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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, On February 20 and 21, 2023, proud residents of the |
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Texas Panhandle are visiting Austin for Panhandle Days at the State |
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Capitol, a celebration of the rich heritage of this important |
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region of the Lone Star State; and |
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WHEREAS, The striking landscape of the Panhandle ranges from |
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the vast grasslands and open sky of the Llano Estacado to the |
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breathtaking vistas of Palo Duro Canyon and the Caprock Escarpment |
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to the gently undulating rolling plains of the southeast; the |
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ancient Paleo-Indians once lived here, as did members of later |
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indigenous cultures, and in 1541, when the explorer Francisco |
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Vázquez de Coronado passed through the area, he found a rich |
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rangeland, thick with buffalo and wildlife; and |
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WHEREAS, The Panhandle's distinctive shape results from |
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boundaries that were established by the Compromise of 1850, and in |
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the decades after the Civil War, pioneering cattlemen such as |
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Charles Goodnight, James Adair, and Thomas Sherman Bugbee |
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established enormous ranching empires; the arrival of the railroad |
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in the late 1880s hastened the development of wheat and cotton |
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farming, and the discovery of oil and natural gas in the 1920s |
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further boosted and diversified the region's economy; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, the Panhandle continues to prosper from |
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farming and from the oil, gas, and wind industries, and |
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cattle-raising remains a multibillion-dollar business, with more |
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feedlots in the region than anywhere else in the nation; Amarillo, |
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the Panhandle's largest city, is home to such large employers as |
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Xcel Energy, Tyson Foods, Bell Helicopter, Pantex, and several |
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health care systems, as well as to the Texas Cattle Feeders |
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Association and the Minor League Baseball team, the Amarillo Sod |
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Poodles; Pampa, the second-largest city, is a thriving center for |
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petroleum and livestock, and Dalhart boasts the annual XIT Rodeo |
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and Reunion and the Hilmar Cheese Company; Sunray is home to a |
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Valero refinery, while Dumas and Hereford are known for cattle |
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feeding and beef processing enterprises; the town of Panhandle |
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serves as the county seat of Carson County and is home to a National |
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Blue Ribbon School, Panhandle Elementary School, and Borger is the |
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site of a Phillips 66 refinery and a Nutrien nitrogen plant; and |
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WHEREAS, The Texas Panhandle is home to several renowned |
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schools from K-12 grade schools to higher education institutions; |
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six Texas Panhandle schools, including Happy High School, Vega |
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Elementary School, Claude School, Gruver Elementary School, and |
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Gruver Junior High School, were named top schools in the country and |
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awarded the prestigious National Blue Ribbon School designation in |
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2022; the higher educational needs of the Panhandle's residents are |
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served by the nationally recognized Texas Tech University Health |
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Sciences Center and West Texas A&M University, as well as Amarillo |
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College, Frank Phillips College, and Clarendon College; and |
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WHEREAS, The Panhandle features a variety of notable cultural |
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and recreational attractions; Amarillo supports the Lone Star |
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Ballet and the Amarillo Symphony, and the city's many museums |
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include the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum, the Don |
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Harrington Discovery Center, the Texas Air and Space Museum, the |
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Amarillo Railroad Museum, the Amarillo Museum of Art, and the |
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Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian; the Panhandle-Plains |
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Historical Museum in Canyon houses more than two million artifacts |
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that evoke the heritage of the region, while Palo Duro Canyon State |
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Park hosts the outdoor musical drama Texas, which portrays the |
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struggles and triumphs of area settlers in the 19th century; Dumas |
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draws visitors from across the region for its Dogie Days every June, |
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and Stratford, the county seat of Sherman County, hosts its popular |
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Jamboree each July; and |
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WHEREAS, The people of the Texas Panhandle are blessed to |
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live in a region of abundant natural resources and windswept |
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beauty, and they may indeed take great pride in the important |
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contributions they have made and continue to make to the history, |
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culture, and prosperity of Texas; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize February 20 and 21, 2023, as Panhandle |
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Days at the State Capitol and extend to those attending the |
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celebration sincere best wishes for a memorable and meaningful |
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event. |