News

Donley County’s confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 21 today up from 14 yesterday, according to Judge John Howard, MD.

Sixty-two tests have now been conducted at the local clinic with 19 positives, 28 negatives, and 15 pending. An additional two people were tested positive outside of the county.

The good news today, Howard said, is that three local cases have been listed as recovered.

The City of Clarendon will be live-streaming its council meeting through the Enterprise Facebook page this Thursday, April 9, 2020. The agenda for that meeting can be found here and the council’s information packet can be found here.

Donley County residents are now under a “stay at home” order that took effect Monday night, and the number of active cases of COVID-19 rose to 13 this week.

Judge John Howard issued the order, which expires at the end of April, to mirror Gov. Greg Abbott’s order last week; but unlike the governor, the judge used plainer language in telling residents explicitly to “stay at home.”

“I think it’s pretty clear,” Howard said. “My order is the governor’s order. The whole purpose is to tell people to stay at home.”

On Wednesday, Howard’s office reported that the total number of local COVID-19 cases was now at 13, including 11 cases that tested positive from the Clarendon Family Medical Center and two cases that tested outside the county.

“It is definitely here in our community, and it is definitely time to do everything we can to keep it from spreading,” Howard said.

Howard said all patients of the local clinic are recovering under self-quarantine at home, but one local patient who had tested elsewhere was reported to have been hospitalized Sunday in Amarillo.

Howard said his medical office had tested 36 people for COVID with 22 negatives and nine pending cases Tuesday afternoon.

For residents who test outside the county, only confirmed cases are reported to the county judge by the state. Pending or negative tests involving local residents outside the county are unknown.

Clarendon Mayor Sandy Skelton issued a “stay at home” order for the city last Thursday, before Howard’s order was signed this week. ordered out of an abundance of caution due to the increased number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Donley County, which at that time was a total of three.

City officials instructed non-essential businesses to close their doors to the public.
Howard’s order went into effect at 11:59 p.m. on April 6 and will expire at 11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2020, if it is not extended.

The local order, passed under the authority of the county’s declared health emergency, requires every resident of Donley County to “stay at their home or residence and limit movements and personal interaction outside the home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or to conduct essential activities” as explained by the governor’s order.

The order also requires residents who have been medically advised to isolate or quarantine to strictly observe that isolation or quarantine for the entire period until medically cleared, and advises residents to observe social distancing and other guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

“The observations and guidance I have attempted to provide over the past several weeks is more important now than ever,” Howard wrote in an article for this week’s Enterprise. “And it will be necessary for us all to be vigilant in the weeks to come. These restrictions are necessary to reduce the spread of a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus.”

Under Howard’s order and the governor’s order, failure to comply can result in a fine of up to $1,000 or a jail sentence of up to 180 days.

The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce is encouraging people to support local merchants with a $50 Clarendon Cash virtual bingo prize.

Visit ClarendonTX.com/bingo to see or print the bingo card, and then use the same address to fill out and submit a online form to submit your bingo.

The first winner will be announced next Wednesday, April 15.

Following questions posed by several residents seeking more information about people who have tested positive for COVID-19 within Donley County, and the Enterprise contacted the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) for clarification.

Larger cities and counties (the City of Amarillo, for example) have their own health departments and may release more detailed information. Many small rural counties like Donley, however, do not have their own health department, in which case that role is filled by TDSHS.

One of the most frequently asked questions has been which city within the county these patients live in, but TDSHS does not release that information.

“Epidemiological investigations are confidential,” said TDSHS Communication Specialist Lyndsey Rosales. “Therefore, we only share the amount of information that could not be used to identify a person. DSHS regional offices serve many counties across Texas, therefore we only report at the county-level because some jurisdictions are very small.”
Residents have also asked questions regarding the “contact investigation” that is done on each COVID-19 patient and when or if it might be released the locations these patients might have been.

“The investigation can take a few days or weeks, depending on the complexity of the case,” Rosales said. “If during the course of the investigation it is determined that the person may have exposed members of the public, the health department would notify county officials. Those officials would provide appropriate guidance to the public if necessary.”

Local officials have also said that as the number of cases increases, it will likely take the health department longer to conduct contact investigations.

County Judge John Howard, MD, has recommended that everyone act as though the COVID-19 virus is everywhere and that every public surface is potentially contaminated.

Small businesses and certain non-profits that have been hit hard by the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus may qualify for assistance through the Small Business Administration, and two local banks are taking applications for those programs.

The Paycheck Protection Program provides relief to keep workers employed, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans are also available to those who qualify.

In Clarendon, Herring Bank and Pilgrim Bank are currently accepting SBA program applications. The Donley County State Bank was not yet taking applications Tuesday.

Paycheck Protection Program
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act established last month the new $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program. The Program will provide much-needed relief to millions of small businesses so they can sustain their businesses and keep their workers employed.

“This legislation provides small business job retention loans to provide eight weeks of payroll and certain overhead to keep workers employed,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “The loans will be forgiven as long as the funds are used to keep employees on the payroll and for certain other expenses.”

The new loan program will help small businesses with their payroll and other business operating expenses. It will provide critical capital to businesses without collateral requirements, personal guarantees, or SBA fees – all with a 100 percent guarantee from SBA. All loan payments will be deferred for six months. Most importantly, the SBA will forgive the portion of the loan proceeds that are used to cover the first eight weeks of payroll costs, rent, utilities, and mortgage interest.

The Paycheck Protection Program is specifically designed to help small businesses keep their workforce employed. Visit SBA.gov/Coronavirus for more information on the Paycheck Protection Program.

Loan Terms & Conditions: Eligible businesses: All businesses, including non-profits, Veterans organizations, Tribal concerns, sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors, with 500 or fewer employees, or no greater than the number of employees set by the SBA as the size standard for certain industries; Maximum loan amount up to $10 million; and Loan forgiveness if proceeds used for payroll costs and other designated business operating expenses in the 8 weeks following the date of loan origination (due to likely high subscription, it is anticipated that not more than 25 percent of the forgiven amount may be for non-payroll costs).

All loans under this program will have the following identical features: Interest rate of 0.5 percent; Maturity of two years; First payment deferred for six months; 100 percent guarantee by SBA; No collateral; No personal guarantees; and No borrower or lender fees payable to SBA.

The Paycheck Protection Program is available through June 30.

EIDL Program
Businesses in the entire State of Texas are eligible for the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan program due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist Texas small businesses with federal disaster loans. We will be swift in our efforts to help these small businesses recover from the financial impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19),” said Administrator Jovita Carranza.

“Small businesses, private non-profit organizations of any size, small agricultural cooperatives and small aquaculture enterprises that have been financially impacted as a direct result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) since Jan. 31, 2020, may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred,” said Carranza.

Eligibility for Economic Injury Disaster Loans is based on the financial impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The interest rate is 3.75 percent for small businesses. The interest rate for private non-profit organizations is 2.75 percent. SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years and are available to entities without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship.

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. The deadline to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan is December 21, 2020.

For more information, local banks can be contacted at the following numbers: Herring Bank, 874-3556, and Pilgrim Bank, 874-2080.

AUSTIN – Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar reminds business owners that for many property types, April 15 is the deadline to file property tax renditions with their county appraisal districts. Different deadlines apply for certain regulated property.

Business owners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic may request, in writing to the chief appraiser, an extension of the deadline to May 15. Some appraisal districts already have extended the deadline for filing rendition statements or property reports to May 15, so please check with your local appraisal district first.

For information relating to your property appraisals, owners should refer to their local county appraisal district.

The Donley County Appraisal District is currently closed to the public due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Renditions can be left in the drop box to the right of the office door, and businesses can call 806-874-2744 with questions.

For other taxes, the Comptroller’s office is providing continuous updates on the Comptroller’s COVID-19 Emergency Response page on our website.

A rendition is a list of the taxable inventory, furniture and fixtures, machinery, equipment and other property owned or managed as of Jan. 1 each year. The appraisal district may use the information to set property values.

A rendition allows property owners to record their opinion of their property’s value and ensures that the appraisal district notifies property owners before changing a recorded value.

Exempt property, such as church property and equipment used for farming, is not subject to rendition.

Owners whose property was damaged by storm, flood or fire last year may file a special decreased value report, which indicates the property’s condition on Jan. 1, 2020. Filing the decreased value report could lower those owners’ final tax bills for 2020.

Rendition forms and decreased value report forms are available from county appraisal district offices statewide and can be downloaded at the Comptroller’s property tax forms webpage.

For more information about property rendition, deadlines, deadline extensions, penalties and rendition forms, taxpayers may contact the Comptroller’s Property Tax Assistance Division at 800-252-9121 (press 2) or visit the division’s website

A “stay at home” order for Donley County residents will go into effect tonight, April 6, 2020, at 11:59 p.m., as the number of active local cases of COVID-19 rose to seven Saturday.

Judge John Howard issued the order, which expires at the end of April, following the guidance of Gov. Greg Abbott’s order last week; but unlike the governor, the judge used plainer language in telling residents to stay home.

“I think it’s pretty clear,” Howard said.

The local order, passed under the authority of the county’s declared health emergency, requires every resident of Donley County to “stay at their home or residence and limit movements and personal interaction outside the home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or to conduct essential activities – as elaborated in GA-14.”

The also requires residents who have been medically advised to isolate or quarantine to strictly observe that isolation or quarantine for the entire period until medically cleared, and advises residents to observe social distancing and other guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

“The observations and guidance I have attempted to provide over the past several weeks is more important now than ever,” Howard wrote in an article for this week’s Enterprise. “And it will be necessary for us all to be vigilant in the weeks to come. These restrictions are necessary to reduce the spread of a highly contagious and potentially deadly virus.”

A guide to “essential services” under the governor’s order can be found here.

On Saturday, the judge’s office reported that there are now seven confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus in Donley County residents. Five of those were tested at the Clarendon Family Medical Center, and two were tested outside the county. The patients had all been recovering at home under quarantine until yesterday when one of the patients who tested outside of the county was reportedly hospitalized in Amarillo.

Under Howard’s order and the governor’s order, failure to comply can result in a fine of up to $1,000 or a jail sentence of up to 180 days.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said he will enforce Howard’s order and urges all county residents to comply.

“I am urging the public to heed this order and not violate it,” Blackburn said. “This order is for your safety, the safety of your family and the public. This means no one should be at your residence but people that live under your roof and you should not be at other people’s residence. You should not go and have a social gathering such as a meal, or cocktail party, with others. I do not want to have to enforce the social distancing and stay at home order but rest assured I will and my office will. This comes with a $1000 fine and up to 180 days in jail, or both. I’m asking the citizens to please be courteous to your fellow citizens and abide by this order. This order is for the whole county and will be enforced.”

The tally of COVID-19 cases reached five today, April 3, 2020, according to Donley County Judge John Howard, MD.

The judge said turnaround times on testing of possible COVID-19 cases has improved dramatically. Of 21 tests conducted at the Clarendon Family Medical Center, three cases have been positive for the virus, 13 were negative, and five tests are still pending. Two additional positive Donley County resident tests were conducted outside the county.

Howard said all five patients are home in self-quarantine and doing well medically.

Friday afternoon, Howard was joined by local P.A. Devah Pittman, Sheriff Butch Blackburn, and EMS director Anna Howard for a Facebook Live conference hosted by the Enterprise focusing on the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That conference can be seen here.