DEATH OF RODEO LEGEND ROY COOPER RULED ACCIDENT — Months after the fatal April house fire, the death of ProRodeo hall of famer Roy Cooper has been ruled an accident, according to new information released by investigators. Wise County Fire Marshal Jeff Doughty, in a written statement, shared that the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office has determined that the cause of the 69-year-old former all-around rodeo world champion’s death was accidental. The cause of the fatal fire itself remains classified as undetermined, according to the Wise County Fire Marshal’s Office. “With the assistance of the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Rangers, and the Tarrant County Fire and Arson Investigators Taskforce, the Wise County Fire Marshal’s Office spent three days at the fire scene and conducted numerous interviews over the last three months relating to information we received on the fire and death of Roy Cooper,” Doughty’s report said. “The Wise County Fire Marshal’s Office has officially ruled the cause of this very unfortunate fire as undetermined.” According to the National Fire Protection Association code, the undetermined classification is reached when a fire’s cause cannot be proven to an acceptable level of certainty. Read more online here.
SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS RELEASED — Most Wise County school districts kept their same accountability ratings, with a couple of exceptions, as the 2024-2025 ratings were released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Friday morning. Alvord and Northwest school districts maintained their “B” rating; Boyd, Chico, Decatur and Slidell held steady with “C” ratings; while Paradise dropped from a “B” to a “C” and Bridgeport dropped from a “C” to a “D.” Ratings were also released for each campus. Read more online here.
VOLLEYBALL RESULTS — Decatur (6-0) used five consecutive sweeps to claim the championship title at the Brock tournament last weekend. The Lady Eagles claimed wins over Crowley (25-8, 25-9, 25-13), Keene (25-11, 25-13, 25-14), Garner (25-17, 25-14, 25-15), Godley (25-17, 25-18, 25-15) and Brock (25-21, 25-22, 25-22). Hope Escobar was named the tournament’s MVP, while Ava Green and Grace Fortune earned Offensive MVP and all-tournament team honors, respectively. Boyd (6-1) finished third at the Brock tournament behind Decatur and Brock. The Lady Jackets were victorious over NCTA (25-17, 25-17, 25-19), Tolar (25-11, 25-9, 25-23), Graford (25-13, 25-12, 25-8) and Godley (25-8, 25-17, 25-18), and suffered a sweeping loss against Brock (29-27, 25-13, 25-12). Northwest (8-1) claimed eight straight wins to bring home the championship title from the Round Rock Westwood tournament. The Lady Texans defeated Hendrickson (25-19, 25-15, 25-16), Kingwood (25-13, 25-8, 25-19), Dickinson (25-19, 25-17), Westwood (25-13, 25-13), Royse City (26-28, 25-21, 25-15), Stony Point (25-19, 15-25, 25-10), Round Rock (19-25, 25-22, 25-19) and New Braunfels (25-8, 25-19). Levariya Pinder was selected as tournament MVP, while Kiley Brooks and Ariah Perez were named to the all-tournament team. Bridgeport (2-5) finished 1-5 at the Denton Ryan tournament. The Sissies’ lone win was against Fort Worth Western Hills (25-18, 25-13). Bridgeport suffered losses against Mesquite Poteet (25-17, 25-13), Frisco Panther Creek (25-11, 25-14), Saginaw (25-18, 25-13), Lubbock (25-13, 25-14) and Chisholm Trail (25-13, 25-14). Paradise (4-4) also competed at the Denton Ryan tournament, finishing 2-4. The Lady Panthers beat Lindsay (22-25, 25-16, 25-11) and Denison (25-9, 25-16), but fell to Frisco Centennial (25-16, 25-16), North Forney (25-21, 25-18), Mesquite Poteet (21-25, 25-23, 25-22) and Lubbock-Cooper (25-21, 25-20). Alvord (4-3) brought home a 3-3 record from the Whitesboro/Tioga tournament. The Lady Bulldogs defeated Tom Bean (25-14, 25-13), Lake Dallas (25-15, 25-21) and Pottsboro (25-23, 25-22), and lost to Grayson Christian (29-27, 25-17), Tioga (22-25, 25-17, 25-14) and Whitesboro (25-21, 25-18). VCA (4-3-2) was 3-3-2 at the TAPPS Spikedown tournament. The Lady Patriots earned wins over Waxahachie Prep JV (25-8, 25-7), Nazarene Christian (25-17, 25-16) and Covenant Classical JV (25-4, 25-6), lost to San Marcos Hill Country (25-20, 25-22), Lubbock All Saints (24-26, 25-23, 15-14) and Covenant Classical (25-20, 25-16), and tied Katy Faith West (22-25, 25-18) and Houston Second Baptist (11-25, 25-17).
CHANCE OF STORMS — Today’s forecast includes a high of 97 degrees with heat index values as high as 103 along with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.
MORNING MINGLE — The Decatur Chamber of Commerce’s next Morning Mingle is 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Thursday at Key Title Group, 304 S. Trinity St.
MATH TUTORING PROGRAM — Decatur Public Library will bring the OneInMath program to the library this fall. The free math tutoring program is designed for children in grades K to 3. Sessions will be led by trained high school student volunteers and held 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday from Aug. 19 to Nov. 18. Each tutor will work with a small group of four students. To register, visit wcmess.com/mathtutor25.
HAT MAKING — Make a custom trucker hat at Decatur Public Library’s Crafted Creations event 5 to 7 tonight. All supplies will be included. Registration is required and can be done by visiting the library’s event page on Facebook, or by calling 940-393-0290. The event is for adults only.
FUNERALS — Service for Curtis Wayne Stone, 90, of Decatur is 10 a.m. Tuesday at First United Methodist Church in Decatur with burial at Oaklawn Cemetery. Family visitation is one hour prior to the service. Hawkins Funeral Home in Decatur is handling arrangements.
FUNERAL for John Clay Patterson Jr., 80, of Decatur is 10 a.m. Wednesday at Hawkins-Decatur with burial at Oaklawn Cemetery. Family visitation is one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.
MEMORIAL service for Paul Lambert Jr., 93, of Paradise will be held at a later date. Hawkins Funeral Home in Bridgeport is handling arrangements.
SERVICE for Danny Abney, 64, of Bridgeport is 10 a.m. Friday at Hudson & Torres Family Funeral Home in Bridgeport with burial at Eastside Cemetery in Bridgeport. Visitation is 6-8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
GRAVESIDE service for James Thomas Mosley, 64, is 10 a.m. Friday at Azle Land Cemetery and Memorial Park.
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