Amarillo, Potter County | featured news

A early morning car crash on Saturday in northeast Amarillo sent one to the hospital, police said Monday.
About 2:22 a.m., officers were sent to the wreck at Amarillo Boulevard and Grand Street. Authorities learned that a black 2006 Lincoln truck driven by Fidencio Ramirez, 30, hit a green 2005 Nissan Altima.
A 24-year-old woman who was driving the Nissan was taken to a local hospital with injuries that police described as serious but not life threatening.

The Amarillo Police Department just over a week ago fired an officer charged with possession of child pornography, a police spokesman confirmed Monday morning.
On Aug. 9, Earnest Tillman McDonald III was fired from the department. Tillman, 39, last month was booked into Potter County jail and charged with two third-degree felony counts of possession of child pornography.
A third-degree felony carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Police are searching for leads in an apparent Saturday hit and run.
About 1:29 p.m., officers were sent to the area of San Jacinto Avenue and South Georgia Street to investigate a crash involving a car and a bicycle, according to a news release issued Monday.
Police learned that a driver of a black Ford Mustang struck a 54-year-old bike rider who was riding across the intersection.
The rider was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, authorities said.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Police Department said Monday that it was looking for a naturalized Afghanistan citizen for questioning in a weekend explosion in a Manhattan neighborhood that injured 29 people.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami could be armed and dangerous.
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The Texas Department of Transportation is scheduled to perform overnight road closures along the interstates 27 and 40 interchange this week.
The eastbound I-40 ramp connecting to southbound I-27 will close to traffic beginning at 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday. I-40 traffic wanting to access southbound I-27 will be detoured north around the work zone into downtown Amarillo to reconnect with I-27.

HOUSTON — In a sometimes emotional speech at Rice University, Vice President Joe Biden on Friday announced the next steps in his ambitious drive to facilitate a cure for cancer, unveiling new proposals to raise awareness of — and increase access to — clinical trials.

Now comes the hard part. Texas Tech University believes it has an innovative veterinary school in Amarillo ready to go for 2019, one Tech is sure will address a shortage of large-animal veterinarians, particularly in rural areas, and in an affordable and innovative way.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has agreed there is such a shortage, but if that’s to be addressed, it must be done in a non-traditional way. So Tech is about to approach the proverbial fork in the road, and, well lookie here, it’s the Aggies directing traffic.

“Call if you can, text if you can’t,” is the slogan for Potter-Randall County Emergency Communication District’s new text to 911 service.
“It’s just a great service especially for our deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired communities,” said Public Marketing Coordinator for Potter-Randall 911 Leticia Truex.
“It’s just a faster, easier way for them to get direct contact with 911. I think currently now most of them use a relay service,” Truex said.

Steven Thomas has been working in the state and county fair industry for about 25 years following in the footsteps of many of his relatives.
He’s done just about everything from concessions to shows to being a game vendor. He moves around in travel trailers and often stays in bunk homes. The length of time varies in each city.
“You stay on the move a lot, but at the same time I get to see a lot of the country. I’ve been all over, [even] Canada.”

Whether they shoot BBs, pellets, paintballs or nothing at all, imitation guns can be indistinguishable from the real thing — it’s one reason why some criminals gravitate toward them. Plus they’re cheap and easy to get.
As Ohio authorities investigate the fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old boy who officers said pulled a realistic-looking BB gun from his waistband, law enforcement agencies are grappling with the use of fake guns to commit very real crimes.