The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged many families into financial distress, and federal stimulus payments are an important way for people to feed their families and keep paying rent. But as of June, an estimated 12 million eligible Americans—over 1 million of them in Texas—had not received their $1,200 federal stimulus payments, known as “economic impact payments.” While the Internal Revenue Service reports some recent progress on people receiving their payments, the number of unclaimed checks is still quite large.

The first phase of utility-line relocation on US 60/83 will likely begin around the middle of next week, City Manager Joe Jarosek reported Tuesday. Amarillo Utility Contractors will perform the utility-line relocation work.

Hemphill County Underground Water District board members voted unanimously last week to raise the tax rate to 3.5-cents per $100 valuation for Fiscal Year 2020-21—a 25 percent increase over last year’s rate.

It’s been a busy week for us! On Sunday, we held a fundraiser at the Palace Theatre (thank you Ray and Natalie!) and played the movie Tombstone for donations. We were graced with the presence of around 30 people who came to support us!