This week's community news includes Route 66 project, Bolton Street update

National Trust for Historic Preservation launches the Preserve Route 66: Share Your Story campaign

This month, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is launching the Preserve Route 66: Share Your Story campaign, an effort to collect stories about the people and places that make America’s “Mother Road” so special. The campaign aims to gather 2,026 public story submissions in time for Route 66’s centennial in 2026. These stories will then be used to develop an interactive online map that highlights the quirky roadside attractions, beloved small businesses, family histories, and personal memories that collectively help tell a more complete story of this iconic highway.

Originally commissioned in 1926 as a vital link between the Midwest and Western U.S., Route 66 quickly came to occupy a near-mythic spot in the public imagination and popular culture. After Route 66 was decommissioned as a federal highway in the 1980s, shifting economic patterns have left many communities along the route struggling to survive. Now, as we near its 100th anniversary, many supporters are championing Route 66’s designation as a National Historic Trail, but irreplaceable historical assets continue to slip away at an alarming rate along this 2,400-mile roadway.

The Preserve Route 66: Share Your Story campaign is a public invitation for community members, travelers, historians, and enthusiasts to share their stories and photos about Route 66. The goal is to tell the full story of Route 66 through places that contribute to its unique history and identity. That can include a personal story about a well-known business or place, a tribute to a business along Route 66 that is operating today or one that is no longer operating. It does not need to be precisely on the current or former alignment of Route 66. The public submission site can be found here: Savingplaces.org/your-route66-story.

From these public submissions, the National Trust will develop an interactive online map that helps visitors explore the history of Route 66 on their own virtual road trip, and preserves these stories for future generations. The map will show changes along Route 66, illustrate the wide ranging types of historic places histories along its route. Together, these memories will help us tell a more complete story of this iconic highway, ensuring that no story, no place, and no memory along Route 66 is left in the shadows.

This campaign is one component of the National Trust’s larger Preserve Route 66 initiative, which helps preserve historic sites along Route 66 with grant awards, technical assistance, outreach and other activities. Find out more about these projects at SavingPlaces.org/Preserve-Route-66.

City of Amarillo: Bolton Street Trench Repair Project continues

The city of Amarillo said Thursday that the current phase of the trench repair project for Bolton Street is underway. The project includes S.E. 12th Avenue and S.E. 14th Avenue. The intersections at Bolton Street and S.E. 12th Avenue and Bolton Street and S.E. 14th Avenue will remain open.

The project requires the closure of the Bolton Street and S.E. 13th Avenue intersection. A detour is in place for residents.

Motorists and those traveling to nearby residences should be aware of closed intersections, posted signs related to construction and contractor personnel and equipment in work zones. Residents may need alternate routes at various times throughout the project due to temporary intersection closures. Motorists are advised to use extreme caution and anticipate delays.

Depending on weather conditions, it is anticipated the project will be complete by spring.

For more information concerning the trench repair project, call (806) 378-9334 or email construction@amarillo.gov . Visit the project website at Amarillo.gov/Bolton . Also for more information, contact City of Amarillo Media Relations Manager Dave Henry at 806-378-5219 or by email at david.henry@amarillo.gov .

Goodwill Career Resource Center launches Financial Literacy Series

Goodwill Industries of Northwest Texas and its Career Resource Centers (CRC) in Lubbock and Amarillo have added a financial literacy series to its program.

Utilizing the FDIC “Smart Money” curriculum, this six-week series will include Analyzing Credit Reports and Scores; Protecting your Identity and Other Assets; Enhancing Your Money Values and Influences; Effectively Managing Debt; Securing Your Savings; and Creating a Spending and Savings Plan. Two-hour weekly classes begin on Jan. 23 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

“Knowing our participants will move on to a new career, we wanted to offer a series that would enhance their knowledge in being good stewards of their earnings. The Goodwill CRC prepares participants for the workforce and greater earning potential by offering resources designed to build job skills and secure and retain better paying jobs, we are thrilled to offer a financial literacy series to the community free of charge.” Robin Raney, President & CEO.

For information about the Goodwill Career Resource Center in Amarillo, call (806) 331-6890 or visit goodwillnwtexas.org/job-training.

AC Fall Dean’s List exceeds 900 students for the first time in history

The number of students achieving academic success skyrocketed in 2023 at Amarillo College, where the Fall Dean’s List contains more than 900 names for the first time in school history, AC announced this week.

AC announces that a total of 907 full-time students achieved classroom success worthy of placing their names on the 2023 Fall Dean’s List, which the previous record high of 812 students who made the list in fall 2022. To be on the Dean’s List, students must attend AC full time and earn a grade point average of 3.6 or higher.

Dr. Tamara Clunis, vice president for academic affairs, attributes the recent upsurge in the number of students becoming eligible for the Dean’s List to the successful implementation of AC’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). “We’re definitely seeing the benefits of the QEP – from our implementation of success coaches to mandatory tutoring, the QEP is paying dividends,” Clunis said.

Sock drive underway through Feb. 28

The city of Amarillo invites the community to support clients at the Guyon Saunders Resource Center by participating in the sock drive, which has been organized in collaboration between the Community Development Department and Bowie Middle School.

Drop off new or gently used socks at Bowie Middle School before the deadline on Feb. 28.

For more ways to help the homeless, community members can also volunteer to help with the next Point-in-Time (PIT) count on Friday, Jan. 26. Sign up now at: https://bit.ly/49RiJpN . For more information on these and other city projects, visit the city of Amarillo's social media.

Amarillo Police Department looking for next members to join Citizens Police Academy

The Amarillo Police Department will host its next Citizen Police Academy starting Feb. 27, and it is approximately 12 weeks long. The academy will be held at the APD location in the Jerry Neal Classroom (4th Floor), 200 East 3rd, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday evenings, with two Saturday mornings.

Planned subject areas include the following: Departmental organization and functions of the various divisions and units; Patrol Division operations; Canine demonstration, Motorcycle and radar demonstration; Dive Team demonstration; Employment opportunities and requirements; Police Academy training; Crime prevention strategies; School Liaison program; Gangs; Criminal Justice System; Felony stop procedures; Crime scene investigation (hands-on demonstration); Property and Evidence tour; Amarillo Emergency Communications Center (AECC) tour; Narcotics Unit operations, and SWAT operations and demonstration.The Amarillo Police Department is professionally accredited through the Texas Police Chief’s Association Foundation (TPCAF) Law Enforcement Agency Best Practices Recognition Program.

"The mission of the Amarillo Police Department is to provide excellent public service and law enforcement to the community, with the goal of keeping Amarillo a safe place to live, work, and play," a news release about the academy states. "The Department must have the support and help of Amarillo residents to accomplish this goal and foster a community we can all be proud of."

The goal of the Citizen and Student Police Academy is to help the citizens of Amarillo understand how the police department works and how officers perform their jobs in the community. It is hoped that all graduates will get to know more about those protecting their community and why they make the decisions they do while performing that duty. "Community oriented policing plays an important and vital role in reducing crime in Amarillo, and the Citizen Police Academy is a part of our community policing strategy," the release stated, noting APD started the Citizen Police Academy to improve communication and obtain citizen input and support throughout the city. "It is our hope the graduates will become partners with us in identifying problems and solutions to the crime issues that are affecting our community. Graduates will take their knowledge back to their families and friends where they can use it to enhance the quality of life in our city."

There is no tuition or fees required to attend. Applications are currently being accepted; those interested can send an email to gail.motley@amarillo.gov or louis.sanchez@amarillo.gov for more information and an application.

DPS: IPC program hits milestone in child rescues

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said this week that Highway Patrol Troopers rescued their 600th child during traffic stops since the implementation of specialized training through the Interdiction for the Protection of Children (IPC) Program.

The IPC Program began training Troopers in 2009. The training teaches officers how to recognize indicators that a child is a victim or at risk of becoming a victim; this includes children who are missing, exploited, at risk or endangered. Troopers receive this training through a two-day, 16-hour course that uses a child centered approach and teaches Troopers to assess the totality of circumstances to determine if a child is at risk.

In addition to removing these children from dangerous situations, the training also aids DPS in related child abduction, human trafficking, possession of child pornography and sexual assault investigations.

“Every day, the Interdiction for the Protection of Children Program is making a difference in the lives of at risk and exploited children,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “Six hundred children rescued is an incredible milestone for this program. In addition to the child rescues, the IPC program has also helped take reprehensible criminals who prey on our most vulnerable populations off our streets, which is another win for public safety.”

The IPC program marked its 10th anniversary in 2019. The program uses a multidisciplinary approach to train law enforcement, prosecutors, criminal intelligence analysts, child protective services, victim services and child advocacy center professionals collectively. In addition to hundreds of child rescues, the IPC program has trained more than 13,000 people across the U.S. and other countries, prompting groundbreaking changes in how agencies improve accountability and approach child safety concerns.

The program continues to advocate the message: “Stop waiting for children to ask for your help.” To learn more about the IPC program and its impact, visit the DPS website.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo area Our Town briefs for Jan. 21, 2024