Archives for September 2018

Howardwick Mayor Greta Byars has clarified the city’s new budget in terms of the funding for the fire department there.

Last week’s Enterprise reported that the fiscal year 2019 budget approved by the city council September 11 included more than $3,000 in additional funding for the department. However, Byars points out that the department’s discretionary funds have actually been reduced significantly.

The city’s current budget included $3,000 in discretionary funds for the fire department, but the city’s actual fire department expenses – for insurance, fuel, electricity, and propane – amounted to an additional $6,584.22 that was not previously budgeted in that line item. That brought the city’s total expense for the fire department to more than $9,500 for fiscal year 2018.

The new budget line item for the fire department totals $6,475, covering department’s expenses for fuel, insurance, and utilities but reducing the department’s discretionary funds from the city to $500, a drop of $2,500 compared to the current year.

State Senator Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) met with Donley County residents last Wednesday, September 19, at the Bairfield Activity Center to discuss issues that will be coming before the state legislature next January.

Clarendon College was highlighted in the senator’s remarks, especially in terms of CC’s efforts to expand dual credit.

“Some of the best work being done in the state is being done in higher education,” Seliger said. “We have some kids getting an associate’s degree before they get their high school diploma.”

Seliger talked about the rigor of dual credit classes meeting the same rigor as college work and talked about the benefits of getting an associate’s degree before going to a four-year college.

“If you get your associate’s from Clarendon College, you’ll graduate faster at West Texas A&M than the kids who start there,” Seliger said.

The state has goal of having 60 percent of Texans have at least an associate’s degree or certificate by the year 2030, Seliger said, and he thanked CC President Robert Riza for his testimony the previous week in Austin on dual credit and workforce readiness.

Clarendon School Superintendent Mike Norrell also spoke in favor of dual credit.

“Dual credit saves our parents a lot of money,” Norrell said. “I think larger institutions don’t appreciate what community colleges are doing.”

Dr. Riza also thanked the senator for what he does for the district in Austin and also for what he keeps from happening.

Seliger opened his remarks by discussing the importance of voter involvement at the local level and efforts at the state level to control local officials’ ability to raise taxes.

“You don’t need Austin to cut local taxes,” Seliger said, noting that local officials can do that quickly and easily if it’s really important to local voters.

“Local decisions are better made locally,” the senator said. “That used to be a foundational issue. Now the Texas Public Policy Foundation claims local control is a myth because the state creates these local entities.”

Seliger also briefly discussed the state’s school accountability system before shifting his focus to school safety.

“Things have changed,” Seliger said, referring to the dangers that are now faced by schools. “Solutions will be local solutions. The state can tell you how to make schools safer, but the state can’t tell you how to pay for it.”

Seliger said he thought metal detectors in schools would take too much time and said he felt like schools would move toward having safety officers. He also said arming teachers should be a local decision.

On the subject of transportation, Seliger said he likes seeing traffic cones and barrels because it means TxDOT is spending money in our part of the state.

Donley County Judge John Howard thanked the senator for his support of local governments and his influence in keeping the local driver’s license office open.

Responding to a question from Mr. Norrell about teacher pay, Seliger said he prefers to increase funding to the basic allocation for schools and let schools decide where it’s needed.

Seliger also discussed the danger of the “wealthy far right” trying to buy seats in state government.

“That’s an oligarchy when you have wealthy people in control of the government,” he said.

Clarendon third grade teacher Cobette Riza presented questions from her students, including:

What’s your favorite thing about your job? “Being able to get things done that need to be done.”
How can you help our school? “By doing a good job funding schools.”
How many people voted for you? “80,000.”
Do you have a house like the governor? “No.”

The Cross Wagon team was the overall champion of the 24th annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff last Saturday, September 22, as participants and guests enjoyed fair skies and beautiful weather.

The Vega chuckwagon team outshined 13 other teams, placing in three out of five food judging categories placing second in Overall Cooking to take home the custom cutting board designed by Clarendon artist Jack Craft.

Officials with the Saints’ Roost Museum, which sponsors the event, said tickets to the event sold out last Thursday with wagons preparing food for a total of 700 people.

The 11th annual Junior Cookoff the day before the big event drew eight contestants, who were paired with experienced wagon teams to prepare potatoes for the cooks’ dinner Friday night. Haidan Norman from Howardwick won first place and was teamed with the Crosstimbers Ranch from Mustang, Okla.

Chelsea Wright of Clarendon was second, working with the Trap Drag Wagon of Pampa; and Dani Middleton of Hedley was third and worked with the Tin Cup Wagon of Holly, Colo.

Other junior participants included Kami Duncan, Brooke Duncan, Addy Havens, Aubrey Stidham, and Bryce Williams, all of Clarendon.

Following the Junior Cookoff, 165 people braved cool, damp weather to enjoy a delicious steak dinner Friday night on the museum grounds, compared to 209 the year before. The invitation-only event was held exclusively for Chuckwagon teams and members of the Museum and their families as well as members of the Goodnight family.

The trade show was held throughout the day Saturday, and live entertainment was provided. Relatives of Chuckwagon inventor Charles Goodnight also were present for their annual reunion.

Fourteen wagons served a menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, beans, and cobbler. Wagons came from as far as Tennessee and Arizona to attend this year’s cookoff, although the Chiricahua Cattle Co. Chuck Wagon was present for educational purposes only and did not participate in the cookoff.

Prizes totaling $3,250 were paid out to the winners. Complete results were: Overall Wagon & Cooking: 1) Cross Wagon. Overall Cooking: 1) Camp Cookie of Germantown, Tenn., 2) Cross Wagon, 3) HX Chuckwagon of Lubbock, and 4) Crosstimber Ranch of Mustang, Okla. Best Wagon & Camp: 1) J Bar D Ranch of Amarillo, 2) C4B Chuckwagon of Amarillo., 3) Trapdrag Wagon, and 4) Crosstimber. Best Meat: 1) Cross Wagon, 2) T-Half Circle / Daugherty Wagon of Halfway, 3) Palo Duro Cowboy Church of Canyon, and 4) Lazy JM of El Reno, Okla. Best Beans: 1) Honey-Do Spoiler of Pampa, 2) Tin Cup Wagon of Holly, Colo., 3) Trapdrag, and 4) C Bar C Ranch of Hartley. Best Potatoes: 1) Camp Cookie, 2) Trapdrag, 3) T-Half Circle / Daugherty, and 4) C4B. Best Bread: 1) Crosstimber, 2) HX, 3) Cross, and 4) Camp Cookie. Best Dessert: 1) Camp Cookie, 2) Cross, 3) Crosstimber, and 4) HX.

Clarendon College’s previous enrollment record bit the dust last week when CC set a new all-time high for a fall semester.

Following the 12th class day last Wednesday, CC’s fall head count was officially tallied at 1,639, setting a new benchmark for the 120-year-old college and blowing by the previous record enrollment of 1,590 set in the fall of 2017.

“Obviously, we’re very proud of everyone involved,” CC President Robert Riza said. “When you take care of processes and take care of students, growth will come.”

Forty-nine students above fall 2017 represents about a 3.1 percent increase, but it’s a dramatic increase compared to where the college was just four years ago. Enrollment in Dr. Riza’s first fall semester enrollment in 2014 was 1,211, and Clarendon College has posted growth every fall since then. This fall’s enrollment is more than 35 percent higher than 2014’s headcount.

The growth this year is particularly impressive when the regional unemployment rate is taken into consideration. College officials say enrollment usually dips when unemployment is low.

“We’re at what’s considered full employment in the Texas Panhandle,” Riza said.

The Texas Workforce Commission reports the July jobless rate in the Amarillo area at 2.9 percent.

Enrollment on the Clarendon campus this fall is 340 compared to 338 last year with higher enrollments in the dorms than last year. The dorms are full, and the college’s new strategic plan calls for finding ways to add more beds to the campus.

Enrollment at the CC centers in Childress and Gray counties are down. Pampa is at 196 compared to 238 one year ago; and Childress is 34 compared to 43. Both of those communities are experiencing very low unemployment, Riza said, which has hurt enrollment there. College officials pointed out, however, that some students in Gray and Childress counties have shifted from traditional classroom classes to online classes.

A total of 125 students are enrolled in strictly online classes, also known as distance education, this fall.

CC’s cosmetology campus in Amarillo was essentially flat with an enrollment of 85 students with 44 traditional students and the remainder being dual credit students from Amarillo and Canyon.

The main driver of CC’s enrollment growth has been dual credit offerings, which the college now has in 22 area school districts. This fall has 735 students taking dual credit through CC, up from 678 last year.

“Over the last five years, we’ve increased dual credit head counts by about 225 percent,” Riza said. “Our credit hours through dual credit are up about 250 percent.”

Clarendon High School has 34 students enrolled in dual credit this semester. Hedley has 14.

Clarendon College’s success with dual credit led Sen. Kel Seliger to call Dr. Riza to Austin last week, where he testified about that subject before the Senate Joint Committee on Education and Higher Education. In a Tweet Tuesday afternoon, Seliger said it was great to have Senate District 31’s very own President Riza in Austin to showcase the success happening at Clarendon College.

CC’s enrollment growth has continued to be strong across all semesters. The spring 2018 enrollment of 1,451 was also a school record for that period, and summer classes and mini-sessions have also been setting records in 2017 and 2018 as the college works to offer classes in demand and on schedules that attract students.

“If you do the things you’re supposed to do, enrollment follows,” Riza said. “When you look at the calendar, we have just one day out of the next 11 months or longer that we do not have students in some kind of class.”

CC’s next session – an eight-week mini-session for cosmetology, welding, and online classes – starts October 22, and a CDL session starts October 29 in Pampa.

The Howardwick City Council approved a $194,491 budget for fiscal year 2019 during its regular meeting last Tuesday, September 11.

The budget, which is lower than the current $214,731 budget, includes reductions of about $25,000 in maintenance salaries, more than $3,000 more money for the fire department than currently budgeted, more money for code enforcement, and more than $6,000 additional expenses in the general administration budget.

Other action taken at last week’s meeting included a motion to approve joining a cooperative through the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission to help collect past due bills from former residents.

Aldermen discussed requesting the fire department to clean up old tires behind City Hall. A motion was approved giving the department two months to clean that up.

The council debated allowing the fire department access to City Hall for its monthly meetings. Access was granted by the council in December, but Mayor Greta Byars and City Secretary Sandra Childress advocated changing that to have the department meet at the community building in the park.

During that discussion, the security of city records was brought up. Alderman Johnny Floyd suggested needing to find a better way to secure records. A motion was made and seconded to allow the department to continue meeting at City Hall, but that motion was later withdrawn as it was determined to be unnecessary.

The council also engaged in a lengthy debate over the number and limit of credit cards carried by the fire department for fuel. The council ultimately voted to limit the department to three cards, down from the current six, and to set the credit limit at $2,000.
According to budget figures, the fire department spent less than $1,200 total on fuel so far in fiscal year 2018.

Aldermen debated and then voted to keep the roll-off trash box at City Hall for metal.

Ordinance 113 was approved as presented, raising prices for the city mowing lots and also setting dates for the mowing season.
Bids were considered for work required on City Hall by the state fire marshal’s office. A bid from Lane’s Plumbing & Electric was approved for electrical work to be completed by December 31.

Officials announced that a public hearing will be held on October 9 at 6:30 p.m., prior to the regular city meeting, to allow PRPC to discuss what services it can offer to the city.

The council then met in closed session before returning to open session to hire a part time employee and giving the maintenance employee an increase in salary.

The Old West will come to life this weekend at the Saints’ Roost Museum during the 24th annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff this Saturday, September 22.

Fifteen wagons are scheduled to compete for top prizes, and other activities include live entertainment, museum tours, and the Western trade show.

The wagon teams will arrive Friday to host area students for a day of learning about the chuckwagon and cooking the cowboy-way. Friday afternoon will also include the junior cookoff, which pairs kids, ages 8-17, with mentors on participating wagon teams to learn the ropes of cooking over an open fire.

The big day for the cookoff will be Saturday when the wagons square off to battle for top prizes. The tradeshow starts at 10 a.m., and museum tours will be available throughout the day. Local and area entertainers will also be performing.

The authentic wagons will serve at 1 p.m. with the traditional chicken fried steak dinner, and other activities will include a hay auction and the Goodnight family reunion.

Admission is free. Tickets for the Chuckwagon meal are $20 each and can be purchased in advance at Every Nook & Cranny or by calling (806)874-2746.