The Clarendon Bronco Parents will hold a football season Kick-off Celebration this Friday, August 27, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the high school. Food and games will be available for pre-game activities before the Broncos’ game against Seymore at 7:00 p.m. Burger meals will be sold for $8.
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DCSC to host ‘Senior Thang’ this Saturday
The excitement is building as “That Senior Thang” prepares to hit Clarendon this Saturday evening, August 21, with activities, food, and fun for people of all ages.
With proceeds benefiting the Donley County Senior Citizens Center, organizers have lined up live music, free games, food vendors, competitions, a country store, Chicken Drop Bingo, a 50/50 raffle, and more to have something to do for people of all ages.
“I’m excited,” DCSC Director Denise Bertrand said. “Our volunteers are coming in, we have a lot of items coming to our country store, and our 50/50 raffle is up to $2,200, which means we’ll give away more than $1,000!”
Bertrand also said the silent auction is generating a lot of cool items, including a Harold Bugbee print from the Saints’ Roost Museum and some collectible model cars.
“We have school athletes coming to help, the COEA is bringing in tables for us, the Lions Club will be volunteering, and so will the Christian Mothers from Saint Mary’s Catholic Church,” Bertrand said.
In addition to coverage in the Enterprise, Bertrand said she has talked to a reporter from NewsChannel 10 about the event and also been on the air on KLSR radio.
Saturday’s fundraiser starts with the sale of barbecue chicken halves from noon to 1:00 p.m. No advance orders are being taken for the chicken, Bertrand says. It will simply be a “first come, first served” sale with pick up and go. Any chicken halves that don’t sell from noon to 1:00 will be available at the country store that evening.
The “Thang” itself will start at 5:00 p.m. and run until 10 o’clock. Bertrand says people are welcome to wear face coverings at the event and masks will be available for free. Hand sanitizing stations will also be provided courtesy of the Donley County Extension Office.
Competitions will include water balloon volleyball, watermelon seed spitting, wheelchair races, jalapeno eating, red Solo cup stacking, a crazy bike challenge, and Texas skis.
Among the free activities will be water polo, ring toss, corn hole, ladder ball, horseshoes, a roping dummy, and dominoes.
Concessions will be available with barbecue beef sandwiches, pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, homemade ice cream, watermelon, and jalapeno poppers.
The entire community is invited and encouraged to attend and participate in That Senior Thang. A complete description and list of activities is available on “That Senior Thang’s” event page, which can be found at Facebook.com/DonleyCountySeniorCitizens.
Sponsors for “That Senior Thang” are A Fine Feathered Nest, Flying A Tack, Howard Farms, Road Runner Home Health, Broken Road Jr. Liquor Store, Shonda’s Snack Shack, Clarendon Bicycle Club, Estlack Bantams, VFW Post 7782 Auxiliary, Clarendon VFD, Trinity Steel, and Saints’ Roost Cottage.
Seven active COVID cases reported in Donley County
Seven people have active cases of COVID-19 in Donley County this week, according to the Clarendon Family Medical Center.
That figure is down one from last week, but officials say the total positive cases for August now stands at 16 as cases continue to rise in the Panhandle region.
Amarillo Public Health Director Casie Stoughton said last Tuesday that 98 patients were hospitalized for COVID in area facilities at that time, 50 of those patients were in the ICU, and 30 were on ventilators.
CFMC spokesperson Marsha Bruce says there have now been 395 total positive cases of the disease confirmed at the local clinic since the pandemic began more than one year ago. A total of 1,587 COVID-19 tests have been performed at the clinic with 1,192 negative results.
As always, it is important to note that those figures do not count Donley County residents who test positive for the disease at other facilities, such as regional hospitals or other clinics.
The Moderna vaccine is available at no charge at the local clinic for everyone ages 18 and over. The Pfizer vaccine is available in Amarillo for children ages 12 and over.
The Texas Tribune reports this week that overall only 28.2 percent of Donley County residents – a total of 944 people – are fully vaccinated as of August 17.
Pump failure ends aquatic center’s season early
The Clarendon Aquatic Center’s inaugural season came to an abrupt early end last week with the failure of the facility’s main pump.
Mayor Sandy Skelton said the construction company will have workers here this week to pull the pump and send it to the manufacturer for analysis. The pump failed last Thursday night, and city officials decided Saturday to end the 2021 season early since a replacement pump would not be available this week.
The aquatic center was already set to shift to a weekend-only schedule this week with school and college starting and lifeguards returning to classes. The final day of the 2021 season would have been Labor Day, September 5.
“We feel very good about the first season overall,” Skelton said. “We were serving between 300 and 350 visitors a week.”
The mayor said the aquatic center will end the year in the red, largely due to several first-time expenses associated with opening the facility. City officials will review the statistics for the pool over the next few weeks to make plans for the 2022 season.
Replacing the pump will be covered either by warranty or insurance, depending on the results of the analysis to determine why it failed.
Skelton said many communities keep a backup pump on hand for situations like this; and he said, since the pump only costs about $3,000, Clarendon will keep a backup in the future. City officials will also consider purchasing a backup for the pump that operates features at the center, such as the bucket dumps and spray pad.
City officials drained the pool Tuesday. The job took most of the day without the main pump.
Clarendon football fans must by advance tickets
Clarendon CISD has announced that general admission tickets for all Broncos and Colts home football games may be purchased through Ticket Leap at www.ticketless.com.
All general admission tickets must be purchased online. No tickets will be sold at the booth.
Tickets for the first varsity home game against Seymour will go on sale Monday, August 23. Everyone will be required that present their ticket either in paper form or on their phone so the ticket can be scanned for admission. Reserved seating ticket holders will only need to show their pass upon entry.
Admission for home varsity Bronco games is adults $5 and students $3. Home JV Bronco and Colt games are Adults $3 and Students $2.
COVID cases double in one week
The active number of COVID-19 cases in Donley County has doubled since last week, according to the Clarendon Family Medical Clinic.
As of Tuesday, there were eight active cases of the disease, up from four one week ago.
Clinic spokesperson Marsha Bruce says there have now been 387 total positive cases of the disease since the pandemic began more than one year ago.
As always, it is important to note that those figures do not count Donley County residents who may test positive for the disease at other facilities, such as regional hospitals or other clinics.
The Moderna vaccine is available at no charge at the local clinic for everyone ages 18 and over. The Pfizer vaccine is available in Amarillo for children ages 12 and over.
The Texas Tribune reports this week that overall only 28.2 percent of Donley County residents – a total of 941 people – are fully vaccinated as of August 10. That’s an increase of only three people from last week.
Franks sets record in Dodge City
By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo
DODGE CITY, Kan. – There is a gleam on Cole Franks’ face that may not go away for a while.
The 20-year-old bareback rider has reason to be so happy. He’d just ridden Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Bar Code for 90 points to win the first round of the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo and collect $3,385. Now, he’s set up for another ride of his life during Sunday’s championship round.
The rain began to fall just before bareback riding began, and by the time Franks nodded his head on Bar Code, it was pouring on Roundup Arena. It didn’t quite matter to the cowboy, nor the horse.
“It was wet,” Franks said with a grin across his face. “Right when it started raining, I was dreading it a little bit. Once it really got going, I realized there was no stopping the rain, so it was part of it. It’ll make a good story to look back on.”
It’s been a good week for Franks, who, heading into Saturday night’s fourth performance of Dodge City’s rodeo, was leading the rodeos in Carson, Iowa, with a 92-point ride, and Great Falls, Montana, with an 84.5.
When he arrived in Dodge City, he knew there might be something special with Pickett horse.
“He knew,” Franks said of Bar Code. “He had that same feeling I had that it was about to be a lot of fun.
“I’ve seen that horse three times. Kaycee Feild was 90 on him at the Riggin’ Rally in Weatherford (Texas in April), so I knew it was possible. I knew the horse was going to be a lot of fun and feel really good. I was excited. I knew it was going to be really good.”
It’s been an exciting year for the cowboy from Clarendon, Texas. In June, he helped his hometown team – Clarendon College, which is coached by his dad, Bret Franks – to the men’s team national title at the College National Finals Rodeo. He dominated bareback riding to win that national crown, then added enough points in saddle bronc riding to be named the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s all-around champion.
Franks won the rodeo with an arena record 93-point ride during Sunday’s championship round on Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire. He won $8,420, and he also won Carson, Iowa, with a 92. Franks is 11th in the world standings.
Heading into this week of rodeos, Franks sat 17th in the world standings with $39,341.
Franks will likely move up, but his end goal is to be among the top 15 when rodeo’s regular season concludes the end of September in order to earn his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, the sport’s grand finale. He also will be matched in Sunday’s championship round with Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, which is possibly the hottest bareback horse in ProRodeo this season.
“I like where I’m at,” he said. “I would rather be right here fighting for it than being in a secure spot. For the next week and a half, I’ve drawn really good money horses that can win and for sure help you place on.
“It’s looking really good.”
So is Cole Franks.
County okays IT proposal
Donley County Commissioners accepted a proposal for new information technology services during their regular meeting Monday.
Judge John Howard said the commissioners court approved the proposal presented by CTSI because of that firms extensive experience with sheriffs offices, police departments, and the Texas Secretary of State.
“The will be able to provide us with a robust approach to cyber security,” Howard said.
The initial cost of the service will be $19,612 followed by an annual cost of $15,412.
Commissioners also inked an agreement with Hutson Gallagher for architectural services to oversee repairs to the 1890 Courthouse. The Jewel of the Plains suffered severe damage in February when a winter storm resulted in frozen water lines in the HVAC system in the building’s attic.
Howard said expects repairs will move more quickly now and said Hutson Gallagher will lead the county in applying for additional courthouse preservation funds from the state to do more restoration work on exterior stone of the building.
In other county business, commissioners approved a new social media policy for county employees and renewed an interlocal agreement for a regional public defender for capital cases at a cost of $2,128.
The county approved an order of election for November 2, 2021, for a state constitutional amendment election.
The court discussed redistricting following the 2020 census and will use the firm of Allison Bass of Austin to perform that service. Howard said the county will be looking to have all four precincts intersect at the courthouse. That would, Howard said, allow the county to have one polling site for elections that tend to have low turnouts, such as constitutional amendment elections.
Commissioners selected Shattuck National Bank to provide financing for a motor grader for Precinct 2 due to that bank providing the lowest interest rate.
Commissioners also put the final touches on their proposed budget for 2022 and proposed a tax rate of $0.612776 per $100 valuation to support that budget.
Aquatic center schedule changes for end of season
The Clarendon Aquatic Center will alter its days of operation next week with the opening of the public schools.
City Administrator David Dockery said since most the city’s lifeguards are high school and college students, it is necessary to reduce the hours of the aquatic center for the remainder of the season.
The pool will continue regular operation through August 18 and then be closed on weekdays. The pool will be open Saturday and Sunday, August 21 and 22, open again Saturday and Sunday, August 28 and 29, and then be open for the Labor Day weekend, Saturday-Monday, September 4, 5, and 6.
The city is still accepting private parties after hours at the pool, but residents are encouraged to get those requests in to City Hall soon by calling 874-3438.
Following Labor Day, the aquatic center will be closed until next season, and within a week of that closure, the city will begin the demolition of Kearney Street from Fourth Street the bridge at Fifth Street in preparation of new paving.
Trade Days returns for First Saturday
“First Saturday Clarendon, Texas” continues in this weekend with the Donley County Farmers Market, Whistle-Stop Trade Days, movies at the Sandell Drive-In and Mulkey Theatre, and more fun activities and shopping.
August 7 marks the third month of the “First Saturday” promotion.
This Saturday people can enjoy the food trucks, live music, and fun of the Whistle-Stop, shop all the fresh produce, baked goods, and other items at the new Donley County Farm 2 Table market at Cornell’s Country Store, and spend time at the Clarendon Aquatic Center.
Clarendon is Cinema City and offers movie lovers two historic venues to see the latest Hollywood hits. The Sandell Drive-In with its amazing burgers is featuring “Jungle Cruise” Friday and Saturday with gates opening at 7:30 p.m. and the show starting at dusk. Downtown at the Mulkey Theatre, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” will be the featured presentation with a 7:30 p.m. showtime on Friday and Saturday and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Shoppers can also enjoy several local merchants this weekend. Among those open on Saturday will be Every Nook & Cranny, Old West Book Gallery, Saye’s Flying “A” Tack, and Henson’s on Kearney St., and Cornell’s Country Store, Broken Road Jr. Liquor Store, and Clarendon Outpost on Hwy 287.
The new marketing campaign to pool resources and centralize support behind a once-a-month weekend of activities, trade days, shopping and fun in Clarendon and Donley County.
Businesses, organizations, and anyone else planning an event are encouraged to consider having it on the weekend of the First Saturday of each month.
First Saturday events are being sought for September to go along with trade days. First Saturday in October will see the return of the Lions Clubs members from across the Panhandle as they bring their fall cabinet meeting back to the Mulkey Theatre.
If you know of something happening on the first weekend of each month, it can easily be added to the promotion mix by calling or texting 806-662-4687, emailing [email protected], visiting the “First Saturday, Clarendon Texas” Facebook page, or by filling out the contact form at ClarendonTX.com/FirstSaturday.
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