News

A Donley County man died on US 287 early Wednesday morning, May 5, near Lelia Lake.

The Texas Department of Public Safety reports that Clayton Shields, age 28, of Lelia Lake pronounced dead on the scene by Justice of the Peace Pat White.

According to DPS Sgt. Cindy Barkley, A 2020 Freightliner truck tractor towing two semi-trailers was southbound on US 287 northwest of the community of Lelia Lake. The vehicle moved from the outside lane to the inside lane due to an emergency vehicle on the outside shoulder. Shields was walking south in the inside lane. The driver of tractor-trailer did not see Shields in the roadway until after he changed lanes and was unable to avoid striking the man.

The accident was investigated by Texas Highway Patrol Troopers.

A majority of Clarendon voters chose to keep incumbent officials on the job in last week’s city election.

Aldermen Jacob Fangman and Terri Floyd were re-elected by wide margins with 115 and 117 votes respectively, and Mayor Sandy Skelton, running unopposed, received 146 out of the 186 votes cast.

Also on Saturday’s ballot, former alderman Tommy Hill received 89 votes and junior high principal Travis Victory received 17.

A total of 16.2 percent of registered city voters participated in this years election with 106 casting votes early and 80 showing up on election day.

A Clarendon man was sentenced to 55 years in prison when the 100th District Court met here Friday, April 23.

District Attorney Luke Inman, along with Assistant District Attorney Harley Caudle, prosecuted the case for the State of Texas, with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.

Brenton Arthur Campbell, 37, of Clarendon, was sentenced to 55 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, enhanced. The offense took place on December 30, 2020, which involved a knife as a deadly weapon.

Following his arrest, Campbell was placed on probation for five years on March 4. On March 17, the State filed a motion to revoke his probation alleging Campbell violated four conditions of his terms of probation.

At the hearing on April 23, Campbell admitted to the Court that he had violated some of his probation terms, which included violating a protective order against the victim in the underlying case.

A contested hearing was conducted to prove the remaining allegations, where the State called two witnesses. Meaghan Gribble, deputy director with the 100th Judicial District Community Supervision Department, testified that Campbell was told multiple times to have no contact with the victim.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn also testified for the State regarding Campbell’s arrest for the violation of the protective order.

According to testimony, Blackburn received information that Campbell was back with the victim, and due to the severity of the original case, he put finding Campbell as a top priority so something else would not happen to the victim.

After all the State’s evidence was presented, Messer officially convicted Campbell of the felony offense and began the punishment hearing.

“Basically, deferred is a second chance for individuals that leads to two different paths,” said Inman. “Path one is the person who takes responsibility for their actions and makes all efforts to repay their debt back to society by abiding by the law and making positive changes in their own life and the lives of others.”

“These same individuals stay off mind altering substances or get the help from the probation department if they can’t do it on their own,” Inman said.

“Individuals also stay away from other criminals, and especially the victim of the underlying offense, in keeping with the contract they make with the court to be placed on felony probation in the first place. This defendant chose the second path, which is basically the opposite of the first path.”

During the punishment phase, Campbell pleaded to the court that he just wanted the court, namely Judge Messer, to marry him and the victim of the underlying charge.

However, Campbell also testified that the victim was the reason for his increased methamphetamine use. Additional evidence also came to light that Campbell was currently married to another woman in the area.

After hearing all of the punishment evidence, Campbell was sentenced to 55 years by Messser. Under current Texas law, Campbell will be required to serve at least 50 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole because his crime involved the use of a deadly weapon.

The Sandell Drive-In is getting ready to rock the night away again with an on-screen performance by Bon Jovi on Saturday, May 22, for another unique concert experience.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public this Thursday, April 29, at https://encorenights.com/bonjovi.

Encore Drive-In Nights is promoting the show that will air at drive-in and outdoor theaters across the United States and Canada. These all-new performances will be filmed exclusively for each one-night-only event. Last year, Encore-produced concerts screened at the Sandell included performances by Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, and Metallica.

The concert experience delivers a front-row look at the world’s most iconic recording artists to fans across North America.

Metallica released a video promotion saying they have been rehearsing at HQ to get ready for the upcoming concert recording.

The Encore Drive-In Nights series is presented by leading event production company Encore Live. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, drive-in theaters have proven to be a safe, creative way to deliver fans world-class entertainment thanks to their ability to engage and delight large groups of people in open-air layouts.

Also next month, the Sandell will be hosting another live on-stage performance by Christian recording artist Zach Williams with Mac Powell and CAIN on Thursday, May 20. That concert is produced by Awakening Events, which earlier this month brought Christian hip hop star TobyMac to Clarendon.

Tickets for Zach Williams are on sale now at DriveInTheaterTour.com.

For more information about upcoming events at the Sandell, visit their Facebook page.

The Clarendon Enterprise received several awards including one first place plaque in the West Texas Press Association’s 2020/2019 Better Newspaper Contest.

The Enterprise placed first in Editorial Writing and was second in Special Coverage for its reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Third place honors were received for Special Sections, General Excellence, Advertising designed by Roger Estlack and Ashlee Estlack, and Photography by Elaina Estlack. Roger Estlack was also the third place in the Journalist of the Year contest.

Benjamin Estlack and Ashlee Estlack received fourth place in column writing, and the Enterprise was also fourth in News Writing and Sports Coverage and received honorable mention for Feature Writing.
The Enterprise competed in Division C for weekly papers and was third overall for Sweepstakes.