End of an era
Calvin Ky Sherrod
Calvin Ky Sherrod, 89, of Amarillo, went to be with his Lord and Savior September 6, 2018.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, September 15, 2018, at Region 16 Education Service Center, 5800 Bell Street. Burial will be at Llano Cemetery East. Visitation will be Thursday, September 13, 2018 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at LaGrone Blackburn Shaw, 8310 S. Coulter St.
Ky was born in Aspermont, Texas on September 3, 1929, to Lester A. and Claudie Bell Sherrod. He graduated from Aspermont High School and West Texas State College where he was a kicker on the football team. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Education. Ky married the love of his life, Frances Florene Bussard in Raton, NM on August 23, 1952. They moved to Channing, Texas where Ky was employed by the Channing ISD. He coached for one year before he was promoted to Principal. He held that position for one year and was promoted to Superintendent. He proudly served as Superintendent of Channing Schools for 36 years. Frances and Ky were blessed with three athletic sons, Randy, Brent and Mark. Family time was spent honing basketball skills, disciplining school kids, and contributing to the Channing community. He believed the “Spare the rod, spoil the child” theory as taught in the Bible. He disciplined with love and was respected by both school children and their parents.
The Channing School System was fortunate to have excellent teachers who gave each student a solid base for furthering their careers at the University level if they so choose. Many lifelong friendships were begun in Channing and students still came by to visit Ky through the years. What an educator Ky Sherrod was in all aspects of his life! He never met a stranger. Ky loved his family, friends and especially “those” grandchildren. He was always ready to do anything his grandkids wanted to do and take them anywhere they wanted to go. It did not matter what day it was or what time, Ky would not disappoint!
Ky served on the Education Service Center Board of Directors from 1995 to 2016. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, a Lifetime member of the Texas State Teachers Association and a Lifetime member of the Texas Association of School Administrators. Ky was a member of Crossroads Country Church.
He was preceded in death by his wife Frances, his son Mark, his brother ML, and his parents.
He is survived by his brother, Wham Sherrod and wife Barbara; son, Randy Sherrod and wife Carolyn; granddaughter, Tara Dunn and great granddaughter, Hadley Dunn; son, Brent Sherrod and wife Joy, granddaughter, Tiffini Arrington and husband Shawn, great grandkids, Noah, Cross and Alexandria; grandson, Brett Britton and wife Sonya, great granddaughter, Bentley; grandson, Trey Britton, great granddaughters, Kristen and Linzy; granddaughter, Darcee Maddy and husband Tim, great grandsons, Eli and Ethan; granddaughter, Keelie McDonald and husband Eric; grandson, Caeleb Ky Sherrod and wife Michelle, grandkids, Collin Ky, Blake and Kate.
Beverly Yvonne Whitley
Beverly Yvonne Whitley, 92, of Clarendon, died on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, in Clarendon.
Services were held on September 8, 2018, in Robertson Funeral Directors Saints’ Roost Chapel in Clarendon with Dr. Todd Dick, officiating. Burial followed in Memorial Park Cemetery in Amarillo.
Arrangements were under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Yvonne was born June 16, 1926, in Clarendon to Philip L. and Faye Dunlap Board. She graduated from Amarillo High School in 1943. She married her childhood sweetheart, William Thomas Whitley on December 6, 1945 in Amarillo. She had been a resident of Amarillo most of her life and moved to Clarendon in 2012. She worked for 22 years for the City of Amarillo as a buyer prior to her retirement. The two most important things in her life were God and Family. Yvonne and her husband enjoyed traveling in their 5th wheel. She was a member of the Family Worship Center in Amarillo. The family would like to say a special thank you to Saints’ Roost Assisted Living for the love and care of our Mother.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 57 years; her son, Kerry Trent Whitley; a sister, Phyllis Dick; and a son in law, Jerry May.
Survivors include her daughter, Kathy Michael and husband Monty of Clarendon; her son, Phil Whitley and wife Nona of Amarillo; 9 grandchildren, Dawn Strafuss and Rodney of Hereford, Kami Satterwhite and husband Brent of Panhandle, Jason May and wife Jill of Idalou, Philip Whitley of Amarillo, Tessa Whitley Jobe of Amarillo, Andrea Serna and husband Ed of Austin, Lisa Gregg of Washington, Brandi Wyatt and husband Kelly of Van Vleck, Texas, Chad Michael and wife Sara of Fort Worth; 19 great grandchildren; 9 great great grandchildren; and a host of extended family and friends.
The family request that memorials be made to the GMI / 13248 Roscoe Blvd. / Sun Valley, CA 91352 c/o Todd Dick – Croatia.
Wreck claims one life Monday
A Carrollton woman died Monday, September 3, following a single-vehicle accident east of Hedley.
DPS Trooper Lynn Mays said a family of five were westbound on US 287 when the left rear tire on their Dodge Aspen blew out, causing the vehicle to go off the road and roll multiple times.
Among those in the car was 25-year-old Jasmin Pena, who was riding in the front passenger seat without a seat belt. She was ejected from the vehicle and later died from her injuries at North West Texas Hospital in Amarillo.
A three-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy, neither of whom were properly restrained, were both ejected from the back seat of the vehicle. Thirty-two-year-old Jaime Meneses was also in the back seat but was wearing a seat belt, according to DPS Sgt. Cindy Barkley.
The driver of the vehicle, 52-year-old Maria Pena of Dallas, was also not wearing a seat belt but was not ejected. She was transported by ambulance and the boy was airlifted to Northwest Texas Hospital. DPS reported they both sustained serious/incapacitating injuries.
The accident remains under investigation.
Responding to the accident in addition to the DPS were the Donley County Sheriff’s Office, Clarendon and Hedley fire departments, Associated Ambulance Authority, and a Hall County deputy.
Welcome, Bulldogs!
Broncos beat Lockney
City budget up for vote next week
The Clarendon City Council will vote on what will likely be the biggest budget in the city’s history next Thursday, September 13.
Construction of a $1.9 million water recreation project along with $3.9 million in USDA-funded infrastructure improvements have pushed the city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2019 to $8.1 million.
The budget for the city’s usual expenses next year is $2.3 million, which is up about $200,000 from the current budget.
Funds for the water recreation project are coming from donations and grants, and the USDA project is funded with a $1.3 million federal grant with the city financing the balance of that project over 40 years with a $10 per month fee on water accounts that has already been in place for over a year.
City Administrator David Dockery said the proposed budget includes the final payments on tax notes and general obligation bonds that were approved in 2012 for street, water, sewer, and drainage improvements. The city does not have any street improvement plans in the upcoming budget, preferring to wait until the USDA project completes installing about five miles of water lines before embarking on new street work.
The budget is built on a slight tax increase with an ad valorem rate of $0.75865 per $100 valuation, up from the current rate of $0.733821. City leaders expect to see the property tax rate go down for fiscal year 2020 as the city retires some of its debt.
The new budget includes a five percent across the board raise for city employees, a three percent raise for the administrator, and an eight percent raise for the city secretary.
The budget also includes $25,000 for the second phase of a three-year plan to bring the 1918 City Hall into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Money also remains in the budget to continue the city’s efforts to clean up properties with dilapidated structures.
No fee increases are included in the proposed budget, although Dockery says the city may consider a sewer fee increase at some point in the next year.
Trade commission reverses newsprint tariffs
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) unanimously reversed tariffs placed on newsprint from Canada last week, ruling that US industry is not being harmed by the imports.
The August 29 ruling was seen as a victory for newspapers and other printers that use uncoated groundwood paper.
“We are immensely gratified today by the International Trade Commission’s vote not to impose permanent tariffs upon the North American newsprint supply,” said National Newspaper Association President Susan Rowell, publisher of the Lancaster (SC) News. “The paper markets serving community newspapers can soon begin to move back to market pricing without the heavy hand of government imposing taxes upon the primary suppliers of newsprint.”
In response to the tariffs, US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) was one of 38 members of Congress to co-sponsor the Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade Act of 2018 also known as the PRINT Act, which would have suspended the duties pending a study of the effects on the printing industry. Thirty-three members of the US Senate co-sponsored a companion bill in that house.
“The USITC’s action last week was a great relief, and community newspapers across America are very grateful to Congressman Thornberry and his colleagues for their efforts to protect these jobs,” Clarendon Enterprise publisher Roger Estlack. “Mac’s efforts combined with a major push back from across the country helped stop what was becoming an enormous burden and threat to the local newspapers.”
Newsprint users experienced price increases and a disruption in supply after duties were assessed earlier this year following a complaint by one paper mill, North Pacific Paper Company. The import tariffs – as high as 32 percent – jeopardized the viability of the industry and threatened more than 600,000 US workers in publishing, printing and related industries.
The Texas Press Association had been lobbying against the tariff for almost a year. The association joined a coalition led by News Media Alliance and National Newspaper Association.
“We are delighted at the outcome,” said TPA Executive Director Mike Hodges. “The International Trade Commission clearly saw what our industry has been saying all along – that the case for a tariff was groundless and that American newspapers would be in grave danger if a tariff were made permanent. Our members’ involvement with the Texas Congressional delegation was crucial in our efforts to defeat the tariff and we deeply appreciate their hard work.”
All five USITC commissioners voted against the tariffs and officially determined that US industry is not materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of uncoated groundwood paper from Canada.
“We will not know until mid-September the commission’s rationale for its vote of 5-0 against continuing newsprint tariffs,” Rowell said.
“We understand it will take a couple of months for the preliminary tariffs to be unwound and credits to be issued back to those companies who had paid duties at the border since last January. But it is an enormous relief to know that the ITC does not find a basis for continuing sanctions.”
Editorial: H’wick needs to try honeymooning again
The Howardwick honeymoon didn’t last long, but it’s time for both sides to try again to work together.
A petition calling for the removal of Howardwick Mayor Greta Byars was presented at the close of the City Council meeting on August 14, but it was somewhat anti-climactic since the meeting had been largely productive and low-key, a change from the raucousness of recent meetings.
Resident Steve Phelps presented the petition but made an impassioned plea for folks to work together, to be more “Christ like,” and to become friends again. Phelps specifically complimented the mayor for her handling of that meeting.
But later that night, the wheels came off the Howardwick wagon again when a former city employee got arrested for disorderly conduct for basically causing a disturbance in the vicinity of the mayor. The mayor and others felt so threatened that they obtained criminal trespass warnings against the former employee, and there was even an attempt to hold an “emergency meeting” of the city council following the incident.
Since then, the Enterprise has learned of another flare-up between the administration and the volunteer fire department at Howardwick, which seem to stem from an ongoing conflict between City Hall and the leadership of the department. Or perhaps there just needs to be better communication between the parties involved. That could go a long way to diffusing volatile situations before they even arise.
For the good of the residents, the city and its fire department need to find a way to peacefully coexist. Safety, as Mayor Byars said at the last meeting, should be a top priority. A conflict with the fire department – or even miscommunication with the department –improves the safety of no one. Whether you like those individuals personally or not, they are volunteers trying to serve their community as best they can.
As the paper goes to press, the city council was preparing to meet over the budget and taxes Tuesday night. Hopefully that meeting went well.
Next week’s regular meeting will be the next test. Civility needs to be the order of the day. Citizens should, like last month, be respectful and the let the council do its job. City leaders need to work together, and all concerned need to, as Mr. Phelps said, try to be friends again.
There are a lot of good folks at Howardwick – on both sides of the issues. It’s okay to have healthy debate on matters facing the city, but everyone needs to ultimately pull together for the best interests of the city. Agree to disagree in some cases, but always try to work for the betterment of the community.
Meanwhile…
The newspaper industry breathed a collective sigh of relief last week when tariffs on Canadian newsprint were rolled back.
Earlier this year, the US Department of Commerce imposed a tariff on newsprint from Canada. This action came after one company claimed Canadian mills were dumping newsprint on the US market at low prices. In response, the Commerce Department gave preliminary approval to duties up to 32 percent, according to the News Media Alliance. Amid enormous push back from the industry and members of Congress, Commerce revised those duties downward on August 2, and then the US International Trade Commission reversed them entirely last week.
A bipartisan chorus of lawmakers joined media outlets and industry leaders across the country to combat the threat that the tariffs posed to the publishing industry in general and newspapers in particular.
Among those leaders who stepped up was Clarendon’s own Congressman Mac Thornberry, who signed on as a co-sponsor of a bill that would have suspended the tariffs until a study could be done of their impact.
The tariffs on newsprint were bad for American businesses and consumers, and it was right that it should have been rolled back. But it is just one of many tariffs that have sprung up in the wake of the president’s ongoing effort to “make America great again.” A pissing contest with our allies and trading partners doesn’t seem to be doing much to make America great, but it is making a great mess of things.
Shocked by a 32 percent increase in the price of newsprint, some publishers have already made long-lasting changes to their businesses that probably didn’t serve their customers or employees well.
Other tariffs are being felt in different ways, especially in the construction world. Close to home, city leaders have expressed concerns about the costs of materials for the proposed swimming pool and the water system improvement project. Texas agriculture leaders worry about the effects that the president’s trade war with china might have on cotton exports and other crops.
While there is always the desire by some to wall off America and just play in our own sandbox, the fact of the matter is that we live in a global economy in the 21st century. Going around kicking sand in the faces of our trading partners isn’t the best way to do business.
H’wick family loses home in fire
An account at the Donley County State Bank has been opened for a Howardwick family after they lost their home to a fire this week.
Chris and Shelina Wilkins lost most of their possessions due to fire, heat, and smoke damage, a family friend said, and the family was displaced from the home.
Clarendon Fire Chief Jeremy Powell said an electrical short in a window air-conditioning unit caused the fire Tuesday afternoon, August 28, and a passerby noticed the fire. A neighbor began fighting the fire with a hose, and volunteer firemen from Clarendon and Howardwick responded to the call.
Powell said fire damage was contained to the living area where the air-conditioner was located but the rest of the house sustained heavy smoke and heat damage.
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