This Week

County commissioners voted Monday to restore the old theater style seats in the 1890 Donley County Courthouse as part of a $2.9 million renovation of the building. 153 of the seats are stored in the attic while only one of the original courtroom benches (foreground) remains.

Enterprise Digital Photo
 
When the Donley County Courthouse Restoration is complete in 2002, it should look a lot like 1913 following decisions made by the commissioners’ court Monday.

The court voted unanimously to salvage and refurbish theater seats currently in storage in the courthouse attic – seats which haven’t been used for approximately 20 years.

The seats were first installed in the courtroom in 1912 or 1913 after the original bench seats were sold to the Goldston School for $1.75 each. Today, 153 of the seats are stored in the attic, neglected, largely forgotten, and covered in bat guano.

To go back to the 1890 Courthouse’s original seating, new benches would have to be manufactured for the building.

“It just seems like the proper thing would be to use what we have,” said County Judge Jack Hall, acknowledging that the theater seats are part of the courthouse’s history. The theatre seats also have “a lot more character.”

The wooden seats and backs on the theater chairs will all be restored or replaced.

The court also voted to reorient the courtroom with the judge’s bench situated in an alcove on the north side of the room. Currently, the bench is at the south end, but local recollections and physical evidence point to its originally being situated in the north.

“You just look at the room and the ceiling and all, and it just looks like [the north end] is where it belongs,” said Commissioner Donnie Hall.

Judge Hall said the current bench is very nice, but it is not original and was going to have to be rebuilt anyway.

Commissioners also discussed the fate of two large trees on the north side of the building. The trees are destroying the sidewalk near the building, and leaves from branches overhanging the roof are clogging the gutters, causing water to damage the interior of the courthouse.

Also, the trees – both elms – are obscuring the view of the building, and commissioners agreed that it didn’t make much sense to restore the building if it couldn’t be seen.

The court voted to remove the trees, which Judge Hall said he understands came up volunteer and were not planted under special circumstances. Commissioner Hall suggested that local organizations might be asked to donate trees for memorials once the restoration project is complete.

In other courthouse news, the court voted to advertise for bids next week for the abatement of lead paint, asbestos, and bat guano. The bids will be opened on February 12, 2001, and a contract will be awarded after consultant Luis Acuña of Sun City Analytical, Inc., in El Paso has reviewed the bids. The abatement work should take about two weeks.

“If we’re able to keep this timetable, construction work will follow on the heels of the abatement,” said John Kiehl of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission.

April 22, 2002, has been set as a target date for completion of the $2.9 million restoration project.

The annual Chamber of Commerce Banquet will be held next Saturday, January 20, 2001, at the Bairfield Activity Center on the Clarendon College campus.

Festivities will begin with a silent auction at 6 p.m. followed by a dinner at 7 p.m.

This year’s theme will be “Denim & Lace,” and dress is casual. Entertainment will be provided by comedian/magician Lyndy Phillips, and Clarendon’s own Dan Hall will inspire those attending with his music.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from any board member or by calling the chamber office at 874-2421.

Leon Church, County Agent

The Donley County Junior Livestock Show will be held on Saturday, January 13. 

Seventy-three Donley County young people will be exhibiting their Beef, Sheep and Swine projects beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Clarendon Community Center (located north of Chamberlain Motor Company). 

At 7:00 p.m. the annual Premium Sale will be held.  This sale is the highlight of the 4-H and FFA member’s year in raising this livestock. 

During the past year these young people have spent many hours and considerable money feeding, caring for, and training their animals.

The show and sale give them an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and be rewarded for their hard work.

Many of these young people will be taking their projects on to the major Livestock Shows in Fort Worth, El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, and San Angelo. 

Everyone is encouraged to come out to the show and sale and support these young people who are learning great lessons in life.  They learn hard work, responsibility, record keeping, and sportsmanship. 

If you would like to support the junior livestock show and sale in a financial way, give the extension office a call at (806) 874-2141 and details on how this can be done will be given.

Show organizers held a Setup Day Wednesday, January 10. All parents, grandparents, or interested individuals were invited to come out to the Community Building to help setup the facility to make ready for the livestock show.

AUSTIN – The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is proud to announce that Todd Baker is a winner of the UIL-Southwestern Bell Sponsor Excellence Award.

Baker was one of 16 winners selected by a panel of judges in the areas of music, athletics, and academics from almost 100 nominations submitted by school principals and superintendents across the state.

Baker has been a sponsor of the marching band, concert band, and solo and ensemble for ten years.  During his seven years at Clarendon, the band program has grown three-fold to include over half the student population at Clarendon High School. 

Under his direction, the Bronco Band placed third at the 1999 UIL Area Marching Band Contest and has received numerous Sweepstakes trophies and Superior ratings at UIL competitions.

Baker’s success can be attributed to his philosophy that “every student grows, the program grows, and more success is achieved as a result of winning the competition in our band hall – not by beating other bands.”

The award, now in its tenth year, was created to identify and recognize outstanding sponsors who enable students to develop and refine their extracurricular talents to the highest degree possible within the educational system.

“The benefits of interscholastic competition and student performance are only possible through the hard work and dedication of sponsors, coaches, and directors like these,” said UIL Director Bill Farney.  “On behalf of the UIL, I commend these outstanding educators.”

Each winner will receive $1,000 and a symbolic keepsake from Southwestern Bell in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the pursuit of educational excellence through interscholastic competition.  Southwestern Bell joins the UIL in its efforts to strengthen and promote the role of extracurricular activities in Texas.  The quality of the Sponsor Excellence Award, along with all other UIL programs, is enhanced through the continued support of Southwestern Bell.

Donley County Sheriff Jimmy Thompson.
With the dawn of a new century and a new year comes the end of an era in Donley County and the start of a new one. Charles “Butch” Blackburn, Jr., officially became the Sheriff of Donley County on Monday, following in the footsteps of a man who has held that office for 20 years – William J. Thompson.

Jimmy Thompson was first elected in 1980 and took office in January 1981. He has weathered storms, made do with a small budget, foiled a plot to kill him, and come through with the respect of many citizens and fellow lawmen.

Among those who hold Thompson in high esteem is his successor.

“I don’t think there’s a better man in Donley County,” says Sheriff Blackburn. “He took me in as a kid and taught me the whole deal.”

Thompson had a varied career before taking the county’s top law enforcement position. He was born and raised in Donley County, quit high school in 1952, and joined the Marines in 1953. He served for four years, catching the tail end of the Korean conflict.

By the summer of 1960, Thompson was a deputy, working in Hedley. He joined the Amarillo Police Department in 1962 and stayed with the APD for 2 years before moving to Clayton, NM, to work on a ranch. He then variously farmed and cowboyed before coming home to Donley County to become a deputy under Sheriff Truett Berhens – a position he held for four years.

The Donley County Sheriff’s Department in 1981 was just a shadow of the department Sheriff Thompson built over two decades.

“When I took office we had only one deputy, no 24-hour services, no 24-hour dispatch.” Thompson said. “We have all that today.”

He also didn’t have a modern jail. What he had was a crumbling Bastille that had been built shortly after the turn of the century. In addition to housing some of the less savory characters of the county, the old jail also was the traditional home for the sheriff. Thompson lived there with his wife Aleta; his two sons, William and Walt; and Rusty – an Australian Shepherd cowdog. In fact, he moved in while still a deputy.

“There were a lot of exciting times in that jail,” Thompson said. “We lived it in until it was condemned by the state.”

It is Donley County’s new jail that Sheriff Thompson lists as one of his proudest accomplishments.

“This jail is one of the most easily operated jails in the state. It can be run by just one person under normal circumstances.”

Other accomplishments Thompson lists includes holding the line on expenses, catching a lot of “dopers” and a lot of burglars, and overseeing approximately 7,500 arrests in the last 20 years.

As with any job that deals with the public, there are always critics – people who aren’t going to be happy with the way you do the job.

“You can’t suit everybody,” Thompson said, “but I got elected five times. Some think they’re a little above the law, but I never saw that.”

One lady in particular was more displeased than others. In 1989, a woman tried to have Sheriff Thompson assassinated.

“She was mad at me,” he recalls. “She worked at the beer joint, and we were making a lot of DWI arrests.”

The woman let it be known that she would pay $5,000 to have Thompson “bumped off,” but a man tipped the sheriff off. Thompson contacted a member of the Drug Task Force and had him pose as a hit man. They got the woman on tape, and she got five years in the pen.

“I wasn’t very stirred up about it.”

Others have said stupid things, but no one else has tried to hire a hit man.

“I’ve been threatened – they were gonna shoot me or whip me. I never got too excited about ‘em. That’s just part of the job.”

He gives one example of a time when he received a domestic violence call. The man said he was going to shoot the sheriff if he came around, but Thompson went on the call anyway. As the man stuck his head out a window, Thompson put him in a headlock while a deputy went through the front door. The man did turn out to have a shotgun but never got the chance to use it.

 
Sheriff Butch Blackburn with former Sheriff Jimmy Thompson.

Enterprise Digital Photos
 
On Saturday, December 30, a crowd of about 200 people gathered in the Bairfield Activity Center to bid Thompson a fond farewell. County Judge Jack Hall presented two plaques to Thompson – one for his service as sheriff and another for his countless hours spent watching storm clouds to protect the people from dangerous weather.

Incoming Sheriff Blackburn presented Aleta Thompson with a plaque also for her many, many volunteer hours working in the sheriff’s office and always being there to help. She also received a bouquet and her own set of brass knuckles.

Jim Cockerham presented the sheriff with a certificate signed by Gov. George W. Bush praising Thompson’s 20 years of service to the county and to Texas. And Thompson’s older son, William, presented his father with a framed Texas flag motif with the sheriff’s badge under glass in the place of the Lone Star.

Thompson said he appreciates the support of the local people.

“There are a lot of good people in this county,” he said. “I enjoyed the work, and I’ve been associated with a lot of good men.”

Thompson had words of praise for many of the people who had worked with him throughout his career. Among them were Game Warden Gary Hunt, DPS Sgt. Richard Gribble, Trooper Gary Davis, retired trooper Jerry Morris, Gary Henderson and Leo Hickman of the Texas Rangers, and his deputies.

Thompson singled out one former deputy as being invaluable – Charles Blackburn, Sr., the incoming sheriff’s father.

“I never had anybody that took an interest in watching the buildings and people in town as Charles did. He was dedicated and made my job a heck of a lot easier. If we had a break-in at night, he could tell you who was out. Butch will never hire a man as fine as Charles Blackburn.”

As Thompson leaves office, he says he’ll miss the job but is confident that the county is in good hands.

“I feel confident with this in Butch’s hands,” Thompson said. “He understands how to operate it and how to make a case.

“You’ll always miss things, but there comes a time when its time to leave things, and it’s my time to leave. I was 66 in October. When a man gets that old, he needs to sit around somewhere and whittle.”

The former sheriff doesn’t plan to whittle, though.

“I may work at a prison two days a week to keep from going crazy, and of course I may come around to aggravate Butch some.”

Whatever he decides to do, one thing is certain. After 20 years of service to the people of Donley County, Thompson has earned his rest.
  
 
What can you say about Jimmy Thompson?

“The thing that stands out in my mind is Jimmy’s love for kids.”

Clarendon Mayor Tex Selvidge

“This is one of the finest people I’ve ever met in my career. I have the utmost respect for him, and I’ve learned a lot from him.”

Texas Ranger

Gary Henderson

“Jimmy Thompson was a damn good man. He was as good a peace officer as I ever worked with.”

District Judge

 David McCoy

“Jimmy reminds me of the old saying about the man who had done so much with so little for so long that he was now qualified to do anything with nothing. He will certainly be missed.”

Game Warden

 Gary Hunt

“Jimmy reminds you of John Wayne. He has that kind of ethics.”

Former deputy

Joe Shadle

“Jimmy’s got more grit than any man I ever met.”

Sheriff

 Butch Blackburn

Donley County Commissioners approved a budget for Constable Jimmy Swinney’s office last week.

The budget, authorized during a called session of the court last Thursday, totals $5,259.41 and includes a salary of $3,170.

Swinney had submitted a budget last month that totaled $35,493.98.

“The state constitution requires us to set him a reasonable salary,” County Judge Jack Hall said.

Hall said the county had based Swinney’s budget on figures from the office of the Justice of the Peace in Precincts 1&2 and on statements from Sheriff-elect Butch Blackburn.

“We looked at the number of warrants and citations to be served out of Judge [Jimmy] Johnson’s office and the six to 12 jury trials per year that Judge Johnson holds,” Hall said. “We also based it on a statement by Sheriff-elect Blackburn that Swinney’s services would not be needed to police Precincts 1&2.

“We feel like we have provided a reasonable salary based on the services he is going to provide.”

Attempts to contact Swinney by telephone Tuesday morning were unsuccessful; but according to a report in the Amarillo Daily News last week, Swinney said a reasonable salary would be the same as the one given to Constable Mike Wallendorff in Precincts 3&4, which is $17,146.95.

Swinney filed as a write-in candidate for Constable in Precincts 1&2 in the General Election – an office vacant for about 30 years. He received 52 votes.

In other developments, Judge Hall did not administer the oath of office to Swinney during the regular swearing-in ceremony last Friday.

Hall had previously sent a letter to Swinney on December 22, saying he would not perform the service for the constable-elect in Precincts 1&2.

“That would go against my principals to do that,” Hall said.

Justice of the Peace Jimmy Johnson performed that duty on Friday.