Ben Estlack

The Clarendon City Council and Republic Services worked on their franchise agreement last Thursday as the company prepares to take over the city’s trash collection October 1.

Republic representative Matthew Peterson said his company is working now to bring in new and refurbished Dumpsters to replace those now owned by Waste Connections.

Peterson again discussed his company’s intention to get involved in the community, noting that they are joining the Chamber of Commerce and highlighting his employees participating in Friona’s big cheeseburger cookoff. Republic won that cookoff this year and donated the winnings back to the community in the form of backpacks and school supplies.

Peterson asked what his company could do for Clarendon, and Alderman Brittany Wolfe replied, “Just pick up our trash regularly.” To which Peterson replied, “We are really excited to show you how it’s done.”

As the transfer day get closer, residents may notice new Dumpsters showing up in their alleyways before the old ones are removed.

In other city business, aldermen appointed Paula Lowrie as the city’s tax code officer and voted to plan for the voter approval rate of $0.560241 per $100 valuation.

Action was taken to set garbage rates according to Republic’s rates plus $1.50 per residential account and $3 per commercial account and top increase water and sewer rates by three percent.

The council also approved the lease of a dump truck and F-250 pickup truck.

Following a 24-minute closed session to evaluate City Administrator Brian Barboza, the council approved extending his contract to September 2027 and an increase in pay.

Clarendon CISD has reorganized its administrative team while it reboots its search for a new superintendent.

After none of its three superintendent finalists were selected for the job, a new search will be undertaken.

Interim Superintendent Rick Teran said the three finalists just weren’t the right fit for the school and so the board decided to conduct a new search.

The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) will continue to handle the search at no extra cost to the district, Teran said. The school will re-advertise the position beginning in October.

In addition, another school administrator is leaving the district. Clarendon High School Principal John Moffett has accepted the job of superintendent at Hart ISD effective August 18, Teran said.

Elementary and junior high counselor Erin Shaw is taking the job of being principal for both CHS and Clarendon Junior High, and CJH Principal Jenifer Pigg is moving to the elementary principal position.

The school has also dealt with an issue of mold in the high school building over the past week. Teran said two classrooms and the auditorium were locked up after carpets were cleaned but not before the carpets were dry, which resulted in a mold outbreak. Remediation of the mold has already been conducted, and Teran said the district was awaiting results of a second test for mold before moving forward with installing new carpet in those rooms this week.

Teran said all work should be completed in time for classes to start. CCISD students return next Wednesday, Augsut 13, with registration this week on Thursday and Friday, August 7 and 8.

The National Newspaper Association has recognized The Clarendon Enterprise for outstanding journalism during the NNA’s annual Better Newspaper Contest.

The Enterprise was recently notified that it has received a second place award and two honorable mentions from the NNA, awards that will be presented during the association’s annual conference this October in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Editorials focused on anti-abortion activist Mark Lee Dickson’s efforts to pass an ordinance in Clarendon won the Enterprise Second Place Best Editorial in the Non-daily Division for papers with print circulations less than 2,000. The paper also received Honorable Mention in the same division for Best Reporting on Local Government for its coverage of the Clarendon City Council during Dickson’s efforts.

The Enterprise was also recognized with Honorable Mention for Front Page Design.

There were 1,546 entries in the Better Newspaper Editorial Contest and 196 entries in the Better Newspaper Advertising Contest for a total of 1,743 entries. There were 712 awards won by 102 newspapers in 33 states.

Judges praised the publications for engaging their community, keeping them informed, and providing commentary that keeps a paper at the heart of the community.

The Wyoming Press Association was awarded the sixth annual “Best of NNA” Award for their 119 winning entries, beating out California with 88 wins and Texas with 56 wins. This is their fifth award for excellence in editorial and advertising.

The winner’s book and a list of awards by newspaper are available here: https://www.nnafoundation.org/better-newspaper-contest.

Judging was performed primarily by active community newspaper editors and publishers, as well as retired university journalism professors and retired or former newspaper professionals. A judge said, “Stories like this remind readers why newspapers continue to play an important role in their daily lives.”

Established in 1885, the National Newspaper Association (NNA) is the voice of America’s community newspapers and is one of the largest newspaper associations in the country. The NNA Foundation (NNAF) is the educational arm of the NNA. Its mission is to promote news literacy, protect the First Amendment, and enhance the quality, role and capabilities of community newspapers and community journalists.

The Donley County Senior Citizens will hold their 50th Anniversary Celebration and Fundraiser Saturday, August 16, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 115 E. 4th.

Activities will include dinner and a show, music, cowboy poetry, comedy skits, a 50/50 raffle, and a quilt raffle.

Cookbooks will be for sale also.

Bring your chair, appetite, and a sense of humor to celebrate this milestone.

The Clarendon CISD Parent, Family & Community Back to School Bash will be held Monday, August 11 in coordination with Meet the Teacher Night and Meet the Broncos.

Clarendon Elementary School parents and students will meet at the Colt Gym at 5:00 for a brief Title I meeting prior to meeting their teachers. Students with last names beginning with N-Z will meet their teachers immediately following the meeting until 5:35. Students with last names beginning with A-M will meet their teachers from approximately 5:40 -6:00.

All elementary students and their parents are invited to go over to the stadium after meeting their teachers.

Clarendon JH teachers will be in their rooms to greet and meet their students from 5:00-5:30 and then students and their parents can go over to the football field.

All parents, students and community members are invited to the Back to School Bash at the stadium from 5:45 – 6:45. Everyone is invited to come out and eat a BBQ sandwich beginning at 5:45.

Organizations will be selling homemade ice cream, tea, and lemonade. Those in attendance can sign-up that night for Adopt-A-Bronco, Little Miss Cheer and Donley County 4-H. Games will be available for kids to play until 6:45.

The District will hold its annual Title I meeting that evening at 6:30. The evening will wrap up with the annual Meet the Broncos event starting at 6:45.

The skyline at Pantex continues to change with the addition of the new Environmental Sampling Facility. Replacing the existing space used for Environmental Project’s sampling, well maintenance activities, and Industrial Hygiene‘s Field Sampling Lab, the 11,000-square-foot facility will move the labs closer to the people and infrastructure they support — adding much-needed storage for samples and lab instruments.

The Environmental Sampling Facility, with an estimated investment of approximately $28 million, will provide two new labs, office space, and a parking lot.

“This facility will be extremely beneficial to the people in Environmental and Industrial Hygiene,” Environment, Safety, and Health Division Director Harry Gulley said. “Both groups will be housed in a centralized location on plant site, which will improve efficiency by having equipment and teams in one place. This groundbreaking is exciting for ES&H as we continue safely serving Pantex’s mission.”

The new Industrial Hygiene lab will be used to process samples from all areas of the plant to ensure the safety of Pantexans.

Lab personnel play a key role in overseeing personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements and closely monitor plant operations for safety.

The Sampling and Analysis Lab will support sampling on- and off-site for Environmental Projects, Environmental Compliance, and Waste Operations — ensuring that Pantex complies with environmental regulations and DOE requirements.

“It takes a lot of people doing many different things to make sure every unit meets a very high set of standards,” PanTeXas Deterrence President and General Manager Kelly Beierschmitt said. “Investing in our facilities is also investing in our people. We take great pride in our people. We expect them to safely perform at the highest level to deliver the mission with excellence.”

“The construction of the Environmental Sampling Facility is an investment in Pantex’s future,” Pantex Field Office Manager Jason Armstrong said. “This facility will provide us with the tools and resources we need to strengthen our environmental stewardship, protect our workforce, and support our national security mission. We are confident that this facility will have a positive and lasting impact on Pantex, our community, and the environment.”

Other construction projects currently underway or in the planning stages include the High Explosives Science and Engineering Facility; the High Explosives Synthesis, Formulation, and Production Facility; and the newly funded Gas Lab.