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Cub Reporter: Clarendon students make trip to DC

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Clarendon High School students Cutter Seay and Ben Estlack stand outside the office of Congressman Ronny Jackson last week in Washington, DC.

Last week, my friend Cutter Seay and I went on the trip we won for the Washington DC Summer Program.

We started our trip on Father’s Day by flying to Washington, DC. Once we arrived, we got acquainted with our Close Up Foundation leaders and our workshop groups. The workshops are the groups with whom we did mock debates and political discussions.

Over the next couple of days, Cutter and I saw just about every monument, with my favorite being the Jefferson Memorial.
In addition to seeing the monuments, we also got to visit with staff members of our US Representative, Ronny Jackson, and our US Senator, John Cornyn. After meeting with the staff members, we were given gallery passes to the House of Representatives and the Senate to see Congress in action.

Ben Estlack

That evening when we returned to the hotel, we began by having a debate over concealed carry permits. After the debate, the moderators chose two representatives from either side of the argument to be members of the mock Congress. I was selected as the committee chairman of the concealed carry legislation. My group decided to amend the bill and pass the bill with a unanimous vote.

The next day was our final day in DC, and we got to spend the day in the city. We finished the evening with a dance. We returned home Friday morning.

I’m so happy that we had the opportunity to go on this trip and wish I could go again. I would like to thank former Congressman Mac Thornberry, Superintendent Jarrod Bellar, and the selection committee for making this program happen for us.

On a separate note, this upcoming Sunday is my sister Ella’s 15th birthday, and I would like to wish her a happy birthday. Love you, sis.

Cub Reporter: Happy Fathers Day, Dad!

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Seeing as next Sunday is Father’s Day, I decided I would like to write my article this week about him.

Ben Estlack

My dad is one of my biggest fans and is one of my best friends. He’s always there for me and, like my mom, he spends most of his time working for his family. As well as working for his family my dad spends lots of time volunteering in the community.

My dad is one of my biggest role models and I am so glad to get to hang out with him, whether we are working in the yard or watching our shows, I love getting to spend time together.

My main reason for writing this article is just to say, thank you dad, for everything you do for me and our family. I’m sorry I am leaving and will be gone on Father’s Day, but happy Father’s Day, I love you.

Editorial: Enterprise preparing for the future

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Once again, your community newspaper has been certified as “The Best Little Newspaper In Texas” by winning the Sweepstakes Award for small weeklies from the Texas Press Association.

The Clarendon Enterprise is proud to claim that title as the laurels resulting from the hard work that goes into our publication week after week. It’s a tradition that dates back 145 years – delivering the news the people of Donley County want and need while recording the history of our local communities.

Roger Estlack, Publisher
& Editor

Past longevity, however, is no guarantee of future success. For our news organization to survive to its 150th anniversary and beyond, we have to embrace technology and new ideas while still delivering the news.

When we reported winning the TPA Sweepstakes Award last year, we had also learned that The Iowa Park Leader had closed its doors that same week. A few months ago, we delivered the sad news that The Canadian Record was suspending publication, and this week we learned The Ozona Stockman in Crocket County is closing this month.

These weekly newspapers were among the best in the state. Although they each closed for different reasons, their communities now share the distinction of being part of the growing news deserts appearing in rural America – places where there is no press to report the news, to keep watch on local governments, and to record their peoples’ history.

We don’t have a crystal ball to see our future, but we are determined to fight like hell to keep publishing your newspaper. Our community needs it. You need it. And we’re going to utilize every possible tool to keep spreading the word just as we have done since 1878.

Last summer, we were given an opportunity to apply for a program to help small news organizations adapt and embrace new technology. We had participated in small workshops from the Google News Initiative – an effort from the tech giant to help small- and medium-size news publishers. The GNI Foundations Lab was going to be different though. It would give us access to resources we could never afford and put industry experts in our corner as we figure out how to navigate the future of news publishing.

The application was a longshot, but we filled it out and sent up a prayer. When word finally came last fall that the Enterprise had been selected for the lab, we realized what a unique opportunity this was. There were only 34 lab participants in the Western hemisphere, 14 in the US, and two in Texas.

It would be impossible to list everything we learned from the lab over a nine-month period. It was like drinking from a firehose, and we’re still trying to process some of the information. Much of it was technical information, but, in a nutshell, it was about how to effectively deliver the news in a digital format in ways that – hopefully – you, our readers, will appreciate and support and thus create sustainable news business for an ever-changing world.

As we go forward, we know that ultimately the keys to our success are still dependent on two things – business and organizations willing to back us with their advertising dollars and readers willing to buy subscriptions. We’ve been blessed in those terms for a century and a half, and we will continue to work to be worthy of that even as we implement the ideas that sprang from the GNI lab.

The TPA contest proves the Enterprise is a leader among weekly newspapers in the state when it comes to providing digital news coverage and printed news coverage. We’re not going to change that. Instead, we’re going to keep bringing you the news you need and want whether it’s on paper or on your phone. With Google’s help, we’re going to be reaching even more people with the news and bringing more attention to what’s happening here in terms of education, business, life, and culture.

You can help your local newspaper in the same way you always have. Buy a subscription for yourself, for a friend, and for a family member. Patronize our advertisers and tell them you saw their ad in the Enterprise. Send us news tips and photos. Encourage your friends to read the Enterprise either in print, on the web, or on social media. When it’s time for your fundraiser, don’t ask us to just run a blurb for free but instead include us in your advertising budget. At the end of the day, the future of your hometown newspaper is in your hands as much or more than it is in ours.

Meanwhile…
Your editor would be remiss if he missed this opportunity to thank those who are responsible for the success of the Enterprise. Our senior staff – Tara Allred assisted by Ashlee Estlack (in her free time) – is second to none, and our junior staff – Ben and Ella Estlack – fill in wherever necessary and play important roles with columns and photos. And then there are our freelancers and contributors – Sandy Anderberg, Kari Lindsey, Lisa Grahn, and Adelita Elam – each of whom makes my job easier and provides us with photos and information to make this paper truly the best in the state. Thank you all and thank you also to our advertisers and readers. We couldn’t do it without you.

Column: Awards and smile mark start of summer

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This past week, the Enterprise got some great news. We won multiple state awards from the Texas Press Association.

Ben Estlack

My Dad and I together won 3rd place in column writing, and my sister won first in sports photography. My Mom’s work on online reporting, and Tara’s work on page layouts were also recognized.

We also won an award for the best website; and not to toot my own horn, but that is one of my babies. I’m so proud to be working for the Enterprise, and I hope that we continue to have more years of winning.

Outside of work, I also had something awesome happen! I got my braces off after 28 months of having them! I love my smile, and it was so worth the years of wearing them to have such an awesome smile!

This past week has been quite exciting, and I’m so optimistic for the rest of my summer and all of the fun I am going to have!

Joining the staff of the aquatic center

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Ben Estlack

This past weekend I started my first day working as a lifeguard at the Clarendon Aquatic Center. This is, so far, one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had, and I’m so excited for this summer.

I wanted this job for many reasons, but my main goal from working at the pool is to hopefully save enough money to afford a new car. I’ve always wanted a Dodge Challenger, and I’m now at the age where I can actually go work for it. I figured if I wanted this car so badly, I’ll just go get it, and this job is the perfect opportunity for me to do that.

I get to spend all day working with my friends while helping keep people safe.

It’s been an awesome summer so far; and hopefully, it’s going to keep getting better!

I hope I’ll see many of you at the pool this summer!

Editorial: Enterprise celebrates 145th anniversary

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Happy anniversary to us! This issue marks the 145th birthday of The Clarendon Enterprise, and we’re very happy to still be bringing you the news and recording the ups and downs of Donley County.

Roger Estlack, Publisher
& Editor

It was June 1, 1878, when Rev. L.H. Carhart printed the first issue of what was then known as The Clarendon News. The reverend faced many challenges in getting out the news to celebrate his fledgling colony located at that time on the banks of the Salt Fork of the Red River at Carroll Creek. For one thing, the paper was printed back in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and only came out monthly. It was two years before Ed Carhart would bring the first printing press to the Panhandle and start publishing on a weekly basis.

Across the generations, our newspaper has had to adapt to survive – from the move of the townsite to the railroad to the adoption of ever-changing technology. Each publisher has had to figure out the best ways to continue to publish and deliver the news each week and thereby inform local citizens of what’s going on in Donley County while at the same time recording history for posterity.

The digital age has been a great benefit and a great challenge for newspapers. The Enterprise has been a leader among Texas weekly newspapers in adopting new technologies. We were one of the first weekly newspapers in Texas to offer a digital edition for subscribers directly to their email boxes to peruse on their computers, tablets, and smartphones. People rely on the Enterprise’s website and social media outlets. The paper that originally communicated only once a month can now send out the news in seconds. And during COVID, we embraced streaming technology to offer live updates on the danger facing our community.

Many small businesses have been hard hit in the last few years, and the newspaper business has been no different.
Since our last anniversary, we have reported the deaths of two of the Texas’ greatest community newspapers – the Iowa Park Leader last summer and the Canadian Record earlier this year. Those papers closed their doors for a variety of reasons, but their absence expands what some are calling “news deserts” in rural America. Those are small towns or entire counties that have no local news coverage. Studies show that when newspapers disappear from communities, tax rates go up, local officials begin to skirt the law, and citizens become less aware of what’s going on with their local governments.

Beyond recording the wins and losses of local sports teams, the graduations of students, and the obituaries of passing citizens, newspapers provide information that citizens and voters need to hold elected officials accountable and to make good decisions about their communities.

As we have said before, our newspaper would not have survived to this point without the support of the local business community. Advertising has been what pays our salaries, and this has been the case from day one. This is why we have always supported and promoted our local businesses. We understand, perhaps better than most, that there exists a synergy between local merchants and the community.

We still hold fast to the premise that a good, strong community requires the presence of a good, strong newspaper. A strong newspaper requires the advertising of a strong business community, and that comes right back to citizens supporting local businesses.

Increasingly in the newspaper business, the financial support of readers and contributors is also keeping the doors open. People are coming to realize that local journalism matters. No matter what your feelings about the national media are, it is likely that you understand the importance of good local reporting.

If you value the newspaper you’re reading, if you value the service we provide in keeping local governments accountable, if you value the coverage we give to your schools and college, then we urge you show that support by subscribing to the Enterprise. If you already have a subscription, then please consider purchasing a gift subscription for friends or family who no longer live in Donley County but who still love the old hometown.

We continue to explore new and innovative ways to deliver you the news and to bring you information. We’re working on some exciting changes that we hope you will enjoy in the coming weeks and months. And we hope that you will share that enjoyment and encourage others to back our efforts as well.

We appreciate the support so many readers and advertisers have shown us for 145 years, and Clarendon is fortunate to have several other businesses that have been here for generations as well as new businesses that keep our little town fresh and exciting. Together we can continue to work to make Clarendon and Donley County the best that it can be for many years to come.

Touring the options at Texas Tech

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Ben Estlack

Last Thursday, my family and I took a trip to Lubbock so I could take my first college tour at Texas Tech!

We woke up Friday morning and went on the general campus tour. The general tour was a tour showing where everything is while telling some of the fun facts and stories behind the campus and its buildings. Then we went to lunch, and I had the amazing opportunity to eat lunch with the Dean of the Graduate School and his council. He was a very fun guy, and he was very adamant on my going to Tech.

After lunch, I got to go on a more specific tour where I got to meet with a representative from each of the departments I was interested in. The first department was the Biology department where I got to meet with a professor of microbiology. He told me a lot about getting into college, and then he took me around and showed me some of the snakes that they have in their reptile lab.

The next department I met with was the mathematics where I met with a representative who helped me see which classes I would need to take in order to graduate with the degree I want. Then, at the very end of the day I went and met with a professor of Mechanical Engineering who helped point me in the direction I want to graduate and helped me narrow down what I want to graduate with.

After we were done meeting, he took me to the basement where they have a shop where the mechanical engineering classes work on projects, and I immediately fell in love. They had a room full of 3D printers, they even had a metal 3D printer to print parts they can’t machine. Then he showed me some of the projects, and they had a Mars rover and a jet engine that was made for a senior project.

After the trip, I have decided what I want to do. I want to graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in Aerospace Engineering.

I am so excited that I was given the opportunity to go meet with these people and that they were so kind to me. Texas Tech is definitely at the top of my list!

Urgency of preventing child abuse

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One of the most important responsibilities that all of us have – as individuals, families and communities – is to ensure the safety of the children in our lives and throughout our community. As we recognize National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April, we must also recognize the urgency of strengthening families and equipping communities with the services needed to prevent abuse from ever occurring.

In 2022, there were 56,944 victims of abuse or neglect in Texas. This harrowing number highlights the need to not only provide care and treatment for those children who have suffered the trauma of maltreatment, but also to deploy services that can keep children safe in their families by preventing abuse from happening in the first place.

Nationally, there has been a recent bipartisan move toward prevention programs that aim to keep families together. Those of us who work in the child welfare space go about this mission with a variety of programs and services that have been proven to work, such as:

• Providing free counseling to families and children that need it, including in the school setting.

• Inviting parents to participate in classes and workshops that teach them strategies for managing children’s behaviors and help them parent in positive and constructive ways.

• Treating substance abuse and other conditions that can disrupt families.

• Supporting extended families as they navigate their way through various support systems.

The need for these types of services always outpaces the funding available to provide them. In fact, the demand for in-home services is increasing in Texas because recent legislation has dramatically decreased the number of children being removed from their homes. This is why it’s important for federal and state legislators to continue to make funding available for prevention services. Helping families manage and overcome their struggles causes far less trauma – and is far less expensive for taxpayers – than removing children from their homes and placing them into the foster care system.

That said, there are times when removal from the birth family is necessary for the safety of the child, which is why another key component of keeping children safe is maintaining a strong network of well-vetted, well-trained foster families who can provide temporary care and, when reunification with the birth family is not possible, can create forever families through adoption. However, stepping forward to provide foster care is one way that individuals and couples can help ensure that children can have safe and loving homes.

Becoming a foster family is a major commitment, but there are other ways that we can help contribute to children’s safety and the prevention of maltreatment. For starters, we can raise awareness of child abuse and neglect this month by displaying blue ribbons to honor victims. We can contribute to programs and causes that help struggling families meet their basic needs, from food to paying the rent.

Texans should also remember that it is not only the job of teachers, health care professionals or social workers to report abuse. If you know, for example, that a child is exposed to domestic violence or children sustain suspicious injuries or injuries that are not getting the medical attention they need, do not hesitate to call the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400.

Those of us in the fields of child safety and welfare continue seeking the most effective possible programs and services to prevent the maltreatment of children. We understand that positive parenting comes more naturally to some than it does to others, which is why we approach prevention from a place of support rather than judgment. In April and throughout the year, we are committed to preventing the abuse and neglect of children — and we are heartened to know that we are not alone.

Golf teammate advancing to regional

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Over the past week I have been busy, and so I just would like to talk about some of the things I have been up to.

For starts, the Saturday before last was the Lions Club Chance Mark Jones 5K. Remember, April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and that’s what the race is about.

I helped set up, and I handed out water to the racers. Afterwards, I also was able to help the Pony Parents hide easter eggs for their easter egg hunt.

Then I started last week by competing in our second round of District golf, where I got third on our team, but sadly, I didn’t advance. However, one of my teammates, Cutter Seay, did advance to regionals so I wish him the best of luck. Then I spent the rest of the week taking tests and doing projects for school.

Last Saturday, I had Easter this weekend with my family and got to spend time hanging out with my cousins and had a lot of fun.

I am super excited for summer to be closing in and I hope that in the meantime I can keep having fun.

Editorial: WT president turns his back on free speech

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Picture it. Clarendon College, 1991. A group of honor students is looking for a new way to raise money and have fun. The sponsor of the organization offers a suggestion: “I think you should have a beauty contest, but all the contestants are guys dressed as girls.” The sponsor slips out the door. The guys in the group are hesitant, but the girls in the group latch onto the idea and run with it. The Miss Bulldog contest was born, the group raised some decent money, and the event continued on and off for several years. It got a little risqué at one point, but no one got hurt, and I got a Second Runner-Up sash. (The winner was a bit of a tramp, but that’s another story.)

Roger Estlack, Publisher
and Editor

Thankfully, this all happened more than 30 years ago and Walter Wendler was not the president of our college. Otherwise, he might have labeled it a drag show and cancelled us for being misogynistic.

That’s exactly what Dr. Wendler did last week for some students at West Texas A&M University. “A Fool’s Drag Race” was scheduled to be held March 31 to raise funds for an LGBTQ suicide-prevention group. According to reports from the Texas Tribune, WTAMU administrators guided the organizers through the event approval process starting in February, before President Wendler canceled the event last week.

“A harmless drag show? Not possible.” Wendler wrote in a column his office submitted to the Enterprise and other newspapers last Tuesday.

In the column, Wendler bases his decision to cancel the show on the grounds that drag shows are demeaning to women. He writes: “As a performance exaggerating aspects of womanhood (sexuality, femininity, gender), drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood.”

I have never heard a woman say anything like that about drag, nor have I ever heard anyone try to make that argument. Wendler’s comment, and in fact his entire column, is the most tortuous logic imaginable.

Drag shows are the fashionable thing for the far right to hate at the moment. Two years ago, no one had a problem with them. Now, they are portrayed as pure evil. In fact, Potter County GOP Chairman Dan Rogers on Thursday sent a message to the Enterprise calling for people to sign a petition supporting Wendler “in his stand against evil.”

There is evil in this world without a doubt. But it’s not a drag show. It’s the ugliness of people like Wendler and Rogers who demonize others simply because they are different.

People have been enjoying men dressed in drag for a very long time. Milton Berle, Flip Wilson, Jack Lemmon, Bob Hope, Tom Hanks, and many others have all dressed in drag. Who can forget Mrs. Doubtfire portrayed by Robin Williams? Some may say, well these were harmless, but remember, Dr. Wendler says that’s impossible.

Why? What has changed? Supporters of Dr. Wendler will tell you that drag shows today have become inappropriate. But I think really what has changed is the ability for people not to get offended and the ability of people to tolerate different points of view and different beliefs.

Dr. Wendler’s columns have run in the Enterprise for several years; and until last week, he was a man I respected. But as a president of a state-financed university, he has an obligation to stand up for free speech, free expression, and most of all free thought. It’s not only a moral obligation; it’s the law. The Texas Legislature in 2019 – in a rare act of bipartisanship, as reported by the Texas Tribune – required universities to allow any person to engage in free-speech activities on campuses.

Wendler tried very hard to avoid addressing the lightning rod issues that have lately come with criticism of drag shows and instead tried to cloak himself as the righteous defender of womanhood with a healthy dose of bible verses and references to Natural Law. What he needs is some schooling in the United States Constitution, and he’s likely to get that with the lawsuit he’s now facing for his actions.

Does Wendler really believe what he wrote or is he just trying to keep the Randall-Potter county communities happy or pacify some big donor? We don’t know, but we know what he did, and it was wrong.

Wendler’s actions are just an example of what’s going on these days. Our nation is seeing more and more of this kind of behavior. Last week, a Wisconsin elementary school first grade was stopped from performing Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus’ song “Rainbowland.” School administrators pulled the plug on the performance. They also originally canceled a performance of Kermit the Frog’s “The Rainbow Connection” but reversed that decision.

When Dolly Parton and Kermit the Frog are seen as offensive, we are living in a world gone crazy for sure.

Everyone needs to calm down and relax. Drag shows aren’t inherently evil. Dolly Parton can’t possibly be a problem, and Kermit is cool. Instead of spreading hate and dissent, we should try loving one another and be nice to each other – even to people we disagree with.

Reinstate the show, Dr. Wendler. Show the world that you’re better than this and that WTAMU stands for freedom.

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