News

A free COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic will be held at the Howardwick Community Center on January 7 and February 11 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Pediatric vaccinations for ages 5-11 (Pfizer) will be available. Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be available for those ages 12 and up, and boosters will be available for those who are eligible ages 16 and up.

This is a free, walk-in event. No insurance is required.

Howardwick Community Center is located in McMorries Memorial Park at 245 Rick Husband Blvd.

Donley County had 71 total COVID-19 cases confirmed at the Clarendon Family Medical Center for the month of December, down from 85 in October.

There were 21 active cases of COVID-19 reported Tuesday compared to 20 two weeks ago.
There have now been 704 positive cases of the virus since the pandemic began that have been treated at the local clinic, up from 659 on December 20. Those numbers do not reflect local residents who were diagnosed with elsewhere, such as facilities in Amarillo, Pampa, or Childress.

Eighteen residents of Donley County have died from COVID since the pandemic began last year, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The Southeast Texas Panhandle Ag Conference will be held Wednesday, January 12, in Memphis at the Kathy Fowler Insurance Agency building.

Registration will be from 8:30 to 9:00, and the program will immediately follow.

This years’ speakers will include Dr. John Robinson, state cotton economist; Dr. Pete Dotray, Extension weed specialist; Suhas Vyavhere Cotton entomologist; Ben Knight, cotton agronomist; Cecelia Monclova, plant pathologist and David Parker, irrigation specialist. Lunch will be provided by Bertie Fannie’s of Memphis.

Five CEUs will be offered. The cost will be $10. RSVP to the Donley County Extension Office at 806-874-2141 or the Hall County Extension Office at 806-259-3015.

The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for its annual community awards banquet.

Honorees will be announced during the banquet Thursday, February 10, at the Bairfield Activity Center.

Nominations are being sought for Man of the Year and Woman of the Year – two individuals who have made a significant contribution to the community in the last year, and the Saints’ Roost Award – honoring an individual for a lifetime of service to the community.
Written nominations should specify what award the person is being nominated for and a brief paragraph stating the reason for the nomination. The nominations should be no more than one page in length.

Nominations can be mailed to the Chamber at PO Box 986, Clarendon, TX 79226, or delivered to the Visitor Center inside the Mulkey Theatre. Nominations must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, January 14, 2022.

County politics occupied much of the Donley County Commissioners’ agenda Monday during their regular session.

Judge John Howard said the commissioners’ court focused mainly on the position of the Justice of the Peace of Precincts 1 & 2, driven by the need to confirm the boundaries of those precincts and by JP Pam Mason submitting her resignation last Thursday, effective January 1, 2022.

Howard said the county had considered the possibility of consolidating its two justices of the peace positions into one, but with four people having filed for Mason’s position, the court decided it was in the county’s best interest to keep the two JP positions.

JP 1&2 offices in Clarendon on the Courthouse Square, while JP 3&4 offices in Hedley.
Maintaining the Clarendon JP office, the commissioners also then confirmed the boundaries of the JP precincts, aligning them with the commissioner precinct boundaries already which had already been set, Howard said.

When the JP position becomes vacant in January, commissioners could appoint someone to take Mason’s place, but Howard said the county does not intend to take that action until the voters can have their say in March and could even hold off until May in the case of a run-off election.

“The fair thing to do is leave it vacant and let the voters decide who they want in that position,” he said.

Precinct 3&4 JP Pat White will cover the duties of the Precinct 1&2 JP until it can be filled next year. Whoever is appointed or elected to succeed Mason will have to complete 60 hours of training within a year of taking office, the judge said.

Howard said Mason gave no reason for her decision to resign.

Commissioners also approved new precinct voting lines, eliminating voting locations in Howardwick and in Hedley and creating the option for all four precincts to have ballots cast at the Courthouse. But that decision may not last.

Howard said Tuesday that while he’s been assured that Howardwick residents are fine with voting in Clarendon, some Hedley residents would prefer not to have to drive to the county seat to vote. Also, Howard said the county acted under the incorrect information that they could establish more than one polling place per precinct, which would have allowed Hedley to be accommodated.

Commissioners will now revisit the election precinct lines during a called meeting this Friday at 4 p.m. when they will also consider bids for Courthouse repairs.

The county also approved Mon-day purchasing four Express voting machines at a cost of $16,000, which will largely be paid by grant funds.

A four-way race has emerged for one Donley County office and one candidate has filed for another office that is currently vacant.

The filing period for a place on the Democratic and Republican primary ballots closed Monday, December 13, and all local candidates filed as Republicans, according to the Donley County Clerk’s office.

Sarah Hatley, Connie Lane, Ashley Savage, and Kristen Taylor all filed to run for the Justice of the Peace of Precincts 1 and 2. Incumbent JP Pam Mason, whose term should have expired at the end of December 2022, has resigned her position effective January 1, 2022.

Former Donley County chief deputy Randy Bond filed to run for Constable of Precincts 3&4, a position that is currently vacant.

The following incumbents also filed for re-election as Republicans: Judge John Howard, Treasurer Wanda Smith, Clerk Vicky Tunnell, Precinct 4 Commissioner Dan Sawyer, Precinct 2 Commissioner Daniel Ford, and Precinct 3 & 4 Justice of the Peace Pat White.

The Republican primary will be held March 1, 2022.

By Ted Harbin

Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Cimarron Jack has been a winner over the years. The big bay has helped cowboys win rounds at the National Finals Rodeo before.

That didn’t happen with Wyatt Casper during Thursday’s eighth round, but it worked well enough for the Texas cowboy. He and Cimarron Jack matched moves for 82 points to finish sixth, worth $4,354.

“He was a lot more rider-friendly for this pen,” Casper said, noting that the eighth round featured the “Eliminator Pen” of bucking horses, the ones that cause havoc. “I don’t think he fit this pen. He is usually better than that. It just wasn’t his night.

“If I was in the average, I’d be happy about it. I’m not in the average, so I’m just trying to go for the rounds. When you don’t have the horse to do it, it is a little upsetting.”

Casper had no-scores in each of the first three rounds and is 10th in the aggregate race; only the top eight cumulative scores at the end of the 10-round championship will earn bonuses. But for all the trouble he had to start the NFR, he has bounced back, pocketing $67,000 in Las Vegas. He is sixth in the world standings with $151,990.

“He was probably top three rider-friendly horse in that pen, but I knew it wasn’t going to be a huge score,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “I tried to ride him as good as I could, just as I do every horse. It worked out, and we won some money.”

The NFR features a purse of more than $10 million, and he wants to collect as much of that pot as he can over the final two nights of the season. A year ago, he pocketed nearly $176,000 at ProRodeo’s grand finale. Rodeo isn’t always rose pedals and ice cream sprinkles though, and he realizes he’s done some good things this year.

“I wouldn’t make that driving a truck at home, so I’m excited to be here,” he said. “It’s still going to be a good 10 days after this. It’s hard to compare it to last year. I just haven’t had a good go of it. After this week’s over, we are still going to be pretty happy.”

He’s placed in four rounds so far, including the Round 7 victory. He has two more nights to catch as much cash as he can before he leaves Las Vegas. He’ll have good opportunities, thanks in large part to the livestock that’s been selected to buck at the NFR.

“It’s the top (100) horses they bring here, so they are the best,” Casper said. “They deserve to be here just as much as all the bronc riders.”