Roger Estlack

The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce recognized Mary Vorheis with the 2018 Saints’ Roost Award for her lifetime of service and commitment to the community during the annual Chamber Awards Banquet last Thursday, February 7.

Man of the Year honors went to Jeff McKee, and Sherol Johnston was named the Woman of the Year. J&W Lumber & Supply was named the Business of the Year.

The Saints’ Roost Award is the highest honor given annually by the Chamber to recognize a lifetime of volunteering and community service. Vorheis was recognized for her extensive work with the VFW Auxiliary and all the activities they do for the community from helping with Veterans and Memorial Day activities to preparing soup for the Courthouse Lighting evening. She also prepares food for people on Sunday who are on Meals on Wheels during the week but have no food for the weekend. She helps with Alzheimer’s fundraisers, is involved with the Friends of the Library, and serves wherever she can even when she is not feeling good.

The Man of the Year for 2018 is Jeff McKee, for serving our community in several capacities. As an employee of the city of Clarendon, he takes pride in his work and is always happy to help local citizens. He serves on the Saints’ Roost Museum board and helps with the lighting of the Donley County Courthouse. He’s played the role of Santa Claus for local events and helped with the Mulkey Block Party, the Channel Ten Summer Celebration, and other activities. Anytime there is an event in Clarendon, you can count on him being there to support what’s happening and most of the time he’s lending a helping hand while he is there.

Sherol Johnston is the Woman of the Year for 2018. She has been very involved in Howardwick, Clarendon and Donley County. As a former member of the Clarendon EDC she helped develop the Mulkey project in its early stages. She has twice brought the Lone Start Ladies’ Golf Tournament to the Clarendon Country Club, where she serves as the club’s secretary/treasurer. She volunteers regularly with the Bread of Life Food Ministry at the Methodist Church, and as a board member of the Donley County Community Fund, she represents Howardwick and has been active in helping build an endowment that will benefit current and future non-profit groups throughout Donley County.

The Chamber of Commerce named J&W Lumber & Supply as its Business of the Year. John Jones and Bill Williams started the business in 1960. Buddy Ford bought the business in 1973; and in about 1977, Rudene and Bill “Peanut” Wise purchased the business after running Peanut’s Drive-in for several years. In 1983, the business moved to its present location and the Wise’s daughter Julie and husband Earl Hartman joined the firm. Bill and Rudene retired in 1998, and Earl became the go-to man for advice in town about home improvement projects. Throughout the years, Earl served with the Downtown Merchants Association and Julie volunteered as a Scout leader. The Hartmans have a reputation for supporting worthwhile projects and for sound guidance when it comes to fixing almost anything.

The Chamber and Clarendon College also recognized outstanding youth from Clarendon and Hedley.
Brandalyn Ellis was named the Young Woman of the Year from Clarendon. She is president of 4-H and participates in contests at the state level for horse judging. She’s an officer of the Clarendon FFA and has helped at the vet clinic as a veterinarian assistant. She’s trained horses, assisted riding instructors, and worked cows and calves in the family herd. She has participated in the Texas High School Rodeo Association, is the president of the Student Council, is captain of the basketball team, and is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She gives back to her community by helping the Christ Kids Ministry summer food program. She is a Sweetheart of the Clarendon Lions Club and has received numerous awards in 4H and for rodeo contests.

The Young Man of the Year from Clarendon is Noab Elam, who been involved in many extracurricular activities and represented his school and community well. He participates in baseball, football, and basketball and has received all-district honors in all of those sports. He is in the running for valedictorian of his senior class and is a member of the National Honor Society. He has participated in UIL academics and has advanced to state in two of the last three years. He was the regional UIL Social Studies Champion last spring and has been listed on Clarendon College’s Dean’s List while completing dual credit classes. He will likely graduate high school with 39 or more college hours. He has been a class officer every year and class president the last two years, and he was a captain of his football team. He’s received district and state honors in baseball. He also writes for The Clarendon Enterprise.

The Young Man of the Year from Hedley is Chris Gonzales, and he played basketball, served as a manager for the Owl football team and been active for four years in FFA. He enjoys shooting guns, fishing, working, and spending time with family. He’s exhibited animals at the county stock show and participated in community service projects for the Rowe Cemetery and the Hedley Lions Club. He has received awards for the Star Greenhand, Star Chapter Farmer, and Outstanding Senior FFA member

Kasie Hinton is the Young Woman of the Year from Hedley. She has participated in basketball and FFA for four years and also has run cross country and track. She’s been a member of NHS for two years and been the Star Chapter Farmer, Star State Degree, and Star Greenhand in FFA. She won Grand Champion heifer at the county stock show and the Grand Champion of the junior show and Grand and Reserve Champion Braunvieh heifer in the open show at the National Western Livestock Show. She won Grand in the youth show, and Grand and Reserve Champion in the Open Show at Ft. Worth. She is a member of the honors program at Clarendon College.

This year’s Chamber banquet followed a “Showtime! Clarendon’s Night at the Movies” theme and was catered by Great Western Dining. Approximately 200 people attended the event, which was held in the Bairfield Activity Center.

Lyndy Phillips was the featured entertainment for the evening and used magic and humor to deliver his message to laugh more and stress less. Phillips had the audience laughing throughout his presentation with the help and good sportsmanship of Cassidy Riza and Mayor Sandy Skelton.

Gift Box pull winners were Kay Dye, Tommy Waldrop, Kim Fowler, Elaina Estlack, and Kim Cooper.

Tables were sponsored by A Fine Feathered Nest, the City of Clarendon, Clarendon College, The Clarendon Enterprise, the Donley County Senior Citizens, Herring Bank, Phelps Plumbing, Pilgrim Bank, Saints’ Roost Museum, and Shelton & Shelton Law Offices. Phillips selected the Enterprise table’s Star Trek as having the best table decoration reflecting the banquet’s movie theme. He also named Chamber Manager Bob Weiss and Jolene Weiss as having the best costumes as the Blues Brothers.

This year’s corporate sponsors were Broken Road Junior, The Clarendon Enterprise, Floyd’s Automotive Supply, Greenbelt Electric Coop., GreenLight Gas, and Pioneer General Contractors.

This Friday is the last day to sign up for local offices for citizens who wish to improve their communities, and it looks like most positions will be decided without elections.

Eighteen board positions are available, but only the City of Howardwick has attracted enough candidates to warrant having an election as of Tuesday morning while the City of Clarendon doesn’t even have enough declared candidates to cover all the offices that are open.

Howardwick Alderman Brice Hawley and Tony Clemishire, have filed to run for mayor, and five people are running for two positions on the city council. Alderman Johnny Floyd will be joined on the ballot by Beverly McCaskill, Erica Mills, Tammy Jordan, and Jerry Mullanax.

In Clarendon, the terms of Mayor Sandy Skelton and Aldermen Nathan Floyd and Jacob Fangman are up as well as the one-year unexpired term now held by Eulaine McIntosh. Only Skelton and McIntosh have filed for re-election

Hedley has three aldermen seats up this year. Aldermen Tonya Metcalf and Alicia Hanes are running for re-election, and Trisha Chambless has filed for the third seat.

Clarendon ISD Trustees serve three years, and the terms of Robin Ellis, Chuck Robertson, and Will Thompson are expiring this year, and all three have filed for re-election.

Hedley ISD has two full three-year terms and one unexpired term up this year. Michael Metcalf and Billy Hall are running for reelection, and Susan Cosby has filed for the vacant seat.

The Donley County Hospital District Board of Directors has four two-year terms up this year. Those are currently held by Wayne Tubbs – Place 1, Jeff Robertson – Place 2, and Melinda McAnear – Place 3. McAnear is the only person to have filed as of Tuesday morning.

Filing continues through Friday, February 15. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 4, 2019.

New security measures at Clarendon CISD will require all visitors to present identification at campus offices beginning Tuesday, February 19.

School officials say the Raptor Visitor Management System will strengthen safety for students and faculty. Part of keeping students and faculty safe is knowing who is in our buildings at all times, and the Raptor system will allow the school to do that. The Raptor system will used to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers.

Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present an ID such as a driver’s license, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a government-issued ID, a school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system.

The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without the school’s knowledge.

The Raptor system checks the visitor’s name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency.

Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.

Clarendon CISD says the safety of students is its highest priority and the Raptor visitor management system allows it to quickly identify those that may present a danger.

The Texas Rural Leadership Program will be hosting its 2019 conference, Engaging Rural Communities, in Austin Texas, April 4-5.

“The future of Texas is changing. With it, the potential for the places we love to become increasingly urban, or even ghostly quiet is increasing. A healthier sense of community in our rural counties impacts the well-being of all Texans. Our program brings people together, in commitment to stronger community through inclusive leadership,” said Dr. Craig Rotter, Executive Director of the Texas Rural Leadership Program.
“There can be a vibrant future for small town Texas, through open discussion about what matters, and thoughtful movement into collective action.”

The Texas Rural Leadership program is a non-for-profit 501c3 organization, in close partnership with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Created in 1989 by a group of Texans who wanted to create leadership development opportunities for individuals in rural areas where access to such opportunities are not available, the first TRLP leadership program was convened in Marion County in 1992. Since then, nearly 800 participants have completed programs in counties spread across the state. The program encourages participants to identify assets that will improve the quality of life in their communities.

The 2019 Engaging Rural Communities Conference is set to energize participants, build connections to rural-focused resources, better define 21st Century rural leadership needs, and allow for discussion about what we should be doing to improve our quality of life. Attendees will hear success stories, gain a greater understanding of the power of the Texas Rural Leadership Program, and be reminded that it is often a handful of people that lead the way to a bright future.

For more information, contact Executive Director Craig Rotter, Ph.D., craig.rotter@agnet.tamu.edu, ph: 979. 845.2035, mobile: 979.587.1992, website: https://trlp.tamu.edu.

The Mulkey Theatre will reopen Memorial Day weekend with a Grand Opening celebration set for Saturday, May 25, and other festivities on Sunday and Monday, May 26 and 27.

The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation, which has led the ten-year effort to renovate the 1946 theatre, set the May opening during its regular meeting Monday night.

CEDC directors were told that construction work continues this week to prepare for the installation of sound, projection, and stage lighting equipment starting on February 18, followed by the installation of theatre seating scheduled for March 4.

Work at this point is on schedule and on budget and should be completed well in advance of the planned opening.

Chamber of Commerce Manager Bob Weiss reported that of 204 chairs available for sponsorships on the main floor, only five remained unsold as of Monday. (Update: By Wednesday morning, it was reported that all seats had been sold.)

Weiss also plans to volunteer at the Ritz Theatre in Wellington later this week to see the operation of that theatre first hand.

CEDC President Robert Riza appointed Weiss, Ashlee Estlack, and CEDC Secretary Roger Estlack to lead the planning for the grand opening weekend, which will take the place of the annual Mulkey Block Party this year. Details for the festivities are still in the formative stages, but discussions have focused on a combination of live performances as well as movies to showcase the capabilities of the renovated theatre.

CEDC also discussed rental rates for the Mulkey, which will be available for private, corporate, and civic events beginning in June. Those rates will be finalized at the March board meeting.

Clarendon College was well represented by President Robert Riza last week in Austin when the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) and the Texas Association of Community College Marketers (TACCM) celebrated the annual Community College Day at the Capitol.

The organized day is an opportunity for Texas college students and administrators to engage with their elected officials and discuss issues relevant to them and higher education.

Dr. Riza met with Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) as well as Rep. Four Price (R-Amarillo), the chairman of the calendars committee; and Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), the ways and means chairman.

“Rep. Burrows is a friend of Clarendon College,” Riza said. “He is not an alumni but attended FFA Leadership Camps at Clarendon College when he was in high school and spoke at our leadership camp two years ago.”

Riza also met with Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian), Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) and Rep. Drew Springer (R-Muenster), each of whom represent different portions of CC’s service area.

‘’Community College Day gives the students an opportunity to discuss important policy issues related to education through face-to-face interactions with legislators,” said TACC President and CEO Jacob Fraire.
“We believe this insight informs students about legislative processes and the innerworkings of the state Capitol; it also offers legislators the opportunity to hear directly from Texans.”

Riza said the CC Honors College students are provided with opportunities to meet local legislators on campus and discuss issues facing higher education.

“They have met with Rep. King and Sen. Seliger between sessions to really have time to talk to them in depth,” Riza said.