Amarillo, Potter County | featured news

Amarillo police arrested a man on a parole violation and a weapons charge Friday, suspecting he might have been involved in a Thursday shooting at a local smoke shop that injured a baby.
At 1:35 p.m. Friday, Amarillo Police Department SWAT and Proactive Criminal Enforcement officers located John Keith Lusk, 28, driving in the 2700 block of Westhaven Drive, according to a news release.

Amarillo Community Market will move to the parking lot of the Santa Fe Building, near the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Tyler Street, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and on Sept. 24.
Polk Street, the normal location for the market, will be closed due to the Tri-County Fair parade, which also begins at 10 a.m.
The market, which opened July 9, includes about 80 vendors who sell produce, baked goods, flowers, arts and other items.
The event is a cooperative project with Center City of Amarillo, the city of Amarillo and volunteers.

Amarillo City Council members have set the property tax rate, and the result means homeowners will be paying more.
While the city’s property tax rate will not change from its current figure, an average 3.55 percent increase in home values will cause some homeowner’s bill to increase, and generate more revenue for the city.
In the past decade, Amarillo’s property values have increased 28.3 percent, according to data provided by the Potter-Randall Appraisal District. In 2006, the average home was valued at $96,498. Today, the average value is $123,838.

The midway and exhibits of the Amarillo Tri-State Fair & Rodeo opened Friday afternoon with junk food on a stick, the new Bengal Tiger Encounter and ribbons dripping from hand-stitched quilts, paintings featuring Western heritage and Lila Casler’s Blue Ribbon Sugar Cookies.
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Amarillo residents with higher-than-normal water utility bills might have been overcharged.
When Jana Cates opened her utility bill this month, she knew right away that something was wrong. According to the city, the Quail Creek resident had used 161,000 gallons of water in the last billing cycle.
Because the city charges customers for water based on how much they used — and Cates was up there in the highest tier — she was charged more than $5 per 1,000 gallons.

The beginnings of alleged inappropriate relationships between a local middle school teacher and students might have started as early as 2001 and continued into this year, according to Amarillo Police Department investigatory documents.
Authorities on Monday evening found 50-year-old Fannin Middle School Teacher Tim Mohler, a 21-year veteran of Amarillo Independent School District, dead of an apparent suicide at his Amarillo home. His death came while he was the subject of a criminal investigation.

SNYDER — Amazon has announced its largest renewable energy project, Amazon Wind Farm Texas, which is expected to bring over 250 construction jobs to Scurry County.
Amazon contracted with Lincoln Clean Energy of Chicago, which will construct, own and operate the wind farm that’s scheduled to open in late 2017, according to a news release.
Amazon plans to purchase about 90 percent of the power generated by the Scurry County farm for the electrical grids supplying current and future Amazon Web Services Cloud data centers.

Once upon a time, Darren Hutchinson of Amarillo bought comics, games, graphic novels and collectibles for the Hastings and MovieStop retail chains.
Then, six weeks ago, as a casualty of Hastings’ bankruptcy, Hutchinson got his layoff notice.
“I couldn’t imagine not being in the comic world anymore,” he said.
“I love working with comics, I love what comics represent to people, and I wanted to make sure I stayed in this world.”

Amarillo City Council is set to sign off on a $15 million incentive to help fund Texas Tech University’s vision to build a veterinary school in Amarillo.
The council will consider the agreement, created by Amarillo Economic Development Corp., at its Tuesday night meeting. It will be the first time the public has been apprised of the investment, as council members have only spoken with AEDC in executive session and met with university officials behind closed doors.

The day will come. There will be a final romp at the dog park, a final hunting trip, a final scratch at the bathroom door, a final mouse left on the porch or a final snuggle before bedtime.
For many pet owners, this is the day they refuse to consider. It is the day when life turns painfully upside-down from when paws pattered contentedly through the home. It is the day when a beloved pet leaves this world.
As pets take a more central role in our lives, concern regarding the quality of their lives and deaths has increased.