News

After a last-minute filing flurry, six candidates are in contention for three seats on the Canadian ISD board of trustees. That decision is the only local issue before voters in the May 7 election, after elections for seats on the hospital and water district boards, and on the city council, went uncontested. Those elections will be, or have already been, canceled.

With warnings of high winds, wet snows, and blizzard conditions in the forecast early this week, Xcel Energy beefed up its crews and prepared to respond to possible power outages. Wind speeds reached 40 mph overnight, with gusts up to 60, and by early Tuesday, 50,000 customers had been affected by either momentary or sustained outages caused by Monday night’s weather. By late Tuesday afternoon, about 9,000 Xcel customers in the Texas Panhandle were still without power—most of those in the Amarillo metro area.

Canadian firefighters responded Monday afternoon to a fire that started near the grain elevator at Vaca Corrales, about 10 miles south of Canadian on US 60/83. Propelled by sustained 25- to 30-mph winds out of the north, gusting up to 38 mph, the flames crossed SH 33 into tall, dry grasses, where the firefighters managed to halt their progress.

New Canadian residents and new business owners Marjorie Miller and Richard Loch visited here last week with Canadian/Hemphill County Economic Development Council board members. The couple is preparing to open The Canadian Business Hub—an enterprise that will provide a multitude of services to residents and businesses here, ranging from shipping, mailing, printing, and copying services to digital services, such as state fingerprinting, TSA pre-check signups, and expedited passport services.

It was all business at the courthouse Monday morning, as commissioners efficiently chipped away at a loaded agenda, adopting an updated burn ban, approving $5,000 in funding for repairs to the baseball/softball complex, accepting bids for the annual sealcoating project, and reviewing property insurance-coverage appraisals.

Spencer and Lacy Hanes An account has been set up at Canadian InterBank for the benefit of Spencer and Lacy Hanes, whose fourth baby was born in Amarillo last Monday and flown that night to a hospital in Dallas/Fort Worth, where he underwent surgery at Cook Children’s Medical Center. They will be there for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer.

An early-morning fire last Sunday in rural Hemphill County destroyed a hay barn and the livestock that were inside, sheltering from below-freezing temperatures. It was a tragic reminder that fire will always be a threat here in the droughtprone Texas Panhandle—one made even more dramatic because it occurred on the fifth anniversary of the terrible wildfires of March 6, 2017, a date whose significance few in this community need any help remembering.

City of Canadian crews shed new light this week on the Sunset Park basketball court, installing Goalrilla LED Basektball Hoop lights to provide illumination for nighttime sports fans. The new wired-in lighting was completed by an electrician Wednesday morning. City Manager Joe Jarosek reported the news in typical fashion, announcing in a text message to The Record at 8:04 am yesterday, “Light fixture is installed. Electrician is completing the wiring. The wiring should be completed shortly (no pun intended).” We offer this correction: Joe Jarosek’s puns are always intended—they are just not always that good. The news, however, was good. “We’ll leave the light on for you,” Jarosek promised, adding, “until curfew.” PHOTO PROVIDED BY JOE JAROSEK