By Swinford H.C.R. No. 97 76R6970 GMW-F HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of Texas is pleased to 1-2 join the citizens of the Texas Panhandle in commemorating Tuesday, 1-3 February 23, 1999, as Panhandle Day at the Capitol; and 1-4 WHEREAS, A spectacular region in Texas, the Panhandle is rich 1-5 in history and scenic plains and is home to a host of cities 1-6 offering a wide array of opportunities; and 1-7 WHEREAS, The area is a combination of traditional ranch lands 1-8 unchanged for centuries, High Plains agriculture, and large 1-9 stretches of oil and gas reserves; and 1-10 WHEREAS, A glimpse of the region's past is provided by the 1-11 Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum located on the campus of West 1-12 Texas State University; the museum provides an intriguing overview 1-13 of life in the Old West; and 1-14 WHEREAS, Since 1995 the Amarillo National Resource Center for 1-15 Plutonium, an Amarillo-based university research consortium, has 1-16 provided Texas universities with more than $32.5 million for 1-17 research and has represented the interests of the State of Texas 1-18 with the Department of Energy; and 1-19 WHEREAS, The Panhandle city of Amarillo has also recently 1-20 been chosen as the result of a nationwide search as the city to 1-21 house the new Tiltrotor Assembly Center to be built by Bell 1-22 Helicopter Textron, Incorporated; the center will be the first 1-23 major aircraft manufacturing facility to be built in Texas in 1-24 decades; and 2-1 WHEREAS, The state's well-known Palo Duro Canyon State Park 2-2 is located in the heart of the Panhandle, and the park's arresting 2-3 scenic canyon contains rocks spanning 200 million years of 2-4 geological time; and 2-5 WHEREAS, With more than 400,000 residents, the Panhandle 2-6 offers the opportunities and vitality generated by modern cities 2-7 and industry, yet its natural beauty and spectacular scenery remain 2-8 unchanged; now, therefore, be it 2-9 RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-10 hereby commend the residents of the Panhandle on their many 2-11 contributions to our state and extend to them best wishes for a 2-12 joyous Panhandle Day.