News

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

ARLINGTON, Texas – It’s not often that a cowboy can earn money at the National Finals Rodeo and not be happy about it.

That’s exactly what happened Thursday for saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper, who rode Andrews Rodeo’s Brutus for 82.5 points to finish sixth in the eighth go-round, earning $4,231. Meanwhile, his closest competitor for the world-title race, Ryder Wright, won the round and pocketed $26,231.

With that, Wright moved into the lead in the world standings, while Casper, a Clarendon College alumnus, fell to second, $9,253 behind the leader with two nights remaining in the 2020 ProRodeo season.

“I should have ridden that horse a little better,” Casper said of Brutus. “That is a really strong, fast horse, and I did all I could to hang on to him the first couple of jumps. He was on his A game, and I wasn’t. I was s touch behind, then he had those moves, and I was trying to hold on to them. Finally, I could let go and do a little bit of swinging.”

Based on a 100-point scale, the horse earns half the points by how well it bucks. The cowboy earns points by spurring the animal from the neck to the cantle of the saddle in rhythm with the animal’s bucking motion.

“It’s tough, because you can really feel those moves on a horse like that,” he said. “To not hang one side and then the other side is pretty tough. You are trying to go at him every jump, trying to get as many points as you can. I was really lucky to get this horse down. That’s all I was really going for tonight was to stay in the average. Luckily, we got him down.”

Casper is second in the average race with 602.5 points on seven rides. Wright has ridden all eight horses for a cumulative score of $698.5. Even if Wright is bucked off one of the next two nights, he’ll still hold the aggregate advantage. There are several ways for Casper to ride off with the world title, and part of that happens in the go-rounds.

“I have nothing to lose at this point, so I’m going to go for the go-rounds and see what happens,” Casper said.

Wednesday night, Casper rode Calgary Stampede’s Y U R Friskey for 85.5 points to finish in a tie for sixth place in the seventh go-round of the National Finals Rodeo.

“I hadn’t had very good luck the last couple nights, so I stopped looking at that. I’m just going to stick to having fun. If it goes our way, it goes our way. There’s not a whole lot I can do about it if I don’t draw the best horses.”

While he collected cash – $2,115 for sharing the same score with the No. 2 man, Ryder Wright – it wasn’t what he was hoping for with the Canadian bucking horse.

“I’ve been on it at Fort Worth this year, and I was 88.5,” Casper said. “It didn’t go quite as good, but he felt a little stronger than what he did the last time. I was pretty lucky to get by him. He kind of got me bucked off by the fourth jump. I got sat back down, and it felt good.”

Casper was just 82.5 points Tuesday night and finished a few spots out of the money.

“I felt like that horse (Tuesday) night was probably at the bottom of the pen,” he said regarding the random draw out of the 15 horses that were bucked in the round. “We’re just trying to keep getting horses down. It will fall where it falls.”

Twenty-seven new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed by the Clarendon Family Medical Center in the first five days of December, and Donley County Judge John Howard, MD, says at least six local residents have now died from the disease.

Howard says adding known local cases that tested in Childress would raise total new positives the first week of December to 32. The hospitalization rate in December, however, has fallen to one in 30, compared to one in ten in November.

As of Sunday, total tests at the local clinic number 800 with 236 of those being positive since the COVID-19 virus was first detected here in March. Adding the known tests on local residents conducted at other facilities raises that total number of positive cases to 279.

The clinic is reporting 20 active cases under its care this week.

Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon reports they handled 35 deaths during the month of November in the six area communities they serve. While not all of those deaths are COVID-related, the funeral home’s average for November is usually 15 deaths.

Howard also noted that a third FEMA mobile morgue has been delivered to Amarillo to handle the deaths occurring in the metro area, and hospital beds are also in short supply for COVID patients.

“They don’t have room in the hospitals in Amarillo, and they are turning away people they would probably ordinarily admit,” Howard said.

To help alleviate sending people to the hospital, Howard said the local clinic is doing more than normal to get COVID patients hydrated and get them on oxygen.

“Dehydration is a problem with this disease,” Howard said.

Howard also said vaccines for COVID-19 will be coming out soon and the state is developing plans for distributing those.

The Pfizer vaccine will come out first, Howard said, but must be stored at -90°F and then can be kept in a refrigerator for up to five days. Medical facilities are finding it very difficult to get the refrigeration equipment needed to store the Pfizer vaccine, and the minimum order for it is currently 975 doses.

The vaccine from Moderna will likely be the first available in our area and the first doses will be for those professionals with direct patient contact, clinic staff, nursing home residents and staff, EMS, and school nurses. The second round of the vaccine will be for other first responders.

Howard said obstacles still have to be overcome in terms of distributing the vaccine. The Moderna vaccine will have a minimum order of 100 doses, but locations like Donley County doesn’t need that many in the first round so there are still questions to be answered.

The number of COVID-19 cases continues to mount in Donley County, and four people have now died after contracting the disease, according to County Judge John Howard, MD.

“There have been a total of four deaths – three in the month of November, and there may be others,” Howard said, noting that it took state officials more than a month to report the county’s first COVID-related death in July.

Clarendon Family Medical Center said Tuesday morning that it has now conducted 736 tests on local residents, up from 666 one week ago. While 519 of those tests were negative for the COVID-19 virus, 217 have been confirmed cases. That’s an increase of 24 positive cases in seven days.

The clinic also reported 29 active cases Tuesday under its care compared to 44 one week ago. Again, the local active number does not reflect patients who might have tested at Childress or elsewhere.

Combined with known positive test results on local residents at facilities outside the county, the total confirmed cases are now 255, an increase of 31 from a week ago.
Howard says the local clinic had 122 positive cases for the month of November, and 14 people have been hospitalized.

“With tests conducted at other facilities, we believe the total number of positives for Donley County is close to 140 for November,” Howard said. “That’s still one in ten people who have to be hospitalized.”

Howard said he knows of two people from Donley County currently on ventilators.

The judge and doctor also expressed concern that some people doubt the accuracy of the tests being conducted at the local clinic.

“Our test is 97 percent sensitive and 98.5 percent specific,” he said. “If this test says you’ve got it, you’ve got it. It is possible that if you’re not shedding enough virus, you could be negative today and positive tomorrow. At some point you just have to trust that we know what we’re doing.”

Howard also reminds everyone that there is a mask order in Donley County, and in fact all counties, from Gov. Greg Abbott.

“A lot of people are ignoring the order,” he said. “We have 38 percent of the patients in Amarillo hospitals are COVID patients. It is wide spread in the Panhandle. People are just not doing the right thing, but I am seeing more do the right thing.”

Clarendon Chamber of Commerce officials are hoping folks will continue to shop “Totally Locally” this month as merchants plan three nights of Late Night Shopping, culminating with a $500 giveaway.

Several merchants will be staying open until 8 p.m. the next three Thursday nights, December 3, 10, and 17 with the Chamber drawing for its grand prize on December 17.
Shoppers can register at any “Totally Locally” merchant during the season for a chance to win $500 in Clarendon Cash as well as other donated prizes.

“Totally Locally” merchants participating at press time are A Fine Feathered Nest, BeYOUtiful Whimsy, Broken Road Liqour, The Buckin’ Bean, Clarendon Country Club, Clarendon Outpost, Cornell’s Country Store, Country Bloomers Flowers & Gifts, Every Nook & Cranny, Floyd’s Automotive, Henson’s, J&W Lumber, Loaded Nutrition, Mike’s Pharmacy, Saye’s Tack Store, Speed’s Tire Unlimited, and Studio E Creative.

According to small business advocates, every $100 spent in locally-owned stores returns $68 to the local community through taxes, payrolls, and other expenditures. That same money spent in another town returns nothing to your local community.

Support the merchants who support your local community and local charities as they have been hit hard by the COVID pandemic.

Shop at home this holiday season and remember the important role your local merchants play in keeping your community strong.

The continuing rise of COVID-19 cases has led to multiple holiday functions in Clarendon being canceled or postponed this season.

The Christmas in Clarendon craft fair scheduled for this Saturday has been cancelled, according to the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber still encourages everyone to Shop Small this Saturday as well as Black Friday.

Check out the related article on page one of this week’s Enterprise as well as the Holiday Gift Guide in this week’s edition for information on upcoming promotions for local businesses.

The Courthouse Lighting ceremony this Saturday will be a drive-by viewing only this year. The lights will be turned on at 6:00 p.m. as planned, but there will not be music or Santa.

The Lighting Committee asks everyone drive by and enjoy the lights. To eliminate traffic congestion, enter the square from Third and Sully, driving south, turn right onto Fourth passing the Annex, turn right onto Jefferson passing the jail and another right onto Third, finishing up back at the corner of Third and Sully. The Committee appreciates everyone who provided funds and prayers and everyone who helps decorate.

The Mulkey Theatre and the Donley County Community Fund board also has postponed Sunday’s scheduled Polar Express event. Organizers hope the event can be rescheduled next month if cases of COVID-19 subside. The Mulkey will be open and showing Elf this weekend on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 2:00. Donations to the community fund made through Monday will still be accepted and amplified by the Amarillo Area Foundation.

The Saints’ Roost Museum’s annual Christmas party fundraiser, which would have been held next weekend, has also been postponed.

Museum officials said even a “COVID-style” virtual drawing presents challenges and risks the Museum Board is not willing to accept. The Board feels this change of plans is best for the safety of all. Watch for a rescheduled date in the Spring of 2021.
All tickets already sold for the Museum fundraiser will be held over until the event is rescheduled.  If you have already purchased a ticket and have questions or concerns, please contact the Board member from whom you purchased the ticket.

Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

MIAMI, Texas – Life as Wyatt Casper knew it changed dramatically March 8.

The 2016 intercollegiate national champion saddle bronc rider had been trying to make a living in his game of choice for years, and 2020 had already started as the best season of his professional life. That day eight months ago made everything better.
Casper won saddle bronc riding at The American, which paid $100,000 to the winners of each event. Since he had earned a spot at the unique rodeo as a qualifier, Casper also earned a portion of the $1 million side pot – only 10 or so contestants are invited, so the field that was finalized with cowboys and cowgirls who went through a series of qualifying events.

Only one other qualifier, tie-down roper Shad Mayfield, won; those two cowboys each earned $500,000 in the side pot, and life ceased to be normal for either.

“It was definitely a life-changing event,” said Casper, 24, of Miami, Texas. “Bronc riding is a lot like a roller coaster. There are a lot of ups and downs. In years past, I was getting on horses that weren’t as good as the ones I’m getting on now. I’ve been getting on good horses, and my confidence is through the roof. I’m just out here having fun.”

While he banked $603,000 from Arlington, Texas, in March, only $50,000 of that counted toward the world standings. That’s still a large sum of money, and it propelled Casper to the top of the leaderboard; he never relinquished it through the rest of the season.

In fact, he heads to his first National Finals Rodeo as the No. 1 bronc rider with $145,138. He owns a lead of nearly $34,000 over the No. 2 man, 2017 world champion Ryder Wright.

Here’s the caveat to Casper’s ProRodeo season earnings: Subtract the $50,000 from The American, and he still earned more than $95,000 through the rest of the COVID-infected 2020 campaign; that figure would be fourth on the money list and still give the Texas cowboy what he craves: A shot at the world championship.

“I don’t want people thinking that I just got to the NFR because of The American,” he said. “That dang sure helped, but I still won a lot of money besides that.”

And, of course, he did it in a season that was affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The sport came to a screeching halt in mid-March and didn’t return until late May. When it did, rodeo wasn’t the same. More than half the events on a typical schedule were canceled, and many of those were some of the larger events that offered big prize money.

One of the biggest events on the calendar, RodeoHouston, was shut down midway through its March run. Before it closed, though, Casper competed but suffered a compression fracture in one of his upper-back vertebrae. The timing of the break allowed him to heal.

“I took two weeks off and couldn’t lift anything,” he said. “I stated doing more stuff at the third and fourth week, then after that, I was out building horse pens and working around the house. We were in the process of buying some land and putting up a house out there, so I had stuff to do and little time to do it.

“It played out in my favor pretty good. While I was hurt, nobody else was getting on either. By the time I was healthy enough to return, rodeo was just about to get started again.”

By the time it did, he had already secured his qualification to the NFR, which will take place Dec. 3-12 at Globe Life Field in Arlington … just across the road from where he won so much money at AT&T Stadium.

“I think it’ll help that I’ve had success there before,” said Casper, who credits his sponsors – Cinch, TD Angus, MVP Exceed 6 Way, The KingStar Co. and Western Hauler – with helping him get up and down the road. “I think we’ll go in there with the same feeling and have our minds set on one thing, and that’s winning. It will feel a little more at home.”

Home has changed some in recent years. Casper was raised in Balko, a community of around 600 people in the Oklahoma Panhandle, a stone’s throw from Texas. He grew up roping with his family and began riding bucking horses while in high school to increase his chances at winning all-around titles.

“Rodeo is all I wanted to do when I was little,” he said. “My parents didn’t start roping until they met each other, and my dad and grandpa picked it up as a hobby. I’m almost a first-generation rodeo cowboy.”

He’s definitely the first saddle bronc rider. His talent earned him a scholarship to Clarendon College, where he was coached by three-time NFR qualifier Bret Franks.

In 2017, he and his wife, Lesley, married. In November 2018, they welcomed a son, Cooper. A year ago, they added Cheyenne, who will celebrate her first birthday while the family is in Arlington and while her dad is battling for a world championship.

“We’re blessed,” Casper said. “Where The American put me money-wise, I was super fortunate to sit at home with my family instead of going out and getting a job during the break from action. I thought it was awesome. It’s actually going to be tough on us next year when stuff starts going full swing and I’ve got to be gone for three months.”

He didn’t have that opportunity in 2020, and he’s OK with that. Still, with rodeo being his primary source of income, he made the best of a tough situation.

“I felt like everything was scattered out,” he said. “We went to a lot of rodeos I never thought we’d enter, ones I’d always look over. We dang sure appreciated those committees for putting on the rodeos and going to battle for us. Without them, we probably wouldn’t be having an NFR.

“We were excited to rodeo, excited that there was something going on.”

Because of that, he has a significant opportunity to cash in on the most coveted prize in the sport: a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle awarded to the world champions.

Clarendon beat a record recently set in August for the second highest monthly sales tax revenue when Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar distributed monthly allocations to municipal governments.

The city’s November allocation was $51,013.66, reflecting an increase of 15.36 percent compared to the same period one year ago.

That’s greater than the previous second highest allocation of $49,677.44 in August of this year. The best month on record for the city was May 2019 with an allocation of $56,593.

City officials attribute these increases to taxes on online sales from national retailers finally making their way to Texas cities.
The November allocation brings the city’s calendar year-to-date total to $410,227.35, an increase of 4.40 percent over the same point in 2019.

Hedley was also up 2.71 percent to $1,558.06 this month and is 6.70 percent ahead for the year at $10,159.763.

Howardwick’s sales tax revenue almost tripled from $798.77 last November to $2,310.42 this month, with the city now 36.36 ahead for the year at $18,236.37.

Statewide, Hegar distributed $890.5 million in local sales tax allocations for November, 4.8 percent more than in November 2019. These allocations are based on sales made in September by businesses that report tax monthly, and on sales made in July, August and September by quarterly filers.

Donley County has added 23 more confirmed cases of COVID-19, and County Judge John Howard, MD, said a second death has now occurred locally because of the disease.

“If you want a more important number, we have had 91 positive tests at the clinic in the month of November,” Howard said. “Of those, nine have been hospitalized. That’s what everybody needs to know. That’s a rate of one in ten people going to the hospital.”

The Clarendon Family Medical Center reported 44 active cases on Monday afternoon, and the clinic conducted 68 tests in the period from November 17 through November 23, bringing the total number of tests conducted locally to 666. Of those 193 have been positive, and 473 have been negative.

Combined with the known cases that have tested outside of the county, there have now been 224 confirmed positive cases and two deaths in Donley County since the pandemic began.

Because of discrepancies between regional and state reporting and a lag of the state updating local officials, Howard suspects the number of positive cases in Donley County is probably actually closer to 250.

Clarendon Family Medical Center spokesperson Marsha Bruce says people need to take the virus seriously.

“If you don’t believe in COVID-19, that’s fine,” Bruce said. “You don’t have to get a test, but if you’re sick, stay home.”
Bruce also said there is no apparent “hot spot” and that the virus is “everywhere.” She also said there is no truth to the notion that if you get, you’ll be immune to getting it again.

“People do get it again,” she said.

Last week, Bruce said symptoms of the disease also vary widely and said the clinic has seen a lot of cases with gastrointestinal issues – nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea as well as people who think they just have a sinus infection.

As reported previously, Donley County Judge John Howard, MD, has expressed frustration with the state reporting system, not only for the time lag but also how the state is handling the results of rapid tests like those now being conducted at the local clinic.

The state, Howard said, will not count a positive rapid test as a confirmed COVID-19 case unless it is backed up by the more invasive swab test.

“They will report those as ‘probable’ or ‘pending,’ but I assure you the only way you’re going to get a positive rapid test is if in fact you have COVID,” Howard said.

The state’s online dashboard, therefore, will not show the same number of “confirmed” COVID cases in Donley County as reported in the Enterprise, and Howard also said the online dashboard of the Childress Regional Medical Center is “in no way official.”

Donley County’s total COVID-19 case count crossed the 200 mark Tuesday with 45 people having active cases of the disease under the care of the Clarendon Family Medical Center as of late Tuesday afternoon.

In the last seven days, the local clinic has conducted 91 tests, and the total of known positive cases grew from 164 to 201.
Clinic spokesperson Marsha Bruce urged everyone to take the precautions that everyone by this point knows about.

“Do what you know you should,” she said, “and understand that there doesn’t have to be a fever to have COVID.”

Bruce said symptoms of the disease also vary widely and said the clinic has seen a lot of cases with gastrointestinal issues – nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea as well as people who think they just have a sinus infection.

“We have four people in the hospital, and that’s bad,” she said. “We have never sent that many to the hospital, and there are no beds in Amarillo right now.”

Rising cases also saw some local businesses and facilities again changing the way they do business. City Hall was again closed to the public, and the Burton Memorial Library will also be closed to the public for two weeks, according to City Administrator David Dockery.

The Donley County Senior Citizens put out a call for volunteers to help prepare meals after some staff had to be quarantined this week, and The Clarendon Enterprise also again closed its office to the public last week.

The actual number of COVID-19 cases in Donley County is believed by local officials to be higher than the numbers reported. The Enterprise receives regular updates from the Clarendon Family Medical Center, but positive test results on local residents from medical facilities in Childress, Amarillo, and elsewhere can and do lag behind by a matter of days or weeks before those reports get back to the county level from state officials.

As reported last week, Donley County Judge John Howard, MD, has expressed frustration with the state reporting system, not only for the time lag but also how the state is handling the results of rapid tests like those now being conducted at the local clinic. The state, Howard said, will not count a positive rapid test as a confirmed COVID-19 case unless it is backed up by the more invasive swab test.

“They will report those as ‘probable’ or ‘pending,’ but I assure you the only way you’re going to get a positive rapid test is if in fact you have COVID,” Howard said. The state’s online dashboard, therefore, will not show the same number of “confirmed” COVID cases in Donley County as reported in the Enterprise, and Howard also said the online dashboard of the Childress Regional Medical Center is “in no way official.”

Regarding the number of active cases in Donley County, Howard called that a “rolling number,” noting that patients who test positive for COVID-19 should come off the active list ten days after their test unless they are still showing symptoms.

Read the COVID-19 guidelines from the Clarendon Family Medical Center here.