The Community News

Bearcats bounce back to defeat Lancaster 37-27

Cole Crawford was smiling like he had just opened his favorite gift on Christmas morning. And why not? He and his Aledo Bearcats teammates on the special teams were celebrating a turnaround that …

Ladycat varsity volleyball captain and defensive specialist, Kenrie Pruitt, makes a play on the ball near the back line during a home match on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

Ladycats win Arlington Classic

After suffering a heartbreaking loss at home to Midlothian in five sets, the Aledo Ladycats volleyball team showed up in a big way in the Arlington Classic. The Ladycats won each match they competed …

Bearcats to face Tigers for first time

The Aledo defense that pressured Guyer's quarterback will be put to the test again against Lancaster.

The Aledo Bearcats and Lancaster Tigers have never met on the football field. They came close last season. However, while the Bearcats were on their way to a 16-0 season and a 12th state …

BUSINESSES AND SERVICES

It’s reloading time again for Bearcats

Where else but Aledo can a football program return only three starters on offense, four on defense, graduate a host of talent now at the NCAA Division I level and still be the preseason favorite to …

Bearcats suffer narrow defeat in season opener - with photo gallery

DENTON – After winning their 12th state championship in 2023, the Aledo Bearcats marched onto the C.H. Collins Athletic Complex Field under the Friday Night lights for the first time in 2024. …

Ranch Rodeo merges music, food, Western tradition

There are few things more Texan than country roots music, barbecue, and western traditions, and all will be plentiful at the 20th annual Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Ranch Rodeo. Packed into …

Aledo stunned by Midlothian

After finishing in the top eight of the Northwest Tournament, the Aledo Ladycats volleyball team returned to their home court for more stiff competition Tuesday night where the Ladycats hosted the …

McClellan makes Falcons roster

The Aledo Bearcats will have a player in the National Football League come opening day. Running back Jase McClellan was named to the Atlanta Falcons’ 53-man roster when the regular season …

Willow Park council discusses new tax rate

Willow Park City Council members discussed a proposed 43 cents per $100 2024-25 property tax rate at their meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 27 The proposed rate is an increase from the 40 cents …

BUSINESSES AND SERVICES

Bearcats, Guyer same but different

When Aledo Bearcats head coach Robby Jones looks at his team’s season-opening opponent, the Denton Guyer Wildcats, he sees similarities to his own team. “They kind of remind me of …

Meet the Bearcats sets stage for new season

Fifty-five tables, two chairs each, stretched the length of Tim Buchanan Stadium August 23 for Meet the Bearcats and the kickoff of the 2024-25 football season. After performances from the Aledo …

Aledo council takes a hard look at parks

The Aledo City Council took a detailed look at the city’s parks at its Aug. 22 meeting. Whitney Walters, the city’s communications and engagement officer, walked the council through …

New Weatherford news site launched

Randy Keck, owner and publisher of The Community News , based in Aledo, Texas, has announced the launch of a new website dedicated to covering news and events in Weatherford, Texas. The new …

Trustees adopt 2024-2025 budget with $4.4 million in cuts

For the sixth-straight year, the Aledo ISD Board of Trustees has adopted a lower tax rate, lowering the rate by $0.0023 for 2024-2025 and bringing the total six-year reduction to nearly $0.39 cents. …

Veterans Tranquility Garden honors longtime employee Ralph Willingham

The faculty and students at Weatherford College care about their veterans. So much so that in June, WC alum Beth Wetsel chose to create a Veterans Tranquility Garden for her capstone project to …

Band camp a sign of a new school year

One of the first signs of a new school year is the Bearcat Regiment marching drills. Step accuracy, precision, posture, and even muscle movement were the disciplines of the day for the Aledo High …

Overall 2023-2024 Circle of Greatness winners announced

Aledo ISD recently honored four well-deserving employees as the 2023-2024 Circle of Greatness overall winners. The district expressed congratulations to: ● Professional Category: Erica …

Tears and smiles on first day of school

Aug. 14 marked the first day of school in the Aledo ISD, with a mixture of tears and smiles at the seven elementary schools. Aledo’s continued growth in enrollment led to the opening of the new …

Aledo's Woodson honored by Education Service Center

Elisha Woodson understands the value of a well-rounded career — a career that has now seen her receive recognition as the best at her craft. Woodson was recently named the Education …

Bearcat Nation 101 brings crowds to new location

The annual Bearcat Nation 101 event had a new location but the same enthusiastic group of organizations that provided much needed information to new and veteran residents in the Aledo ISD. …

Bearcat practices going well as season approaches

With the start of the regular season a week away, the Aledo Bearcats are well into preparation to begin defense of their 2023 state championship — the most recent in their state-record history …

Ladycats shine in Katy Tournament

Following their impressive home-opening win over Legacy Christian to start the season, the Aledo Ladycats volleyball team traveled south to Katy to compete in the Katy ISD-Cy Fair Volleyball …

Visit the old West in the Murphey Heritage wing

Take a trip back in time to the old west and experience Native American culture, cattle drive cooking, Colt-toting town sheriffs, and early life on the prairie. Maybe experience cabin life or learn …

Racquet Cats win three in a week

The Aledo varsity tennis team concluded its fall pre-district schedule with a 7-3 record and a three-match winning streak. The team faced Midlothian on Aug. 9 and came away with an 11-8 win. On …

Council provides security cameras for schools

With a constant emphasis on student safety in schools, the Annetta Town Council passed an item that will provide additional security and safety at two elementary schools at their most recent meeting …

Meet-the-Bearcats Friday @ 7 p.m.

Meet-the-Bearcats Friday @ 7PM! Meet the 2024 Varsity football players, cheerleaders and dance team. Also enjoy some food and treats from local food vendors. …

Parks grab spotlight at council meeting

Beautiful parks are a common and popular part of nice cities. They are an enjoyable part of living there for current residents and an attraction for would-be newcomers. The City of Willow Park …

Ladycats sweep season opener

The Aledo Ladycats volleyball team started the season strong against a formidable foe in front of their home crowd Monday night, Aug. 12. Aledo boasted a high-quality defense, dominant stretches of …

Former JPS administrator losses appeal of murder conviction

The capital murder conviction of a former John Peter Smith Hospital administrator who shot two Arlington women in a Willow Park bank parking lot in 2017 was affirmed in an appeals court decision …

Weatherford College board proposes flat tax rate

The Weatherford College Board of Trustees proposed the 2024 ad valorem tax rate of 10.6087 cents per $100 valuation for Parker County property owners at their recent August meeting, the same as the …

St. Peters honored with name on champions bench

Lauren St. Peters is, quite simply, one of the greatest track and field athletes to come through the Aledo athletic program. With three appearances at the University Interscholastic League Class 5A …

New Durant Hall has unique amenities

Jerry and Vickie Durant welcome visitors at the grand opening of Durant Hall Aug. 7. The Durants were major financial supporters for the new dorm complex. The family also helped fund the fine arts auditorium at Weatherford High School, which also bears their name.

There are no community bathrooms down the hall, no bunk beds, and no shared closets. However, Weatherford College students lucky enough to get into the new Vickie and Jerry Durant Hall won’t …

Bearcats’ Jones named TSWA All-State

Third baseman, Ryan Jones fields a bunt and makes the throw over to first as a Rider baserunner scrambles down the line in Bearcat action in April of 2024.

Ryan Jones, a recent graduate of Aledo High School, has been named Class 5A honorable mention all-state by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Jones, a third baseman, has committed to play in …

Fink brothers make history with national titles

Josh Fink (left) successfully defended his national champion in the Boys 13-14 3,000-meter race/walk at the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics, while Jack Fink won the 3,000-meter run in the Boys 17-18 age group. They are the first brothers to win a national championship in the same season for Mach I Track Club.

It’s not uncommon for folks to do some running around with excitement as they celebrate. For the Fink family, they have a lot to celebrate — because of their running. Competing …

Local leaders express enthusiasm for planned UTA campus at Walsh

Positioned at the intersection of I-30 and I-20 in Walsh Ranch, the new UTA West campus is expected to begin welcoming students as early as fall 2028. UTA West will be developed as part of a multiyear plan to serve more than 10,000 students.

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) announced a proposed plan to purchase 51 acres of property in west Fort Worth within the Walsh Ranch development for the purpose of building a new campus …

Two Aledo students call Boys State event great experience

Two students from Aledo High School were recently selected to participate in what has been described as “one of the most selective educational programs of government instruction for high school …

Stokes wins FW Boys Junior

Aledo’s Braden Stokes won the championship of the Fort Worth Junior Golf Association Junior Boys tournament this past week, the second Aledo Bearcat to do so in three years.

The Fort Worth Junior Golf Boys Championship is back in Aledo. For the second time in three years a Bearcats golfer captured the title as Braden Stokes hit his best shot of the tournament on the …

A&M-Corpus Christi added to list of WC graduate transfer partners

A total of 14 electric vehicle charging stations, along with lighting and security cameras, will be installed in the parking lot on the east side of the Alkek Fine Arts Center at Weatherford College.

Weatherford College President Tod Allen Farmer and President Kelly Miller of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi signed a transfer agreement recently to align the institution’s nursing …

Aledo family’s ‘bonus daughter’ misses Olympic cut but makes the pros

Lucy 1 When Lucy Ibeh's mother, Lucy, visited Aledo in May on Mother's Day, it.was the first time in three years she had seen her basketball star daughter.

There are few basketball opportunities near the Nigerian village where Chinelo Lucy Ibeh grew up, so the talented athlete made the heavy decision to leave her home and pursue her dreams in the United …

Aledo - Two tales of a city

Joel Robbins is acutely aware there are people who don’t live in Aledo, yet they “know all about it.” Robbins is the Senior Pastor of Aledo United Methodist Church, a church that …

Mobile theater company takes art form throughout county

An original production of ‘Home on the Range’ is one of several shows presented by the Parker County Theatre Company, started by Lori Coughlin in 2022. She also wrote the show.

A passion for the theater led Lori Coughlin to pursue a degree in Theatre Arts in 2021. A desire to share her passion with those who have the least access to the art form led to the creation of …