Go Bronchos!
Hooting for the Broncos
CISD will be closed for state tourney
Due to the Clarendon High School Bronco basketball team advancing to the state championship, school will release at 12:30 on Wednesday and close on Thursday and Friday in order to give everyone the opportunity to travel to Austin and support the Broncos.
These days will have to be made up on April 9 with Saturday school from 8:30-12:30; April 22 due to the closing in February caused from bad weather; and May 2 will make up the final day.
“It will all be worth it when the Broncos return with that state championship trophy,” high school principal Larry Jeffers said. “Go Broncos!”
Government coming after salt shakers
If you needed an example of why the federal government has grown too big and too intrusive, a perfect one was handed to you recently when the nannies in Washington announced the newest target for their wrath – Salt.
Those of you who keep up with the interference of the Food Nazis were not surprised by this since the subject has come up before. Nonetheless, the severity of their
recommendations caught even your humble editor off guard.
With its boundless knowledge and wisdom, the government now says that certain groups, including people over 51, African-Americans, diabetics, and others totaling half the US population should limit themselves to only half a teaspoon of salt per day, and the rest of us should keep it to only one teaspoon.
Salt is in food for the same reason it has always been in food – it tastes good. It also serves as a preservative and has for millennia. But besides that, it tastes good; it’s a
natural flavor enhancer.
The powers that be know this, but they still are mustering on. Even the Institute of Medicine says, according to one report, “it could take years for consumers to get used to the taste of a lower-salt diet.”
I personally don’t want to get used to bland, nasty food. Pass the salt and stay the heck out of my kitchen.
So why is this important to the government? Why do they care? Well for much the same reason as they would love to ban soft drinks and Happy Meals at McDonald’s – because it’s bad for us. Read the words of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who ties salt to the alleged fat crisis America is having:
“If we fail to get our arms around the obesity epidemic, especially in our children, we’re going to see a significant increase in health care costs over time.”
It’s always about the children.
To accomplish their goals, the government will target Big Food and try to twist corporate arms before getting really nasty. An article on FoxNews.com says: “The Food and Drug Administration has said it will pressure companies to take voluntary action before it moves to regulate salt intake.”
Like so many good government intentions, Secretary Vilsack claims that the new salt guidelines are aimed at preventing higher health care costs, but the secretary clearly is misinformed. President Obama and the Imperial Congress not long ago health care costs under control with last year’s big reform bill. Health care costs are going to go down, and it will soon be practically free. That’s what we were told, right? How could health care costs possibly be going up, unless of course they lied to us and really just wanted
to control every aspect of our existence? But I digress….
It is safe to say unequivocally that if our Founding Fathers had ever thought that the United States government would aim to regulate salt intake, they would have torn up the Declaration of Independence and surrendered to the British.
Congress needs to intervene in this mess before it gets too carried away and stop Agriculture Department and the Food & Drug Administration from implementing these guidelines. Besides, one would think the government has enough on its plate to ever worry about how much salt is on ours.
A tip of the hat…
Congratulations to our Clarendon Broncos for the amazing performance at the regional tournament and making the entire community proud of them. A trip to the state tournament has been a longtime coming, and everyone is excited about the game this week.
Even our neighbors in Hedley have gotten into the spirit of things. When the boys left Tuesday, the Hedley school gathered along US 287, sporting Bronco signs (the size of school buses) and several maroon T-shirts to help cheer their fellow Donley County folks on to victory. My favorite Hedley sign was for the “Bronchos” with green quotation marks around the H. Now that’s clever.
Good luck, guys! We know you’ll do us proud in Austin, and your hometown paper will be there for the action.
And speaking of Austin…
Check out the ad from the Clarendon College Foundation on page eight detailing the economic impact CC has on our area. Clearly, we all depend on the college, and any cut in state funds is going to have a negative impact on our community. Supporters of Clarendon College and our public schools need to make sure our elected representatives know that we want to preserve as much funding as possible for those institutions.
So while you’re in Austin this week and don’t have anything to do on Thursday afternoon or all day Friday because your sticking around for that championship game, pop by the State Capitol and say “hello” to Rep. Warren Chisum and Sen. Robert Duncan and just let them know that you appreciate them and that you support funding for the college and our schools. Capitol employees will gladly direct you to their offices, and your few minutes could make a big impact on our community.
Jean Baten
Jean Baten, 84, died March 4, 2011, in Lubbock.
Services were will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, March 10, in Robertson Funeral Directors Saints’ Roost Chapel in Clarendon with Rev. Bob Fagan, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in Lubbock, and Rev. Wayne Richardson, Pastor of Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Del Rio, officiating. Interment will be at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon. Arrangements were under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Mrs. Baten was born March 18, 1926, in Hall County, Texas, to William Edward and Emma Melissa Moore Gregory. She married Barney Mack Baten on December 23, 1944, in Clarendon.
Jean worked as a Business Office Supervisor for GTE Telephone Company where she retired after 28 ½ years of service. She was a former member of E.S.A. – Beta Tay Chapter, member of Memphis Trail Riders and the Clarendon Ladies Golf Association, and was active with the Donley County Senior Citizens Association serving as Director for several years. She was a member and attended the First Baptist Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Barney Mack Baten on May 22, 1988; her twin sister, Lora Dean in 1935; her brother, Weldon Gregory; her sister, Margie Duggins; and her long time friend, Roy Chauveaux.
Survivors include her daughter, LaQuitta Jean Perry and husband John, of Lubbock; her sister, Jaunita Meador, of California; her sister-in-law, Barnetta Perdue, of Amarillo; two grandchildren, Ben Perry and wife Vanessa, of Dewey, AZ, and Lauri Perry, of Amarillo; five great-grandchildren, Drew, Cody, Becca, Amy, and Myla Perry, all of Dewey, AZ; “adopted” granddaughter, Jane Howk, of Amarillo; and two “adopted” great grandchildren, Grant and Kate Howk, of Amarillo.
The family suggests memorials to the Donley County Senior Citizens, PO Drawer B, Clarendon, Texas 79226 or to one’s favorite charity.
Bennie Herschel Clay
Bennie Herschel Clay, 94, died Wednesday, March 2, 2011, in Lubbock.
Services were held Sunday, March 6, in Robertson Funeral Directors Saints Roost Chapel in Clarendon with Rev. Darrell Burton, officiating. Interment was held at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon. Arrangements were under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Mr. Clay was born August 18, 1916 in Waxahachie to Dave and Mary Elizabeth Hammonds Clay. He married Nina Ruth Porter on September 7, 1949 in Post. He was a avid hunter and fisherman and while in his youth, he enjoyed playing baseball. He was a Mason and a Baptist.
He was preceded in death by his wife on September 11, 1989; his parents; and several brothers and sisters.
Survivors include a son, Herschel Wayne Clay of Midlothian; a daughter, Mary Ann Hickman of Lubbock; and three grandchildren.
The family suggests memorials be to the Whisperwood Nursing Home Activities Fund c/o Activity Director, 5502 West 4th, Lubbock, Texas 79416.
Spell it out
Bulldog pride
Weekend fires burn 590 acres
According to First Assistant Fire Chief Jeremy Powell of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department, two different fires blazed that day.
“That was one of the worst days I’ve seen,” Powell said. “The winds on both fires were 30 to 40 sustained with gusts of 60 miles per hour. The relative humidity was around nine percent. The atmosphere was really dry.”
The first fire, reported at 2:50 p.m., was at the Crofoot Ranch (formerly known as the Bittercreek). The fire was a re-ignition of a prescribed burn held there on February 24.
It was contained within an hour with the help of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department, Texas Department of Transportation, Donley County motorgraders, Clarendon EMS, and the Donley County Sheriff’s Office. It burned roughly 40 acres.
The second fire was reported at 6:18 p.m. at FM 203 and Co. Rd. 28 northeast of Hedley. It was under control by 12:30 a.m., but it flared back up again at 5:30 a.m. The fire was finally extinguished by 9:30 a.m. It burned a total of 550 acres from Co. Rd. 28 to Co. Rd. 31, which stretches three miles long. The cause of this fire is unknown.
Mutual aid came from Memphis VFD, Wellington VFD, Hedley VFD and Samnorwood VFD. Other responders included TxDOT, Donley County Sheriff’s Office, and Clarendon EMS.
The fires threatened no structures, and caused no injuries. The second fire posed a threat to some farm equipment, but none was damaged.
“People need to be cautious on days when wind is extremely high,” Powell said. “Make sure to avoid any kind of burning.”
Local man gets probation on drug charges
A Donley County man was placed on probation on drug-related charges when the 100th District Court met in Childress last Tuesday, February 22.
William Michael Shults was placed on probation for a period of three years for the third degree felony offense of possession of controlled substance in a drug free zone. Shults pleaded guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication.
Shults, a resident of Clarendon, was arrested in Donley County on July 26, 2010 and pleaded guilty to a complaint and information filed by the State on November 3, 2010.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Shults is required to pay a $3,000 fine to Donley County, and is also required to pay $443 in court costs, $140 restitution, and complete 200 hours of community service. If Shults violates probation, he could face up to ten years in the Institutional Division of the TDCJ.
The court also heard four other pleas.
Osvaldo Castaneda – Landeros was placed on probation for a period of ten years for the first degree felony offense of possession of a controlled substance. Castaneda-Landeros, resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was arrested in Carson County on November 25, 2010.
Francisco Alberto Clelaya Cebreros was placed on probation for a period of ten years for the second degree felony offense of possession of marijuana. Cebreros, Orientie Porto Penasco, Mexico resident, was arrested in Carson County on January 28, 2011 by DPS Jerome Ingle and pleaded guilty to a complaint and information filed by the State on February 18, 2011.
Felisha Nicole Atkins was placed on probation for a period of three years for the third degree felony offense of fraud by altering a prescription. Atkins of Hollis, Okla., was arrested in Collingsworth County on Nov. 15, 2010.
Jacqueline Hampton was placed on probation for a period of two years for the Class A Misdemeanor of theft. Hampton pleaded guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication.
Hampton, a resident of Childress, was arrested in Childress County for the offense that took place on May 25, 2005.
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