Clarendon College faculty will be getting a pay increase following the regular meeting of the CC Board of Regents last Thursday, July 16.
CC President Bill Auvenshine said the board approved a one percent step grade raise and an additional three percent raise for all faculty for a total raise of four percent.
Auvenshine said he will recommend at the board’s next meeting a four percent raise for all other college employees as well.
Also last week, representatives of US Wind Energy met with the board, and Auvenshine reports that the board and US Wind are still negotiating a lease that would allow the placement of wind turbines on the southwest side of the college campus.
The board heard from one student who was appealing a grade and upheld the grade given by the instructor, ratifying decisions by a grievance committee, the dean, and the president.
An update was given on the process of issuing bonds in Gray County for expansion of the CC Pampa Center. Those funds would be paid for with tax revenue in that county.
Regents approved a four percent increase as requested by Great Western Dining, but student fees will not increase because of this since the possibility of the increase was known when the fees were set.
The board approved the purchase of 136 bed frames from KNL Steel for $293 each. Those are being installed in Phelan, Vaughn, and Knorpp residence halls.
A bid to replace vinyl flooring in the Courson Center, Vaughn Hall, Phelan Hall, Knorpp Hall, and the downtown vocational building was awarded to Johnny Cooper.
Regents considered bank depository bids and elected to keep the college’s deposits with the Herring Bank.
A new audit firm was selected for the college for this fiscal year. CMMS of Amarillo has experience in community college audits, working with both Frank Phillips College and Amarillo College, and had a lower bid than the college’s previous auditing firm.
The board accepted a workers’ compensation insurance proposal from the Texas Association of School Boards and a property and casualty insurance proposal from HRH.
The board accepted the resignation of Jimmie Dean Murphy, who is moving to the coast.
New hires for the month included Terry Noble as a mechanic/maintenance worker, Kim Jeffery as criminal justice instructor, Gregg Lawler to teach mathematics, Sharon Hannon to teach developmental English, Tenna Joos as an assistant softball coach/dorm director, and Jamie Ward as Enrollment Services Counselor.
City of Clarendon awards water tower bid
The skyline of Clarendon will soon be changing when the city’s west water tower is replaced by a new, taller water standpipe this summer.
City aldermen awarded a $335,882 bid to Tank & Vessel Builders of Baird, Texas, during the regular city meeting last Tuesday. The company will build the 120 feet tall standpipe about 75 feet north of the present water tower.
City Administrator John Webb said he believes replacing the tower, which was constructed in 1922, will improve the water quality.
“I think 80 percent of the rust and brown water incidents will be alleviated with the new standpipe,” Webb said. “And I think the rest of the problem will be taken care of by new pipes.”
The new structure is also designed to help water pressure problems in the city. Webb said Greenbelt Water Authority and OJD Engineering believe the standpipe will create equal water pressure throughout the city.
Engineer Che Shadle said the current tower produces 32 p.s.i. at the tank and said the new standpipe will produce 52 p.s.i. at the tank. The standpipe will hold about two and half times the amount of water the existing tank does.
Shadle said beginning construction on the standpipe is about 30 days out, and he expects the work to take four to six weeks.
The city received a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $255,000 last year to replace the aging water tower. The project has been delayed as city officials worked to tie it in with the STEP grant project that laid new waterlines in the west part of town.
Webb said the city will still need to tie those new lines into existing meters and transition over to the new standpipe after it is constructed, and then he plans to begin replacing older lines throughout the city.
“We have 16,800 feet of new PVC pipe to install,” Webb said.
In other city business at last week’s meeting, Mayor Chris Ford administered the oath of office to Municipal Judge Jimmy Johnson for another two-year term; and aldermen approved spending $5,000 from the Motel Bed Tax fund to support the Buck’N Blowout Rodeo.
By The Numbers
$335,882
Bid amount from Tank & Vessel Builders.
$255,000
Grant city received for the project.
120
Height of new standpipe in feet.
19
Diameter of new standpipe in feet.
44
How many feet taller new tank will be.
250,000
Gallons the new standpipe will hold.
1922
Year current water tower was constructed.
Wellington man leads officers on high-speed chase
A Wellington man is in the Donley County Jail this weekend after he led sheriff’s deputies and state troopers on a high-speed chase into Clarendon Saturday evening.
Carl Franklin Bedwell III is facing charges of Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant, Evading, and Resisting Arrest, according to Chief Deputy Randy Bond.
Donley County dispatchers began receiving multiple 911 calls at 7:08 p.m. Saturday with reports of someone driving erratically – going on the left and right shoulders, eastbound on US 287 west of Clarendon – at speeds in excess of 100 mph.
Bond said a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety got the suspect stopped at the turn off to FM 3257 about three miles west of Clarendon. A local deputy arrived on the scene; and as the trooper spoke with a witness, the suspect started his vehicle and fled despite warnings and three gunshots fired by the deputy.
The suspected crossed the west city limits at approximately 85 mph, and the trooper and two deputies boxed in his vehicle as he neared the intersection of Allen Street and US 287. The suspect stopped, exited his vehicle, and put up a brief struggle as he was arrested, Bond said.
The Donley County Sheriff’s Office assisted the DPS with this case,
and Bond says other charges may be filed as the case is investigated.
Anna Sue Weatherly
Anna Sue Weatherly, 82, died Saturday, July 11, 2009, in Amarillo.
Services were held at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 15, 2009, in First Baptist Church in Hedley with Bright Newhouse, Minister of the Hedley Church of Christ, officiating. Burial followed at Rowe Cemetery in Hedley. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Anna Sue McKee was born November 22, 1926, in Ashtola, to Roy McKee and Ruby Behrens McKee. She graduated from Lelia Lake High School in 1944, and attended Wayland Baptist College before marrying
Monte O’Neill Weatherly February 17, 1946, in Hedley. She worked 45 years at the Community Bank in Hedley and 30 years as manager of the Hedley Housing Authority. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Hedley.
She was preceded in death by her husband, O’Neill on January 31, 2009; her parents; her sisters, Leota Linder and Betty Jo Hedgecoke; a brother, Bill McKee and a great-grandson, Xander Weatherly.
Survivors include her son, Gary “Butch” Weatherly and wife Nancy of Memphis; two grandsons, Scot Weatherly and wife Alicia of Colorado Springs, Colorado and Curtis Weatherly of Bessie, Oklahoma; two great-grandchildren, Tanner Michael Weatherly and Truette Rose Weatherly of Colorado Springs; a brother, LeRoy McKee and wife Joanne of Bellevue, Washington; two sisters, Mattie Lou Nivens of Quinlan, Texas and Mary Helen Upton and husband J.C. of Memphis; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family requests memorials be to Rowe Cemetery Association or BSA Hospice of Amarillo.
Sign our online guestbook at www.RobertsonFuneral.com.
Edgar Wilbert Monroe
Edgar Wilbert Monroe, 80, longtime resident of Southwest Oklahoma, passed away Tuesday, June 30, 2009, in Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo.
Funeral services for Edgar Wilbert Monroe were held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, July 3, 2009, at the Trinity Holiness Church in Blair with Pastor Billy Hudson officiating.
Interment will follow at the Blair Cemetery under the direction of Lowell-Tims Funeral Home of Altus.
Edgar was born October 2, 1928, in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, to Stanley and Lundy Lucille (Brooks) Monroe. He grew up in the Lone Wolf and Granite area moving to Hedley, Texas, in 1985. Edgar was saved and baptized in 1983 in Mangum, Oklahoma.
On June 29, 1963, Edgar and Sandra Gardenhire were married in Rossville, Georgia. They had just celebrated their 46th anniversary. Edgar had proudly served his country during the Korean Conflict by serving in the United States Army. After moving to Hedley, Edgar and Sandra started Monroe’s Peach Ranch. They were well known for their excellent peaches and established their first Fruit Stand on highway 287 east of Amarillo.
Edgar was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Marvin Monroe and Clyde Monroe; one sister, Lorene Monroe; and by one granddaughter, Lila Kate Monroe.
He is survived by his wife, Sandra of the home in Hedley; five children, Regina Monroe of Memphis, Texas, Troy Monroe and wife Katherine of Hedley, Texas, Tony Monroe and wife Angie of Memphis, Texas, Jeremy Monroe and wife Angela of Clarendon, Texas, and Matthew Monroe and wife Shelby of Mangum, Oklahoma; one brother, Bill Monroe of Lone Wolf, Oklahoma; three sisters, Mary Edwards of Blair, Oklahoma, Pauline George, also of Blair, and Nell McGregor and husband Jerry of Lone Wolf, Oklahoma.
Also surviving are 14 grandchildren, Paul Monroe and wife Carrie, Devonia Monroe, Colton Springer, Rochelle Springer, Josh Monroe, William Monroe, Addison Monroe, Eric Monroe, Sara Monroe, Erin Monroe, Caylor Monroe, Collin Monroe, Kylie Monroe, and Jacob Fineberg.
Online tributes may be made to the family at www.Lowell-Tims.com.
Sales tax revenue declines
AUSTIN – Clarendon’s sales tax allocation dropped more than 11 percent in July, mirroring a dip in state sales tax revenue.
According to information released Friday by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, the City of Clarendon received an allocation of $21,518.55 this month, which is down 11.89 percent from $24,423.44 for the same period last year.
Overall, the city is almost staying even compared to last year with year-to-date revenue down less than one percent at $170,499.27.
Hedley’s sales tax revenue was also down this month by 14.47 percent to $302.52 and was down for the year-to-date by 17.08 percent to $3,528.92.
Howardwick was the one bright spot in Donley County. That city’s July allocation was up 10.42 percent to $1,300.57, but it was still behind 8.97 percent with a year-to-date figure of $7,096.67.
Statewide, the comptroller announced that the state collected $1.57 billion in sales tax revenue in June, down 11.2 percent compared to June 2008.
“The oil and gas, construction, and retail trade sectors showed continued weakness, resulting in a sharp decrease in sales tax collections in June,” Combs said.
“Contributing to the decrease was not only the weakness in these three sectors, but also the strong level of collections received from them in June 2008.”
Combs sent July sales tax allocations totaling $426.7 million to cities, counties, transit systems, and special purpose taxing districts, down 8.8 percent compared to July 2008.
Combs sent July sales tax allocations of $284.3 million
to Texas cities, down 8.8 percent compared to July 2008. So far this calendar year, city sales tax allocations are down 1.6 percent compared to the same time period last year.
Combs sent $16.6 million to 151 special purpose taxing districts, down 5.5 percent compared to last July. Ten local transit systems received $99.6 million in sales tax allocations, down 8.9 percent compared to a year ago.
State sales tax collections in June and local sales tax allocations in July represent sales that occurred in May.
The Comptroller’s next sales tax allocation will be made on Friday, August 14
USDA helps landowners with options for expiring CPR
Area farmers are facing some big decisions on what to do with their land as hundreds of thousands of acres of USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts are due to expire in the next few months.
USDA personnel from the Farm Service agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service are in the latest stages of finalizing guidance and options for producers with expiring conservation reserve program (CRP) acres.
On July 8, 2009, personnel from both agencies in the Panhandle and South Plains regions met in Lubbock to discuss how to best serve farmers and ranchers for CRP land expiring from the program.
“With so many landowners coming into our offices seeking help, uniform guidance among agencies is critical for landowners and producers to make the best decisions for land that’s coming out of the program,” said Mickey Black, NRCS assistant state conservationist for field operations in Lubbock.
The bulk of the CRP acres are in the High Plains region of the state where there is significant concern about the future of the conservation of the land. According to FSA records, over 78,000 acres expired in 2008, with an additional 680,000 to be expired in October of 2009, and over 507,000 acres in October of 2010.
FSA State Executive Director Juan Garcia addressed 150 FSA and NRCS employees in the region saying, “Many producers are going to be faced with changes, and it’s up to all of us to educate the general public and provide landowners with the options available to help them.
“This is a serious issue,” said Garcia. “The NRCS and FSA offices are making a joint effort for a successful outcome.”
According to Garcia, FSA will be able to restore crop acreage bases beginning in October, 2010. Landowners need to be aware of this information because it will be a determining factor as they decide what they will do once their land expires from the program.
Black said, “Landowners have several options, including grazing or haying the existing grass cover, making enhancements to target wildlife, putting it back into production, or utilizing it for recreational purposes.”
For long-term planning, producers will need to stay informed of the latest policies for farm programs and benefits that might affect them and their operations.
“We expect to see some producers choose to return their CRP fields back to annually-tilled cropland production,” said Don Gohmert, NRCS State Conservationist.
“Most of the acres in the CRP program are classified as Highly Erodible Land (HEL),” said Gohmert. “This type of land is very susceptible to wind and water erosion.”
NRCS and FSA will encourage producers to keep the permanent grass cover, however, in cases where the landowners’ decide to plow up the grass; the NRCS will provide alternatives to help landowners understand the need to meet certain measures that ensure those acres will not erode beyond a level that the soil can tolerate.
These alternatives will help the producer apply best management practices to meet conservation compliance requirements.
Conservation compliance, which began with the 1985 Farm Bill, is still in effect. Compliance means that farmers need to control erosion on highly erodible land, which includes CRP acres, in order to stay eligible for USDA program benefits, including farm loan programs, disaster assistance, commodity price supports, and conservation programs.
According to NRCS, the most common ways farmers get out of compliance with USDA is by eliminating soil-conserving crops, such as forage species, and adding a tilled crop.
When the farmer changes his soil cover from permanent grass to annually-tilled crops, he/she should always consider conservation compliance when planning their rotations, in addition to commodity prices
Conservation compliance could entail the implementation of a crop rotation that includes high residue-producing crops like wheat or sorghum, or the installation, repair and maintenance of structural practices like terraces.
FSA and the NRCS, working with the local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD), urges producers to contact someone at the local USDA service centers to discuss expiring CRP options and to check on eligibility for USDA benefits.
For more information, call the USDA Service Center in your county, listed under USDA in the Yellow Pages, or access the information on the Texas NRCS website at www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov.
Opal Dickson Thomas
Opal Dickson Thomas, 92, died Friday, July 3, 2009, in Amarillo.
Services were held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in Hedley United Methodist Church in Hedley with Rev. Ervin Emmert, Pastor, and Bill Carson, officiating. Burial was held at Rowe Cemetery in Hedley. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Mrs. Thomas was born April 18, 1917, in Hedley, to John Green and Mollie Dukes Dickson. She attended Hedley school and was employed at Polk Street Methodist Church and later by Amarillo Independent School District from which she retired in 1982. She married Joe Thomas on January 22, 1938, in Memphis. They were married for forty years.
She was preceded in death by four sisters, Jewel Quisenberry, Fay Dickson, Mae Wilson Thornberry, and Golden Johnson; one nephew, Richard Dickson; and her beloved husband Joe Thomas.
Survivors include one brother, J.M. Dickson of Turkey; three nieces, Peggy Struble of Toccoa, GA, Dixie Gartrell of Houston, and Linda Phelan of Austin; three nephews, Jack Quisenberry of Tyler, John Dickson of Hedley, and Tony Mikesell of St. Louis, Missouri; and special friends, Helen McMillen and Linda Boyett of Amarillo and Marie Cruse of Turkey, Texas; she also has many great nieces, nephews, numerous relatives, and friends.
The family requests memorials be to Rowe Cemetery Association.
Sign our online guestbook at www.RobertsonFuneral.com.
Juanita “Nita” Graham
Juanita “Nita” Graham, 89, died Thursday, July 2, 2009, in Clarendon.
Services were held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, July 3, 2009, in First United Methodist Church in Clarendon with Rev. Terry Lowe, Pastor, and Patrick Robertson, officiating. Burial was held at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon. Services were under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Nita Graham was born November 6, 1919, in Estelline, Hall County to John M. and Minnie Smith Maybery weighing only 1 ½ lbs. On June 2, 1941, she married the love of her life, Mutt Graham, in Wheeler and were married for 66 years. Together they opened Mutt’s Café and were in the café business for more than 40 years. She was a wife, mother, and grandmother and will be truly missed.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Mutt on August 14, 2007; and her parents.
She leaves behind a son, Ted Graham and wife Helen of Clarendon; a daughter, Carol King of Spring, ; four grandchildren; five great grandchildren; and one great great grandchild.
The family requests there would be no flowers sent and donations be made to the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department, PO Box 364, Clarendon, Texas 79226.
Sign our online guestbook at www.RobertsonFuneral.com
Raymond King
Raymond King, 92, died Saturday, July 4, 2009, in Amarillo.
Services were held at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in First United Methodist Church in Clarendon with Rev. Bill Hodges, Pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Clarendon, officiating. Burial with US Army Honors will be in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Raymond was born May 27, 1917 in Seminole, Okla., to Burchel and Melissa Griffin King. He was a US Army Veteran serving in World War II in England and drove an ammunition truck. He married Margaret Yvonne Putman on August 19, 1950, in Clovis, New Mexico. He was a deputy sheriff in Hedley for three years. He also worked for Armstrong County and retired from the Texas Highway Department in Clarendon. He was a member of the First Church of the Nazarene in Clarendon. He was known as Pa to all that knew him. He was dearly loved and will be greatly missed.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a son, Larry King; and a grandson, Mark King.
Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Yvonne King of Panhandle; two daughters, Debbie Glasgow and husband Danny of Hedley, and Betty Pederson and husband Trent of Logan, New Mexico; two brothers, James King of Amarillo, and A.K. King of Fritch; three sisters, Jo Tolbert of Amarillo, Pauline Black of Ft. Stockton, Jerrie Tims of Farwell; 12 grandchildren, Brandie Hefner and husband Kyle of White Deer, Hope Stephens and husband Brannon of Panhandle, Jimmy King of White Deer, Shannon Moore and husband Seth of Claude, Jeremy Strack of Dumas, Lanita Blackwell and husband Kelly of Amarillo, Stephanie Strack of McLean, Casey Glasgow and wife Christa of Amarillo, Cody Glasgow and wife Carissa of Arlington, Josh Pederson of Ft. Knox, Kentucky, Blake Strack and Alyssa Strack of Logan, New Mexico; 22 great grandchildren; and one great great grandchild.
The family suggests memorials be made to Citizens Cemetery Association, PO Box 983, Clarendon, Texas 79226.
Sign our online guestbook at www.RobertsonFuneral.com.
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