Kick back here

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples will officially commemorate the city's status as a Go Texas Certified Retirement Community at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Staples will appear at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, 700 N. Grant Ave. Suite 200.

The city spent 13 months working on becoming a retirement community before learning of the status in August. Cities seek the designation because retirees spend an average of $36,000 a year in their communities while paying an average of $3,000 in taxes.

Odessa is the largest city in the state to be certified as a retirement community. It is also the first in West Texas.