This new trash truck (photo at top) is one example of the diverse efforts city officials are making to stretch tax dollars farther. The truck has more capacity for waste, and greater strength for compaction, explained City Manager Joe Jarosek. The result is fewer trips to the transfer station during their regular collection routes, lowering fuel and manpower costs. Last Thursday morning, crews baled metal waste that had collected at the city/county transfer station, saving substantially on hauling costs and earning some revenue from the metal recyclers who purchased the compacted waste, as well. On Monday, city wastewater technicians Carlos Lopez and Trey Evans (in photo below) performed required maintenance at the wastewater treament ponds, protecting and extending the life of the aerators, which promote microbial growth in the wastewater. Aeration removes constituents from the water in preparation for the next phase of treatment. Added benefits are that the process is organic, cost-effective, and environmentallyfriendly.

FORTY-ONE. That’s the number of Texas school districts that will operate on a four-day week this year.

Wildcats scrimmage Panhandle Panthers here tonight at 5 pm The Canadian Wildcat Varsity and Junior Varsity teams will have their second and final scrimmage tonight in front of their hometown fans at Wildcat Stadium, with play beginning at 5 pm. Next Tuesday evening, August 23, the Meet the Wildcats hamburger feed ($5/ plate) will be held at Wildcat Stadium, beginning at 6:30 pm.

As many as half a million monarch butterflies pass through Texas every year. These tiny creatures cover over 1,500 miles from their breeding grounds in Canada and the northern U.S. to Mexico, where they spend the winter. These iconic butterflies enter Texas in early September, a migration lasting until the end of October. In late March, the butterflies are back in Texas as they return north to breed.