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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, On February 21, 2017, proud residents of the Texas |
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Panhandle are visiting Austin for Panhandle Day 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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Native American 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 |
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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; Pampa, the second-largest city, is a thriving center |
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for petroleum and livestock, and Dalhart boasts the annual XIT |
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Rodeo 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; Panhandle serves as county |
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seat of Carson County and is home to Panhandle Elementary School, a |
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2016 National Blue Ribbon School, and Borger is the site of a |
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Phillips 66 refinery and an Agrium nitrogen plant; and |
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WHEREAS, The educational needs of the Panhandle's residents |
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are served by the nationally recognized Texas Tech University |
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Health Sciences Center and West Texas A&M University, as well as |
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such first-rate junior college institutions of higher learning as |
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Amarillo College, Frank Phillips College, and Clarendon College; |
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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 Heritage Center and Museum, the |
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Don Harrington Discovery Center, the Texas Air and Space Museum, |
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the 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 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize February 21, 2017, as Panhandle Day at |
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the State Capitol and extend to those attending the celebration |
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sincere best wishes for a memorable and meaningful event. |