Wolflin Village hosting annual holiday open house
The Wolflin Village at Wolflin Square will host its annual open house for the holidays from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the shopping center, located at the intersection of South Georgia Street and Civic Circle in Amarillo.
The family-friendly event features fun for all ages, when shoppers get to enjoy an evening celebrating lighting the Christmas tree in addition to interactive holiday events and sales from their favorite stores. By the Christmas tree, visitors will enjoy food offerings, children’s holiday activities, photo opportunities with Santa, a shopping trolley, food trucks and more.
Businesses will have a variety of such specials as discounts, coupons, samples, giveaways and raffles. Participanting locations include Avant Garden, Chicken Salad Chick, DesignTEN1, Dotsy’s Boutique, Get Fit, Glute Club, Legacy Insurance, Little Bee’s Playhouse, Makie Black, Merle Norman, Monkees of Amarillo, My Eye Dr., Palace Coffee, Randy’s Shoes, Silverland’s Hallmark, Snapology, SWEET by Cara Linn, Tersa Aveda and Victoria Jones.
In past years, the event has sometimes hosted carolers, horse-drawn sleighs, Santa and even some complimentary snow. For more information, visit their events page on Facebook.
APD collecting gifts for kids with Cops for CASA starting Thursday
The Amarillo Police Department will be cohosting Cops for CASA this year, from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Hillside and Bell, in the shopping center located by Lazy Gator and Dickey’s BBQ.
The community is invited to donate toys, gift cards, and/or money for kids who are in the foster care system to help them have a Christmas gift. Saturday will feature appearances by the Grinch and Santa. Others in attendance at the event will include police officers as well as members of SWAT and the bomb team. Donations will help support the Amarillo Amarillo Area CASA, Inc. in its mission to help kids have a good holiday.
Shop & Swap at Tascosa Drive-In Saturday
Tascosa Drive-In will host a Shop & Swap event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The event provides a full day of shopping, swapping, and discovering unique finds at the drive-in, located at 1999 Dumas Drive. In addition, the drive-in will be showing a holiday double feature on Friday and Saturday of “Red One” and “Elf”. Gates open at 6 p.m., with the movies starting at 7 p.m.
For more information, visit their website or Facebook page.
Deadline is Thursday to apply for Randall County SO’s new police academy
The Randall County Sheriff’s Office recently announced it has received approval from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), the regulatory agency overseeing all licensed law enforcement personnel in the state, to begin its police academy starting in January 2025.
Additionally, the Randall County Sheriff’s Office will be accepting applications for one non-licensed recruit position, open to the community. Interested applicants can apply for this academy position through the “Join Our Team” tab on the Randall County Sheriff’s Office website. This will be an employed recruit position that will obtain a patrol position upon earning their peace officer license, according to the sheriff’s office. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Thursday.
The Basic Peace Officer Course requires a minimum of 736 training hours, which will be conducted at the Randall County Sheriff’s Office and taught by employees of both the Randall County Sheriff’s Office and the Canyon Police Department. The Randall County Sheriff’s Academy will consist of recruits from both local agencies, as well as the community position.
Friday is Texas Recycles Day; PRPC announces cities of Canadian and Borger as award winners
Every year on Nov. 15, 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, according to a news release. 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.
The current national recycling rate is at 21%. Texas Recycles Day aims to raise public awareness of the economic and environmental benefits of recycling.
As a part of Texas Recycles Day, the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission (PRPC) has announced the 2024 winners of the Panhandle Environmental Partnership’s (PEP) Annual Recycling and Composting Awards, which recognize those Panhandle communities having recorded the highest per capita recycling and/or composting diversion for the year.
The City of Canadian received the PEP Recycling Award by diverting .755 pounds of material per resident per day through its community recycling program. In FY 2024, the City of Canadian, with a population of 2,173 residents, recycled more than 598,700 pounds of material, including cardboard and scrap metal. Canadian started its recycling program in 1997 and has continued recycling for the past 27 years.
The City of Borger has also claimed the PEP Composting Award for being the Panhandle’s most proficient composting community. Borger initiated its residential yard waste diversion program in 2009 with the purchase of 160 yard waste dumpsters to divert the waste stream from the landfill and has been dedicated to the improving the program ever since. In FY 2024, Borger diverted .25 pounds per resident per day, equating to more than 1 million pounds of yard waste and wood waste per year.
For more information on recycling in the Panhandle, contact Daphne Morcom with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission at (806) 372-3381.
Arts in the Sunset to host holiday open house Thursday evening, market and pottery show in December
Arts in the Sunset, located at 3701 Plains Blvd., will be hosting seasonal events ahead of the holidays. On Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., the arts center will host a Holiday Open House where guests can shop the Holiday Shop and visit artist studios and the Owlworks Gift Shop for unique and artistic gifts and decor.
Then on Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the center will host the Holiday Market & Panhandle Potters Show, featuring vendors including local artists and artisans such as Fuku Farm, Foster Sourdough Co., OTD Woodworking, Mamie’s Backyard Farm, Peace Love Cookies, Laurie Dellis Pottery and Fused Glass, Freelove Baking & Crafts, Frankenstein’s Daughter, Whispering Willow, DC’ Flakes, MyHeartsBliss, Spice and Spikes and Cornhole, Callie’s Creations, Drawings by David, The Backyard Apothecary, Captivated Creatives, J Panger Stitches, Dana’s Creative Chaos and more.
For more information, visit the center’s website or follow them on Facebook.
WOWW Youth Art Show to hold awards ceremony Saturday
The talent of students from throughout the Texas Panhandle region is on currently display as part of the Window on a Wider World’s (WOWW) annual Youth Art Show at the Arts in the Sunset Center, 3701 Plains Blvd. Last fall, 39 schools participated with students and their families traveling to Amarillo for the art exhibition.
Winners in three categories will be announced at the awards ceremony, being held 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, where visitors can view the artwork, meet the artists, and enjoy light hors de oeuvres and drinks.
For more information, contact the nonprofit at (806) 350-9599, email them at info@woww.org or visit https://www.woww.org/event-details/11th-annual-youth-art-show .