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Wright resigns as constable

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Donley County Constable Doug Wright has resigned effective at the end of last month, according to Judge John Howard.

Wright, who was just elected to a new four-year term in November, resigned to spend more time with his family, the judge said.

Donley County Commissioners considered the constable’s position during their regular meeting on Monday but took no action on filling that vacancy. Howard said the duties of that office are being performed by the Donley County Sheriff’s Office.

In other county news, Howard said a grant has been received to purchase new voting equipment that will be more digitized and easier to use and have less chance for human error in counting ballots.

The grant will provide $107,000 of the cost of the new equipment with the county providing a match of $13,000.

Howard said the county was going to be required to upgrade its equipment eventually and this grant provided an opportunity for most of that expense to be covered.

COVID brings rancher’s last sunset

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By Emma Platoff, Texas Tribune

Not for anything could Raymond Reeves bluff his way through a game of poker. Somehow, his children recall, his face always revealed the hand he’d been dealt.

Raymond Reeves on his ranch in Donley County. Reeves Family Photo

Perhaps it was the honesty, the sincerity, the fundamental good-guy, good-neighbor mentality. Raised in Floydada, in Texas’ sparse Panhandle, Reeves was the storybook Texas farmer and rancher throughout his 91 years, the type of father who would place his children atop a new horse minutes after they’d been bucked off another – no member of his family would grow up fearing animals.

He preferred old western movies and country music, and, like anyone who made a living growing wheat and sorghum in a harsh landscape, he was “addicted to the weather,” his daughter Cindy Reeves remembers.

He loved to sit on the porch in the evening to watch the sky change colors. He’d sometimes call his eldest daughter Carol and say: “I am looking at yet another beautiful sunset that will not be like any other sunset of my entire life.”

In the last years of his life, Reeves, who was divorced, lived alone on the 2,600-acre family ranch, three miles off US Route 287, between Memphis, Texas (population 2,200) and Hedley, Texas (population 300). He had long since stopped driving his truck, though not his John Deere, and he remained active – and fiercely independent. After an October ice storm, so bad it shut off his electricity and forced him to take shelter in his pickup, Carol called a neighbor to check on him. He was not pleased.

When Reeves died he still had 120 cows and calves, down from 300 at the height of his work. That’s not to mention the animals he bought mostly for fun: donkeys, longhorns, llamas. Raymond Reeves did not suffer a mean animal. They would be sold immediately.
Reeves lived through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, a world at war and nine months of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. When he died Nov. 8 in an Amarillo hospital, his children were surprised to hear that complications from the virus had been the cause.

Once most concentrated in the nation’s urban centers, COVID-19 has not spared the rural, rectangular counties of the Texas Panhandle, where meatpacking plants became early incubators of the disease and community spread is now the unfortunate reality. More than 400,000 Americans have now died of the virus, including more than 34,000 in Texas and 10 in Donley County, where Reeves lived.
In Texas, counties with low numbers of coronavirus cases can opt out of the governor’s mask mandate, as a number of Panhandle counties did, and for the most part, wearing masks is more common in the cities.

Danny Francis, a Briscoe County commissioner and survivor of COVID-19 who rented land from Reeves, said early on he didn’t expect so many in his area to contract the virus – nor did he expect it to spread so fast or work so hard. But now, his mind gets stuck on a small rural neighborhood of four households – one of them Raymond Reeves’ – where three people he knows died of the virus last year.
When the virus began to spread in the United States, the Reeves kids, now 63, 59 and 56, struggled to convince their dad to take it seriously, they recall. Before stores and local governments began requiring masks, they pushed him to wear one. At first, the idea seemed ridiculous to him.

“It was very difficult for him to grasp that this was serious,” Carol Reeves said. “He’s been tough and resilient his whole life and he did not understand that he was vulnerable.”

Eventually he promised to wear the mask at Walmart and doctor’s appointments. But they suspected he didn’t always wear it around friends.

“He had this idea that if he was visiting a friend or going into town and seeing someone that he had known forever, that it wasn’t dangerous,” Cindy Reeves said.

The virus tried to corrupt the community spirit that sustained him through his long life. Neighbors and friends became threats. In the spring, despite his childrens’ protests, he did the usual roundup and branding of calves, annual tasks that would have brought other people to the ranch, likely invited in to eat.

“They didn’t see the mask as their way of keeping their community together,” Carol Reeves said. “They saw it as a way to separate one another.”

Raymond Reeves loved his ranch and no one who knew him could imagine him living anywhere else. But the solitude was a double-edged sword. This was the man who’d run into the farm store on a quick errand only to leave his kids waiting in the pickup for 45 minutes as he chatted up everyone he saw. He loved to tell stories – or to correct others’ telling of stories, David Reeves recalled with a chuckle.

“You live out in the middle of nowhere,” Carol Reeves said. “You go to the tire store, and sit there and talk and want to stay and chat as long as possible and tell stories and make people laugh. Everywhere he went there was that connection – because you do live isolated, so you cherish those moments of connection with somebody. The last thing you want to do is offend them by wearing a mask around them.”
The kids suspected he got lonely in his later years. Sometimes when he mentioned this to Cindy, she’d propose solutions, and he’d say, “Well it’s really not that big a deal, Cindy, I just wanted a little sympathy.”

He was generous to a fault, so much so that their mother used to complain that people were taking advantage of him.

He spoke to his children often, and saw them several times a year. One Thursday night in November he called Carol, but she had her hands full and didn’t answer. She called him back on Saturday morning, but he didn’t answer.

They didn’t know yet that he’d fallen. Kathy Turner, who helped him with ranch tasks, arrived that Saturday morning as usual to find the doors locked and no Raymond to greet her. She crawled through the doggie door and found Raymond on the floor by his bed, incoherent, fallen during the night. She got him in an ambulance for the trip to Amarillo.

As David Reeves began the drive from Fort Worth, he imagined he’d find his father dehydrated or perhaps with low blood sugar. It wasn’t until he spoke with the doctor that he realized COVID-19 had caused the brain damage that led to the fall.

By the time the children arrived, the situation was dire.

At first, it was too risky for them to be in the room with their father. Breathing machines can aerosolize a patient’s breath, spreading tiny, dangerous viral particles. Only when he was taken off – the only option, they and the doctors felt – could they go in, masked and gowned, to say a brief goodbye.

Knowing that Reeves lived his last cogent moments in the place he loved most – not forced to move to a nursing home or alien city – softened the loss for his children. But it could not blunt the hurt entirely. For David, it brought to mind a piece of family lore: that Raymond’s mother had fallen to the ground on the ranch while out picking wildflowers, and died not long after.

“If you’re going to go, that’s kind of the way you want to go,” he said.

That ranch still held so much of him – the memories of legendary Easter egg hunts (eggs would be stashed under cow patties, sometimes found months after the event) and of picking out a rare, sometimes homely Christmas tree from the limited selection, decorating it with handmade ornaments. Owning land is an ethic in their family, Carol Reeves said; it would not feel right to sell the ranch. Much of the family gathered there for Christmas this year, celebrating and remembering. They know every inch of the property, their favorite walks and preferred views. It is a place they could never get lost, even if the landscape might look monotonous to an outsider.

That day in November, after Reeves died, there was no tearing of wrapping paper or laughter of children. It was quiet when the children arrived back at the ranch. It felt heavy to enter the home; the sprawling property was “just so him,” David said. They were confronted with his absence; his things scattered on the table, his brown Schnauzer, Reggie, sniffing around, wondering where he’d gone.

 

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/26/texas-rancher-coronavirus-death/?utm_source=articleshare&utm_medium=social

EVENT POSTPONED: Methodist youth to host Valentine lunch

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EVENT POSTPONED UNTIL FEB. 28

The public is invited to attend a Valentine’s Day Lunch, February 14, hosted by the Clarendon First United Methodist Youth to raise funds for their upcoming spring break trip to Ceta Canyon.

Donations will be accepted at the lunch, and social distancing and wearing of masks will be practiced by all participants. There are two times slots available for lunch to allow for social distancing. The times are noon and 1:00 p.m. To sign up, visit firstumcclarendontx.org.
The spring break trip is something the youth are looking forward to. With the restrictions of COVID, they did not believe it would be possible this year. However, Ceta Canyon is planning this getaway and will also follow CDC guidelines.

All community youth (grades 6th-12th) are welcome to participate. If interested in going to Ceta Canyon, youth should meet with the church’s youth group on February 6 at 3 p.m. for further details.

Clinic reports total of 18 active cases

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The Clarendon Family Medical Center is reporting eight new cases of COVID-19 in Donley County residents this week. Active cases as of Tuesday afternoon was listed at 18, down four from this time last week. CFMD spokesperson Marsha Bruce said the clinic had received its vaccine allotment to give second doses to people who have already received the first round of vaccination. The clinic has not received any news on when additional doses might be available.

Former Clarendon woman publishes first book

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A former Clarendon woman has fulfilled a lifelong dream by publishing her first children’s book.

Miranda Keelin Ellis said Night Song became available January 21 and has gotten good feedback from early readers.

Miranda Keelin Ellis

“It is about nocturnal creatures, and the sounds they make at night,” Ellis said, who now lives in Pampa. “My goal is to help children with sleep issues and also spark the curiosity of all children who love animals.”

Night Song is meant for children between the ages of two and six but has appealed to children up through age 11.

“Older kids like that there are things hidden in the art,” Ellis said.

Ellis got the writing bug as a sixth grader in Memphis when she wrote her first poem and continued to grow in her love for writing when she transferred to Clarendon schools. As she pursued her love for writing, she started working at The Pampa News as a reporter until she left that job in November to pursue a goal of self-publishing.

Ellis said Night Song has been entirely done herself, including the artwork, which was actually what she started with.

“I got an art app on my iPad and was just experimenting with it when I made a rabbit with a flute,” Ellis said. “That became the inspiration for the entire project.”

Ellis’ rhyming picture book takes children on a magical journey through the night to discover how a rabbit, wolf, owl, frog and bugs all sing together to create the Night Song.

“It goes into the biology of how the sounds are made,” she said. “I took a lot of inspiration from the critters of North America.”

Ellis is also working on two other books, which are both in the editing stages. One is about a boxing kangaroo that is designed to help children deal with emotions, and another is about a little boy who goes on a cheese chase and learns to overcome his fears. A third book will be a fantasy-based book, Ellis said.

Her future works are at least six months down the road. Meanwhile, Night Songs is available for purchase at Amazon.com or folks can contact Ellis directly at facebook.com/MellisBooks/ and get a signed copy.

Jackson visits Clarendon as he begins Congressional service

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US Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Amarillo) has hit the ground running as the new member of Congress from the 13th District of Texas, and he’s finding the job is somewhat different than what he expected.

Jackson sat down with The Clarendon Enterprise Tuesday morning and said he ran with the expectation that President Donald Trump would be re-elected, which would have given him an advantage as a former White House official.

Congressman Ronny Jackson (R-Amarillo) stands with local residents during a visit to the Clarendon Lions Club Tuesday. Shown here are Lion Roger Estlack, Greenbelt Water Authority General Manager Bobbie Kidd, Congressman Jackson, Donley County Commissioner Dan Sawyer, Lion Corey Blais, District 13 Director Jake LaGrone, and Clarendon CISD Superintendent Jarod Bellar. Enterprise Photo / Ashlee Estlack

“That seemed like a far-fetched idea,” Jackson said of the possibility that Trump would not be re-elected.

Now, the freshman representative is looking to work with moderates in the opposition party to try to get things done for the nation and the Panhandle.

“I’m going to try to work with moderate Democrats, but they are being suppressed by the far left,” Jackson said. “My hope is that they (the far left) will overstep, they will go too far, and the moderates will stand up so we can get some things done.”

Jackson has been appointed to the House Armed Services Committee, of which former Congressman Mac Thornberry of Clarendon was a member, as well as the Foreign Affairs Committee. He’s also part of the minority whip team; and even though he wasn’t named to the House Agriculture Committee, he will still plan to be a strong voice for area ag producers.

“No freshmen Congressmen from Texas were named to the ag committee,” Jackson said. “I’m going to be part of the leadership of a new House Ag Task Force that will work to find bipartisan solutions for our producers.”

He also said that he is first in line as soon as a position opens on the ag committee.

Until such time as moderate Democrats raise their voices to accomplish more bipartisan solutions, Jackson said he has no problem being the voice of conservative values in the face of a liberal agenda.

“They will not influence me,” he said. “They can come after me and come after my family, and I don’t care. I am willing to stand up to them.”

Jackson’s term in office began like no other. He was sworn in on January 3 and just three days later an angry mob stormed the Capitol. He said the day began with a peaceful rally for President Trump, but as Congress began the process of certifying the Electoral College votes, rioters entered the building and were soon trying to break down the door to the House chamber.

Jackson initially helped people ready their gas mask hoods before joining with three other Texas freshmen Congressmen in bracing the door to the chamber and arming themselves with pieces of furniture. As shots broke out, Jackson said Capitol Police evacuated the chamber through the Speaker’s Lobby.

“It was a terrible day for our nation,” he said. “Nobody thought that would happen, and 99.9 percent of Trump supporters would never do that. Most of them (Trump supporters) are people who don’t even leave trash behind after a rally, but (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi is spinning the riot.”

Jackson said he plans to focus on ag issues, armed forces, foreign affairs, rural health care, and election integrity as he begins his term. He will continue to be pro-Second Amendment, pro-life, and pro-First Amendment, he said. He also is urging Republicans not move to the new MAGA Party or Patriot Party, which began organizing this week.

“It will be the biggest blessing for Democrats if it is successful,” Jackson said, noting that it will split the Republican vote. “As Republicans with relationships with the MAGA crowd, we have to work to bring everybody together and stay united.”

In looking for areas of common ground, Jackson thinks infrastructure is an area that Republicans and moderate Democrats can work together on, especially in terms of improving broadband access to rural areas. Defense issues and ag issues are also areas he hopes Congress can find agreement on.

As President Joe Biden issues a series of executive orders to overturn Trump’s executive orders, Jackson said he thinks that may be another area the parties can find some agreement on – the need to reign in the power of the executive branch for what should be legislative issues.

“Both parties need to take back some authority on these executive actions,” he said.

In working for the 13th District, Jackson said he has new people staffing his office with a combination of experience and new blood. His chief of staff and his legislative director in particular both have congressional experience, while he has new faces working in offices in Amarillo and Wichita Falls, including Clarendon native Jake LaGrone, who is serving as Jackson’s district director.

Jackson lives in Amarillo, but he still owns a home in Maryland from his time working in the White House. He says he plans to sell that as soon as possible and will be traveling back to the district whenever Congress is not in session so that he can continue to keep in close contact with the people he represents.

COVID-19 surging locally, clinic says

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The COVID-19 virus is surging in Donley County this week, according to the Clarendon Family Medical Center.

The clinic reported 22 active cases Tuesday morning, up from 15 last week, as the number of confirmed infections continues to rise.

CFMD spokesperson Marsha Bruce said the clinic had 15 positive tests last week compared to just four positives the week before. On Monday alone this week, the clinic confirmed five new cases.

The total number of tests conducted by the clinic now stands at 1,158 with 813 negatives and 345 positives. With the known number of positive tests conducted on local resident at facilities outside the county, that total number of positive cases is now at 388 since the pandemic began. It’s important to remember that reporting of confirmed cases tested outside the county lags significantly, so number of confirmed and active cases is likely higher.

Bruce again said the clinic still doesn’t know when its next allotment of COVID-19 vaccine will arrive. Those interested in being vaccinated should call the clinic to get on the waiting list.

Candidates signing up for local offices

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More candidates have stepped forward to run for elected office as sign-ups continue at seven local governments.

The cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick; the Clarendon and Hedley school districts; and the Donley County Hospital District all have a total of 19 local positions available this year.

In Clarendon, the two-year terms of Mayor Sandy Skelton and Aldermen Nathan Floyd and Jacob Fangman are up this year. Skelton has filed to run again, and former alderman Tommy Hill has filed to run again for the city council. Floyd resigned his seat recently.

All three incumbents whose seats are expiring on the Donley County Hospital District Board of Directors have filed for re-election to two-year terms. Those officials are Rose Lemley – Place 1, Jeff Robertson – Place 2, and Melinda McAnear – Place 3.
Clarendon ISD Trustees Wayne Hardin and Wes Hatley are running to serve three more years.

Hedley ISD incumbents have also all filed to run again. Dana Bell and Carole Ward are running for their full terms. Bruce Howard is running to continue to serve one year is remaining on the seat formerly held by Billy Hall, and, Shauna Herbert is running to continue to serve out the two years remaining on Susan Cosby’s term.

In Howardwick the terms of Mayor Tony Clemishire and Aldermen Jerry Mullanax and Johnny Floyd are expiring. Those are all two-year terms, and Clemishire and Floyd have filed to run again. Jada Murray has also filed to run for alderman.

The City of Hedley has three aldermen’s seats up this year on the city council. Those are two-year terms and are currently held by Aldermen Tonya Metcalf, Alicia Hanes, and Trisha Chambless.

The Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District Board of Directors has five directors up for election this year, including the four-year term currently held by Chancy Cruse – Precinct 5, which encompasses most of Donley County.

All local boards are elected at-large, but hospital board candidates must file for a specific place on the ballot. Candidate applications are available from the administrative offices of each entity.

Filing continues through Friday, February 12. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 1, 2021.

Howardwick fire dept. expands building

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An expansion to the City of Howardwick Volunteer Fire Department building is progressing and promises to give the department much-needed extra space.

Howardwick Fire Chief Susie Langford stands with her department’s new expansion. Enterprise Photo / Roger Estlack

Fire Chief Susie Langford says the 12×35 addition to the fire hall will provide space for the department’s bunker gear as well as office space and a media wall for training personnel. The current office space will then be converted to a bathroom for the fire hall.

City Secretary and fire department member Sandra Childress said funds for the expansion came from a gun raffle as well as a $500 grant from the Donley County Community Fund. Locals residents have also donated a toilet and lavatory for the project, Childress said.

“We really want to let everyone know how much we appreciate their support of our fundraiser,” Childress said.

Langford said the department recently received new bunker gear thanks to a $15,000 grant from the Texas Forest Service, and more projects are being discussed to raise funds in the future.

The department currently has ten members with two applications pending. Landford said she would like to reach 15 and eventually 20 members. She says the department has a place not just for residents who want to fight fires but also for people to help with grants, secretarial work, and community service.

“The fire department is very community service driven,” Childress said, noting that its members have helped with clean-ups, deliveries during COVID, and other activities.

CHVFD responded to four calls last year and three calls for assistance. They responded to one fire just Monday, Langford said. The county has also increased the department’s call-out area from just the corporate limits of Howardwick south to the Greenbelt Lake entrance to Sandy Beach and north to County Road I.

Childress and Langford both expressed the department’s appreciation of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department for working with the Howardwick firefighters and letting the departments train together.

“We really learn a lot from them,” Langford said.

City to apply for downtown grant

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The City of Clarendon will apply for a Downtown Revitalization grant following action taken by the city council January 14.

If awarded, the Texas Department of Agriculture grant would provide up to $350,000 for downtown improvements. The city’s match would be $52,500 for a project total of $402,500, according to a representative of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, which will draft and administer the grant.

Clarendon Mayor Sandy Skelton (right) presents a plaque to former alderman Nathan Floyd last Thursday following Floyd’s resignation from the city council. Floyd had served the city since 2017. Enterprise Photo / Roger Estlack

At least 50 percent of the grant funds would have to be spent to address accessible sidewalks downtown. Lighting is also an eligible expense under the grant.

The grant application is due May 3 with a possible award date this fall.

The city also took further steps on a Community Development Block Grant application that would pay for sewer improvements on the north side of town. Aldermen scored engineers for that work with Brandt Engineering of Amarillo narrowly winning the job over OJD Engineering of Wellington.

The council also continued discussions with Cheryl Johnson about closing a portion of Eighth Street that runs between her properties. Mayor Sandy Skelton said the city’s attorney advised against closing the street due to the precedence it would set. Discussion then turned to possibly installing stop signs at Eighth and Jefferson or possibly making Eighth Street one-way in that area. The discussion will continue at a future meeting.

No action was taken on the status of nuisance abatement at 600 S. Bugbee Avenue since the property owner was not able to attend last week’s meeting. The council did not consider any action on code issues at 117 N. Gorst since the code officer reported that the property owner there is making progress on those issues, but the council did declare 502 S. Bond as a nuisance because of no progress on issues at that location.

The council approved amending the Code of Ordinances to regarding parking regulations to give the city more authority to deal with vehicles that block driveways.

A resolution ordering an election to be held May 1 was approved to elect the mayor and two aldermen. The terms of Mayor Sandy Skelton and Aldermen Nathan Floyd and Jacob Fangman are expiring. Floyd resigned his seat Thursday night citing business and family obligations, city officials said. The council will consider appointing a replacement to fill the remainder of Floyd’s term next month.

Aldermen considered a request from the Donley County State Bank to pay for curb and gutter work. The bank recently replaced a portion of its sidewalk at a cost of $5,900, and City Administrator David Dockery reported that $1,200 of that was curb and gutter work and said the bank was asking for any possible funding. The city recently paid for curb repairs at the Courthouse, but city officials said in that case the county had talked to the city before the work was done. Aldermen unanimously voted against the bank’s request.

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