The Texline Lady Tornadoes won the District 3-1A

 The Texline Lady Tornadoes won the District 3-1A championship in cross country on Monday October 12. The team will move on to the Regional meet on Tuesday October 27. L-r: Coach Natalie Hinojosa, Myah Luther, Gentry Wann, Brennan Sage, Ella Clay, Samantha Young, Christy Young, Jada Clay, Haiden Luther and Amarissah Johnson. Bill Kelly | Dalhart Texan 

Early voting starts Monday October 19

 BY BILL KELLY
Dalhart Texan

 Early voting in the November general election begins this Monday, October 19, and will continue until Friday October 30. The election itself will be held on Tuesday November 3. Most statewide offices, including one U.S. Senate seat, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and others are up for election. Only one local office is being contested.

 The Hartley Tigers won the District 3-1A boys championship in cross country

 The Hartley Tigers won the District 3-1A boys championship in cross country on Monday October 12. The team qualified for Regional on Tuesday October 27. Back row l-r: Caleb Bellows, Asher Jennings, Sebastian Saldivar and Gauge Pyle. Front row l-r: Jacob Queen, Jesus Quevedo, Carter Pyle and Coach Kyllie Ybarra. Complete results and more photos are inside this edition of the Dalhart Texan. Bill Kelly | Dalhart Texan  

Texas peanut growers adjust to market and weather in 2026

By Kay Ledbetter
Texas AgriLife

Texas peanut producers made careful planting choices in 2026, responding to both market signals and a dry outlook, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.

Thoma Scholars Program supports students at Texas Tech, Oklahoma State

DALLAS, TX — A road trip from Dallas to Santa Fe and back took Carl Thoma, co-founder of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation, to 15 Thoma Scholar hometowns across the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

West Texas A&M symphony orchestra to play live with movie

By Chip Chandler
Special to the Dalhart Texan

CANYON, Texas — Just in time for spooky season, the West Texas A&M University Symphony Orchestra will perform the score for a simultaneous screening of silent horror classic “The Phantom of the Opera” at three upcoming concerts.

 Kaetlin Sundvahl passes multiple volleyball milestones

 Senior Kaetlin Sundvahl was honored at the start of Dalhart’s game against Friona on September 22 for having passed 500 kills, 1,000 assists, and 1,200 digs during her high school varsity volleyball career. Sundvahl has been on varsity since she was a sophomore. L-r: Jewel Puga, Maegyn Smallwood, Kezzley Ramirez, Kaelyn Speer, Austen Lusk, Kaetlin Sundvahl, Alyra Rivera, Audrey Hobbs, Kambry Kitchens, Joie Read, Aubree Ramirez, Addysin Carnesecca, Roxy Alvidrez and Coach Nicole Guidry. Bill Kelly | Dalhart Texan

DHS Homecoming King & Queen

 Dalhart High seniors Luis Deleon and Joie Read were elected at the 2026 Dalhart High Homecoming King and Queen, and were crowned prior to the game against Borger on September 25. L-r: Ben Garcia, Luis Deleon, Joie Read and Emmery Garcia. Bill Kelly | Dalhart Texan 

Dalhart High inducts new NHS members

 BY BILL KELLY
Dalhart Texan

 The Dalhart High School chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) held its annual induction ceremony on Sunday September 27 at the high school auditorium.

Hilmar Dog Park coming to Dalhart

Ground was broken for the new Hilmar Dog Park near the Rita Blanca Lake Center on Tuesday September 15. L-r: Maria Pozos, Diana Marti- nez, Sherri Haschke, Shelly Bishop, James Stroud, Wade Ritchey, Kevin Hubbard, Greg Duggan, Kristy Detwiler, Tye Hancock, Gary Messer, Heidi Ingram, Alfonso Venegas, John Boer and Angie Solano

“One Pack-One Legacy-125 Years”

Dalhart High celebrates homecoming tomorrow night

2026 marks 125 years of Dalhart ISD being in existence, so the theme for Dalhart High’s homecoming is “One Pack-One Legacy-125 Years.” The high school student council has made that theme prominent in plans for homecoming this year.

Dalhart High wins $5,000 from T-Mobile

T-Mobile recently announced the return of Friday Night 5G Lights for its third season, giving small-town high schools across America more opportunities than ever to celebrate their communities and compete for prizes that can make a meaningful difference.

 From cropland to native grassland:
a different future for the High Plains

 (Editor’s note: Jacob Meyer is a senior at Dalhart High School and is active in the FFA, having just returned from the All-American Dairy Expo National Dairy Contest, where the team placed fifth overall and Meyer placed third as an individual in Jerseys. He recently completed the Rolling Plains Bobwhite Brigade, a camp offered by the Texas Brigades. The Texas Brigades’ mission is to educate and empower youth with leadership skills and knowledge in wildlife, fisheries, and land stewardship to become conservation ambassadors for a sustained natural resource legacy. Meyer graduated as the Top Cadet and was also named Top Shot.)

Dalhart FFA team takes 5^th place at national dairy competition

 The Dalhart FFA’s dairy team competed at the All-American Dairy Expo National Dairy Contest over the weekend and placed fifth overall at the national competition.

Dalhart EDC donates $1 million to new nursing home

 The Dalhart Economic Development Corporation presented a check for a donation of $1 million to Louise Rahll and the Dallam-Hartley Counties Healthcare Foundation for the new nursing home that will be built by the hospital district. Louise and her late husband Gene Rahll made a pledge to donate $10 million if $5 million was raised by the rest of the community for the new nursing home, and that commitment was met back in March. The new facility will be called “The Rahll” in honor of Gene and Louise Rahll. Back row l-r: Alfonso Venegas, Tripp Stone, Jared Ball, James Stroud, Kevin Caddell, Dyke Rogers, Zach Bickel, Sean Overeynder, Melissa Bundy and Brad Riley. Front row l-r: Sarah Crone, Emily Oznick, Sarah Suggs, Jenny McDaniel, Louise Rahll, Sherry Hasche and Shellie McNabb. Lisa Boggs | Dalhart Texan 

Pecan production, prices up in Texas as disease, dry weather loom

By Karn Dhingra
Texas AgriLife

Texas pecan growers are looking at an above-average crop and are hoping price improvement will follow.

Expectations are that Texas’ 2026 pecan season will produce modestly larger yields than last year, but that disease, extreme dry and hot weather in August could negatively impact nut kernel fill, said Monte Nesbitt, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service pecan specialist and associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences, Bryan-College Station.

Texas Comptroller reports state sales tax revenue totaled $4.6 billion in August

(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Don Huffines said state sales tax revenue totaled $4.62 billion in August, 7.1% more than in August 2025. The majority of August sales tax revenue is based on sales made in July and remitted to the agency in August.

It’s All About Kids donates money to elementary libraries

Karen Lang and Jaime Kvanvig presented a check for $500 to St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School’s elemen- tary library to help purchase books. Photo submit.

Texline’s Raley Valdez wins national championship 

Gold, silver medals complete comeback

 By Autumn Smith
Special to the Dalhart Texan

 For Raley Valdez, gymnastics has always been just one part of who she is. She is an athlete, competitor, daughter, teammate and someone who has never been afraid to take on a challenge. This summer, all of those qualities came together as she returned to the national stage and earned two medals at the 2026 Stars and Stripes Nationals in Sevierville, Tennessee.

First Baptist Church celebrates 125 years in Dalhart

 By Sandy Reynolds
Special to the Dalhart Texan

 (Editor’s note: This is the third and final part of a three-part series about the 125^th anniversary of the First Baptist Church and its history in Dalhart. The first was published on August 20, and covered the time period from 1901 through about 1938, and the second was published on August 27 and covered the time period from 1944 through about 1971, and included the creation of Lincoln Street Baptist Church, Antioch Baptist Church, and the early beginnings of La Primera Iglesia Bautista.)