About Potter County, TX

You will definitely want to be in Amarillo this weekend. Every Friday, the Amarillo Activity Youth Center hosts a Teen Scene from 8am-Midnight. This is a great, safe place for Amarillo teens to hang out and have fun with a basketball court, dance floor, arcade and lots of other fun things to do. For more info on this great program, call 373-2292.

Also this weekend, from Friday through Sunday (October 24-26), the Amarillo Invitational Balloon Rally will be held at Tradewind Airport. It is completely free for visitors. All are welcome. On Friday, watch the Amarillo Glows at sundown. There will be a morning flight (7am) and afternoon flight (4pm) on Saturday, concluding with a Sunday morning flight at 7am. For more info, please call 806-367-8311.

For a splash of Native American culture, visit the Kwahadi Kiva Indian Museum on Friday and Saturday (October 24th & 25th) to watch the colorful dance styles of the world famous Kwahadi Dancers. This is a 2-hour performance (starting at 7:30pm) following an enchildad dinner (6:30pm). Dinner is $7.50 and tickets for the performance range from $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for students and children sitting in laps are free. For more info, please email Charles Ritchie at charles.ritchie@amaisd.org.

On Saturday and Sunday, October 25th & 26th, the Amarillo College Fencing Association will host the 9th Annual Amarillo Open Fencing Tournament all day long at the Amarillo College East Campus Activity Center (1401 J Avenue, Building 3501). The Amarillo College Fencing Association is the largest fencing club in the Texas panhandle. This is a Plains Texas-New Mexico Cup tournament. For more info, please email Chuck Slaughter at chuck@acfencers.com or Richard Howard at richard@acfenders.com.

According to the National Association of Realtors' most recent report, pending home sales were up 7.4% in the month of August across the country, even though they had expected a 1.5% decline. They credit this increase primarily to the rock-bottom prices and low interest rates that the housing market has experienced over the last few months. Conventional home mortgage applications experienced a 3% jump in just the last week and new FHA applications were up nearly 10%. 30-year fixed rates dropped to 5.9% and 15-year fixed rates dropped to 5.7%. Unlike the quick drop that Wall Street has experienced over the last week, the real estate market has been correcting its pricing and underwriting practices over the last 2-3 years. This has allowed the real estate market to start to stabilize while Wall Street has experienced its financial bumps and bruises. As long as you have a decent credit score and money to put down, you can take advantage of the low prices in former boom markets and buy a home today.

On Thursday, October 9th, the Potter Coalition on Aging will be conducting a seminar at the Amarillo Senior Citizen Center at 11am. Ken Rusler and Doug Burton (with the Panhandle Community Services) and Rex Coleman (with the Amarillo Fire Department) will be speaking about ways in which to get your home ready for winter in Amarillo. Make sure to stop by Room 115 at 1217 South Tyler Street this Thursday for this great, free and informative seminar.

The Maverick Club, a 74 year old youth club for both boys and girls in Amarillo, Texas may close by the end of this year if they are unable to get more donations. Many people are facing hard times, or are just plain scared about the economy, so they have stopped giving.

The Maverick Club is one of the oldest boys and girls clubs in the state. It currently operates on a $600,000 yearly budget. The club provides after-school care, and offers technology, sports, and arts programs to over four-hundred children in four locations. Students also get help with homework. To many children, the club is a safe haven.

The board is trying to do everything in their power to seek alternatives that will keep the school open. But, the club has not met its monthly budget this year. The clubs funding comes from different places. One-third comes from United Way, while two-thirds comes from personal donations. The club charges $20 a years per child to parents who have the money. Most of the budget goes to paying employees. The state requires the club to keep a certain number of staff per so many kids. The club has now exhausted all of its savings and is now asking for personal donations.

Amarillo residents are known for their big hearts. So, if you live in Amarillo, please help keep this wonderful youth club open for the hundreds of children who need it so desperately. If, the club can keep its doors open through these tough times, it will be around for many years to come.