News

Congratulations to Easton Frausto and Braylee Shields for winning the first Enterprise Coloring Contest. Now we invite readers to select which winning entry will be on the cover of next week’s Santa Letter section. Will it be Division I or Division II?

The annual Angel Tree for Panhandle Community Services is up and full of stockings to be taken.  Participants my stop by our office at 416 Kearney to take a name from the tree.  We also are accepting donations for those that would rather not do the shopping.

Office hours are Mon-Wed-Fri 8 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 5 pm.  All gifts must be returned to our office by Dec 19th.

Please come and help us make a child’s Christmas special this year.

Shopping at home next Friday, December 16, will benefit the community even more when several Clarendon merchants donate part of their sales to the Donley County Senior Citizens Center.

So far six local businesses have signed up for a special promotion to help raise funds for the senior citizens.

“We always give money to projects at the school and the college, but this is a chance to help those who have served our community for years,” said Terri Floyd at Every Nook & Cranny. “They’ve done their part for Clarendon, and now we can give back to them.”

Floyd said other communities are not as fortunate to have such a good senior center, and she hopes people will participate and help the merchants in this endeavor.

“We’re lucky to have a good facility, and they have a great leader in Mary Shields,” Floyd said.

Shields said she was excited when Floyd approached her with merchants’ idea.

“It’s excellent and wonderful,” Shields said. “We really appreciate the businesses, and I certainly intend to do most of my Christmas shopping at home. The value of these local businesses is often overlooked. They are so valuable to our community.”

Senior citizens centers are constantly in need of funds, but recent government regulations have put even more burden on these organizations. New dietary guidelines banning fried foods and canned foods means the local center needs about $5,000 in new equipment to prepare its daily meals.

“We also are looking at a new expense of $800 to $1,000 per month to deliver milk to everyone on Meals on Wheels,” Shields said.

The government now requires that milk be included with each meal even if the client does not want the milk, she said.

A complete list of merchants participating in next Friday’s fundraiser is not yet ready, but so far the businesses include: Every Nook & Cranny, Stavenhagen Video, Mike’s Pharmacy, Country Bloomers & Gifts, Henson’s, and Sayes. Look in next week’s Enterprise for more information.

A Clarendon woman received a ten-year sentence when the district court met here last Tuesday, November 29.

A contested revocation resulted in the maximum sentence of April Randall.

District Attorney Luke Inman prosecuted the case for the State of Texas with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.

Randall, 25, pleaded true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant.  After the plea of true, a punishment hearing was held where the State called one witness.

The State called Marci Mills, a probation officer with the 100th Judicial District Community Supervision Corrections Department.

Mills testified that Randall had committed two other misdemeanor offenses which she had been convicted of after being placed on probation in the 100th Judicial District.

After all the testimony and evidence was presented, Randall was convicted and sentenced to ten years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

On November 16, 2010, Randall originally pleaded guilty to the third degree felony offense of retaliation that occurred on July 17, 2010.

This criminal case stems from a criminal jury trial in which Randall’s husband, Michael Randall, was convicted and sentenced by a Donley County jury on a sexual assault of a child, according to Inman.

“Victims and witnesses that come forward and testify in criminal proceedings must be protected,” said Inman.  “The Donley County Sheriff’s Office was able to diffuse a hostile situation quickly and protect an eyewitness from April Randall shortly after the jury trial against her husband concluded.”

According to Inman, Randall accosted a testifying witness at the Dollar General after Randall’s husband was sentenced to 13 years in the Institutional Division of the TDCJ.

The State filed the motion to adjudicate on March 31, 2011, alleging one violation of community supervision.

Randall is also required to pay $437 in court costs to Donley County.

A motion picture with a message will raise money to help save Clarendon’s Mulkey Theatre this weekend with a special presentation of “Courageous” at the Sandell Drive-In.

Drive-in owner John Morrow plans to show the movie Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 2-4, and says he will donate the proceeds to the “Bring Back the Mulkey” campaign.

“I want people to see this film,” Morrow said. “This is God’s message that people need to hear.”

The movie is about four men with one calling: To serve and protect.

As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, and their partners are confident and focused. They willingly stand up to the worst the streets have to offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood.

While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they’re quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.

They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift further and further away from them. Will they be able to find a way to serve and protect those that are most dear to them?

When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God … and to their children?

“Courageous” is the fourth release of Sherwood Pictures, the moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Church in Albany, Georgia. Their first release since “Fireproof,” the No. 1 independent film of 2008, “Courageous” joins “Facing the Giants” and “Flywheel” in touching and impacting lives through heartfelt stories of faith and hope.

Moviegoers will again find themselves crying, laughing, and cheering – sometimes simultaneously – as they are inspired by everyday heroes who long to be the kinds of dads that make a lifelong impact on their children.

Protecting the streets is second nature to these law enforcement officers. Raising their children? That will take courage.

Admission to the Sandell Drive-In is $6 each. The show will start at 6:30 p.m., and the gates will open one hour before show time.

Since last year, more than $17,000 has been raised or pledged to help Bring Back the Mulkey. The donations helped restore neon on the marquee this summer, which has been lit up on special occasions, and will help with further goals to restore the façade of the theatre. Since 2008, the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation has spent $50,000 for a new roof for the theatre, and is currently contacting architects to pursue developing a master plan for the theatre.

Donations are still being accepted to help Bring Back the Mulkey. Donors who give $50 or more will be recognized inside the theatre, and donations can be made to Donley County Historical Commission, PO Box 905, Clarendon, TX 79226 and note “Mulkey” in the memo of your check. Clarendon’s merchants are also supporting the effort by selling paper light bulbs which can be purchased for $1 and are displayed in stores downtown.

For more information, visit www.ClarendonEDC.org or www.facebook.com/mulkeytheatre.