News

A budget shortfall, COVID-19 issues, and the powers of the governor will all be topics for next year’s Legislative session, according to State Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo).

Seliger held a virtual town hall meeting for Donley County residents via Zoom on Monday, November 2.

“I miss our face to face town halls, and will still do them if people ask me to,” Seliger said.

The senator began his remarks with an overview of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on Texas and the number of cases in the Amarillo area, where the hospitalization rate topped 28 percent this week and the state has sent additional resources.

“This thing is bad and is going to get worse,” Seliger said.

He said he was not optimistic that a vaccine would be ready soon and suggested that people need to follow the published guidelines for masks and other health precautions.

“I had the virus, and it was no fun,” Seliger said, noting that he still has not regained his stamina.

COVID-19 precautions will be seen at the Legislature, Seliger said, in the form of Plexiglass dividers in meeting rooms and a limited number of staff being allowed on the senate floor. Officials are also considering ways to allow people to testify virtually or in limited timeframes on important legislation.

The senate will work hard not to spread the disease, but Seliger was confident that his office will “make it happen” if constituents want to come see their senator in person, even if that means meeting under a tree on the Capitol grounds.

Seliger said the state is forecasting a $4 billion budget shortfall. He is open to using a portion of the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which currently has between $8 and $9 billion, he said. But he also said the fund shouldn’t be used for ongoing expenses and needs to keep a healthy reserve for the future.

The senator said Texans should expect to see cuts across the board in most areas, but he said he doesn’t want to see any cuts to higher education and particularly area community colleges.

Seliger said he expects to see bills designed to limit the power of the governor during emergencies after actions that Gov. Abbott took during COVID-19, although he points out that most people don’t have any problem with the governor having those powers during hurricanes.

“I don’t think he was right all the time,” Seliger said.

Local control will also be a topic that comes up again in the next session. He pointed to efforts in the City of Austin to cut police funding and said he was opposed to the state stepping into that situation.

“I think it would be wrong for the state to try to take control of the Austin police,” the senator said. “The citizens there will only take so much of that [cutting the police].”

Seliger ran afoul of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in the last legislative session by standing with local governments on a variety of issues, particularly the ability for local boards to set taxes. He told the Enterprise his relationship with Patrick today is “very business-like and that’s all,” but he took pride in the fact that Patrick has told people “Seliger is the only vote I don’t control.”

“I don’t work for him,” Seliger said. “I work for the people of this district.”

The senator said local officials need to band together to tell politicians that if they follow the “Empower Texans model” – the far right lobbying group – then they are going to have a tough time getting elected.

“Teachers helped get me elected in the last primary, and that was noticed in Austin,” he said.

Seliger also is in favor of setting aside accountability ratings again this year, saying that teachers and administrators have enough to deal with right now.

He noted that many schools still want to give the STAAR test for the information they can receive from it but said schools should not be graded on the test this year.

Following the 2020 US Census, redistricting will also be a top priority for Seliger and the senate in the next session. District 31 will have to be enlarged by about 130,000 people, and that will see it expand down through Childress and further south most likely, he said. It currently starts in the Permian Basin and runs north to take in the Panhandle.

Seliger said the Legislature must set new boundaries by June of next year or a five-person committee will take over the job and that committee will have no representation from West Texas.

Going forward, Seliger said he wants to encourage residents to contact him at any time if they have issues that need his attention.

Texas Tech University was the host for the last Southwest Region rodeo of the fall semester last week. Clarendon College men’s team finished the rodeo in second place with 435 points with Sul Ross University ahead of them with 480 points.

Those contributing for the Bulldogs were bareback riders Cole Franks and Rickey Williams. Franks was 74 points in the long round and won the short round with an 80-point ride finishing second in the average, and Williams had 71 and 67 points rides to finish seventh overall.

In the saddle bronc riding, Clarendon brought back five of the ten riders in the championship short round with Cash Wilson winning both rounds and the average with his two 82 points rides while Brody Wells finished second overall with his 79 and 74 point rides.

Weston Patterson finished sixth overall with his 60 and 71 point rides, and Trey Elshere scored 53 and 69 point rides. Joe Priebe had a 67 point ride in the long round but didn’t have a qualified ride in the short round.

Clarendon still holds the top spot in the men’s team region standings with 1,810 points followed by Sul Ross with 1,480 and Tarleton State with 1,450.
Cole Franks jumps to the top of the bareback standings with Rickey Williams sitting sixth.

In the saddle bronc standings, Clarendon holds six spots in the top ten. Cash Wilson holds on to the top spot while Brody Wells jumps to #3, Keene Justesen #4, Trey Elshere #7, Cole Franks #8 and Caleb Newell #9.

The CC Rodeo Team will be hosting an event on November 21 at the Donley County Activity Center to honor Wyatt Casper, the first Clarendon College Rodeo athlete to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo.

The Wyatt Casper NFR send-off party will be a ribeye meal for two and a silent auction to benefit the rodeo team. Anyone is welcome to attend and tickets can be purchased through any rodeo team member or by calling Coach Franks at (806) 440-1366.

Donley County voters will head to the polls Tuesday, November 3, to decide several local races and make their voices heard in this year’s US presidential election.

Locally, ballots will be cast for the Clarendon school board, the Clarendon College board, the Howardwick City Council, and the Donley County Tax Assessor/Collector’s office.

Like reports all across America, interest is running high in this year’s election. As of last Friday, more than 1,000 people had already cast their ballots in Donley County. That total was 654 one week before Election Day in 2016. Also this year, 349 new voters have been added to the rolls in Donley County, making a total of 2,325 people eligible to cast ballots

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, and local ballots can be cast at the following locations: Box 101 – Clarendon College Bairfield Activity Center, Box 102 – Howardwick City Hall, Box 201 – Donley County Courthouse, Box 301 – Assembly of God Fellowship Hall, Box 303 – Hedley First Baptist Church, and Box 401 – Clarendon Church of Christ Family Life Center. Check your voter registration card to determine your precinct box number.

County voters will select the successor for Crump’s position as the County Tax Assessor / Collector. Crump is retiring at the end of the year. Seeking her job are Republican Kristy Christopher and Democrat Tony Dale, and Deedra Keen is running as a write-in candidate.

Local voters will also help decide the next person to serve in the US House of Representatives for Texas District 13 when Congressman Mac Thornberry retires in January. On the ballot are Republican Ronny Jackson, Democrat Gus Trujillo, and Libertarian Jack B. Westbrook.

Three seats are up on the Clarendon College Board of Regents, and incumbents Darlene Spier and Carey Wann are on the ballot along with challengers Guy Ellis, Chris Matthews, and Debbie Thompson.

Clarendon CISD’s Board of Trustees has two positions available this year. Incumbent Reneé Mott is seeking re-election, and Kyle Davis and Chrisi Tucek are also running.

Howardwick has six people running for three city council seats. Aldermen Mary Grady and Marietta Baird are seeking re-election, and other candidates are Shelly Chavira, Terry Barnes, Jeremy Kindle, and Jada Murray.

For live local election results, follow facebook.com/TheEnterprise or @ClarendonTxNews on Twitter, and results will also be posted on ClarendonLive.com.

George U. Hubbard of Clarendon and his daughter, Elizabeth A. Hubbard, have released their latest book based on the World War II experience and writings of John R. Hubbard.

Fight On! World War II and Cold War Experiences of Lt. Commander John R. “Jack” Hubbard, USNR is a first person account – wrapped with historical accuracy – of a naval aviator’s experiences during World War 2. Jack’s experiences both on the ground and in the air continued into the Cold War.

Almost a century in the making, John R. “Jack” Hubbard practiced what he preached when he penned the segments of his life’s story he considered most meaningful and most memorable. He told his students, colleagues, and anyone else who would listen that understanding what happened, why it happened, and to whom it happened was more important than rote memorization to be regurgitated then spewed forth on a standardized exam. As a history professor, Hubbard was deeply concerned at the amount of revisionist history increasingly being promulgated without any consideration of the relevant geopolitical, social, or economic issues leading up to the historical event in question. Therefore, he took pains to expound personalities, activities, and interpersonal relationships to help transport readers back in time so that they could “feel”, “sense”, “laugh”, and “cry” vicariously.

Fight On! has been written in such a way that anyone can understand the evolution of naval aviation during the second world war. Jack takes you through the nuts and bolts of training through deployment to each duty station. Jack has you secretly watching the delivery of The Bomb climaxing with his assignment to fly support of the Enola Gay on her historic mission. Throughout the book, Jack describes his life away from home as well as those with whom he served and met along the way.

But life didn’t end with the surrender of the Japanese. Like most of his fellow service members, Jack had to once again make his own life-changing decisions. Would he make a career in the Navy or would he return to civilian life in academia? His decision led him into the fringes of Cold War international intrigue, espionage, and general mischief. Some have dubbed Jack as the Forrest Gump of that era.

A native Texan who received his public education in Denton, Texas, then earned all of his degrees at The University of Texas, Jack Hubbard taught British History at the University of Texas, Louisiana State University, and Yale University before adding university administration to his teaching responsibilities at Sophie Newcomb College (Tulane). He left Sophie Newcomb when he accepted a position with the State Department to serve as USAID’s chief educational advisor in India. Hubbard ended his academic career at the University of Southern California (USC) where he served as the university’s eighth president during the turbulent decade of the 70s, and where he also taught British History until shortly before his death in 2011. An avid sports enthusiast, Hubbard is well known as the colorful president of USC who cost the Trojans 15 yards during the 1978 USC vs U-Hawaii football game for un-sportsman-like conduct. He served as U.S. Ambassador to India at the end of President Ronald Reagan’s term of office.

Amazon ranked Fight On! World War II and Cold War Experiences of Lt. Commander John R. “Jack” Hubbard, USNR as its # 1 New Release* in Aviation History, 1950s History of the U.S., History of India, and Historiography. The book is available in both print and e-book formats. Both print and e-books can be purchased from Amazon, other online stores, and from ehubbard@punaluudata.com. For more information about the book or the lesson plans that have been created for middle and high school teachers, contact Elizabeth Hubbard at ehubbard@punaluudata.com or via text at 940-297-9347.

George Underwood Hubbard lives in Clarendon, Texas, and spent his life as an educator in the fields of computer science and mathematics. After completing his tour of duty in the United States Army during the Korean War, George taught junior high school mathematics briefly before being recruited by corporate America at the dawn of the computer age. IBM lured him away from Lockheed, but after 32 years teaching and training both IBM employees and clients, he retired to focus on his true passions – historical writing and academia. He retired from Texas Woman’s University where he taught statistics.

George holds a PhD from the University of North Texas, and MS – Statistics from Stanford University, and an MS and BS from The University of Texas. He is the author of numerous magazine and journal articles and the following books: Computer-Assisted Data Base Design; IMS (DL/1) Data Base Organization and Performance; The Humor and Drama of Early Texas; Which End of A Buffalo Gets Up First?; The Last Man to Die by Creek Law; Images of America Krum; and When the Saints Came Marching In.

Local officials are urging parents to avoid door-to-door trick or treating during Halloween next Saturday, October 31, as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise in Donley County.

Clarendon City Administrator David Dockery said Tuesday that Mayor Sandy Skelton and County Judge John Howard, MD, were both encouraging the community not to practice traditional door-to-door trick or treating this year and said organized trunk or treat events would be preferable.

“I think when you look at school kids going door to door to potentially elderly residents, it would be preferable to have an organized trunk or treat where masks can be worn,” Dockery said.

Judge Howard reported 24 cases of the disease were currently active on Tuesday with 34 people testing positive in the county during the month of October so far.

“I wish I could impress upon everyone how important it is to wear a mask and wash your hands,” Howard said. “I know everyone is tired of it, but it is in Donley County.”

Howard said the virus is prevalent locally and said another resident was hospitalized as recently as Tuesday afternoon.

 

Clarendon College has been removed from warning by its accrediting body, according to announcements from the school as well as the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

“We are happy to have this matter resolved up,” CC President Tex Buckhaults said in a statement. “We work hard to maintain good standing with SACSCOC because they control our accreditation.”

CC was first placed on warning in June of last year after the SACSCOC Board of Trustees determined the college had “failed to demonstrate compliance” with a core requirement and three standards set by the agency relating to governance by the CC Board of Regents following a complaint filed against the board several months earlier.

The warning led to year-long review of Clarendon College by the accrediting body, which culminated in June of this year with a SACSCOC committee visiting CC to determine the college’s compliance with several accreditation standards. The visiting committee interviewed all the members of the board of regents individually, except for Regent Carey Wann who was not a member of the board during the initial SACSCOC investigation last year.

According to information requested from the college by The Clarendon Enterprise, the committee “reviewed extensive documents” and interviewed the board and college president. While the committee found that the college had taken steps to avoid conflict of interest issues with board members, it reported inconsistencies with how the college dealt with conflicts of interest based on responses from members of the board, and it also found the board lacked a “clear operational definition of a conflict of interest for Board members as they apply the policy of the college.”

“During interviews, individual Board members shared inconsistent definitions of conflict of interest and descriptions of how an individual would declare a conflict of interest,” the report said. “The Special Committee examined Board minutes of occasions when Board members recused themselves due to a potential conflict of interest; these lacked consistency based upon individual Board members attempting to determine if he/she should recuse or not.”

The report also found that the college did not have someone – such as a board officer or president – specifically assigned to be responsible for board accountability, did not offer a structured local orientation for new board members to address conflicts of interest, and was not posting all conflict of interest statements on its website as per its policy.

In its response to the findings by SACSCOC, Clarendon College has adopted policy changes to address the issues found by the committee and change the way the board handles conflicts of interest. The board also adopted new policy to provide more structure and monitoring of training for its members.
The college also responded that a Policy Review Special Committee of the board “is working to convert the institution’s policy manual to align with or adopt the TASB Community College Policy Reference Manual.”

“The [Board of Regents] has adopted a new operational definition and a procedure to identify conflict of interest,” the response said. “With these actions the [Board of Regents] and our President have positioned themselves to better protect the integrity of the institution and ensure continued training of its members.”

Following the college’s official response to the SACSCOC committee’s report in August, the SACSCOC Board of Trustees met September 3 to review that response formally removed CC from warning.

Early voting continues through next Friday, October 30, in the 2020 General Election and local elections.

In addition to the presidential, congressional, and other offices on the general ballot, the Clarendon College District, the Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District, and the City of Howardwick are also holding elections this year.

Local voters will select the successor for Crump’s position as the County Tax Assessor / Collector. Crump is retiring at the end of the year. Seeking her job are Republican Kristy Christopher and Democrat Tony Dale, and Deedra Keen is running as a write-in candidate.

Also of local interest is the race to be the next person to serve in the US House of Representatives for Texas District 13. On the ballot are Republican Ronny Jackson, Democrat Gus Trujillo, and Libertarian Jack B. Westbrook.

Three seats are up on the Clarendon College Board of Regents, and incumbents Darlene Spier and Carey Wann are on the ballot along with challengers Guy Ellis, Chris Matthews, and Debbie Thompson.

Clarendon CISD’s Board of Trustees has two positions available this year. Incumbent Reneé Mott is seeking re-election, and Kyle Davis and Chrisi Tucek are also running.

Howardwick has six people running for three city council seats. Aldermen Mary Grady and Marietta Baird are seeking re-election, and other candidates are Shelly Chavira, Terry Barnes, Jeremy Kindle, and Jada Murray.

Early ballots can be cast at the Donley County Courthouse Annex for the General Election as well as the college and school elections. Howardwick ballots must be cast at Howardwick City Hall.

Voters have until October 23 to request an absentee ballot. Voters who choose to return those ballots in person must bring an official ID and can only bring their own ballot and not a spouse’s or other person’s ballot with them.

The General Election will be held Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

The number COVID-19 cases in Donley County spiked upward Tuesday afternoon with 15 active cases now being reported under the care of the Clarendon Family Medical Center.

Eight new positive cases were reported as of 3 p.m. on Tuesday alone with the overall number of positives being reported by the local clinic rising by 14 over the last week. A clinic spokesperson said they are seeing cases in young school children as well as college students.

Tuesday’s information brings the total confirmed cases in Donley County to 87.

The clinic also this week began using a rapid test that can return COVID-19 results in 15 minutes.

Last Friday, Clarendon CISD quarantined its fourth grade classes with 25 students in all after an individual who had been in contact with those students tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Superintendent Jarod Bellar said he was informed about the positive test late Thursday afternoon, October 8, and decided to quarantine that grade level to be safe.

“We wanted to be pro-active and see if anyone developed symptoms over the long weekend,” Bellar told the Enterprise.

Fourth graders who were not exhibiting symptoms were expected to be back at school Tuesday.

Clarendon CISD also announced Monday that the school was notified Saturday evening that a lower elementary grade level teacher had a presumptive positive test for COVID-19. However, Bellar told the Enterprise that due to precautions that had been taken in the teacher’s class, the school did not think it was necessary to quarantine that grade.

The school says currently grades 5-12 are the only grades required to wear masks during the day, but younger grade levels are welcome to wear masks as well.

Donley County Judge John Howard, MD, did not have an update this week from state or area officials to add to the local clinic’s count but did say officials are seeing a “mini-outbreak” among students.

“We’re seeing a cluster of positive cases at the school, and I think we’re responding appropriately,” Howard said. “We’re also seeing a predictable increase at the college.”

Speaking late Tuesday, Howard said the last thing he wants to see is the school shut down, but that quarantining grades or classes is a possible course of action.