News

The holidays are almost upon us, and folks in Clarendon will be getting things kicked off this Thursday night.

The Clarendon Girl Scouts will host the lighting of the Christmas tree on the Courthouse Square at 6 p.m., and the girls will sing carols.

Immediately following, the Al Morrah Shrine Club will be drawing for a new Dell computer. Tickets are still available at Henson’s or from any Shriner. All proceeds go to the Shriners’ crippled children’s hospitals.

Downtown merchants are urged to get all their Christmas lights put up and have them turned on Thursday night.

The best party of the holiday season is planned for Saturday, December 2, and everyone is urged to get their tickets as soon as possible.

The Saints’ Roost Museum’s annual Christmas Party will be held in the Community Center, located behind Chamberlain Motor Co., from 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Organizers plan to have live country music entertainment for the evening, and Bar H Dude Ranch will be preparing the brisket for the meal. Beverages will be provided by Budweiser.

Tickets are $50 per couple, and each ticket will go in the drawing to win $5,000. You do not have to be present to win.

Purchase your tickets today from any museum board member. They are also available at Henson’s and The Clarendon Enterprise office, both in downtown Clarendon. All proceeds benefit the museum.

The Saints’ Roost Museum is located in the old Adair Hospital and preserves the history of Donley County and the surrounding area. Each year, the museum holds only two fundraisers – the Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff and the annual Christmas Party – to support the expenses of carrying out its mission. Your support is encouraged and appreciated.

The Donley County Ministerial Alliance will hold a community Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Methodist Church.

The following ministers will join in leading the service: Jim Aveni of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Darrell Burton of Martin Baptist Church, James Ivy Edwards of First United Methodist Church, Leonard Hold of First Christian Church, Smiley Johnson of First Presbyterian Church, and Truman Ledbetter of First Baptist Church.

All people are invited to come and participate in thanksgiving to God for the gifts of life.

The voters of Donley County decisively chose Charles “Butch” Blackburn, Jr., to be their next sheriff when they cast ballots in the 2000 General Election Tuesday.

Capturing more than 77 percent of the vote, Blackburn, a Democrat, easily defeated his Republican challenger, William A. “Bill” Holden, by a margin of 1,305 to 386.

“I’m tickled to have it,” Sheriff-elect Blackburn said. “There is no way I could have done it without all the good support. I feel like I won and my supporters won. All I can say is ‘thank you.’

“I’d like to assure the public that I’ll do the job to the best of my abilities,” he said.

The campaign to be the successor of long-time sheriff William J. Thompson was a competitive one that was fought out by supporters on each side in the letters column of this newspaper. In the end, Holden had kind words for Blackburn.

“First of all, I want to congratulate Butch as our new sheriff,” Holden said. “He has my support, and I’ll help him in any way I can.

“I’d like to thank all of my supporters and ask that they now support Butch. It’s obvious that a large number of voters want change. I hope we can all work together for the best of Donley County.”

In other local races, incumbent Wilma Lindley fended off a challenge from Republican Wanda Smith to be the County Tax Assessor/Collector, 1,005 to 697. Precinct 1 County Commissioner Randy White was defeated by Democrat Ernest Johnston, 224 to 308; and Precinct 3 County Commissioner Andy Wheatly lost to Democrat Henry C. “Buster” Shields, 130 to 276.

Mike Wallendorff ran unopposed for the Constable position in Precincts 3&4 and received 480 votes.

Write-in candidate Jimmy Swinney won his bid to be the Constable in Precincts 1&2. He received 52 votes and will assume an office that has been vacant for about 30 years.

More than 77 percent of local voters preferred Gov. George W. Bush to be the next president. Less than 21 percent wanted to promote Vice President Al Gore to the presidency.

US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) won Donley County, 1,466 to 224, over Democratic challenger Curtis Clinesmith. At press time, reports had Thornberry leading his opponent to win a fourth term.

Donley County also voted by a wide margin in favor of Stuart Messer to be the next 100th District Attorney. The Republican County Attorney Pro-tem beat the incumbent Democrat, Randall Sims, by a local margin of 1,143 to 513. District wide results were not available at press time, but reports had Messer leading.

A total of 1,759 county voters cast ballots in the 2000 election – a more than 67 percent turnout. 684 early ballots were cast. Complete local results are printed on page 10.

Two men were arrested last week after they set two crosses ablaze “as a joke.”

Max C. Rippetoe and Joseph M. Shadle were arraigned on disorderly conduct charges Wednesday, November 1, in front of County Judge Jack Hall.

Chief Deputy Butch Blackburn said the Donley County Sheriff’s Department received a call of a possible grass fire at 9:24 p.m. Upon arrival, a deputy and emergency personnel discovered a burning cross leaning against a tree in the 200 block of N. Jefferson St.

“It looked like a big ball of fire,” said Dora Weatherton, whose house was across the street from the blaze. “We thought it was a grass fire.”

A deputy later told her the fire was a burning cross, she said. A 40-year resident of the city, Weatherton said she has never seen anything like this before.

A description of a vehicle believed to be involved in the cross burning was given by neighbors, and a second cross was subsequently found on S. McClelland St. leaning against a fence across from the car wash.

Both crosses were constructed of 2x4s and were eight feet high and four feet wide. Blackburn said the crosses were doused in a flammable liquid. The second cross only burned off the liquid and did not catch fire.

Blackburn said neighbors’ accounts and an investigation of tire tracks led to Rippetoe and Shadle. Warrants were obtained on October 31, and the two men were arrested that evening at 11:45 p.m. Both signed confessions, and one of the suspects reportedly stated that they did it as a joke and meant no harm to anyone.

But no one is laughing about the matter.

“That wasn’t funny at all,” Weatherton said. “It’s kinda scary.”

“I think it’s the poorest joke anybody could pull,” Blackburn said. “Jokes like this could tear up a community.”

Blackburn said he had lived here all his life and never heard of this type of incident happening before.

Local black businessmen agreed with the deputy.

“There’s never been an incident like that before,” said former city alderman Mack Smith, who has lived in Clarendon for 50 years.

“I’m well aware there’s prejudice around, but it’s never been directed toward me.”

Smith said he doesn’t think the incident is funny at all and said he didn’t think the young men got the attitude from home.

“Sometimes kids go astray through no fault of the parents,” he said.

Smith said he thinks the suspects deserve whatever the law does to them.

“I think it’s terrible,” said 71-year-old Clifford Alexander. “I’ve never heard of this. It’s bad for the town. Everybody here has been really getting along.

“I don’t think nothing like this is funny, especially since the community has always gotten along. I’ve never had any trouble with anybody.”

Rippetoe, 21, and Shadle, 20, were released last week on $1,500 bond each, Blackburn said.

Disorderly conduct is usually a Class C misdemeanor, but the nature of the act falls under the state hate crimes statute, which makes it a Class B misdemeanor, he said. That carries a maximum penalty of a $2,000 fine and 180 days in jail.

The third annual Veterans Day Ceremony will be held this Saturday, November 11, at the War Memorial on the Donley County Courthouse Square at 11 a.m.

The Donley County Memorial Post of the VFW 7782 and its Ladies Auxiliary is hosting the event again.

The schedule calls for the invocation to be delivered by First Christian Church pastor Leonard Holt, and Boy Scout Troop 433 will present the colors.

Various musical selections will be performed by the Hedley Ensemble and the Hedley Community Choir.

American Legion Post Commander Jack Moreman will speak on the anniversary of the Korean War, and VFW Post Commander Jimmy Swinney will deliver a Veterans Day speech.

The featured guest speaker for the day will be 100th District Judge David M. McCoy.

This year’s local Voice of Democracy winner, Erica Smith, will read her essay. Smith is a junior at Clarendon High School.

VFW services will be held, “Taps” will be played, and a wreath will be placed on the memorial.

Clarendon Church of Christ evangelist Brian Gochenour will offer the benediction.

Following the singing of “God Bless America,” the public may make presentations of flags, flowers, or mementos at the memorial.

Those wishing to donate food, time, or money to this year’s service should call Bill Holden at 874-3813.

By Joburta Helms

The community of Clarendon has been watching and waiting for the day this day to come.  And now it has arrived.  Saturday, November 11, 2000, will be the first day the Ministry Center will be opened to the community.

The vision of the Ministry Center grew from a need of more space to house the Clothes Closet into a place where many activities can be held to minister to our townspeople.

The First Baptist Church purchased the building in March.  Remodeling began with a grant given by the Amarillo Ministry Foundation. Many people of the community have donated building materials, furnishings and many hours of labor.

The Ministry Center hosted the community by serving the Depression Dinner on the 4th of July.  Even amidst the construction the community enjoyed friendly fellowship and feasted on beans and cornbread.   The Ministry Center also hosted a community wide Rummage Sale.

We would like to express our appreciation for the donated items. All the proceeds of these two events were used to purchase building materials for the center.

We would especially like to express our appreciation to Jim Shadle, Jason Web, and Larry Helms for the work done to texture and paint the walls.

The Ministry Center will house the Clothes Closet, an all ready established ministry of First Baptist Church.  Although the program began in First Baptist Church, the clothing truly comes from the community and is made available to members of our community as well as neighboring towns.  The clothing that is not readily used by our community is sent to another source for distribution.  Those who work in the Clothes Closet appreciate your support and donations.

You may begin bringing items to the Ministry Center on Saturdays and any evening you see someone in the center working.

As you enter the Ministry Center, you are welcomed into a meeting area furnished with couches and chairs.  This area is to be used for group meetings or Bible Studies.   We invite the community to use this facility.   The front windows will be used as a Community Bulletin Board, where announcements for community events may be posted.  

Future plans for the Ministry Center include a Food Pantry and special activities for children.  The greatest area of work is still in progress.  The back area of the building will be a large, all-purpose room.

Clarendon is blessed with many strong churches and people who want to reach out and help others.  The Ministry Center is available to be a place where these people can work together to meet the needs of our community.

The City of Clarendon took another step toward contracting with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission for city administration services last week.

A committee composed of Mayor Tex Selvidge and Alderman Smiley Johnson will work with the (PRPC) to come up with a plan and schedule of completion for city improvements.

The formation of the committee follows a called session of the board last Monday, October 23, in which the aldermen held talks with PRPC representatives Gary Pitner, Jarrett Atkinson, and Colby Waters.

Atkinson said the commission has been offering city management services for about 1½ years. Bovina was the first city to contract with the PRPC, and they have found the service so useful they are now seeking a full time city manager, he said.

“We were initially hired in Bovina to develop personnel policies,” he said. “Now we’ve basically worked ourselves out of a job.”

Under the proposed agreement, the city would contract with the commission to have a PRPC employee serve as a part-time City Administrator for an estimated $32,539 per year. The Board of Aldermen would still set policy for the city and oversee the city administrator. The city administrator would oversee daily operations of the city including the areas of personnel and business and financial matters.

The administrator would be in Clarendon two days a week and would do a lot of work over the phone.

“Business still goes on when the [administrator] is not there,” Atkinson said.

The aldermen would also outline specific goals to be achieved by the administrator.

Colby Waters is the man most likely to serve that position. The Pampa native is currently serving Bovina and is familiar with Clarendon having gone to Greenbelt Lake many times growing up.

Waters said the city administrator position can take some of the work load off city employees and can benefit citizens also.

“This position gives the city one person to come to instead of going to all the [aldermen] individually,” Waters said.

Aldermen see several benefits to contracting with the PRPC. They say it gives the city the chance to see if an administrator is useful to Clarendon without getting involved in a hiring process or making a longterm commitment to someone. The contract is paid on a monthly basis, and the city can cancel the agreement at anytime.

“We just want to have the best for the people of Clarendon,” said Alderman Billy Jack Land.

Mayor Selvidge echoed Land’s comments and praised City Secretary Janice Barbee and City Superintendent Jim Roberts saying, “I don’t know what we would do without them.”

Aldermen Mac Stavenhagen agreed and said both Barbee and Roberts should be included in setting goals for the city administrator.

The money for an administrator is already in the current city budget.

In other city news, the board held its regular meeting on October 24. The 1999-2000 city audit was discussed, and the board voted to have Gordon Maddox conduct the audit. The aldermen also discussed the old TxDOT building and set up a time to look at the facility.

Turnout is looking good for the upcoming election as 374 people had cast early ballots through Monday, according to the Donley County Clerk’s Office.

Early voting will continue through this Friday, November 3, in the Courthouse Annex.

The General Election will be held next Tuesday, November 7, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Polling places are as follows: Box 101 – Bairfield Activity Center – Clarendon College, Box 102 – Howardwick City Hall, Box 103 – Martin Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, Box 201 – Clarendon Lions Club, Box 301 – Community Center – Rodeo Grounds, Box 302 – Paymaster Gin Office – Lelia Lake, Box 303 – Hedley Lions Club, Box 401 – Community Bank – Clarendon, Box 402 – Hess Home – Hwy. 273. Check your voter’s registration card to see which precinct box you vote in.

The clerk’s office will be posting results as they come in Tuesday night on tote boards located on the courthouse square, and the Enterprise will have complete results next week.

Sample ballots are in this week’s print edition.

A Clarendon High School student’s expulsion for bringing a gun to school ended this week, but questions still are being asked about the incident.

Four weeks ago, 17-year-old G.J. Martindale left his shotgun in his vehicle when he became sick after going dove hunting. The gun was sniffed out by drug dogs during a random search of the high school parking lot on October 3.

The school expelled the boy to an Alternative Education Program and reported the matter to the Donley County Sheriff’s Department.

The expulsion was upheld by the CISD Board of Trustees on October 13.

CISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger said some people are still wondering why the school called local law enforcement, but the school really had no choice.

“We just did what the law requires,” Hysinger said last week.

Federal law, Texas law through the state education code, and CISD policy all require law enforcement to be notified in this type of situation.

“We have to report any felony. Do people want us to determine which felonies to report? We want it to be a fair system.”

The only discretion the local administrators had was in the disciplinary action at the school.

Under the federal Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, the school is required to expel for a period of one year any student who is determined to have brought a firearm to school. The law does allow the superintendent to modify the length of expulsion from one year based on local circumstances.

The local student was expelled for four weeks – roughly eight percent of the one year maximum.

In a similar situation reported by the Associated Press, a student in Crescent, Oklahoma, was suspended for one full year when he left a .22 rifle in his pickup after going target shooting.

Recent articles in the Amarillo Daily News and the Dallas Morning News have said Donley County has been divided over the Martindale situation, but Hysinger doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think it’s divided the county,” he said. “It ought to bring us together because the people see we’re trying to protect the kids.”

The superintendent said a lot of people have thanked the school for the way the situation was handled.

The future of Martindale’s case will be decided November 13, said County Attorney Stewart Messer. That’s when a local Grand Jury will meet to determine if the boy should face criminal charges.

If the jury “no bills” the case, that will be the end of it, he said.