Abilene

Abilene
Situated in the central part of the US state of Texas, Abilene is a city in the counties of Jones and Taylor. It is home to approximately 116, 000 residents.

It is categorically the main city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical area. The Dyess Air Base is also situated here in Abilene.

A number of developments have taken place over the past few years. These include three lakes in the city; Lytle lake on the west side of Abilene Regional Airport, Kirby Lake, and Lake Fort Phantom.

"Frontiering" is the brand campaign of this city which was launched in November 2008 which is designed to promote Abilene"s history, culture, commerce, geography and character of the people who reside there.

Abilene has been ranked 17th in the nation of its public education system, making it the highest ranked city in Texas. This honor was granted by Business Outlook magazine in their September-October 2006 edition.

Their criteria included; high school graduation rates, pupil/teacher ratio, average spending per student, closeness to top-rated universities and highly educated population.

Abilene has two school districts within city boundaries; the Abilene Independent School District (AISD) and Wylie Independent School District (WISD). Local high schools are Abilene High School and Cooper High School.

Abilene also has a number of higher educational institutions, including three religiously affiliated private universities. These include Abilene Christian University (ACU), Hardin-Simmons University (HSU), and McMurry University (McM).

It is also home to the Abilene campus of Cisco Junior College (CJC), Texas State Technical College (TSTC) - west Texas campus, and American Commercial College (ACC). Recently built in north Abilene is also Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy.

29 parks are inclusive of the Abilene park system which covers a total of 1,247.56 acres of land. There are also three athletic complexes situated across the city. Another popular attraction of this city is the Abilene zoo. It is home to several hundred animals of many species.

Educational and summer programs take place all year round. New additions to the zoo include the black rhino, cougars and maned wolves from South America, a giraffe exhibit and a wetlands exhibit.

Abilene has the only competing and performing jump rope teams in this region called the "Jammin" Jumpers". They have been to the Walt Disney World National jump Rope Championships three times.

Paramount Theatre, the Abilene Philharmonic, the Grace Museum, the Centre for Contemporary Arts, The National Centre for Children"s Illustrated Literature, Frontier Texas, five libraries, 26 public parks and a host of other recreational spots are all inclusive of Abilene.

The Prime Time Family Entertainment Centre has become a popular entertainment venue since its completion in 2007. Its main features include a mini golf course, go kart track, a bowling alley, laser tag course and a restaurant.