Potter County | featured news

How far does the responsibility of a school district extend in preventing sexual and/or romantic relationships between adult teachers and students who are minors? How proactive can and should a school system be?
“If they are not safe, then game over,” said Lauren Callahan, spokesperson for the Texas Educational Agency. “If they aren’t safe, then we have failed them as an educational community.”

National Hispanic Heritage month began earlier this week and a few events and recognitions are planned across Amarillo.
Most notably will be a luncheon on Oct. 12 at Wesley Community Center gym, 1615 S. Roberts St., hosted by Los Barrios de Amarillo and the Amarillo Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
“I feel like Hispanics are the sleeping giants. People don’t realize that we are always better in numbers, but we (Hispanics) don’t realize that sometimes,” said event co-chair Sarena San Miguel.

Prevention for the coming flu season is already available and Cecil and Raye O’Kelley joined the small trickle of Amarilloans signing up sooner rather than later.
The O’Kelleys stopped by Southpark Pharmacy in Amarillo to receive their annual flu shot, far ahead of the line that will continue to grow longer as the season develops.
“We have waited here in line down the sidewalk,” said Raye O’Kelley. “So we got to where we come early (in the season).”

State and local advocates of reforming marijuana policy met in Amarillo on Saturday to train others with similar views on how to be more effective change agents.
The event, hosted by Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, is the first in a series of ones being held across Texas as part of an effort to inject the marijuana policy debate into 2016 state legislative races and to educate supporters of marijuana policy reform.
An additional regional event is scheduled for today in Lubbock.

Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum recently launched its first crowdfunding initiative in hopes of raising $25,000 to make art more accessible to people with sight impairments.
The project is called “Art for Everyone” and is a partnership with 3D Photo Works, a company that can turn paintings into a 3D relief by adding audio sensors that describe a painting as a person runs their hands over it.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — State labor officials say the Texas unemployment rate rose slightly in August to reach 4.7 percent and mark the third straight month of increases.
The Texas Workforce Commission on Friday reported the latest figure compares to a 4.6 statewide jobless rate in July. Nationwide unemployment last month was 4.9 percent.
Amarillo had the lowest jobless rate in Texas last month at 3.4 percent. Commission officials say the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area recorded the state's highest unemployment during August at 8.4 percent.

SNYDER — Amazon on Thursday announced its largest renewable energy project, Amazon Wind Farm Texas, which is expected to bring over 250 construction jobs to Scurry County.
Amazon contracted with Lincoln Clean Energy of Chicago, which will construct, own and operate the wind farm that’s scheduled to open in late 2017, according to a news release. Amazon plans to purchase about 90 percent of the power generated by the Scurry County farm — that energy will be delivered to the electrical grids supplying current and future Amazon Web Services Cloud data centers.

A man involved in a deadly three-car crash in May was indicted for two felony charges.
A Randall County grand jury on Wednesday indicted Henry Dillon Byers, 23, with the second-degree felony of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and the third-degree felony of intoxication assault.
The afternoon of May 15, Byers struck a Chevrolet Colbalt in the area of the 6600 block of South Coulter Street after hitting a curb while driving south on the street, according to the Amarillo Police Department.
A third vehicle, a white Ford Taurus, also was hit during the crash.

City leaders in Amarillo on Thursday announced continued commitment to bring affiliated baseball to a yet-to-be-built downtown ballpark despite reports that San Antonio has suspended its plan to build a new stadium for a AAA baseball team.
On Wednesday, San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor said she’s unwilling to commit tax dollars to build a new stadium without commitments from other financial partners, according to the San-Antonio Express-News.

For the thirty-nine people from all reaches of the world who gathered in Canyon on Thursday can now call themselves citizens of the United States.
Candidates representing 20 different countries attended a naturalization ceremony held in Canyon’s Hazelwood Lecture Hall at Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum.
The ceremony was one of 240 held Thursday throughout the country as a part of the annual celebration of Constitution Day and Citizen Day.