Images

The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation presented awards totaling $9,000 to two local businesses this week for exterior improvements to their facilities.

Western Skies Motel received $2,000 from the CEDC’s Traditional Façade Grant program; and Sully Suds received $2,000 from the Traditional Façade Grant Program and $5,000 from the Historic Façade Grant Program. CEDC President Brandon Frausto presented checks to the business owners on Monday.

CEDC provided matching funds of $2,000 to the Western Skies Motel for painting, exterior lighting, and other work by owners Kris and Schweta Bhakta. The couple says more improvements are coming up soon, starting with the parking lot and then the sign on the highway.

The Bhaktas are also working to improve the breakfast area in the main building, and bathrooms are being remodeled throughout the motel. The couple says about $100,000 is being invested to update the Western Skies.

Sully Suds is a new laundry mat, which is planning a grand opening this month at 120 S. Sully Street, west of the Fire Hall. Monica Woodard and her husband, Shannon Keadle, have invested more than $400,000 to remodel and equip an 1890s building that has been vacant for about three decades.

The couple received $2,000 from the Traditional Façade Grant program for new signage, and $5,000 from the Historic Façade Grant program for masonry, stucco, painting, and awning work.

Woodard said they have been working on the building since August 2024 and have been taking their time to do things right for the community, including attending national conferences related to the laundry mat business.

Sully Suds will feature one 55-pound washer, four 40-pound washers, and three 20-pound washers and ten dryers. Courtesy ironing stations and folding stations as well as a waiting area with a television are provided also.

The business will offer a “wash and fold” service initially with plans to expand services as time goes by based on demand.

The interior of the building features original hardwood floors and original tin ceilings. A reinforced concrete floor had to be added to the area where the washers and dryers are located.

In addition to the façade grants, the CEDC assisted Sully Suds with locating available properties for the business and served as a source for information about bringing the new business to the community.

Monday’s awards bring the CEDC’s total for Traditional Façade Grants to $36,382.04 since 2008. A total of $9,200 has been awarded in Historic Façade Grants since 2021.

The CEDC Traditional Façade Grant Program provides fifty-fifty matching grants up to a maximum of $2,000 per project for properties in Clarendon’s Central Business District and along the US 287 corridor through the city.

The Historic Façade Grant Program awards grants of up to 80 percent of the actual, eligible costs up to a maximum amount of $400 per linear foot of the storefront (i.e. $10,000 for a 25-foot storefront or $20,000 for a 50-foot storefront). The program’s focus is to preserve and cultivate the historic character of buildings in the Central Business District and along the US 287 corridor.

For more information and links to façade grant applications, visit clarendontx.com/cedc/facade-grants.

The life of a Donley County pioneer was honored June 21 with a ceremony in Citizens Cemetery that was attended by relatives and retired Texas Rangers.

Henry W. Taylor, who passed away in 1936, was a Texas Ranger from 1870 to 1872 before coming to work on the JA Ranch in 1882. He later served as a Donley County Commissioner, and his name is on the cornerstone of the 1890 courthouse. His life and impact on the community are reported in greater detail in this year’s Pioneer Edition of The Donley County Leader, which is included in this week’s Enterprise.

The ceremony in Citizens Cemetery was to dedicate a Memorial Cross at Taylor’s grave commemorating his service with the Rangers.

The program featured a welcome by Taylor’s great granddaughter, Norma Hellman, and the Pledge to the US Flag led by another great granddaughter, Libby Talley. Great grandson Bill Word of Clarendon led the Pledge to the Texas Flag, and the invocation was given by family member Cathy Taylor. Great grandson Chuck Taylor read a biography of the honoree.

Retired Texas Ranger Joe B. Davis, and the event was closed out with retired Texas Ranger Wayne Fricke delivering the Ranger Prayer.

The contributions of those early pioneers cannot be forgotten, and it is fitting that the community continues to honor the memory of H.W. Taylor.