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The Amarillo Tribune, Amarillo, TX (2025)

08/04/2025

The cities of Amarillo and Canyon will hold budget work sessions this week: Canyon’s begins at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and Amarillo’s will begin at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday and run through Thursday afternoon. In budget workshops, councilmembers and commissioners hear about the proposed budget for their cities, including projected changes to revenue and expenses. Department heads will deliver updates and make specific requests for funding for projects for the upcoming year.

The eventual outcome is to set property tax rates for the year once budget workshops are over. Tax rates are calculated on two sides: maintenance and operation (M&O) and interest and sinking (I&S). M&O funds day-to-day operations, like public safety, salaries, supplies and more. I&S funds interest and principal on bonds and other debts. The percentage from both sides are combined to form a decimal, and that decimal becomes the tax rate per $100 of valuation.

The first step to calculate the tax rate is receiving a certified appraisal roll or certified estimate of taxable value from the chief appraisers of Potter and Randall counties where applicable.

Truth-in-taxation, which is “a concept embodied in the Texas Constitution that requires local taxing units to make taxpayers aware of tax rate proposals and to afford taxpayers the opportunity to limit tax increases,” according to the Texas Comptroller, requires the cities and most taxing units to calculate two rates – the no-new-revenue tax rate and the voter-approval tax rate.

The no-new-revenue (NNR) rate would produce no new taxes on the same property taxed in both years. Using the NNR rate, the taxing entity calculates the voter-approval tax rate (VATR), which increases the M&O rate from the NNR side by 3.5%. With some exceptions, this is the highest tax rate a taxing entity can adopt without holding an election seeking voter approval for the rate.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/08/04/cities-of-amarillo-and-canyon-enter-budget-season/

08/04/2025

The Texas Legislature reconvenes its special session today after taking a long weekend. On the agenda: Congressional redistricting. HB 4 passed out of committee on Saturday on a party-line vote and is on the House calendar—but will there be enough members present today for business to be conducted?

The Texas House of Representatives has 150 members, 62 Democrats and 88 Republicans. The Texas House Democratic Caucus and its members have voiced staunch opposition to the redistricting map, saying, among other complaints, that its goal is to “dilute minority voting power in Texas.”

Sunday afternoon, dozens of democratic State representatives reportedly left the state to prevent a quorum in the Texas House, thereby preventing the second reading of HB4–delaying its progress through the State legislature.

Democrats who don’t show up to the state capitol can be fined $500 a day and risk being arrested. It’s against the law for them to pay any fines levied against them with campaign funds, but various democratic groups across the country have been raising money that they say will go to pay Texas Democrats’ fines.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/08/04/texas-redistricting-the-basics-and-the-latest/

08/01/2025

On Friday afternoon at the Amarillo Independent School District’s AmTech Career Academy, Gov. Greg Abbott ceremonially signed House Bill 1481, which restricts cell phone use by students during the school day, allowing flexibility for school districts, and Senate Bill 2420, also known as the App Store Accountability Act, which requires app stores to verify users’ age and obtain parental consent for minors’ usage.

HB 1481 identifies that personal wireless communication devices, including cellphones, text messaging devices, laptops, and tablets, other than a device provided to students by a school for instructional purposes, are prohibited from use during instructional time. HB 1481 received the necessary votes to go into effect immediately after Abbott’s official signing in June.

SB 2420 requires that owners of app stores use a commercially reasonable method to verify an individual’s age. If an individual is a minor, the owner of the store must obtain a parent or guardian’s consent to download an app, purchase an app, or to make a purchase in/ or using an app. SB 2420 goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026.

Rep. Caroline Fairly (R-Amarillo), who authored HB 1481, was next to Abbott at the ceremonial signing. Fairly said this bill was driven by her experience as the first Gen Z member of the Texas House of Representatives. Growing up in the digital world, she said she recognized the need to address the distractions posed by smart devices to Texas youth.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/08/01/gov-greg-abbott-visits-amarillo-to-ceremonially-sign-two-bills/

08/01/2025

Four Amarillo Fire Department firefighters recently returned from Kerrville, where they assisted with search and rescue efforts and offered relief work to area firefighters who needed a break after the massive flooding that swept the Texas Hill Country on July 4.

Battalion Chief Adam Perry said the State of Texas reached out to them through TIFF, the Texas Integrated Flooding Framework, a project established in 2020 to create an integrated framework to equip local, regional and state entities. The AFD agreed to send one engine and four personnel; they departed Amarillo on July 6.

“From the time we get that call to the time we need to be on the road is two hours,” Perry said. “You don’t know what your assignment is going to be until you get there.”

Perry said that when they arrived at the command post, they were assigned to night operations and to patrol the area, which kept them busy for the first several nights. They were focused on zero-risk operations, which means they’re not running chainsaws, climbing through debris or otherwise engaged in activities that could get someone hurt.

“So, what we would do is we would walk around areas that were safe to walk around, and in those areas you still have just piles of debris you’re walking through that you’re looking at,” Perry said. “We’re using spotlights and headlamps, generators, the lights on the truck, light towers, and we’re just going through with other teams trying to double-check all the areas. We start upriver and work our way down.”

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/08/01/amarillo-fire-department-returns-from-kerrville/

08/01/2025

The Texas Historical Commission and Center City Amarillo announced that the Barfield, Autograph Collection, will become a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. In a dedication ceremony on Thursday, Center City of Amarillo, members of the Texas Historical Commission, and the staff and owners of the Barfield unveiled the downtown hotel’s historical marker, which is expected to be installed by Aug. 5 in celebration of the Barfield’s reopening anniversary.

Kelsey Pratt, general manager of the Barfield Hotel, said construction on the Barfield began in 1926, and the space opened in 1927. The building was owned and run by a woman, Melissa Dora Oliver-Eakle, “which was unheard of back in the 20s.”

According to the Texas State Historical Association, Oliver-Eakle was born Melissa Dora Callaway in September, 1860, and married William Oliver, an industrialist and principal stockholder of Mississippi Mills, in 1884.

Oliver-Eakle visited Amarillo for the first time to stay with her brothers in 1890. After her husband died in 1891, Oliver-Eakle returned to the Panhandle multiple times, purchasing land in Potter and Randall counties until she moved to the area permanently in 1895. In 1902, Oliver-Eakle married O. M. Eakle, a director of Amarillo National Bank and first president of the Amarillo Board of Trade. They were married until his death in 1914.

The Historical Association said Oliver-Eakle “caused a stir among townspeople when she arrived with her fine horses, carriage, and household servants, who were said to be the first Blacks in Amarillo. Soon her spirited chestnut horse, elegant attire, and aloof public manner caused her to be labeled the ‘Duchess.’”

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/08/01/the-woman-behind-the-barfield-m-d-oliver-eakle/

07/31/2025

Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch is inviting the public out for an open house, Ribbon Cutting and Dedication Ceremony from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Friday in celebration of the opening of its newly renovated facility located at 601 W. 10th Street in downtown Amarillo. The upgraded space will host many of Cal Farley’s Community-Based Services and Alumni Support staff and will offer meeting room space for other local service providers to use.

“The open house is really just to kind of celebrate,” Kim Reeves, Vice President for Alumni and Community Relations, said. “We want the public to understand that there are some pieces of programming that fall outside just the campus. Community-Based Services is our newest initiative, and it’s primarily targeted for children who live in the Amarillo area or within a 100-mile radius, who maybe aren’t appropriate candidates for Boys Ranch, but we still want to provide some kind of services for them.”

The Community-Based Services and Alumni Support programs extend the care that Cal Farley’s is able to provide in two key directions: prevention and intervention services to help stabilize families, reduce risks, and prevent youth from entering the child welfare or juvenile justice systems, and post-residential supports that offer long-term guidance for the youth they serve as they transition into adulthood.

Mary Villalon, Director of the Community-Based Services programs, gave a few examples of the children that might benefit from the Amarillo-based programs as opposed to on-campus care.

“Kids who are running away pretty frequently, substance abuse is more significant and it’s an actual targeted need, self-harm, mental health hospitalizations - so, something that cannot be managed with the things in place at Boys Ranch,” Villalon said. “And what I think we offer most is hope. Just some hope that someone’s there, that someone’s going to walk this journey with you.”

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/07/31/cal-farleys-boys-ranch-to-host-open-house-in-celebration-of-its-expansion/

07/31/2025

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07/31/2025

On Thursday, Amarillo Police Department Assistant Chief Kenneth Funtek announced his retirement effective Aug. 11.

According to a release from APD, Funtek served in the United States Marine Corps before starting his career at APD in 1992. He served in a variety of roles before being promoted to Assistant Chief in 2015.

“I am thankful for being able to serve my community and country for many decades,” Funtek said.

Through the release, the City of Amarillo expressed gratitude for Funtek’s decades of “commitment, leadership and service to the Amarillo community.” Interim Chief Jimmy Johnson acknowledged Funtek’s tenure with APD.

“He has dedicated many years to faithfully serving the Amarillo community and has contributed to the development of several key initiatives within the department,” Johnson said.

On June 19, Funtek was allegedly involved in a minor collision in his personal vehicle near the 1600 block of Kentucky St. According to APD, the parties exchanged insurance before officers arrived and, because the incident occurred on private property, no citations were issued.

The reporting officers filed a crash report and an incident report based on witness observations, and the case was submitted to the Potter County Attorney’s Office to determine if they would pursue charges.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/07/31/amarillo-police-department-assistant-chief-funtek-announces-retirement/

07/30/2025

“I’m just so tired I don’t even have the energy for hope,” Diana Heredia, a returning Amarillo College student, said.

On June 4, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas seeking to end the in-state tuition rates at public community colleges and universities for individuals without residency documentation.

Later that day, Judge Reed O’Conner for the Northern District Court of Texas, Wichita Falls Division, declared that the challenged Texas provisions were unconstitutional and rendered them invalid.

The DOJ released a statement soon after, which said, “Federal law prohibits institutions of higher education from providing benefits to aliens that are not offered to U.S. citizens. The Texas laws were in direct conflict of federal law and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

The Texas Legislature wasn’t able to move SB 1798, which would have repealed in-state tuition rates for undocumented students, through the 89th regular session.

According to the National Immigration Law Center, on January 17, “the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision finding major parts of the Biden Administration’s DACA rule to be unlawful.” Effective March 11, DACA no longer provides work authorization and drivers licenses in the State of Texas.

Heredia said she is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient and is attending AC to earn an associate degree in business management. Heredia said that since the changes to DACA and in-state tuition have been announced, she has made the decision to move out of state to New Mexico, where she can work, and raise funds to attend AC.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/07/30/changes-to-daca-in-state-tuition-law-leaves-some-students-unsure-about-their-future/

07/30/2025

The Amarillo Tribune has continued investigating readers’ questions about Fermi America’s power generation and AI datacenter campus near the Pantex Plant.

According to Fermi’s Combined Operating License Application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the complex will be named the President Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus.

The COL application was submitted on June 17 and is listed as received in part on the NRC’s website. Currently, the application review schedule dates are listed as to be decided. The application says that the construction of the first Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactor is set to begin in 2026 and become operational by April 2031.

“Subsequent in-service dates for the remaining three reactors will lag the first unit by six months to one year in order to optimize workflow and labor resources,” Fermi’s application states.

In the COL application, Fermi said that the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors will rely on air-cooled condenser systems, limiting water usage to system makeup, domestic supply, and incidental process needs, which they project to be under 50 acre-feet per year or 16,295,000 gallons of water per year.

For comparison, 50 acre-feet per year is about the same amount of water usage as 112 average American households, or around 21 acres of sweet corn.

We do not currently know how much water will be used to cool the AI datacenter, but as we’ve previously reported, Fermi does plan to recycle water throughout the facility.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/07/30/what-weve-learned-about-fermi-americas-donald-j-trump-advanced-energy-and-intelligence-campus-from-their-nuclear-regulatory-commission-application/

07/29/2025

Nahryah Hilesta Ines Hayes, 22, who was indicted with one count of murder and eight counts of aggravated assault/mass shooting in February, filed a $120 thousand bond last week, with Freedom Bail Bonds acting as surety.

As we previously reported, one person died and eight others were injured after a shooting in downtown Amarillo on Jan. 26. Police said that witnesses reported that a vehicle approached an open nightclub and the alleged shooter, Robert Knox, reportedly exited the vehicle, fired multiple shots into the crowd, reentered the vehicle and fled.

According to her arrest report from the Potter County Sheriff’s Office, Hayes was allegedly the driver of the vehicle. Another suspect, Britt Cave, was allegedly in the backseat of the car and was charged with public intoxication.

The deceased victim, John Love Louima, 25, was from Haiti and was in the United States on a work visa and staying with family in Amarillo.

According to the warrant for Hayes’s arrest, the magistrate judge originally recommended setting Hayes’s bond at $400 thousand. Hayes’s bail form, dated June 8, shows the bond was reduced to $120 thousand upon mandatory conditions.

Although the court records do not indicate a release date, Hayes’s name no longer appears in the Potter County Jail Roster. Knox has not posted bond or been released, according to the jail roster and court documents.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/07/29/alleged-driver-charged-with-murder-in-january-downtown-shooting-posts-bond/

07/29/2025

On July 22, the Amarillo City Council met in an executive session; the session’s agenda included consulting with an attorney on “use of outside legal counsel and work product.” Closed executive sessions, permissible under the Texas Open Meetings Act, are to discuss sensitive or confidential information like legal advice and personnel matters. No action is taken in an executive session, only in open sessions.

Councilmember Place 4 Les Simpson couldn’t tell the Amarillo Tribune what exactly happened in the executive session when we called to ask for details.

“But what I will say is, to my knowledge, George Hyde is not working on anything for us now, and I hope we never use George Hyde again. However, I only speak for myself. The way our agreement with George Hyde is, other council members and the mayor can reach out to him individually,” Simpson said.

Mayor Cole Stanley said he appreciates the time and energy Hyde’s firm, Hyde Kelley LLP, gave in “giving us the help we needed,” and that Hyde has now wrapped up the tasks he was given.

“We don’t have him assigned to anything. But moving forward, he’s still an individual that I respect and I appreciate his knowledge and experience in the field,” Stanley said. Stanley has said in past conversations that Hyde had recommended the way the City reimburses itself instead of charging a fee in lieu of tax, which he said added $2 million to the City’s yearly budget.

Hyde Kelley LLP bills the City monthly for work done around two months prior: the latest invoice, dated July 22, is for work done throughout May. Simpson said he doesn’t anticipate seeing Hyde Kelley LLP have billable work for the City in June, but he said, “I just don’t know until we get a bill, or don’t get a bill.”

The council first appointed Hyde as a special counsel last June, with a budget not to exceed $95 thousand for that fiscal year, which ended last September. The City budgeted $250 thousand in the 2024/2025 fiscal year for contracting with outside counsel, which could be any counsel that the City has an engagement letter with, including Hyde Kelley LLP.

Read more here: https://amarillotribune.org/2025/07/29/hydes-tasks-wrapped-up-and-details-behind-invoice-items-mentioning-the-aedc-and-texas-attorney-general/

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