Texas, Amarillo | featured news

President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed trade policies have potential to help or hurt West Texas agriculture, said analysts.
Meanwhile, cotton and wheat advocates hope administration changes mean another chance for farm bill coverage of their commodity.
While not every elected official acts on every campaign promise, analyses are based on the scenario that Trump’s proposals are sincere.
read more

For every four guests who received a free Thanksgiving meal at the Salvation Army on Thursday, there was a selfless volunteer who helped make it possible. More than 90 volunteers cooked food, set up a dining room, took orders, waited tables and then cleaned everything up for approximately 400 diners who showed up for traditional fare.
It wasn’t about the 480 pounds of turkey they prepared. Or countless hotel pans of side dishes. Or the thousand plus desserts that they plated.
It was about something more.

Amarillo police are investigating what appears to be an early Thanksgiving morning homicide stemming from a domestic dispute between a husband and wife.
Police responded to a call on the 3700 block of Lenwood at 1:31 a.m. and found Alania Carol Houser, 31, kneeling over her husband, Josh, 31, who had a single stab wound to his left shoulder.
Josh Houser was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

“Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.”
— 1 Corinthians 9:26

To see Dr. Charlie Hennessey pounding the pavement in and around his neighborhood in The Colonies and Sleepy Hollow every morning, to watch him run one gritty timed lap after another on the Amarillo High School track, should be an exercise in routine.
For nearly 20 years, that’s what this Amarillo dentist has done. It was part of who he is.

The Amarillo Police Department arrested two in connection with Tuesday’s attempted armed robbery of a Dollar General on Western.
Isaac James Kent Diaz, 19, and Makayla Renee Almazan, 18, were arrested Tuesday afternoon after they crashed a car into a gas meter near the intersection of Second Avenue and Alabama Street.
read more

Today will mark the 90th anniversary of one of the most destructive sandstorms to hit the South Plains and the near Southwest.
If newspaper reports are correct, some 80 people died during the Nov. 24, 1926, storm, most in Texas and Arkansas. Very high winds with gritty dust and sand damaged crops, wrecked buildings and made Thanksgiving dinners miserable.
As the Dallas Morning News quaintly put it, “Lubbock (residents) ate Thanksgiving turkey Thursday generously interspersed with grit.”

A cozy pair of socks for freezing feet.
A sack of groceries for hungry bellies.
Bottles and blankets for the new baby.
For some, seemingly insignificant gifts can brighten the Christmas season.
The Amarillo Globe-News’ Empty Stocking Fund, now in its 44th year, aims to provide items like these and other assistance to individuals and families in need during the holidays.
Since 1972, the public has given about $3.5 million to the Empty Stocking Fund. 

■ Academy: 40-inch digital electric smoker, $199.99
■ Ace Hardware: DeWalt 20-volt drill, $149.99
■ Bealls: Cold weather accessories 50 percent off
■ Bed Bath & Beyond: Dyson vacuums, $299.99
■ Best Buy: 49-inch Toshiba Ultra HDTV, $199.99
■ Big Lots: Save $110 on two-piece sectionals
■ Cavenders: Coupons for boots 20 percent off
■ Conn’s: 55-inch Samsung curved 4K TV, $699.99

No Thanksgiving plans? Don’t worry. These restaurants will remain open on Turkey Day, according to the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce.
■ Applebee’s, Amarillo Boulevard: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
■ Applebee’s, Soncy Road: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
■ The Big Texan Steak Ranch: 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Thanksgiving buffet, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
■ Cracker Barrel: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
■ Denny’s: 24 hours

BEFORE YOU GO
■ Check the circulars (3 pounds of them in today’s newspaper).
■ Know what time the stores open and map out your spree.
■ Whether it is on a digital device or on paper, document what you want to buy, for whom and set your budget. (There are apps for this.)
■ Compare prices, warranties and return policies.
read more