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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.

The Texas Press Association recognized The Clarendon Enterprise as one of the best weekly newspapers in the state Saturday, June 21, in Denton.

The Enterprise earned the Sweepstakes Award for the third time in four years, besting its competitors in Division 9 for weekly papers in the 2024 Better Newspaper Contest. Clarendon placed in ten categories and won first place in five of those.

“We are honored to be recognized again by our peers for the work we put into our newspaper and are proud to bring this recognition to our community,” publisher Roger Estlack said.

“This is truly a group effort, and we are very blessed to have a super talented team. Local journalism cannot exist without local support, and we are thankful for the readers and advertisers who support us and encourage us.”

The Enterprise earned First Place in Advertising for ads designed by Tara Allred, Roger Estlack, and Ashlee Estlack, First Place in Column Writing for commentaries by Roger Estlack on the role of newspapers and the Cub Reporter turning 18, First Place for Sports Coverage by Sandy Anderberg, and First Place in Editorials on the topics of a proposed sales tax district and the efforts of anti-abortion activist Mark Lee Dixon.

The Enterprise also received First Place in Feature Photos for entries by Anndria Newhouse, Ashlee Estlack, and Kari Lindsey with judges writing, “The Clarendon Enterprise has a knack for capturing the human face and a willingness to play it up on the page. Love the energy of these photos.”

The local paper also earned Second Place honors for Special Sections and Headline Writing, Third Place for News Photography, and Fourth Place for News Writing and Sports Photography by Elaina Estlack, Tara Allred, and Roger Estlack.

The Enterprise was first in the Division 9 Sweepstakes count with 675 points followed by the Flatonia Argus with 400 points, the Texas Spur with 400 points, and the Archer City News with 350 points.

The 2024 Texas Better Newspaper Contest featured 17 categories. Participating newspapers were invited to submit entries from work published during the calendar year 2024. This year, 108 newspapers submitted 1,021 entries in the contest. Competitions were divided into divisions in which newspapers competed against publications of similar circulation. Seventy-four weekly newspapers competed in divisions 5 through 10.

Entries were judged this year by members of the Kansas Press Association.

Roger and Ashlee Estlack attended the TPA Convention and accepted the awards for the Enterprise. Roger Estlack was also elected as second vice president of the TPA for the coming year.

Architects and contractors visited the Donley County Courthouse Monday ahead of a new $3.1 million preservation project.

Architect Tracy Hirschman Hutson said most of the work will be focused on repairing locations on the south side of the building where the red facing brick is pulling away from the structure.

Bulges indicating movement in some of those locations were first recognized during the restoration of the 1890 structure two decades ago. Without the budget to properly address the issue, steel helical anchors were sunk into the masonry behind the facing bricks in an attempt to stop the movement. The passage of time as shown that the movement is still ongoing.

Hutson said workers will open up small sections of the brick to determine the overall condition of the wall before moving ahead with removing and resetting the brick in the affected areas.

Monday’s visit was part of the ongoing value engineering taking place with architects and with Premier Commercial Group, the contractor selected to lead project. Premier led restoration work after a 2021 freeze caused major flooding in the building. Hutson said the mason who will lead the work on this project is a third-generation brick and stone mason.

After the brick issues are address, the remaining project funds will be directed to working on the sandstone wainscoting of the building, which has long had problems with spalling or flaking. Hutson said the ideal way to solve that issue is to chisel back about four inches of the affected stone and then install a new stone face in that place.

The Texas Historical Commission’s Courthouse Preservation Program has awarded $2,594,974 for this project with the county matching the grant with $457,937 in its own courthouse maintenance fund.

The Donley County Courthouse is the oldest functioning courthouse in the Texas Panhandle. The building was restored by the Texas Courthouse Preservation Program for $4.2 million in 2003.

The current brick and stone issues were not addressed in 2003 due to budget constraints.