News

A Hemphill County grand jury convened here on Thursday, February 22, and returned with four indictments.

Misdemeanor Arrests

• Efren Briceno, 32, Canadian; driver license/ID false; 2/8/24; HCSO

• Javier Francisco Alvarez, 19, Canadian; possession of alcohol by minor, possession of tobacco by minor; 2/17/24; HCSO

• Sergio Olivas, 29, Holliday; possession of less than 2 ounces marijuana; 2/11/24; HCSO

It would be an honor to serve my neighbors and friends of Hemphill County Precinct 3.

Roxanne and I are both from the Texas Panhandle and we have been fortunate enough to relocate almost 8 years ago to Canadian and to raise our two boys Jaxon and Ben.

Early voting in the March 5 Democratic and Republican primaries began this morning, Tuesday, February 20, at the Hemphill County Courthouse in Canadian.

Local and district offices on the 2024 primary election ballots include those of Hemphill County Tax Assessor/Collector, Hemphill County Attorney , Hemphill County Commissioner (Precincts 1 and 3), Hemphill County Sheriff, and 31st District Attorney.

Federal judge appears skeptical of new border law

A federal judge is expected to rule quickly on the constitutionality of a Texas law about to go into effect that institutes new state penalties for illegal border crossings. During a hearing last week, U.S. District Judge David Ezra said he had concerns that other states would follow Texas’ lead in creating their own immigration laws—a power given exclusively to the federal government under the U.S. Constitution.

Canadian High School senior Laney Hood learned last week that she had been named a 2024 National Merit Scholar finalist. In doing so, she joins an elite group of only 15,000 students nationwide—about half of whom will share nearly $28 million in awards this year. She also becomes only the fourth CHS student (see list below) to reach that lofty level since the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) program began in 1955.

AUSTIN—Today, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced Texas has 17,948,242 million registered voters ahead of the March 5 primaries. The last day to register in time for the primary election was February 5.

Candidate filing ended this week for those seeking a place on the ballot in the local May 4 elections. In a flurry of last-minute action before Friday’s deadline, several candidates signed up, filling what were potentially vacant seats and setting the stage for contested school and hospital board races.

Altogether, nine elected positions were up for grabs in the spring election, including three city council seats, two seats on the hospital board, two on the school board, and two on the water board.

Early voting in the March 5 Democratic and Republican primaries will kick off next Tuesday at the Hemphill County Courthouse.

Local and district offices that will be on the 2024 primary and general election ballot include those of Hemphill County Tax Assessor/Collector, Hemphill County Attorney , Hemphill County Commissioner (Precincts 1 and 3), Hemphill County Sheriff, and 31st District Attorney.

Pitch made for new power plants

Lt. Gov Dan Patrick joined with the world’s largest investment firm to pitch investors on building natural gas power plants in Texas at a summit held last week in Houston.