This Week

Christmas has come early for the local city-county library this year thanks to the estate of Mary Stocking McConnell.

The Gabie Betts Burton Memorial Library has received a check from that estate in the amount of $97,500.

Librarian Carolyn Blackerby says the library has been a beneficiary of Mrs. McConnell’s estate in the past, receiving smaller amounts from interest on a trust. The generous sum received in April is a partial termination distribution of the estate, according to a letter from a Bank of America representative.

The bank is reportedly in the process of completing the administration of the estate, and a smaller, final payment will be made to the library at a later date.

The money comes with no apparent strings attached other than it must be used for the library; and while there are several pressing needs, Blackerby has zeroed in on a project she hopes to see undertaken completed.

“We plan to use the money as seed money for a grant to remodel the second floor of the library,” she said.

Currently the upstairs area is unfinished. Part of it is used for storage and mechanical purposes, but most is underutilized space.

“The library should be for everyone in the community,” she said, “and we want to make sure it is just that way.”

Blackerby envisions the upstairs being used for meeting rooms, a literacy training area, periodical archives, and genealogy research. Access to the approximately 2,750 square foot second floor would be made easier by the installation of an elevator.

No plans have been carved in stone yet, but Blackerby has already contacted an elevator company for an estimate and plans to consult an architect regarding the feasibility of the project.

A portion of the estate’s gift may also be used to update the library’s reference material, she said.

Over the last year and a half, the Burton Library, which is jointly operated by the City of Clarendon and Donley County, has come to be utilized more and more by local people.

“Our traffic has doubled,” says Blackerby. “We started at 30 to 40 people a day. Now, it’s not unusual to have nearly 100 people daily.”

In addition to traditional research and reading, the Burton Library has become a popular meeting place for various groups – most notably the Donley County Tourism Council – and has enjoyed an up tick of activity thanks to the availability of Internet access. Many travelers stop to use the library to check their e-mail.

The surge in daily visitors has necessitated the addition of another full time employee. Recently city aldermen and county commissioners approved increasing Sabrina Burrow’s hours, moving her from part time to full time as of this week.

The Burton Memorial Library is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The City of Clarendon unveiled plans for a new solid waste transfer station during a public hearing prior to last Tuesday’s board of aldermen meeting.

The station will be built in front of the city’s Three Feathers Recycling Center on W. North Front Street near the grain elevator, and construction will be partially funded by a grant from the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission (PRPC).

When the job is completed, citizens will be able to back their cars or trucks up a slope to dump trash, tree limbs, or recyclables into one of five roll-off boxes.

City Superintendent Jim Roberts says the facility will be open seven days a week for the convenience of local citizens.

The concept of a transfer station pre-dates 1995 when the Three Feathers center was opened, and the design of the station will be based on a similar facility Alderman Billy Jack Land visited near Possum Kingdom a couple of years ago.

Mayor Tex Selvidge believes the station will be a benefit to the city.

“Now [citizens] have to dump their trash on the ground if they can’t lift it high enough to get it in the box,” he said. “This will be a lot easier; they can just drive straight in there and drop it in. It will also help keep that whole area cleaner and neater.”

The $52,800 PRPC grant will cover the cost of concrete bays for two roll-off boxes and a movable metal gatehouse. The city will provide an in-kind match by doing all the dirt work for the project. Final total cost estimates are not yet available pending completion of designs by the city’s engineering firm.

While the grant only covers two bays, the city plans to build five because it will be more economical to do the whole project at once, city officials say. City Hall has been putting money back to pay for the remainder of the project.

The city estimates it will save at least $182.50 per month in trash dumping costs. No decisions have been made regarding fees for using the new facility.

Roberts says city workers will begin the dirt work soon. Under the terms of the grant, the project must be completed by August 31, 2001.

No adverse comments were made during the public hearing, and the plans were approved.

In other city business, representatives of Planned Parenthood addressed the board of aldermen during their regular meeting. The local office closed last week, and efforts are being made to re-open it in September.

Planned Parenthood officials say they provide reproductive health services to uninsured people, and the majority of patients of the local office were poor, married, working women. The local office was opened in 1972, but the agency’s budget has not been increased in the last ten years. Representatives say finding a facility that would house their office at no rent or with free utilities would help make up their budget shortfall.

The board voiced support for Planned Parenthood. No action was taken at last week’s meeting.

The board also heard from directors of the Audie L. Murphy Rural Preservation Foundation, which is based in Memphis. The newly formed foundation hopes to preserve the rural way of life and plans to raise money that could be granted to homegrown projects primarily in Donley and Hall counties.

 Alton Gaines and Jay Gage addressed the board regarding the desire of Mrs. L.B. Matheson to donate her property on N. Jefferson St. for use as a park. Playground equipment is already on the property, and a new community organization has begun improvements to the area.

Water meters and water valves were discussed. The board voted to have Roberts and City Secretary Janice Barbee get together and write an ordinance requiring a valve be placed on the customer’s side of the meter when new meters are requested and new taps put in. The cost will be borne by the consumer.

A resolution was passed to authorize the fire chief to represent the volunteer fire department in applying for a grant to purchase ten sets of bunker gear and ten air packs for the firefighters.

With the first ever Turkey Strut behind them, the people of Donley County are turning their attention to Independence Day and focusing their energies on the 123rd annual Saints’ Roost Celebration.

This year’s festivities will be different than any in recent memory. Celebration organizers are dealing with the twin obstacles of July 4th being in the middle of the week and the Courthouse Square being unavailable due to the courthouse restoration project.

In addition, Clarendon’s three-day traditional rodeo is being changed to a two-day ranch rodeo because the old rodeo has lost money in recent years. Organizers hope the ranch rodeo will be more successful.

With just a couple of months to go before the big event, the calendar is quickly being nailed down, although some changes could still be made.

Here’s the lineup as it now stands, according to Genella Eads with the Chamber of Commerce.

On Wednesday, July 4, a Bicycle Parade will be held at 10 a.m. and a street dance is planned for 8 p.m. to midnight.

Nothing has been reported as being planned for Thursday.

On Friday, July 6, the Downtown Ministry Center will hold a Depression Lunch at 11 a.m., and the Cowboy Ranch Rodeo will start at 7 p.m.  A dance will follow the rodeo.

Saturday, July 7, will be the biggest day as the VFW kicks things off with a breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the VFW Hall.

At 8 a.m. the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association will host a Ranch Horse Competition.

Events usually held on the Square will be held at the City Park this year. The Craft Fair begins at 10 a.m. with the Old Settlers Reunion starting at 10:30.  The Shriners BBQ Lunch will begin at 11 a.m. Cow Patty Bingo is slated for 1:30 p.m.

The parade will begin at 2 p.m., but the route for the parade is not definite as yet. County commissioners have requested that the parade not run within one block of the Square for safety purposes.

The current plan calls for the parade to begin near the Little League field on Seventh St., turning north on Kearney and proceeding downtown to Third St. At that point the parade would turn back east and terminate on Carhart St.

Following the parade, the VFW will hold a drawing for a shotgun, and the annual Turtle Race is set for 3:30 p.m. near Henson’s.

The ranch rodeo begins at 7 p.m. again, and another dance will follow.

A 50th Clarendon High School Reunion is being planned for the Class of 1951 to coincide with Homecoming in September this year.

The organizers of the event are having difficulty locating some of their 1951 classmates.

Please contact Bill Pittman at 512-458-8094 or Roberta Pittman or Judy Burlin in Clarendon if you know the whereabouts of any of the following: J.P. Carlile, Marjorie Hill Getman, Wilson Lane, Jeanette Stogner Green, Laverne Morris Hutchinson, or Ann Talley Underwood.

After months of speculation and anticipation, the first annual Donley County Spring Turkey Strut Festival will be held this weekend, April 21-22.

The fun for all ages starts on Saturday with a craft show in the Lions Club from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the competition will be fierce at the turkey cookoff at the corner of Fourth and Kearney streets. The turkey cookoff starts at noon, and the first 200 people to arrive will get to be the judges of the best turkey dish. 

The Texas Parks and Wildlife will hold a demonstration on the courthouse lawn at 1:00 p.m. while bluegrass fiddlers will stroll down Kearney Street playing their strutting music.

Visitors and citizens can also view the wild turkeys and other wildlife during tours throughout the day of Taylor Lakes, the James P. Rodgers Bird Sanctuary, and Greenbelt Lake.

The main event, the crowning of Clarendon’s first Turkey King, will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Kearney Street.  Local officials have been campaigning for nine weeks to see who will be the king. 

After his highness has been crowned, a Turkey Mattress Race will begin at 7:30 p.m. According to chamber directory Judy Burlin, the line up for the race is the County Commissioners vs. the City Aldermen and the Fire Department vs. the Ambulance Authority. She said it’s also possible that some teams from Clarendon College may enter.

Race contestants will have to carry a double mattress with a turkey on it from Henson’s hardware store to the Post Office, a distance of one block.

KEFH-FM will host a street dance on Kearney Street beginning at 8 o’clock.

The Donley County Tourism Council will hold a drawing Saturday evening for the winner’s choice of a wildlife painting by James Ivey Edwards, a set of binoculars, or a stay at the Ace No. 8 West Texas Bed & Breakfast in Lelia Lake. Tickets for the drawing are $5 each or three for $10 and can be purchased from members of the tourism council or at the library. The infamous pink and green wooden turkeys will be auctioned off, and local artists may bring their wildlife pieces to be auctioned also.

Breakfast will be served at the VFW Hall on Sunday. Other activities include the nine-hole Golf Scramble at the Clarendon Country Club and the Clay Turkey Shoot at the Bar H Dude Ranch.  Both events begin at 1:00 p.m. 

The craft show will continue on Sunday, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., as will the wildlife viewing tours throughout the day. Times for the tours will be announced.

For more information, call Dee Dee Autry at 806/874-3889.