ARCADIA THEATER TO BE SOLD — The City of Bridgeport Monday approved a bid to sell the Arcadia Theater. After meeting in closed session, the Bridgeport City Council voted 5-0 to authorize City Manager Mike Murray to finalize negotiations with RDL, LLC for the sale of city-owned property at 1009 Halsell Street. “This was a very difficult decision for all of us,” said council member Bobby Rodriguez, who made the motion for city staff to complete the sale. “We spent the majority of the time [in closed session talking about this], and it’s something we did agonize over. But we do feel like our decisions have to be in the best interest of the city and the citizens of our city.” Read more online here.
ALVORD ISD ANNOUNCES NEW AD/HFC — Alvord ISD Superintendent Randy Brown announced Monday that the district has tapped Hardin-Simmons assistant football coach Matt Fanning to become Alvord’s next athletic director and head football coach. Fanning spent one season as the tight ends and assistant strength coach for the Cowboys under head coach Jesse Burleson. Before jumping to the collegiate ranks, Fanning spent six years as the AD/HFC at Jim Ned CISD. He finished as the Indians’ winningest coach in program history with a 58-16 overall record and four district titles, and led Jim Ned to the 2020 3A Division I championship with a 29-28 overtime win over Hallettsville. Read more online here or in Thursday’s print edition.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS $211M BOND TO BRIDGEPORT SCHOOL BOARD — A facilities planning committee recommended a $211,600,000 bond to the Bridgeport ISD Board of Trustees Monday, which includes a new high school, capital improvements and bus replacements. The committee proposed a new Bridgeport High School at a cost of $183,100,000, justifying the price by telling the board it would be a point of pride for the Bridgeport community and something that would draw families into the city. The proposed bond package also includes capital improvements at $26 million (flooring, roofing, interior and HVAC replacements/upgrades) and $2.5 million for bus and SUV replacement (18 buses and five SUVs). The board has until Feb. 14 to call for the bond to be placed on the May ballot. Read more online here.
POST OFFICE EVACUATED DUE TO SMALL FIRE — Decatur Post Office was evacuated after a small fire late Monday afternoon, but most postal operations remain unaffected, officials said. Shortly after the post office closed at 4:30 p.m., the Decatur Fire Department responded to reports of smoke inside the building. Firefighters located a small fire inside a closet in the maintenance room, said Decatur Fire Chief Deroy Bennett. The fire was quickly contained and extinguished by 4:49 p.m. While Decatur Postmaster Glenn Webb said some internet-dependent services may be temporarily affected, delivery operations will continue as normal when the post office reopens to the public 8 a.m. Tuesday. “Delivery services have not been affected,” Webb said. “It will not affect postal operations aside from limited window service. We will be cash-only temporarily. But we will be able to continue basic services, like stamp sales. If a customer wants something sent, we’ll just have to manually weigh it and affix it with regular postage stamps.”
DISD APPROVES 4-DAY CALENDAR — Decatur ISD officially adopted a four-day school week calendar at Monday’s meeting. Two calendars were presented to the public in order to get feedback, and the public chose “Option A” by 84.7 percent. The calendar has a start day of Aug. 6 and ends on May 21.
SPEED LIMIT TO BE REDUCED — Wise County Commissioners unanimously approved reducing the speed limit on County Road 3451 from 40 mph to 30 mph after a public hearing Monday. Pct. 4 Commissioner Colby Shawn initiated the change after a traffic study on the road yielded troubling results. He said more than 2,000 vehicles travel the road per day, and that 60 percent of those vehicles exceeded the 40 mph speed limit, with some vehicles tracked at speeds over 70 mph. The 3.6-mile road near Paradise has become increasingly residential, with “houses on each side of the road separated by about 150 feet,” Shawn said. There are currently seven planned subdivisions in various stages of development in the area. No members of the public addressed the court during the hearing. The speed limit reduction was expected to go into effect immediately.
BOYS BASKETBALL — Decatur (18-7, 2-3) looks to draw even in the District 7-4A standings, as the Eagles host Lake Worth tonight at 7:30. Bridgeport (13-11, 1-4) will travel to Castleberry at 7:30 p.m. Boyd (7-19, 2-2) welcomes Callisburg for a 10-3A showdown at 7:30 p.m. Paradise (18-5, 4-0) seeks its fifth league win in a road matchup against Whitesboro at 7:30 p.m. In 13-2A, Alvord (12-12, 3-3) welcomes Tioga at 7:30 p.m. Chico (11-13, 0-5) tries for its first district win in a home battle against Lindsay at 8 p.m. Slidell (18-7, 5-0) will attempt to remain unbeaten in league play, as the Hounds travel to Muenster at 7:30 p.m. VCA (13-5, 2-0) will travel to face Muenster Sacred Heart in TAPPS 2A play at 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL — Decatur (23-2, 7-0) will start the second round of District 7-4A with a home battle against Lake Worth 6:15 p.m. today. Bridgeport (23-5, 6-1) travels to Castleberry at 6:15 p.m. In 10-3A, Boyd (13-9, 3-3) closes its first loop of league play by hosting Callisburg at 6 p.m. Paradise (17-9, 5-1) will face Whitesboro in a district showdown 6 p.m. at Whitesboro High School. Alvord (10-13, 0-7) takes on Tioga in its second-round kickoff 6 p.m. at home. Chico (13-10, 2-5) rematches against Lindsay 6:30 p.m. at Chico High School. Slidell (18-7, 5-2) will travel to Muenster at 6:15 p.m. VCA (11-5, 2-0) resumes TAPPS 2A action with a road test against Muenster Sacred Heart at 5:30 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER — Decatur (1-0-1) searches for its second win of the season in a road matchup against Weatherford 7:30 p.m. at Roo Stadium. Bridgeport (2-1) travels to face Fort Worth Polytechnic 7 p.m. at Handley Stadium.
DEMOCRATIC PARTY MEETING — The Wise County Democratic Party will meet 6 tonight at the Fairfield Inn in Decatur. The meeting will include a light dinner, a slide presentation on solar electric power from Jim Duncan followed by a question and answer time.
FUNERALS — Service for Jacob “Jake” Hilton, 53, of Flower Mound is 11 a.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Decatur. Hawkins Funeral Home in Decatur is handling arrangements.
SERVICE for Michael Sanders, 79, of Decatur is 2 p.m. Saturday at Riding for the Brand Cowboy Church in Sanger. Hawkins-Decatur is handling arrangements.
MEMORIAL service for James “Jimmy” Potter, 59, of Justin is 10:30 a.m. Jan. 25 at Hawkins-Decatur.
MASS of Christian burial for Jesus Gomez, 59, of Bridgeport is 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. John the Baptizer Catholic Church in Bridgeport. Family visitation is 6-8 p.m. Thursday at Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport with rosary said at 7.
SERVICE for Johnny D. Holder, 88, of Bridgeport is 2 p.m. Saturday at the Holders’ residence. Hawkins-Bridgeport is handling arrangements.
VISITATION for Dewey Dwaine Jewett, 65, of Benbrook is 2-4 p.m. Sunday at Hawkins-Bridgeport.
FUNERAL for Norma Dell Jackson, 86, of Boyd is 2 p.m. Saturday at Aurora Baptist Church with burial at Aurora Cemetery. Visitation is 1 p.m. Saturday prior to the service at the church. Hudson & Torres Family Funeral Home in Bridgeport is handling arrangements.
MEMORIAL service for Sherri Adams, 51, of Paradise is 2 p.m. Sunday at Hudson & Torres.
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