This Week

Town halls will be held in Hedley and Howardwick next week to discuss the proposed sales tax-funded county assistance districts in those cities as well as the Clarendon CISD bond election.

The Howardwick meeting will be held at City Hall on Tuesday, April 16, at 5 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and county officials will discuss the County Assistance District proposal first, followed by CCISD officials discussing the $11.7 million bond election.

The Hedley meeting will be on Thursday, April 18, at 5 p.m. at City Hall.
Sheriff Butch Blackburn and Judge Howard will both be present to answer questions regarding the May 4 election to create three County Assistance Districts in the City of Howardwick, the City of Hedley, and all of unincorporated Donley County outside of Howardwick, Hedley and Clarendon.

The districts, if created by election, will authorize a sales tax of 1.0 percent in Howardwick and Hedley and 2.0 percent in unincorporated Donley County.

Howard says the sales tax created will be used for support of law enforcement and allow the county to keep property taxes lower.

The Amarillo Area Foundation (AAF) announced on Tuesday a Request for Proposals (RFP) for grant applications on behalf of Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC, the company responsible for the management and operations of the Pantex Plant.

The Advisory Committee for the CNS Pantex Community Investment Fund, a component fund of the Amarillo Area Foundation, will entertain proposals from nonprofit and charitable institutions throughout the twenty-six northernmost counties in the Texas Panhandle (individuals and non-charitable organizations are not eligible).

Grant amounts will range from $2,500 to $10,000. Organizations who fit the eligibility requirements and whose work is in line with the priorities are encouraged to apply. Only one application per organization will be accepted. Prior recipients with an open CNS Pantex grant will not be eligible.

General operating support is a low priority. The priorities for funding are: Basic Needs (Food, Clothing, and Shelter); Children, Youth, and Family; Community Development; Education; and Health and Wellness.

Priority will be given to proposals from organizations located and operating in one of the twelve contiguous counties surrounding the Pantex Plant with preference given to projects that serve multiple priority counties. These counties are Armstrong, Carson, Deaf Smith, Donley, Gray, Hall, Hutchison, Moore, Oldham, Potter, Randall, and Swisher.

Applications are available online at aaf.spectrumportal.net and are due May 10, 2024, by noon. See https://www.amarilloareafoundation.org/cns-pantex/ for more information on the CNS Pantex grant program. To register or log in to the Spectrum portal, click on https://aaf.spectrumportal.net/. If you have any questions, please contact Beth Gunn at 806.376.4521 or beth@aaf-hf.org

An Oklahoma man is facing two felony charges after exchanging gun fire with the Donley County Sheriff and a Carson County Deputy near Goodnight last Wednesday, March 27.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his office received a 911 call from a motorist who had been told by the subject that he had several weapons and was going to use them to harm himself and others.

The subject, later identified as 50-year-old William Earl Dance from Oklahoma City, was at the eastbound rest area near Goodnight at the time of the call. Donley County notified Armstrong County, and an Armstrong deputy responded to the scene. Sheriff Blackburn was headed toward Goodnight in case the subject left the rest area and continued east when the Armstrong dispatcher reported their deputy was being shot at.

The Armstrong deputy fell back to block eastbound traffic, and as Blackburn drove past the rest area, Dance shot at his patrol vehicle. The sheriff circled back and took a position in the entrance of the rest area as Dance continued to fire at traffic. Blackburn fired at the subject and was soon joined by Carson County Deputy J.C. Blackburn.

As Blackburn and Blackburn continued to exchange fire with Dance, Donley County Deputies blocked the westbound US 287 traffic, and a DPS trooper arrived on the scene. Dance soon surrendered and was placed under arrest by Deputy Blackburn and the state trooper while other law enforcement kept the subject under gunpoint.

Dance was booked into the Carson County Jail, which houses Armstrong County inmates, and was later arraigned by Armstrong Justice of the Peace Jana Lemons on two counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon Against a Public Servant, and bond was set for a total of $170,000.

The Texas Rangers are assisting Armstrong County with the investigation of the case.

Hedley City Hall is temporarily closed following the resignation of City Secretary Tammy Brinson last Friday.

Mayor Pro-Tem Jennifer Floyd said Brinson quit due to a lack of appreciation by the citizens and said that residents can take payments to the office of Justice of the Peace Pat White in Hedley.

Floyd also said the city is working on getting things ready for the upcoming election in May and said Howardwick City Secretary Sandy Childress is no longer helping with that process.

The mayor pro-tem said she understands citizens want results but said it’s going to take the city a long time to recover from the difficulties it has faced over the last year.

Hedley is taking applications for a new city secretary, and those can be turned into City Hall after 5:30 p.m. on weekdays when Floyd is there.

About 40 citizens attended a town hall last Thursday, March 28, to learn more about Clarendon CISD’s $11.7 million bond election coming up on the May 4 ballot.

Superintendent Jarod Bellar welcomed those in attendance and said whether they were for or against the bond or just wanted more information, he appreciated them taking the time to be there. He then went over several accomplishments that Clarendon CISD students have had academically and in a wide range of competitions.

On May’s ballot, Proposition A will seek $1.8 million for safety and security upgrades and the school as well as two new buses. Proposition B would fund $6.9 million in improvements at Bronco Stadium including accessibility improvements, new home and visitor bleachers, a new press box, and $3.3 to 3.5 million for a new field house and to renovate restrooms and the concession stand. Proposition C would provide $3 million for a new vocational ag building.

Bellar addressed each proposition briefly. He said the security improvements to the high school are to control access to the building but said the school does not yet know what that will look like. He said the field house and the ag building were both built in 1961 and need improvements. He also noted that Proposition C was broken out of Proposition A so that landowners who had expressed concerns at earlier meetings would know their voices had been heard. Improvements to the stadium, by law according to the seating capacity of the stadium, had to be a separate proposition.

Officials with Live Oak Financial discussed an estimated 32-cent tax rate that would be necessary to pay off the bonds over a 30-year period. A tax calculator has been posted at www.clarendoncisdbond2024.com to help property owners determine what the impact would be on their own tax bills. As an example, a $150,000 home would pay about $160 per year more in taxes.

Several citizens asked questions ranging from the interest rate on the bond to how long the school has to spend the bond money. The answers were about four percent and within three years. Citizens also asked for more detailed information on the improvements but were told the school had to be careful being too specific. Drawings of improvements, for example, won’t be done until the bond passes and there is money to pay the architect.

Officials did say the new field house would include dressing rooms, restrooms, offices for coaches, and possibly a changing room for officials.

An alternative bid might also give the possibility of a new weightroom. They said the new bleachers would be similar to the metal systems seen in towns like Floydada, and they also said if there were funds left over, they could be used to make repairs to the rock wall around the stadium.

School officials said they hope to have more town hall meetings in the future. Howardwick City Hall said Tuesday that school officials will be present at their town hall meeting April 16 at 5 p.m. to speak following remarks by county officials about a proposed sales tax district.