Amarillo, Potter County | featured news

Falvez Energy has closed financing on the construction of a 163-megawatt wind farm planned for Randall, Castro and Deaf Smith counties, about 30 miles south of Amarillo.
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LUBBOCK — A man and woman died after they were struck by a car while trying to recover their loose dog on U.S. Highway 62-82 early Friday near Lorenzo.
Investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety think the vehicle — vs. — pedestrian crash came after the man and woman exited their Ford Mustang, which moments before had lost control and rolled into a field, said DPS Sgt. John Gonzalez.
The victims’ names had not been released by late Friday, but Gonzalez said they were from out of state.

Four days of a binding arbitration grievance hearing before arbitrator Don Hays have concluded for former Amarillo Police Department officer Saulo Bravo, who is trying to get his job back after his indefinite suspension from the department in 2014.
APD spokesman Officer Jeb Hilton said on Friday that it could take months before a decision is announced.
Under the binding arbitration agreement, if the City of Amarillo decides not to reinstate Bravo, then the case is closed and the former officer has no further appeal.

Two job fairs are planned in as many months for Amarillo.
The next Amarillo Job Fair is set for Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. through 3 p.m. in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex South Exhibit Hall, followed by a special job fair just for veterans in November.
The first job fair provides an opportunity for employees and job seekers to meet in an open and relaxed environment and learn about opportunities that are nationwide as well as regional.
A long list of local and national firms will have representatives at the fair.

Renee Brice, 30, was booked into the Randall County jail on a charge of burglary of a building after a Randall County deputy noticed a suspicious 2002 Silver Hyundai parked at the gate of a closed storage unit business and several people inside the gated area at 9201 S. Washington St. on Friday morning.
Brice was detained, and, according to a statement from Randall County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Danny Alexander, she had her 8-year-old daughter with her.

Only 279 public schools and 50 private schools in the U.S. — and only 26 in Texas — were singled out for 2016 National Blue Ribbon honors.
Panhandle Elementary School is one of them.
The 329 schools were named “exemplary high-performing” based on state or national assessment criteria. Each school has a minimum 25 percent economically disadvantaged population.
Taylor Norvell, 29, is in his second year as principal at Panhandle Elementary. As a product of a Panhandle ISD education, he said the Blue Ribbon gives his teachers a well-deserved pat on the back.

Beginning today, the City of Amarillo will be changing some of the fees it charges for services in various departments, including Building Safety, Capital Projects & Development Engineering, Environmental Health and Utilities.
Customers can expect fee increases and, in some cases, fee decreases along with the creation of new fees for services that the city has never charged for in the past, according to Community Relations Coordinator Sonja Gross.
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Community
Amarillo Community Garage Sale: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Amarillo Civic Center Complex South Exhibit Hall, 401 S. Buchanan St. 806-378-3096.
Dia de la Salud de la Mujer: 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. This program will address the specific health concerns of Hispanic women and their families. Amarillo Civic Center Complex Heritage Room and North Exhibit Hall, 401 S. Buchanan St. 806-378-3096.
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■ In 1891, Stanford University in California held its opening day ceremony.
■ In 1908, Henry Ford introduced his Model T automobile to the market.
■ In 1932, Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees made his supposed called shot, hitting a home run against Chicago’s Charlie Root in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the New York Yankees 7-5 at Wrigley Field.
■ In 1936, Gen. Francisco Franco was proclaimed head of an insurgent Spanish state.

Hereford Independent School District Board of Trustees finalized the hiring of a new permanent superintendent on Friday.
Trustees voted to enter into a three-year contract with Sheri Blankenship.
She begins today with a starting salary of $145,000.
Blankenship has worked at Hereford ISD since 1996, most recently serving as assistant superintendent for professional services there.
She received an associate’s degree from Clarendon College, a bachelor’s from Midwestern State University and a master’s degree from West Texas A&M University.