Police said a local man was arrested on possession of child pornography charges following a search of computer files from an Amarillo house.
James Metcalf, 42, was arrested Friday on seven counts of possession of child pornography and booked into Potter County Detention Center, police said.
The Bushland Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a proposed tax rate of $1.29440 per $100 of taxable value during a special meeting Tuesday evening.
The proposed rate represents a 2.5 cent increase from last year’s rate of $1.26960 per $100 of taxable value.
Last year, the board did not raise the tax rate.
The Computing Accreditation Commission of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc. has granted accreditation to West Texas A&M University’s bachelor of business administration degree program in computer information systems.
ABET, which accredits engineering, computing, applied science and engineering technology degree programs, granted the CIS program accreditation for a full six years.
WT’s program is one of three accredited programs in Texas and one of 37 information systems programs accredited in the U.S.
The Don Harrington Discovery Center will be closed Mondays starting next week as classes resume and it begins its regular schedule.
Starting next week, the Discovery Center will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon to 4:30 p.m. Sundays.
The Space Theater also will be closed for maintenance Tuesday and Wednesday.
A woman was arrested in connection with the killing of a man whose body was found dumped in northwest Amarillo last week, bringing to six the number of people charged in the incident.
Donna Jackson Colson, 50, was arrested by the Potter-Randall Special Crimes Unit on a warrant of tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Lance Lee Hooser, 29, and booked into Potter County Detention Center.
Senior national ABC news correspondent Claire Shipman will speak at this year’s inaugural Hall of Fame banquet organized by West Texas A&M University’s Department of Communication.
Shipman is a senior contributor for “Good Morning America,” “World News” and “Nightline” and is the co-author of “Womenomics: The Workplace Revolution That Will Change Your Life.” She will discuss women’s impact on politics and the workplace.
Local law enforcement advises drivers to watch for children walking to and from school and boarding school buses as classes resume this week.
“When people get in a hurry is often when accidents happen,” Amarillo Police Sgt. Brent Barbee said. “Drivers are limited in what they do, and children have a tendency to jump out from between cars, so drivers have to take on a whole lot more responsibility than they would even under normal circumstances.”
The Canyon Independent School District Board of Education adopted its budget and tax rate at its meeting Monday evening.
The board approved a rate of $1.04 per $100 of taxable value for maintenance and operations and $.188 per $100 of taxable value for debt service, down from last year’s debt service rate of $.225. The total tax rate will stand at $1.228 per $100 of taxable value, a drop from last year’s rate of $1.265.
The new tax rate will amount to about $150 per year for the average homeowner, said Randy McDowell, assistant superintendent of business and operations.
No injuries were sustained in an afternoon rollover in north Amarillo, Sgt. Ephraim Contreras said.
Amarillo Police officers were dispatched to an accident at Heather Street and Amarillo Boulevard at about 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, Contreras said.
Police said a Chevrolet Tahoe and a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu was traveling east in the far right lane of Heather Street when one of the vehicles changed lanes and struck the other.
The Tahoe lost control and flipped over after striking a utility pole, police said.
No one in either vehicle was injured, Contreras said.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers seized 110 pounds of marijuana valued at more than $49,000 during a traffic stop Thursday in Carson County, the Department of Public Safety said.
About 11 a.m., a trooper stopped a 2003 Ford F-250 pickup traveling on east Interstate 40 near Conway on a traffic violation, DPS said. The trooper searched the vehicle, DPS said, and found 22 bundles of marijuana in a false compartment in the pickup’s bed.
Police said a man was arrested on a felony drug charge Friday after a search of his vehicle yielded methamphetamine worth more than $1 million.
A motorcycle officer stopped a vehicle on west Interstate 40 and Crockett Street about 12:55 p.m., police said, and a Department of Public Safety narcotics dog was called to the scene and alerted on the vehicle.
Two Canyon Independent School District students have been recognized by the Foundation for Music Education’s honor project.
Brittany Turner, a 2013 Randall High School graduate, and Keslie Pharis, a Randall freshman this year, were recognized by the organization based on recordings of their performances from last year.
Turner was honored for her clarinet solo performance, and Pharis received recognition for an oboe and English horn solo performance.
A 76-year-old woman was transported to the hospital with life-
threatening injuries after her car struck a tree Thursday morning.
At 11:12 a.m., officers responded to reports of a car striking a tree in the 4000 block of South Bell Street, police said.
Officers found a 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Kay Kurten Chattin, of Amarillo, had been traveling south on South Bell, left the roadway and struck the tree, police said.
One man died and another was injured in a vehicle rollover Sunday in Carson County, said Department of Public Safety Trooper Chris Ray.
At 3:37 p.m., a 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling on west Interstate 40 near mile marker 101 when the vehicle’s right rear tire blew out, causing the vehicle to lose control, DPS said. The Tahoe spun into the center median, rolling over once, DPS said. Passenger Juan Orozco Jr., 27, of Albuquerque, N.M., was ejected from the vehicle, DPS said, and the Tahoe rolled over him when it overturned.
A woman died and two children were injured in an accident about three miles east of Muleshoe.
About 2 p.m. Saturday, a 1999 tractor-trailer driven by Martin Melendez of Portales, N.M., was traveling on westbound U.S. Highway 84 before slowing down to make a right turn onto Farm-to-Market Road 3269, Department of Public Safety officials said.
A 2008 Chevrolet SUV driven by Yuri Ivey Pachecho, 27, of Sudan struck the back of the towed trailer and traveled about 100 yards before coming to rest in the turning lane at the intersection of 84 and 3269, DPS said.
Bonham Middle School’s Symphonic Band has received the Commended Winner award in the Mark of Excellence in National Wind Band Honors.
Competitors in the Mark of Excellence submit recordings for the contest, with the top quarter honored as National Winners and the second quarter receiving Commended Honors.
Students began preparing the recorded pieces in January during class,
after-school rehearsals and two-hour clinics held every few weeks before the recordings were submitted in late spring.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Canyon Independent School District fourth-graders will participate in this year’s Agriculture Fair, which is sponsored by Kids and Kows and More, the Farm Bureau, Randall County and Randall County 4-H.
During six rotating agriculture classes, students will learn about everything from beef cattle and horse behavior to water conservation and the life cycle of a lima bean.
A woman was being treated at a local hospital after she was shot during a possible home invasion early Friday in the 3300 block of South Jackson Street, Amarillo police said.
At 1:14 a.m., officers were dispatched to a house on Jackson on reports of a woman breaking windows with a baseball bat. While officers were en route, the homeowner told dispatchers the suspect had entered the residence, police said.
LEAD WT, a student leadership program at West Texas A&M University, will host an event today to raise awareness of pediatric mental health and sponsor an evening of fun for children suffering from mental illness and their families at Maxwell’s Pumpkin Farm.
From noon to 5 p.m. at Maxwell’s, 12900 Bell St., LEAD WT and children’s mental health organizations will man booths to increase understanding of pediatric mental illnesses and resources available to families.
The Thomas E. Creek Veterans Administration Health Care System will remain open and fully operational despite a government shutdown, said Barbara Moore, the center’s chief of community and patient relations.
Any scheduled appointments will not be not affected, she said.
The VA receives a two-year government appropriation that will fund operations through 2014, so that clinics and centers may provide uninterrupted health care amid potential federal financial difficulties.
People can still enroll in VA health care in the business office, Moore said.
