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UIL awards
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Lady Broncos add two more wins last week
Enterprise Photo / Roger Estlack
By Sandy Anderberg
The Lady Broncos added two more big wins to their overall record of 8-1 for the season. Their latest wins were over Vernon and Floydada last week.
Coming off of four wins in the Slaton Tourney, the Lady Broncos were hitting on all cylinders and defeated the Class 3A Vernon 42-39. Junior Kenidee Hayes pumped in 13 points, putting in seven points in the third quarter of play. The ladies stayed with their game plan and were able to overtake the Lady Lions in the final eight minutes.
On the downside, the Lady Broncos only converted five of fourteen free throws, but they were able to hit three big shots from the arc. Hayes connected with two, and Kashlyn Conkin made good on one three-pointer and a free shot for four.
Berkley Moore was solid with eight points, and Kate Shaw put in six from post position. Gracie Ellis, Presley Smith joined Conkin with four points each, and Kennadie Cummins put in two points while Tandie Cummins finished with one.
On Friday, the Lady Broncos were looking for a big win over the Floydada Lady Whirlwinds and played solid basketball to get the 80-34 win. Setting a great rhythm on the offensive end of the court, the ladies played great team ball to make things work on the scoreboard. They were unstoppable inside and outside and had eagle eyes for the open player. Floydada showed a little spunk against the Lady Broncos but could never break down that strong wall of defense.
Enterprise Photo / Roger Estlack
Five players finished in double digits in the win with Conkin pumping in 13 points. Moore and Shaw were on Conkin’s heels to finish with 12 each and Hayes and K. Cummins had 11 and 10 respectively. Smith put in eight, T. Cummins had five, and Hayden Elam and Ellis turned in four each.
The Lady Broncos will travel to Abernathy December 3 playing at 6:00pm and participate in the Nazareth Tournament December 5-7. They will play in Littlefield against Seminole on December 10.
Bound for State
Clarendon High School’s Hunter Caison is bound for state after CHS participated in the 2A Regional Congressional Debate meet in Amarillo November 5.
Also participating were Zane Cruse, Ronan Howard, and Kennedy Halsey. Caison, a sophomore, won the 2A Regional Congressional Debate championship.
With the win, Hunter secured his spot at the UIL State Congressional Debate meet which will be held on January 7-8, 2025 on the University of Texas campus. Sophomore Zane Cruise placed tenth in the meet.
Quilts of Valor
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Shop small to win this weekend
Local merchants and the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce will make shopping at home pay off during Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday season.
The third annual “Shop Small” promotion from the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce will put a grand total of $550 in Chamber Christmas Cash in the hands of lucky winners who shop with local merchants.
Sign-ups at participating merchants will begin Friday, November 29, for drawings that will be held for $100 each Friday on December 6, 13, and 20.
To enter, shoppers will fill out an entry at local participating merchants. The Chamber will gather them up each Friday morning, and hold the drawings live on the Chamber’s Facebook.
Enter as many times as you shop locally, so shop often. Entries stay in the hopper each week, so those who enter will have multiple chances of winning.
Those merchants participating are: Amanda’s Country Soaps, Broken Road Liquor, Broiller’s Auto Parts, Clarendon Outpost, Cornell’s Country Store, Country Bloomers Flowers, Courtney D’Costa Scentsy, Every Nook & Cranny, Floatin’ T Boutique, Floyd’s Automotive, Henson’s, Garrison’s, J&W Lumber, Lowe’s Family Center, Monroe’s Peach Ranch, Mulkey Theatre, Mike’s Pharmancy, Ramblin’ Ranch Boutique, REFZ Sports Bar & Grill, Whistle Stop, and Wicked Fast Attire.
Other Chamber members wishing to participate can call the Visitor Center at 806-874-2421.
The Chamber will also hold a bonus drawing for $250 in Chamber Christmas Cash on December 20. Sign-up for the bonus drawing will be held starting December 2 at the Clarendon Visitor Center. Shoppers can bring their receipts and receive one entry for every $25 spent at the participating merchants.
Several downtown merchants are also making plans to stay open for Late Night Shopping on Thursdays, December 5, 12, and 19, until 8 p.m. That list is still being finalized, but merchants do plan to draw for prizes during those Thursday nights.
Visit the Chamber’s Facebook page or ClarendonTX.com/Christmas for more details on which businesses will be open this weekend.
Shop at home this holiday season and remember the important role your local merchants play in keeping your community strong. Support the businesses who support your town
Timberman fulfilling dream with upcoming NFR trip
By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo
Clarendon College alumnus Weston Timberman was a rodeo cowboy long before he ever realized it.
With a dad and an uncle who rode bareback horses, Timberman spent his early childhood with them when times allowed. When the traveling road show that is rodeo passed by his place, cowboys made a pit stop. It was just part of his early development that is paying off now.
“We’d have guys that would be rodeoing and stop by the house throughout the summer and stay on the couch, then hit the road, and I’d always watch my dad and uncle always go out and rodeo,” said Timberman of Columbus, Missouri. “That was the first thing I remember, and then I always wanted to go with them and bring my stuff.
“I knew I was going to be a bareback rider; it’s all I ever wanted to be. Nothing else ever really seemed to cure the itch. That’s what my dad and uncle did. I didn’t even watch the other events growing up. I wanted to watch the bareback riding in the first event, and then go have some popcorn and run around with my friends. I was going to rodeos as a kid for the bareback riding and not the rodeo. That’s just the way it’s always been with me.”
His life’s work is coming to fruition. At just 20 years of age, Timberman is a two-time intercollegiate bareback riding champion while attending Clarendon College on a rodeo scholarship and has had a superb inaugural campaign in ProRodeo. He finished the regular season with $154,100 and will compete at his first National Finals Rodeo as the No. 7 bareback rider in the world standings.
He’s also already clinched the Resistol Rookie of the Year award and carries a boatload of momentum into his first grand championship.
“My whole outlook on rodeo this year was trying to go into the finals and didn’t really figure there’d be another rookie there, so the rookie title would take care of itself,” he said. “Winning that rookie title is something you can only accomplish once. I’m super thankful to be in the position where I’m at.”
With one bucket-list item checked off, he’s not slowing down. His driven nature has him focused on the ultimate prize in rodeo.
“Now that I’ve won the rookie title, let’s go win the world,” said Timberman, who credits part of his success to his sponsors, Cinch, Double J Quarter Horses, Montana Silversmiths and Serratelli Hat Co. “I’m not taking anything away from the Rookie of the Year title; it’s just something that was maybe a touch lower on the totem pole in aspects of goals.”
In order to claim that Montana Silversmiths gold buckle awarded to the world champion, he will need to finish the year atop the money list. He trails the world standings leader, Texan Rocker Steiner, by nearly $80,000, but the $12.5 million purse available during the Dec. 5-14 championship is so great that Timberman can move to the lead in three days.
Go-round winners will pocket nearly $34,000 for each of the 10 nights inside the Thomas & Mack Center on the University of Nevada-Las Vegas campus, the NFR’s home since 1985. For any of the top 15 men on the money list, the world championship is within their grasps.
“This is the best I’ve felt all year,” said Timberman, whose father, Chris, competed for several years and won the bareback riding title at the National Circuit Finals Rodeo in 2006. “With the stock we bring to the finals, it doesn’t matter what you draw; you just have to go out there, do your job every night and just take care of business.
“You have a shot at a check every night no matter what you draw. I’m feeling so good right now. They better be on the lookout, because I’m coming.”
That mental approach is why he’s owned bareback riding at the college level each of the past two years. He has confidence, but it also comes from his raising and having superstar genetics. His grandfather passed the bareback-riding bug to his boys, including Uncle Kelly, a seven-time qualifier who won rodeo’s gold in 2004 and is a two-time NFR aggregate champion at ProRodeo’s grand finale.
His ancestry has paid off both physically and mentally. The son of Chris and Lucinda Young Timberman, he was raised with two brothers, Aden and Kiley. He called it a wild childhood, with the typical rowdy behavior three young boys commonly show.
“Our mom always tried settling us down, but we were boys and didn’t ever want to do that,” he said with a laugh. “Of course, then you have people like Uncle Kelly egging you on. It was an interesting childhood, and we stayed super active and did a bunch of cool things, or stuff I thought was cool, I guess.”
His mom is a veterinarian in Columbus. His dad owns Timberman Construction. He wrestled, played football and practiced gymnastics, and the skills gained through a childhood of being active still play dividends as a professional athlete.
To ride bareback horses, it takes explosive power and strong balance as well as a will to tangle with beasts that can weigh more than half a ton. Points are based on a 100-point scale, with half the score coming from the animal and the rest based on how well the cowboy spurs in rhythm with the horse’s bucking motion.
He spent the year traveling the rodeo trail with another Montana cowboy, Sam Peterson, who also attended Clarendon College. The two have a bond that helps boost one another when necessary and break down the specifics of being bronc busters. It was beneficial to both; Peterson earned just shy of $100,000 during the regular season and finished 20th in the world standings, just five spots shy of earning his own trip to Las Vegas.
Now, he will play for the biggest pay in the game in the City of Lights.
“I’m eager, excited and nervous and ready to make that goal an accomplishment.”
Casper ready for NFR business
By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo
MIAMI, Texas – Clarendon College alumnus Wyatt Casper is a businessman who has no problem with the hard work it takes to succeed. He toils in a profession that requires dedication, time-commitment and travel.
He’s pretty good at it.
The business? Rodeo. His occupation? Saddle bronc rider. Why does he do it? To best care for his family, and to be one of the best at it, he must follow through on all that it takes to get the job done. Casper left his wife, Lesley, and their children, Cooper and Cheyenne, in mid-June and didn’t return to their Miami home much for more than three months.
“I didn’t get home as much as I wanted,” said Casper, 28, who is heading to his fifth straight National Finals Rodeo in December. “I took the family up for Calgary (Alberta) for the rodeo there, but that was pretty much it. I was gone a lot this year, and it was honestly pretty rough.”
Casper is a family man, and being a father and husband is his top priority. To take care of them, though, means he has to miss things at home. It’s the nature of being a rodeo cowboy. In order to make a living, he must compete at rodeos across North America. That means he spends many hours traveling the highways and backroads getting from one event to another.
Being elite means making sacrifices, but the rewards are great. Casper finished the regular season with $219,784 in earnings and heads to Sin City as the No. 4 bronc rider in the world standings. He’s taking advantage of the sport’s growing popularity and an unprecedented increase in prize money available. There are seven men on bronc-riding money list that have collected more than $200,000 in 2024.
Photo by Click Thompson
“You have to get it while the getting’s good,” he said. “The getting’s pretty good right now, so I want to try to set up to where whenever I’m done riding broncs, I don’t have to be gone or do some regular job as much; I can do whatever I want and hang out with the family so it will be worth it in the end.”
The getting might just get better. The NFR features a $12.5 million purse, with winners pocketing nearly $34,000 per round over 10 December nights in Sin City. To get there, though, he had to have finished the regular season among the top 15 on the money list, something he’s done consecutively. He actually earned more money so far in 2024 than he did in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Much of that came with big victories, but no locale has been more beneficial to the Texan than Rapid City, South Dakota, which hosts the annual Xtreme Broncs Finals. Casper has won that title each of the past two seasons, pocketing more than $60,000 in the process. What added to the victory was the fact that he accomplished the feat at an event that features only the top bronc busters in the game.
“That sure put some fuel in my tank and a little light to fire me up and get me pretty excited for the last two months of rodeo,” said Casper, who credits part of his success to his sponsors, Cinch, Justin Boots, Priefert, Resistol, Superior Livestock, TD Angus, MVP Exceed 6 Way, Western Hauler and Sawyer Hay & Cube.
He also spent considerable time north of the border for the first time in his career. He won three Canadian rodeos in three provinces: Regina, Saskatchewan; Raymond, Alberta; and Williams Lake, British Columbia. That, combined with earnings at other events in the Land of Maple Syrup, helped him qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo, where he won the fourth round and placed in three others to earn $31,000.
“I was pretty excited to go up there and be at my first Canadian Finals,” he said. “It was an experience, for sure. It was a lot of fun, and I’m glad to finally get a back number from the CFR.”
He finished his Canadian season with more than $52,000. Because the exchange rate is down – only 72 cents of the Canadian dollar represents one American dollar – he has maintained an account north of the 49th Parallel.
“I’m going to wait until the dollar gets better, but for now I’m just leaving it there,” said Casper, who won the intercollegiate national championship while competing at Clarendon College.
That’s another decision he’s had to make. That’s part of the equation when the business is rodeo. It would cost him nearly $15,000 to bring his 2024 Canadian earnings home. It wasn’t the only judgment he made, and the proof is another trip to Las Vegas. His biggest key to success?
“Staying healthy was mainly the one for me,” he said. “I was also able to draw enough good horses and capitalize on them. I won some pretty cool rodeos, and that all made it fun.”
Injuries hampered Casper each of the previous two years. He spent extended time on injured reserve, but unlike other professional sports, he had no guaranteed salary to fall back on while he was recuperating. If he wasn’t riding, he wasn’t winning money. While the extended time at home was beneficial to his morale, the rewards of staying on the road were just as great.
“The best part of my job would be when my family gets to go and experience all of this with me,” Casper said. “I also get to be around a bunch of really good people and have a lot of fun. I don’t know what I’m going to do whenever I’m done riding broncs, so I’m going to try to make the most of it while I can.”
That includes those magical 10 days in the Nevada desert. He can more than double his earnings so far with a good run of luck and capitalize on what the City of Lights has to offer professional rodeo cowboys.
“I’m pretty excited for my fifth NFR,” Casper said. “I haven’t done my best out in Vegas the last few years, so I’m hoping to get the chip off my shoulder make the most of what my year has been so far and hopefully come out No. 1.”
The opportunity is before him. He’ll put in the work necessary to make as many great things happen as possible.
It is a business trip after all.
Double Play
Enterprise Photo
Lady Broncos annihilate four teams in Slaton tournament
By Sandy Anderberg
The Lady Broncos made short work of four different teams in the Slaton Varsity Tournament last week, starting on Thursday with wins over Denver City and Littlefield.
Clarendon was able to get the 46-31 win over Denver City in a game that the Lady Broncos dominated from the tip-off. They were able to outscore their opponent 22-7 thanks to Presley Smith who pumped in seven points in the first quarter of play. They were able to capitalize on that momentum before the break with Kennadie Cummins having the hot hand in the second eight minutes putting six points on the board.
Courtesy Photo / Adelita Elam
Berkley Moore, Kashlyn Conkin, and Hayden Elam all put in the three ball in the second half to help carry the ladies to the win. Smith finished with 12, Kenidee Hayes and Conkin added eight, and Kennadie Cummins helped with seven to lead the way.
The ladies took Littlefield 57-51 in a game that was fairly close the entire way because of free throws that kept the Lady Wildcats in the game. The Lady Broncos held a 10-point lead after one and never faltered. Hayes and Conkin had the hot hand knocking down 16 points apiece that included four big shots for Conkin. Kate Shaw was also a threat from her post position pumping in 10 points to finish in double figures with Hayes and Conkin. As a team, the ladies hit nine of twelve from the free throw line.
On Friday, the ladies took on Nazareth and defeated them 42-37 in a game that the Swiftettes led for three quarters. But once again, the Lady Broncos turned up the heat using their quickness on defense and good shot selection on offence to stay one step ahead of Naz to get the win. Conkin had 15, and Hayes turned in 11. Smith put in six, Shaw had five, Gracie Ellis finished with three, and Tandie Cummins had two.
In the final matchup of the tournament, the Lady Broncos breezed to a 58-8 win. Shaw was strong inside with 12, and Madi Benson knocked down 10 to lead the way. Ellis had eight and Moore had six. Smith, Kennadie Cummins, and T. Cummins had four each, while Hayes and Hayden Elam put in two each.
The Lady Broncos had a tough season opener at home earlier in the week against the 4A Lady Eagles losing 33-57 in a game closer than the score revealed.
The Lady Broncos played hard and never gave up on either end of the court. The Lady Eagles’ strong defense hindered the Lady Broncos’ attempt to knock down the big points that they are capable of. but they were able to stay fairly close throughout.
Hayes led with seven, Benson and Elam had five each, and Moore and Conkin put in three apiece. K. Cummins, T. Cummins, Smith and Shaw finished with two points each.
The Lady Broncos will take on Floydada at home on November 22 and play at Valley on November 25. Both games will start at 6 p.m.
Aldermen continue trash talk
Trash service was front and center again when the Clarendon City Council held its regular meeting last Thursday, November 14.
Representatives from Waste Connections were present to discuss residents’ complaints about trouble with trash pick-up in the city and their company’s efforts to improve the situation.
“We want to know, are we doing better?” Waste Connections District Manager Bobby Fira asked.
City Administrator Brian Barboza said complaints from citizens has slowed down considerably and said most issues now seemed to stem from Dumpsters not being picked up at some rural locations.
Fira said the company had some issues with their driver.
“We trained him and thought he knew what he was doing, but obviously not,” Fira said. “We think we have our hands around the problem now. Our job is to serve you and pick up trash, and we want to continue to serve you.”
Alderman Eulaine McIntosh pushed for improved communications between the city and Waste Connections, and Alderman Mandy Smith said the communications as been a lot like “playing telephone.”
Alderman Ashlee Estlack said she thought the citizens deserved some kind of consideration, especially considering the recent garbage rate increase.
“We have paid for a service we didn’t receive,” Estlack said.
Waste Connections representatives said it could be possible for the company to increase the franchise tax it pays the city as a way to compensate for the service trouble, and city officials discussed being able to then turn around and possibly give a credit on garbage bills.
The council on October 10 had voted to have an attorney send a demand letter to Waste Connections regarding the trash service, but given the improvements since that time, the aldermen voted last week to pause that action for 30 days. The council will revisit the trash service in December to see if service continues to improve.
In other city business, Bill Word addressed the council in public comments regarding changes in when bill payments are considered late. He felt like better notice should have been given and asked the council to consider waving late fees for the last month.
Aldermen voted to accept the depository bid from Donley County State Bank as presented.
The non-functioning storm siren at Fifth and Collinson was discussed. The council voted to spend $9,000 to repair the siren and also to look at options for replacing the city’s entire storming warning system.
The council discussed amending the code of ordinances to include short-term rentals as being subject to the city’s hotel occupancy tax. Alderman Estlack said it appears the way the ordinance is written that it already applies to those businesses. The city attorney will review the ordinance to determine if it needs to be updated.
The council approved closing a portion of Kearney Street and Third Street for the Small Town Christmas event on November 30.
A motion was approved to contract with Texas Communities Group to assist with code enforcement.
Following a brief closed session, the council voted to place a written report in Barboza’s personnel file and took no further action.
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