News

The City of Hedley is once again looking for someone to lead City Hall, but this time that person will have the title of city manager instead of city secretary.

The current city secretary, Katy Barlow, has given her notice to the city after seven months on the job for a new opportunity in Wellington, where she actually resides.

“This job is just way more than a city secretary,” Barlow told the Enterprise. “It should have always had that [city manager] title.”

Barlow said the description will be more accurate for the position requires and also says she intends to stick around to help train her replacement so they will be further ahead than she was when she started.

“There was no time wasted these last seven months,” Barlow said. “We’ve gotten a lot done, and we’re putting a training package together to help the next person.”

Mayor Trisha Chambless had nothing but good things to say about Barlow’s time with the city, and she hopes the change in title will attract more people to apply for the job.

“She was doing a really good job, but it was hard for her with her family and three young kids living in Wellington,” Chambless said. “She had a better position and better opportunity.”

Chambless said a couple of people have reached out to the city about the job, and she hopes more will look into it.

Applications for the position of city manager are available at Hedley City Hall.

The Texas Panhandle War Memorial in Amarillo will honor a longtime Memphis resident this weekend for his service during World War II.

The late Cleatus Lebow and the USS Indianapolis will be the honored in a new permanent exhibit Saturday, February 7, as part of the Memorial’s “Reflections on Military Service.” The dedication will begin at 1:00 p.m. in the Chapel with refreshments to follow.

Lebow was born in Happy in 1924, was drafted into World War II, and later spent 35 years with the telephone company and moved to Memphis. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 98.

The sinking of the USS Indianapolis during World War II was the US Navy’s worst tragedy at sea. Eight hundred and eighty Sailors died, and only 317 survived, one being Cleatus Lebow.

The Indianapolis delivered to the US base on the island of Tinian the atomic bomb components which were ultimately used to construct the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

On July 30, 1945, four days after leaving Tinian, the Indianapolis, operating under radio silence, was hit by two Japanese torpedoes that sank the ship in 12 minutes. The Sailors spent five days and four nights in the shark-infested Pacific Ocean. No one came to look for them because it was a secret mission, and the Navy Command did not know the ship was missing.

A plane searching for enemy submarines saw something and flew closer to the water. What the pilot saw were the Sailors’ heads bobbing in the water. As the plane approached, the men began to wave. The plane radioed for help and a rescue boat later arrived. The Sailors who served aboard the USS Indianapolis carried the weapon that ultimately won the war, and they endured unthinkable horrors in the harrowing ordeal at sea.

In December 2018, the crew of the Indianapolis was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their perseverance, bravery and service to the US.

Visit the Memorial’s Education Center of military artifacts and photographs from WWI to Afghanistan. The War Memorial has the only Military Chapel in the Panhandle, which is available for weddings, memorial services and funerals. Our high-tech Education Center features five computer kiosks, each with information on 11 US wars. They also have oral histories of the Vietnam War and World War II. Visit our gift shop for military tee shirts, ball caps, and military memorabilia.

For more information, call 806-350-8387 or visit TexasPanhandleWarMemorial.com.

Several seats still unclaimed

With almost a week left in the filing period there are now 14 candidates for 22 positions coming up in this May’s elections as of Tuesday afternoon.

Among those who have signed up, there is now one who isn’t an incumbent.

George W. Hall has filed for the Clarendon College Board of Regents. He joins current regent, Chris Matthews, as the only candidates for three positions on the CC board.

The Donley County Hospital District Board now has a full slate of candidates after Place 7 director Lori Howard filed for re-election, joining Jan Farris – Place 4, Nikki Adams – Place 2, and Mark C. White – Place 3 in seeking re-election.

The Clarendon CISD Board of Trustees has two positions open this year, and both Chrisi Tucek and Mike Word have filed for re-election.

The City of Howardwick has all its incumbents filed to run for re-election. Aldermen Terry Barnes, Mary Grady, and Johnny Hubbard have declared for their two-year seats on the city council.

The Clarendon City Council also has three full two-year terms up for election this year, but still only Tom Thompson has filed for re-election.

Hedley has two aldermen’s positions and the mayor’s seat up for election. So far, Alderman Clinton Pierce has filed to run again.

Hedley CISD has three full terms and one partial term available. Shawn Willoughby, who was appointed to fill the unexpired seat, has filed to hold it for the remainder of the term.

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

Filing continues through Friday, February 13. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 2, 2026.

The Office of Congressman Ronny Jackson (TX-13) has announced upcoming mobile office hours for February in Clarendon and Memphis hosted by congressional staff.

Constituents are encouraged to attend if they need assistance with a federal agency or to learn more about the office’s services. Please bring all documentation if you require assistance with a federal agency case. No appointment is necessary.

The Clarendon mobile office will be next Tuesday, February 10, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Clarendon City Hall, 313 S. Sully St.

The Memphis mobile office will be Thursday, February 12, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the City Library in Memphis at 303 N. Eighth St.

Clarendon youth baseball and softball sign-ups will be held Tuesday, February 17, and Thursday, February 19, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Bronco Gym.

Minor league will be for eight- to 10-year-olds, major league will be for 11- to 12-year-olds, and senior league will be for 13- to 18-year-olds.

Ages will be based on the child’s age on May 1, the teams will be playing under Cal Ripkin and Babe Ruth league rules.

A fee of $75 per kid will be due at sign-up.

A restoration project for the 1890 Donley County Courthouse may give the county more benefit that was initially expected, according to Judge John Howard.

The county received a grant of about $2.6 million last year, and the county was to provide a match of about $458,000 to conserve some deteriorating sandstone and repair a brick wall on the building’s south face. Architects began exploring the project further last June and have been working with the contractor since that time and have determined that the work will take less money than expected.

“The grant funds will be reduced to $1.53 million,” Howard said, “and the county’s match will only have to put in about $276,000 for match.”

That leaves money left over in funds that have been saved and reserved for courthouse preservation, and Howard says the county is looking at ways to do more work that what the grant could have ever covered.

“We’re looking at putting some acoustical panels on the walls of the district courtroom to improve the sound,” Howard said. “We want to enlarge the jury box, and we’re considering finishing off the third floor.”

The judge says the county should be able to make its match and do the additional work for about $447,000, which is more than $10,000 less than the county would have been out originally.

The jury box has been a tight squeeze for 12 people since it was restored in 2003, and Howard say the architect has some ideas about how to expand that.

The 2003 restoration rebuild the third floor of the building after it was razed in the 1930s, but there wasn’t enough money in that project to finish the space for functional use.

“The walls are done, and there is electricity run,” Howard said. “It wouldn’t take much to finish that space.”

Nine candidates have signed up out of 22 positions open for elections this spring with about two weeks to go in the filing period.

The cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick; the Clarendon and Hedley school districts; the Clarendon College District; and the Donley County Hospital District are all scheduled to have elections this May.

The Clarendon CISD Board of Trustees has two positions open. The three-year terms of Chrisi Tucek and Mike Word are expiring, and Word has filed to run again.

The Donley County Hospital District Board of Directors has four positions up this year, and all but one of the incumbents have filed to run again – Jan Farris, Place 4; Nikki Adams, Place 5; and Mark C. White, Place 6. Lori Howard, Place 7, has not yet filed as of Tuesday morning.

One of three regents up for election this year on the Clarendon College board has filed to run again. Chris Matthews is seeking re-election, and Carey Wann and Dr. Guy Ellis had not yet filed as of Tuesday morning.

The City of Howardwick has all its incumbents filed to run for re-election. Aldermen Terry Barnes, Mary Grady, and Johnny Hubbard have declared for their two-year seats on the city council.

The Clarendon City Council also has three full two-year terms up for election this year. The terms of Tom Thompson, Chris Topliff, and Chelsi Shadle are expiring. Thompson has filed for re-election, and Shadle has recently submitted a letter of resignation as her family is moving to house outside the city limits.

Hedley has two aldermen’s positions and the mayor’s seat up for election. Those are two year terms and are currently held by Mayor Trisha Chambless and Aldermen Aaron Hanes and Clinton Pierce.

Hedley CISD has three full terms and one partial term available. The full three-year terms of Troy Monroe, Shauna Herbert, and Tangela Copelin are up, and there are two years remaining on the unexpired term now held by Shawn Willoughby.

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

Filing continues through Friday, February 13. Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 2, 2026.