Owls to scrimmage Silverton Friday
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City considers private wells
The Clarendon Board of Aldermen took no action on the topic of restricting private water wells inside the city limits when they met last Tuesday, August 9.
About a dozen citizens were in attendance after word spread about the agenda item, which City Administrator Lambert Little said was not intended to be taken as a ban on water wells.
“I didn’t mean to cause this much consternation,” Little told the board, noting that he really had three concerns about water wells.
Safety was the administrator’s first concern. He said the city needed to be sure that there was no cross connections between private wells and the public water system. His second concern was the city’s ability to pay its responsibilities to Greenbelt Water Authority if everyone in town went to private wells. And he said infrastructure was his third concern, expressing his thoughts that everyone should pay at least a minimum water charge to the city for infrastructure and fire protection.
The board generally agreed with the first point that private wells did not need to be cross connected with the city water system, but Alderman Tommy Hill seemed to speak for the majority of the board in thinking that the second point would never be an issue.
“There are probably only five to ten people that can realistically afford to drill a well; and if the loss of five or ten accounts is a big deal to the city, then we have bigger financial problems,” Hill said.
Little asked the board if the city could at least explore permits or some method to keep up with wells, but board members including Hill said they believed the groundwater district already has rules for that.
In other water related news, the board approved a resolution stating the city’s intent to supply the volunteer fire department with adequate water for fire protection regardless of water restrictions or allotments in the drought contingency plan.
Aldermen also discussed bulk water sales prices. Little said he felt it was unfair to ask citizens to reduce their water usage but continue to sell bulk water for $4 per 1,000 gallons. Aldermen approved a motion to increase the price of bulk water to $10 per 1,000 gallons.
And in other business, the board approved contributing $3,500 to the Les Beaux Arts Festival from the city’s Motel Bed Tax Fund.
County proposes $2 million budget
Donley County Commissioners will seek a slight increase in property taxes to support their proposed $2 million budget for fiscal year 2012, according to documents on file in the County Clerk’s office.
The budget, which grows about 3.7 percent this year, requires a total tax rate of $0.573253 per $100 valuation, which is up from $0.557117 last year. The proposed rate would impose taxes of $286.63 on a $50,000 home compared to $277.56 under the current tax rate.
Information from the Donley Appraisal District reveals that the average taxable value of a residence homestead in Donley County last year was $31,055 compared to $32,105 this year.
The budget includes raises for county employees of about three percent and forecasts spending more than five percent higher health insurance premiums for employees.
Notable savings in the proposed budget include $10,546.82 less for the local Department of Public Safety office. The county previously paid the salary for a part time clerical position there, but the state is now paying that salary as a fulltime position. The county will still provide $1,320 for telephone and Internet services in that office.
One unusual expense in the proposed budget is a line item of $30,000 that is being set aside for the trial of accused child killer Robert Babcock.
The county expects to collect about $808,551.89 from ad valorem taxes, which is up from $744,159.33 in last year’s budget.
Donley County Commissioners will hold hearings on the tax rate at 9 a.m. on September 6 and September 9.
A budget hearing will be held at 9 a.m. on September 12, and both the tax rate and the budget will be voted on by commissioners that day. The proposed county budget is available for public inspection at www.co.donley.tx.us.
Broncos blast off against the Swifts
They put their skills to the test at Nazareth and walked away with good results from their effort.
According to head coach Gary Jack, the Broncos did a good job in the scrimmage and they gained a lot of insight as to what they still need to work on.
“We did a good job against Nazareth,” Jack said. “Our first team guys dominated on the field, and we scored six or seven times to none for them. We saw a lot of what we needed to see that gives us things to work on.”
Jack said their numbers are down from last year and will not be able to support a junior varsity squad.
“We have a small freshman class coming in, and the sophomore class is fairly small, too,” Jack said. “We have a couple of players injured, and that hurts us. We don’t have the depth we had last year.”
But Jack is quick to say that the guys are working hard and is optimistic about the season.
“We’re doing well,” Jack said. “We just need to stay away from the injury bug.”
The Broncos will have one more scrimmage before the regular season begins.
They will take on West Texas High at Bronco Stadium on Thursday, August 18, at 5:00 p.m. The Broncos’ first game of the season will be August 26 at New Deal at 7:30 p.m.
‘Blessed are the Poor’
Her giddiness, despite the hardships in her life, makes her an inspiration.
“She was so happy, and that’s something you cannot teach a child her age,” Laura said. “That’s how all the children were. They were so happy and had nothing but precious smiles.”
Moments such as this one occurred frequently on the Community Fellowship Church’s mission trip to Ethiopia on July 7-21. Team members included Ronny, Laura and Lauren Wilson, Brandon and Jill Frausto, Michael and Emily Keough, Jaclyn and Linda Benson. All eight agree that the trip changed their lives.
“God called us to serve these people for a special reason,” Ronny said. “This was a group of people that we have to take under our wing and help. They have so little, and our little helps them so much. You can’t imagine the blessings that were showered upon us.”
Before attending the trip, the team fasted in order to prepare themselves mentally and physically for their upcoming adventure.
“We chose to do a Daniel fast, which only allowed us to eat fruits and vegetables with no sugar, meat, dairy, or anything processed for 40 days,” Jill said.
During their stay, they served mostly at orphanages and schools, reaching out to people of all ages.
“We brought suitcases and supplies with clothes, school supplies, money, and toys,” Jill said. “We went and fed the street people, visited the Sisters of Charity with over 800 mentally ill, orphans, young girls who had babies or sick people. They slept everywhere, with two or three to a bed. It was absolutely crazy. We talked to the kids, did crafts with them, taught them songs, did plays, and mainly just loved on them.”
The team will go down in history for their selfless service. Literally.
“The Gafat people were so blessed by us coming that they believe that we are the answer to 700 years of praying and actually wrote us down in their history,” Emily said. “It’s really humbling.”
The team members were also served by those they were serving. Each of them have a positive testimony of their time with the Ethiopians.
“The one village that had nothing asked us for nothing,” Jill said. “They wanted to bless us and give us everything. The Ethiopians have absolutely nothing, and they’re happy. They know that their duty is to serve God, and that’s all they have to live for. They don’t live for things. Here in America we take everything for granted. We can have everything and still not be happy. They would give you anything just for speaking to them.”
Brandon and Jill will continue to financially support one woman who touched their lives.
“At one point we were swarmed by little kids trying to sell us little chips,” Jill said. “A little angel dressed in red came up and saved us. Her name is Ester, and she is an amazing woman of God. She spoke English but not that well. She ended up staying with us throughout our orientation meeting and as the night went on, she told through an interpreter that it was late and she needed to go but she just couldn’t leave.
She just felt that God was there with us, and she wanted to stay the night with us, so she did. She wants to become a missionary and Brandon, and I want to help her out with that.”
Michael and Emily said they are blown away by the poverty in Ethiopia, and are currently sponsoring a child there.
“She is a beautiful little girl,” Michael said. “We gave her a doll that opens and shuts its eyes, and you would’ve thought we gave her gold the way she was with it. It broke our hearts to see this poverty, and we know that we can help.”
Brandon and Jill said that they will continue to serve in third world countries and touch others’ lives, as well as their own. To help support the missionary work, contact the Community Fellowship Church at 874-0963.
“We have a hope for the Ethiopians, that they can be able to live and not stress about all the things they have to worry about, like where their next meal is coming from,” Jill said. “There is still a lot of work to be done. This has changed our lives, and we will continue to take a stand and help out so we can make a difference in their lives.”
Museum to hold Open House this Sunday
By Fredie Jo Moreman
What’s happening at the Saints’ Roost Museum? There are several things – like moving some displays and adding new ones.
An Open House will showcase new displays this Sunday, August 14, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., and the Museum Board extends an invitation for everyone to come.
The Saints’ Roost Museum Board of Directors is delighted to have received an impressive operational miniature train display. The trains are displayed in the 1887 Ft. Worth & Denver Railroad Depot at the Museum. This generous gift was given by Mr. and Mrs. Sherman Harriman of Amarillo. Mr. Harriman has had his miniature trains as an on-going project for more than half a century. The Museum Board feels very honored to be the recipient of such a generous gift. You can view how the trains operate during the Open House, and you may also meet Mr. and Mrs. Harriman at that time.
The Museum has also received this past week a beautiful photograph taken by Sandy Skelton of Clarendon. He is also a Museum Board member, and the photograph was taken near Goodnight and shows the beauty of our sunrises in the Texas Panhandle. This photograph is a must see.
Earlier this year, the Museum received a gift of arrowheads and flint from the estate of Clayton Ferris. These items were collected in Donley County, and they are on display in the Indian Room.
In the near future the Museum will have another interesting display for you to come and see.
Clarendon TAKS scores ‘acceptable’
Clarendon Independent School District received a rating of Academically Acceptable from the state’s accountability system this year due to increased standards.
The ratings are partly based on Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS) scores. This year, in order to meet a Recognized rating, 15 – 24 percent of students must have commended performance scores, and 25 percent and up to be Exemplary. The state also removed the use of the Texas Projection Measure (TPM) this year, which did not count students who would fail but were projected to pass in the future.
Clarendon Elementary received a Recognized rating, down from an Exemplary rating the previous two years. Clarendon Junior High went up from Academically Acceptable last year to Recognized this year.
Clarendon High received a rating of Academically Acceptable, same as last year.
“We made gains all in all,” Superintendent Monty Hysinger said. “Especially considering more kids were brought into the accountability system this year.”
On the TAKS across the district, Clarendon had 94 percent of students pass the reading/English language arts portion of the test, down from 95 percent last year; 94 percent in writing, down from 96 percent; 99 percent in social studies, up from 95 percent; 84 percent in math, up from 82 percent; and 93 percent in science, up from 92 percent.
“We appreciate the hard work of the teachers and students,” Hysinger said. “Now we will start studying and preparing for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test, which will replace the TAKS test this year.”
Clarendon TAKS results for Clarendon Elementary are as follows – reading 96 percent, down from 98 percent last year; writing 97 percent, down from 100 percent; mathematics 93 percent, up from 92 percent; and science 90 percent, down from 100 percent.
“Overall, we had a good year,” Elementary principal Mike Word said. “Our commended performance went up and it’s nice to see that. I hope to see that continue in the Elementary building. We have really great teachers and a good curriculum.”
Clarendon Jr. High results– reading/English language arts 88 percent, same as last year; writing 92 percent, up from 91 percent; social studies 99 percent, up from 92 percent; mathematics 79 percent, up from 71 percent; and science 91 percent, up from 82 percent.
“Given the increased standards, the TPM being taken away and the added commended requirement, receiving a Recognized ranking shows how hard our teachers worked, how well our students performed, and that we’re the best Jr. High in the state,” Jr. High principal John Taylor said.
Clarendon High School results– reading/English language arts 96 percent, down from 97 percent last year; social studies 99 percent, up from 96 percent; mathematics 82 percent, same as last year; and science 95 percent, up from 93 percent.
Hedley Independent School District received a rating of Recognized again this year.
Across the district, Hedley had 98 percent of students pass the reading/English language arts portion, same as last year; 92 percent in writing, down from 100 last year; 86 percent in social studies, down from 91 percent; 93 percent in mathematics, up from 76 percent; and 76 percent in science, up from 74 percent last year.
“We were just a few kids short of reaching the Exemplary rating,” Principal David O’Dell said. “The teachers have worked extremely hard and I’m proud of them.”
Services held for former CC president Vaughan
Funeral services for Kenneth D. Vaughan, President Emeritus of Clarendon College, were held Monday in Amarillo.
Vaughan, age 83, was responsible for the modern development of Clarendon College, overseeing its separation from the Clarendon school district in the 1960s and the move to its new campus in 1968.
“The great man – the man who built this college – has passed away,” CC President Phil Shirley told the Enterprise. “He was the genius loci – the spirit of this place.”
Vaughan died Friday, August 5, in Amarillo, and services were held Monday at Paramount Baptist Church with Dr. Gil Lain officiating. Inurnment will be in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon at a later date.
Vaughan was born in Highway Highlands, California, on June 6, 1928. He married Melba Ruth Grady in 1949 in Clarendon. Melba Vaughan passed away on November 1, 1983. Vaughan then married Billie L. Collins of Estelline, Texas on December 8, 1984.
He attended West Texas State University where he earned both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Education.
Mr. Vaughan served as a teacher in the Borger School District from 1949-1952 and came to Clarendon School District where he served the school district from 1952-1960. From 1962-1968 he served as both the Superintendent of Clarendon ISD and as the President of Clarendon College. He then continued as President of Clarendon College until his retirement in 1989.
Under Mr. Vaughan’s leadership, the new 107 acre campus of Clarendon College became a reality. He was known in the Texas Legislature as the “voice of the small colleges.” He was granted the title of President Emeritus by the Clarendon College Board of Regents in 1990.
Dr. Phil Shirley worked with Mr. Vaughan for three years as Dean of Instruction prior to Vaughan’s retirement, and he remembers the former president as man he admired.
“I looked up to him like a father,” said Shirley, who became president of CC in January. “I respected him deeply. He formulated my philosophy of higher education administration.”
Shirley said Vaughan literally built Clarendon College as it is now known but never wanted public attention for himself. He said Vaughan had a strict management style, which was needed for building up the college, and expected the best of every employee and of himself. He was also known for his conservatism with college finances.
“He told me once that if you watch the little things, the big things take care of themselves,” Shirley said. “Mr. Vaughan knew exactly to the penny what the college had, and he kept his finger on all college affairs.”
Shirley said Vaughan was always happy to share information and help the college when he could and said his death leaves a vacuum at Clarendon College.
“He was unique among all our presidents,” Shirley said. “He was inimitable – impossible to duplicate. I loved the man.”
Vaughan was preceded in death by his first wife, Melba Ruth Vaughan; and two brothers, Scott Vaughan of Albuquerque, NM and Carroll Vaughan of McQueeney, Texas.
Survivors include his wife Billie Vaughan of Amarillo; one brother, Dr. O. B. Vaughan of Corpus Christi; one daughter, Linda Vaughan of Fort Worth; five sons, Steve Vaughan and wife Jennie of Amarillo; Randy Collins and wife Kathy of Lubbock; Bob Collins and wife Janice of Estelline; Jon Collins of Amarillo; and Dan Collins and wife Melissa of Follett; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
The family suggests memorials to the Kenneth D. Vaughan Memorial Scholarship Fund at Clarendon College, PO Box 968, Clarendon, TX 79226.
An online guestbook is available at www.schoolerfuneralhome.com.
Armored visitor
Helping Those Who Serve
It’s 2 a.m. when the peaceful silence in a local home is broken by the sound of an emergency pager going off. A man pulls himself from his slumber and quickly heads off to help someone he may not even know, while his wife remains behind to wonder what danger might await him.
This is the life of a volunteer fireman and his family – answering calls for help at all hours and facing unknown peril in the process. But they do it week in and week out as a way to serve their community and lend a hand to their fellow man.
They ask for nothing in return, but this month the community has an opportunity to express its appreciation to the members of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department at a fundraising dinner on August 27. The event, being organized by the Clarendon Firebelles, follows a February incident in which four firemen were very nearly injured while working an accident and one fire truck was totaled by a careless motorist.
Felicia Powell said she and other Firebelles are organizing the benefit dinner to recognize the firemen’s contributions to the community and to help raise funds for much needed equipment. For Felicia, supporting the fire department is nothing new. Her husband, Jeremy, has been a Clarendon fireman for 16 years.
“I’m very proud of him, and it’s something he loves,” Powell said. “I want people to realize that it is so important what our volunteer firemen do. They put their lives on the line every day for Clarendon and Donley County, and they are really just a bunch of great guys.”
Felicia’s role, like those of other firemen’s wives, is not an easy one, and she admits to worrying when the emergency calls come in, especially late at night.
“I wonder if he’s going to be okay, and I toss and turn worrying after he leaves,” she said. “I just make sure I wake up and tell him I love him and to be careful because I don’t want to not have said that in case he doesn’t come home.”
For his part, Jeremy Powell says he and his fellow firemen are on the fire department because it has to be done.
“We do it to fill a need for the community,” he said. “We do get something out of it… the satisfaction of a job well done. That’s something I enjoy and will continue to do as long as I can tell I’m making a difference.”
Jeremy, who is the First Assistant Chief of the Clarendon department, said many people have a misconception that volunteer firemen are there for a joyride or a thrill.
“Most of the stuff we do isn’t fun at all,” Jeremy
said. “When it’s 115° and you have to go battle a wildfire, that’s not fun. When you have to go out in the freezing cold, that’s not fun. When you have to wake up at 2 a.m. and then go to work all day, that’s not much fun.”
And then there is all the work that must be done outside of responding to calls. Jeremy said he tells all prospective volunteers that for every one hour they are responding to a call, there is two hours of work to be done at the fire station.
“We have guys who spend a lot of time on their own doing maintenance on the trucks, for example,” he said. “We try to do all the maintenance that is possible ourselves, so we don’t have to pay someone else to do it.”
And, of course, there is the danger that comes with the job. Responding to fires presents obvious hazards, but firemen also have to watch out not to get run over when responding to an accident. Which is what nearly happened in February.
The department responded to a two-vehicle accident west of Clarendon, and Powell and others were busy helping extricate the driver of a mini-van. Eastbound traffic on US 287 was reduced to one lane, and that lane had been stopped completely to get a wrecker into the scene of the accident.
Then an elderly driver came barreling down the closed lane, narrowly missing firemen Michael Newhouse, Jackie Bell, Chris Wilson, and Chuck Robertson all of whom managed to get out of the way before the man crashed into a 1998 model quick attack fire truck.
“We set that truck there for that purpose,” Jeremy said. “We try to set something like that up for that very reason – so that someone runs into a truck instead of running into where we are working. There is a lot of traffic on 287; and if you try to shut it down, it can be pretty hairy quickly.”
Because it was well cared for the truck probably would have lasted the department another 20 years, Jeremy said. But the accident totaled the vehicle, and it was not insured for replacement cost. Insurance paid about $20,000, but a new truck is likely to cost between $75,000 and $80,000.
A portion of the funds raised at the benefit dinner will go toward replacing the damaged truck, and other funds will go to help meet other expenses.
Jeremy said the city and county together provide more than $40,000 in funding for the department, but that is not enough to pay for everything. Fortunately, the department usually receives between $15,000 and $20,000 a year in donations. But this year has been harder than most.
“Last year was slow, but this year we’ve spent a lot,” he said. “The cost of diesel hurts us, too.”
Jeremy said the department is very grateful for the Firebelles and their efforts.
“They assist us when we’re on a call, they bring us food and water, and they work with EMS to help get us cooled off during these wildfires on hot days,” Jeremy said. “They do a good job, and we are grateful to them.”
The firemen’s benefit dinner will be held on August 27 at 6 p.m. in the Donley County Activity Center. The brisket dinner will be $20 per plate, and tickets must be purchased in advance by August 13. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
To purchase tickets or make a donation, stop by The Clarendon Enterprise or call a Firebelle at 806-477-2621, 806-220-8321, 806-663-1465, or 806-683-6311.
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