News

Applications for emergency farm loans for losses caused by drought, excessive heat, high winds, and wildfires are being accepted at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office located in Clarendon, Farm Loan Manager Tonya Watson said today.

Donley and Armstrong Counties are just two of 131 counties in Texas recently designated by the Secretary of Agriculture as eligible for loans to cover part of actual production and/or physical losses resulting from the drought, excessive heat, high winds and wildfires.

Tonya Watson said farmers may be eligible for loans of up to 100 percent of their actual losses or the operating loan needed to continue the agricultural business, whichever is less.  For farmers unable to obtain credit from private commercial lenders, the interest rate is 3.75 percent.

“As a general rule, a farmer must have suffered at least a 30 percent loss of crop production or suffered any physical loss to be eligible for an FSA emergency loan under this disaster designation”, Watson said.  Producers participating in the Federal Crop Insurance program will have to consider proceeds received by producers as a result of the physical loss will have to be considered in determining their total loss.

“Applications for loans under this emergency designation will be accepted until September 04, 2012, but farmers should apply as soon as possible,” Watson said.

The FSA office in Clarendon is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation hired an architect to lead the next steps of rehabilitating the Mulkey Theatre during a called meeting Monday night.

The CEDC Board approved a $5,900 proposal from Mason Rogers of Playa Design Studio in Amarillo for site investigation (measuring, documenting, and transferring to digital drawings) and the creation of schematic designs. Playa will also help facilitate developing a budget to move forward with the next phases of fundraising for the project.

Rogers said his work on the project would begin in three to four weeks.

In other CEDC business, the board listened to a proposal from Mayor Larry Hicks and City Administrator Lambert Little for the city and CEDC to work together to hire someone to head up tourism and economic development activities and provide assistance to the Chamber of Commerce. The board appointed Steve Hall to represent the CEDC in working with the city to pursue this goal.

A Clarendon man is counting himself lucky this week after he was attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull dog Sunday.

Bobbie Kidd says he was picking up trash in the alley behind his house with two of his grandchildren the morning of January 15, and his neighbor, S.J. Johnson , was also taking his trash out. Kidd said his granddaughter ran up to Johnson and he also started in Johnson’s direction when the dog owned by a second neighbor, Steven Bento, hit him from behind.

“I had seen that dog earlier tugging on his chain,” Kidd said. “He was probably loose for a little while because I hadn’t heard him, and he would always go crazy when someone was outside.”

The dog bit Kidd’s leg, tearing his pants, and then let go. He hollered for his grandkids to get to the house, and he and Johnson followed them to make sure they got inside okay.

“I don’t know how he didn’t knock me down. If it had been one the kids, it would have been really bad.”

Kidd said he called 911, which dispatched a deputy, animal control, and an ambulance. EMS personnel cleaned the wounds, and Kidd went to an emergency room by car to have the wound checked.

The dog was killed later this week, and the head was sent off for rabies testing. It had not had its shots.

Kidd said he had complained about the dog to the city in the past and, while the city is making progress in some areas, the dog situation is very bad.

“It could have gotten one of the kids and that’s exactly what’s going to happen in this town if we don’t watch out,” Kidd said. “You should be able to walk down the street and not worry about getting attacked by a dog.”

City Animal Control Officer Jason Christopher said he expects to have the test results from the dog this week, and he said the city is going to crack down the dog problem and strictly enforce the local requirement for a dog tag and the state law that dogs be vaccinated for rabies.

“This isn’t a city deal, this is state law,” Christopher said.

Pit bulls are a particular problem for the city, accounting for more than 50 percent of the reported dog calls, Christopher said. Over the weekend a local woman reported a neighbor’s pit bull killed her cat, and Christopher said there was another case of a pit bull killing two cats.

“We’re going to have to see about restricting pit bulls in the city,” he said.

City Administrator Lambert Little said the Board of Aldermen will consider that issue at a called meeting next week.

Computer tablets may be in the future for members of the Clarendon Board of Aldermen following a proposal by City Administrator Lambert Little at the January 10 city meeting.

Little asked the aldermen to consider purchasing iPads for themselves at a cost of about $500 each as a way to improve communications with City Hall.

The tablets would be capable of accessing the Internet if a wireless router was nearby, and aldermen could access their e-mail on the machines.

The tablets would be used to receive weekly e-mail updates from City Hall and could replace the three-ring binder of information each alderman uses at city meetings, saving on the cost of paper and reproductions.

Alderman Terry Noble said the cost of the machines concerned him, but Alderman Will Thompson said other brands of computer tablets could be purchased much cheaper than an Apple iPad. Several board members agreed that the idea was the way of the future.

No action was taken, but Thompson is going to look into alternative brands of computer tablets, and the board will discuss the matter at a later date.

In other city business, aldermen heard a report from the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce regarding its recent activities. Vice President Carol Braddock said the chamber is functioning, has dues-paying members, and has all its bills paid. She said the chamber intends to have its annual banquet and to help with local activities such as the Fourth of July.

Later in the meeting, Mayor Larry Hicks said he felt like the city had not heard what it wanted to hear from the chamber, especially with regards to promoting tourism, and said the subject would be considered at a future board meeting.

Last year the city withdrew $20,000 in annual support for the Chamber of Commerce after issues arose which centered on a lack of record keeping for the chamber’s use of the Motel Bed Tax funds.

Aldermen considered a proposal from DigiPro Events to sponsor the second annual Battle of the Bands this April. The board approved $3,500 from the Motel Bed Tax fund to sponsor the three-day event, with Aldermen Tommy Hill, Jesus Hernandez, and Terry Noble in favor of the measure, and Alderman Will Thompson voting “nay.”

Thompson later said he supports the event and appreciates what the organizers are doing, but just didn’t think there was enough time to put it all together. Alderman Ann Huey was absent.