Amarillo, Potter County | featured news

Sheryl Garth, an occupational therapy assistant at Epic Health Services in Pampa, travels as far as Fritch to provide vital occupational therapies to Texas Panhandle children with special needs who might not have the ability to leave home, or who might not live close to a therapy clinic.
The children Garth works with, some who have cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and traumatic brain injuries, need help developing both fine and gross motor skills.
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“One person has said about the current political season that this is a time of moral reckoning for every American citizen. It can better be said that this is a time of moral reckoning for every Christian in America.”
Those two sentences came to me a couple of weeks ago in an email from Jerry Taylor.
Jerry is a Bible professor at Abilene Christian University and a friend of mine. But the email came totally out of the blue. Completely unexpected.
No context.
No explanation.
Just two short sentences from a man of God whom I respect and admire.

Power Church in Amarillo was handed the keys to their new home four weeks ago: The 1928 church at 1016 S. Roberts St., once home to Tenth Avenue United Methodist Church.
Since then, Manny DeLosSantos, pastor for Power Church, has begun the restoration process with his associate pastor, Jesse Lucero.
Before much had been started, DeLosSantos said he let the congregation in to sign their names on a wall of the church lobby as a symbol of how the church plans to serve the northside of the city.

The Open & Affirming Congregations of the Texas Panhandle (OAC) met for the first time and was officially christened Monday evening at St. Luke Presbyterian Church.
The coalition, currently consisting of Presbyterians from churches around the Texas Panhandle and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Amarillo, established together what it meant to be an ‘open and affirming congregation’ and began composing a pledge and logo.

Authorities are investigating a report of a sexual assault and alcohol violations involving minors near the West Texas A&M University Campus.
On Wednesday, WT police received a third-party report of the incidents occurring in the 2500 block of 4th Avenue, according to a University Police Department news release.
The incidents reportedly occurred on Tuesday, and all involved are WT students, authorities said.  
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Potter County commissioners have approved an annual budget of $80,485,344, of which $54,449,231 is for the county’s general fund, after it was presented during their regular meeting Monday.
Potter County Auditor Kerry Hood said the budget includes funds the county borrowed for the construction of a Law Enforcement Center for the sheriff’s department, of which $19.15 million of the $21.5 million estimated total cost for the center will be spent in this new budget year.

If your taste buds have been craving a Philly cheesesteak, they will appreciate this business item. A restaurant chain that boasts the “world’s best Philly cheesesteaks” is about to expand into Amarillo.
Memphis, Tenn.-based Lenny’s Grill & Subs, which already has 19 locations in Texas, hopes to build as many as five of its restaurants in this area.
The first one could be here by next spring.
“I would say, best case scenario, we’re open in six months,” declared Bob Ritter, Lenny’s vice president of franchise and market development.

The Amarillo Independent School District has scheduled a special meeting of the Board of Trustees set for 11 a.m. Saturday as the result of a controversy that grew following a pep rally incident last week.
Amarillo ISD Superintendent Dr. Dana West is scheduled to speak at the meeting, according to an AISD press release Friday afternoon.
““The meeting is called to make sure the board and I talk about the pep assembly issue and what we are doing to move forward,” West told the Amarillo Globe-News on Friday.

Texas has officially withdrawn from the nation’s refugee resettlement program, according to Gov. Greg Abbott's office. But that won't stop the federal government from continuing to help refugees relocate here.
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Texas' top elected officials have not exactly welcomed refugees over the past year.
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