Parker County officials were sworn in Monday morning during a ceremony in the County Court at Law 2 courtroom, which was streamed live with limited attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the pandemic completely shifting the way students are learning, a new initiative has been launched to help ease the complications of virtual learning — an online tutoring website by the Texas Retired Teachers Foundation.

Recent rain was a welcome sight to firefighters after a series of fires over the last week.

Doses of the COVID-19 vaccine began arriving in Texas in mid-December, marking a significant milestone in the battle against the virus. But it will be months before vaccine doses are widely available, and the rollout is leaving eligible Texans with more questions than answers.

The Parker County and Palo Pinto County hospital districts have been listed on Week 3 of the Texas Department of State Health Services COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler is issuing a public service announcement  after two individuals and an animal control officer were attacked by a feral cat that later tested positive for rabies.

Following the rejection of bids on Dec. 14, Palo Pinto County is rebidding the courthouse roof as a replacement-only project.

Editor's note: The year 2020 has been different, to say the least. As such, we decided to do our annual Year in Review a bit differently as well. This year provided some big issues, some less-than-pleasant news and some positive highlights sprinkled in between. While it isn’t our goal to remind you of the bad times, we wanted to use this opportunity as a final door-closing to 2020 and celebrate optimistic expectations for 2021. From all of us at the Weatherford Democrat, we wish you a bright, safe and prosperous New Year!

Springtown Police Department Sgt. Jason Cobb was recently awarded the Medal of Valor following actions he took during a shooting incident on July 9 in Reno.

The Texas Department of State Health Services rolled out its Week 2 recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine, which includes six locations in Parker County.

A man wanted for murder and aggravated assault of a public was arrested by Fort Worth police Wednesday night after a days-long manhunt.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has informed Weatherford College that the college's proposal to create a new Bachelor's of Applied Arts and Sciences Degree in Organizational Leadership has been approved at the staff level. College officials said this was a major step forward in the approval process.

The Parker County Sheriff’s Office is currently seeking a wanted subject and an active manhunt is underway in the Hudson Oaks area.

American Legion Post 163, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4746, the local Daughters of the American Revolution, Boy Scout Troop 75 and community members participated in Wreaths Across America ceremonies at various cemeteries Saturday.

Weatherford ISD students will see the benefit of a recent $15,000 grant awarded to the district from Rack Room Shoes.

Parker County Judge Pat Deen said he was feeling a little better Monday afternoon after testing positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 18.

A Fort Worth man convicted of the killing of four Brock teenagers after hitting their car head-on in 1998 has been released from prison after serving a 20-year sentence.

The Parker County commissioners approved authorizing the IT department to hire third-party vendors to assist in work following a termination and resignation that occurred last week.

State Rep. Drew Springer of Muenster prevailed over fellow Republican Shelley Luther in a special election runoff for a state Senate seat that was animated by Gov. Greg Abbott and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Weatherford’s Brandon and Trevor Bass have a heart for serving, both through volunteerism and as part of their participation in Boy Scout Troop 303 of Springtown.

Weatherford College’s Police Chief Paul Stone was honored Thursday afternoon for his 24 years of service at a retirement ceremony.

Mineral Wells PD

The Aledo ISD board of trustees officially named its 2019 bond projects this week.

Early voting for the special runoff election between Republicans Rep. Drew Springer and Shelley Luther may have ended earlier this week, but there will be one more opportunity to cast your vote for the Senate District 30 seat.

AUSTIN - Governor Greg Abbott Thursday held a press conference where he provided an update on the statewide COVID-19 vaccine distribution at the UPS Distribution Center in Austin. The governor was joined for the press conference by Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd and Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD.

Tattoo and body piercing studios in Mineral Wells will now be allowed to operate under a specific use permit following council approval of an amendment to the city's zoning ordinance.

Mineral Wells ISD Mental Health Counselor Charlena Priddy went over data Monday night saying there have been more than 300 sessions with students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

After a walkthrough last week of the repairs being done to the Parker County Jail, commissioners heard an update from County Building and Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Holloway on some items that the roofing company will need to come back and repair.

The Parker County Appraisal District's board of directors has selected Rick Armstrong as chief appraiser.

A heated meeting of the Parker County commissioners Monday morning resulted in the termination of the county's IT director, the public resignation of another IT employee and a request by one commissioner to look into the possible leak of private information.

The Parker County Sheriff’s Posse may be known for their rodeos, parades and other events, but at the heart of it, the group is a big contributor to the community.

Unsure of how the tradition exactly began, the Mineral Wells community has been participating in a unique way to say “happy holidays” with the tossing of Christmas potatoes.

The focus of everyone’s mind during a Confederate statue protest Saturday afternoon seemed to be the impact gatherings are having on small businesses in downtown Weatherford.

After reviewing three bids on the Palo Pinto County Courthouse roof repair or replacement, the commissioners court rejected those so the county could rebid for replacement only.

ARLINGTON – A night after winning the coveted all-around world championship, Stetson Wright returned to make his 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo one for the ages.

ARLINGTON – The drama is over in the PRCA all-around world championship race. Stetson Wright took care of that with a go-round to spare.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has published “Week 1” of its COVID-19 vaccine allocations, but as of that date, Parker and Palo Pinto counties have not made the list. 

After her heroic efforts during a boat explosion that occurred on Lake Weatherford in August, Mineral Wells resident Telisha Calderon was surprised with a special award Thursday.

ARLINGTON – Ryder Wright has been on a mission to win his second saddle bronc riding gold buckle. He’s on the cusp of accomplishing that.

Two water line construction bids were approved by the Willow Park city council Tuesday night in bringing Fort Worth water to the city.

AUSTIN – The Texas Education Agency announced today that A-F ratings would be paused for 2020-21 school year due to the ongoing disruptions associated with COVID-19. The STAAR test will proceed for the 2020-21 school year in order to provide critically important information about individual student learning that teachers and parents can use to help students grow. For those schools that incorporate STAAR results into teacher evaluations, TEA is providing flexibility to allow them to remove that component this school year.

ARLINGTON – Veteran steer wrestler Clayton Hass, of Weatherford, had had a rocky 2020 Wrangler NFR, placing in just one of the first six rounds and registering two no times.

Medical City Weatherford will be donating $2,000 and collected food to Center of Hope after winning second place in its Healthier Tomorrows Food Drive structure competition.

The city of Willow Park will hold a public hearing on Jan. 12 over its proposed stormwater utility rates to help fund drainage capital improvement projects.

ARLINGTON – A year ago, tie-down roper Haven Meged stunned the ProRodeo world.

Parker County Sheriff’s Interdiction officers conducted a traffic stop Monday afternoon resulting in the seizure of a large amount of marijuana and illegal liquid Tetrahydrocannabinol.

ARLINGTON – After experiencing a dry spell at the 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, team ropers Clay Smith and Jade Corkill found glory Monday night.

The Mineral Wells community has stepped up in a big way to make this year’s annual Tommy’s Angel Tree Toy Run one of the most successful ever.