While those thunderstorms that moved through Wednesday were not tornadic, some did bring strong straight line winds.

According to ABC7 out of Amarillo, Dumas saw winds of 92 mph on Wednesday and those brought a haboob through the area.

Haboobs are common in dry, desert areas and are often seen in areas of the Middle East.

On the KXDJ Morning Show Thursday, Chris Samples and Ken Splawn discussed the phenomenon. Click here to listen.

You can see a time lapse of the haboob moving through Dumas on the ABC7 website.

(Amarillo, TX) – On Tuesday evening, April 11, AgTexas Farm Credit Services brightened a lot of smiles by awarding $12,000 in scholarships at its ninth annual AgTexas Ag Youth Scholarship awards program at the Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown Amarillo.

AgTexas honored nine graduating high school seniors who have excelled in their 4-H clubs and FFA chapters, each with a $1,000 scholarship. The $9,000 is part of the almost $270,000 in scholarships and gift cards awarded through the education initiative AgTexas created nine years ago.

Combined with $16,000 in graduate-level scholarships, AgTexas has awarded almost $52,000 this spring.

Those scholarship recipients are Cole Hinds (Stratford FFA), Gage Whatley (Groom FFA), Molly Babcock (Groom FFA/Groom Town & Country), Jayci Nickels (Farwell FFA), Justin Hill (Moore County Community Club), Kade Lawrence (Canyon FFA/Randall County 4-H), Laynee Jennings (Sudan FFA), Payge Davina (Olton FFA), and Whitney Kennedy (Panhandle FFA/Carson County 4-H).

In addition to the nine Panhandle-area $1,000 scholarship winners, the 24 regional honorees each received a $100 gift card.

These gift card recipients included five honorees from the High Plains area: Brooke Brown (Dumas FFA), Sage Gaillard (Gruver FFA), Colt Mathews (Gruver FFA), Cole Hinds (Stratford FFA), and Justin Hill (Moore County 4-H).

The program has awarded nearly $200,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors and graduate students in the markets where AgTexas has offices – Amarillo, Brownfield, Burleson, Dumas, Hereford, Hillsboro, Levelland, Lubbock, Plainview, Seminole, and Stephenville. This is the second year AgTexas has awarded graduate-level scholarships to previous Ag Youth of the Month honorees.

This year’s Ag Youth Distinguished Alumni Scholarship recipient for the Panhandle region is Jett Bradford, a 2022 Panhandle High School graduate, who received a $3,000 scholarship to help pursue a degree in animal science with a minor in ag business at Texas Tech University. He was recently elected as an Ag Council Representative for Texas Tech’s Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources.

“We are honoring some of the best and brightest young minds in Texas with this program,” says AgTexas Farm Credit CEO Kayla Robinson. She adds, “These students represent the next generation of agriculture in Texas and the United States. It’s our privilege to pay tribute to their achievements thus far and encourage them for their future and the future of agriculture.”

Robinson continues, “We love the excitement of celebrating with energetic 4-H and FFA students because they bring such positivity into the room.
Graduation season is a special time in their lives, and we enjoy hearing about their hopes and dreams.”

AgTexas also introduced a new addition to the Ag Youth program – the Ag Youth Leader of the Year Award – the association presented a $1,000 check to Jeff Klose, FFA advisor at Canyon High School. In his 21 years of service, he has coached 78 FFA students to win state championships and compete for national titles in various categories. AgTexas also presented a matching $1,000 donation to benefit the Canyon FFA chapter.

Outstanding 4-H and FFA high school students received prominent recognition for their dedication to agriculture. These 4-H and FFA programs help introduce many of their participants to agriculture, encouraging students to learn and develop career, leadership, and public speaking skills that lay a solid foundation for future success.

“We are very pleased to have created the Ag Youth of the Month program because it brings positive attention to young people who are investing in our state and nation as well as their own futures,” concluded Robinson.

AgTexas serves approximately 3,500 members in 43 counties through its Panhandle, South Plains, and Central Texas regions.

About AgTexas Farm Credit Services: AgTexas is a rural lending cooperative, providing financing for real estate and operating capital, as well as insurance, leasing, and cash management services for the Ag industry since 1934. Today, AgTexas serves approximately 3,500 members in 43 counties through 11 offices, including Amarillo, Dumas, Hereford, and Plainview. In the Panhandle, AgTexas serves Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Floyd, Hale, Hansford, Hartley, Hutchinson, Lamb, Moore, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Sherman and Swisher counties.

Texas oil production is rising at record levels; however, the Panhandle role has been limited.

Karr Ingham, oil and gas economist out of Amarillo, said the numbers the Texas Railroad Commission reported are actually low. “Those numbers are going to be adjusted upward going forward. It is obvious Texas production was in excess of 2 billion barrels a day. It used to be that we had a lot of rig activity up here, but this has kind of shifted to the Permian,” he told KXDJ’s Chris Samples.

All wells decline over time and if you are not drilling new wells to replace that declining production, then you have declining production and outside the Permian, that is what is happening around the state.

You can listen to more from him and Samples here.

So, why have our drilling numbers decreased so much? Ingham noted, “We are a very gas rich part of the geologic world up here. So, the drilling that was going on before was part oil and part gas. Natural gas pricing is just awful.”

Ingham, a Stratford native, is also the vice president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.

COMMISSIONER, PLACE 1
TOMMY BROOKS 391
ASHLEIGH WISWELL 357

TRUSTEE (VOTE FOR 3)
JILL WILLIAMS 871
BRANDON COX 438 
BRENT CLARK 340 
BRETT STEGALL 329 
BRADEN GIBSON 236
JEFF TRIMPLE 208 
JOSE LOYA 165
LIZBETH MARTINEZ 79 

Texas Water Utilities Association is the premier educator for water professionals in the state of Texas. "Proudly Serving Education Excellence since 1918"

Today, more on the status of our water supply. Kirk Welch is the assistant general manager at the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District and recently told KXDJ’s Chris Samples, “Nothing new here in that the Ogallala continues to decline. There are obviously a myriad of strategies that everybody’s looking at to try and slow the decline. But certainly, south of our district, we see a much more extreme decline and here in our area, clearly from one section to another, there can be a significant difference. That is a characteristic of the aquifer itself.”

More can be heard here.

Welch added, “Without a doubt, the formation itself yields more water in some places than it does in others.”

By Pearl Chambers

On April 12th, 2024 in Dumas, Texas, a heartwarming moment took place at the local post office as a father proudly swore in his son as the new postmaster of Dumas Texas.

The father, James Chambers, has worked at the post office for over 30 years and had seen his fair share of challenges and successes. Mr. Chambers, a Postmaster of Fort Myers’s Florida, also served as a Postmaster of Amarillo Texas.

His dedication and hard work have earned him the respect of his colleagues and the community.

His son, Quaid Chambers, has grown up watching his father go to work every day with a sense of pride and purpose. He admired his father's work ethic and determination, and it inspired him to follow in his footsteps.

After years of hard work and dedication, Quaid has finally achieved a dream of becoming a Postmaster. On this special day, his father had the honor of swearing him in.

As Quaid stood before his colleagues, friends and family, his father beamed with pride as he administered the oath of office to his son.

It was a moment that will be cherished for years to come, a symbol of a father's love and a son's determination to make him proud. The Chambers family stood together, united in their commitment to serving their community through the post office.

Photos include:
Mayor Bob Brinkmann and Quaid chambers
James Chambers and Quaid Chambers (father and son)
Bob Schrock manager of post office operations, Quaid Chambers, James Chambers Postmaster , Joe Colbert supervisor
Carl Watson Dumas Moore County Chamber of Commerce

Kirk Welch--Assistant General Manager - Outreach at North Plains Groundwater Conservation District

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Kirk Welch--Assistant General Manager - Outreach at North Plains Groundwater Conservation District, spoke with KXDJ's Chris Samples and master irrigation and water in the North Plains Water District

To listen click  HERE and HERE






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Dumas Rotary Club is proud to announce that Lyza Hernandez was 2nd Runner Up in the March 17 St. Patrick Day Event in Shamrock.

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Congratulations to Carl Watson, who was recognized for his outstanding contributions to our community at today's Friends of Scouting Luncheon!

The Boy Scouts provide young people with leadership training, lifesaving skills, and interpersonal skills. Scouts are awesome!

All money that is raised in Moore County stays in Moore County to help local troops and Moore County kids!

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After successfully operating a welding/fencing business throughout East Texas for 5 years, I have decided to relocate to Stratford, TX to primarily focus on agricultural infrastructure projects. I recognize that each landowner has unique requirements and goals, and I prioritize providing tailored solutions that meet their specific needs. Whether it's agricultural fencing or other land-related projects, I possess the skills and knowledge to deliver exceptional results.

My ultimate vision is to establish Hopkins Fencing as a premier ag-service business, renowned for delivering outstanding and innovative solutions to address the distinct challenges faced by landowners. —

Dumas police: Search warrant leads to recovery of drugs and cash (Credit: Dumas Police Department)(Dumas Police Department)

****PRESS RELEASE ****

The Dumas Police Department seized drugs and cash after executing a search warrant at a home today.

According to a press release, the Dumas Police Department narcotics detectives, patrol officers and special response team executed a search warrant at a home near East 16th Street and Binkley Avenue.

During the search, narcotics detectives recovered 77.1 grams of THC in various forms, .65 pounds of marijuana, several drug paraphernalia items and $1,747.

28-year-old Victor Lozoya and 25-year-old Gloria Robles were arrested.

Both were charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession and delivery of marijuana. They were both transported to the Moore County Jail.