Lady Broncos win district opener 83-31
By Sandy Anderberg
Defense wins games and offense puts the points on the board. The Lady Broncos executed both in their huge win over Wheeler in their district opener at home last Friday night.
Offensively, the ladies pumped in twelve three-pointers from six different players in their 83-31 win. Defensively, the Lady Broncos played outstanding and Graci Smith took an impressive three charges in the game.
The Lady Stangs played a feisty game but struggled to get past the offensive strength of the Lady Broncos. The inside play of sophomore Kate Shaw and senior Smith stopped Wheeler from shooting inside. Shaw finished with four points and shot 50 percent from the bonus line, while Smith shot 50 percent as well and put eight points on the board.
The outside shooting from senior Courtlyn Conkin, sophomores Presley Smith, Berkley Moore, Kenidee Hayes, and Kashlyn Conkin and junior Tandie Cummins was spot on and opened up the Lady Bronco offense. Free throws added to their strong offense as the ladies posted 77 percent from the line. Clarendon led from the tip-off and never looked back as they scored 20 plus points in each quarter of play and stopped Wheeler in their tracks.
C. Conkin and Moore were high scorers with 14 each and Smith added 13. Hayes put in 11 to round out the four players in double figures. K. Conkin finished with nine, G. Smith had eight, Tandie and Kennadie Cummins had five apiece and Shaw had four.
The Lady Broncos will play at home against Memphis on Friday, January 12, at 6:30 p.m. and take on Shamrock at home on January 16.
CEDC okays program for mural funds
A new program by the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation is designed to encourage mural art in the community.
The CEDC board approved guidelines for the Mural Grant Program at its December meeting and posted the guidelines on its website this week.
The purpose of the program is to enhance Clarendon’s appearance, increase employment opportunities in the arts, raise awareness and appreciation of the value of art, create civic pride, reduce blight, and encourage tourism.
Grant recipients can be eligible to receive reimbursement for up to one-half of the mural project cost based on funds available each fiscal year.
The program rules were modeled on a similar program in Amarillo and stipulate that proposed locations for grant-funded murals must be high-traffic areas that are readily visible and must be in the Central Business District or along the US 287 corridor.
Grant recipients must agree to maintain murals for five years, and murals must be a minimum size of 10 feet by seven feet.
For fiscal year 2024, funded grant projects must be completed by August 15, 2024.
Mural grant applications are available online at ClarendonTX.com/CEDC or from the Clarendon Visitor Center.
Broncos finish strong against Naz in big win
By Sandy Anderberg
The Broncos are beginning to find a rhythm on the court and were able to get a big win over Nazareth at home on January 5.
The Broncos had a big start and held Naz away from the scoreboard most of the first half of play and finished with the 38-26 win.
The Broncos worked together and built up a nine-point lead after the first eight minutes before opening up a larger lead going into the break. A good offensive presence by the Broncos frustrated the Nazareth defense at times and they were able to put points on the board. Defensively, the Broncos’ solid plan allowed them to cause the Swifts to make turnovers and get off their game. The Broncos were able to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes and put points on the board.
Senior Anthony Ceniceros stepped up and nailed four three-pointers in his team high 14 points, and Leyante Prince was strong as well as two from the arc and three of five from the bonus line to help with nine. Lyric Smith put in five, and Mason Sims and Jaxan McAnear added three each. Reagan Wade and Wes Shaw finished with two points each.
The Broncos will be open January 9 but will take on Memphis at home on Friday, January 12, and will host Shamrock on January 16 at 8:00 p.m.
Les Beaux Arts pottery showcase Jan. 14
Join the Les Beaux Arts Club this Sunday, January 14, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Stocking Ice Cream Parlor for their first Pottery Showcase and Sale.
The club is honored to be featuring the work of the brilliant Josh Hogge, as well as their members’ pottery from last semester. Art will be featured at the ice cream parlor in the display windows starting Tuesday. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to take home some functional and beautiful pieces of art.
This Sunday will also be the deadline for signing up for Les Beaux Arts Club’s Beginners and Advanced Pottery Class. The pottery classes will begin Monday, January 15, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will meet each Monday evening for six weeks.
The Beginners Class will cover basic pottery studio principles and pinch pot hand building, slab hand building and coil hand building along with glazing techniques. Each student is guaranteed to finish three projects or more depending on the student’s attendance.
The class include everything the student needs: tools, clay, glazes, and firing. Students only need to bring to class is an apron. The cost of the class is $180.
The Advanced Class is an adult class for ages 15 and up. The club offers instruction on wheel throwing, hand building, and sculpture. Each student will be learning the importance of journaling and documentation to develop their own personal style.
Classes include the student’s own bag of clay, an art journal, instruction, glazes and firing. Les Beaux Arts Club’s studio is equipped with an electric pottery wheel, basic tools, an electric kiln and a variety of glazes. The cost of the Advanced Class is also $180.
Donley County voters to decide sales tax questions
Voters in all three municipalities in Donley County will vote on creating County Assistance District this May after resolutions were approved by the Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick city councils before Christmas.
County commissioners voted December 11 to pursue creation of the sales tax-funded districts as a mechanism to provide money to the Donley County Sheriff’s Office. The plan would be to create four county assistance districts – one each in the cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick and one in the unincorporated areas of the county.
The City of Howardwick met December 12, and that city council unanimously approved a resolution to put a one-cent sales tax on the ballot to support a district for that city.
Howardwick City Secretary Sandy Lynn Childress said a good discussion was held at the meeting with County Judge John Howard and Sheriff Butch Blackburn fielding questions. She said county officials told them the commissioners court would govern the district but that they were not opposed to having local representation on the board for the Howardwick district.
The Hedley City Council met December 14 with Judge Howard and Commissioner Neil Koetting in attendance. Clarendon Mayor Jacob Fangman and Childress were also present. Childress, who was taking minutes for the City of Hedley in the absence of a city secretary there, said county officials there fielded several comments about the constable’s position and concerns about the sheriff’s coverage of that community. The Hedley council also approved a resolution calling for a one-cent sales tax to be on the May ballot for a County Assistance District in that city.
Clarendon’s city meeting scheduled for December 14 was moved to December 21 with the city council facing a very different question from Howardwick and Hedley. Where the other two cities only have a one-cent sales tax, Clarendon’s sales tax is two cents, the maximum allowed by the state. In order for a county assistance district to be created for the City of Clarendon, voters would have to approve taking money away from the city and then approve giving it to the County Assistance District.
Judge Howard and Sheriff Blackburn participated in the discussion, and Hedley Mayor Trisha Chambless and Howardwick Alderman Johnny Floyd also attended the meeting along with Clarendon Municipal Judge Richard Green.
Two Clarendon council members were absent from the December 21 meeting – Terri Floyd and John Lockhart, and Mayor Jacob Fangman expressed his view that the council should wait for a full council to be present before voting on the county’s request that the city give up 5/8 of a cent to fund a County Assistance District. The three council members present – Larry Jeffers, Eulaine McIntosh, and Tommy Hill – ultimately approved a motion to put the question of giving up 5/8 of a cent on the May ballot. Clarendon citizens will face two questions – the city giving up collecting a portion of its sales tax and the creation of a district to collect that same amount.
City Secretary Machiel Covey said the city received assurances that the amount collected for the sheriff’s office would be capped at $165,000 per year and said county officials agreed that the Clarendon district would be governed by a board consisting of two city representatives, two county commissioners, and the county judge.
The Clarendon City Council also on December 21 gave final approval to a contract with the county for law enforcement services for $140,000 for fiscal year 2024. City Administrator Brian Barboza said the county later approved the same contract in a called meeting.
Residents in the unincorporated areas of Donley County will also be asked on a May ballot to approve a County Assistance District that will be funded by a two-cent sales tax.
If the measures are approved by voters, they would take effect this fall.
Lady Broncos win Wildcat Classic
By Sandy Anderberg
The Lady Broncos connected as a team and raced through ranked teams over the holidays in the Wildcat Classic basketball tournament held in Littlefield December 27-29.
The ladies began the tournament with a huge win over Pecos at 69-24. They stormed through each quarter of play and controlled every part of the game on both parts of the court from the beginning. The Lady Eagles were helpless in trying to stop the Lady Broncos who hit four three pointers and was led by Kashlyn Conkin with 12 points that included two three-pointers. Right behind Conkin was Kimbrasia Ballard who finished with 10 and Berkley Moore with nine. Presley Smith and Graci Smith had eight points each and Kate Shaw had five.
In the second round, the Lady Broncos took on the fourth ranked Class 4A Lady Loboettes of Levelland and played great ball to defeat them in overtime at 49-40. Kenidee Hayes put in eight of her 10 points in the overtime period going six for six from the bonus line.
The ladies held a two-point lead in the opening quarter but allowed Levelland to get back in the game and overtake the lead by five points at the break.
They were able to make up all but one point of the deficit in the third and nailed a two-pointer to tie the score after regulation. They were able to go to work and turn up the heat defensively in the three extra minutes to get the win.
The win over the 4th ranked team was big and will give the momentum they need going into District play. P. Smith put in 12 points and Hayes added 10. Moore hit two threes for six and Courtlyn Conkin and Tandie Cummins helped with five each.
The Lady Broncos did not let the win hinder their play in the final game against the host team and defeated them 39-32 to win the championship. Solid play allowed the ladies a two-point cushion at the break over the Lady Cats. However, a small comeback attempt in the second half by Littlefield spurred on the Lady Broncos in the final period of play. They stayed determined to get the win. K. Conkin led the way with 10, and P. Smith and Hayes added five each in the low-scoring game.
On December 15, the Lady Broncos went up against Nazareth and squeezed by for the win at 37-30. After holding a three-point advantage at the break, the ladies found a rhythm offensively and were able to put a little distance between themselves and the Lady Swifts. They were able to hold onto that spread for the remainder of the game to get the win. C. Conkin led with eight points and Hayden Elam and G. Smith added five each. P. Smith, T. Cummins, and Shaw finished with four apiece and K. Conkin added one three-pointer. Moore, and K. Cummins put in two points each.
The Lady Bronco JV took on Nazareth as well and were narrowly defeated at 28-32. The game was fairly even throughout with Nazareth holding the slight advantage after a matching score of eight points after the first seven minutes of play. Kimbrasia Ballard put in 11 points to lead the way and Cambree Smith added seven. Jayla Woodard had four, and Madi Benson, Gracie Ellis, and Kinslee Hatley helped with two points each.
Both Lady Bronco teams will open district play at home on January 5 playing at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. They will travel to Quanah on January 9.
Local youth to participate in stock show
The Donley County Junior Livestock Show and Premium Sale will take place on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
The show will start at 9 a.m. and the premium sale and buyer’s dinner at 6 p.m. There will be a concession stand run by the exhibitors’ parents during the show and they will be serving breakfast burritos and chili for lunch.
This years’ show has 76 entries of goats, sheep, heifers, steers, gilts and barrows that will be shown by 47 exhibitors from Donley County 4-H, Clarendon FFA and Hedley FFA.
Any second grader and under is invited to show in the Pee Wee goat and pig shows during the regular show. If you have any questions or would like to make a donation, please call the extension office at 806-874-2141.
Clarendon FFA members registered to participate include Kennadie Cummins, Tandie Cummins, Hayden Moore, Cutter Seay, Heston Seay, and Wes Shaw.
The following Donley County 4-H members will be exhibiting animals also: Cutter Ashbrook, Will Berry, Paul Berry, Ajax Caudle, Jase Conway, Gracie Ellis, Levi Gates, Trigg Harper, Parker Haynes, Grant Haynes, Kaylynn Hendrick, Hudson Howard, Harrison Howard, Emma Howard, Ronan Howard, Emily McCurdy, Jayton Moore, Adleigh Moore, Kynna Phillips, Slaid Pittman, Kensler Roberts, Jaxon Robertson, Wes Shaw, Kate Shaw, Gracen Sims, Addelay Snure, Maloree Wann, and Hunter Wann.
Hedley FFA members participating will be Tavi Edwards, Taylee Ehlert, Kaitin Ehlert, Trinity Harper, Payton Inman, Kelli Love, Ehmjey Martinez, Brandon Moore, Madison Moore, Malachi Murphy, Cristina Silvestre, Cory Stasio, Lily Stasio, and Javier Valles.
The big winner!
Chamber seeking 2023 community award nominations
The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce has opened nominations for its annual community awards.
Nominations must be received by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, January 31, for the following categories: Man of the Year and Woman of the Year – two individuals who have made a significant contribution to the community in 2023, Saints’ Roost Award – honoring an individual for a lifetime of service to the community, and the Volunteer Organization of the Year.
Honorees will be announced during the annual Awards Banquet, scheduled for Thursday, February 29, at the Bairfield Activity Center.
Written nominations should specify which award the person or organization is being nominated for and a brief paragraph stating the reason for the nomination. The nominations should be no more than one page in length.
Nominations can be mailed to the Chamber of Commerce at PO Box 986, Clarendon, TX 79226; delivered to the Clarendon Visitor Center inside the Mulkey Theatre; or emailed to [email protected].
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