This Week

Thanks to bad roads and potholes, community activism recently gripped the City of Howardwick and brought volunteer workers out in droves.

The little town on the north side of Greenbelt Lake, made up largely of retirees, has been plagued by deteriorating roads and limited resources with which to fix them. The main road entering Howardwick from State Hwy. 70 was paved three decades ago and was in bad enough shape before the ice storms hit this past winter.

City Alderman Nancy Davis said the road got so rough that it prompted the Associated Ambulance Authority and the Clarendon Independent School District to write letters to the city warning of the hazardous conditions and the toll that was being taken on ambulances and school buses.

So the city ordered three loads of coal mix and some RAP (Recycled Asphalt Pavement) and set about filling in some of the potholes with the help of a small band of volunteers on April 3. No one realized how quickly the project would grow.

Since the city doesn’t have any “Men at Work” signs, Davis began flagging cars down, warning the drivers to watch for the workers.

“People would stop and ask us what was going on,” Davis recalls. “When I told them what we were doing, they would say, ‘I’m going home to change clothes and I’ll be back to help.’”

And they did come back. Over the course of the next several days, 23 men joined the volunteer road crew. More than 90 percent of the men were retirees in ages ranging from 65 to 84. Private trucks and trailers were also donated to the cause.

The others in the community did their part also. If they couldn’t work, they donated money to the cause, bought soft drinks, or prepared food for the workers. Dorothy Arnold became the food chairman for the project and accepted help from 39 ladies before she finally had to start turning them away.

“It just ballooned,” Davis said.

Arrangements were made for several more loads of asphalt, and when the trucks arrived, Davis said, the men were thrilled.

“All these old men started clapping and cheering if you can believe that.”

The work continued through April 11 with half a dozen workers being brought in from the Clements correctional facility in Amarillo. The retirees came back day after day with some putting in more than 35 hours overall. Davis said they had to stop some of the men from working for fear they would get too hot or injure themselves.

The retirees soon became known as TOMs, an acronym which stood for Tired Old Men.

Dorothy Arnold said the women put in 62 hours serving meals at the community center, not counting the time they spent at home.

“It was wonderful,” Davis said. “People who used to just say ‘hello’ to each other at the post office are now the best of friends.”

“There was no bickering at all,” Arnold said. “There were just jokes all the time.”

Even the community’s stray dogs got in to the act, following the men around. One dog, nicknamed Duke, was very committed, riding in the back of trailers and joining the men for meals at the community center.

Davis estimates eight to ten miles of road were repaired.

“It’s still rough,” she said, “but it’s better than it was.”

Perhaps more important than the road, the community is closer than it was before and has benefited from a spirit of cooperation. In fact, at press time, the community was planning to form a Garden Club dedicated to beautifying Howardwick.

“You can’t describe the feeling that’s out here right now,” Davis said. “I’m so proud of this community.”

A local man was arrested Friday in connection with an April 7 burglary at Clarendon ISD.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said 17-year-old Daniel Curry entered the school’s vocational agriculture building through a window and stole a television set and two VCRs.

The crime was reported on Sunday, April 8, by local ag teacher Ronnie Edwards, and an investigation led to Curry.

Chief Deputy Randy Bond arrested Curry, who later signed a confession, Blackburn said.

The TV and one VCR were recovered. Curry was still in the Donley County Jail at press time.

The CISD Elementary Library was also burglarized on April 7 with some gel pens being stolen, but Blackburn said the authorities haven’t been able to connect Curry to that crime.

Leon Church, Donley County Agent

There has been a lot of talk lately in the news about the threat or risk to humans from the arsenic levels allowed in drinking water.  

The current standard allowed  for arsenic is 0.05 parts per million (ppm).  This level has caused some people to demand that our government  set into action ways to reduce this allowable standard level.  What is the real risk? Is this risk large enough to warrant the cost necessary to reduce these levels?

Make no mistake about it, arsenic is toxic, as are many of the pesticides we use.  We need to understand that risk is every where, from the time we wake up and start our day until we return home. Even then we are at risk of severe storms and other natural occurring events.   No matter what we do, we are at risk. 

It is said that “it is morally wrong to perpetuate ignorance and through ignorance fear.”  Yet many groups fuel people’s fear in order to gain their desired outcome. Alar was a perfect example of using fear,  the arsenic issue is another example of fear based on ignorance.

An important concept to remember is “the dose determines the poison.” We hear a lot of comments in the news about chemical residues in water and food. What do they mean and do we really understand the quantities we are talking about?

Chemical residues are expressed in parts per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb) and now we have developed tests to measure parts per trillion (ppt).  Let’s put these figures into perspective.  What do they mean?

One part per million (ppm) is = one ounce of salt in 62,500 lbs. of sugar; = one square inch in the infield of a baseball diamond; = one inch in 16 miles; = one second in 11 days.           

One part per billion (ppb) is = one aspirin in 100,000 gallons of water (a swimming pool 25 ft x 100 ft x 4 ft); = one square foot in 36 square miles; = one inch in 16,000 miles; = one second in 32 years.

One part per trillion (ppt) is = one inch in 16,000,000 miles; = one pinch of salt in 10,000 tons of potato chips.

The standard allowable limit for arsenic in drinking water is 0.05 parts per million.  What is the risk?  Is the dose large enough to make a difference?  Science says no, and especially at the costs associated with reducing these levels further.

These same fears are associated with pesticide use. Understand that these chemicals are toxic and should be treated with respect. 

Let’s not let ignorance and fear rob us of tools we need to produce food and fiber needed for the future of the human population.  Nor should we allow people to use fear to advance an unnecessary agenda.

Rumors of a bomb threat at the Hedley Public Schools last week were just that – rumors – and nothing more, officials say.

Word of a supposed bomb threat first surfaced late Thursday, April 12, and was reported to the Donley County Sheriff’s Department that Friday. Students were out of school that Friday and the following Monday for Easter holidays.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said an investigation by his department, Constable Mike Wallendorff, and Hedley ISD found no credible evidence of a threat. A search by a dog from Interquest Detection Canines of Abilene last Monday also found no explosives in the school.

“Our investigation concluded that [the threat] was just a rumor,” Blackburn said.

The sheriff did say, however, that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of 17-year-old Hedley resident, Santiago Rodriguez, Jr., in connection with the March 30 discovery of a one-pound package of Detagel explosive near a Hedley residence.

Blackburn said an investigation is still underway in that case, which he believes is related to an ongoing feud in Hall County.

The person who supposedly was going to blow up the school was Rodriguez, Blackburn said. But Rodriguez was reportedly not even in the county at the time of the supposed threat.

“It’s kind of hard to blow it up if you’re not here,” Blackburn said.

Rodriguez’s last known whereabouts was Breckenridge, Blackburn said. He is wanted on possession of an explosive.

Hedley ISD Principal Terry Stevens said the rumors of a bomb threat started April 12. A Hedley teacher overheard some students talking about it and reported it to Stevens. Superintendent Bryan Hill was out of town at the time, he said.

“This is one of those cases where so-and-so said that so-and-so said so,” Stevens said. “But we took every precaution anyway.”

The principal alerted authorities and informed Hill of what was going on. HISD administrators called in the search dogs to go through the school while students were on vacation on Monday, April 16. Neither the dogs nor local law enforcement found any cause for concern.

Stevens said on Tuesday, April 17, he came to work early and looked through every classroom to make sure nothing was different before students and teachers arrived.

“I think some of the teachers were mad because we didn’t tell them about it,” Stevens said. “We felt like it was more important to have a normal class day on Tuesday and tell them later. It was an administrative decision, and we stick by it.

“We felt we were as safe as we could be for our kids,” he said. “We reacted to the threat and did what we thought was necessary.”

Donley County bucked the trend in much of rural West Texas during the 2000 Census and saw an increase in population, reports show.

The US Census Bureau counted 3,828 people living here last year. That’s up 3.57 percent from the 3,696 counted in 1990.

The growth of the county was centered in the City of Howardwick, which more than doubled its population in the last ten years. The 1990 Census found 205 people in Howardwick. The 2000 Census counted 437, which is a 113.17 percent increase – the biggest percent increase of any city in the Texas Panhandle.

The large increase in Howardwick’s population means Donley County will have to redraw its precinct boundaries. The lakeside city lies entirely in Precinct 1, which now has 222 more citizens than the next biggest precinct.

Precinct 2 has 935 people, while Precincts 3 and 4 have 897 and 839 respectively.

Most of the county’s residents live in the county seat of Clarendon, but the city lost 3.38 percent of its population over the last ten years. The census found 1,974 people living in Clarendon, down from 2,043 in 1990. That’s the lowest census count since 1970 when the bureau also found 1,974 people living here.

The City of Hedley’s population dropped 8.67 percent to 379, a decrease of 36 people. That’s one less person than lived in that city in 1980.

Donley County’s racial composition is broken down as 3,372 whites, 243 Hispanics, 151 blacks, and 62 people of other races.

Most of the county’s black population, 140, lives in Clarendon. Seven live in Hedley, and one lives in Howardwick. 123 Hispanics live in Clarendon, 37 live in Hedley, and 21 live in Howardwick.

Of the seven counties surrounding Donley, only one posted a population increase, that being Armstrong with a growth of 6.28 percent.

Briscoe County lost 9.18 percent of its population, down to 1,790. Carson has 6,516 people, down 0.91 percent. Gray County lost 5.10 percent of its citizens for a count of 22,744, and Hall County was down 3.15 percent to 3,782. Wheeler County dropped more than 10 percent to 5,284. Collingsworth had the biggest percent decline in this corner of the Panhandle, dropping 10.27 percent for a total of 3,206 people.

Donley County will receive $49,000 in additional funding from the state for the restoration of the 1890 courthouse, according to Judge Jack Hall.

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) met April 19 to consider supplemental funding for counties whose courthouses had received money last year in Round I of the grants under the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Project. Every Round I approved county that had asked for supplemental funding received it, Hall said.

Donley County had asked for $73,160 in additional funds to restore a fireplace in the district courtroom and a masonry gable on the south façade, which were unknown at the time the Master Plan was prepared in 1999.

As with the Round I grant, the supplemental funding requires a 15 percent match by the county.

For more information about the Donley County Courthouse Restoration Project, click here.

Hedley High School returned from the 1A Regional UIL Academics Meet in Levelland with added experience and a desire to send more students to the state meet next year.

The Calculator Applications team was led by Samuel Howard’s eighth place finish. The team finished third to Nazareth and Wink and also consisted of Treva Rowland and Lauren Hill. 

Dustin Knowles was Hedley’s representative in Number Sense, and he placed twelfth overall. 

Lana Wallendorff placed sixth in the Mathematics contest to earn points at the meet, and she was second place overall in the science contest and will represent Hedley at the UIL State Academics Meet in Austin May 4-5. This will be her fourth straight year to travel to the state meet, becoming the first Hedley student to accomplish this feat.

The rest of the Hedley squad gained valuable experience (four of the eight Hedley contestants were freshmen) and are already making plans to prepare for next year’s academic season.

Bruce Howard, Hedley academics coordinator shares, “We have built an expectation in our kids to go to Austin every year. They prepare knowing they have a chance to compete for a state title at year’s end and a chance of getting good scholarships from their efforts.”

Lana Wallendorff, the squad’s only senior, will apply for the Welch Chemistry Scholarship as soon as the state meet results are completed. Past Welch Scholarship winners from Hedley include James Potts, Lowell Ellerbrook, and Rachel Howard.

It was the greatest upset since Truman defeated Dewey when the votes for the 2001 Turkey King election were tallied last Friday, and a dark horse candidate came out of nowhere – literally – to claim the throne.

Newspaper editor Roger Estlack was thrust into power by a covert write-in campaign, which violated every rule of ethics and normal election processes. The campaign was so secretive that even Estlack himself had no idea what was going on.

Even more startling was the identity of the mastermind behind the write-in campaign – none other than front-runner Vic Jeter, who apparently was not joking when he said he didn’t want to be the king.

In the course of about seven days, Jeter raised more than $205 on the editor’s behalf by lying to people’s faces and claiming he was collecting money to elect chamber secretary Judy Burlin. (Burlin reportedly thought he was raising money for his friend and mentor, banker Jerry Woodard.) Jeter’s efforts were reportedly bolstered by local and out of town readers of The Clarendon Enterprise who had their pulley bones tickled by the weekly Turkey King reports and sent money in to elect Estlack.

All told, Estlack beat Jeter by a margin of $53.96. The banker reportedly put $30 of his own scratch in Estlack’s jar to insure his loss.

“I am stunned,” the editor said. “No one was more surprised than I was. But then that’s the greatness of America – one minute you’re pecking around in the dirt eating grasshoppers for groceries, the next you’re ruling the roost.”

Estlack said Jeter was a sneaky, dirty, little bird.

“Jeter had his secretary – the underhanded Debbie Hamilton – call me Friday before last to shake me down for five bucks to elect Judy [Burlin]. But she must have known it was for me. I refused to pay it because I don’t believe in write-in candidacies. I just had no idea how conniving those two really were.”

As a media representative and mild mannered reporter, Estlack was present at Linda and Buster Gray’s home Friday afternoon as Linda, along with Carolyn Blackerby and Judy Burlin, counted the votes, waiting until the last to open the mysterious write-in envelope. Before Estlack could recover from his shock, Jeter telephoned mere moments after the totals were read to offer his concession.

“Do we have a winner yet?” Jeter asked, laughing hysterically.

“You @*#%,” Estlack responded before regaining the composure befitting the King of Turkeys.

Jeter gave his word – for what it’s worth – not to contest the election and promised he would not call back to retract his concession.

By Saturday the king had settled comfortably into his duties, and peace and harmony marked his reign during the coronation before that evening’s street dance.

Following the crowning, the Turkey King called forth his royal subject, Vic Jeter, bade him kneel down, and commanded him to kiss his royal ring. Jeter graciously submitted to his monarch and was rewarded with a stack of turkey sandwiches (which had been sitting out in the hot sun all afternoon).

The King then introduced the Royal Family – his mother, the Queen Mum; his father, the Tom of Toms; his brother, the Crown Prince of Poultry; and the crown prince’s consort, Lady Red Feather.

His Highness is still seeking out all the parties responsible for his election so he can give them what they have coming to them, but he realizes that most of the turkeys in Donley County are good, decent people.

“I can’t make any big promises to the people,” he said. “I’m eternally grateful for their trust in me in bestowing this great honor. I will do my best to wear the crown with pride – or at least let it sit proudly on a shelf – and uphold the honor and dignity of the throne.”

Estlack’s win wasn’t the only surprise of the election. Local insurance salesman Walt Knorpp, who was stuck hopelessly in sixth place last Monday with only $13.01, was catapulted into third place when election judges opened his jar to find a pregnant vote – a one-dollar bill wrapped around a one-hundred-dollar bill.

That gave Knorpp a total of $114.01, and relegated Clarendon’s mayor, the popular Tex Selvidge, to only double-digit status. Selvidge had been Jeter’s closest competitor right up until the end, but he ended the competition with only $79.30.

The county seems to have mostly accepted its new king. Still some old, molting birds are not happy. They note a total of $661.40 was cast in the election and say that Estlack only garnered 31.1279 percent of the vote.

“He doesn’t have a mandate to govern,” said one protestor. “Jeter was right. This election wasn’t about the people’s will; it was all about money. Jeter knows what it’s really like for us turkeys. He’s one of us, and he should be the king today.”

To which the king responds, “Well, that’s just too bad. I’m in charge now, and County Attorney Kaye Messer assures me there is no way to overturn my election. We’re moving forward and not looking back.”

It’s all coming down to the wire as the blood and giblets battle to be Donley County’s first Turkey King enters its ninth and final week.

At press time, local banker Vic Jeter was still leading in the Enterprise / Gobbler Poll with $62.75. His nearest competitor, Clarendon Mayor Tex Selvidge, was trailing behind by a margin of $22.06.

Car dealer Trey Chamberlain, water man Bobbie Kidd, and County Judge Jack Hall rounded out the top five positions, but they, along with the seven other minor candidates, are not expected to have a turkey’s chance at Thanksgiving of breaking out of the flock.

The final votes will be tallied this Friday at 5 p.m. at an undisclosed location. No candidates will be allowed inside while the money is counted. The winner will be crowned Saturday night at 7 p.m. on Kearney Street.

A few feathers were ruffled in the last week as Chamber Secretary Judy Burlin took a money jar for Vic Jeter and reportedly tried to solicit votes for the banker outside of the official polling place.

Jeter claimed this clear act of attempted ballot stuffing on his behalf should lead to his disqualification from the race. Clearer heads prevailed, however, and officials realized that Jeter had nothing to do with Burlin’s actions. His candidacy was thus preserved, and his hopes of being king were not dashed.

In a diversionary tactic, Jeter tried to mount a write-in candidacy last Friday to have Burlin elected king.

Election judge Linda Gray says things have settled down a lot since the high jinks and shenanigans of recent weeks. But she is suspicious.

“I think they must be planning something because it has been too quiet,” she said.

Political analysts disagreed and said the public was simply worn out by an election process that had gone on too long.

“People just want this thing to be over with,” one analyst said. “They all know Jeter is the top turkey. The election is a foregone conclusion.”

But in a race where anything could and has happened, Jeter’s victory may not be certain. Librarian Carolyn Blackerby said one man from Vanderbilt, Texas, called her and said he would pay whatever amount was necessary to elect Selvidge. Unfortunately for him, money must be put in the jar before it’s counted.

“This is an election, dadgumit. Not a telethon,” one analyst said.

Meanwhile, The Clarendon Enterprise threw its considerable political weight behind the candidacy of Vic Jeter with a strong editorial endorsement.

“We like Mayor Selvidge a lot,” said publisher Roger Estlack, “but let’s face it. Jeter is the front runner in this race, and we want to back a winner.

“Poll after poll shows Jeter is the choice of the people. Selvidge will never be king.”

In other turkey news, tourism council member Dee Dee Autry was seen on an Amarillo morning news show this week showing off the corpse of Thomas Prescott Featherbottom in a sick attempt to appeal to people’s morbid fascination with death and draw them to the Turkey Festival.

Featherbottom is the wooden turkey who was violently lynched by anti-poultry forces two weeks ago.

A wake for the dead bird will be held this Thursday, April 19, in the Burton Memorial Library from 4 to 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

If he doesn’t start smelling too bad, Librarian Blackerby says Featherbottom may lie in state on Friday as well in order to allow more people to express their condolences.

The election for Donley County’s King Turkey continues, and money jars for all 12 candidates are at Duckwall’s. The winner will be the turkey with the most money at the end of the contest.

This is it, citizens. Vote now or forever hold your peace!