School

Amber Zenor, of Canadian, graduated summa cum laude from the Robert D. and Carol Gunnn College of Health Sciences and Human Services at Midwestern State College with her Bachelor of Science degree in respiratory care.

Need a hug? Don’t we all? Person-toperson contact is how humans express affection, comfort, and connect with each other. Touch releases oxytocin and sometimes dopamine, two of the “happy hormones” that regulate positive moods. Touch also signals a sense of belonging, safety, and trust. Living in isolation during the pandemic has resulted in touch deprivation. People working from home are deprived of daily touching such as handshakes and pats on the back. The over-60 crowd who have to observe strict social distancing miss hugs and kisses from children and grandchildren. A lack of touch can trigger anxiety and, in the extreme, loneliness and depression.

CANYON—West Texas A&M University has received more than $2 million in grants for programs meant to increase educational attainment and the rate of living-wage employment among the region’s underserved and rural populations.

In a nod to the coronavirus pandemic, a scaled-down Canadian High School homecoming week will culminate Friday night in the halftime presentation of the 2020 Homecoming Queen and her court. While some of this year’s traditional events—including the popular pre-game parking lot tailgate party hosted by the Canadian Education Foundation—have been placed on temporary hiatus, the Wildcat spirit will be on full display for Friday night’s annual showdown between Canadian and the rival Perryton Rangers.

CHS Canadian High School’s annual ‘Lighting of the C’ ceremony is scheduled for 8 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Canadian’s homecoming game is just eight days away, but The Flower Shop’s owner Jonilyn Hanes has been preparing for months. Each year, Hanes and her team produce hundreds of homecoming mums and armbands for Canadian ISD and surrounding school districts.

The Roaring ‘20s are back! 2020 is party time! Instead of speakeasies selling illegal liquor, COVID parties are all the rage. The crime is not drinking. The crime is refusing to social distance or wear a mask. In states with strict regulations such as California, New York, and New Jersey, hosts of parties are arrested and fined. The greatest challenge, however, is college students. Colleges want to resume classes in a safe environment. The off-campus parties may undermine their best efforts to keep students COVID-free. If parties drive the COVID rate up, students will have to switch to online learning.

Open enrollment in the Texas Tuition Promise Fund®, the state’s prepaid college-tuition program, began Sept. 1 and runs through Feb. 28, 2021. The Texas Tuition Promise Fund offers parents and loved ones the chance to prepay a child’s future higher education at Texas public colleges and universities at today’s prices, excluding medical and dental institutions.

HOUSTON—The ACLU of Texas last week sent a letter to hundreds of school districts throughout Texas, demanding that they reexamine dress and grooming code policies that are unconstitutional and discriminatory.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) will hold a Zoom news conference at 10 am this morning (Thursday) showing the features of a new website that allows teachers, school employees, and community members to report COVID-19 cases, deaths, and unsafe working conditions. The Texas AFT tracker will let users search by district and campus, and view pinned reports on a map of Texas. The Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of State Health Services have announced that districts will be required to report cases weekly starting today. However, it is unclear how the data will be presented to the public, and plans have been to display only district data—not cases by campus. To attend this Zoom meeting, please register in advance online at: https:// zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvcuqqDMrG9DAQG6hpUhk3okQ7Iv2LQHu.