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Athletic Teams Return to Amarillo College

Last week, Amarillo College hosted a crowded pep rally to introduce the players and coaches for the new athletic teams returning this year to the community college. Competitive sports haven’t been a part of campus life at AC since 1985, but women’s volleyball, men’s baseball, and men’s/women’s cross country will all be played beginning this year as part of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Amanda Black is the head volleyball coach, Brandon Rains is the head baseball coach, and Sean Hargrove coaches the cross country teams. The volleyball team’s home games will take place this season at West Texas A&M University, and the baseball team will play its home games at Hodgetown. Players on all the college’s teams include recruits from across the United States as well as locals.

View schedules and other info about AC Athletics here.

Local Focus

Potter County is 135 Today: On this day in 1887, an election to organize Potter County took place and the Oneida townsite chosen as the county seat. (Oneida would eventually be renamed Amarillo.) By October of that year, the railroad had been completed into town and people began moving into the new county seat.

Playgrounds at City Parks: The City of Amarillo is investing $1.6 million to replace and upgrade play equipment at 14 city parks with a focus on safety updates. Reactions to a few of the completed projects have been mixed.

Air Force Grounds CV-22 Ospreys: Citing “an increased number of safety incidents” involving the clutch, the Air Force Special Operations Command has grounded all of its 52 CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The issue has not caused any injuries or deaths, but the Air Force wishes to determine the cause of the failures and put risk control measures in place. (The Marine Corps, which uses MV-22 Ospreys, will not be grounding their fleet but has issued guidance on the clutch issue.) A large percentage of CV-22 Osprey manufacturing takes place in Amarillo’s Bell Textron facility.

Artemis Rocket Launch Rescheduled: NASA postponed its planned launch of the Artemis I rocket yesterday, the first step in a mission to return humans to the moon. Officials cited a fuel-related “engine bleed” as the problem. A new launch date has not yet been set. Former Amarillo resident Holly Ridings is the deputy program manager for the Artemis Gateway Program. We profiled Ridings in a January feature in Brick & Elm.

Chip Chandler’s “Can’t Miss”

Amarillo Sod Poodles: The Soddies saddle up for a series against the Frisco RoughRiders. (Tuesday through Sunday; Hodgetown, 715 S. Buchanan St.; ticket prices vary; 806-803-9547)

Starlight Canyon Songwriters Series: Sit and chill with songs from Yvonne Perea and Jen Williams in this new outdoor series at Starlight Canyon Bed & Breakfast. (7 p.m. Wednesday; 100 Brentwood Road; cover $12 in advance, $15 at gate; 806-336-1459)

First Thursday Art + Music: The 806 Coffee + Lounge offers an art show from Amanda Louise Martin paired with jazz fusion from Más Pas. (7 p.m. Thursday; 2812 S.W. Sixth Ave.; donations accepted; 806-322-1806)

Bomb City Deathfest: Zombiez Bar & Grill hosts this two-day music festival guaranteed to melt your face off, featuring The Dialectic, Bare the Mark, Trench Rat, Pulverizer, Kreature of the Night, Tyrannical Deception, The Coventry Sacrifice, Thornside, Asphyxiation Infecta and Bummified. (6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 711 S. 10th Ave.; $15 both days, $10 single day; 806-331-7305)

Steve Earle & The Dukes: The Texas country giant joins forces with Ray Wylie Hubbard for a show at Starlight Ranch Event Center. (8 p.m. Friday; 1415 Sunrise Drive; tickets $27; 806-556-4456)

Tennessee & The Volunteers: Beloved Amarillo singer Tennessee Tuckness brings her pals along for a pre-Labor Day show at Craft Cocktail Lounge. (9 p.m. Friday; 626 S. Polk St.; 806-231-0562)

The Jacob Armitage Band: The Texas country band comes to Golden Light Cantina with Don Stalling & The Divided. (10 p.m. Friday; 2908 S.W. Sixth Ave.; cover; 806-374-9237)

Amarillo Community Market: Enjoy a beautiful morning at the downtown farmers market, featuring food trucks, live music and tons of vendors. (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday; Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, 1000 S. Polk St.; free; 806-335-6360)

Crime Stoppers Car Show: The 14th annual show returns with hot rods, classics and more in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex. (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; 401 S. Buchanan St.; admission $5; 806-378-6100)

Boogie Nights: Flash back to the ’70s at RR Bar with this night-long party, featuring drink specials, DJs and more. (9 p.m. Saturday; 701 S. Georgia St.; 806-342-9000)

Streaming/In Theaters:

“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.”: Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star in this satirical religious comedy, opening at least at the Hollywood 16 (other screenings may also be scheduled). Also opening: inspirational drama “Gigi & Nate.” Plus, because it apparently didn’t make enough money last year, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” swings back into theaters. (Opens Thursday; Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive; Cinergy, 9201 Cinergy Square; and Regal UA Amarillo Star 14, 8275 W. Amarillo Blvd.)

“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the time a worm crawled into Chekov’s ear and permanently scarred me. (4 and 7 p.m. Sunday, 7 p.m. Monday and Sept. 8; Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive, and Regal UA Amarillo Star 14, 8275 W. Amarillo Blvd.)

That’s not all. For a list of more entertainment options this week in and around Amarillo, read Chip’s full list on our website.

Eye on Amarillo

Dr. Amy Von Lintel is a professor of art history and the author of several books related to the intersection of modern art with the Texas Panhandle, including this book about Georgia O’Keeffe and the new Three Women Artists, a new art book about Abstract Expressionism in the American West, coauthored with Dr. Bonnie Roos of WT. (Through August 31, Three Women Artists is available at 30% off using the code TWA30 through Texas A&M University Press.)

Von Lintel recently led a history of design class on a walking tour in downtown Amarillo, which included a visit to the 11th floor ballroom of the Santa Fe building. Her Instagram post reveals several of the unique design details of this ballroom, which is rarely open to the public.

“This is for the 806”: Lo Van Pham in the NFL

The official NFL season begins next week on Thursday, September 8. We wrote in our July/August issue about Amarillo’s Lo Van Pham, a newly appointed side judge and the first Asian-American official in the NFL. He arrived in Amarillo in 1979 with his parents as a family of South Vietnamese refugees. Van Pham has been a fixture officiating all levels of competitive sports in Amarillo, from middle school basketball games to high school football. He has also worked countless Big 12 football games.

“This is for the 806,” Pham told our writer, Jon Mark Beilue. “My success I attribute to all the people who’ve been around me and my family, from Kids, Inc. to high school to veteran officials who helped me. They are just great people.

“I’ve been able to do what I’ve done because of the people who have helped me. When I step onto the field in my first NFL game, I’ll carry those people with me.”

Read Beilue’s profile of Lo Van Pham at brickandelm.com.