News

The coronavirus recession has led to layoffs and closed businesses everywhere, but rural America has fared better than the nation’s largest cities. The farther away a county is from a central city, the fewer jobs it lost as the effects of Covid-19 shuttered businesses and kept people out of stores, gyms, restaurants and airports.

The first in a miniseries of oil and gas short courses for land and mineral owners will kick off at 5:30 pm next Tuesday evening, July 21, in the Hemphill County Exhibition Center’s Sand Sage Room. The classes, which are designed to be no longer than two hours each, will be presented by Haley and Bryce Ward, both of whom have a broad range of expertise in varied aspects of the oil and gas industry.

AMARILLO—As the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) continues with the phased reopening of driver license (DL) offices, it is pleased to announce the expansion of in-person services across the state, which includes offering renewal and replacement appointments, as well as Saturday appointments for these services at select offices.

Despite concerns about the coronavirus and related delays in the election calendar, about a quarter of Hemphill County voters took the time to cast ballots in a few highstakes primary runoff races. According to Hemphill County and District Clerk Lisa Johnson, 596 of this county’s 2,330 registered voters participated in the July 14 primary runoff election—the overwhelming majority of those (570) casting ballots in the two races that were still at stake.

Hemphill County is experiencing a rise in food insecurity, according to Tanya Holloway, AgriLife Extension agent for Hemphill County. That trend aligns with a larger problem occurring across the Panhandle.

Hemphill County Hospital District has announced the status of COVID-19 in Hemphill County, Texas. As you can see by the graph at left, Hemphill County received one additional positive case of COVID-19 yesterday (one resident of Hemphill County). The Hemphill County residents are on home isolation. At this time, none of the positive cases in Hemphill County have resulted in hospitalizations or deaths; should that change, the information will be reported.

City and county officials responded to a sudden surge of positive COVID-19 test cases in Hemphill County recently, with an appeal to residents to be more attentive to the recommended safety protocols.

On July 2, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an Executive Order G-29, mandating the use of face coverings over the nose and mouth by every person in Texas.

On Tuesday, July 14, Texas will hold 2020 Primary Runoff elections to finalize the Democratic and Republican nominees who will appear on the November 3 general election ballot. There are 35 congressional, legislative, and state board nominations still up for grabs.