Area residents were on edge as several tornadoes touched down in and around Donley County on April 22, 2010. This video was captured near Ashtola by the Enterprise storm chase team The Twister Chicks – Anndria Newhouse, Terra Kidd, and Sarah Hatley. (Video may take a few seconds to load. Refresh this page to replay the video.)
News
CC, WTAMU launch transfer partnership
The presidents of Clarendon College and West Texas A&M University signed a new partnership last Wednesday that streamlines the path to a four-year degree and creates many benefits for students at CC.
The “Destination WT” agreement provides greater educational opportunities and services for students transferring between Clarendon and other area colleges and WTAMU.
“Our flagship university in the Panhandle is and always was West Texas,” CC President Bill Auvenshine said during a ceremony at the Bairfield Activity Center. “Most of our transfers go to WT, and our do very well there. It is our pleasure to pledge our support to WT.”
WTAMU says 454 of their current students identify themselves with a connection to Clarendon College. A total of 120 former CC students graduated from WT last year, and 123 are set to graduate this year.
WT President J. Patrick O’Brien said an educated population is the key to economic vitality in the region and said the new partnership will help local students who declare as freshmen their intent to transfer to West Texas A&M.
“This agreement will ease the transfer process,” O’Brien said. “They won’t have to apply for admission, and we will waive the application process and fees.”
Additionally, Clarendon College students who are destined for WT will be allowed to participate in selected WT student activities without cost; and upon transfer, will receive a $1,000 scholarship. If the Clarendon College student is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor fraternity, the scholarship is increased to $1,500.
“It is a win-win situation, and we are tickled to death about it,” O’Brien said.
Students will be encouraged to earn an associate’s degree and/or as many transferable academic credits as possible before transferring to WTAMU. In turn, the partnership agreement will include a reverse transfer process where Clarendon College is able to award associate degrees to former students who earn the required credit at WTAMU.
At the center of “Destination WT” is a Transfer Plan for each student that outlines coursework for both the associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. The Transfer Plan will simplify degree requirements and help students obtain their degrees more quickly.
Academic advising help through coordinated efforts between WTAMU and the student’s respective community college will help ensure progression toward each degree.
O’Brien will sign similar agreements with Frank Phillips College in Borger on May 3 and with Amarillo College on May 6.
The “Destination WT” program is limited to students who have earned less than 25 transferable credit hours and are enrolled at Amarillo College, Clarendon College or Frank Phillips College. However, any student at these institutions may utilize the published Transfer Plans.
For more information about “Destination WT,” call the WTAMU Office of Admissions at 651-2020.
District champs
The Lady Broncos did it again with an unblemished District record at a perfect 10-0 and won the District Championship.
Last week the ladies knocked off Follett, Booker, and McLean plus defeating the Alumni to go 23-4 overall and 10-0 in District play.
In the first game of the week, the Lady Broncos smashed Follett in five innings at 20-0. Junior pitcher Danielle Ford and Jency Burton were on the mound, and Ford got the win to increase her record to 18-1 for the year.
Dominique Mason was behind the plate. After scoring nine runs in the first inning, the Broncos added 10 more in the second. They added one more in the fifth to seal the win. Follett was unable to get anything going offensively.
“Caitlyn Christopher hit a grand slam in the game,” head coach Gary Jack said. “She also added a double, two singles, and drove in nine runs. It was a big game for her.”
On Wednesday, the Lady Broncos took on Booker and stopped them 7-3. The ladies struck first in the opening inning and put one run on the board. They added another in the third, but let the Lady Kiowas score three runs to take the lead. But the ladies battled hard and were able to add two runs in each of the fourth and sixth innings to get the win.
Once again Ford and Mason teamed up on the mound and behind the plate.
“We had one bad play where we had three errors, and they scored their three runs,” Jack said. “We hit the ball well against them, but left people on base.”
The Lady Broncos played back-to-back games and traveled quite a bit and Jack thought that might have made them a little out of their rhythm.
On Friday, the ladies took on McLean and defeated them 8-3.
“Once again we played well and were really one hit away from getting a run-rule on them,” Jack said. “We played pretty decent.”
Saturday, the Lady Broncos played their annual Alumni game and won 11-1.
“We had nine or ten come back and play the Alumni game,” Jack said. “We did well against them, but they did a good job, too. Danielle (Ford) struck out eight hitters, but they were able to start hitting later in the game. It was a really fun game for us and it has been a good year so far.”
Because the Lady Broncos are District Champs they will receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They will play their first post-season game in a couple of weeks. They are planning a warm-up game, but that is yet to be announced.
Candidates respond to questions
Profiles of candidates running for positions on six local boards are being printed in this week’s edition of The Clarendon Enterprise.
All of the candidates were contacted about the questionnaire for the newspaper, and all but five responded to the request for information.
Among the questions posed by the Enterprise was about whether the candidates’ property taxes were paid up with the Donley County Appraisal District, and the answers to that question were verified Tuesday afternoon.
Four candidates, none of who responded to the survey, were found to owe taxes. That information is printed with the survey results inside this week’s issue.
Early voting by personal appearance is currently underway and continues through next Tuesday, May 4. Election Day will be Saturday, May 8.
On the ballot this year, Clarendon voters will have a choice of seven candidates to fill three positions on the Board of Aldermen. Incumbent City Aldermen Kyle Davis and Will Thompson will be joined on the ballot by challengers Jeff King, Jeremy Powell, John Lockhart, Danny Bennett, and former alderman Terry Noble. Aldermen serve two-year terms and are elected at-large. Balloting is at the Donley County Courthouse Annex.
Voters in Hedley will have two choices for mayor – incumbent Bruce Howard and Dusty D. Wilkinson – and five choices for four positions on the Board of Aldermen – David Wells and incumbents Leon Ward, Tonya Metcalf, Travis Thomas, and Lonnie Roby.
Hedley city officials also serve two-year terms and are elected at large. Early balloting is at City Hall and voting on Election Day will be held at the Hedley Lions Den.
The City of Howardwick has four people running for three positions on the Board of Aldermen. Incumbents Rod Donaldson and Tanis McMorries are being challenged by Johnny Hubbard and Tim Gallagher. These offices are two-year terms, and balloting is at Howardwick City Hall.
Six candidates are running for three positions on the Clarendon College Board of Regents. Challengers Cindy Myers, Glenda Hawkins, and Jerry Gage will face incumbents Susie Shields, Charles Deyhle, and Ruth Robinson. Regents serve six-year terms, and balloting is at the Donley County Courthouse Annex. An additional Election Day ballot box will be at the Hedley Lions Den.
One challenger is seeking a spot on the Clarendon ISD Board of Trustees. Current members Robin Ellis, Jim Shelton, and Marvin Thompson will be joined on the ballot by Linda Rowland. Trustees serve three-year terms, and balloting is at the Donley County Courthouse Annex.
The Hedley ISD Board of Trustees has three candidates for two full terms. Incumbents James Edward Potts and Troy Monroe will face Bonnie Walsh Brown during the election. Karen Watt is serving an unexpired term on the board and was the only one to file to run for that position. Trustees serve three-year terms. Early balloting is at the school office, and Election Day balloting will be at the Hedley Lions Den.
Aldermen updated on grants
The Clarendon Board of Aldermen received updates on several grants that the city has been looking into during their regular meeting April 13.
Interim City Administrator Phyllis Jeffers primarily raised concerns about a downtown revitalization grant for $440,000 that would bring sidewalk and lighting improvements to Kearney Street.
Jeffers said part of the documentation for the grant application is not in the files and also said the grant is a reimbursement grant – meaning the city spends the money and is then paid back by the state – with a 20 percent local match.
The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation has previously agreed to provide $50,000 for the match, but city officials must consider how to fund the remainder of the match as well as how to pay bills as they come in prior to the state’s providing reimbursement.
“I am making this my number one priority,” Jeffers said. “I’ve seen what this type of grant has done for other cities, and it’s very important that we get this grant.”
Jeffers said the grant won’t be awarded until this fall, so the city has time to visit with other cities to see how they have handled the funding issues.
Board members said they had not been made aware of the reimbursement nature of the grant but also expressed support for moving forward.
Another grant for sidewalk improvements near the public school had not been submitted, a grant for a new trash truck was not successful, and a third grant for energy efficient street lights has some timeline questions that need to be resolved.
The board also accepted a letter of resignation, with regret, from Municipal Judge Jimmy Johnson, who is retiring. Aldermen then met for an hour in closed session before appointing Justice of the Peace Connie Havens as a temporary replacement for Johnson.
In other city business, the board authorized a mid-year audit that Jeffers hopes will help streamline city operations and ultimately save money; renegotiated a contract with the Chamber of Commerce that now gives the Chamber $5,000 per quarter from the Motel Bed Tax fund; agreed to pay for radio advertising bills owed by the Chamber due to a contract that the city approved several years ago; and approved one resolution related to working with the probation department to help with city projects and a second resolution that allows volunteer firemen to serve on the board of aldermen.
A Different Kind of Life
Bernice Ende from Trigo, Montana, leads a nontraditional lifestyle.
Inspired by watching black and white westerns such as Hop Along Cassidy and John Wayne when she was a child, the 56 year old former ballet teacher is a “longrider,” traveling thousands of miles each year on horseback and calling a tent home.
Last week, Ende’s current 2,700 mile journey from London, Texas, to Montana led her to Clarendon, and she made her temporary home at the Clarendon rodeo grounds.
“I would like to say thank you to the community for their hospitality and to Joe Neal Shadle for opening up the Cowboy Church and making sure I had everything out here,” Ende said.
“Everyone has been so helpful.”
During her stay, Ende made a guest appearance at the monthly Friends of the Library meeting on April 14 and shared her experiences.
“I think she’s an amazing woman,” Librarian Jerri Ann Shields said. “Anyone who sleeps with her dogs and horses is amazing.”
Ende’s previous rides include 3,000 miles in 2009, 3,000 miles in 2008, 5,000 miles in 2006-2007 and 2,000 miles in 2005. This will be her fifth time to cross the Rocky Mountains.
“On my first ride I was so afraid I wasn’t gonna make it because I had no place to go,” she said.
“But this is my life. It doesn’t matter about getting to the end anymore. It didn’t change until about 700 miles into this. The journey takes you, not you take the journey. There is no going home. For me, this is home.”
From Clarendon she will go onto McLean, Wheeler and Allison, and then into Oklahoma.
“I’ve been in the state of Texas for three months,” Ende said. “This state is huge! My pockets are bulging with hospitality from my stays here. It has definitely been a chapter of its own coming through Texas.”
Her companions on her journeys are Hart, a 14-year-old paint gelding that replaced Hope, her former mare after she recently broke her shoulder and had to be put down; Essie Pearl, a three-year-old Fjord packhorse; Claire, a nine-year-old dog of “unknown origin,” and Francis, a three-month-old West Texas cattle dog. Both dogs get the privilege of riding on Essie Pearl in a box.
“Both my dogs are ditch puppies,” Ende said. “When I found Claire I took her out of the ditch, and then I began teaching her how to ride in a wheelbarrow and bicycle basket, so riding on the horse was nothing.”
Ende dedicates her rides to her mother.
“In honor of my mother, I have five siblings who I stay in touch with by riding,” she said. “All of my routes take me to see my sisters.”
Her gear and possessions she travels with include a tent, sleeping pads, wool blanket, sleeping bag, food department, Coleman burner, one spork, one knife, tin cup, vet supply, toiletries, water bottles, rain gear, ponchos, two sets of clothes, and riding and reading material.
Food found in the “Lady Longrider’s” diet consists of a tortilla with cream cheese and vegetables, coffee and meat cooked with her portable Coleman burner, and wild plants and berries.
“Some of the plants I eat include lambsquarters, nettles, watercress, dandelion greens, and pecans,” Ende said. “I eat a lot of all those things, and of course all the wild fruits.”
While there are those who would suffer from withdrawals when isolated from technology, Ende actually enjoys it.
“I love not having everything,” Ende said. “I don’t use a phone but about four times a month, and I’m experiencing the amazing diversity in our country that you cannot find on TV.”
Ende walks about ten miles a day and rides an average of 20-25 miles on a good day.
“It’s so physically demanding, and I hope I have another five years in me,” she said.
“I sleep on the ground, and everyday I’m packing hundreds of pounds on and off the horse, not to mention walking and encountering the heat and cold.”
Ende said that a critical part of longriding is learning how to accept help and not caring what others think of you.
“Longriding has been a teacher to me,” she said. “At first I was afraid to ask for water at houses, but since I first did it I’ve never been turned down.
“It’s humbling being in the presence of people who care about you riding and who want you to continue.”
According to Ende, other requirements include mental perseverance and faith.
“You find out what you’re made of when a storm comes around and your holding on to your tent telling yourself you’re going to stay,” she said.
Ende has discovered that enduring these hardships is worth it.
“When you live your life at four miles an hour, something changes in you,” she said. “When you travel by car, you travel fast and smooth. But when on a horse, you have a view and your elevated 12 feet off the ground and can see all around without watching where to go. There’s just a quality of life that comes from the horse.”
Out of all the places she has traveled to, the desert scene is one of Ende’s favorite. In order to cross a desert she must follow storms and drink out of puddles.
“In the desert there is no one in any direction, and there are coyotes howling and birds singing, and you’re around a fire,” she said. “It’s the most wonderful feelings of contentment and satisfaction, and it’s embracing.”
Ende said the only reason she rides is to “bring smiles to people’s faces.”
“It’s not about me, it involves all of us,” she said. “It’s about our country, sharing stories and the goodness in our people. It’s a reminder of living a simpler life and of not being afraid to find your passion in life.”
Thousands of people have told Ende they wish they were a longrider and want to join in on her journeys.
“It is a romantic image, but it’s not easy,” Ende said. “It’s not a once in a lifetime dream for me; it’s my life.”
Enterprise picks up awards from regional press contest
The Clarendon Enterprise received three first place plaques when the Panhandle Press Association announced the winners of its annual Better Newspaper Contest in Canadian last Saturday.
Winners were announced at the close of the association’s 100th annual convention at the Citadelle Art Museum.
Enterprise publisher Roger Estlack won first place in the Editorials on the topic’s of “Mom’s Love,” the closure of the local General Motors dealership, and the tension between City Hall and the sheriff’s department.
The paper also received first place honors for Feature Photos by Ashlyn Tubbs and Roger Estlack and for Sports Photos for work by Kari Lindsey and Estlack.
The Enterprise received second place honors in the categories of Best News Writing, Sports Writing, Society/Lifestyles, Best Special Edition/Section, and Front Page Layout.
Julie Shields won a third place plaque for Best Humorous Columns, and the paper also received third place honors for Advertising Initiative, Headline Writing, and, with its old website, the Online Newspaper Contest.
The Canadian Record took home top honors in Division I.
The PPA was led this year by Canadian editor Laurie Ezzell Brown. She will continue on the PPA Board as Immediate Past President with the following officers: Mary Smithee of Canadian, President; Phil Hamilton of Olton, Vice President; and Ashlee Estlack, Secretary/Treasurer, along with directors Jed Moorehouse of Silverton, Jeff Blackmon of Childress, Amanda Rogers of Canyon, and Grover Ford of Hereford.
Early voting beings Monday for local boards
Early voting begins next Monday in elections for six local boards, and the Enterprise will publish profiles of the candidates next week.
All local candidates will be contacted and asked to fill out a questionnaire later this week.
Clarendon voters will have a choice of seven candidates to fill three positions on the Board of Aldermen. Incumbent City Aldermen Kyle Davis and Will Thompson will be joined on the ballot by challengers Jeff King, Jeremy Powell, John Lockhart, Danny Bennett, and former alderman Terry Noble.
Voters in Hedley will have two choices for mayor – incumbent Bruce Howard and Dusty D. Wilkinson – and five choices for four positions on the Board of Aldermen – David Wells and incumbents Leon Ward, Tonya Metcalf, Travis Thomas, and Lonnie Roby.
Howardwick has four people running for three positions on the Board of Aldermen.
Incumbents Rod Donaldson and Tanis McMorries are being challenged by Johnny Hubbard and Tim Gallagher.
Six candidates are running for three positions on the Clarendon College Board of Regents. Challengers Cindy Myers, Glenda Hawkins, and Jerry Gage will face incumbents Susie Shields, Charles Deyhle, and Ruth Robinson.
One challenger is seeking a spot on the Clarendon ISD Board of Trustees. Current members Robin Ellis, Jim Shelton, and Marvin Thompson will be joined on the ballot by Linda Rowland.
The Hedley ISD Board of Trustees has three candidates for two full terms. Incumbents James Edward Potts and Troy Monroe will face Bonnie Walsh Brown during the election. Karen Watt is serving an unexpired term on the board and was the only one to file to run for that position.
All offices are elected at-large. Election Day is Saturday, May 8.
What’s on your mind?
The Clarendon Enterprsie is preparing questionnaires for our local city, college, and school board candidates and will print the results in the April 29 edition. If you have suggested questions for the candidates, let us know by e-mailing us or by posting a comment on this article. This is your chance to get involved.
CC Wind Energy Program
Climbing 262 feet into the air isn’t something many people want to do, but some Clarendon College students have tried it and hope to make a career of it.
Now in its second year, Wind Energy is becoming a popular vocational program at CC, and it would be hard to find students more enthusiastic about their course of study than those who recently climbed a wind turbine in Sweetwater.
“You’ll know when you go up there if that’s what you want to do,” said student Larry Lawley of Pampa. “I’ll do it for 40 or 50 years, and they will have to force me to retire.”
Noberto Alonzo, also of Pampa, had never been on to a wind farm before traveling to Sweetwater as part of the Special Topics in Wind class.
“It was amazing,” Alonzo said. “It makes you feel good about what you’re doing.”
The students first attended a job hazard assessment meeting and went through all the safety precautions before getting inside the tower and climbing 30 feet to a hatch that allows access further up. From there they climbed two sets of 70-foot ladders straight up to reach the “saddle room” which leads to the nacelle on top of the tower.
“I wasn’t prepared for how big that area was,” said Dan Fish of Alanreed. “You can have six or seven people in there plus all the gears, the brakes, the turbine, and more.”
At that point technicians check the wind speed outside. A consistent speed of 12 meters per second prohibits a man from getting outside. On that day, the speed was close but acceptable, so out they climbed on to the top of a giant wind turbine.
“It was breathtaking,” Fish said. “You feel like you’re on top of the world.”
Gary Kuhl, who teaches AC/DC circuitry for the wind energy program, said about half the potential students at Sweetwater’s Texas State Technical College get eliminated because they can’t make the climb, which is a requirement for admission there. At Clarendon, climbing is a voluntary class since CC doesn’t own a tower.
The students’ climb took between an hour and an hour and a half because of the size of the group. But they say in a real world setting, the climb would only take about 20 minutes.
Workers are harnessed during the duration of the climb, and there must be a minimum of two people to make a climb and an additional person must be on the ground.
Once on top of the tower, an instructor showed the students how they could work on the equipment and even how to communicate with the manufacturers of the equipment in Germany.
“One of the things they emphasized was: “Downtime is money,” said student Terrance Fike of McLean. “That turbine was generating two megawatts of power, and they had to shut it down so we could climb.”
All the students agreed that they are looking forward to the next time they get to climb and are excited about the prospects of working on wind towers for a living.
CC now has 96 wind energy majors, according to Dean of Instruction, Dr. Debra Kuhl. The college offers a one-year certificate program and a two-year degree program with classes being held in Clarendon, Pampa, and Childress. Six students are expected to be the first to graduate from the program this year with associate’s degrees.
Donny Cagle, who holds a master’s degree from West Texas A&M University, is an instructor and the program coordinator. The college is currently seeking two additional wind instructors and is looking for grants and donations to help purchase equipment for the program.
For more information about the Wind Energy Program, contact Clarendon College at 874-3571 or visit the college website at www.clarendoncollege.edu.
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