Q: “What sort of entertainment other than the movie theater and the bowling alley would you like to see in Borger?”

A: “I’m very excited about the dog park coming soon. It will be so nice to be able to take my two dogs there. As for other things I’d like to see in Borger, I would be interested in mommy and me sort of classes. I think Laurel would really enjoy it.”

A suspect in last Thursday’s arrest following a pursuit by Borger police is being held at the Hutchinson County Jail on two bonds that total $88,000.
Jonathan Arturo Duran, 27, is being held on an $80,000 bond by the 84th District Court for aggravated robbery and an $8,000 by the family court for a terroristic threat to a family member of the Borger Police Department, according to a jail officer.
Those charges stem from outstanding warrants Duran had at the time he was apprehended.
Borger officers located Duran and two other suspects around 10 a.m. in a red car at the Allsup’s convenience store on Florida Street.
BPD had information that the suspects may have been involved in a theft or robbery earlier that morning at a business in Pampa.
The vehicle then fled Allsup’s and a short pursuit followed. The pursuit ended in the 1100 block of Lindsey Street where two men fled on foot.
A third suspect, Autumn Nichole Combs, did not flee the vehicle and was detained.
Duran walked back to officers and turned himself in. The other male suspect, Gatlin Ray Taylor, 24, continued to flee police.
A K-9 unit from the Gray County Sheriff’s Office was brought to Borger to track Taylor, but his scent was lost. As of Wednesday, Taylor has not been located, according to BPD.
Combs has previous warrants in Borger, but is not being detained at the jail, a jail officer said.
During a search of the red car, a revolver was located that later was reported stolen out of Pampa. Drug paraphernalia and other items were also located in the vehicle.
 The city of Pampa said in a July 18 press release that investigators will be filing a charge of misdemeanor theft against Duran for the offense in Pampa. It was not known at press time whether the charge has been filed yet.
No one was injured in the theft and no weapon was used, according to the press release from Pampa. 

Rainbows symbolize different things to different people. For many of us, the rainbow is a sign of hope — to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that blessings will open to us.
In the state of Texas, Rainbow Rooms are resource centers located within local Child Protective Services (CPS) offices. CPS caseworkers can get supplies for children of abuse or neglect, such as clothing, coats, shoes, school supplies and diapers.
There is a Rainbow Room in Borger on the fourth floor of the Borger Bank building. In Region 1, which comprises the Panhandle and West Texas as far south as Muleshoe, there are 10 Rainbow Rooms.
Besides all of the supplies mentioned above, the Borger Rainbow Room has lots and lots of toys and bicycles. For a child, the Rainbow Room is like Christmas 365 days a year.
“We have anything a child may need when they are taken away from a home,” said Carrie Burleson, one of the many volunteers who help run the Borger Rainbow Room.
Children who are taken from homes where drug abuse was an issue cannot take anything with them because there could be drug residue on the items, she said.
The same policy goes for a when a child is taken from an unsanitary environment, she said. Sometimes a child’s clothes are changed by a CPS worker before taken out of the house.
Sadly, Burleson said about 90 percent of the children brought into the Rainbow Room by a CPS caseworker come from a home environment affected by drug abuse.
“Children are allowed to come in (with their caseworker),” she said. “It’s especially fun for the older children who get to pick out their clothes.”
She added, “It’s pretty devastating what they are wearing and how unclean they are when they come in.”
Burleson said during Christmas time in 2018, just over 170 children were brought in.
The Borger Rainbow Room has no paid staff. Besides being a volunteer, Burleson serves on the board.
All the items at the Rainbow Room are either donated or purchased. The items must brand new.
Burleson said that most of the Borger Bank’s staff are familiar with the Rainbow Room, so donations can be made on the ground floor.
For more information about the Borger Rainbow Room, call Burleson at 806-670-9536.

James Clinton Ormon was arrested on July 30 by the Hutchinson County Sheriff's Office for assault to cause bodily injury family violence. He was being held July 31 at the Hutchinson County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

Starting July, the Borger News-Herald will feature a city of Borger employee each Wednesday.
Our first employee is Wes Aikens, who has been with the city for 26 years and presently works as a mechanic.
The News-Herald wants to thank the city’s communications manager, Marisa Montoya, for her assistance with this new weekly feature.

Name: Wes Aikens

Job title: Mechanic

Years employed with the city: Aikens has been a part of the City of Borger team for 26 years and has worked for three different departments; Parks, Animal Control and Mechanic. Aikens has been a mechanic at the city since 1996.

Family: Aikens has been married for eight years and has two daughters, one son and six grandchildren.

Briefly describe your job duties: Aikens works on all city vehicles from the Transfer Station Semi-Trailers to City lawn mowers. Part of his job includes working at the Vehicle Service Center, and he also works out of a service truck frequently to make in-transit repairs. The city relies on its mechanics to fix vehicles and equipment, big and small. Aikens is one of three mechanics for the city. Aikens has been part of the team that has been hard at work keeping the city’s refuse trucks operational as they make daily trips to the Pampa landfill while the transfer station is under construction. The vehicles and equipment the city utilizes to provide daily services can be seen all over town and our mechanics help ensure the equipment remains operational.

What do you like about your job? Aikens enjoys that he “gets to work with a diverse group of people.”

What do you like about Borger? Aikens has been in Borger since 1980 and has watched it grow over the last 39 years. Aikens was a volunteer firefighter and part of the Hutchinson County Volunteer Fire Department from 1990-2013 and is currently a volunteer with the Stinnett Volunteer Fire Department.

Marshall also wanted for active warrant in Randall County

A 33-year-old Hutchinson County man was transported from Georgia to the Hutchinson County Jail on Monday, July 29, on a bond surrender warrant for endangerment of a child by exposing that child to methamphetamine.
John William Marshall was indicted by a grand jury of the 84th Judicial Court in Stinnett on Jan. 12, 2017.
Court documents state that the child was under age 15 at the time of the alleged incident, which was on or about Nov. 2, 2016. Marshall was 30 years old at the time of the offense.
The indictment states that Marshall placed the child in imminent danger of bodily injury, which is a felony.
Marshall was being held Wednesday at the Hutchinson County Jail on a $7,500 bond.
Marshall also is wanted on an active warrant in Randall County, the Randall County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday.
He is wanted on a felony probation violation of a controlled substance under one gram.

Borger Independent School District announced recently its policy for providing free and reduced-price meals for children during the 2019-2020 school year. Starting on Aug. 26, BISD will begin distributing letters to the households of the children in the district about eligibility benefits and any actions households need to take to apply for these benefits. Applications are also available at each school campus office and the Administration Building.
Even if students applied and participated in the free and reduced meal program last year, a new application must be submitted every year. Anyone wanting to beat the rush can come to the administration building and fill out a new 2019-20 school meal application. 
The following criteria will be used to determine a child’s eligibility for free or reduced-price meal benefits:
• Household income that is at or below the income eligibility levels
• Household receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
• Child’s status as a foster child, homeless, runaway, migrant, or displaced by a declared disaster
• Child’s enrollment in Head Start or Even Start
For those households that qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on income, an adult in the household must fill out free and reduced-price meal application and return it to Joy Howard, reviewing official, 806-273-1007 or joy.howard@borgerisd.net. Applications can also be returned to the Borger ISD administration building, 200 E. Ninth St., or any campus and may also be submitted anytime during the school year.
If a household member becomes unemployed or if the household size increases during the school year, the household should contact the school. Such changes may make the children of the household eligible for benefits if the household’s income falls at or below the current income eligibility guidelines.

It’s been nearly three years since high school senior Thomas Brown went missing in Canadian. The highly publicized case drew some national attention after Brown’s case was featured on NBC’s “Dateline” and the popular podcast “Unfound.” Thomas’ remains were found later on Jan. 9 in the Lake Marvin area near Canadian, but his family and the community are still searching for answers.
 After banners that stated “Justice for Tom. There is a killer among us” in Canadian were vandalized in early July, people from surrounding communities have begun displaying smaller “Justice for Tom” signs in their yards. Thomas’ mother, Peggy Brown Meek, hopes the signs might keep his story in people’s minds just long enough to solve the case.
 “What if it were your son?” Brooke Ashby of Borger asked. “There are still so many unanswered questions almost three years later. Somebody, somewhere knows exactly what happened. Thomas’ family deserves closure and they will only get that by this being solved. Having two sons myself, I couldn’t imagine going through this alone without the support of my community. It’s the least I can do to promote these signs and keep this fresh on everyone’s minds.”
 Shortly after Brown went missing, close friends of Tom’s mother rallied behind their friend and created the Moms4Tom Facebook page. The page has since attracted moms from all over the area with nearly 10,000 followers.  Mothers like Ashley McWilliams of Borger who has two young sons. “I just feel Tom’s mom deserves to know what happened and who was responsible,” McWilliams said.
Many people are not only shaken by the fact that a mother lost her son but that this could happen in a small town like Canadian and what feels like, in the minds of some people, an unwillingness by law enforcement to provide answers.
“As a mother of four boys, this case has really touched me,” said Jessica Ozbun of Fritch. This happened right here in the Texas Panhandle, 87 miles from my hometown. I can’t imagine, as a mother, going nearly three years and not having any answers to what happened to my child.”
Ozbun is one of many in Hutchinson County who purchased a yard sign. A total of 108 signs have been purchased in Hutchinson County so far.
“The signs are a symbol of hope for Penny Brown Meek and her family. Her banners may have been destroyed but it’s certainly going to be hard to destroy over 1,500 signs. The signs help keep Tom’s case active and on everyone’s minds,” Ozbun explained.
 They put in an initial order for 500 signs and within three days all were sold. Since then, they have ordered a total of 1500 signs, with requests for more signs still pouring in each day. Signs have gone all over the surrounding communities, including Amarillo, Borger, Pampa, Fritch, Stinnett, Childress to even the further edges of the Panhandle from Lubbock to Wichita Falls.
Requests for signs have even been made in other states, including Oklahoma, Minnesota and Missouri. One sign is currently being shipped to a woman in South Carolina who has been following the case for about a year.
 It’s been suggested by some on Facebook that people may have found the wording of the original sign as “offensive.” To which Meek replied, “What’s truly offensive is that my child lost his life and that whoever is responsible isn’t being held accountable.”
Meek understands that there is fear in her local community and tension created by small-town politics.
“But it’s past time to put all that aside. It should just be about finding who murdered my son,” she said.
Despite not having unanimous support in Canadian, mothers from all across the Texas Panhandle stay vigilant in their support of Tom’s family and continue to keep his story fresh in the public’s mind.
“I have two daughters, it could have easily been one of my children. It could have been anyone’s child,” Chandra Young, who currently assists with the signs said, “I don’t know how Peggy does it. Her strength is beyond measure and her faith is strong. I just don’t know how she does it but she does it gracefully every day.”

The Borger HS Band began the 2019-20 school year preparing for the upcoming fall marching season. Color guard and drumline groups met this past week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Various band officers have been working on getting flip folders made for the band. On Aug. 5, band officers and freshmen or new students will meet starting at 9 a.m. in the high school band hall. The entire band will meet at 6 p.m. that evening. Students will need their instruments for this rehearsal. Parking will be in the faculty parking lot until construction in front of the school is complete.
The band will meet on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday night from that point on to the start of school on Aug. 26. Due to new state requirements, all members of the band must complete an athletic physical before they can participate in band rehearsals. The theme of the Bulldog Band’s halftime presentation this year will be based on the music from the hit movie “The Greatest Showman.” The band is under the instruction of Kevin Kuehler, Nick Mears, Rebecca Britten and Kim Duso.

Ortega held at Hutchinson County Jail on $1 million bond

A 51-year-old Midland man is being held at the Hutchinson County Jail on a bond totaling $1 million for 10 counts of sex crimes on a child.
Anthony Roy Ortega is being held on 10 bonds of $100,000 each for eight counts of sexual assault on a child and two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact, according to a jail officer.
The indictment shows that all 10 offenses occurred in Hutchinson County on a victim younger than 17 years of age on or around Feb. 1, 2017.
Ortega was indicted by a grand jury of the 84th Judicial District on June 26 based open the testimony of the district attorney staff.
All 10 counts are second-degree felonies, court records state.
In Texas, a second-degree felony carries a sentence of two to 20 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000.
On June 24, 2017, Ortega was booked at the Midland County Detention Center for possession of a controlled substance, less than one gram, according to Midland County jail officer.
The charge came out of Potter County, the officer said.

The Hutchinson County 4-H program held its 2019 awards banquet Thursday at the Colfield Community Center in Borger.
About 60 people were in attendance, including the 4-H kids and their families.
Kristy Slough, the county’s agricultural agent, served as the emcee.
“Tonight, we are proud to recognize many outstanding Hutchinson County 4-H members for the countless hours of work they put in this year,” she said.
Cooper Jennings led the U.S. pledge, Shanley Collins led the Texas pledge and Konnor Anthony led the 4-H motto and pledge. At the closing of the banquet, Shaylee Rosebrugh led the 4-H prayer: “Help me O God, to live so that the world may be a little better because Thou didst make me. Amen.”
Red Isbell recited the invocation.
4-H members who were recognized are: Konner Anthony, Brooke Armstrong, Bryna Armstrong, Lillie Blackwell, Shanley Collins, Kaylee Davis, Jaylee Garlington, Kora Garlington, Cooper Jennings, Axeley Jordan, Hurli Keller, Lynlee Patterson, Jaymee Rosebrugh, Shaylee Rosebrugh, Elizabeth Schick, Natalie Summit and Cadence Woods.

A man and a woman were arrested on multiple charges of drug possession Tuesday night after a traffic stop was conducted on Highway 136 south of Stinnett.
Dalton Browning, 23, and Michelle Siburo, 26, are each arrested on seven charges, the most serious being a second-degree felony, according to a Hutchinson County Jail officer.
The two suspects were in transit from Colorado to Florida when they were stopped by Hutchinson County Sheriff's Office Deputy Blaik Kemp, according to a Facebook post by the Stinnett Police Department.
During the traffic stop, probable cause was obtained to conduct a search of the vehicle, according to the post. Stinnett Police Officer Edwards arrived to assist Kemp with the search while on scene a probable cause search resulted in finding the following illegal controlled substances and narcotics including heroin, cocaine, LSD, Xanax, marijuana, THC substances and MDMA also known as Ecstacy.
As of Wednesday afternoon, bond had not yet been set for Browning and Siburo, who were being held at the county jail.

Bonds have been set for the two suspects arrested Tuesday evening on multiple charges of drug possession.
Dalton Browning, 23, and Michelle Siburo, 26, were traveling from Florida to Colorado when they were stopped by a Hutchinson County Sheriff's Office deputy. After probable cause was determined, a Stinnett police officer assisted the deputy in searching their vehicle and a large cache of drugs was found.
Bonds totaling $82,000 were set for both Siburo and Browning. Two of the drug possession charges are third-degree felonies, a jail officer said. Those bonds were set at $20,000 each ($40,000 total).
If convicted, a third-degree felony carries a sentence of two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Bonds for four other possession charges received $10,000 bonds ($20,000 total). The smallest bonds, $2,000, were for possession of marijuana.
On Thursday, both Browning and Siburo were being held at the Hutchinson County Jail.
Officers found heroin, cocaine, LSD, Xanax, marijuana, THC substances, and MDMA, also know as Ecstacy.

The Hutchinson County Democrats hosted Greg Sagan at their monthly meeting on Aug. 6. Prior to November 2016, Sagan maintained no political party affiliation. But according to his website, Sagan decided to run against Mac Thornberry for US Congress District 13 in 2018 “to re-establish fairness and justice in the economy, in our courts, in opportunity, and in society because every Texan deserves representation in Congress.”
 
He is now running again in 2020. Despite losing in 2018, Sagan said he is more determined than ever and remains positive about his odds as he takes what he’s learned from 2018 to 2020.  
 
“He is afraid,” Sagan said at the meeting of Thornberry, pointing out Thornberry spent $1.7 million in 2018 on his campaign. “But he’s not going to come here to tell you what you need to know to make a realistic decision based on your own self-interest.”
 
Speaking on what he called Thornberry’s ineffectiveness, Sagan said, “Trump has a way of coercing people. He convinces people that he can turn his supporters against any Republican who doesn’t go along with him. And so he basically crushes them into silence. I say to that, if a representative is capable of being crushed into silence by the president and is too afraid to stand up and say what is right, that representative does not belong in government.”
 
“I just don’t know why so many Republicans who said they weren’t going to support Trump suddenly changed their minds,” an audience member lamented.
 
“Do you know what Mac Thornberry’s minister said to him about supporting Trump?” Sagan asked, then replied, “He said ‘Sometimes you have to compromise your principles to do what’s right.’ I would submit to you for your serious consideration that if you have to compromise your principles to do what’s right, you have the wrong principles.”
 
“The wrong preacher, too!” a member of the audience added.
 
In light of the recent mass-shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Sagan addressed his support of common-sense gun control.
“I have a license to carry. I rarely go out unarmed. Mainly because Walmart is getting too dangerous,” Sagan said, who is a U.S. Navy and Vietnam War veteran.
 
“The 2nd Amendment should not protect a killer’s right to have a weapon to murder people with. That is not the intent with the 2nd Amendment and never was,” he said. “We could  use some rational conversations about that. We could stand to have some republicans to stand up and say let’s cut the BS, let’s forget for a moment the NRA and their money. How about we just talk about the issue for America?”
 
Sagan served in the Navy for a total of 14 years, Sagan rose from the rank of Seaman Recruit to Lieutenant Commander. While serving on active duty he was on the commissioning crew of USS Frederick, LST-1184, and he served on the staff of Commander US Naval Forces Philippines, where he was a US Navy delegate to SEATO planning conferences and the Navy coordinator for Apollo/Skylab Contingency Recovery Team Training.
 
His last four years in the Navy he spent as a consultant to flag officers on human resource management and leadership development issues during the US military’s transition from a draft-oriented to an all-volunteer force. Upon leaving the Navy in 1984, he worked as a consultant to senior executives of Fortune 1000 companies primarily in the nuclear power industry.
 
Sagan has a bachelor's of arts in political science with a minor in history from West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M University), an MBA in organizational behavior with a minor in marketing from the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs. He has completed the course work for a Ph.D. in industrial relations with minors in labor economics and research methodology at the University of Texas at Austin. 

Kevin Black grew up in Fritch, the fourth of five sons. Black said he was part of a “rough crowd” as a teenager. So at 16, he forged his dad’s signature, without his parents’ knowledge, and joined the U.S. Army. Basic training, as well as AIT (advanced individual training), was spent at Fort Bliss, Texas, which is where Black turned 17. Over the next 11 years, Black was stationed in Europe and Fort Riley, Kansas, alternating between the two. While in Europe, Black served in places such as Germany, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Black retired from the Army with full disability then returned home to “a place I swore I would never come back to,” Black says.
The transition from military to civilian life was “rough for a while because I grew up in the military,” Black said.
He continued: “I lived in a small tent down at Harbor Bay. I had family and a house here. I just couldn’t live in society for a while. I didn’t know about the VA or the other programs. A park ranger came and checked on me every once in a while and made sure everything was okay. The park ranger loaded me up one day and took me to the VA, saying, ‘You belong here’. It took a little while, but I think I bounced back OK.”
Black has had a service dog for four-and-a-half years, a solid-black German Shepherd, that he named after a sergeant.
"When I have a nightmare or a flashback,” Black says. "He’ll wake me up before it gets bad. He’ll go turn the bedroom light on. He’ll come back and lay his head on my chest until I go back to sleep. Then, he’ll turn the light off and get back in his bed or recliner. A lot of times, he goes with me, especially if I’m having a really rough day. My biggest thing is, I really need him if I want to sleep. He’s been the reason I’ve gotten off a whole bunch of meds,” Black says.
Black is the commander of the 18th District of the American Legion, which is located in Borger, imparting the knowledge he has gained to veterans. The American Legion was founded in 1919 and is the oldest and largest veterans organization in the world.
Prior to the creation of the VA system, soldiers leaving the military received a check for $76 and a bus ticket home. All veterans can join the American Legion.
Black says of his role as district commander: “I deem what I do now for the American Legion more important than what I did when I was in the military because I’m taking care of our veterans. It means the world to me to help somebody out and get them pointed in the right direction. If anyone has a problem or knows of a veteran who does, please bring them to the Legion.”
In addition to helping veterans, the American Legion also serves the community by working with the Boy Scouts and giving scholarships. Monthly meetings are held the third Tuesday at 6 p.m. Food is provided, and the public is welcome.
"We enjoy the camaraderie of being together,” Black says.
Black had this to say about the military: “You go into the military for a gauntlet of reasons, but once you’re there, you learn purpose and the reason there is a military. It’s to keep the wolves off the doorstep of your family and friends back home. I think joining the military ought to be mandatory. If you want citizenship in the United States, I think you ought to join. Spend two, three, years in, grow up, figure out what you want to do with your life. Then, be given the opportunity to stay in and pursue a career with the service or return to civilian life. I think it’s good for the parents to be able to let a child go. The military has every career imaginable in it. Show respect. A word of thanks means a lot to me.”
One of the best VA facilities is in Amarillo. There is help for any veteran who needs it. The service officer for the 18th District of the American Legion, Shane Allen, can also be contacted for any assistance that is needed. His phone number is 806-717-8729.
If you know of a veteran or active serviceman or woman who you think has a good story for the newspaper, please contact Tim Howsare, editor, at editor@borgernewsherald.com or 806-273-5611.

Aaron Dale Payne, who on July 22 pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14, has been transferred from the Hutchinson County Jail to a state prison near Abilene.
Payne is now at the J Middleton Transfer Facility.
An official at that prison said that inmates sent to J Middleton are there temporarily. She said an inmate could be there for one night or for as long as two years until there are sent to another state facility.
Payne’s projected release date is June 4, 2034, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website.
Payne was sentenced to 15 years and credited for 47 days of back time for his jail detention.
Payne, his attorney, the state’s attorney and the victim’s family agreed to the plea deal rather than holding a jury trial, in which the victim could be called to the stand to testify.

Texas Panhandle community reacts with shock

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a joint statement on Wednesday, Aug. 21, concerning the Thomas Brown investigation: “The Office of the Attorney General, FBI, and the Texas Rangers briefed the 31st District Attorney’s Office on the findings of this case, and all parties concur with the investigative findings.”
 The statement goes on to explain the decision to suspend the investigation: “There is no viable evidence that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that foul play led to the death of Thomas Kelly Brown. This includes evidence related to manner of death, cause of death, or evidence of a specific suspect.”  
 Following AG’s statement this Wednesday, online comments from community members expressed a resounding suspicion. “How sad. A person was murdered and he does not think that should be investigated? Somebody was paid off for sure,” Josette Robinson Scott wrote in a comment on Facebook.
“My thoughts immediately go to ‘Who and What are they trying to cover up?’
This is not justice served. This is justice stolen,” Mika Daniels wrote.
Other comments questioned the integrity of Paxton, who was indicted in 2015 by a grand jury in Collin County following three felony charges. After a nearly four-year delay, there is no set date for a trial.  Currently, Paxton is seeking to move his felony securities fraud case from Harris County back to Collin County where he is likely to receive a more sympathetic jury.
Thomas Brown was last seen on Nov. 23, 2016, in Canadian. He was reported missing after he missed curfew and the Hemphill County Sheriff’s Office began the search for Brown.
Early the next morning, Brown’s truck was found abandoned, parked under trees outside the Municipal Waste Water Center.
The case sparked an out pour of community support. Volunteers joined the search efforts and a reward fund was set up in hopes that it would bring information that would lead investigators to Brown’s location.
Months later in January of 2017, Brown’s backpack was found near Lake Marvin, an area which was previously searched.  Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis said deputies were alerted to Brown’s backpack when a passerby on a road near the lake noticed something in the brush.
Brown’s remains were discovered a little more than two years later in January near Lake Marvin off Lake Martin Road. The wilderness area is about 12 miles from Canadian.
In a press release by the private investigation firm, Klein Investigators and Consultants, the firm stated, “Investigators said the remains were found by a person that heard the call from law enforcement and the firm asking for everyone to keep an eye on Lake Marvin Road.”
 Though the discovery of Brown’s remains brought some closure, the circumstances of his disappearance and death along with details involving the investigation only raised more questions and suspicion. The case has since weighed on the hearts and minds in the larger Texas Panhandle community.
 Online, nearly 10,000 people follow the Facebook page “Moms4Tom.” The online community, which was started my friends of Brown’s mother, Penny Meek, is largely composed of local moms who have been following the case since Brown’s disappearance and are now dedicated in their support of Brown’s family as they search for answers.  
 Earlier this summer, “Moms4Tom” began distributing “Who Killed Tom” signs per the request of community members who wished to show their support for Brown’s family after a larger sign was vandalized in Canadian in July. Over 1,000 signs were ordered as of Aug. 2.
 Despite the suspension of the investigation by the state, private investigators Klein Investigations & Consulting will continue their investigation and released the following statement: “We would like to make it clear that the attorney general’s office was unable to determine that Thomas died from suicide or homicide. Therefore, they have made the decision, pending any new information or evidence, that their case is suspended.
“KIC Texas will continue to investigate this case by first going backw and reviewing all evidence in the case. We believe that the case is solvable and pledge to the citizens of Hemphill County and all of North Texas that we will work diligently to solve this case.”

A 51-year-old Hutchinson County man is being held at the Hutchinson County Jail on seven counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child and eight counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact.
Freddie Duwayn Hutchinson has been held at the jail since June 2018.
Hutchinson was originally booked at the jail on one count of aggravated sexual assault on a child and two counts of indecency with a child, according to a jail officer.
On Aug. 22, Hutchinson was served 12 more indictments by a grand jury, six for aggravated sexual assault on a child and six for indecency with a child by sexual contact.
It is not clear at this time whether there was a single victim or multiple victims.
Hutchinson’s bonds for all 15 counts total $203,000.
The aggravated sexual assault charges are first-degree felonies and carry prison sentences of 15 to 99 years. The indecency charges are second-degree felonies that carry sentences of two to 20 years.

Driving north on Highway 207 from Stinnett to Spearman, there isn’t a whole lot to see besides mile after mile of crops growing on a flat, windy landscape.
This rural topography amongst the farms and the gravel county roads, however, is probably an ideal location for one of the Panhandle’s newest — and largest — ag businesses, West Gaines Seed, Inc.
Sprawling over an area of 34,000 square feet on the west side of the highway, the West Gaines facility is a state-of-the-art processing and treating plant for a variety of grain seeds.
Managed by Russell White, the facility will be completed in the fall.
Though the plant isn’t fully operational yet, Plant Manager Patrick Pronger said they have been open for about a year.
Their clients include wholesalers, farmers and walk-ins, said Pronger, who lives in Sunray.
Headquartered in Seminole, Texas, West Gaines has been in business for more than 24 years with locations in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
The new location offers small grains, including beardless triticale and beardless wheat, sorghum-sudangrass and NexGen cottonseed.
Pronger said triticale is a mix of wheat and rye and is used for foraging and grazing.
Beardless wheat doesn’t have “whiskers,” Pronger said, which is good for cows because without whiskers it doesn’t get stuck in their mouths.
Behind the air-conditioned front office are two holding warehouses. Grain seeds are stacked in rows of 50-pound bags and the much larger 2,500-pound bulk sacks.
Pronger said the 2,500-pound sacks, which can easily fit into the bed of a full-size pick-up truck, have built-in funnels on the bottom to get the seeds out.
In the processing facility, which is still a work in process, the seeds are cleaned, treated and bagged, Pronger said.
According to its website, West Gaines offers the most modern and advanced seed delinting and treating facilities in the country.
With its own fleet of trucks and live bottom trailers, the company can deliver anywhere in the continental United States, coast-to-coast.
West Gaines Seed is a licensed government warehouse, and also provides seed for export to participating foreign countries, the website states.
Pronger has worked for West Gaines for about two months and said he likes what they do.
“They are willing to change products to fit the growers’ needs,” he said. “They stay up-to-date with equipment and products.”
West Gaines is located at 11215 Highway 207, Stiwnnett.
For more information, visit westgainesseed.com or call toll-free at 877-758-9473.