News

A group of Hedley citizens want to legalize the sale of alcoholic beverages in that city as a way to bring more business to town.

Tonja Ruthardt, owner of Uncle Bob’s convenience store, published notice of her application for a local option petition in this week’s Enterprise and plans to circulate a petition this week calling for the legalized sale of alcoholic beverages and mixed drinks in Hedley.

The application has been signed by Ruthardt and nine other Hedley citizens.

“I know some people are against it, and I don’t mean any disrespect or want to cause any hurt feelings,” Ruthardt said, “but our town needs the money and I need the business.”

If the petition and later election are successful, Ruthardt said she wants to sell beer and possibly wine in her store to keep more business in Hedley.

“People are going to drink,” she said. “Now they are going to Estelline or Howardwick. Why not have it here?”

Hedley Mayor Dusty Wilkinson says he has mixed feelings on the issue but he looks at it from a revenue standpoint.

“We’re losing a lot of money now,” Wilkinson said. “We’re down 20 percent in our water revenue with the current drought restrictions, and it’s only going to get worse.”

The latest figures from State Comptroller Susan Combs also show Hedley is losing sales tax revenue, seeing its August allocation drop more than 15 percent and being down more than 13 percent for the calendar year-to-date.

“The city could use the money from alcohol sales,” the mayor said. “We’re trying not to raise utilities or taxes. We’ve got a big portion of people here on fixed incomes and Social Security. A small increase in utilities could mean a meal for them.”

Ruthardt says 35 percent of the people in Hedley who voted in the last governor’s election must sign the petition in order to call an election, and she believes she will have no trouble gathering the signatures.

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.

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.

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 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.”