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PAIDPermit No. 00002Gainesville, Texas

© 2020 The Weekly News of Cooke County

Volume 16, Number 44 Cooke County, Texas April 1, 2020

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Weekly NewsThe

of Cooke County

KingAroundTown

by Grice King

April Fools! Our oldest son is an April Fools baby and I don’t think he appreciates just how much fun it is messing with him every year. Especially now that he is getting older, the pranks

can get even better. Last year was the “Did you smell the icing? We got special icing that smells like the fl avor…” trick that re-sulted in a face full of frosting. He had an ear to ear grin. Now this year I am not quite sure what to do. Quarantine has defi -nitely put a damper on options for him. Birthdays right now are just not as much fun for the kiddos not being able to go out much of anywhere. Well Happy Birthday Dane! 14 years old, hard to believe you are growing up so quickly. We love you and are proud of you!

Here is some more of what’s happening around town this week.

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A big shoutout to Jeff and the gang over at I Love Nail & Spa for taking the initiative and switching business over to mak-ing medical masks to help the short supply. So far they have been able to make over 3000 masks. Th ey have been sent all over Cooke County, Sherman, Denton, Denison, Plano, Car-rollton, Austin, Houston, Pilot Point, Era, Krum, Fort Worth, Oklahoma, Washington State, Virginia, Arizona, Pennsylva-nia, California and the list keeps growing! Such a great job everyone!

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In an eff ort to assist with the rising need of face masks for our medical community in Cooke County, the AgriLife Extension offi ce is providing a drop off box. If you would like to help by making masks, a pattern is available at their website: cooke.agrilife.org/covid-19-face-mask-assistance/

(Continued on Page 3)

NTMC, MMH, City and County

Set up Testing Tent for COVID-19 GAINESVILLE - North Texas Medical Center (NTMC) is work-ing closely with the City of Gaines-ville, Cooke County and Muenster Memorial Hospital (MMH) to closely monitor regional coronavi-rus (COVID-19) cases and imple-ment the latest care guidelines. Th ese public agencies are releasing a joint statement about the coop-erative eff ort and encouraging our community to take steps to keep healthy. Judge Jason Brinkley states, “For the past several weeks, our local agencies have been working closely together on a unifi ed response to this pandemic. I am proud of the eff orts of so many hardworking in-dividuals coming together to serve our great community.” COVID-19 is spreading globally and we can expect to see more cas-

es throughout our county. We are taking proactive precautions with guidance from all local agencies and the Center for Disease Con-trol by following all recommenda-tions to keep Cooke County safe from this virus. “While we currently have no reported cases in Cooke County, we have collected all our resources and we are prepared. We encour-age calm and unifi cation in adher-ing to shelter and closure orders. Please continue to check on your neighbors, the elderly, and those you know in need. We have an incredible community fi lled with amazing people, together we will beat this virus. Please continue to pray for all.” says Mayor Jim Gold-sworthy. NTMC, City of Gainesville, Cooke County, and MMH are

actively engaged and prepared as needs for community engagement eff orts arise due to COVID-19. A

temporary medical testing station has been set up in the back parking lot of NTMC. Th is testing station is being used for two specifi c stages of operation. First, and currently, it is a drive-through COVID-19 sample sta-tion for patients that meet very strict criteria. Th ose criteria in-clude: • Th e patient must speak with their primary care physician (PCP) to determine if the patient will re-quire the COVID-19 testing. If you do not have a PCP, there are many medical clinics in town ac-cepting new patients. • If testing is required, the physi-cian requests the patient be tested. • An appointment will be sched-uled for a specimen to be collected

at the drive through collection site. Th e drive through collection site is only accessible from Old Sivells

Bend Road. • Upon arrival, the patient will follow the instructions given to them by the ordering physician. Windows of the vehicle should not be rolled down for any reason until they receive specifi c instruction at the collection site. • Th e patient will have the sam-ple taken, drive home to self quar-antine, and await the results from their primary care provider. Th e collected specimen must be sent to an approved testing site. Th ere is no guarantee that turnaround times of the tests are dependent on the capacity of the lab processing the test. Anyone arriving at the tent with-out an appointment from their

(Continued on Page 2)

Helping Families During COVID-19 Crisis - Volunteers in Service to Others Executive (VISTO) Direc-tor Bekki Jones, left, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cooke County Executive Director Josh Chapman load food into a vehicle at a distribution event for local families in need of food during the coronavirus pandemic. It was reported that 439 Adults and 529 were helped the fi rst week. Jones said VISTO will continue supplying food via the club from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays until food supplies are exhaust-ed. The boys and girls club is at 315 North Denton Street in Gainesville. (The Weekly News Photo)

GISD

Board

Postpones

May Bond

ElectionBy Delania RaneyTh e Weekly News

GAINESVILLE - Th e Gaines-ville Independent School District Board of Trustees discussed re-voking their call for a $35.1 mil-lion bond election set for May 2 during a special called meeting of the board March 18. Th e board recently made good on their con-sensus at a previous meeting to postpone the election due to the current COVID-19 crisis. Th e ac-tion followed a March 18, procla-mation issued by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott allowing suspen-sion provisions of the Texas Elec-tion Code to permit political sub-divisions to postpone their 2020 local elections. Th e election will now be sus-pended until November 3, 2020. Th e GISD meeting was held March 23. Th e May election con-sisted of the $35.1 million bond proposal along with a board of trustees election.

Commissioners Approve Road Use,

Bore Agreement for EDP Wind FarmBy Delania RaneyTh e Weekly News

GAINESVILLE-Cooke County Commissioners Court approved a road use agreement with EDP

who plans to build the Wildcat Creek Wind Farm in southwest-ern Cooke County. A large slate of individuals spoke for or against the agree-ment during a live streaming on YouTube which lasted more than one hour. “In the spring of 2019, we did a designated reinvestment [zone agreement] in southwestern Cooke County,” Cooke County Judge Jason Brinkley said, not-ing the reinvestment zone allows the taxing entities to possibly enter into tax abatement agree-ments with companies and enti-ties looking to develop into that zone. “Th e county doesn’t have

any permitting or zoning author-ity when it comes to projects like this with some very minor excep-tions in geographic areas set forth by the state legislature which this is not part of, “ Brinkley said. “Cooke County has not granted a tax abatement on this project and we do not plan to enter into any tax abatement for this proj-ect. Th e road use agreement is the only thing that’s potentially in front of us….” He said the agreement was on a previous court agenda and the court decided to take no action on the item. “All of your county roads in Cooke County are public roads,”

Brinkley said. “So we can’t deny any entity use of those public roads,” he said. “Just to put it out there, we can’t tell EDP, ‘No you can’t go down certain roads.’ We could have an agreement with them which we are partially con-sidering today…. Th ey are pub-lic roads and can be used as such. Th e focus of a road use agree-ment in general is to make sure the roads are repaired and put back in a state that they were in if not better prior to entering into that agreement.” He said he knows some indi-viduals have concerns about the conditions of county roads.

(Continued on Page 5)

The Weekly NewsApril 1, 2020

216 W. Pecan • Gainesville, TXOffi ce: 940.665.23202

The Weekly Newsof Cooke County

216 W. Pecan • Gainesville, TX

Business Offi ce - 940.665.2320Fax - 940.665.2162

News Line - 940.665.0733

The Weekly News reports the news and events of Cooke County and isdistributed to households and businesses throughout Cooke County.

The Weekly News is a locally-owned publication.

www.Th eWeeklyNewsCC.com

Management StaffNikki King

Reporter@TheWeeklyNewsCC.com

Owner / Publisher / AdvertisingGrice King

Grice.King@TheWeeklyNewsCC.com

Editorial StaffDelania Raney

Delania.Raney@TheWeeklyNewsCC.com

NTMC, MMH, City and County

Set up Testing Tent for COVID-19 (Continued from Page 1)

PCP will be turned away. Law enforcement is on hand to ensure the safety of the workers and patients in the area. Secondly, the tent locat-ed in the same parking lot is NOT part of the drive -through collection eff orts you might be seeing in other counties. Th e tent is part of our joint surge plan if volume increases to the point that the mere num-bers are causing operational and safety concerns for our patients. Th e tent is not in

use now and will not be used unless COVID-19 related illness pushes past the capac-ity of NTMC and MMH. At that point, the emergen-cy department waiting area will be closed and all triage operations will be moved to the tent. EMS will still transport patients to the emergency department. Th e tent will be for patients that are self presenting such as a cut or a broken arm. Tom Sledge, CEO, NTMC says “Our hope is that the tent will not be needed or used, but we have to be as prepared as possible

for our citizens and felt it was necessary to prepare. Th e best outcome is the COVID-19 epidemic sub-sides and due to the precau-tions the community is tak-ing, we are able to maintain operations in the hospital.” Brian Roland, CEO, MMH adds “With the CO-VID-19 situation chang-ing virtually every minute, Muenster Memorial Hospi-tal stands with our brothers and sisters on the front lines of the pandemic in prepar-ing to handle whatever may come our way. No one stands alone at a time like

this, and rest assured, MMH is working hand in hand with North Texas Medi-cal Center, Cooke County, the cities of Gainesville and Muenster and other agen-cies to manage any infl ux of patients and provide patient care in a manner that pro-tects everyone.” Both NTMC and MMH have been working closely with the local health de-partment and emergency management team and have been consistently utilizing CDC directed protocols to care for those who may show signs and symptoms of respiratory illness. All entities are united and com-mitted to doing all we can to care for our community to keep our residents in-formed. A Joint Information Facebook page has been es-tablished by the local CO-VID-19 Unifi ed Command, composed of Public Infor-mation Offi cers with: Th e City of Gainesville, Cooke County, North Texas Medi-cal Center, and Muenster Memorial Hospital. Th is page has been established to provide consistent, uniform and timely messaging for delivery to the citizens we all serve. Th is page should be your offi cial source of local credible information. Follow us at: Cooke Coun-ty Pandemic Information Page, as we work together to prevent the spread of CO-VID-19.

Gainesville Hospital District Sets

Up Tent; Postpones ElectionBy Delania RaneyTh e Weekly News

GAINESVILLE - Gaines-ville Hospital District Chief Executive Offi cer Tom Sledge said so far the district hasn’t had any confi rmed cases of the COVID-19 vi-rus in the hospital but the hospital district and other other agencies have set up a tent behind the medical center to deal with the ex-pectations for demand for

hospital and emergency ser-vices, according to a joint release from Cooke County and the city of Gainesville. Th e release also noted CO-VID-19 testing in the coun-ty is being completed at “a consolidated site.” Sledge also said visitation at the hospital is limited. “Where we’re at right now, we have limited visita-tion, or we’ve actually lim-ited all visitation,” Sledge said. “So if you have a loved one at the hospital, you’re not allowed visitation which is very hard to take but it is the recommendation. Th e only exception to that is if you have to have a caregiv-er, a child or someone who needs a caregiver with them

and the other exception would be end of life. We are highly recommending that you’ll use the technol-ogy out there whether if be Skype or any kind of Face-time kind of thing where we can communicate with our loved ones.” He also said the district is dedicated to providing test-ing for COVID-19. “It’s just a time like we’ve never seen in healthcare, or the U.S. for that matter,” Sledge said. Th e board also approved the annual audit from BKD CPAs and Advisors, ap-proved a refi le with BKD for corrected cost reports and voted to postpone the May 2, 2020 election.

INTERNAL MEDICINE CLINIC

Dr. V.K. Agarwal, MD MACPBoard Certi ed in Internal Medicine

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940-668-1100715 E. California St., Suite D • Gainesville

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GAINESVILLE EYE CARE

Glasses Eye Exams Contacts

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Dr. Kasey Warren, ODDr. Andrew Warren, OD

MCMHeating & Air Conditioning131 CR 131 • Gainesville, TX 76240

940.668.7129TACLB24634C

We at MCM Heat & Air are taking the current situation seriously. We have enacted a zero contact policy and will do all conversations over the phone. In order to help out, we are of-fering $25 Service Calls to First Responders, Food Service Workers or anyone affected by the current pandemic. Please call us for de-tails and to schedule. If you going to be stuck at home let us make sure you’re comfortable!

COOKE COUNTY- Th e following cases were fi led and decided in the 235th District Court.

Cases Filed Cooke County et all vs. Judy E. Woolard and Jer-emiah Woolard, tax cases

Cases Decided Denton County Electric Cooperative, Inc, D/B/A Coserve Electric vs Cooke County Appraisal District, agreed judgments, all other civil cases.

235th District Court Cases

Muenster State Bank1601 W. Hwy 82, Gainesville

940/665-7900201 N. Main St., Muenster

940/759-2257

Strength Stability Service

Are all banks alike? Absolutely not. As an independent community bank, we believe our sound banking practices give people a safe place to save, help businesses grow and ensure that we’ll be here for years to come.Here’s what makes our bank solid and stable: • Strong capital position • Local ownership • Led by a board that makes prudent decisions • Supporting the community everyday

We are regularly and thoroughly examined; our capital provides a strong nancial foundation. We honor our commitment to you, our customer, and

to our community.

Sandra Lou Puckett

Services Graveside services for Sandra Lou Puckett, 80, of Gainesville, are set for 10:00 AM Friday, March 27, 2020 at the Era Cemetery under the direction of the Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home. No formal visitation is planned.History Sandra was born on March 4, 1940 in Albany, CA to Lewis Th ayer Th eo-bald and Ruby G. (Bent-ley) Th eobald. She passed away on March 24, 2020 in Gainesville.Survivors Sandra is survived by her daughter Kerry Ull-mann and her husband Jay of Spotsylvania, VA; son Mark Puckett and his wife Sharlene of Shelbyville, IN; daughter Taryn Win-ters and her husband Steve of Gainesville; daughter Kim Hammer and her hus-band Jeff of Valley View; 14 grandchildren; and 28 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband

Bill Puckett; sister Barbara Puckett; and brother John Th eobald. You may sign the online registry at www.geojcarroll.com.

Kenneth Ray Fisher

Services Kenneth Ray Fisher went to be with the Lord on March 24, 2020 at Re-naissance Care Center in Gainesville. A memorial service will be arranged after social iso-lation precautions are lifted and it is safer to be together to celebrate Kenneth’s life.History He was born to Sidney Cecil Fisher and Trevia Jane Wright Fisher on August 6, 1938 in Arlington, Texas. He married Nancy Larue Tipton in 1955 and had fi ve children. Kenneth was a twin but One of a Kind! He always had a smile and a joke and loved to make you laugh. He was generous at any op-portunity and always said, “It’s God’s anyway, not mine.” He was a rock when you needed to lean on him and a true friend. His faith in God was strong, and he never worried. Kenneth nev-er had a bad day and shared his happy-go-lucky attitude with anyone he could. He loved boxing and boxed in Golden Gloves until joining the Marines in

1955 and serving his coun-try. After returning home, he worked as a carpenter, heavy equipment operator, and truck driver, and fi nally retired at 79 from Resource Transport. He also loved cars and racing. He could give you the details of any make or model of car or truck and spent years build-ing and racing a variety of cars. He enjoyed playing golf and watching football. And he never outgrew Th e Th ree Stooges. Survivors Kenneth is survived by son Dale and wife Sharon, daughters Cathy Hrable and husband Don, and Tina Young and husband Bust-er. Also brothers Sydney Fisher and Farrell Fisher, 8 Grandchildren and 13 Great Grandchildren. Preceded in death by wife Nancy and sons Danny Fisher and Da-vid Fisher, sister Helen, and his parents. Th ank you to Renaissance Care Center and Ardent Hospice. And thank you to Dr. Glenn and Dr. Larry Sears for years of care.

Charles (Chuck)Edward Richter III

Services On Friday, March 27, 2020 Charles (Chuck) Ed-ward Richter III, 65, of Gainesville passed from this life after a lengthy illness. No formal visitation or ser-vices are planned.

A memorial service to cel-ebrate his life will be held at a later date. History Chuck was born on March 7, 1955 in Camden, New Jersey to Charles Edward Richter, Jr and Florence Mary (DuPell) Richter. Th e Richter family moved from

South Jersey to Gainesville in 1973 where his father was originally from. Once in Texas, Chuck immediately acquired a fascination with the weather. He could often be found watching weather reports and peering out the doors and windows when-ever a storm was brewing. He was the family weather-man! Chuck also loved the Philadelphia Eagles but had a heart for the Dallas Cow-boys too.Survivors Chuck is survived by his wife of 35 years Gwen Richter; daughter Angela Stone of Gainesville; sister Donna Keller and her hus-

band George of Krugerville; sister Linda Grubbs and her husband David of Deca-tur; sister Sue Yeida and her husband Randy of Mount Vernon, IN; sister Jeanne Dyer of Mount Vernon, IN; granddaughter Jessica Stone of Irving; grandson Zachary Stone of Lubbock; cousins Lynne Compton and hus-band Michael of Gainesville and Jeri Mullins of Gaines-ville, as well as nine nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by both parents and cousin Jeff rey Wheeler. You may sign the online registry at www.geojcarrol.com.

The Weekly NewsApril 1, 2020

www.TheWeeklyNewsCC.comFax: 940.665.2162 3

Obituaries

The Weekly News of Cooke County

Letter PolicyTh e Weekly News of Cooke County invites its readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters should include the author’s name, address and daytime phone number. No letter will be printed without confi rmation from the author. Letters should be brief and to-the-point. Lengthy letters may require condensing. Con-fi rmed letters will be printed as space allows. Letters that are not signed, contain personal attacks or ask that the author’s name be withheld will not be printed. Letters to the Editor will be printed without cor-rections of spelling or grammar. Inappropriate lan-guage will be removed. Only one (1) letter will be published per month that are written by the same person. Published letters refl ect only the opinion of the author and not of Th e Weekly News of Cooke County.

Editor’s note – Letters to the Editor refl ect only the opinion of the author and not that of Th e Weekly News of Cooke County. Facts contained in Letters to the Editor are claims of the author only. Th e (...) denotes areas that have been edited.

To the Editor,

Th ank you for your sup-port of our community services ie. Visto and Boys and Girls clubs promoting food distribution during this crisis. As a fourth generation resident of Cooke County, I can see parallels with past events in our history that required us to step up as AMERICANS together

to resolve the crisis of the time. Cooke County resi-dents have always stepped up to the challenges. My grandfather, C.T. Martin spent his life tak-ing care of the community around his farm and spent eight years serving the county as Commissioner. He taught me as a young boy the lesson of being pre-pared for unseen events. At a time when weather forecasts were few and far between, he spent his eve-nings during tornado sea-son sitting on the front porch of his farm house while we slept inside. From time to time he would in-vite neighbors to sleep in his storm cellar if thun-derstorms approached. Sometimes we would rush to the cellar as he saw fun-nel clouds in the distance. Th e house was never blown

away but a large chicken coop was turned up side down during one tornado. He was vigilant and took care of others. In the storm cellar were shelves of food that my grandmother had put up from the family garden. If there was a tragedy food was available. Fam-ily stories were told about my grandmother feeding people from the back door during the depression and also during the fl u epidem-ic of 1918. Today, we face uncer-tain times. We need to be prepared as Cooke County residents of the past have always been. We need to think about what we can do to organize our county to respond to the virus plague. WWII saw many of our young men and women

go to war. My father, aunt and uncle signed up for the military and served with honor as did countless of our men and women in Cooke County. As they went to war one thing that the residents did was to plant GARDENS of FOOD. WWII gardens fed us during uncertain times. Perhaps that would be advisable again. Food sup-plies might again be dis-rupted. Why not each one during this spring season plant some food. If we don’t need it later fi ne, we can donate it to VISTO. Friends and Neighbors we are in this together as Americans. God Bless America.

Dr. Russell MartinCooke County

Letters to the Editor...

Opinions

By Froma Harrop

Milan is the V-8 engine of Italy’s economy. Known as an industrial and fi nancial powerhouse, Milan is also famous for its foul air. Now the city and its region, Lombardy, have become the epicenter of Europe’s coronavirus pandemic. To stop the virus’ spread, fac-

tories, offi ces, restaurants and bars are closed. People are ordered to stay at home. Th e traffi c is gone. And the air is much cleaner. Satellites report a dramatic drop in the re-gion’s air pollution. Since the lockdown started on March 9, the levels of ni-trogen oxide in northern Italy have plunged dramat-ically. NO2 is a toxic gas that can cause infl amma-tion of the body’s air pas-sages. Clean air has been a bright spot in the region’s immense suff ering. Earlier, when China closed down its industry and told residents in the infected areas to shelter in place, the satellites noted a large drop-off in China’s air pollution. Once the virus was contained and China

restarted economic activity, pollution picked up. Th is is not, of course, a call to freeze the Ameri-can economy until the U.S. totally wipes out the coronavirus. Business must resume at some point, though let’s pray that our political leaders have the wisdom to retain the ban on large human gatherings until this horrid microbe is under control. Th is is merely a call for the world’s industrialized peoples to breathe deeply and think: Clean air is kind of nice. Smog, the kind of air pollution you see and smell, also causes lung dis-ease. And a byproduct of cleaning the air is a lower-ing of planet-warming gas emissions. Climate change will remain an existential

threat long after the coro-navirus is tamed. Perhaps this direct expe-rience -- easier to compre-hend than the scientists’ complicated models -- will build support for a faster move to clean energy. My editor, Alissa Stevens, in notoriously smoggy Los Angeles says, “Skies are clearer than we’ve ever seen.” Th e city was recently treated to a double rainbow over the Pacifi c Ocean, vis-ible end to end. Everyone understands that. Th e coronavirus has shuttered Venice, Italy. Th e massive waves of tourists are gone. No day-trippers. No gigantic cruise ships. Th e remaining Venetians have been ordered indoors. But for some popula-tions in Venice, social gath-

erings are booming. Shoals of tiny fi sh have returned to the canals. Th e daily fl o-tilla of boats that churned up waves, making the wa-ter muddy, has been stilled. Th e canals are now hosting crabs and new plant life. Large water birds can be seen diving for fi sh, and ducks are leaving eggs. Th ough tourism is Ven-ice’s economic lifeblood, not everyone there is total-ly unhappy with the quiet. Th ere’s been a growing movement in recent years to curb the city’s over-whelming tourist numbers (20 million a year!) and re-store some serenity to “La Serenissima.” Bad air can add to a vi-rus’ death toll. Research-ers in China and the U.S. looked at mortality during the earlier outbreak of the SARS virus. Th ey found that patients in areas with heavy pollution were twice as likely to die from the virus as those living under clearer skies. Cai Xue’en, a delegate of China’s National People’s

Congress, told Bloomberg News that in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, “I think environmental protection will rank even higher for both the central and local governments.” No, we don’t want a re-turn to the pre-industrial age. Th ose who argue that an economy in deep reces-sion, or even depression, is also bad for people’s health have a point. But reduced pollution gives us a win-dow into what we could experience daily were the environment cleaner. Sure, that may involve economic tradeoff s, but some would be worth making for a life more in tune with the Cre-ation. Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHar-rop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To fi nd out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM

Froma Harrop

Rainbows Behind the Virus Crisis

GAINESVILLE - Gaines-ville Police Department received the following inci-dent reports. A representative for Lex-ington Square Apartments reported theft of property less than $750 in the 2000 block of North I-35. Aimee M. Bard reported unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in the 1000 block of Bella Vista Drive. Angel B. Lerma reported burglary of a habitation in the 500 block of North Commerce Street.

Arrest Log Jose J. Mata-Flores, 40,

driving while intoxicated. Justin C. Cameron, 38, felony warrant, failure to identify fugitive, resisting. Irvin M. Gomez, 29, pub-lic intoxication/failure to identify fugitive, intent to give false information. Corinna M. Pedraza, 34, public intoxication. Connor S. Hosay, 21, public intoxication. Kenneth P. Martinez, 24, driving while intoxicated. Ray G. Cervantez, 33, possession of a controlled substance. Cody J. Shell, 18, posses-sion of marijuana less than 2 ounces.

Gainesville Police Receive Reports

KingAroundTown

by Grice King

(Continued from Page 1)

Masks may be dropped off at 301 S. Chestnut St., Gainesville. Drop off times are Monday-Friday between the hours of 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. PLEASE DO NOT DELIVER DIRECTLY TO THE HOSPITAL OR NURS-ING HOMES. COOKE COUNTY EMERGEN-CY MANAGEMENT WILL HANDLE DIS-TRIBUTION OF ALL DONATED MASKS. For More Information or Questions please call 940-668-5412.

The Weekly NewsApril 1, 2020

216 W. Pecan • Gainesville, TXOffi ce: 940.665.23204

Marriage License RequestsCOOKE COUNTY-Th e following applications for marriage were received by the Cooke County Clerk’s Offi ce. Levi David Heard, 41, Edmond, Okla. and Mar-garet Rose McCourt, 33,

Irving. Gerald Michael Collins III, 24, Durant, Okla. and Kaylee May Eldredge, 23, Durant. Jason Keith Marshall, 42, Gainesville and Lakysha De-shon Sophus, 44, Ardmore,

Okla. Christopher James Hig-bie, 32, Dallas and Brooke Ann Fouts, 25, Carrollton. Leonard David Grahn, 55, Plano and Rebecca Ann Clark, 56, Plano. Clayton Shane Medford,

42, Bowie and Kristie Deann McLerran, Gainesville. Shawn Craig Byers, 44, Keller and Chelsea Kain Vernon, 30, Keller. Jonathan David Miller, 21, Sanger and Katelyn Eliz-abeth Sanders, 21. James Justin Banks, 30, Th e Colony and Katie Dyann Huchingson, 30, Th e Colony. Benjamin Jacob Gallegos, 27, Dallas, and Meredith Alyssa Gerlach, 27, Plano. Chizitam Chidera Ibezim, 24, Austin and Ginikachukwi Hillary Osude, 23, Crystal Lake, Illinois. Jacob Michael Hender-son, 20, Flower Mound and Jessica Joy Degraw, 21, Flower Mound. Noah Cage Williams, 22, Dallas and Shelby Danielle Smith, 22, Plano. Frank Dillon Tilotta, 27, Argyle and Fallon Nicole Robinson, 28, Vancleave, Mississippi. Kenneth Dwayne Ar-terburym 47, Whitesvoro and LIsa Leeann Leverett, 39, Whitesboro. Brian Matthew Wolf, 36, Corinth and Locobra Lashaun Sturges, Corinth.

Commercial & Residential

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The D&H Roo ng Family announces with great sadness that we have lost one of our beloved co-workers, Ricky Cooper. Ricky was a dedi-cated and hardworking employee since day one of opening D&H Roo ng. Ricky passed March 17, 2020 suddenly due to a long-time ght with an illness. No matter if Ricky was the salesman for your roof, your friend, or even just in pass-ing we were all truly blessed to know such a humble and happy man. At this time there is no word of a funeral or memorial being held. Please say a small prayer for Ricky’s family and friends during these hard times. Ricky’s colleagues will miss him, his bright smile, and his uplifting words and cheer that he spread no matter where he was or went to. He touched so many people’s lives and cared for all. If you were a customer of Ricky’s and need anything during this time feel free to reach out to us at (940) 668-8814. We love you, y high great friend!

Walnut Bend ISD

Appoints Foster

to Fill Vacant SeatWALNUT BEND - At its March meeting, the Walnut Bend Board of Trustees ap-proved the appointment of Shane Foster to fi ll the posi-tion vacated by Hyla Burle-son in February. Th e board also approved moving Cin-dy Phillips into the vacated Vice-President position. In a busy meeting, the board also approved a resolution regarding wage payments during emergency school closings, the COVID-19 Missed School Days Waiver and the Instructional Ma-terials Allotment & TEKS Certifi cation for 2020-2021. Also during the meet-ing, the board approved a bid from Infi nity Sound for SmartBoard repair through-

out the building, the 2020-2021 District Calendar, the bid from GL Hunt for foundation repair to the su-perintendent’s residence and the full-time employment of Shirley Hess as school nurse/RN. Th e superintendent/principal also presented in-formation regarding grant updates, rescheduled play-ground equipment installa-tion and updates concerning the Coronavirus and how it is aff ecting the school dis-trict. Walnut Bend is sched-uled to begin both meal and schoolwork delivery on Wednesday, March 25. Th e next scheduled meet-ing for the Walnut Bend School Board is scheduled for April 21 at 7 p.m.

Sentences Issued for Felony IndictmentsCOOKE COUNTY- Th e following sentences were is-sued for felony indictments and fi led in 235th District Court. Darik Robert Kahler 30, pleaded guilty to the Janu-ary 1, 2019 third degree

felony off ense of evading arrest using a motor vehicle and was sentenced to 10 years confi nement in a state jail facility, $1,000 fi ne and court costs. Neikeisha Nickole Lazaro, 40, pleaded guilty to the

December 4, 2019 fi rst de-gree felony off ense of pos-session of a controlled sub-stance with intent to deliver less than 200 grams and was sentenced to 9 months con-fi nement in a state jail facil-ity, a $500 fi ne plus restitu-tion and court costs. Erik James Montgomery, 36, pleaded guilty to the January 8, 2020 second de-gree felony off ense of bur-glary of a habitation with intent to commit assault and was sentenced to 6 months confi nement in a state jail facility and court costs.

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Cooke County

Sheriff LogsCOOKE COUNTY- Th e following incidents were reported to the Cooke County Sheriff ’s Offi ce. Leroy James Wright re-ported deceptive business practice in the 200 block of County Road 182. Possession of a controlled substance less than 1 gram was reported at I-35 and Old Sivells Bend Road. Possession of a controlled substance less than 1 gram was reported at FM 678 and County Road 113. Marcus Ray Madison reported theft of property less than $2,500 in the 101 block of Redbird Lane.

Arrest Log Destiny Desarae Burns, 23, assault causes bodily injury-family violence and possession of a con-

trolled substance less than 1 gram. Cyle Andrew Benner, 29, continuous sexual abuse of a young child or children, indecency with a child sex-ual contact. Christopher Lee Pichard, 27, violation of protective order/bond enhancement, criminal trespass/bond en-hancement. Phillip Daniel Curtis, 25, burglary of a habita-tion. Kristina Lynn Martinez, 39, theft of property less than $750. Billie Jean Cherry, 21, possession of marijuana less than 2 ounces. Austin Lee Cleveland, 21, possession of a con-trolled substance less than 4 grams-states motion to proceed.

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Commissioners Approve Road Use,

Bore Agreement for EDP Wind Farm(Continued from Page 1)

Precinct 3 Commissioner Leon Klement said he has sought legal counsel from a “number of diff erent sourc-es. Bob Bass being one of the main ones, one of the gurus in the state of Texas,” he said. Klement said he’s aware some individuals have want-ed him to recuse himself from voting during com-missioners court decisions associated with the Wildcat Creek Windfarm and other issues associated with the proposed wind farm due to familial ties.. “According to the laws of Texas, I have to vote on this,” he said. “It’s one of my duties and responsibilities.” He also noted voting on a road use agreement does not equate voting on a business transaction. He said a busi-ness has a right to use pub-lic roads with or without a public agreement… “So I took an oath to uphold the laws of Texas. Th at means to vote my responsibility….,” he said. He also said family mem-bers are considered one’s parents and one’s spouse and a brother or sibling is in the second degree. “I’m not doing this half-heartedly,” Klement said. “Th is is serious. Th ere’s a lot of accusations being made about responsibility. Trust me folks. Th ere’s a lot of responsibility that needs to

be taken on both sides… In other words, if you want to cut to the chase, I took an oath to the state of Texas. Th e laws of Texas said I have a duty to vote in response to the laws of Texas in a legal matter.” “I’ve been emailed by countless people, Facebook messages, phone calls,“ Pre-cinct 2 Commissioner Jason Snuggs said. “People plead-ing with me to stop the proj-ect. I repeatedly said, ‘It’s private landowners working with a private business. We do not have the authority to stop this.’” Brinkley said he wants to make it “very clear” the court cannot make or break the wind farm project with its vote. “[EDP’s] determination on [building a wind farm] is not based on this road use agreement and the county hasn’t given them any abate-ment or anything like that… and it’s not a decision that is taken lightly by any stretch of the imagination,” Brin-kley said, adding protection of county roads is a prior-ity. “It’s something I know probably a lot of us have lost sleep about because when you have a decision like this it’s tough to be a decision-make” Th e commissioners also approved a road bore agree-ment at Wildcat Windfarm for road bores at County Roads 376, 342, 340, 338, 337, 331 and 318.

Th e court also voted to approve acceptance of roads at Horseman’s Ranch in Precinct 1, took no action on the FEMA grant and allowed the current public health emergency in re-sponse to the COVID-19 vi-rus declaration to remain as it currently stands. He also said there are Cooke County employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus but that they reside “out of Cooke County.” He said he believes some Cooke Coun-ty residents will test positive for the virus. Commissioners also unanimously approved the following consent agenda. Minutes from the March

16 and March 23 meetings. Departmental report from the Cooke County Tax As-sessor-Collector offi ce-Feb-ruary. Fiscal year 2020 budget amendments. Monthly bills. Payroll and related ex-penses. Maintenance agreement between ZOLL Medical Corporation and Emergen-cy Medical Services. Agreement with Dan-nerbaum Engineering for drainage review on the pro-posed Jammer Two subdivi-sion on Precinct 1. Application to NPPGov, a purchasing cooperative in Seattle, Washington.

City Council Postpones

May Elections; Extends

Disaster DeclarationBy Delania RaneyTh e Weekly News

GAINESVILLE - At its March 25, 2020 special called meeting, Gaines-ville City Council ap-proved a resolution ex-tending the disaster declaration issued by Mayor Jim Goldswor-thy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Th e council also voted to postpone the May 2, 2020 general election un-til the November 3, 2020 uniform election day. Th e council also ap-proved a resolution autho-rizing the mayor and city manager to adjust policy and payment procedures for city services to encour-age off -site payments dur-ing the COVID-19 crisis.

The Weekly NewsApril 1, 2020

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just relax outdoors when the weather is right. Shilo gets along with dogs but prefers her friends to be her size or smaller. She is currently residing here at Noah’s Ark but would love to meet you! Call and set up an appoint-ment to come see her Monday- Saturday 11-5, closed Thursday and Sunday. She is ready to start her new life with a family she can love forever.

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Cause No. PR17778ESTATE OF JIMMIE CARL ALLEN,

DECEASEDIn the County Court of Cooke County, Texas

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Notice is hereby given that original Letters Testa-mentary for the Estate of JIMMIE CARL ALLEN, De-ceased, were issued on March 9, 2020, under Docket No. PR17778, pending in the County Court of Cooke County, Texas, to Barbara Kaye Allen. Claims may be presented in care of the attorney for the Estate addressed as follows:

Barbara Kaye Allen, Independent Executor of Estate of Jimmie Carl Allen c/o Jacob Pelley Scott Pelley, P.C. 717 North Crockett St. Sherman, TX 75090

All persons having claims against this Estate which is currently being administered are required to present them within the time and in the manner prescribed by law.

Dated this 9th day of March, 2020.

BARBARA KAYE ALLEN, Independent Executor SCOTT PELLEY, P.C. 717 North Crockett St. Sherman, Texas 75090 Telephone: 903-964-0852 Telecopier: 903-487-0273 Jacob Pelley State Bar No. 24071120 jacob@scottpelleypc.com Attorneys For Estate 04/01

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GAINESVILLE - Th e Cooke County Appraisal District (CCAD) has re-stricted public access in their building to the lobby only until further notice. Th e lobby is available only for those who are paying a tax bill and to pick up or drop off documents. Otherwise, they strongly encourage the public to use the drive through and drop box locat-ed on the south side of the building. Th e appraisal dis-trict offi ce will still be open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Th e appraisal district staff will continue to assist the public by phone, fax, mail and email. Information can also be obtained from their website, www.cookecad.com . Th e offi ce personnel are keeping their distance and limiting the number of people in the offi ce. Th ese directives are in response to President Trump’s National Emergency Declaration and Texas Governor Greg Ab-

bott’s Public Health Disaster Declaration. “I am granting an auto-matic thirty-day extension for Business Personal Prop-erty Renditions. Th e exten-sion will move the deadline from April 15 to May 15.” A rendition is a report that lists all the taxable property the business own-er owned or controlled on January 1 of this year. Ex-amples of personal property include computers, desks, chairs, offi ce supplies, busi-ness inventory, machinery and vehicles used to pro-duce income. Th e appraisal district has already mailed personal property rendition forms to businesses known to have been operating in Cooke County during the previous year. However, all business owners are required to fi le renditions regardless of receiving notifi cation. A rendition form is available on the appraisal district’s website at www.cookecad.com under the “Forms” tab

along with information on the rules of the process. “As the Chief Appraiser for Cooke County Appraisal District, I will continue to do my best for the citizens of Cooke County within the confi nes of the law. In light of the pandemic, it is impor-tant for you to know Texas appraisal districts have been in contact with the Gover-nor’s offi ce and taxing unit organizations. However, there are currently no waiv-ers or extensions pertaining to this year’s ad valorem ap-praisal year. We are asking the Governor for guidance in the matter of our 2020 reappraisal plans and the impact it will have on our citizens suff ering economic hardship during this time. “Our offi ces are about to undergo the busiest time of the year concerning taxpayer visits and correspondence. We are fast approaching the time to send 2020 Appraisal Value Notices. Texas ap-praisal districts are mandat-

ed to appraise as of January 1 and will go through the same ‘checks and balances’ as in past years. Texas school funding will still be reliant on timely establishing accu-rate market values. Certifi ed Appraisal Values will be sent to the taxing units by July 25. “Th ere is currently noth-ing in the property tax law to allow the current pan-demic to factor into this year’s property tax appraisal valuation. While we are all sympathetic to the situation we are facing, our hands are tied without the Governor’s help. By not taking imme-diate action related to this year’s ad valorem appraisal process, the matter will only exacerbate an already seri-ous time for Texans. For questions concerning the appraisal district, please call 940-665-7651, fax 940-668-2587 or email cooke-cad@cookecad.org. Th ank you and stay safe,” said Doug Smithson, CCAD.

CCAD Restricts Public Access to Lobby