Amarillo, Potter County | featured news

Amarillo detectives are searching for two suspects in connection with an assault at a city park that turned into a homicide.
According to police, Jamor Durrell Lee, 30, was assaulted near the area of 1314 Evergreen Street. The man was transported to a local hospital where he later died. The incident was reported at about 5:30 p.m.
Amarillo Police Department’s Special Crimes Unit, which is leading the investigation, were told by witnesses that two men assaulted Lee and left the area in a red Ford sport-utility vehicle. 

Lone Star Ballet in Amarillo announced Wednesday that they are developing a smartphone app to expand connections between academies, dancers, families and fans across the Texas Panhandle.
“Get your information with one touch,” King Hill, marketing consultant and past president of LSB, said as he revealed the news at their VIP luncheon. The ballet company originally launched its website about eight years ago, but decided to refresh the design and organization of the site with help from Top Zone Media.

Amarillo College announced Wednesday it received a $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
The five-year Hispanic-Serving Institutions — Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics Grant provides renovation funding to create a 12,000square-foot STEM Conservatory containing instructional labs, research space and equipment, according to an AC news release.
The conservatory will support new degree and certificate programs including horticulture, biotechnology, environmental science and sustainable resources.

Two local school districts are sending millions of dollars from local taxpayers to the state to comply with a controversial Texas law that requires certain districts to share income with their poorer counterparts.
Highland Park Independent School District has set aside $3.8 million it expects to send to the state. For comparison, the district’s operating budget is $13.3 million.
Bushland Independent School District, which has an operating budget of $15.3 millon, is preparing to surrender $1.6 million.

In a move that could bring in millions of dollars, the City of Amarillo is taking an alternative approach to building a multi-use basketball and volleyball sports complex.
Projections show that increasing volleyball tournaments alone would have a $3 million annual economic impact to the city, said Rod Tweet, Parks and Recreation director.
read more

Community
Youth Job Fair: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Amarillo Civic Center Complex Regency Room, 401 S. Buchanan St. 806-378-3096.
Senior Fall Festival: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Amarillo Civic Center Complex Heritage Room, 401 S. Buchanan St. 806-373-7373.
read more

■ In 1789, the U.S. War Department established a regular army with the strength of several hundred men.
■ In 1907, the foundation stone was laid for the Washington National Cathedral.
■ In 1938, British, French, German and Italian leaders concluded the Munich Agreement, which was aimed at appeasing Adolf Hitler by allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland.
■ In 1943, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Italian Marshal Pietro Badoglio signed an armistice aboard the British ship HMS Nelson off Malta.

TOWNVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A teenager killed his father at their home Wednesday before going to a nearby elementary school and opening fire with a handgun, wounding two students and a teacher, authorities said.
read more

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress — including many Texans — delivered Wednesday what might be the largest legislative blow that President Obama's administration has received. 
read more

Fall wedding season is upon us, and Amarillo Opera is preparing a marriage of its own to entertain audiences this weekend.
Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” is the opera’s inaugural show for the 2016-17 season and performances are set for Saturday and Sunday at the Globe News Center for the Performing Arts.
Dean Anthony, director of last year’s production of “The Ballad Of Baby Doe,” wants to create an element of openness to the classic, beloved opera.