News

Most of the Panhandle is now experiencing moderate to severe drought, while extreme drought conditions have begun to appear in the north and northwest Panhandle.

The familiar sight of TxDOT’s safety orange cones and piles of gravel strategically located near the intersection of Cheyenne and Main Monday morning signaled the start of a two-day sealcoating project on Main Street, from Sixth to Cheyenne, and from Cheyenne to Kingman Street. The project briefly reduced access to some side streets along the route, but the convoy of TxDOT trucks efficiently finished the project and moved on. Facing falling appraisal values and a troubled local economy, city and county officials are evaluating whether or not to budget for their annual sealcoating projects, and if so, what else they will cut to pay for it. Depending on what they choose, it may be a while before other city and county roads get the same treatment.

Work progressed this week on repairs to the Red Deer Bridge west of Canadian. The bridge has been closed to traffic each weekday from 8 am to 4:30 pm since work began on May 26, and is expected to continue for another week to 10 days.Travel is being detoured through Miami on Quarter Horse Road, though provisions have been made for emergency vehicles.

County commissioners had the knives out in court Monday morning. The first “very rough” draft of the budget for fiscal year 2020-21 was on the chopping block, and without raising the tax rate, Hemphill County is facing a $1.6 million loss of revenue.

Make that the 132nd Annual Fourth of July Rodeo. That’s right. Canadian Rodeo Association board members got the nod they’ve been looking for Monday, when county commissioners approved use of the rodeo arena for the three-day Fourth of July Rodeo.

The local Modern Woodmen of America Chapter donated $1,500 to Rachel’s Little House during the recent COVID-19 shutdown to help with supplies and other needs. Modern Woodmen managing partner Landon Landry is show here with Little House students after presenting the contribution. Nationwide, Modern Woodmen donated $1.1 million to local nonprofits to help with hardships suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hemphill County Hospital District is now releasing COVID-19 test results on a weekly—rather than daily—basis. These reports will be published each week on the hospital’s Facebook page, and both online and in print in The Record, unless new positive test results warrant more immediate notification.

A transmission-level power outage affected Xcel Energy customers from Borger to Canadian early Wednesday morning. The outage, which lasted less than an hour, affected at least three substations before power was restored to most customers around 3:32 am.