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Four members of the Donley County 4-H Archery team competed recently in the State Games contest held in San Antonio.

Fayde Turner, Senior Division Barebow, was 3rd place Clout and 5th place 3-D.

Ronan Howard, Intermediate Division NASP, was 1st place Clout, Modified 600 and Field; and 3rd place 3-D and Wand. Howard was also the Overall NASP Intermediate Runner-up.

Kutter O’Keefe, Intermediate Division NASP, was 2nd place 3-D, 4th place Field and Modified 600, and 5th place Clout.

Emma Howard, Junior Division NASP, was 1st place Wand, 2nd place Field, 3rd place Clout, and 1st place Team Rally.

The Donley County Courthouse Annex has an entirely new look inside following a renovation completed Monday.

Judge John Howard said the county spent about $50,000 with local designers and contractors A Fine Feathered Nest to update the space.

“The work returns the space to the architect’s original design with updated finishes,” Howard said. “I think it is more functional and more attractive.”

The project took about two weeks to complete and focused on the clerk and tax assessor offices as well as the main hallway in the building.

Asbestos in the original floor tile was abated and new flooring installed, new ceiling tiles were installed, and the space was painted throughout.

The biggest changes, however, came with the removal of a partition put up in front of the clerk’s office and the re-opening of the customer service wall of the tax assessor’s office. The result is a space that is more open, more accommodating, and more accessible, officials say. New countertops also make the space look even more attractive.

Visitors to the clerk’s office now are not trapped in a tight space between the counter and a partition, and folks renewing their vehicle tags or registering to vote at the tax assessor’s office can now be easily waited on two at a time since the long counter and service window is now fully restored to its original design.

While a roll down gate had continued to be used at the clerk’s office. The gate of the tax assessor’s office service window was sealed in the ceiling but still fully functional once the wall was removed.

Judge Howard said county officials are now considering what might be done to exterior of the 1970s annex building to make it look more complimentary of the 1890 Courthouse.

Clarendon’s Downtown Revitalization Project continued this week, moving to the east side of Kearney Street and the removal of trees in front of Herring Bank.

Taking down the shade trees has sparked some comments from residents, but it was necessary to protect the new sidewalks being installed and to give way to the light fixtures that will come with the project.

Jacob Fangman, who is Clarendon’s mayor and the head of the local Herring Bank, said the trees were causing problems with the existing sidewalks. The trees’ roots have lifted and cracked the sidewalks. One section of sidewalk had been raised about 2½ inches and the gutter was starting to lift out of the street in one spot.

“People have been tripping because of them,” Fangman said. “I’ve had at least two people tell me they’ve fallen because of the damage.”

Herring Bank planted the trees and installed the existing sidewalk in 1998, but Fangman said the way the trees were planted near the bank made that section of the sidewalk not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Fangman said if the city had not gotten the grant to install new sidewalks, the bank would have had to do it for their customers. New sidewalks would have ultimately been likewise damaged if the trees were not removed.