This Week

Wilson Cattle took top honors during the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association’s annual Ranch Rodeo last Friday and Saturday.

This year’s total attendance for the two-day ranch rodeo and Monday’s junior rodeo was 2,135 people, which is up from last year’s attendance of 1,700.

Wilson Cattle’s scores beat out 20 other local and regional teams as working cowboys put their skills to the test as part of the 134th annual Saints’ Roost Celebration. The team was made up of Rodey Wilson, Tyler Rice, Ky Sinck, Jason Thomas, and Jesse Valdez.

The Salt Fork Ranch finished second with the team of Whit Akins, Herman Elam, Henery Elam, Chase Pope, and Darin Bell.

The Conley Ranch was third with the team of Shay Aaron, Chance Johnston, Chad Conley, Remington Smith, and Levi Garcia.

The Top Hand for the rodeo was awarded to Trey Paul, and the Top Horse award was won by Rody Wilson.

Junior Calf, Donkey, and Steer Riding was held all three nights. Overall Calf Riding and Donkey Riding champion was Colby Mason. Overall Steer Riding champion was Dalton Benson.

The Overall Junior Rodeo winners from Monday night were Smith SJ, first; Hat Ranch, second; and Red Mud Cattle, third.

The Top Hand winner for the Junior Ranch Rodeo was Chance McAnear and the Top Horse went to Brody Rankin.

Beef winners for all three nights include Bradley Watson, Emily McCary, and Lance
Covence.

A former Clarendon alderman will return to office following a vote at last Tuesday’s regular city meeting.

The Board of Aldermen appointed Ann Huey, whose term of office expired in May, to return to the board to finish out the vacant term of Jeremy Powell, who resigned earlier
this year after moving outside of the city limits.

The board also elected Alderman Will Thompson as the city’s mayor pro tempore.
Mayor Larry Hicks administered the oath of office to Huey on Friday.

In other city business, aldermen: approved a motion to set their regular meetings at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month; approved an agreement with the City of Hedley to receive stray animals on an occasional basis; authorized paying utility bills for the Mulkey Theatre; transferred $10,000 from the improvement fund to the street department to purchase patching material; and removed charges for limbs, leaves, and
grass clippings at the recycling center.

In his report, Administrator Lambert Little said the board would have a long-term planning session on August 20 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. He also said the city’s airport board had met but recommended that no money be spent on improvements at the airport until the city streets were fixed.

Mayor Hicks reported that the city was in contact with a new firm to perform engineering services.

A Donley County Grand Jury indicted Robert Monroe Babcock yesterday on the Capital Murder charge in the death of his four-year-old son, Chance Mark Jones.

District Attorney Luke Inman tells the Enterprise that the court will now proceed with scheduling the first court appearance and setting a pre-trial date, which he says could be in the next two to four weeks.

Babcock is accused of beating his son, who died on January 5. According to previous reports, preliminary results of an autopsy conducted the next day revealed that the boy died from blunt force trauma to the head and that he also suffered internal injuries from trauma to the torso.

The defendant remains in the Donley County Jail with bond set at $1.1 million.