Clarendon Live

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Roger Estlack

Haynes takes 4th in steer show in Houston

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Donley County 4-H member Parker Haynes placed fourth with his steer at the Houston Livestock Show with his Heavy Lightweight Black Cross. Other local 4-H members also did well this year. Courtesy Photo

Parker Haynes placed 4th with his Heavy Lightweight Black Cross when members of the Donley County 4-H Club competed at the Houston Livestock Show last week.

Levi Gates placed 6th with his Lightweight Charolais Cross, and Laney Gates placed 8th in the Senior Reasons Horse Judging and was the 18th place overall individual.

Last month, the 4-H Archery team also competed at the Houston show. Kutter O’Keefe was 5th place NASP Jr Male; Emma Howard was 6th place NASP Jr. Female; and Ronan Howard was 14th place NASP Sr. Male.

Clarendon first grade learning financial literacy

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Clarendon first graders in Mrs. Wann’s class play Junior Monopoly with high school students as part of a financial literacy program called “The Game of Life.” Courtesy Photo

Clarendon first graders in Mrs. Wann’s class have been learning the basics of financial literacy through a game called “The Game of Life.”

Through this process, the kids have learned about income. They receive a paycheck for coming to school (it is their job). For expenses, they pay rent, cleaning charges, and other bills weekly. They also practiced savings; they tell the bank how much money they want to put into savings each week.

Students have seen an inflation of prices, unexpected expenses arise, and on Fridays they shop in the classroom store with the money they have left. If they do not have money, they have learned how to barter for their needs.

Learning the difference between needs and wants, as seven-year-olds, they have learned that wants are the fun things, but their needs are the most important.

To top off the game Mrs. Zonkger’s high school accounting class came a couple of days and played Jr. Monopoly with the students.

“This has been such a fun game and eye-opening experience for these littles,” Mrs. Wann said.

Registration still open for Jones 5K race

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The 11th annual Chance Mark Jones Roar & Run 5K will be held Saturday, April 1, at the Donley County Courthouse.

The Clarendon Lions Club is hosting the event again in memory of the late Chance Mark Jones to raise awareness of Child Abuse. Jones passed away in January 2011 as a result of abuse.

Those interested in running or walking the 5K (about 3.1 miles) are encouraged to sign up. A “sleep-in” option is also available for those who want to support the cause. Registrations are $30 each.

The year’s 5K will again start and end at the Courthouse and will run through the city, around Prospect Park, which is the home of the Lions’ Chance Mark Jones Memorial Playground, and past several historic sites. The race will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Race registrations are available at the Clarendon Visitor Center at the Mulkey Theatre or available online by clicking here.

Proceeds will go towards the many charitable activities of the Clarendon Lions Club, which includes eyeglasses for local school kids, Christmas food baskets for local families, hosting the local office of The Bridge – Children’s Advocacy Center, local scholarships, continued park improvements, and monetary support for other local charities.

For more information, contact the Visitor Center at 806-874-2421.

Mulkey Game Night to be March 30

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The Mulkey Theatre will have fun for all ages next Thursday, March 30, during its first Family Game Night.

Starting at 6 p.m., multiple games of five different genres will be held for those in attendance. The well-known games like Pictionary, Charades, Minute to Win It, Watch Ya Mouth, and Friendly Feud (similar to Family Feud) are perfect for everyone, young or old. Gift certificates from local businesses will be given as prizes.

Family Game Night is the first of several Thursday Night Live events Mulkey managers are planning for this year.

Admission to the Game Night will be just $5 for all ages, and the concession stand will be serving Frito Pies and nachos in addition the regular menu.

The evening is sponsored by Mike’s Pharmacy, Shelton & Shelton Attorneys-at-Law, Herring Bank, and The Clarendon Enterprise.

Raffle to help fund Library books, repairs

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The Friends of the Library met for their monthly meeting, Wednesday, March 15, with discussion centered on the raffle for the Dallas Cowboy memorabilia collection.

The group voted to extend the raffle until July 1, the date of this year’s Herring Bank Parade and the Saints’ Roost Celebration. The previous deadline for buying raffle tickets was March 31. With lots of people attending the parade and festivities on July 1, the Friends hope for a better turnout.

Some of the current needs the library has are refinishing or protection coat of the wood on the building, which may cost more than the library’s budget allows, and new children’s books, which get rough handling.

The raffle sales will continue through July 1 with the drawing at the end of the day. Tickets may be purchased at the Burton Memorial Library, 217 S. Kearney St., Clarendon, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. weekdays. Ticket cost is $1 each or six tickets for $5.

The cabinet that is holding the Cowboys collection will also be raffled separately. When buying your raffle tickets, tell the staff which you are purchasing for.

Owen Merle Kramer

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Owen Merle Kramer, 91, of Skellytown, formerly of Clarendon died Thursday, March 16, 2023 in Pampa.

Merle Kramer

Services will be at 1:00 PM Monday, March 20, 2023 in the First Assembly of God Church in Clarendon with Rev. Matthew Stidham and Rev. Carter Pirtle, officiating. Burial will follow in Edith Ford Memorial Cemetery in Canadian, Texas.

Viewing will be held Sunday at the funeral home.

Arrangements are by Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Merle was born July 15, 1931 in Skellytown to John Joseph and Stella Mae Owens Kramer. He married Beatrice Swann Farrington on April 14, 1984 in Pampa. Merle had been a longtime resident of Skellytown and Clarendon where he was a carpenter. Merle’s whole world was carpentry. He built many houses in the time he worked as a carpenter and helped build the First Assembly of God in Clarendon. Merle also worked as a welder for several years. Merle also enjoyed building bird houses and gardening. He was member of the First Assembly of God in Clarendon and attended the First Baptist Church in Skellytown.

He is preceded in death by his parents; a step son, Mark Farrington; a brother, John R. Kramer; and a grandson, John Brodick Strickland.

Survivors include his wife, Bette Kramer of Skellytown; his sons, Kevin Farrington and wife Sandra and Marvin Kramer and wife Sherry all of Skellytown; his daughters, Kathy Caruth and companion Glen Carpenter of St. Johns, Arizona, Rita Kramer of Skellytown and Cyndy Smith of Kileen; two sisters, Mary Jo Terry and husband Leon of Orange, Texas and Anna Davis and husband Marvin of Springfield, Missouri; 17 grandchildren; 10 great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

The family request memorials be sent to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Sign the online guestbook at www.robertsonfuneral.com

Jimmy Lynn Garland

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Jimmy Lynn Garland, 84, of Goodnight passed away on Thursday, March 16, 2023, in Amarillo.

Jimmy Lynn Garland

Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 20, 2023, at 10:30 AM at First Baptist Church of Clarendon with Rev. Lance Wood officiating. Burial will follow in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.

Viewing will be held at the funeral home in Clarendon on Sunday, March 19th from 1:00 – 6:00 PM with family receiving friends from 4:00 – 6:00 PM.

Arrangements are by Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Jimmy was born on August 14, 1938, in Goodnight to AJ and Alberta (Reed) Garland. He started working at the young age of 9 working cattle. He attended Goodnight High School and graduated from Clarendon High School. He was also a graduate of Clarendon JR College and Sul Ross University. He served in the National Guard. He was a farmer and rancher most of his life. He obtained his Realtor Broker license in 1970. He started to work at First National Bank of Memphis. He later worked at First National Bank of Amarillo as a cattle inspector. He started at First Bank & Trust of Clarendon in 1981. He opened Pilgrim’s Bank in 1998 until his retirement in 2000. He then did his Realty business full time. He actually closed his last deal in February 2023.

His hobbies were hunting, birddogs, shooting sports( trap, skeet, sporting clays). He enjoyed traveling to places to shoot and made life long friendships. He enjoyed watching his grandchildren grow up and his great grand child grow up.

Jimmy is preceded in death by his parents; wife, Audrey Beth Garland; and brother, Marion Dave Garland.

He is survived by his son, Stan Garland of Quanah; daughter, Twanna Kiker and husband, Richie, of Allison; grandson, Matt Kiker and wife, Kinsey, of Allison; granddaughter, Kaylynn Kerns and husband, Matt, of Kansas City, MO; great-grandson, Keegan Kiker; nephew, Allen Garland and wife, Neyra, of Dumas; niece, Kelly Strawn and husband, Duane, of Mansfield; as well as numerous great nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Clarendon Masonic Lodge #700, PO Box 932, Clarendon, TX, 79226.

Sign our online guest book at www.robertsonfuneral.com.

Kent Derelle Rattan

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Retired architect Kent Derelle Rattan, 71, died Oct. 17, 2022, in his Buena Vista, Va., home.

Kent Derelle Rattan

The son of Dennis Meral Rattan of Quitaque, Texas, and Toni Ethelyn (nee McBrayer) Rattan of Memphis, Texas, and younger brother of Ronald Rattan, Kent was born Feb. 28, 1951, at Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, Texas.

The Rattans lived in Amarillo where Kent spent the first few years of primary school at Alice Landergin Elementary School. The family briefly moved to Springdale, Ark., where Kent attended Springdale Elementary School. The Rattans then settled in Clarendon, Texas, where Dennis started his own successful TV repair and cable management shop, Rattan TV. The family was a member of the local Baptist church, which instilled in
Kent the importance of God’s love that he would carry with him throughout his life.

As a child in Clarendon, Kent played baseball, directed plays in the local community theater, and attended Sunday school. Kent showed an early talent for academics, graduating from Clarendon Junior High School as Salutatorian. Kent graduated from Clarendon High School as the Class of 1969 Valedictorian and was president of the local National Honor Society chapter as well as the Spanish Club.

After high school, Kent accepted a scholarship to Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he graduated cum laude in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After college, Kent taught at a prep school in Little Rock, Ark.,
and then pursued his graduate studies at the University of Texas, Austin, earning his Master of Architecture in 1983. Between 1983 and 1986, Kent lived and worked as an architect in Dallas, San Antonio, and Little Rock. In 1986, he moved to Bethesda, Md., where he worked as a Senior Project Manager at Marriott International.

Kent met Nicki A. Miller, of Erie, Pa., at the American Institute for Architects in Washington, DC. On March 25th, 1989, Kent and Nicki married. Together they raised their four children, Sean M. Porterfield, Julia R. Porterfield,
Elizabeth S. Rattan, and Claire H. Rattan in Frederick, Md. Kent remained with Marriott from 1986 until 1998, and then accepted a construction management and design position at Sodexo USA from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, the Rattan family moved to Austin, Texas, where Kent launched his own business, Design Services Plus, Inc. as the President and Project Director, using his project management and design skills for architecture projects. In 2011, Kent and Nicki moved to Buena Vista, Va., where Kent based his business until 2019, when he retired.

In his free time, Kent enjoyed fly fishing, hiking, traveling, playing the harmonica, making bad jokes, staying on top of current affairs, reading travel novels and British comedy, and spending time with family, friends, and pets.

He leaves behind his children: son Sean Porterfield, of Frederick, Md., and daughters Julia Porterfield of Baltimore, Md.; Elizabeth Rattan of Philadelphia, Pa.; and Claire Rattan of Staunton, Va.; older brother –
Dennis Ronald Rattan and sister-in-law Pam Rattan of Austin, Texas; nephew Brandon Rattan of San Francisco, Calif.; niece Jessica Fetzer of Houston, Texas; as well as ‘brothers’ Larry Springer of New Braunfels, Texas; and Nathan Noble of Alexandria, Va. Nicki A. Miller, his spouse of 33 years, died on Nov. 28, 2022.

A graveside memorial service for Kent will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 22, 2023 at Citizens Cemetery, SH 70, Clarendon, Texas.

UPDATE: Additional candidates running in Hedley

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Additional candidates for the Hedley City Council were announced last week after the Enterprise went to press.

Mayor Carrie Butler said two candidates had left their applications in a city drop box and the paperwork was not discovered until after the filing deadline. With the addition of those two new candidates, there are now six people running for three full terms on the council.

Aldermen Trisha Chambless, Alicia Hanes, and Jennifer Floyd are seeking re-election. Christine Coyle was previously announced as a challenger, and now Calvin Holland and Tanya White Gibson will also appear on the ballot.

Butler also said a special election will be held alongside May’s regular election to fill two unexpired terms – those are seats belonging to Sandy Wilkinson, who resigned several months ago, and Danny Russell, whose resignation is scheduled to be voted on at the next regular Hedley city council meeting March 9.

Butler said the council last month appointed Clayton Beagle to Wilkinson’s seat and that he will be a candidate in the special election.

Editorial: The Record of the area’s best newspaper

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Thursday, March 2, 2023 – the day the light went out in Canadian.

There wasn’t a power failure or an eclipse or anything of the sort. No, it was a different kind of darkness that fell over the city. The light of truth and fairness and justice went out.

Roger Estlack, Publisher
& Editor

After 132 years, The Canadian Record published its last issue. Well, “suspended publication” is the phrase that was used – holding out hope that the paper might yet have a rebirth. Still, the fact remains, Canadian is without a newspaper.

The Canadian Record – for 75 years under the guidance of the Ezzell family – was the best weekly newspaper in the Panhandle. Period. Some might even say it was the best in Texas, and I wouldn’t argue with them. It was the gold standard of community journalism doing all the things that a weekly newspaper does best – be a cheerleader for its town, holding elected officials accountable, and zealously reporting the local news from City Hall to the elementary school.

Laurie Ezzell Brown, who has published and edited the paper since her father passed away some 30 years ago, was and is a close friend of mine. We are two sides of the same coin. She is an unapologetic liberal Democrat and I’m a libertarian Reagan Republican. But we have always been united on the things that mattered – open government, transparency, and the public’s right to know. I know a lot of small-town journalists, but Laurie Brown is the best. When I’ve had tough stories to cover, it was her who I would turn to for advice and counsel. And I could count on her to tell me what I needed to know, whether I was going to like it or not.

It was Laurie and her advertising manager Mary Smithee who I always looked forward to seeing at press conventions. Over the years, they became like extended family members. The newspaper family is like none other, bonding over getting the big scoop or swapping tales of crazy public meetings.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Cub Reporter was in Canadian for a tennis match and the team went for a coffee. Brown Bag Roasters is run by Laurie’s son and is right next door to the newspaper in Canadian. The Record staff saw Ben walk by, snatched him from the coffee shop, and pulled him into the newspaper to say hello and catch up with him. I think he was both startled and happy to see them.

Through good times and bad, Laurie Brown, like her father before her, bravely recorded the happenings in Canadian fairly and accurately. It was right there in black and white; and you didn’t have to like it, but it was the truth. Some people can’t handle the truth, and that can bring unwanted repercussions. Any good newspaper has had to deal with that, and the Record is certainly no different.

When Laurie wanted to share her personal thoughts, you could find those clearly labeled on page two of the Record in her “Field Notes” column. She wasn’t afraid to let you know what she thought on the opinion page; but when you turned past page two, it was unbiased reporting, and the readers were given as much information as possible to make up their own minds.

Laurie has been trying to sell her paper for several years, but she did not want to sell to just anyone or to some group that would strip the Record of its soul for profit. The job of a community editor can wear on you, and it’s worn on her to the point she can no longer do it. With no buyer, she reluctantly closed the doors.

The Record lives on for now as a social media and web presence, but it’s not the same. It’s not the same as having the paper – in either a physical or digital format – to record kids’ latest school project, to celebrate the state championships, to uncover what’s happening at City Hall, to hold commissioners’ feet to the fire, or to rally the community around a worthwhile project.

Businesses in Canadian that have depended on the Record to help get their message to their customers will feel the newspaper’s absence, and taxpayers, too, will be losers without a paper help them keep tabs on local governments.
What will become of the public notices that once were published in the Record? I suppose the city and the county and the school there will put those up on their websites when it’s time to raise taxes or call for a bond election. The people of Canadian will just have to trust that their officials are telling them the truth, because there won’t be a third party to verify anything. It will be the fox guarding the henhouse. What could go wrong?

At the Enterprise, our hearts are broken both for the people of Canadian, for the Record staff, and for Laurie personally. We can only imagine what it must feel like to sign “30” to the newspaper itself and lay down the pen after decades of service. We will miss their influence and the constant push they gave us all to do better and be better. We are eternally grateful for the friendship, the example, and the high standards they shared with us. Thank you, our friends, for everything.

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