Dateline: October 30, 2003

New rest areas cause headaches for sheriff

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

While state officials tout the benefits of new Safety Rest Areas on US 287, one local law enforcement officer is less than enthusiastic about the project’s grand opening.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn says the new rest areas near Giles will be a drain on local taxpayers and on his department, which is stretched thin already.

“The only thing this is going to do for Donley County is cost us money and manpower,” Blackburn said. “I hate to be that way. I mean, they’re nice – a nice place for people to stop – but they’re a nice place for thugs, too.”

Blackburn said the distance from his office in Clarendon to the new rest area is 19 miles, which makes it hard to respond to an emergency in a timely manner. The sheriff’s department already has trouble responding to the new Safety Rest Area 23 miles away on the far northern edge of the county along the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40.

“If it weren’t for Gray County’s deputies in McLean, we would be in trouble,” the sheriff said. “They answer those calls a lot because they can get there before we can.”

Blackburn said the types of calls that come in from the rest areas are the types of calls that require a fast response.

“The one on I-40 has caused an average of an extra two calls per week,” he said. “And they are usually either assault or psychotic calls.”

A psychotic call is one that results in a trip to mental health facilities at the Pavilion in Amarillo, and Blackburn says that costs Donley County taxpayers $300 each time. Calls from the I-40 facility have resulted in three of those calls this year for a total of $900.

Blackburn said he understands there are a lot of good things about the rest areas, but he believes the Texas Department of Transportation could have spent the money better.

“They could have extended Farm Road 2471 into Clarendon with that money. That would have benefited our farmers.”