News

The Panhandle Disaster Relief Fund at Amarillo Area Foundation has been in place since 2006 and has been used numerous times to offer financial assistance, especially from devastation due to wildfires. This week, AAF contributed $200,000 to the Panhandle Disaster Relief Fund. The goal is to help meet the challenges this crisis has placed on nonprofits across the Panhandle, especially in at-risk communities.

Globally, the World Health Organization has confirmed 207,860 cases and 8,657 deaths, as of Wednesday evening. In the United States, there have been at least 8,017 cases of the coronavirus confirmed by lab tests and 143 deaths, with COVID-19 now confirmed in all 50 states, as reported by The New York Times. According to a report in The Texas Tribune, there are at least 95 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two deaths in Texas. There are likely more unconfirmed cases, given that there are examples of community spread and limited testing capacity.

Stories of empty shelves at area grocery stores spread quickly this week—spurred by news that some Texas cities were seeing the first positive tests for the coronavirus, and by the fear that widespread quarantines may well be next.

Local volunteers offer errand services for those in need

Democratic congressional candidate Greg Sagan formally withdrew from the race last week after revealing the news that he has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare and incurable form of cancer.

A massive fire prompted evacuations Saturday just across the Oklahoma state line in Beaver County along Highway 412. By 2:30 pm Sunday, the fire was 50 percent contained and had consumed over 29,120 acres.

Yesterday, March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) publicly characterized COVID -19 as a pandemic for the first time. In the past two weeks, the number of cases outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled.

JASON ABRAHAM IS NO STRANGER to the cloning process. His animal reproductive technology work has become known throughout the world, making headlines in 2006 when he famously produced the first horse foal born from a mule.

Andrew Saul, commissioner of Social Security, and the agency continue raising public awareness about telephone impersonation schemes during the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) national ‘Slam the Scam’ Day on March 5.

Work began last week on a comprehensive upgrade to the lighting at Sunset Park. The $360,000 project involves the installation of new electrical infrastructure, pedestrian lighting, and lighting for public art.