H.R. No. 246

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, On February 20 and 21, 2023, proud residents of the
	Texas Panhandle are visiting Austin for Panhandle Days at the State
	Capitol, a celebration of the rich heritage of this important
	region of the Lone Star State; and
	WHEREAS, The striking landscape of the Panhandle ranges from
	the vast grasslands and open sky of the Llano Estacado to the
	breathtaking vistas of Palo Duro Canyon and the Caprock Escarpment
	to the gently undulating rolling plains of the southeast; the
	ancient Paleo-Indians once lived here, as did members of later
	indigenous cultures, and in 1541, when the explorer Francisco
	Vázquez de Coronado passed through the area, he found a rich
	rangeland, thick with buffalo and wildlife; and
	WHEREAS, The Panhandle's distinctive shape results from
	boundaries that were established by the Compromise of 1850, and in
	the decades after the Civil War, pioneering cattlemen such as
	Charles Goodnight, James Adair, and Thomas Sherman Bugbee
	established enormous ranching empires; the arrival of the railroad
	in the late 1880s hastened the development of wheat and cotton
	farming, and the discovery of oil and natural gas in the 1920s
	further boosted and diversified the region's economy; and
	WHEREAS, Today, the Panhandle continues to prosper from
	farming and from the oil, gas, and wind industries, and
	cattle-raising remains a multibillion-dollar business, with more
	feedlots in the region than anywhere else in the nation; Amarillo,
	the Panhandle's largest city, is home to such large employers as
	Xcel Energy, Tyson Foods, Bell Helicopter, Pantex, and several
	health care systems, as well as to the Texas Cattle Feeders
	Association and the Minor League Baseball team, the Amarillo Sod
	Poodles; Pampa, the second-largest city, is a thriving center for
	petroleum and livestock, and Dalhart boasts the annual XIT Rodeo
	and Reunion and the Hilmar Cheese Company; Sunray is home to a
	Valero refinery, while Dumas and Hereford are known for cattle
	feeding and beef processing enterprises; the town of Panhandle
	serves as the county seat of Carson County and is home to a National
	Blue Ribbon School, Panhandle Elementary School, and Borger is the
	site of a Phillips 66 refinery and a Nutrien nitrogen plant; and
	WHEREAS, The Texas Panhandle is home to several renowned
	schools from K-12 grade schools to higher education institutions;
	six Texas Panhandle schools, including Happy High School, Vega
	Elementary School, Claude School, Gruver Elementary School, and
	Gruver Junior High School, were named top schools in the country and
	awarded the prestigious National Blue Ribbon School designation in
	2022; the higher educational needs of the Panhandle's residents are
	served by the nationally recognized Texas Tech University Health
	Sciences Center and West Texas A&M University, as well as Amarillo
	College, Frank Phillips College, and Clarendon College; and
	WHEREAS, The Panhandle features a variety of notable cultural
	and recreational attractions; Amarillo supports the Lone Star
	Ballet and the Amarillo Symphony, and the city's many museums
	include the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum, the Don
	Harrington Discovery Center, the Texas Air and Space Museum, the
	Amarillo Railroad Museum, the Amarillo Museum of Art, and the
	Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian; the Panhandle-Plains
	Historical Museum in Canyon houses more than two million artifacts
	that evoke the heritage of the region, while Palo Duro Canyon State
	Park hosts the outdoor musical drama Texas, which portrays the
	struggles and triumphs of area settlers in the 19th century; Dumas
	draws visitors from across the region for its Dogie Days every June,
	and Stratford, the county seat of Sherman County, hosts its popular
	Jamboree each July; and
	WHEREAS, The people of the Texas Panhandle are blessed to
	live in a region of abundant natural resources and windswept
	beauty, and they may indeed take great pride in the important
	contributions they have made and continue to make to the history,
	culture, and prosperity of Texas; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
	Legislature hereby recognize February 20 and 21, 2023, as Panhandle
	Days at the State Capitol and extend to those attending the
	celebration sincere best wishes for a memorable and meaningful
	event.
	Price
	Smithee
	Phelan Guerra Murr
	Allen Guillen Neave Criado
	Allison Harless Noble
	Anchía Harris of Anderson Oliverson
	Anderson Harris of Williamson Ordaz
	Ashby Harrison Orr
	Bailes Hayes Ortega
	Bell of Kaufman Hefner Patterson
	Bell of Montgomery Hernandez Paul
	Bernal Herrero Perez
	Bhojani Hinojosa Plesa
	Bonnen Holland Price
	Bowers Howard Ramos
	Bryant Hull Raney
	Buckley Hunter Raymond
	Bucy Isaac Reynolds
	Bumgarner Jetton Rogers
	Burns Johnson of Dallas Romero, Jr.
	Burrows A. Johnson of Harris Rose
	Button J. Johnson of Harris Rosenthal
	Cain Jones of Dallas Schaefer
	Campos Jones of Harris Schatzline
	Canales Kacal Schofield
	Capriglione King of Hemphill Shaheen
	Clardy King of Uvalde Sherman, Sr.
	Cole Kitzman Shine
	Collier Klick Slaton
	Cook Kuempel Slawson
	Cortez Lalani Smith
	Craddick Lambert Smithee
	Cunningham Landgraf Spiller
	Darby Leach Stucky
	Davis Leo-Wilson Swanson
	Dean Longoria Talarico
	DeAyala Lopez of Bexar Tepper
	Dorazio Lopez of Cameron Thierry
	Dutton Lozano Thimesch
	Flores Lujan Thompson of Brazoria
	Frank Manuel Thompson of Harris
	Frazier Martinez Tinderholt
	Gamez Martinez Fischer Toth
	Garcia Metcalf Troxclair
	Gates Meyer Turner
	Gerdes Meza VanDeaver
	Geren Moody Vasut
	Gervin-Hawkins Morales of Harris Vo
	Goldman Morales of Maverick Walle
	González of Dallas Morales Shaw Wilson
	González of El Paso Morrison Wu
	Goodwin Muñoz, Jr. Zwiener
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 246 was adopted by the House on February
	21, 2023, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House