Ronnie Hopper of Petersburg Appointed New Precinct Five Director

Ronnie N. Hopper of Petersburg was appointed March 5 to fill the vacant Precinct Five District Director position for the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 (HPWD).  He serves until Nov. 2014.

Judge Ruben G. Reyes of the Lubbock County 72nd District Court administered the Oath of Office to Hopper following the special HPWD Board of Directors meeting.  

A graduate of Petersburg High School, Hopper attended Texas Tech University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Agronomy in 1969.

Hopper is a farmer in the Petersburg area.  He has served in numerous capacities on cotton-related organizations including former chairman of Texas Cotton Producers, former board member and ag committee chairman of the Cotton Board, as well as past president and former board chairman of Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. 

He currently serves on the Panhandle-Plains Land Bank Board of Directors, the Plains Cotton Growers Water Advisory Committee, and the High Plains Water District’s Stakeholder Advisory Committee.

He was named outstanding conservation farmer in Hale County in 1992 and received the Gerald W. Thomas Award for Outstanding Agriculturist from the Texas Tech College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in 2001.

Citing health reasons, Bruce Rigler of Plainview resigned from the HPWD Board earlier this year after 18 years of service.  He was re-elected in Nov. 2010 to serve a four-year term as Precinct Five District Director representing residents in the portion of Floyd County within the district, all of Hale County, and all of Swisher County.

The HPWD Board of Directors held public meetings in mid-February at Muncy, Tulia, and Plainview to outline the procedure to appoint a new director to fill the unexpired term in accordance with Chapter 36.051(c) of the Texas Water Code.

Interested candidates were encouraged to file applications for appointment with the HPWD Board of Directors prior to the Feb. 21 deadline.

In addition to Hopper, other candidates included: Ray Brady of Floydada, geologist; Hulon Carthel of Floydada, retired farmer/businessman; J. O. Dawdy of Floydada, farmer; and Glenn Schur of Plainview, farmer/landowner. Brent Wilhelm of Happy submitted an application but was disqualified since he resides in Castro County, which is in District Director’s Precinct Three.

HPWD Board President Lynn Tate of Amarillo thanked the candidates for their interest in serving as Precinct Five District Director. 

Tate also expressed appreciation to the residents in the three counties who attended the public meetings to learn about the appointment process and to suggest/support potential candidates.