SR 84

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 84
         WHEREAS, On February 11 and 12, 2025, 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
         WHEREAS, The Texas Panhandle is home to more than 60 school
  districts in a 26,000-square-mile area; the higher educational
  needs of the area'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 fortunate 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 culture
  and prosperity of Texas; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 89th
  Legislature, hereby recognize February 11 and 12, 2025, as
  Panhandle Days at the State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to
  the visiting delegation.
  Sparks
  ________________________________ 
      President of the Senate
      I hereby certify that the
  above Resolution was adopted by
  the Senate on February 12, 2025.
  ________________________________ 
      Secretary of the Senate
  ________________________________ 
       Member, Texas Senate