Black: Judge Ernie Houdashell was indeed someone special
What a friend Randall County and the entire Texas Panhandle had in Judge Ernie Houdashell. Judge Houdashell was able to get so many things done because he never cared who got the credit for it. I always though of him as being much like President Ronald Reagan who had a bronze plaque on his desk with the inscription bearing: “You can accomplish much if you don’t care who gets the credit.” 1972. I never saw Ernie or heard of him patting himself on the back or boasting about a project that he had helped plan for the citizens of Randall County. Ernie just wanted what was best for all of us.
We were fortunate enough to see firsthand how Judge Houdashell and then Randall County Commissioner Robert (Bob) Karrh worked with and for the citizens of Randall County during and after the wildfire that happened on February 27, 2011. This fire started in the Village of Timbercreek Canyon, with winds of 50 to 60 mph, and soon spread to the Village of Palisades and then to Lake Tanglewood. In all a total of 32 homes and some 40 structures were destroyed. Ernie and Bob were quick to contact the local leaders of these communities wanting to know what our needs were and with the offer of county man power and equipment to help clean-up and haul off debris as needed. There was no bureaucratic red tape involved or hoops to jump through. Ernie and Bob knew help was needed and that a number of folks had experienced a lot of anxiety and trauma as this fire spread almost out of control and as quickly as it did.
A number of county projects that Judge Houdashell was a big part of have been mentioned in the news. He was instrumental and thankful to help get the Texas Panhandle War Memorial to be housed in the former Randall County Annex at I-27 and Georgia. The Mission Statement of the War Memorial: The mission of the Texas Panhandle War Memorial is to honor the men and women who gave us our freedom and to keep our history alive.
He, along with a number of other volunteers, spent countless hours to help get a Huey Helicopter out of a bone yard in Arizona hauled to Amarillo and then was able to get Bell Helicopter to help rehab and paint it. He was on a county business trip one time to Austin and found out about a source of possible revenue for the County Fire Departments and revenue that could be used to help with economic development. Ernie found out that an additional half-cent sales tax could be generated at businesses in rural Randall County if it was approved by the voters. He had a number of meetings to inform the citizens what was possible if this-half cent sales tax was passed and added to the 6.25-cents-per dollar state sales tax rural buyers already pay. The proposal passed by a 53.2% margin. It was estimated the new tax would raise $140,000 in the first year.
Judge Ernie Houdashell enjoyed being out and about in the public and wanted to know what Randall County citizens had on their minds. He was certainly a people person and folks felt comfortable visiting with him. It is most fitting and well deserved that the Randall County Commissioner’s Court has passed a resolution to name the Randall County Annex on Western Street in his honor. He grew up in rural Texas in a small community known as Hedley, Texas. Thank goodness his small-town values served him for a lifetime. Seems there was a person that Ernie was familiar with who once said “I never meet a man I didn’t like.” Judge Ernie Houdashell...thank you and RIP.
Kyle Black is a retired Amarillo ISD teacher and coach and former Village of Timbercreek Canyon official.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Kyle Black Judge Ernie Houdashell was indeed someone special
