The Amarillo Tribune

The Amarillo Tribune The Amarillo Tribune's mission is to provide local, ethical, in-depth and always free news for our community.
(1)

Sign up for our free daily newsletter: https://amarillotribune.org/newsletters/

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Tuesday that it permanently housed 51,936 homeless Veterans across the c...
11/26/2025

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Tuesday that it permanently housed 51,936 homeless Veterans across the country in fiscal year 2025. The Amarillo VA Health Care system reports housing 171.

Randall County has one confirmed case of equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM), the neurologic disease linked to equine herpes virus (EHV-1). The Equine Disease Communications Center has details about the outbreak.

The Amarillo Continuum of Care has opened the 2025 local competition for project applications from local service providers, including current CoC TX-611 member agencies, as well as nonprofit and faith-based organizations across Amarillo.

West Texas A&M University’s horse judging team won its third reserve championship of the season on Nov. 21 at the National Cutting Horse Association Judging Contest in Fort Worth.

The Don Harrington Discovery Center and Wildcat Bluff will be offering $1 admission during their Discover for a Dollar program on Black Friday, November 28th.

BSA Hospice is hosting a “Coffee and Dessert” gathering on Thanksgiving Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 5211 SW 9th Avenue for anyone who may be feeling the weight of grief, loneliness, or change this holiday.

Read more by signing up for our newsletter here: https://amarillotribune.org/newsletters/

The Texas Department of Public Safety is launching Operation Safe Holidays to remind travelers to be safe over the comin...
11/26/2025

The Texas Department of Public Safety is launching Operation Safe Holidays to remind travelers to be safe over the coming Thanksgiving week. The coordinated initiative will provide enhanced patrols in high-volume pedestrian corridors within central areas in large Texas cities through the holiday season.

“[The Wednesday before Thanksgiving] is one of the heaviest travel holidays of the year,” DPS Safety Education Sgt. Cindy Barkley said. “Everyone’s safety on the roadway this holiday season is our top priority, and with more traffic on the roadway, there’s an increased risk of more crashes. It’s important to make sure you stay alert, avoid distractions, buckle up, and be sure to obey the speed limit. Don’t drink and drive and give yourself extra time to get where you’re going.”

DPS is also urging travelers to pack an emergency kit before they hit the road. They recommend including the following:

Water and non-perishable snacks

A blanket

A first-aid kit

Flashlight with extra batteries

Jumper cables

A basic toolkit

Tire pressure gauge and properly inflated spare tire, and the tools needed to change it

A portable phone charger

An ice scraper

A map or printed directions

Prescription medications and any necessary supplies for children or pets

“Check your vehicle before you leave. Make sure your tires are good, make sure you have fresh oil and check your windshield wipers. Don’t plan your trip the day you’re heading out,” Barkley said. “Plan your route before you go. An emergency kit is always something people should keep in their cars because you never know what’s going to happen out on the road.”

DPS will work in partnership with local police departments in each participating city for Operation Safe Holidays to provide expanded patrol coverage to maintain a visible and consistent safety presence. Barkley said the State of Texas hasn’t seen a day with zero deaths on our roadways since Nov. 7, 2000.

“We got close in January, but not close enough,” Barkley said. “It never feels good to knock on a door and let a family know their loved one isn’t coming home for the holidays. We’ll have more troopers out on the road to help keep everyone safe, so everybody driving needs to do their part to help make this happen.”

Read more stories like these by signing up for our newsletter here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/11/26/dont-miss-dps-travel-tips/

Some weekends, Amarilloans in tuxedos and ball gowns head into Arts in the Sunset for a class reunion or a fundraising e...
11/26/2025

Some weekends, Amarilloans in tuxedos and ball gowns head into Arts in the Sunset for a class reunion or a fundraising event. These locals, decked in formal wear, shuffle past neighbors dressed head to toe in black, wearing battle jackets coated with spikes and patches from punk bands of the past and present; the latter are there to listen to a show at The Atomic Yellow.

The music venue is run by two couples, Tony Longwell and his wife Ambher, and Jarrit and Cindy Edwards. They run the venue collaboratively, with Cindy and Ambher greeting patrons as they arrive, Jarrit manning the sound and lights and Tony doing anything else that needs to be done.

“We split everything,” Tony said. “We don’t make a ton of money, but everything we do, we basically split all that and the cost and everything. We both just pay stuff out of our pockets, basically.”

Tony and Ambher grew up in the metal scene, playing in bands during their high school years and going to shows around Amarillo. They both work full-time jobs during the day, but they also had a dream to open an affordable, all-ages venue for people to enjoy the music the couple loves.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/11/26/the-atomic-yellow-rocks-the-sunset/

As we previously reported, Tyson Foods confirmed Friday that the Amarillo plant will transition to a “single full capaci...
11/25/2025

As we previously reported, Tyson Foods confirmed Friday that the Amarillo plant will transition to a “single full capacity shift.” The Amarillo Tribune confirmed that approximately 1,700 people will lose their jobs, and that the Amarillo plants’ layoffs will begin January 20.

The Maverick works in partnership with Tyson to offer the club’s Night Owl program. Soria said the program provides after-school care for 40 children of the plant’s B-shift workers. Soria said the program is 100% funded by Tyson, and serves children ranging in age from 5 to 18 years old.

Soria said that as a part of the Maverick and Tyson’s agreement, they will be given 30 days to prepare to end the Night Owl program. Soria said the program will end the same day the layoffs are scheduled to be enacted, on Jan. 20. Soria said Maverick staff are working with parents and will continue to provide daytime care for kids while B-shift workers seek other employment.

Lal Bawl, lead pastor at the Amarillo Emmanuel Revival Church, said that approximately 70 of his church members work at the Amarillo Tyson plant. Bawl said that most of the congregation will be severely impacted by the layoffs.

Bawl said that he is currently going to each home and praying for the families that they remain financially stable and that the B shift workers find a new place of employment soon. Bawl said he and his congregation are “panicked” about their next steps. He believes families will be able to maintain their finances for around two months after Jan. 20, but worries that some families will need to file for bankruptcy within six months.

Bawl said that the community also supports the funding for the church. Bawl is unsure whether it will be able to maintain the church’s finances without the community’s assistance.

“This decision is [a] big, huge impact on our refugee community. And then our small ethnic group, which barely speak English, who are [still] setting up in America. So this is a big, big, big impact on us. So if Tyson may rethink about the decision, that will be very great,” Bawl said.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/11/25/tyson-shift-consolidation-to-impact-around-1700-amarillo-workers-maverick-program/

The eastbound I-40 right shoulder will be closed from Adkisson Road to Arnot Road and from the US 287 split to Spur 228 ...
11/25/2025

The eastbound I-40 right shoulder will be closed from Adkisson Road to Arnot Road and from the US 287 split to Spur 228 for pavement edge work.

The center lane of southbound I-27 at the US 87 split, just south of Rockwell Road, will be closed for concrete barrier wall placement. The work will take place overnight until 6 a.m. tomorrow.

According to TDPS, Texas Highway Patrol Troopers will increase enforcement efforts from Nov. 26 through Nov. 30 in response to elevated holiday traveling.

Julie Miller, executive director and co-founder of the Adera Foundation, will speak at the 2025 Amarillo Community Prayer Breakfast today at 6:30 a.m. at the Amarillo Civic Center North Exhibit Hall. Tickets can be purchased online.

The Amarillo Tribune has been reaching out for more information about the recently-announced expected layoffs at Tyson Foods. We expect to publish more coverage later today.

Read more information like this by signing up for our newsletter here: https://amarillotribune.org/newsletters/

During last week’s Amarillo City Council regular meeting, the council considered some board placements and appointments....
11/25/2025

During last week’s Amarillo City Council regular meeting, the council considered some board placements and appointments. First, they discussed revisiting the process the council goes through for boards and committees to make it more efficient, a topic broached by Councilmember Tim Reid, Place 1.

“I know I’m new to this council, but I found this process of going through all of these appointments as one of the most bizarre things I think we do as a city government, to do all of these appointments on one night or two nights, because we’re separating them,” Reid said. “I don’t think we are taking it seriously on how we do a committee, because there’s no possible way in the short time that we had that we can call all these people and talk to them.”

Councilmember David Prescott, Place 3, agreed and said he believed the council was “throwing in another level of bureaucracy” that he said didn’t make sense to him. Reid suggested extending the process so the council considers two or three boards and committees every month so that all of the deadlines wouldn’t end on Dec. 31.

“I agree in theory with what you’re talking about. I really, at this late date, would not like to rush the system and try to change it for this cycle, because things don’t go well when you try to rush things,” Councilmember Les Simpson, Place 4, said. “The other thing is, we do have people who’ve already indicated that they don’t want to serve. I think they’re thinking that they’re about to fill that position. We’ve got, I think, 18 positions to fill tonight, but 15 of those, the majority of people who are on there and want to serve again.”

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/11/25/amarillo-city-council-appoints-dozens-of-board-and-committee-members/

The United States Supreme Court stayed last week’s split ruling by a district court panel of judges which blocked Texas ...
11/25/2025

The United States Supreme Court stayed last week’s split ruling by a district court panel of judges which blocked Texas from using its 2025 congressional map for the 2026 elections.

The preliminary injunction issued last week would have forced the State to use the congressional maps drawn in 2021. The majority judges’ written opinion suggested there was evidence that the new map was racially gerrymandered.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton submitted an application to stay the injunction with Justice Samuel Alito. Alito granted the stay pending an order of the Court. Several parties from the original suit that prompted the judge panel to review the facts have filed briefs in response to the application, some arguing that the map is in fact racially gerrymandered and asking for the Court to dismiss the appeal.

In the application, Paxton rebuffed the suggestion that the new map was drawn along racial lines. “Two primary goals motivated the map-drawing: protecting Republican incumbents and finding five new strongly Republican seats,” the application states.

The deadline for prospective candidates to file to run in the March 6 primaries is Dec. 8, less than two weeks away.

The Amarillo Tribune will continue to follow this case and provide updates as they become available.

Read more stories like these by signing up for our newsletter: https://amarillotribune.org/newsletters/

Address

Amarillo, TX
79101

Telephone

+18063165047

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Amarillo Tribune posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Amarillo Tribune:

Shortcuts

Share

Category