Running the Junior High
This Week
First day
Laqueta Cox
Laqueta Cox, 78, died Tuesday, August 16, 2011, in Hedley.
Services were held Thursday, August 18, in the First Baptist Church in Hedley with Rev. Bruce
Howard, Pastor, and John Hall, officiating. Interment was held at Rowe Cemetery in Hedley. Arrangements were under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Laqueta was born April 19, 1933, in Northfield, Motley County to James & Edna Boothe Hoover. She married Clarence “Pick” Cox on August 3, 1949, in Paducah. She had been a resident of Hedley since May 1982 where she had been an active member of the First Baptist Church in Hedley. She also was a member of Clarendon Order
of the Eastern Star Chapter #6. Laqueta loved her Lord and was a living example of Godly love, mercy, forgiveness and caring for others. She loved to cook and fed anyone who came to her home. She loved her family, physical and spiritual, all she wanted was to Glorify God with her life.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Pick on September 9, 2008; her grandson, Jamon Cox; her son in law, Elgie McCleskey; and a sister, Nellie Martin.
Survivors include a son, Carl Cox and wife Christy of Hedley; four daughters, Sondra Hatcher and husband Ronald of Childress, Janette Wagner and husband Jerry of Hedley, Linda Crump and husband Morris of Clarendon, and Lucy Poole and husband Joe of Hedley; two brothers, Travis Hoover and Bub Hoover both of Childress; a sister, Rheta Hutchins of Hedley; twelve grandchildren, Billy Ray Cates, Joel Layton, James McCleskey, Willie McCleskey, Elwyn McCleskey, Wyman McCleskey, Julie Edwards, Jessie Cox, Jordan Cox, Ashlee Cox, Logan Cox and Tyler Cox; numerous step-grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and step-great-grandchildren; and many loving nieces and nephews.
The family requests that memorials be sent to the Rowe Cemetery Association.
Wounded warrior gets big adventure
Broncos begin season at New Deal
Last year, the Lions defeated the Broncos in a very close matchup. This year they are looking for revenge. Hard at it since the first of August, the Broncos are ready to go and eager to get the season going.
On Thursday, the Broncos scrimmaged against a strong West Texas High team and walked away encouraged by their play.
“We did well against them,” head football coach Gary Jack said. “We are pretty big this year, but they were even bigger than us. But our guys did a good job. It was a tremendously different scrimmage from Nazareth, and it was a good battle up front. It was definitely a war in the trenches.”
According to Jack, the Broncos scored six times, while WT only took it across the line three times.
“It just went really well,” Jack said. “We made some mistakes and that will happen. But we also were able to see some more things we need to work on. We are just trying to get better every week.”
The Broncos will travel to New Deal Friday, August 26, to take on the Lions at 7:30 p.m.
“They are a pretty big team as well,” Jack said. “They are extremely tough, and we will have our hands full, but we are ready.”
Helpful hands
Citizens want alcohol sales in Hedley
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.
New exhibit
Owls to scrimmage Silverton Friday
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.
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