Residents of both Dickens and Kent counties rejoiced in the return of some basic services last year as rural Texas continued to emerge from pandemic-era challenges. The resurgence of restaurants was an especially welcome development, but Jayton also sighed relief when Legacy Fuels turned the gas and diesel pumps on again, providing consumer fuel service to an entire county that had lacked it for more than a year.
Energy, in its many forms, has been big business throughout Texas Spur Country in 2023. Most noticeably to the finance world, if still a mystery to many citizens, has been the continued development of Galaxy Digital’s Helios cryptocurrency facility in northern Dickens County. The bitcoin mining enterprise is an enormous user of electrical power, and related local enterprises in power transmission and battery storage are poised to come online in 2024.
In Kent County, build-out of the Texas Solar Nova power projects pushed ahead last year.
Both developments, added to ongoing petroleum extraction enterprises across the area, have brought new job opportunities and local-business patronage, though not without a few downsides to small communities: heavy demand on roads, and increased responsibility for law enforcement and other public resources. Spur, particularly, grappled with new ways to accommodate full-time and part-time residents.
The surge in new business throughout Dickens County, a spate of tax-delinquent properties changing hands and poised to return to tax rolls, and the launch of another energy-related enterprise to start the year should fuel a renewed optimism in our small towns.
All that said—the acquisition of crypto pioneer Argo Blockchain’s flagship Helios mining plant in Afton by New York-based Galaxy Digital at the close of a worldwide downturn late in 2023 launched a new hope for the Dickens County facility.
CEO Mike Novogratz’s firm seems to have put the facility on a productive path. The company has kept Argo’s original pledge for local hiring and promises to also make good on its plan to renovate Spur’s long-shuttered public swimming pool. Here’s hoping for concrete to be poured this spring, at last—and the pool to fill as soon as summer heat arrives.
JANUARY
• Wade Jackson steps down as 110th DA; Emily Teegardin appointed
• Harry Bob Martin honored with statewide award from Texas Historical Commission
• Counties swear in newly elected officials
SPUR WRESTLES WITH PERMITTING,
OVERSIGHT OF HOUSING OPTIONS
The spate of new jobs in the area—many temporary or transient—put cities like Spur in a paradox for providing safe, suitable housing. Though Spur’s tiny-house frenzy appeared to cool a bit, the sudden need for accommodating workers on construction, road, and energy projects coincided with availability of cheap town lots purchased via tax sales or online auctions. City leaders struggled to find balance in regulations and, in a series of open forums, council meetings, and planning sessions, dealt with most questions of utility management, public safety, and aesthetics on the fly. The completion of a comprehensive city mapping project—the result of a grant from two years earlier—arrived too late to help with complicated decision-making. City staff and officials should consult, and rely on, this valuable resource going forward, especially as they consider a wider range of zoning ordinances.
FEBRUARY
• Spur girls, Jayton girls Bi-District basketball champions • Spur boys, Jayton boys basketball in Bi-District Playoffs
SPUR SCHOOLS, CITY ELECTIONS CANCELED
For the March municipal and school board elections, no races were contested—a signal of satisfaction with existing, or uncontested, leadership, or a dearth of enthusiasm to run. In the city of Spur, the seat held by longtime council member Fronye Morris was filled by attorney and accountant Elaine Harris, who ran unopposed.
PATTON SPRINGS ISD BOND MEASURES NARROWLY DEFEATED
One of West Texas’s smallest school districts, Patton Springs in northern Dickens County, found itself in the enviable position of welcoming a growth industry that would add significantly to its tax base, as the Galaxy Helios plant was set to come online. Yet a bond issue with a possible windfall of millions in school security, infrastructure, and teacher housing benefits was voted down by a narrow margin in March, returning those tax dollars to Austin. A similar measure was defeated again in November.
MARCH
• Jayton One Act Play wins District
• Spur One Act Play advances to Bi-District
• Jayton One Act Play advances to Area
• Jayton boys basketball team makes a third shot for State in five years, ending up State-Runners Up
MCADOO, DICKENS WALLOPED BY HAIL
A hailstorm on the evening of April 25 severely damaged roofs and vehicles throughout the northern part of Dickens County. The unincorporated community of McAdoo, at the junction of Farm roads 193 and 264, sustained the worst damage, losing a large portion of the roof on the McAdoo location of Crosby County Fuels. The communities rallied, with help from neighbors, quickly moving the coop’s operation to another location.
APRIL
• Jayton One Act Play advances to Regional
• Spur Golf wins district
• Farmer’s Coop Gin assets sold in Kent County Sheriff’s sale
• Dickens Baptist Church deeds building to 4-H Center
• Wess Abbott ends tenure as emergency management coordinator in Dickens; Matt Hindman takes
post
CAP ROCK TELEPHONE TO CUT CABLE TV
Cord-cutting might not seem like a radical phenomenon in 2023, but Spur stalwart Cap Rock Telephone continued to provide its customers with cable television services longer than most. In May, it announced it would phase out cable, providing customers guidance in making the switch to digital streaming.
MAY
• Jayton holds contested city council, school board elections
• City of Jayton reelects incumbents Kerry McGee, Missy Redford to council
• Jayton-Girard ISD reelects Jeff Arnold for school board, adds newcomer Matt Herzog
• Patton Springs bond issues fail by slim margin
• Jayton OAP qualifies for State
• JGISD superintendent Layne Sheets departs for Frenship ISD
• First Baptist Church of Jayton announces new pastor Blake Appleby
• High school graduations: Spur graduates 30, Jayton 14, Patton Springs 6
• House, RV on Willard Avenue in Spur lost to earlymorning blaze
MATADOR DEVASTATED BY TORNADO; COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT REGION SUFFER DAMAGE
Just to the north of Dickens County, in the early evening of June 21 powerful tornado struck the west side of Matador, seat of Motley County, and carved a path of destruction southward as far as Girard, Jayton and Rotan. Matador reported four deaths and ten injuries to persons; there were also numerous livestock casualties. Cities and counties throughout the region rallied immediately to assist in search-and-rescue, public safety, and other emergency operations. Thanks to a resilient spirit, an outpouring of help, and generous financial assistance, Matador’s power was restored during the summer heat more quickly than residents might have imagined. Many of its damaged businesses and homes have already been replaced or repaired.
JUNE
• A. O. Smith sells White River Marina to Ticers
• Scott Gray becomes new pastor at Spur Methodist Church
• Spur’s Big Dog Cookoff returns for 7th annual event
• Maggie McGhee named administrator at Kent County Nursing Home
• Lubbock band Flatland Cavalry films music video in Spur
• Texas Spur publishers visit HGTV Home Town Takeover city Fort Morgan, Colorado
• Spur council takes action, then reconsiders vote on police chief
COLLIER CONSTRUCTION SELECTED AS SPUR FIRE STATION CONTRACTOR
After a series of delays and do-overs, the committee charged with overseeing construction of the new Spur fire station at Third and Burlington—a gift of Eric and Linda Swenson of Spur—hired Lubbock-based Collier Construction to head up the project.
Re-grading of the site commenced during the week of Spur homecoming, and during the remainder of 2023 has progressed through removal of an old basement underneath the site; installation of underground utilities; and removal of debris material. Heavy equipment is onsite week in, week out, and project spokesperson Charlie Morris said he expects smooth progress going forward.
SPUR POLICE CHIEF SPEARS FIRED
On July 6, the City of Spur issued a press release clarifying circumstances of a June 29 council motion to dismiss Spur Police Chief Billy R. Spears from his post. The city confirmed that a 4-2 vote of no confidence in the chief's performance was sufficient to remove him from office.
Spur—like many small towns—had struggled for several years to attract and retain a police force, and citizens were often divided over the question of whether to merge municipal law enforcement responsibilities with the county sheriff’s department. While the city continued to rely on an interlocal agreement with Dickens County for most of the remainder of the year, a local candidate was hired in third quarter.
JULY
• Jayton Church of Christ names new minister, Bailey Chisum
• Tanya Phillips named Spur Secondary School principal
• Sparrow’s Nest maternity home moves from Jayton to Snyder
100TH ANNUAL MOTLEY-DICKENS OLD SETTLERS RODEO & REUNION HELD IN MATADOR
Organizers of the Motley-Dickens Old Settlers Reunion and Rodeo turned out a great celebration for their 100th annual event, August 24-26, 2023 in Roaring Springs. The two neighboring counties, which first gathered at a picnic spot in Dickens in 1923 to reminisce over their pioneer days, have shared a long heritage working ranches, legendary cattle and horses, and able ranch hands of both sexes. Rodeo riders of multiple generations put on an impressive WRCA event; residents and returnees alike gathered to honor their eldest, and fondly remember those lost in the previous year. The board’s fund-raising, communications and marketing, organization, and allaround dedication made this centennial a highlight of the year.
AUGUST
• Texas Spur publishers acquire neighboring Knox County News-Courier, Post Dispatch weeklies
• Spur Inn marker destroyed in car wreck in Lawrence Brothers parking lot
• Band returns to Spur School curriculum
• McAdoo rebuilds after April winds
• Ronda Dalton appointed to Patton ISD board of trustees SEPTEMBER
• Patti Hagar resigns as Dickens County justice of the peace; Stella Carter appointed
• Grand juries in Dickens return 40 indictments
• Spur celebrates 71st Homecoming
After an apparent stroke in early October—an event he had hinted at in a social media—beekeeper Jon Shipp, a British citizen and a solitary resident of Spur for some years—was found dead in his home Oct. 12 after a neighbor requested a welfare check. Shipp, popular for his generosity with both his honey and his expertise, was mourned by his adopted community; the passing of another “comehere” Spur resident who lived alone, Gayle Massaro, later in the month, reminded us all to keep in touch.
OCTOBER
• Jayton celebrates Homecoming
• Galaxy Digital head of mining Fabiano departs firm
• Patton Springs attempts bond measure again
FELONY CONVICTION
IN DICKENS COUNTY
CASE
On Nov. 16, Judge William P. Smith sentenced defendant JD Smith, 21, of Spur, to 30 years imprisonment with credit for time already served, after a jury found him guilty of sexual assault of a child, a firstdegree felony.
The defendant was accused of raping a woman who is his biological halfsister in multiple instances since she was about four years old. He was arrested in Spur April 29, 2021 and remained in custody until trial.
Both the accuser (still a minor) and the defendant took the witness stand during the three-day trial. The jury trial was the first in a considerable while in Dickens County, and the first tried in the county by district attorney Emily Teegardin, who was appointed to the post after the resignation of Wade Jackson in January.
NOVEMBER
• Jayton Jaybirds go undefeated in football; win District
• Jayton FFA national runners-up at 96th annual convention
• Jayton Cross Country state runners-up
• Patton bond measure defeated on second try
• #2 in state Jayton loses to #1 Benjamin in State quarterfinals
• Jimbo Humphreys of Dickens honored with Working Cowboy Award by National Ranching Heritage Center
A ‘KEY’ RETIREMENT IN SPUR
Spur Security Bank’s Elaine Key, president of the bank since 2013 and a mainstay of the local bank for more than four decades, retired at the end of December after 42 years. In that time, Key said, she’s seen “tremendous changes in banking.” CEO and former Spur resident Kevin Bass expects to see more changes in banking services in 2024. We look forward to it—and to working with newly appointed assistant vice president Doreen Schmidt even as we congratulate Key on an impressive career and wish her well.
DECEMBER
• Dickens County to face three-way race for Sheriff as incumbent Braly declines to run
• Kent County primary ballots set
• Highway 208 bridge in Kent County reopens after stint for repairs
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE DICKENS COUNTY’S NEXT SHERIFF—AND OTHER LEADERS
It’s said that in Texas the most powerful elected official in any county is the sheriff—and we look forward to watching the three-way race in our home county with deep interest. The person who next bears the badge can be an enormous force for unity and security in our rural community. As newspaper publishers and as citizens, we especially call on the future holder of this office to upload an example of transparency in public information—for the good of all our citizens.
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