News

Every year on November 15th communities across the state gather to observe Texas Recycles Day.  Every day, small communities across the Panhandle work hard to recycle and divert waste from area landfills.  In fiscal year 2024, the communities across the region recycled more than 598 thousand pounds of material like cardboard, newspapers, office paper, plastics, tires, electronics, scrap metal, scrap tires, concrete and used motor oil. 

GOP win raises stakes for Cornyn’s leadership bid 

With Republicans regaining majority control of the Senate, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is making his bid to become that chamber’s majority leader. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, had previously announced he would step down as party leader. Republicans will hold at least a 53-45 edge in January, with Senate races in two states still undecided as of Friday morning.

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University’s Great Books Series will continue in November with a short story about one of the region’s most valuable resources.

Dr. Ryan Brooks, associate professor English in WT’s Department of English, Philosophy and Modern Languages, will lead the discussion of Terese Svoboda’s “Ogallala Aquifer” from her 2019 collection “Great American Desert.”

Week of October 29-November 4, 2024

Misdemeanor Arrests

• James Shawn Canada, 51, Canadian; assault causing bodily injury to family member; 10/29/24; HCSO

• Kenneth Ray Lovell, 71, Canadian; warrant for unlawfully carrying a weapon; 10/29/24; HCSO

Felony Arrests

None

Insurance hikes make affordable housing tougher

A growing number of Texas homeowners are forgoing buying homeowners insurance as premiums skyrocket, according to a recent report from the Texas comptroller.

Buoyed by the recent success of August’s Main Street dance, and by comments from Canadian High School alumni here for September’s well-attended homecoming events at Wildcat Stadium, members of the Canadian Education Foundation and CHS Ex-Student Association have decided to join forces, share resources and make some changes in plans for next year’s All-School Reunion.

By midday on Wednesday, October 30, Hemphill County election officials reported that the number of early voters here had reached 1,000, and that local voters were continuing to arrive at the courthouse. A quick check of the voter registration rolls revealed that just over 42 percent of Hemphill County’s 2,349 registered voters had already cast ballots in the November 5, 2024 General Election—a pretty good sign that voter turnout in the 2024 Presidential race may just set a new record here.

Months before the Texas Panhandle erupted with destructive wildfires, fire crews in Borger were igniting fire intentionally on a seven-mile, roughly 250-foot wide ribbon of land on the edge of town.

The prescribed burn in November removed dense grass and brush next to homes on the southwest side of the town. When the Windy Deuce fire ravaged the region in February, the prescribed burn area acted as a fireproof wall that stopped the blaze in its tracks.

"The Rain We Keep” is a new multi-part series from Panhandle PBS documenting how life in our region will change if we do not alter our unsustainable draining of the Ogallala Aquifer. The series will premiere at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov 7.

The aquifer is our primary source of water on the Texas High Plains, and we’re draining that tank far faster than nature can refill it. By some estimates, our region and others could run out of groundwater by the end of this century.

Early voting ends on Friday

Texans who wish to vote early in the Nov. 5 general election have until closing time Friday, Nov. 1 to do so. Secretary of State Jane Nelson is encouraging voters to double-check their precinct numbers and candidate selections before casting their ballots.