News

The Saints’ Roost Museum will hold its Member Appreciation Day in conjunction with the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly Shop Donley County drawing on Thursday, June 16, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

Refreshments and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served, and door prizes will be given away for those in attendance.

The Chamber’s $500 Shop Donley County giveaway awards Chamber Cash to a lucky winner who shopped in one of the participating merchants each quarter. You do not have to be present to win, and you can sign-up at any of the participating merchants.

Shop Donley merchants currently includes: Cornell’s Country Store, Outpost Pharmacy, Henson’s, Every Nook & Cranny, A Fine Feathered Nest, Loaded Nutrition / Ramblin’ Ranch, Country Bloomers Flowers & Gifts, Floyd’s Automotive Supply, J&W Lumber, Mike’s Pharmacy, Saye’s / Flying ‘A’ Tack, Speed’s Tire Unlimited, and the Whistle-Stop.

Donley County Commissioners will be talking about health insurance and a possible way to get more grant funds for local communities when they hold their regular meeting next Monday.

County Judge John Howard says the county’s health insurance has gone up $93,000 in the last seven years, and commissioners are facing another 5.9 percent increase in premiums in the new budget, which takes effect in October. Some counties have seen increases of 14 percent, he said.

On Monday, June 13, commissioners will be looking at the amount of money county employees are expected to pay for their insurance as they try to balance the needs of the employees with the needs of the taxpayers.

Commissioners will also be talking about conducting community surveys to boost the ability for the county to apply for certain grants.

Howard said the American Community Survey currently reports that 42 percent of Donley County households are of low to moderate income. The survey is a figure that HUD gives to the US Department of Agriculture, which in turns uses it as a litmus test for Community Development Block Grants – either in scoring grants or sometimes whether a community can even apply for a grant.

The judge says local officials believe that the number of low to moderate income households in the county is significantly higher than the American Community Survey reports. Communities do, however, have the option of conducting their own survey. The City of Howardwick has done just that and opened the door to some CBDG funds, Howard said.

In the county’s case, the focus would be on securing a grant for the Donley County Hospital District to replace three aging ambulances. The district alone can’t apply for the grant in question. The county could apply for the grant funds, but only if 51 percent or more households are classified as low to moderate income.

On Monday, commissioners will discuss working with city officials in Clarendon and Hedley to get volunteers to conduct local surveys, the judge said.

“It makes a difference if someone from the federal government comes to your door or if it’s someone local who can explain how completing a survey can help the county,” Howard said.

If the effort is successful, the county could apply for up to $750,000 for the hospital district to buy three new ambulances, and the match from the hospital district would only be $7,500.

Howard said the survey data collected locally would be good for five years, allowing local cities and the county more eligibility for other grant opportunities during that time.

Sarah Hatley and Dan Sawyer were the big winners when Donley County Republicans cast ballots Tuesday, May 24.

In a run-off election, Hatley beat Connie Lane, 107-87, to be her party’s candidate for Justice of the Peace in Precincts 1&2. Hatley and Lane had been the top vote earners in a four-woman race for the position in the March 1 primary.

In Precinct 4, incumbent County Commissioner Dan Sawyer defeated challenger Brad Dalton 58-43 in a re-vote of the March 1 primary. Voter registration irregularities cast doubt on the original election with both men ultimately agreeing that a new election was in order and the district court agreed.

Neither Hatley nor Sawyer will face an opponent in the November election, making them both the de facto winners of their respective positions.

The Adamson-Lane, Post 287 of The American Legion in Hedley will hold its annual Memorial Day service at the Rowe Cemetery, Monday, May 30, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.

The Post members will place American Flags on the graves of 248 Veterans buried in the Rowe Cemetery. The Flags will be places on the graves on Friday May 27, 2022, and remain till the end of the day Monday in Honor of those departed comrades that have served this Country.

The Memorial Day program will be conducted by members of the American Legion that will include the raising of the colors, the National Anthem, Pledge to the Flag and the ceremony honoring the missing in action and the prisoners of War still unaccounted for.

The Memorial Day address will be given by Garrett Bains, Superintendent of Hedley ISD. Carlton Turvaville will read the names of the 248 Veterans buried in the Rowe Cemetery. The program will be concluded with the laying of the memorial wreath and the playing of “Taps.”

Sales tax revenues were up in Clarendon and Howardwick when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar distributed May allocations to local governments last week.

Clarendon’s revenue was up 5.97 percent for an allocation of $51,740.08 compared to $48,824.23 one year ago.

The city’s calendar year-to-date sales tax revenues now tally $280,871.69, an increase of 9.07 percent compared to the same period last year.

Howardwick’s allocation of $1,945.47 was an increase of 19.78 percent compared to last May.
The lakeside city is now up 4.88 percent for the year-to-date at $5,087.13.

Hedley fell for the month 8.18 percent to $1,737.24. The total for the year-to-date there is now $5,193.46, which is down 2.04 percent compared to the same point in 2021.

Statewide, Hegar sent $1.2 billion in local sales tax allocations for May, 11.8 percent more than in May 2021.

These May allocations are based on sales made in March by businesses that report sales tax monthly and sales made in January, February and March by quarterly filers.