Johnson, Burton receive award
CC athlete drowns at Greenbelt Lake
A Clarendon College student became the 24th person to drown at Greenbelt Lake Saturday evening, September 11.
Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said 20-year-old Darlyn Gonzalez was reported as possibly drown at 8:20 p.m., and his body was recovered at 11:02 p.m. by the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department Dive Team assisted by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s side sonar.
Blackburn said Gonzales, a resident of New York, New York and member of the CC baseball team, was found at a depth of 9½ feet about 200 feet from shore north of Sandy Beach near an area known as The Bluffs.
“He was apparently trying to swim to an island when he got out too far for his ability to swim,” the sheriff said.
Blackburn said his department’s investigation thus far showed no unusual circumstances in this case. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed Monday morning in Lubbock.
The drowning is similiar to the case of an Amarillo teen who drown in the same area on July 4 of this year.
CC reports record enrollment
Clarendon College is reporting a record enrollment after the close of business on the 12th class day today.
CC officials say the college’s fall headcount stands at 1,586 , the highest in the school’s 112-year history. The previous fall enrollment record was set last year with 1,422 students.
The enrollment break down is as follows: 486 in Clarendon, 416 in Pampa, 59 in Childress, and the balance in dual credit and online classes.
The college has grown steadily every year since 2006 when fall enrollment was 1,099.
Buck’N Blowout Rodeo Video
Attendance down at third Blowout
The level of entertainment was high but the crowd was thinner at the third annual Saints’ Roost Buck’N Blowout Rodeo last Saturday at the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association’s Arena.
Estimates put this year’s audience at about 748. That’s down from over 1,500 last year, but organizers are optimistic they will break even.
Colt Bruce of Snyder, Texas, holds on tight during the third annual Buck’N Blowout Rodeo Saturday. Enterprise Photo / Roger Estlack“There were a lot less people than last year,” said co-organizer Heather King.
“We didn’t do as much advertising, and our TV advertising started late.”
Last year’s event also featured country music legend Gene Watson, who drew many people to the event, compared to the lesser known country band, Agave Posse, that performed this year.
King said the rodeo’s board would meet in three weeks after all sponsorships come in to discuss next year’s rodeo.
A total of 540 people ate at the barbecue before the rodeo compared to 710 last year.
The number of contestants was also down this year. There were six bareback riders, 16 saddle bronc riders, seven double mugging teams, and eight bull riders, who each rode twice.
Official results were as follows:
Bare Back Riding: 1st, Lucas Ruprcht; and 2nd, Jace Daly.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1st, Justin Bell; 2nd, Jake Halverson; and 3rd, Cory Gray.
Double Muggin: 1st, Robert and Rooster Hodges; and 2nd, Randy Crump and Bob Spillers.
Bull Riding: 1st, Jake Nelson; and 2nd, Austin Botwell.
In the junior events, Clint Franks was first in Steer Riding, and Dalton Benson won the bike from the Pig Scramble.
Haire enters guilty plea in burglary case
The 100th Judicial District Court heard five pleas, resulting in four convictions and one deferred adjudication when it met in Wellington on Tuesday, August 31.
District Attorney Luke Inman prosecuted the cases for the State of Texas with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.
A total of $9,000 in fines was assessed as a result of the pleas that took place on August 31. In addition to the fines, the defendants were required to pay a total of $2,851 in court costs and $417.13 in restitution.
Kimberly Haire pleaded true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant and was convicted and sentenced to 2 years in the State Jail Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on two different charges.
On November 9, 2009, Haire originally pleaded guilty to two counts of the state jail felony offense of forgery that occurred on August 2, 2009 and September 28, 2009 in Donley County.
The State filed the motion to adjudicate on both cases on August 26, 2010, alleging six violations of community supervision. Haire pleaded true to all violations contained in the State’s motion and was sentenced to 2 years in the TDCJ. Haire is also required to pay a $1,500 fine, $202.13 in restitution, and $780 in court costs to Donley County.
Haire was also convicted and sentenced to ten years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Haire was sentenced for the second felony offense of possession of a controlled substance.
Haire was arrested for the offense on July 26, 2010 in Donley County. Haire pleaded guilty to a complaint and information filed by the State on August 30, 2010.
In addition to the sentence, Haire is also required to pay $443 in court costs, a $1,000.00 fine, and $140 Restitution.
Juan Antonio Garcia Jr. pleaded true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant and was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on two different charges.
On October 9, 2009, Garcia originally pleaded guilty to a second degree felony offense of indecency with a child and a first degree felony offense of sexual assault of a child that occurred on June 11, 2009 in Collingsworth County.
The State filed the motion to adjudicate on both cases on August 3, 2010 and August 24, 2010, alleging eight total violations of community supervision. Garcia pleaded true to one of the violations and was sentenced to 20 years in the TDCJ. Garcia is also required to pay a $6,000 fine and $1,252 in court costs to Collingsworth County.
Gustavo Davila was placed on probation for a period of three years for the second degree felony offense of burglary of a habitation. Davila pleaded guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication for the second degree felony offense that occurred in Collingsworth County on July 8, 2010.
Davila was arrested in Collingsworth County and pleaded guilty to a complaint and information filed by the State on August 31, 2010.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Davila is required to pay a $500 fine to Collingsworth County, $376 in court costs, and $75 in restitution. If Davila violates probation, he could face up to 20 years in the Institutional Division of the TDCJ.
Trustees approve $6 mil. budget
Facing an uncertain time in state funding, trustees for the Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District approved a $6 million budget during a called meeting last Tuesday, August 31.
During the public hearing prior to the vote, Superintendent Monty Hysinger said the budget for 2010-2011, which is more than $130,000 lower than the current budget, is extremely lean and could be a sign of things to come.
“This is our toughest budget in a long time,” Hysinger told the board. “There is no cushion, and any extra expenses will require a budget amendment and will reduce our fund balance. And it could get worse over the next two years.”
With the state facing an $18 billion shortfall, Hysinger said schools are being told to
prepare for a future loss of about ten percent of their state funding, which for CISD would be about $379,500.
Hysinger outlined possible strategies the school might employ if such cuts became reality, including eliminating positions through retirements and attrition.
Part of the public school’s problem is also a declining enrollment, which is on key to state funding. CISD had 583 students last year, but the new budget is prepared expecting only 512 students.
“There are only two ways to get more money,” Hysinger said. “Either we get more kids or we try to get voters to okay a higher tax rate.”
Trustees also approved keeping the school’s current tax rate at $1.04 per $100 valuation, which is the highest the rate can be set without going to the voters.
By law, the school district could ask for voters to approve as much as an additional 13 cents, and the extra money raised locally would also generate added state revenue. But for now, CISD is not seeking higher tax rate.
“Some districts have done it,” Hysinger said of asking voters to raise taxes, “but others have tried and failed.”
Trustees noted that Clarendon currently has a lower school tax rate than many districts in Region 16.
In the public hearing, Enterprise publisher Roger Estlack asked Hysinger to discuss a proposal that has been floated about the state going after school fund balances.
The superintendent said there is believed to be about $7 billion held in school district fund balances throughout the state, and he said there has been some talk that the state may go after that money and allow schools to keep only 2½ months of reserves. CISD would require about $1.2 million for 2½ months, and currently the school has a fund balance of about $1.8 million.
In other school business, trustees approved an agreement which allows Clarendon High School students to take college classes at Clarendon College and receive high school and college credit. Currently 57 students are taking 58 college classes through a program which costs parents nothing as long as the student completes the class.
Clyde Irwin “Clydie” Price, Jr.
Clyde Irwin “Clydie” Price, Jr. passed away on September 5, 2010, at Amarillo, Texas, with family members and long-time caregivers at his bedside.
Services will be Saturday, September 11, 2010, at 2 p.m. in St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Clarendon with Rev. Jim Aveni, Vicar, officiating.
Interment with Masonic Rites will be in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon. Arrangements are by Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Clyde Price was born June 15, 1932, to Clyde I. Price and Anne Myra Bennett Price. Price was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Jerry Bennett Price.
Price, a native of Donley County, worked in his youth for his father at the Clarendon Press and, during his teen years, he was a projectionist for the Pastime and Mulkey theaters.
He was a graduate of Clarendon High School and Clarendon College and attended West Texas State University. Clyde was a member of Saint John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Clarendon.
Clyde served as a Boy Scout leader in Clarendon and in Tappahannock, Virginia, while stationed there in the Army.
Clyde helped broaden the horizons of many Scouts by taking them to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, the National Jamboree in Irvine, Calif., and several trips to the Charles Summers Wilderness Canoe Base in Ely, Minnesota, not to mention Camp Kiowa in Canadian, and many weekend camping trips to Troublesome Canyon. Scouts also enjoyed trips with Clyde to the Texas-OU football games, the State Fair of Texas and to New York City.
Clyde was awarded the Silver Beaver Award by the Boy Scouts of America for his long-time dedication and service to Scouts and Scouting.
Upon discharge from the United States Army, Clyde returned home and began working as the office manager for Emmett O. Simmons Insurance Agency and served his community by being a volunteer fireman, later becoming the Fire Marshall.
He was elected to the Board of Regents of Clarendon College, and to the Board of Aldermen for the City of Clarendon. He also served as executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, was a member of the Clarendon Lions Club, and was a 50-year member of the Clarendon Masonic Lodge. Clyde was chosen as Pioneer Man of the Year by the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce in 2007.
Clyde worked at Pantex and, upon retirement, continued working as a dispatcher and jailer for the Donley County Sheriff’s Department.
Recent years found Clyde living at the Community Care Center in Clarendon where he was chosen as leader of the residents’ council.
Price is survived by his brother, Kenneth Price and wife, Pamela of Azle; his nephews, Gary Price of San Antonio, Neal Price and wife Amanda of Justin, and Matt Price and wife, Colleen of Dallas; nieces Angie Price of Fort Worth, and Sasha Koziak of Los Angeles, Calif.; and great-nieces and great-nephews Ella and Anne Price, Ryan and Noah Price, and Valantyn and Bennett Koziak.
Margaret Edna Blount
Margaret Edna Blount, age 83, died Friday, September 5, 2010, at Oklahoma City.
Graveside services were held at 10:00 am Wednesday, September 8, 2010, in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon with Rev. Dave Stout, officiating. Arrangements were by Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Mrs. Blount was born October 20, 1926, in Clarendon to William Price and Maggie Lee Clark Morris. She married Gerald Weldon Blount on September 13, 1946 in Fort Worth.
She had been a longtime resident of Hedley before moving to Oklahoma City in 2003.
She was a homemaker and a Baptist.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Gerald on November 24, 2003; 2 daughters, Dorothy Charlene Blount in 1957 and Sheri Blount Green in 2001; a brother, Robert Morris; and a sister, LaVerne Hutchinson.
Survivors include three sons, Felix Hilburn of Oklahoma City, Gerald Allen Blount of Blanchard, Oklahoma, and Jonathan Blount of Dallas; a sister, Charlene Shannon of Grandbury; and 5 grandchildren.
The family requests that memorials be to Hedley Senior Citizens.
Mamie Cross
Mamie Cross, age 96, died September 4, 2010.
Funeral services were Monday, September 6, 2010, at the Robison Chapel of the Plains at First Christian Church, 3001 Wolflin Avenue, in Amarillo. Graveside services followed in Citizens’ Cemetery in Clarendon with arrangements by Cox-LaGrone Funeral Home of Amarillo.
Mrs. Cross was born February 14, 1914, in Comanche County, Texas, to DeWitt Talmadge Smallwood and Bell Davis Smallwood. At the age of 10 she moved with her family to Donley County. She graduated from Clarendon High School in 1932 and attended West Texas State Teachers College. In 1942, She married William Marion Cross III. They resided in Clarendon after Marion returned from WW II. In 1956 they moved to Childress and in 1967 to Denton. When declining health necessitated, she moved from Denton to Amarillo in 2000 to be near family.
Mamie was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She was a very independent woman who possessed many talents, including an amazing ability for gardening. Her Christian faith was her joy in life and comfort in death.
The family would like to express gratitude to the staff of Childers Place for the loving care Mamie received and to Hospice Care of the Southwest for their compassionate service.
Survivors include a daughter, Susan Robinson and husband, Jack, of Amarillo; and a son, Bill Cross and wife, Kathy, of San Antonio; four grandchildren, Heather Booher of Williston, ND; William Cross of Devine; Josh Cross of Sabinal and Meagan Hale of Austin; and three great- grandchildren, Wesley Booher, Jackson Cross, and Livia Hale.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1989.
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