News

The City of Clarendon will begin moving this Friday from his historic offices to the new City Hall in the former Lowe Office Building at 313 S. Sully across from the Courthouse

City Administrator David Dockery hopes to complete the move Monday, January 27, and says communication services with the city will be disrupted both Friday and Monday as the appropriate utility companies make the necessary changes. The new City Hall is expected to be fully capable of receiving calls and emails on Tuesday, January 28.

City officials are planning an open house event at the new location on February 3.

The Clarendon City Council will consider adopting a noise ordinance when it meets in regular session Thursday night, January 23.

City Administrator David Dockery said three residents attended last week’s called meeting and brought up the idea. Carol Braddock, Cathy Marable, and Sara SoRelle spoke in favor of enacting an ordinance to govern excessive noise.

Aldermen will consider that request this week along with how such an ordinance might be worded and enforced.

During last week’s meeting, the council renewed the city’s curfew ordinance. That regulation on how late minors can be out must be reauthorized every three years. Generally, minors cannot be out between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday or between midnight and 6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The ordinance does allow several exceptions for the curfew.

The council approved a job description for the city aquatics center manager, and Dockery says that position will be posted in the next two weeks. The firm that has designed the aquatics center helped the city draft the description for the manager’s position.

Three members were appointed to the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. Brandon Frausto, Steve Hall, and Taylor Shelton will each serve two-year terms on that board.

No action was taken on a bid on six lots in north Clarendon after county commissioners rejected the bid earlier.

In his administrator’s report, Dockery said several more trust properties will be coming up for sale by Texas Communities Group and reported that the USDA project has run over its term and the contractor is in liquidated damages now. Dockery also reported that the city has been recognized for having a Superior Water System by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Clarendon College Regents appointed a committee to make policy recommendation to the board when they met in regular session last Thursday, January 16.

CC Interim President Tex Buckhaults said the committee will be looking at policies related to conflicts of interest of board members and other issues with the board’s governance of the college that is concerning to the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC).

A special SACS-COC committee is expected to conduct an on-site evaluation of the college this spring after the accrediting body determined last summer that CC had “failed to demonstrate compliance” with a core requirement and three standards set by the agency.

Regents Darlene Spier, Susie Shields, and Carey Wann will serve on the board’s policy committee, and Buckhaults said the committee will have to follow the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act, including posting an agenda 72 hours before meeting, holding discussions in public, and keeping minutes of its proceedings.

In other business, regents ratified the hiring of Julissa Morrow as an administrative assistant in Clarendon and Tessa Hoffman as an administrative assistant in Childress as well as the reassignments of Cindy Lambert as assistant to the president, Michael Metcalf as accountant, Spencer Shields as bookstore manager, and Donna Smith as librarian/webmaster/social media.

Citizens wishing to serve their community can now sign up for positions at seven local governments that are scheduled to hold elections this spring.

The cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick; the Clarendon and Hedley school districts; the Clarendon College District; and the Donley County Hospital District all have a total of 21 positions available this year.

In Clarendon, the two-year terms of Aldermen John Lockhart, Larry Jeffers, and Eulaine McIntosh are up this year.

Hedley has two aldermen’s seats and the mayor’s position up this year. Those are two-year terms and are currently held by Mayor Carrie Butler and Aldermen Dustin Shatswell and Danny Russell.

In Howardwick the terms of Aldermen Mary Grady, Johnny Hubbard, and Marietta Baird are expiring. Those are all two-year terms.

Clarendon ISD Trustees serve three years, and the terms of Reneé Mott and Weldon Sears are expiring this year.

Hedley ISD has three full three-year terms up this year. Those seats are held by Troy Monroe, Cindy Lambert, and Susan Cosby.

Three positions are up this year on the Clarendon College Board of Regents, which serve for six years. Darlene Spier and Carey Wann hold two of those seats, and the third is currently vacant following the resignation of Regent Bill Sansing.

The Donley County Hospital District Board of Directors has four two-year terms up this year. Those are currently held by Jan Farris – Place 4, Nikki Adams – Place 5, Mark C. White – Place 6, and Lori Howard – Place 7.

All local boards are elected at-large, but hospital board candidates must file for a specific place on the ballot. Candidate applications are available from the administrative offices of each entity.

Filing continues through Friday, February 14. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 2, 2020.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will close the SH 203 and US 287 intersection in Hedley on Friday, January 17, to allow for construction of new concrete pavement in and around the intersection.

According to Childress District Area Engineer Matt Herbstritt, the closure will last an estimated two to three months, weather permitting.

“Local traffic is encouraged to utilize the railroad crossings at Bailey Street or McDougal Street, which will both remain open throughout this construction phase,” stated Herbstritt.

Turning movements off US 287 at the SH 203 location will not be allowed until the construction in the area is complete.

“As always, TxDOT reminds drivers to reduce their speed in the work zone, avoid all distractions and obey all posted warning signs,” Herbstritt said.

Two women lost their lives Monday night, January 6, in a two-vehicle accident on US 287 at Hedley.

DPS Sgt. Cindy Barkley said Martha Ayala-Garcia of Ft. Worth, age 30, and Samantha Petters of Arlington, also 30, were pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace Pam Mason.

Ayala-Garcia was driving a 2018 Nissan Rogue eastbound on US 287 in the construction zone in Hedley at about 8:20 p.m. when she veered off the road to the south, overcorrected to the left, and lost control of the vehicle.

The Nissan traveled into westbound traffic facing north and was struck on the passenger side by a 2015 Volvo truck tractor-trailer driven by Donald Gumfory, 47, of Burleson, according to the DPS report.

Petters was a passenger in the Nissan. Another second passenger, 34-year-old Shu Wou of Arlington, was airlifted to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo with life-threatening injuries, Barkley said.

Gumfory was not injured, and everyone involved in the accident was wearing their seatbelts, the DPS reported.

While emergency personnel worked the accident, the Texas Department of Transportation reported that traffic between Clarendon and Memphis was diverted through Brice by on State Highways 70 and 256.

Monday night’s accident is still under investigation.

Late Tuesday afternoon, a second accident occurred, also in or near the the construction zone at Hedley. Official details were not available at press time, but early reports indicated three vehicles were involved.

The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for its annual community awards banquet.

Honorees will be announced during the banquet, which is scheduled for Thursday, February 13, 2020, at the Bairfield Activity Center.

Nominations are being sought for Man of the Year and Woman of the Year – two individuals who have made a significant contribution to the community in the last year, and the Saints’ Roost Award – honoring an individual for a lifetime of service to the community.

Written nominations should specify what award the person is being nominated for and a brief paragraph stating the reason for the nomination. The nominations should be no more than one page in length.

Nominations can be mailed to the Chamber of Commerce at PO Box 986, Clarendon, TX 79226, or delivered to the Clarendon Visitor Center inside the Mulkey Theatre. Nominations must be received by noon on Thursday, January 23, 2020.

The Donley County Activity Center will be the meeting place of the Southeast Texas Panhandle Ag Conference on January 15, 2020.

Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. with the program starting promptly at 8:30 a.m. The activity center is located one mile north of Clarendon on SH 70.

A lineup of speakers from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will present information on controlling disease through cotton variety selection, managing cotton pests, cotton disease identification, cotton weed control, preplant in cotton using herbicides to combat chemical resistant weeds, reapplying for private applicator license, Laws and Regulations, Auxin training and CEU hours.

For more information, you may contact the AgriLife Extension office in Memphis at 806-259-3015 or the Donley County Extension office in Clarendon. The number is 806-874-2141.

Lunch will be provided. There is a $10 registration fee, and a total of five Continuing Education Units will be given.