycle Parade will be held at 10 a.m. and a street dance is planned for 8 p.m. to midnight.

Nothing has been reported as being planned for Thursday.

On Friday, July 6, the Downtown Ministry Center will hold a Depression Lunch at 11 a.m., and the Cowboy Ranch Rodeo will start at 7 p.m.  A dance will follow the rodeo.

Saturday, July 7, will be the biggest day as the VFW kicks things off with a breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the VFW Hall.

At 8 a.m. the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association will host a Ranch Horse Competition.

Events usually held on the Square will be held at the City Park this year. The Craft Fair begins at 10 a.m. with the Old Settlers Reunion starting at 10:30.  The Shriners BBQ Lunch will begin at 11 a.m. Cow Patty Bingo is slated for 1:30 p.m.

The parade will begin at 2 p.m., but the route for the parade is not definite as yet. County commissioners have requested that the parade not run within one block of the Square for safety purposes.

The current plan calls for the parade to begin near the Little League field on Seventh St., turning north on Kearney and proceeding downtown to Third St. At that point the parade would turn back east and terminate on Carhart St.

Following the parade, the VFW will hold a drawing for a shotgun, and the annual Turtle Race is set for 3:30 p.m. near Henson’s.

The ranch rodeo begins at 7 p.m. again, and another dance will follow.

A 50th Clarendon High School Reunion is being planned for the Class of 1951 to coincide with Homecoming in September this year.

The organizers of the event are having difficulty locating some of their 1951 classmates.

Please contact Bill Pittman at 512-458-8094 or Roberta Pittman or Judy Burlin in Clarendon if you know the whereabouts of any of the following: J.P. Carlile, Marjorie Hill Getman, Wilson Lane, Jeanette Stogner Green, Laverne Morris Hutchinson, or Ann Talley Underwood.

After months of speculation and anticipation, the first annual Donley County Spring Turkey Strut Festival will be held this weekend, April 21-22.

The fun for all ages starts on Saturday with a craft show in the Lions Club from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the competition will be fierce at the turkey cookoff at the corner of Fourth and Kearney streets. The turkey cookoff starts at noon, and the first 200 people to arrive will get to be the judges of the best turkey dish. 

The Texas Parks and Wildlife will hold a demonstration on the courthouse lawn at 1:00 p.m. while bluegrass fiddlers will stroll down Kearney Street playing their strutting music.

Visitors and citizens can also view the wild turkeys and other wildlife during tours throughout the day of Taylor Lakes, the James P. Rodgers Bird Sanctuary, and Greenbelt Lake.

The main event, the crowning of Clarendon’s first Turkey King, will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Kearney Street.  Local officials have been campaigning for nine weeks to see who will be the king. 

After his highness has been crowned, a Turkey Mattress Race will begin at 7:30 p.m. According to chamber directory Judy Burlin, the line up for the race is the County Commissioners vs. the City Aldermen and the Fire Department vs. the Ambulance Authority. She said it’s also possible that some teams from Clarendon College may enter.

Race contestants will have to carry a double mattress with a turkey on it from Henson’s hardware store to the Post Office, a distance of one block.

KEFH-FM will host a street dance on Kearney Street beginning at 8 o’clock.

The Donley County Tourism Council will hold a drawing Saturday evening for the winner’s choice of a wildlife painting by James Ivey Edwards, a set of binoculars, or a stay at the Ace No. 8 West Texas Bed & Breakfast in Lelia Lake. Tickets for the drawing are $5 each or three for $10 and can be purchased from members of the tourism council or at the library. The infamous pink and green wooden turkeys will be auctioned off, and local artists may bring their wildlife pieces to be auctioned also.

Breakfast will be served at the VFW Hall on Sunday. Other activities include the nine-hole Golf Scramble at the Clarendon Country Club and the Clay Turkey Shoot at the Bar H Dude Ranch.  Both events begin at 1:00 p.m. 

The craft show will continue on Sunday, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., as will the wildlife viewing tours throughout the day. Times for the tours will be announced.

For more information, call Dee Dee Autry at 806/874-3889.

Thanks to bad roads and potholes, community activism recently gripped the City of Howardwick and brought volunteer workers out in droves.

The little town on the north side of Greenbelt Lake, made up largely of retirees, has been plagued by deteriorating roads and limited resources with which to fix them. The main road entering Howardwick from State Hwy. 70 was paved three decades ago and was in bad enough shape before the ice storms hit this past winter.

City Alderman Nancy Davis said the road got so rough that it prompted the Associated Ambulance Authority and the Clarendon Independent School District to write letters to the city warning of the hazardous conditions and the toll that was being taken on ambulances and school buses.

So the city ordered three loads of coal mix and some RAP (Recycled Asphalt Pavement) and set about filling in some of the potholes with the help of a small band of volunteers on April 3. No one realized how quickly the project would grow.

Since the city doesn’t have any “Men at Work” signs, Davis began flagging cars down, warning the drivers to watch for the workers.

“People would stop and ask us what was going on,” Davis recalls. “When I told them what we were doing, they would say, ‘I’m going home to change clothes and I’ll be back to help.’”

And they did come back. Over the course of the next several days, 23 men joined the volunteer road crew. More than 90 percent of the men were retirees in ages ranging from 65 to 84. Private trucks and trailers were also donated to the cause.

The others in the community did their part also. If they couldn’t work, they donated money to the cause, bought soft drinks, or prepared food for the workers. Dorothy Arnold became the food chairman for the project and accepted help from 39 ladies before she finally had to start turning them away.

“It just ballooned,” Davis said.

Arrangements were made for several more loads of asphalt, and when the trucks arrived, Davis said, the men were thrilled.

“All these old men started clapping and cheering if you can believe that.”

The work continued through April 11 with half a dozen workers being brought in from the Clements correctional facility in Amarillo. The retirees came back day after day with some putting in more than 35 hours overall. Davis said they had to stop some of the men from working for fear they would get too hot or injure themselves.

The retirees soon became known as TOMs, an acronym which stood for Tired Old Men.

Dorothy Arnold said the women put in 62 hours serving meals at the community center, not counting the time they spent at home.

“It was wonderful,” Davis said. “People who used to just say ‘hello’ to each other at the post office are now the best of friends.”

“There was no bickering at all,” Arnold said. “There were just jokes all the time.”

Even the community’s stray dogs got in to the act, following the men around. One dog, nicknamed Duke, was very committed, riding in the back of trailers and joining the men for meals at the community center.

Davis estimates eight to ten miles of road were repaired.

“It’s still rough,” she said, “but it’s better than it was.”

Perhaps more important than the road, the community is closer than it was before and has benefited from a spirit of cooperation. In fact, at press time, the community was planning to form a Garden Club dedicated to beautifying Howardwick.

“You can’t describe the feeling that’s out here right now,” Davis said. “I’m so proud of this community.”

A local man was arrested Friday in connection with an April 7 burglary at Clarendon ISD.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said 17-year-old Daniel Curry entered the school’s vocational agriculture building through a window and stole a television set and two VCRs.

The crime was reported on Sunday, April 8, by local ag teacher Ronnie Edwards, and an investigation led to Curry.

Chief Deputy Randy Bond arrested Curry, who later signed a confession, Blackburn said.

The TV and one VCR were recovered. Curry was still in the Donley County Jail at press time.

The CISD Elementary Library was also burglarized on April 7 with some gel pens being stolen, but Blackburn said the authorities haven’t been able to connect Curry to that crime.

Leon Church, Donley County Agent

There has been a lot of talk lately in the news about the threat or risk to humans from the arsenic levels allowed in drinking water.  

The current standard allowed  for arsenic is 0.05 parts per million (ppm).  This level has caused some people to demand that our government  set into action ways to reduce this allowable standard level.  What is the real risk? Is this risk large enough to warrant the cost necessary to reduce these levels?

Make no mistake about it, arsenic is toxic, as are many of the pesticides we use.  We need to understand that risk is every where, from the time we wake up and start our day until we return home. Even then we are at risk of severe storms and other natural occurring events.   No matter what we do, we are at risk. 

It is said that “it is morally wrong to perpetuate ignorance and through ignorance fear.”  Yet many groups fuel people’s fear in order to gain their desired outcome. Alar was a perfect example of using fear,  the arsenic issue is another example of fear based on ignorance.

An important concept to remember is “the dose determines the poison.” We hear a lot of comments in the news about chemical residues in water and food. What do they mean and do we really understand the quantities we are talking about?

Chemical residues are expressed in parts per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb) and now we have developed tests to measure parts per trillion (ppt).  Let’s put these figures into perspective.  What do they mean?

One part per million (ppm) is = one ounce of salt in 62,500 lbs. of sugar; = one square inch in the infield of a baseball diamond; = one inch in 16 miles; = one second in 11 days.           

One part per billion (ppb) is = one aspirin in 100,000 gallons of water (a swimming pool 25 ft x 100 ft x 4 ft); = one square foot in 36 square miles; = one inch in 16,000 miles; = one second in 32 years.

One part per trillion (ppt) is = one inch in 16,000,000 miles; = one pinch of salt in 10,000 tons of potato chips.

The standard allowable limit for arsenic in drinking water is 0.05 parts per million.  What is the risk?  Is the dose large enough to make a difference?  Science says no, and especially at the costs associated with reducing these levels further.

These same fears are associated with pesticide use. Understand that these chemicals are toxic and should be treated with respect. 

Let’s not let ignorance and fear rob us of tools we need to produce food and fiber needed for the future of the human population.  Nor should we allow people to use fear to advance an unnecessary agenda.