Christmas spirit
The Grinch is coming to town
Clarendon sets record for sales tax income
The City of Clarendon hit a new high for the month and the year when Comptroller Glenn Hegar distributed December sales tax allocations to Texas municipalities.
Clarendon’s allocation for the month was $34,932.58, up 13.35 percent over the same period last year, which had a total of $30,816.71.
The December allocation pushed the city to a new high for a calendar year with a total of $445,159.93 for 2020. That figure is more than $21,000 higher than the $423,749.33 the city brought in during 2019, an increase of more than five percent.
December allocations are based on sales made in October by businesses that report tax monthly.
City Administrator David Dockery told the City Council last week that Clarendon had hovered at or near the $400,000 mark for a few years and now $450,000 is within reach.
Howardwick also ended the year up 34.7 percent above last year at $19,512.34 after its December allocation came in at $1,275.97, an increase of 14.75 percent.
The City of Hedley had a December allocation of $576.09, which was down less than one percent. Hedley still finished 2020 on a positive note, up 6.3 percent at $10,735.84.
Statewide, Hegar sent $790.3 million in local sales tax allocations for December, 3.7 percent less than in December 2019.
Clinic reports 35 new cases of COVID
Thirty-five new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed by the Clarendon Family Medical Center since December 6, according to information provided to the Enterprise Tuesday afternoon.
CFMC spokesperson Marsha Bruce said the number of active cases remained steady at 20 this week, and the clinic was not seeing any surge from the Thanksgiving holiday so far.
Donley County Judge John Howard, MD, said Tuesday that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is not available locally at this time and that the local clinic will be waiting for the Moderna vaccine, which does not require the extreme refrigeration for storage that the Pfizer vaccine needs.
The clinic has now conducted 918 tests with 271 of those being positive. Added with known positive tests on local residents conducted at facilities outside of the clinic, the total number of positive cases is 314 with six deaths.
Casper has strong finish at NFR
By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo, & Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise
Clarendon College alumnus Wyatt Casper finished his appearance at the National Finals Rodeo in Arlington in with a tie for eighth place in the 10th round last week.
Casper tied with Shorty Garrett with 83.5 points in that round; however he remained second in the average behind ultimate saddle bronc champion Ryder Wright. Casper was also second in the world standings with $320,984 behind Wright, who had $348,471, according to the NFR website.
The world standings leader for most of the year, Casper watched his advantage slip away after Thursday’s eighth round, when he finished in sixth place while Ryder Wright won the night and moved to the No. 1 spot on the saddle bronc riding money list.
“I enjoy nights like this, not the one last night,” said Casper, who rode Calgary Stampede’s Xena Warrior for 88 points to win the ninth round Friday at the National Finals Rodeo. “I think she could have won Horse of the Year for the last two years. She is just an outstanding bronc. She gives it all she’s got every time and bucks hard. She is pretty fun to ride. I’m lucky to draw her.”
For his efforts, Casper pocketed $26,231 and took a big leap back toward Wright, who finished in a tie for second place. Casper trails by just $1,314 with one night remaining. And, truthfully, he has had an amazing NFR. He has placed in seven of nine rounds and earned $121,270 in just nine days.
On Friday, Casper was second in the average with 290.5 cumulative points on eight rides – he was bucked off in the fourth round – but he had virtually no chance to catch Wright for the average title. The best he could do was stay second in the aggregate, which will pay $54,577.
“It’s a nail-biter. It helps bring out the better in me, and I think the same goes for Ryder,” Casper said.
Mary Ruth Derrick Harlan
Mary Ruth Derrick Harlan, 102, of Clarendon passed away on Monday, December 14, 2020, in Memphis.
Graveside services are scheduled for Thursday, December 17, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. at Citizen’s Cemetery. Viewing will be held at the funeral home on Wednesday, December 16 from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Arrangements are under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Mary was born October 9, 1918, in Goodnight on the Bugbee Ranch to Romie and Ruth Derrick. She attended Clarendon schools.
Mary married Donald Harlan in her parent’s home on the R.O. Ranch.
She was preceded in death by her husband after 52 years; her parents Romie and Ruth Derrick; three brothers, Henry, Frank, and Floyd Derrick; and two sisters, Margaret Nelson and Pearl Hermesmeyer.
She is survived by her special cousin, Carolyn Butler; nephews, nieces, and a host of special friends.
Leslie Jean Owens
Leslie Jean Owens, 57, of Clarendon died Friday, November 27, 2020, in Amarillo.
Due to inclement weather, memorial graveside services have been rescheduled and will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, December 18, 2020, in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.
Cremation and arrangements are under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Leslie was born September 12, 1963, in Galveston, Texas to Ken and Judy Johnson Fincher. She married James Wayne “Jim” Owens, Jr. on August 5, 1995, in Clarendon. Leslie had lived in New York, Michigan, California and Alaska prior to settling in Clarendon in 1978 and was a graduate of Clarendon High School. She enjoyed her work, working for Hedley ISD as a teacher’s aide for many years and was still currently working at the time of her death.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Judy.
She is survived by her husband, Jim Owens of Clarendon; her father, Ken Fincher of Arkansas; her son, Jake Owens of Clarendon; a brother, Kevin Fincher of Arkansas; a sister, Terri Harris and husband Red of Lake Texhoma; nephew, Will; niece, Nikki; her good friend and cousin, JoAnn DeBord, and two very good friends, Tammy Price and Virginia Patten.
In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be sent to the Community Fellowship Church in Clarendon.
Sign the online guestbook at www.robertsonfuneral.com
Nelda Louise McKenzie
Nelda Louise McKenzie, 75, of Clarendon, TX, died December 10, 2020.
Memorial services will be at a later date. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd.
Nelda was born in Dimmitt, Texas, on March 5, 1945, to Edward and Rosa Dalton.
Nelda was raised on a farm outside of Amarillo, TX. She attended St. Francis Catholic Church. She was the first woman in the Navy Reserve from Amarillo. She retired from Pantex. She worked in home health and loved to sew and iron.
She was a devout Catholic. Nelda was a dedicated and supportive grandmother to three grandsons. She was the hardest working woman that her children and grandchildren had ever known.
She was preceded in death by parents, Edward Dalton and Rosa Dalton; sisters, Rita McKenzie and Mary Rose Edgar; and a brother, Donald Dalton.
Survivors include daughters, Loretta McKenzie of Batson, TX, and Amanda McKenzie of Clarendon, TX; a brother, Father John Dalton of Amarillo, TX; a sister, Eileen Miskimen of Amarillo, TX; and grandsons, Zachary Anglin, Jacob Anglin, and Michael Keith.
Casper drops to second at NFR
By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo
ARLINGTON, Texas – It’s not often that a cowboy can earn money at the National Finals Rodeo and not be happy about it.
That’s exactly what happened Thursday for saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper, who rode Andrews Rodeo’s Brutus for 82.5 points to finish sixth in the eighth go-round, earning $4,231. Meanwhile, his closest competitor for the world-title race, Ryder Wright, won the round and pocketed $26,231.
With that, Wright moved into the lead in the world standings, while Casper, a Clarendon College alumnus, fell to second, $9,253 behind the leader with two nights remaining in the 2020 ProRodeo season.
“I should have ridden that horse a little better,” Casper said of Brutus. “That is a really strong, fast horse, and I did all I could to hang on to him the first couple of jumps. He was on his A game, and I wasn’t. I was s touch behind, then he had those moves, and I was trying to hold on to them. Finally, I could let go and do a little bit of swinging.”
Based on a 100-point scale, the horse earns half the points by how well it bucks. The cowboy earns points by spurring the animal from the neck to the cantle of the saddle in rhythm with the animal’s bucking motion.
“It’s tough, because you can really feel those moves on a horse like that,” he said. “To not hang one side and then the other side is pretty tough. You are trying to go at him every jump, trying to get as many points as you can. I was really lucky to get this horse down. That’s all I was really going for tonight was to stay in the average. Luckily, we got him down.”
Casper is second in the average race with 602.5 points on seven rides. Wright has ridden all eight horses for a cumulative score of $698.5. Even if Wright is bucked off one of the next two nights, he’ll still hold the aggregate advantage. There are several ways for Casper to ride off with the world title, and part of that happens in the go-rounds.
“I have nothing to lose at this point, so I’m going to go for the go-rounds and see what happens,” Casper said.
Wednesday night, Casper rode Calgary Stampede’s Y U R Friskey for 85.5 points to finish in a tie for sixth place in the seventh go-round of the National Finals Rodeo.
“I hadn’t had very good luck the last couple nights, so I stopped looking at that. I’m just going to stick to having fun. If it goes our way, it goes our way. There’s not a whole lot I can do about it if I don’t draw the best horses.”
While he collected cash – $2,115 for sharing the same score with the No. 2 man, Ryder Wright – it wasn’t what he was hoping for with the Canadian bucking horse.
“I’ve been on it at Fort Worth this year, and I was 88.5,” Casper said. “It didn’t go quite as good, but he felt a little stronger than what he did the last time. I was pretty lucky to get by him. He kind of got me bucked off by the fourth jump. I got sat back down, and it felt good.”
Casper was just 82.5 points Tuesday night and finished a few spots out of the money.
“I felt like that horse (Tuesday) night was probably at the bottom of the pen,” he said regarding the random draw out of the 15 horses that were bucked in the round. “We’re just trying to keep getting horses down. It will fall where it falls.”
Mayor’s Commentary: Protecting others and ourselves
On behalf of the Clarendon City Council, I want to stress the importance of protecting others and ourselves as we experience more and more COVID19 cases in the city and throughout Donley County.
The ethical argument for doing what is right is not hypothetical or academic. It is quite literally a matter of life or death for us and our fellow citizens. As reported by Dr. John Howard, in the December 3 Enterprise, virus cases in Donley County have increased rapidly in a two-week period. We had 201 confirmed cases on November 19, and that number stands at 255 as of December 3. More alarming is that the number of deaths has gone from one death to five deaths during that same time period and has increased by at least one death since December 3.
Our health officials have strongly encouraged us to wear masks while shopping and in other public settings. Additionally, we should all avoid close contact by putting six feet of distance between ourselves and people who do not live in our households. It is imperative that we continue to limit our socializing as much as possible in order to minimize the spread of the virus and to decrease the pain and suffering in our families and communities. Unfortunately, almost every Donley County citizen knows someone who has had COVID19, and, more unfortunately, most of us know one or more local citizens who have died.
COVID vaccines are on the way and should be available to us over the next several months. In the meantime, we must persevere by doing the right things for others and ourselves. Please wear that mask for the safety of others and yourself.
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