West Texas Dispatch

Taylor County has seen a strong start to early voting. People who have made up their minds are making their way to the polls.If you’re still trying to figure out who to vote for to represent Taylor-Jones-and Callahan Counties in the statehouse-we have Jay Hardaway and Diana Luna on the show today.We’ll also hear from Mayor Weldon Hurt. Abilene is moving ahead with a five-year contract to expand the Abilene Police Department’s technology with new body-cams, and the controversial camera system for surveillance.On West Texas Roots we have a West Texas ghost story.We’ll also tell you about Cisco’s Pie Fest, and we’ve got a preview of the Abilene Philharmonic’s concert, which is coming up this weekend.

The seat for Texas’s 19th Congressional District is open. That means we have two first timers on the ballot.Tom Sell faced a crowded Republican primary, with seven names on the ballot. Sell faced Abraham Enriquez in the runoff, and claimed victory with 64-percent of the vote.Kyle Rable is the Democrat in that race. He ran unopposed, capturing more than 22 thousand votes in the March Third primary.Charles Perry is the incumbent Republican state senator in District 28. Perry was first elected in a special election in 2014, and then won the following three elections without any challengers — until now. Democrat Riley Rodriguez is the first candidate to take Perry on. Rodriguez finished the March Primary with nearly 29 thousand votes.

We’re less than a month from the mid-term elections. West Texans will help decide the future of the state, when they pick between incumbent Greg Abbott and his democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa. We’ll bring you a look at that surprisingly close race.A federal judge has blocked border construction in Big Bend National park. We’ll update you on the latest moves–and what may be ahead.The number of priests has shrunk in the U-S, while the number of parishioners has grown. We’ll tell you about the Catholic churches’ efforts across West Texas to recruit new priests.We’ll also check in on Cold and Flu season in Abilene.And we’ve been to some of the Big Country’s recent festivals – music, culture, fun and food – have you been missing out?