Johnny Wayne Cearley, 69, died Wednesday, April 1, 2015 in Amarillo.
Services were held on Saturday, April 4, 2015, in Robertson Funeral Directors Saints’ Roost Chapel in Clarendon with Stan Leffew officiating. Internment followed in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon with arrangements under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Johnny was born April 28, 1945, in Clarendon to Pat Cearley and Pauline Foster Jones. He was a US Navy veteran and was a speech pathologist prior to his retirement. He had been a longtime resident of Clarendon before moving to Amarillo 15 years ago. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Clarendon.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Pat Cearley and Pauline Foster Jones; and a brother, Danny Cearley.
He is survived by a son, Dean Cearley and wife Lori of Amarillo; a daughter, Angie Thorne and husband Jason of Tomball; four grandchildren – Haleigh Cearley, McKenzie Cearley, Bodey Cearley, and Emma Thorne; and one great grandchild, Braelon.
The family request memorials be sent to the Ussery-Roan Texas State Veterans Home in Amarillo.
This Week
Midge Fite Lemley
Midge Fite Lemley, 82, died Tuesday, March 31, 2015.
Services were held April 3, 2015, in First United Methodist Church in Hedley with Don Stone officiating.
Midge was born Dec. 5, 1932, in Pittsburgh County, Okla., to Robert Earl Fite and Lela Alma Mosteller Fite. She was the next to youngest of her large family and developed her work ethic and thriftiness early on as a child of the Depression. She put herself through college at West Texas State University, where she earned a teaching degree.
She possessed an incredible intellect and insatiable drive for growth and learning, which she expressed through art, music and gardening. She played piano and guitar, was a talented painter, sculptor and drawer and was recognized as a Master Gardener by Amarillo Botanical Gardens. She was well-known in the Hedley area for her vegetable garden.
She will be greatly missed by her family for her incredible smile and bright blue eyes that showed unconditional love, unending compassion and amazing optimism. Midge beautified landscapes and lives wherever she lived and taught. As the wife of well-known coach Troy Lemley, she lived in Amarillo, Stinnett, Phillips, Hedley, McAdoo, Smyer, Guthrie, Lockney and Aspermont.
She was preceded in death by her husband, William Troy Lemley; her brothers, Horace, Harvey and Harold; and her sisters, Connie, Dorothy, Leora, Ruth and Bonnie.
Survivors include five children, Amy Lemley of Wichita, Kan., John Lemley and wife Karen of Stillwater, Okla., Joe Lemley and wife Rose of Clarendon, Ben Lemley and wife Karen of Amarillo and Vic Lemley and wife Jenny of Utopia; 10 grandchildren, Kassidy Twyford and husband Cameron of Oklahoma City, Bethany Lemley of Stillwater, Kelley Battey and husband Tyler of Amarillo, Regan Lemley of Amarillo, Corwin, Conner and Chris Lemley of Amarillo and Katie, Chloe and Sawyer Lemley of Utopia; and a great-grandson, Elijah Battey of Amarillo.
The family suggests memorials be to Amarillo Botanical Gardens or American Lung Association. Midge would also smile if you decided to plant a tree instead.
Sign-ups continue for third annual 5K run
The third annual Chance Mark Jones Roar ‘N Run 5K is a week away, and there is still time for runners to sign up for the event.
The Clarendon Lions Club is hosting the event on Saturday, April 11, to coincide with Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Runners and sponsors can still sign up for the event but may not be guaranteed to receive a t-shirt after this week.
Race registrations will close April 9. Registration costs $25.
The year’s race will start and end on the Clarendon College campus and will run through the city, around Prospect Park, and past several historic structures, including the Donley County Courthouse, the First United Methodist Church, and the S.W. Lowe House.
The race will begin at 9 a.m. next Saturday at the college. Race registrations are available at the Clarendon Visitor Center at the Mulkey Theatre, at the Enterprise, or online at http://bit.ly/1C4J1m2.
Proceeds will go towards the many charitable activities of the Clarendon Lions Club, which includes eyeglasses for local school kids, Christmas baskets for local families, hosting the local office of The Bridge – Children’s Advocacy Center, local scholarships, continued park improvements, and monetary support for other local charities.
For more information, contact Lion Ashlee Estlack at [email protected] or 806-874-4808 or 806-662-4687 or Lion Roger Estlack at [email protected] or 806-874-2259.
City names judges for May election
The Clarendon Board of Aldermen appointed election judges for the upcoming May election during the city’s regular meeting March 26.
Bunny Owens will serve as the election judge, and Wilma Lindley will the alternate judge.
Election day is May 9. Mayor Larry Hicks is unopposed for re-election, and three men are running for two places on the board. Aldermen Doug Kidd and Sandy Skelton are joined on the ballot by Britton Hall.
In other business at last Thursday’s meeting, aldermen listened to a proposal from HD Supply regarding their electronic water meters. This was the fourth such proposal the city has seen in recent months as it considers installing a modern water metering system that would be more accurate and reduce labor costs.
The board approved a contract with Will Jordan to serve as the city’s code enforcement officer for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Aldermen also approved three motions aimed at separating the departments of code compliance and animal control and clearly defining job descriptions associated with those departments.
The board again took up the topic of a citywide clean up, and Administrator David Dockery presented cost estimates that the sanitation department might incur with such an event. He said hauling a 40-yard roll-off box to the Memphis landfill would cost the city about $600 per box with a clean-up generating five or six boxes. Alderman Kidd said it would be worth the money to get the town cleaned up, and other board members agreed.
Dockery will bring more information and suggestions for a clean-up to the next meeting. Aldermen Kidd and Beverly Burrow were asked to help with the proposal, and editor Roger Estlack was asked to find information about past clean-ups.
Extension to host April health fair
The 2015 Health Fair will be on Thursday, April 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Bairfield Activity Center at Clarendon College.
Northwest Health Care System will be paying for the processing of tests for cholesterol- LDL/HDL and triglycerides but you must provide your mailing address and must be fasting for accurate results.
The paramedics of Donley County Hospital District will be drawing the blood for these tests. Free medical testing will be available in the following areas: blood pressure, pulse, oxygen, glucose/blood sugar, balance, glaucoma, cholesterol- LDL/HDL, STDs and PSAs. A new service this year will be a thyroid test.
Additional services and information may be available at the fair.
Health fairs are excellent ways to offer screenings for some health problems like diabetes and high blood pressure. Catching them early can help reduce the risks for costly complications. Both diabetes and high blood pressure can go undetected for up to ten years. Health fairs can also raise awareness of issues like preventing heat exhaustion, heat stroke and even skin cancer.
Preventing or delaying the onset of chronic health problems can produce significant savings for many insured employee groups. Thanks to all the generous sponsors, these services will be offered at no cost to the public.
The fair is being sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Clarendon Family Medical Center, Northwest Health Care System, Mike’s Pharmacy, Pilgrim Bank, Clarendon College, Donley County Memorial VFW Post #7782 Ladies Auxiliary and Roadrunner Home Care.
Donations for the health fair are still being accepted at the Extension Office to help with the expense and keeping it a free event for the attendees.
For more information about the 2015 Health Fair, contact the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service at 874-2141.
CHS Academic Teams compete at district
Clarendon High School UIL academic competitors had a field day at district competition this past week at Clarendon College, winning a large number of medals and a number of team championships.
The Number Sense team, Current Issues team, Spelling team, Science team, and Social Studies team all placed first, and the Math team and Literary Criticism team both came in second.
Twenty-four Clarendon High School UIL academic competitors qualified for regionals.
Individual district champions included Sarah Williams in Lincoln-Douglas debate, Taylor Overstreet in Poetry Interpretation, Kendra Davis in Headline Writing, Riley Shadle in Number Sense, Caleb Cobb in both Current Issues and Social Studies, Xavier Neal in Spelling and Vocabulary, Chesson Sims in both overall Science and Chemistry, and Cedrick McCampbell in Biology.
Others who placed were: Leslie Coxey – 3rd place Lincoln-Douglas Debate; Allyson Grahn – 6th place Poetry; Tate Parker – 3rd place Prose; Jessie Taylor – 4th place Prose; Maddi Carr – 5th place Prose; Caleb Cobb – 3rd place Informative Speaking; Philip Monds – 2nd place Computer Applications; Justin Cristopher – 4th place Computer Applications; Kendra Davis – 2nd place Ready Writing; Emilie Thompson – 5th place Literary Criticism; Chance Lockhart – 2nd place Number Sense, 4th place Calculator Apps and 6th place Mathematics; Cire Jauregui – 6th place Number Sense and 2nd place Mathematics; Andy Davis – 6th place Current Issues; Abby Johnson – 3rd place Spelling; Cedrick McCampbell – 2nd place Science; Hannah Howard – 3rd place Science; Steven Johnson – 4th place Science; Aubryanna Powell – 5th place Science; and Cooper Bilbrey – 6th place Social Studies.
Students and sponsors now prepare for regional competition at Odessa College April 24-25. Clarendon High School will take twenty four students to the meet who qualified for the next level of competition.
Broncos blast Valley in District opener
By Sandy Anderberg
The Broncos used a huge third inning scoring run to seal the win when they scored 18 runs. It only took the Broncos five innings to get the job done. The final score was 20-1.
Izzy Osburn hit a two-run single to get things going in the third before Nick Shadle, Kade Hunsaker, Charles Mason, Josh Cobb, and Bryce Hatley all earned an RBI. Cobb also made good on a two-run single, who went 2-2 for the day. Zack LaRoe got things going in the first inning when two runs scored when he slammed a double.
Hunsaker was on the mound where he allowed only one earned run on two hits and had three walks over four innings. Hunsaker also struck out nine hitters.
“It was a great way to open district,” coach Brad Elam said.
Earlier in the week, the Broncos fell short to River Road at 4-8 in seven innings.
LaRoe was on the mound and had a fairly good outing, but the Wildcats were able to get hits when they needed them.
The Broncos took the early 3-0 lead in the first inning, but River Road came charging back to take the lead after scoring seven runs and the Broncos struggled to get anything going.
“I thought our pitchers pitched really well,” Elam said. “We were hurt by errors in that first inning. Offensively, we didn’t do much after the first inning. We are playing good teams getting ready for district.”
The Broncos will travel to Kress April 3 and play Wellington at home April 7.
Lady Broncos grab two big District wins
By Sandy Anderberg
The Lady Broncos stayed focused in their two district games last week and were rewarded with two huge wins.
On Tuesday, the Lady Broncos defeated Gruver 15-12. According to head coach Gary Jack, it was a very close game all the way with the ladies hitting the ball very well.
“Briley (Chadwick) and Taylor (DeGrate) pitched with Allyson Hogan catching,” Jack said. Brooke (Martin), DeGrate, Skyler (White), Hogan, and Zaryia (Smith) all hit the ball very well. Our bats kept putting us in the lead and our defense was pretty solid all day.”
On Saturday, the ladies came from behind to win the horse race and defeat a good Claude team 15-11. The Lady Broncos trailed the Lady Mustangs 6-10 going into the sixth inning. Clarendon scored two runs to pull within two at 8-10.
“We held them to no runs in the sixth inning,” Jack said. “Trailing 8-10 in the seventh we hit well and scored seven runs to take a 15-10 lead to the bottom of the seventh.”
Claude gave the ladies a little scare when they scored one run to go to 11 with runners on first and third with one out. But the Lady Broncos stayed solid and DeGrate grabbed a line drive from the batter and turned and threw to Taylor Gaines on third base for the double play to end the game.
“We trailed nearly the whole game,” Jack said. “Our bats, once again, came alive late in the game with Briley, Skyler, and Taylor D. hitting well. Taylor D. hit a two-run homerun over the fence in the fifth inning. This was a very exciting game to come back and win.”
The Lady Broncos will put their perfect district record at 4-0 (7-2 overall) on the line Saturday, April 4, against West Texas High at home at 1:00 p.m.
Neoma May Rippetoe
Neoma May Rippetoe, 81, died Saturday, March 28, 2015, in Amarillo.
Services were held at 10:00 am Tuesday, March 31, 2015 in the First Assembly of God in Clarendon with Rev. Matthew Stidham and Rev. Anthony Knowles, officiating.
Burial followed at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.
Arrangements are under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Neoma was born February 6, 1934, in Elk City, Oklahoma to Lloyd and Mamie Dickerson. She married Carrel Rippetoe on December 31, 1949, at Sayre, Oklahoma. She had been a resident of Clarendon for 66 years and was a member of the First Assembly of God in Clarendon. She dearly loved people.
She was preceded in death by her parents; a son, Reggie Rippetoe; 2 sisters; and 1 brother;
She is survived by her 3 sons, Ronnie Rippetoe, Eric Rippetoe both of Clarendon, and David Rippetoe of Guthrie, Oklahoma; 3 daughters, Sandy Cox and husband Ricky and Deborah Powers both Clarendon and Judy Bybee of Amarillo; 13 grandchildren; 25 great grandchildren; and 2 great great grandchildren.
The family request memorials be sent to a favorite charity.
Dockery to review city’s water system plan
The Clarendon Board of Aldermen put the brakes on an extensive water system improvement plan last Tuesday, March 17, in order to give new City Administrator David Dockery time to review the project.
City officials had been working for several on an improvement plan worth up to $3.9 million with an eye toward applying for funding through the US Department of Agriculture. The plan included replacing the standpipe water storage on the east side of town, improving waterlines throughout the city, and installing water meters that can be read electronically, reducing errors and lost work time.
City engineer Clayton Scales went over the plans during last week’s city meeting and detailed the funding opportunities through USDA, which could provide a portion of funding as a grant and finance the balance with a low interest loan. The USDA might also require the city to tap a portion of its reserves for the project.
Dockery commended the board for the work the city has done to identify issues of concern that need addressing and finding a way to pay for those improvements, but he asked the aldermen to give him one month to review the project before proceeding.
Dockery suggested the city might want to pursue the electronic water meters as a way to enhance accuracy and recoup the man hours lost to reading meters (as much as one week a month for some employees) and then tackle the remainder of the project in smaller increments.
“My main concern is depleting the city’s reserves and the indebtedness we would incur,” Dockery said. “We need a capital improvement plan and then do things more incrementally.”
The board agreed with the administrator and took no action on moving the project forward to allow him a month to make a recommendation.
In other business, the city’s longstanding Tuesday meetings became a thing of the past when the aldermen approved Ordinance 441. Regular city meetings will now be held on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
City officials also discussed the idea of implementing a citywide clean-up once or twice a year. More information will be presented at a future meeting regarding the expenses and logistics of such an idea.
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