Clarendon Live

The Clarendon Enterprise - Spreading the word since 1878.

Ben Estlack

REFZ to open downtown Nov. 1

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Restaurant owner Ricardo Santillan stands in the dining room of REFZ Sports Bar & Grill Tuesday morning as the business gets ready for its grand opening next week.

A new downtown restaurant will hold its grand opening next week after several months of construction and remodeling.

REFZ Sports Bar & Grill, located at US 287 and Kearney Street, will open its doors to the public on Wednesday, November 1, and owner Ricardo Santillan is just as ready as the community is.

“It’s been hard and definitely a lot of work,” Santillan said, “but it’s also been very exciting watching the process of taking a building where there was nothing and what it has turned into.”

For eight months, Santillan has overseen a complete overhaul of the former Clarendon Steakhouse building, remodeling the front end, ripping out and installing a new kitchen, remodeling bathrooms, and more. With the final pieces going into place this week, Santillan is planning an invitation-only “soft opening” only in the next few days to make sure everything is ready for Wednesday.

REFZ has hired 24 people and plans to be open seven days a week. Its hours will be Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Happy hour will be everyday from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., and weekday $8 lunch specials will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In addition to a full and varied menu, REFZ will have a full bar, including mixed drinks; 16 big screen TVs showing all kinds of sports; and seating for 136 people.

Santillan currently has five of his new hires from Clarendon working at his first REFZ location in Guymon, Okla., which has been in business for six years.

“We want everyone to come enjoy themselves here as place of entertainment,” Santillan said. “Come with your family and hang out and have a good time.”

The process of bringing a restaurant to downtown has been a long one. The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation first purchased the building in 2015 after it was heavily damaged by an automobile and has made significant investments in the building since that time to make it attractive as a potential restaurant. Discussions with Santillan began in November 2022 with an agreement reached in February 2023 and construction starting the following month.

“It’s been great working with the CEDC,” Santillan said. “Those guys helped me all along the way. They have been gracious and supportive of me, and I’ve been thankful for that. I could not have done this project without the CEDC, and it’s one of the main reasons I decided to do it.”

CEDC President Brandon Frausto is also very happy to see the REFZ project come to fruition.

“We are excited to have REFZ be a part of our community,” Frausto said. “This has been a goal of the CEDC for quite some time. I hope this helps build momentum as we move toward our vision for the future of Clarendon.”

Santillan is also looking to the future.

“It’s going to work,” Santillan said. “It’s taken a lot of time, energy, and investment by all of us (Santillan’s business and the CEDC), but we’re doing it for the town as well. We both saw a need for the town, and now we hope everyone comes and enjoys it.”

Lighting committee needs volunteers

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The Donley County Courthouse Lighting Committee is asking for volunteer help this season.

Every year the committee puts lights on the trees around the courthouse, and they invite and welcome anyone to come be a part of this worthy project. The volunteers will be at the courthouse on Saturday mornings October 28 and November 4 from 9:00 to noon.

For more information, please call any CLC committee member or Denise at 806-336-1417.

Local, area jobless rate is declining

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Once again, the Panhandle Workforce Development Area (WDA) holds the second-lowest unemployment rate in the state of Texas, standing at 3.2 percent, with Permian Basin WDA reporting the lowest unemployment rate at 3.0 and Lower Rio Grande WDA with the highest at 6.0 percent.

The Panhandle Workforce Development Area (WDA) as a whole also experienced a decrease in our unemployment rate, going from 3.6 percent to 3.2 percent, a 0.4-point reduction, indicating an overall declining trend across the Panhandle.

Donley County’s unemployment rate of 4.0 percent follows a rate of 4.3 percent in August and 4.6 percent in July. Armstrong County’s unemployment figures were slightly lower for the same three-month period, and Hall County’s figures were slightly higher.

The labor force in the Texas Panhandle has undergone significant changes over the past year, our labor force grew from 209,090 to 212,667, marking an increase of 3,577. Much of the growth was in the city of Amarillo, increasing from 99,869 to 104,604, reflecting an increase of 4,735 employed individuals.

According to the release, 25 counties within the Panhandle WDA saw reductions in our unemployment rates, with Armstrong County being the only exception, experiencing a 0.1 percent increase from 3.7 to 3.8 percent.

Hutchinson County continues to hold the highest unemployment rate in the Texas Panhandle at 4.6 percent, although it did see a decrease from 5.0 in August. In contrast, Hartley County maintained the lowest unemployment rate at 2.3 percent with 2,473 individuals employed out of a possible 2,531.

Statewide, total nonfarm employment increased by 31,400 positions in September to reach a new milestone with job count of 14,049,400. This marked the 24th consecutive series high as employment expanded in 40 of the last 41 months. Since September 2022, Lone Star State employment grew by 372,900 positions as all 11 major industries achieved positive annual growth for the 24th consecutive period.

The number of employed persons also reached a new record high adding 26,900 people over the month.

The Texas seasonally adjusted civilian labor force fell four-tenths of a point over the month to 4.1 percent in September 2023.

Rabe hears Donley case at first docket

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A Donley County case was among 19 pleas in the district court when it met in Childress last Thursday, October 19.

Honorable Judge Dale Rabe presided for the first time in the 100th Judicial District with District Attorney Luke Inman, along with Assistant District Attorney Harley Caudle, prosecuting the cases for the State of Texas.

Susan Faye Kyle, 34, from Amarillo, Texas, was sentenced to time served in the Donley County Jail for the state jail felony offense of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Kyle was arrested on March 17 by Donley County Chief Deputy Jay Longan. Kyle was also ordered to pay $290 in court costs.

Chamber Fun Run takes off Saturday

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Vehicles ranging from cars and trucks to motorcycles and more are signing up for this Saturday’s second Kinetic Hot Rods to Harleys Fun Run hosted by the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce.

The 100-mile scenic ride starts and ends at the Saints’ Roost Museum with participants making several stops along the way in Hedley, McLean, and Lake McClellan to build their hand of cards and see who the lucky winner is in the end.

Registration starts at 8:00 a.m. with breakfast. The Fun Run starts at 9:15 a.m. with lunch at noon and awards at 1:00 p.m. Vendor booths will be available at the museum during the fun run.

Entry is $25 per vehicle, and proceeds benefit Christ’ Kids and the “Toys for Joy” toy drive in Donley County, a project of the Clarendon Lions Club.

“Toys for Joy” will buy a toy for every elementary student in Clarendon and Hedley schools this Christmas.

Early registration is encouraged at clarendontx.com/funrun. Participants can either pay online, at the Clarendon Visitor Center, or in person the day of the event.

For more information, call the Clarendon Visitor Center at 806-874-2421 or Bob Weiss at 806-205-0270.

The Kinetic Hot Rods to Harleys Fun Run is sponsored by Kinetic, REFZ, Budweiser, Country Bloomers Flowers & Gifts, Floyd’s Automotive, Ace Pest Control, Shelton & Shelton Attorney’s Sonic Drive-In, JoBob’s Services, Finch Ranch Helicopter, Greenbelt Water Authority, Newhouse Farms, Donley County State Bank, Knorpp Insurance, and Texas Dodge.

City welcomes new administrator

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Brian Barboza

Clarendon’s new city administrator started work Monday and has been making the rounds meeting people and getting more familiar with the community.
Brian Barboza has about three years of experience as a city administrator but is no stranger to his new city, having attended Clarendon College here.
“It felt like home when I was here in 2012,” Barboza said. “I’m definitely a Panhandle boy.”
Barboza grew up in Hereford and began working parttime in Hereford’s street department for about five years while he was a student. He graduated from Amarillo College with a degree in Criminal Justice, but the Hereford city manager convinced him to consider public administration as a career. That led Barboza to get a bachelor’s degree from West Texas A&M University and then a Certificate of Public Management from Texas Tech University.
He then spent more time with Hereford in the street and water departments before being hired as the city administrator in Silverton in 2020 and then moving to Knox City in 2022.
Barboza is looking forward to wrapping up the ongoing Downtown Revitalization Project and the east side street project. Then his goals include a second round of Downtown Revitalization in the 200 block of Kearney and more street improvements. He also said he hopes to see Clarendon be able to sustain itself water wise in the future.

Street Improvements

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City workers were busy this week preparing streets on the east side of town for paving this month. Third and Fourth streets east of SH 70 along with portions of Davis, Hartzell, and Wells streets are being improved under the $240,000 project, which is being paid for by COVID-relief funds. The project also includes curbing on one block of Wells and two blocks of Davis to help manage runoff water. City Administrator Brian Barboza says the city hopes to have the two-course chip seal on the streets by October 25.

Stepping Down

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The Honorable Stuart Messer (left) retired as the 100th Judicial District Judge, effective September 30. Donley County Judge John Howard (right) presented Messer with a granite plaque on September 20 recognizing his 15 years of service to the district and the people of Donley County. Howard said he could not let Judge Messer leave without some token of appreciation even though the district judge did not want a retirement party. “He is a son of Donley County and served faithfully as district judge and district attorney before that,” Howard said. Area Administrative Judge Anna Estevez will oversee the 100th Judicial District, making sure visiting judges continue the court’s work until Messer’s successor is either appointed by the governor or elected by the people. Messer himself will be one of the visiting judges who will help cover cases during that time.

‘Boomtown’ at Mulkey October 15

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The Mulkey Theatre will host its first live theatrical performance Sunday, October 15, with the musical comedy, “Boomtown.”

In the 1920s, wildcat oil strikes, overnight wealth and Prohibition gave rise to lawless new towns. The most notorious of these was the unruly city of Borger, Texas.

Presented by Texas Comedies, “Boomtown” is based on memoirs and trial transcripts and follows land promoter Ace Borger, who capitalized on oil strikes in the Texas Panhandle. With the notorious Two-Gun Dick Herwig installed as sheriff, the town is soon overrun with wild dancehalls, bootleg liquor joints, and gambling halls.

The “mostly true” story will be a first for the 1946 Mulkey Theatre since its reopening in 2019. In addition to movies, the Mulkey has hosted concerts, dances, reunions, conferences, town hall meetings, yoga classes, a game night, and mystery dinners. “Boomtown,” however, will be the theatre’s first theatrical performance.

Tickets for “Boomtown” are $20 each and are on sale now at MulkeyTheatre.com and at the Clarendon Visitor Center. Tickets may also be purchased by calling 806-874-2421.

Presented by Texas Comedies, who brought you the shows Bonnie & Clyde: A Musical Comedy, Prohibition, The Feud, and other “mostly-true” musical comedies. www.texascomedies.com

Former administrator says ‘thanks’

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Dear Clarendon,

It has been my honor to serve you as City Administrator for the last eight plus years. I want to thank you all for the support given to the city and our team as we strived to improve the quality of life for our residents. The Mayor Aldermen I have been fortunate to work for are the most dedicated public servants any community could hope for. Their direction and leadership have resulted in bringing many improvements to your water system, wastewater infrastructure, streets, parks, pool, and downtown revitalization gained through grant opportunities and sound fiscal management. These vital long-erm improvements to our town are a testament to the monumental effort provided by your local elected officials.

While the leadership of the Mayor and Aldermen drive the car, it is the staff that is the engine that makes everything run. John Molder and the Public Works Department are seldom appreciated for the excellent work accomplished in some of the most undesirable conditions. Machiel Covey and the City Hall staff have worked diligently to provide courteous service and are always looking for ways to allow for more customer convenience while maintaining accurate and transparent accounting. Whether it is the library ladies, recycling attendants, or pool staff, I have been blessed to have been surrounded by and supported by a fabulous team.

Last but certainly most importantly, I would like to express my appreciation to the citizens of Clarendon, without you we would have no purpose. Clarendon is very fortunate to have hired Brain Barboza to fill this position and his passion for service and his knowledge of municipal government will not only continue the city’s efforts but will I’m sure will enhance them. Please stop by and introduce yourself to Mr. Barboza. Thank everyone very much.

David Dockery
Ex City Administrator
Golfer and fisherman