This Week

Cecil Claud “Jack” Nivens was killed Tuesday morning in Hedley as he crossed US 287 on his way to the coffee shop. He was 84 years old.

Nivens was on foot when he was struck by an Affiliated Foods semi-truck in the southbound lane of the highway at approximately 5:50 a.m., according to DPS Trooper Chris Ward.

Justice of the Peace Ann Kennedy pronounced Nivens dead at 6:38 a.m.

Truck driver Matthew Brian Snead of Amarillo did not see Nivens until it was too late, Ward said. The driver told the trooper he just wasn’t looking for someone to be crossing the highway that early in the morning.

Ward said it did not appear Snead was speeding at the time of the accident, and no citation had been issued as of press time. An investigation will take about one week to complete.

Nivens was a longtime resident of Hedley and reportedly grew up in the area.

More than 5,000 natural gas consumers in the lower Panhandle will be dealing with a new utility in just a few months.

TXU Gas announced last week that it will sell approximately 250 miles of pipeline as well as distribution facilities serving Clarendon, Hedley, Lelia Lake, Memphis, Estelline, Dodson, Newlin, Samnorwood, Wellington, and Paducah to G&L Utilities.

According to TXU spokesman Doug Hill, the gas company has been looking at this sale since last summer.

“Management is continuously looking at our assets.” Hill said. “We’re glad someone locally is looking at this service. They should be able to provide better service for local people.”

G&L Utility Services, Inc., is owned by Greenbelt Electric Cooperative, Inc., in Wellington and Lighthouse Electric Cooperative, Inc., in Floydada.

Greenbelt manager of member services Brent Wheeler said G&L may or may not be the final name of the new company, and the location of the new company’s headquarters hasn’t been determined.

“We’re mainly concerned about keeping local jobs and local ownership of the gas services,” he said.

Wheeler notes last year’s sale of GTE’s phone exchanges to Valor Telecom and the current TXU sell off as a sign large corporations are losing interest in small towns.

“It’s sad that the bigger companies don’t seem to want these rural areas,” Wheeler said.

Neither Greenbelt nor Lighthouse has experience in natural gas distribution, but Wheeler thinks the rural electric cooperatives will do a better job of providing service to small towns.

“We hope to respond quicker to the needs of the people,” he said. “And the good news is you’ll have someone local you can yell at.”

In addition to having local employees and an office in nearby Wellington, Greenbelt Electric is run by a board of directors. Stan Shelton from Clarendon sits on that board, Wheeler said.

“We’ve provided the rural areas around most of these towns with electric distribution service for over 50 years,” Greenbelt Electric general manager Stan McLendon said in a TXU press release. “We are grateful for the opportunity to be of service to our neighbors. We plan to have qualified, dedicated employees in or near all the communities to provide dependable, personal service.”

TXU employees affected by the sale will have the opportunity to continue employment with TXU or may be offered positions with the purchasing company.

The gas company says it will work with G&L Utilities over the winter and longer if necessary to provide a smooth transition and continued reliable service to customers.

“The sale will be in the best interests of consumers,” Hill said.

TXU is also selling distribution facilities and 100 miles of pipeline serving communities in the San Angelo area to West Texas Gas.

Hill said the sale is tentatively scheduled to be completed by March 31, 2001, but Wheeler said the new company may not have possession until April or May.

Skyrocketing costs at the wellhead are to blame for dramatic increases in local natural gas bills, TXU Gas spokesman Doug Hill said Tuesday.

“In December 1999 the cost was $2.65 per mcf (thousand cubic feet),” he said. “In December 2000 the cost was $9.10 to $9.15 per mcf.”

Since the onset of cold weather this season, people across the country have seen their gas bills rise sharply, straining residential budgets and putting an added burden on agriculture producers who use natural gas to fuel irrigation wells.

According to Hill, it goes back to simple supply and demand, and there won’t be any relief until more new wells are drilled.

November and December were some of the coldest back to back months since records have been kept in Texas, he said.

Also, new electric generating facilities are using natural gas, and the population of the United States has increased in the last ten years. The population pressures mean more natural gas users and more electricity consumers, which requires more gas for generators.

Additionally, high temperatures this past summer drew down on natural gas reserves as electricity providers had to generate more power to keep air-conditioners running.

“Natural gas is the cleanest source of energy, but it is costly to produce.”

Hill said there wasn’t much drilling in recent years because of low prices but more is occurring now than at any time in the last ten years. Even so, drillers are faced with another problem.

“A lot of rigs were cut up and sold for scrap iron, and the people who operate those rigs have found employment elsewhere.”

In a column this week, Texas Railroad Commissioner Charles Matthews also addresses rising natural gas costs.

“During the first downturn in 1986, the oil and gas industry lost over 500,000 jobs nationwide,” Matthews wrote.

“In addition to that number, another 50,000 jobs were lost during the most recent downturn of 1998-1999, which lasted over 18 months.”

Matthews says a decline in applications for natural gas drilling and completion permits shows “that we have lost talented, qualified people in the industry who have the ability to identify and explore new fields, drill new wells, and increase production.”

“The new wells that will be coming on line may not begin to yield significant increases in actual production until later in the year,” the commisioner wrote.

Matthews hopes the state legislature will take a long-term look at how to revitalize the natural gas industry to fuel growing demands.

Trisha Church, Jared Patterson, Greg Wootten, and Justin Dillman were the top exhibitors during the annual Donley County Junior Livestock Show last Saturday.

Organizers say the show is just getting better each year.

“We had excellent support, and each kid got better prize money at this year’s sale,” said County Agent Leon Church. “I’d say each kid got at least $50 more in most cases.”

As of Tuesday morning, figures showed the sale brought in $29,900. That number is expected to increase in the final tally as final donation trickle in. Last year, the sale raised an estimated $27,000.

“We really appreciate everyone’s support of the show and sale,” Church said.

Trisha Church had the Grand Champion Steer, which was purchased by McLean Feedyard. Herring National Bank bought Greg Wootten’s Grand Champion Lamb, and Justin Dillman sold his Grand Champion Swine to 3-H Cattle Feeders. Jared Patterson’s Grand Champion Heifer was not in the sale.

In the Beef Division, Haley Shelton was named the Junior Showmanship winner while Trisha Church took Senior Showmanship.

Travis Hrbacek won the Junior Showmanship for the Swine Division, and Senior Showmanship went to Josh Ward.

Junior Showmanship in the Lamb Division went to Katie Askew. Greg Wootten won Senior Showmanship.

Pee Wee Showmanship was awarded to Trevor Cobb.

Complete results of the show are as follows:

Steers

Class 401 – Jared Patterson, Reserve Grand; Joe Don Patterson, second; and Matthew Glover, third.

Class 402 – Trisha Church, Grand Champion; and Trisha Church, second.

Class 403 – John Mark Patterson, first; and Haley Shelton, second.

Heifers

Class 300 – Jared Patterson, Grand Champion; Dale Askew, Reserve Grand; and Paul Goetze, third.

Lamb

Class 101 – Kaysea Green, first; Ty Tubbs, second; and Ty Tubbs, third.

Class 102 – Greg Wootten, Grand Champion; Dale Askew, second; and Katie Askew, third.

Class 103 – Ronna Edwards, Reserve Grand; and Keifer Burton, second.

Swine

Class 201 (Gilt) – Jenci White, Reserve Breed; Jordan King, second; Kalli Sawyer, third; Elizabeth Hrbacek, fourth; Skyler Conatser, fifth; Kelby Shields, sixth; and Brayden Bennett, seventh.

Class 202 (Gilt) – Justin Dillman, Grand Champion; Lee Tolbert, second; Lee Tolbert, third; Elizabeth Hrbacek, fourth; Travis Hrbacek, fifth; Janae White, sixth; Sade Rae Cobb, seventh; and Lauryn Kellas, eighth.

Class 203 (Gilt) – Travis Hrbacek, first; Autumn Dillman, second; Haley Hall, third; Kaysea Green, fourth; Jaci Copelin, fifth; Patrick Burrell, sixth; and Christine Jordan, seventh.

Class 204 (Berk) – Michael Newhouse, Breed Champion; and Andrew Winkle, Reserve Breed.

Class 205 (Chester) – Kristin White, Breed Champion; Jeff Powell, second; Dustin Knowles, third; and Shandy Koetting, fourth.

Class 206 (Chester) – Ashley Petty, first; Candice Hall, second; Jared Naylor, third; and Roper Copelin, fourth.

Class 207 (Chester) – Ryan Petty, Reserve Breed; Ruth Ann Howard, second; and Ryan Petty, third.

Class 208 (Duroc) – Will Verstuyft, first; Lauryn Kellas, second; Larry Wilson, third; and Jared Naylor, fourth.

Class 209 (Duroc) – Megan Hall, Breed Champion; Christine Jordan, Reserve Breed; Marlee Sargent, third; and Justin Kellas, fourth.

Class 210 (Duroc) – Shanon Martin, first; Christine Jordan, second; and Heather Waldon, third.

Class 211 (Hamp) – Steven Wilson, first; Josh Ward, second; Ronna Edwards, third; and Justin Kellas, fourth.

Class 212 (Hamp) – Lauren Hill, first; Lindsey Brinson, second; Bradley Conatser, third; and Lisle Rowland, fourth.

Class 213 (Hamp) – Lee Tolbert, Breed Champion; LaRae Shaw, Reserve Breed; Travis Hrbacek, third; and Michael Hall, fourth.

Class 214 (Poland) – Kalli Sawyer, first; Ashley Petty, second; and Dale Askew, third.

Class 215 (Poland) – Elizabeth Hrbacek, Breed Champion; Blake Frye, Reserve Breed; and Josh Ward, third.

Class 216 (Spot) – Kelly Linquist, first; Faith Mullins, second; Calvin Edwards, third; and Brittney Hall, fourth.

Class 217 (Spot) – Jennifer Williams, Breed Champion; Jared Patterson, Reserve Breed; Andrew Winkle, third.

Class 218 (York) – Treva Rowland, Breed Champion; Jordan King, Reserve Breed; and Dale York, third.

Class 219 (York) – Wesley Shields, first; and Patrick Burrell, second.

Class 220 (Cross) – Ben Shaw, Reserve Breed; Calvin Edwards, second; Landon Shields, third; Lauryn Kellas, fourth; and Seth Koetting, fifth.

Class 221 (Cross) – Lee Tolbert, Reserve Grand; Will Monroe, second; Sade Rae Cobb, third; and Dalton Askew, fourth.

AUSTIN – Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander today delivered $206.6 million in monthly sales tax payments to 1,107 Texas cities and 119 counties, a 4.7 percent increase compared to the $197.2 million paid in January 2000.

Hedley and Howardwick posted gains of 19.79 percent and 14.59 percent respectively. Hedley received $153.07, and Howardwick got $770.55.

The rebate for the City of Clarendon was down 16.60 percent for a total of $14,122.33.

January’s sales tax rebates include local sales taxes collected by monthly tax filers in November and reported to the Comptroller in December.

Applications for emergency farm loans for losses caused by drought and excessive heat that occurred January 1, 2000, and continuing are being accepted at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Clarendon, Larry Goetze said today.

FSA Ag Credit Manager Larry Goetze is urging farmers who are interested in receiving an emergency loan to get their applications in to FSA as soon as possible.

“We hope farmers will get their applications in early rather than waiting until near the deadline which is August 20, 2001,” said Goetze.  “The longer they wait the more chance there is for long delays in getting their checks.  If the applications come in early, we can avoid backlogs and speed up the process.”

FSA is a credit agency of the US Department of Agriculture.  It is authorized to provide disaster emergency loans to recognized farmers who work at and rely on farming for a substantial part of their living.  Eligibility is extended to individual farmers who are US citizens and to farming partnerships, corporations, or cooperatives in which US citizens hold a majority interest.

The FSA office in Clarendon is open from 8:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday and is located at 321 Sully.  The phone number is 806-874-3561.

Donley County was declared eligible for Farm Service Agency disaster emergency loans December 19.

A state constitutional amendment could allow counties to abolish constable positions with a local vote, according to State Rep. Warren Chisum.

Speaking during a public forum at the Clarendon High School Auditorium, the Pampa Republican said he currently has letters from six counties in his district that wish to abolish constables.

The Texas Constitution sets up the office of constable, and historically, an amendment is required every time a county wishes to permanently abolish the office in that county.

“I don’t like the idea of the whole state voting on what you need here in Donley County,” Chisum said in response to a question by local Commissioner Buster Shields.

Chisum, who serves on the County Affairs Committee, thinks a better way would be for local counties to have the option of adding or deleting constable positions through a local referendum.

Such a proposal is likely to be introduced this year and has the support of the Texas Association of Counties, he said.

Randall County has recently faced legal difficulties regarding a salary for a constable that was considered unneeded. Locally, Jimmy Swinney last year filed as a write-in candidate for constable of Precincts 1&2 – a position that had been vacant for nearly 30 years. He was elected with 52 votes and has requested an annual salary of about $17,000.

Education was also a topic during the forum. Chisum said he believed something will be done to provide teachers a state health plan. Such a plan could cost between $2 billion and $6 billion and might be paid for by tapping a $5 billion surplus in the teacher retirement fund.

The representative also said there is some push in some parts of the state to change the school start date but said he supports leaving the start date up to local districts.

A growing state and redistricting in the wake of the 2000 census will also be issues before the Legislature. A growing population means Texas will pick up two additional seats in the United States Congress. It also means that 20 to 25 counties will have to be added to Chisum’s largely rural district to add 20,000 people its total. He said the district will likely grow to the south and east.

Chisum said the state budget will exceed $100 billion for the first time this biennium, and this Legislature is expected to get along very well since there are only 11 new members in the house and two new members in the senate.

“I don’t see any critical issues that we can’t handle,” he said.