This Week

Donley County schools could lose more than a quarter million dollars in state funding if appeals of state property valuations are not successful.

According to Clarendon CISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger, the State Comptroller’s office annually reviews property valuations in every school district to determine if local efforts are doing enough to bring in tax dollars.

“There are two tiers of state funding,” Hysinger said. “Tier One is a fixed amount, and Tier Two is based on local effort through property taxes.”

If the local property valuations are within five percent of the state valuation, the state will proceed with funding using the local numbers. If not, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides funding using the state figures. In a nutshell, if TEA uses higher state numbers, local schools lose money.

Paula Lowrie heads the Donley County Appraisal District, which does the appraisals for the Clarendon school district and that part of the Hedley school district which lies in Donley County. She says this year the state valued properties in the Clarendon district more than $4.5 million higher than the local values. In the Hedley district the difference was more than $1 million.

In Hedley, those higher numbers mean the school could lose $80,000 or more in state funds for the next school year. In Clarendon, that amount could be a loss of $200,000.

“[The comptroller’s office] is influenced by statewide economic factors,” Lowrie said of the state’s valuations. “This happens everywhere in the state. It’s rare that the state ever appraises lower than the local appraisal.”

Judging local property values from the state’s capital doesn’t necessarily provide an accurate assessment.

“Those people are sitting in Austin and don’t realize land isn’t as high here,” Hedley Superintendent Bryan Hill said.

To make their appraisal, the state takes a random sampling of property sales, Lowrie said. But sometimes the state may not have all the information. In an appeal, local officials will look to see if a sale included personal property, farm equipment, or anything that might have inflated the sale price.

Both local school districts are appealing the comptroller’s appraisal, and both are seeking the cooperation of local property owners.

The Clarendon school has hired the law firm of Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott, L.L.P. to represent its interests in an appeal to the comptroller. Representatives of that firm will review property sales in Donley County to try to show that the comptroller’s office has valued local real estate too high, and to that end they may be contacting local people who bought or sold property in the school district in the last year.

Clarendon CISD has used this law firm before, and Hysinger says they have a good track record of helping school districts because some of their people used to work for the comptroller.

“We just want people to know that if they are contacted by someone claiming to represent the school, it is legitimate,” Hysinger said. “This won’t affect their local taxes at all; it will just help us with the appeal.”

If people don’t want to talk to the attorneys, they can call the school to verify what’s going on, he said.

“I’d just hate to see us lose this money for our kids,” he said.

Hill said his school will probably be making some similar phone calls to people in that district, and Hedley faces the added burden of appealing valuations in two counties. Approximately one-third of the Hedley district lies in Collingsworth County, Hill said.

Hedley hasn’t hired a law firm to represent it. Their appeal will be handled in house and with the assistance of the local appraisal district.

Both superintendents say their schools have had to appeal the state valuations for the last several years.

The appeals should be filed this month. If the comptroller doesn’t make a correction, then the school’s can appeal to a court of law in May.

For more information about the appeals process, Hysinger encourages people to contact him at 874-2062.

Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

Twenty-three Clarendon Bronco band students competed on Saturday at the UIL Solo/Ensemble Contest at WTAMU for the right to compete at the state competition. The state solo/ensemble contest will be held May 28 in San Marcos.

Those qualifying for the state contest are Megan Roberts, solo keyboard; Chantelle Kelly, solo clarinet and Clarinet quartet; Jamie Sawyer, flute trio; Rachel Papa, flute trio; Stephanie Pace, flute trio; Samantha Vargas, clarinet quartet;  Danielle Holden, clarinet quartet; Richard Anderson, clarinet quartet; Nickless Devin, trumpet quartet; Derek Gourley, trumpet quartet; Drew Sell, trumpet quartet; Vanna Holton, trumpet quartet; Amber Carson, French horn quartet; Chuck Robertson, French horn quartet; Austin Sears, French horn quartet; Candace Hall, French horn quartet; and Sarah Kidd, solo twirler.

Those receiving division ones were Rachel Papa, flute solo; Richard Anderson, clarinet solo; Samantha Vargas, clarinet solo; Ottis Scrivner, oboe solo; Valerie Taylor, bassoon solo; and Chris Johnsen, baritone sax solo.

Those receiving division twos were Tanya Carson, trumpet solo; Jeremy Ray, saxophone quartet; Sam Holton, saxophone quartet; Kelsey McQuien, saxophone quartet; and Chris Johnsen, saxophone quartet.

The Saints’ Roost Museum is proceeding with its effort to restore the historic Ft. Worth & Denver Depot building.

Museum board members have been meeting with Shamrock architect Lynn Ramsey to discuss electrical, mechanical, and restoration goals for the building. In order to make the depot as authentic as possible, however, the museum is asking the public’s help in obtaining any photographs of the building.

If you have any photos of the interior or exterior of the building, please call Jean Stavenhagen today at 874-3905.

Fundraising also continues to help the museum match its state grant. If you would like to make a donation, send it to Saints’ Roost Museum, PO Box 781, Clarendon, TX 79226.

Area residents are once again promised a full slate of free health screenings as well as financial advice at the “Be A Champion of Your Health and Wealth Fair” on Wednesday, March 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bairfield Activity Center. 

The health and wealth task force continues its commitment to providing easy access to information and services in a day at one location. Last year’s event saved the public in excess of $32,000 on free health screens and financial services. Each year the services are expanded, and this year is no exception.

Administering screenings such as glucose, cholesterol, prostate, hemoglobin and blood pressure will be a collaborative effort by the Donley County Hospital District, Associated Ambulance Authority, Clarendon Family Medical Clinic, the Donley County Medical Center-Nursing Home and the Northwest Texas Healthcare System. Individuals are encouraged to fast for 12 hours prior to the screens to ensure more accurate results. 

The Clarendon Family Medical Clinic will again be sponsoring the bone density screening which proved extremely popular for the attendees last year. The Lion’s Eye Bank will provide glaucoma screening.

The only services which require fees will be immunizations provided by the Coalition of Healthcare Services and breast mammograms by the Harrington Cancer Center. Appointments are required for the mammograms and can be made by calling 356-1905 in Amarillo. Immunizations will be offered at $5.00 per child (based on ability to pay). The choice of shots will include: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, DtaP, Hib, IPV (polio), MMR, Varicella (chickenpox), and Td. Parents must bring a copy of the child’s immunization record. The only vaccine available to adults will be the tetanus.

Coffee Memorial Blood Bank will conduct a blood drive during the fair hours.

Providing financial information and services this year will be the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and Herring National Bank. Individuals wishing to have their income tax returns prepared at the fair may do so by bringing a copy of their 1999 tax return, W-2’s and 1099’s, and social security numbers for individuals to be claimed on the tax return.

Educational exhibits will be provided by the Amarillo Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, American Red Cross, RSVP, Crown of Texas Hospice, Donley County Extension Service, Friends of the Library Literacy Council, Outreach Health Services-WIC, PRPC 9-1-1 Network, Quality of Life Project, Texas Department of Human Services, Texas Panhandle Poison Center, and Texas Gold.

Patrick Robertson of KEFH 99.3 FM will provide a live remote broadcast at the health and wealth fair. As the day progresses door prizes donated by exhibitors will be awarded.

Plan to have lunch at the health and wealth fair as Cheryl and Bob Wiggins of Catering by Cheryl will be returning as concessionaires.

For more information, contact the Extension Service at 874-2141.

The historic Saye house went up in flames February 13. Arson is suspected.

A fire that destroyed a historic home here last week is under investigation as a possible arson.

Clarendon Fire Chief Delbert Robertson said the fire was suspicious because it started in the middle of the floor in an upstairs room.

The historic Saye House at the corner of Kearney and Sixth streets is probably a total loss, the fire chief said.

Authorities were alerted to the blaze at approximately 10:30 p.m. last Tuesday, February 13, by local businessman Jeff Howard, who lives across the street to the north. Sheriff Butch Blackburn said Howard’s daughter heard something and alerted her father. He noticed the fire and called the authorities.

The trucks from the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department responded to the blaze. By midnight the top floor of the two-story house was engulfed, and firefighters worked until 4 a.m. to extinguish the fire.

“It got into the upper attic, and there was just no way to get to it,” Robertson said. “The downstairs isn’t hurt except for water damage, but I’m sure it’s pretty much a total loss.”

Texas Fire Marshall Jeff Oldham of Amarillo investigated the scene on Thursday, February 15. Blackburn said Oldham took samples of the floor. Robertson said lab tests will determine if an accelerant was used in the fire.

Stacy G. Seba, a private fire investigator hired by an insurance company, is also looking into the case.

Officials are “99.9 percent sure it’s an arson,” Blackburn said. The investigation was still ongoing as of Monday morning.

The exact age of the house is uncertain, but it was believed to have been built in the early 1900s.

Tommie C. Saye said he thinks his great-grandfather, T.M. Little, bought the home some time in the early 1920s. Little moved here with his family in 1910 and established Little Mercantile, the forerunner of Saye’s western store.

The Saye family occupied the house for more than 60 years with five generations living there over time. Tommie Saye was born in the house in 1927. A neighbor alerted him to the fire Tuesday night.

“We sat in the park and watched it go until about 1:30 in the morning,” he said. “It was history leaving.”

Saye sold the house more than 20 years ago, and it eventually was sold to Clifford Alexander. His family lived there about 20 years.

“We watched our girls grow up there,” said Alexander’s wife Ann. Their family also gathered across the street in City Park as their former home burned.

The Alexanders moved out of the house about three years ago and had reportedly sold it to the family of Larry Wilson.

The house was unoccupied at the time of the fire, Blackburn said.

A Burlington Northern-Santa Fe coal train collided with a local woman’s car Saturday east of Clarendon.

DPS Trooper Chris Ward said 71-year-old Cora Hamilton was southbound on County Road 13 when she crossed the BNSF tracks in front of the eastbound train.

Hamilton’s 1988 Dodge Aspen was struck behind the right front tire. The car was spun around two times and hit a signal pole. Ward said a railroad employee saw Hamilton ejected from the rear window of the car.

The Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department and EMS personnel with the Associated Ambulance Authority responded within minutes of the accident.

“They had a very quick response,” Ward said. “I think the ambulance got there just three or four minutes after I did.”

Ward said Hamilton, who lives northeast of Clarendon, was fortunate in that two Amarillo paramedics were traveling on US 287 and saw the accident occur. They stopped and rendered the initial first aid. The names of those two men were not available at press time.

Hamilton was transported by ambulance to Goodnight where she was picked up by LifeStar helicopter and carried to Northwest Texas Hospital.

She was listed in critical condition in the ICU as of Sunday, Ward said.

The Clarendon College Theatre Arts Company will present “I Take This Man,” a farce by Jack Sharkey, on Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3, 2001, at 8:00 p.m. at the Clarendon College Harned Sisters Fine Arts Center. A Matinee will be performed at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 4. 

When lovely young Giddy Hollis spots the unconscious body of a man in tank-top and shorts lying in Copley Square just at the end of the Boston Marathon after all the other racers have crossed the finish line, she reasons that since “nice guys finish last,” this must be “Mister Right!”  So she has a helpful policeman (Jud) tote him home to her nearby apartment, pretending the man is her husband.  This comes as quite a shock to her roommate, a young nurse (Charlene) whose fiancée (Dexter) is coming over to dinner that night, especially since they have no way of getting clothing onto this comatose dreamboat. 

When Bret (the unconscious man) revives and cannot remember who he is, Giddy tells him he’s her husband—but the moment Charlene and her fiancée go out, Giddy abruptly regrets her subterfuge when Bret tries to act like a loving husband. This plot is so complicated and events happen so fast on stage that adequate description is impossible.

The cast includes the following: Giddy, Jody Blackwell; Jud, Aaron Shannon; Bret, Jason Myers; Charlene, Mari Carter; and Dexter, Josh Talley.

Bring the family—even the kids—to see this concoction of wild, warm and lightning-fast hilarity. General admission is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children.

CC Board Members, faculty, staff, and students with CC Identification get in free.

Clarendon’s Community Fellowship Church held a Valentine dinner at the Bar H Dude Ranch on Wednesday, February 14.

Twenty-one couples, two singles, and four children attended. Brother Bryan Knowles regaled the attendees with some amusing anecdotes prior to the steak dinner. During the dinner, Katrina Burrows provided musical entertainment. After dinner, the couples played games and sang songs to the accompaniment of Wes Thomas on the guitar. The food was excellent, and the fellowship even finer.

Community Fellowship was chartered on December 10, 2000, as a member of the Texas Southern Baptist Convention with 51 charter members. The past two months have seen this fledgling church become the fastest growing church in the Texas Panhandle with membership already swelling to the mid sixties.

Presently the church has been holding Sunday morning services in the Panhandle Community Services building with Sunday School at 10 a.m. and the church service at 11 a.m. The Sunday night fellowship and services begin at 6 p.m.

The crowd has the little building bursting at the seams. Attendance each week is in the 80s.

A family in the congregation has donated seven acres to the church, and the church building committee is looking at ways to begin a building to house this rapidly growing fellowship of Christian believers. Everyone is invited to join or visit.

The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon opened its newly renovated art galleries at the Friends of Southwestern Art Annual Meeting on February 10.

The renovation created three new galleries and spurred the reinstallation of all the galleries. One of the galleries has been set aside for a former Clarendon artist.

The former Texas Gallery has become the H.D. Bugbee Gallery, named for the man who called this city home. The first installation in the newly created gallery features selections from the personal collection of Olive Vandruff (Mrs. H.D. Bugbee), a renowned Texas artist in her own right.

The former Eastern American and European Gallery has become the new Texas Gallery, a space nearly three times its former size, featuring Saltillo tile. Parts of the entrance vestibule (imported from England) were formerly in the now razed Herring Mansion. These architectural touches acknowledge the European roots of Texas and highlight the Society’s nationally recognized Texas collection.

The Western American Gallery has become the Southwestern Gallery. The rough-sawn pine floor and New Mexican architectural details add a new dimension to the Society’s Taos and Santa Fe collections.

The wall cases for decorative arts have been reinstalled with Indian arts. Silver, beadwork, baskets, and pottery comprise the new installation. Pieces are from the Bill Dee, Anna Wolfram Dove, Susan J. Allen, and Robert Tansill collections. The Furniture Gallery has also been reinstated, incorporating paintings into the overall design.

These changes were made possible by a generous grant from the Amos Molyneaux Trust. This is part of a three-fold plan for the Arts Wing to keep pace with the Museum’s $6.1 million renovation project, to emphasize the West in the Arts Wing and to exhibit more of the permanent collection.