This Week

Ground was broken last Thursday on a new health clinic that is expected to meet the needs of Donley County citizens for the foreseeable future.

Dr. John Howard is building the facility on land adjoining what is coming to be known as the Medical Center campus  – the area on Hwy 70 North which includes the Medical Center Nursing Home and office of the Donley County Hospital District along with future offices for the state departments of health and human services and the future home of the local ambulance service.

Construction of the health clinic is expected to take 180 days, and Howard says he believes local people are excited about the project.

“People are looking forward to this,” he said. “I’ve received only words of encouragement.”

The 5,500 square foot clinic will be a frame building with a brick and stucco veneer and a hipped roof. The design will be similar to the two nearby buildings already under construction by the hospital district.

Howard says his Clarendon Family Medical Center needs the new home because it has outgrown its current facility at the corner of US 287 and Orpe Street. The old building is not easily accessible to the handicapped, has only three exam rooms, and is facing other constraints of space.

The new building will have six exam rooms for use by Howard and his staff along with three additional exam rooms that could be used immediately by a visiting doctor – such as a cardiologist – or could eventually be used if the clinic grows to need a second physician’s assistant.

Each exam room is designed with the patient’s privacy in mind. The entrances to the rooms are located away from main corridors, and each room will have a curtained area so patient’s can undress in private. Walls throughout the building will be insulated for soundproofing purposes.

The building will include an X-ray room, lab, and a minor treatment room located just a few yards away from the new Associated Ambulance Authority facility, which is now being constructed nearby. If personnel in the health clinic determine a patient needs to be transported to Amarillo immediately, the close proximity of the ambulance service will be invaluable.

The health clinic will have an ample waiting area with an adjoining play area for children. An injection room will be available for allergy shots, eliminating the need for those patients to wait for an exam room to open up.

Telemedicine capabilities will also be available in the new clinic, which will enable Howard and his staff to consult in real time with hospitals and doctors in Amarillo or elsewhere. The building will be wired with a T1 line – a form of high-speed Internet telecommunication.

Howard says the new facility will be a much more workable space and should meet the needs of the community for the foreseeable future.

The building has been designed by architect Leslie Rohan of Panhandle, and Cruz Construction of Amarillo is the general manager for the project.

Cruz oversaw the recent renovation of the Medical Center Nursing Home and is working on the new Community Services Building and ambulance facility for the hospital district.

Howard says by using the same construction firm as the hospital district he hopes to keep the cost of the project down. The district sold Howard the property on which his clinic will sit, and his patients will use drives and parking areas maintained by the district.

“It’s an example of us working together,” Howard said. “If I tried to do this by myself, I wouldn’t be able to do as much.”

The doctor also likes the idea of having the community’s other health providers near his new clinic.

“I think the trend has been to consolidate. Just look at Amarillo with the hospitals, the cancer center, etc. To provide health services in a central location makes sense.”

Howard says he already has a lot of contact with residents in the nursing home, and having his clinic close by will be a benefit to them. The doctor also said the proximity of his clinic will be beneficial if the hospital district pursues future plans to build a nearby assisted living center.

In January of 1999, Howard broke one national trend – that of doctors not coming to live in small towns – when he moved here with his family. Baptist St. Anthony’s Hospital closed the Donley County Rural Health Clinic later that same year, and Howard went into business for himself and took over the clinic.

Today, with financing from the Community Bank and the Donley County State Bank, Howard is paying for the new clinic himself.

The doctor won’t put a price tag on the new building except to say, “It’s the largest investment I’ve ever made.”

Howard is proceeding with the new clinic even though the current world situation could affect him directly. He has served as a doctor in the Marines and is still a commander in the Navy Reserve.

He is keenly aware that he could be called to active duty but says that  he is not altering his plans and that the last thing Americans should do is give in to fear.

“In spite of the intense world situation, I’m as committed as ever to continuing my practice here,” he said. “The current war and possibility of recession don’t change Donley County’s need for expanded health care capabilities.”

The Darcy Wagon of McLean took home top honors during the seventh annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff last Saturday.

The cookoff, which benefits the Saints’ Roost Museum, was termed an unqualified success by museum board members. Tickets for the authentic Chuckwagon supper sold out, and officials estimate approximately 1,000 people attended the daylong event.

Breakfast and lunch concessions were provided by the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce. A trade show was held throughout the day, and live entertainment was provided by local and area talent.

Relatives of legendary cattleman and Chuckwagon inventor Charles Goodnight also were on hand for their annual family reunion.

A melodrama production, “He Ain’t Done Right By Nell,” presented by the Clarendon College Theatre Department was very well performed. The one-act play captured the attention of those in attendance with an old-fashioned story of good versus evil with the hero winning in the end.

A dance with music from the Palo Duro Band capped off Saturday’s activities.

A cowboy church service closed the cookoff on Sunday morning.

Fourteen wagons competed in this year’s cookoff and served a menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, beans, and cobbler. Prizes totaling more than $3,000 were paid out to the winners.

Complete results are as follows:

Overall Wagon & Cooking: 1) Darcy Wagon of McLean, 2) Adamah / J Bar D Wagon of Amarillo, 3) Double Diamond Wagon of Silverton, and 4) Quarter Circle KC Wagon of Lockney.

Best Meat: 1) Darcy, 2) Quarter Circle KC, 3) Noble Wagon of Wayland, and 4) Adamah / J Bar D.

Best Beans: 1) Break-Away Wagon of Stamford, 2) Childress-Encino Wagon of Ozona, 3) Ericksdahl Cattle Co. of Stamford, and 4) Quarter Circle KC.

Best Dessert: 1) Adamah / J Bar D, 2) Double Diamond, 3) McFall Wagon of Pampa, and 4) Noble.

Best Bread: 1) Darcy, 2) Double Diamond, 3) Childress-Encino, and 4) Break-Away.

Best Potatoes: 1) C.W. Walker Chuckwagon Gang of Lubbock, 2) Weems Cattle Co. Wagon of Amarillo, 3) Quarter Circle KC, and 4) Ericksdahl.

Overall Cooking: 1) Quarter Circle KC, 2) Darcy, 3) Adamah, and 4) Double Diamond.

Best Wagon Camp: 1) Darcy, 2) Adamah / J Bar D, 3) Double Diamond, and 4) McFall.

The Darcy team also won the cookoff in 1998 and 1999.

Other winners during Saturday’s activities were Wayne Heppard of Canyon, who won a pair of handmade boots by Jim Owens, and Cullin Hallmark, who won a cowboy hat from Luskey’s Western Wear.

The Donley County Commissioners’ Court approved the 2001-2002 county budget last Wednesday, September 19, during a called meeting.

The budget had been the subject of much debate and was a point of contention among some county officials because it trimmed three secretarial positions to part time status.

Justice of the Peace Jimmy Johnson, whose court clerk was one of the affected employees, proposed at the meeting that the county consider reducing six secretary/clerk positions to a 30-hour work week schedule in order for all offices to share in the cuts.

Commissioners listened to Johnson’s proposal but did not accept it. They voted unanimously to adopt the county budget.

Commissioners also voted unanimously to set the county ad valorem tax rate at $0.288297 per $100 valuation and the county special or road and bridge rate at $0.084637.

In other business, the court voted to move the ballot box for voting precinct 402 from the Hess residence to the Zelda McClellan residence. The court also discussed automatic depositing for the county payroll.

Previously, the court met in regular session on Monday, September 10.

The court then approved a contract with Gordon Maddox to perform the audit for fiscal year 2000-2001 and authorized the county treasurer to look into an automatic deposit method for paying employees.

A new motorgrader for Precinct #3 was discussed, and the bidding process was approved.

The court granted requests to attend continuing education courses for the county tax assessor and for deputy clerks in the county clerk’s office.

Steve Sell was tapped to be a voting delegate to a regional emergency medical services board.

Reserve deputy bonds were approved for Ed Bailey, Mark White, and Jim Mincey; and the court approved the appointment of Joe M. Stewart as a deputy sheriff.

The court also entered into contract with Texas Tech University Health Science Center for autopsy services.

Members of the Fellowship Community Church broke ground on the site of a new building Sunday afternoon on the southwest edge of Clarendon.

Church members hope to have the facility completed by Christmas.

Building committee chairman Rogers Hester says the new church will be a 50-foot by 110-foot metal frame structure with a brick veneer and a metal roof. The building will sit at an angle on the lot, facing motorists on the JA Ranch Road as they come around the corner from Clarendon.

The sanctuary will be 60 feet long and can be expanded at a future date. Seating will accommodate 190 people. The church will house five Sunday School classrooms, a large kitchen, and a pastor’s study.

Construction should start within two weeks under the direction of Steen Construction of Amarillo.

Hester designed the building himself after he and other members traveled to several churches in the area to get ideas.

The Community Fellowship Church with Bryan Knowles as it pastor was chartered in November of last year with 51 members, Hester said. The membership has grown to 109 as of Sunday, and the church is hoping to reach 150 before they open the new building.

Currently, the church meets in the Panhandle Community Services building.

Hester says Community Fellowship is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention of Texas, but he says everyone is welcome.

“We’re building it for anybody of any race to come and worship God,” Hester said.

Members of the Fellowship Community Church broke ground on the site of a new building Sunday afternoon on the southwest edge of Clarendon.

Church members hope to have the facility completed by Christmas.

Building committee chairman Rogers Hester says the new church will be a 50-foot by 110-foot metal frame structure with a brick veneer and a metal roof. The building will sit at an angle on the lot, facing motorists on the JA Ranch Road as they come around the corner from Clarendon.

The sanctuary will be 60 feet long and can be expanded at a future date. Seating will accommodate 190 people. The church will house five Sunday School classrooms, a large kitchen, and a pastor’s study.

Construction should start within two weeks under the direction of Steen Construction of Amarillo.

Hester designed the building himself after he and other members traveled to several churches in the area to get ideas.

The Community Fellowship Church with Bryan Knowles as it pastor was chartered in November of last year with 51 members, Hester said. The membership has grown to 109 as of Sunday, and the church is hoping to reach 150 before they open the new building.

Currently, the church meets in the Panhandle Community Services building.

Hester says Community Fellowship is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention of Texas, but he says everyone is welcome.

“We’re building it for anybody of any race to come and worship God,” Hester said.

If your family is looking for a pet, Terrilynn Jordan has just the thing for you – ferrets.

The cuddly creatures are “joy in a physical” form, Jordan says.

“They’re rambunctious and playful. They learn their names and even simple commands.”

Jordan has raised ferrets for about two years now and is working with a friend – Deborah Kelly – in Amarillo to establish a non-profit ferret shelter there.

Recently, a woman in Salt Lake City was found to have 260 ferrets living in a two-bedroom condominium. City officials shut her down, and word was spread across the nation that the local shelter was faced with destroying the animals. Ferret lovers responded, and 15 of homeless ferrets found their way to Amarillo.

Jordan still has two that need homes.

Another ferret, named Precious, was found in an Amarillo high school recently. It had apparently survived the entire summer alone in the building, Jordan said, and was malnourished and nearly bald. Today, Precious has put on some weight but is still lacking in the hair category.

Jordan says ferrets make good pets and are social but not really destructive. Although most of the ferrets from the Utah condo have found homes, she says two shelters – one in Michigan and one in Santa Fe – will be closing soon, and those animals will need new places to live.

For more information, contact Jordan at 874-0330 or Deborah Kelly at 359-9159.