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Roger Estlack

BREAKING NEWS: Hedley school temporarily closing due to illness

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Hedley CISD will be closing Tuesday and Wednesday, January 21 and 22, due to widespread illness among the student body and staff.

Superintendent Tracey Langford made the annoucement online Monday morning and said the closure is intended to allow staff and  students time to recover. During this time, the school will remain closed while janitorial staff  thoroughly disinfect the building. 

The Hedley school was open Monday, but a school official told the Enterprise the absentee rate for the day was at or above 50 percent.

Langford said the Hedley varsity basketball will resume on Friday in Shamrock as scheduled. 

“We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we prioritize the health and safety of our  school community,” Langford wrote. 

James (Jim) Talbert Bates

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James (Jim) Talbert Bates was born in Childress County on November 7, 1944, and passed away on December 12, 2024, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was born to farmers Lucy Earnestine Hunt Bates and Charles Talbert Bates. The family later moved to Clarendon, where James graduated from Clarendon High School in 1963. He later graduated from Texas Tech University and then joined the United States Air Force followed by a long career as a Certified Public Accountant. While stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Jim met his sweetheart, Rita Pate on a blind date set up by a friend. Jim was taken by Rita’s charm, and they married a year later and started their 47-year journey together at their residence on Finley Drive in Shreveport.

James (Jim) Talbert Bates

Jim was a very giving person. He set up a charitable trust through the family farm to benefit organizations in Clarendon that ministered to his father and mother when they were alive. He and Rita were very active members of the Bossier Civitan Club and travelled to many national conventions together. Jim, along with Rita, was also a volunteer with Special Olympics. He was an avid bird hunter and enjoyed the sport with his brother-in-law Robby Pate. He traveled to many different places before his health prevented him from this loved past time.

If anyone truly knew the “joy of accounting”, it was Jim. He was affectionately known around the office as “Mr. Bates”—not due to formality, but due to the great respect that he earned through his more than 50 years in public accounting. After serving his country in the United States Air Force, processing payroll for the troops at Barksdale AFB, he went to work for Mr. Cook who had a public accounting firm in Bossier City. With great diligence, Mr. Bates sought and achieved the CPA designation in 1977. With the support of Rita, he set out on his own at his office on Barksdale Boulevard operating as a sole proprietor. In 2001 he met Marcy Murray who turned out to be a CPA kindred spirit in “the joy of accounting”. Together they formed a partnership, Bates, Murray & Company CPAs, and with the help of many co-workers through the years—especially Heather Breen—their client base grew serving clients in a personal and caring environment in his same office of over forty years. Mr. Bates touched many lives in his practice. He took great pride in his CPA designation and his ability to help people, especially in their most vulnerable times in their lives. Even at the age of eighty, most days you could find him working at his desk. Mr. Bates served generations of families right up to the day of his passing.

Jim was preceded in death by “Miss Rita.” Also by his mother and father, Earnestine and CT Bates as well as his brother, Charles Bates and his sister, Opal Williams and brother-in-law Robby Pate.

Surviving Jim is one nephew and four nieces as well as Marcy Murray and his work family.

Tommye Duncan

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While surrounded by family, Tommye Duncan was welcomed home to be with her Lord and Savior, on December 28, 2024, at BSA in Amarillo, Texas.

Tommye Duncan

Funeral services were held on Friday, January 3, 2025, at the Clarendon Methodist Church in Clarendon with Rev. Jay Gage, officiating. Burial followed in Fairview Cemetery in Memphis.

Arrangements are under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Tommye was born on February 14, 1938, in Memphis to her parents Damon and Beulah McKay Travis. She grew up in Parnell before moving to Estelline. Tommye married Jimmy Duncan on December 23, 1955. Tommye and Jimmy had one daughter, Tashia. They were married 69 years until her death. She loved spending time with her family. She liked to travel, as well as serving her community. She served on many boards and participated in a variety of clubs. Tommye supported the children through various athletic programs.

She was preceded in death by her father, Damon in 1954, her mother Beulah in 1990 and a sister, Genice Polasek in 2008.

She is survived by her husband, Jimmy Duncan; her daughter, Tashia Duncan of Amarillo; her grandchildren, Brooke Duncan and Kami Duncan, and a great grandchild, Esme Zeller all of Amarillo; her sister, Bea Potts of Parnell; and a brother, Buddy Travis of Tyler.

The family ask that memorials be made to your favorite charity.

Sign the online guestbook at www.robertsonfuneral.com

Stephen Bailey Estes

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Stephen Bailey Estes, 70, of Clarendon, Texas, died Tuesday, December 17, 2024, in Amarillo.

Stephen Bailey Estes

Graveside services were held on Saturday, December 21, 2024, in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.

Arrangements are under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Stephen was born January 7, 1954, in Memphis to Silas Bailey and Willie Louvetta Cowan Estes. He was a lifetime resident of Clarendon and had worked as a welder. Stephen was an avid collector and loved collecting stuff. He also loved to go fishing and dearly loved his parents.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

He is survived by his daughters, Lafonda Estes and Stephanie Estes both of Fritch, Texas; his sisters, Melissa Butts of San Antonio and Toza Jones of Lubbock; three grandchildren, Cassius Miller, Angeline Chavez, and Evan Estes; and one great grandchild, Evelyn Chavez.

Casper having a fantastic NFR

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By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – This is exactly what Wyatt Casper has been looking for.

He’s a five-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier whose inaugural run at ProRodeo’s championship event took place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, during COVID. This year marks his fourth trip to Las Vegas for the NFR, and it’s the best finale he’s experienced since 2020. It might just be his best ever.

“I’ve kind of struggled out here the last three or four years,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “To finally be able to capitalize on ones like I wanted, it’s a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders. I didn’t know it was possible to come here and have a good NFR, but we’re finally making it happen.

“It’s a lot of fun.”

Winning makes it even better. Casper rode Frontier Rodeo’s Yellowstone for 86.5 points to finish third in Thursday’s eighth round, adding $20,104. He has pushed his NFR earnings to $133,157. Oh, and there are two rounds remaining. Casper leads the all-important aggregate race with a cumulative score of 687 points. He’s six ahead of Canadian Dawson Hay.

“We thought that horse was at the top end of our ‘hopper pen,’ so we wanted to pen him up a little bit,” Casper said. “He fits in the (‘souped-up hopper pen’) pretty good with all those other horses. I was glad to have him.

“That was a nice horse, and I’ve been on him three or four times now. He seems to do almost the same thing every time. He will come around to the left, and he’s up under himself. It makes it a lot of fun.”

His work in Las Vegas has increased his annual salary to $352,941, and he is second on the money list. While he trails two-time world champ Ryder Wright of Beaver, Utah, by $59,000, Casper’s spot in the aggregate race could play into the final outcome. The average winner will add $86,391 after the show closes Saturday night.

Thursday’s round was an opportunity to shine. The horses were the type that cowboys should ride. In fact, just one was bucked off. They’ll be matched Friday with the “eliminator pen,” which features the most difficult broncs in ProRodeo. Scoring high on the “souped-up hoppers” is a chance to be refreshed as they get ready for battle.

“That kind of ride helps your confidence a bunch,” Casper said. “You’re going to have a shot to show off in front of those judges and show them what you can do on that horse.

“I think I need to keep placing in those rounds. I’ll just try to win the rounds, and everything will fall where it needs to fall.”

As he prepares for Friday night, e will be matched with Calgary Stampede’s Freedom Express, which bucked off Logan Hay on Sunday.

“I feel good; I feel confident,” he said. “I’ve got a pretty good horse, so I’m pretty excited. He’s damn sure a bucker, but I think he’s a chance to maybe do something in the round and get some more points in that average.”

Wells adds another round check at NFR

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By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – There are a lot of rodeos throughout the year where an 84-point saddle bronc ride will win the title.

That’s rarely the case at the National Finals Rodeo.

Brody Wells of Powell, Wyoming, has ridden strong at his first championship. He matched moves with Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Uptuck for 84 points to finish sixth in Thursday’s eighth go-round. That was worth $5,433 and helped him increase his NFR earnings to $93,403.

It also marked the fourth time in eight nights that he’s earned a payday in Las Vegas. He won the second round and shared the Round 5 victory with two-time world champion Ryder Wright.

Wells – who was part of two intercollegiate men’s team titles at Clarendon College in 2021 and Tarleton State University in 2022 – is 10th in the saddle bronc riding world standings with just shy of $230,000. He has moved up two spots to 10th in the world standings.

Oh, and he still has two nights remaining on his 2024 campaign.

Wells had some big victories through the regular season, which helped him earn a spot in this exclusive field. Only the top 15 contestants in each event earn the right to compete at the NFR, which features the biggest purse of any rodeo in a given year.

This has also been a big learning experience for Wells. He spent more time on the rodeo trail this year, and it paid off. He’d finished the previous two seasons 35th on the money list. Where he will wind up this campaign will be decided when the curtain draw to a close Saturday night.

Franks still adding Vegas money

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By Ted  Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – Cole Franks has more influence than he thought.

When visiting with the rest of the bareback riders about the horses that had been featured the first five nights, he recommended that Championship Pro Rodeo’s Ranch & Crow Interiors be switched from the fifth and 10th rounds’ “TV pens” to the “eliminator pen,” which is featured in the third and eighth rounds.

Cole Franks riding in the NFR Thursday night. PRCA photo by Click Thompson

“He just always seemed to me like he was a little too hard to be in the ‘TV pen,’ ” said Franks of Clarendon, Texas. “We swapped him over to tonight, and I lucked out and drew him.”

The result was an 86-point ride, which helped Franks finish fourth in Thursday’s eighth round, worth $14,127. He has ridden eight horses for a cumulative score of 682 points and is first in the all-important aggregate race with two nights left at the NFR. He has also earned $83,532 and has moved to seventh in the world standings with a little more than $223,000.

“He was a little bit of a day off in this pen, but he was really good,” he said. “It was a lot of fun, which is a very weird thing to say about the ‘E pen.’ ”

The horses that were out Thursday are typically the hardest to ride throughout the season. There were no-scores and low scores, but the right match-ups can pay off. The winning score was 88 points; it took 89.5 points to win the last time the horses were out in Round 3.

By now, the bareback riders have worked through the soreness that typically comes early in the 10-day affair. There are a few exceptions, like cowboys with injuries that are receiving treatment. They’ve built their bodies and their minds for this experience, because they know they’ll tangle with the best bucking horses in the PRCA from 2024.

Those eight-second rides can be rugged, especially in bareback riding. They face a lot of force from athletic horses that weigh anywhere from 1,000-1,200 pounds – pure bucking muscle. Franks gets as much rest as possible and makes sure to get a hot-tub treatment each night.

“That’s a lot on your body, especially 10 days in a row,” he said. “I let my body rest as much as I can.”

A world championship is still within reach, but a lot of things must occur for that to happen. He trails the standings leader, traveling partner Rocker Steiner, by more than $100,000 and is $98,000 behind the No. 2 man, Bradlee Miller. But winning the average title can go a long way toward that race and will most certainly catapult Franks up the world standings. He just needs to stay on top by the time the curtain closes Saturday night, and he’ll cash in another $86,391.

“It’s a lot of pressure, but I like pressure,” Franks said. “I kind of feed off pressure, so I enjoy being No. 1 in the average right now with two of the funnest pens of horses in the world to get on.”

Ankle injury not slowing Casper at NFR

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By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – The race for a world championship is more of a marathon, a year-long battle that began in October 2023.

The track meanders across North America at outposts like Gillette, Wyoming; Salinas, California; and Regina, Saskatchewan. Those are just a few of the places Wyatt Casper won titles in 2024, and they’re a big reason why he’s in the hunt for a world championship at this year’s National Finals Rodeo.

The finish line is Las Vegas, and the competitors are on the final straightaway with a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle in sight. He’s second in the world standings with $332,837, about $45,000 behind two-time titlist Ryder Wright, but Casper has an ace up his sleeve; he leads the aggregate race with a seven-ride cumulative score of 600.5 points.

Casper added to that Wednesday night, riding Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Foul Motion for 87 points to finish in a three-way tie for second. That was worth more than $20,000, and it pushed his NFR earnings to $113,054. He owns a 6.5-point aggregate leader over a couple of Canadians, Zeke Thurston and Dawson Hay. The average winner will add more than $86,000 when Saturday’s 10th round concludes.

“It’s pretty cool to have so much won by now,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “I’m just enjoying it. I’m trying to not let the pressure get to me. I try not to get all caught up in the hopping and hollering. I just try to take it one horse at a time, and the cards will fall where they’re going to fall.”

Making significant rides on a horse like Foul Motion is a big step in the process. The animal’s sire was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2019.

“I’ve seen him a bunch, and this is my fourth time getting on him,” Casper said. “It felt really good. That’s a bucking sucker. He was a little tougher than I’ve had him in the past, but every time that dud’s going to fire, so it was a lot of fun.”

Until it wasn’t. After the ride, the cowboy got off on the pickup man, but when he settled into the dirt, Casper sprained his left ankle. He has received treatment by the Justin Sportsmedicine Team and will continue to battle for the final three nights of the 2024 campaign. He’ll push the pain aside and focus on the business of winning rodeo’s gold.

“I’ve been in positions like this before,” he said. “I do this day in and day out rodeoing all year. You just try not to make it more than what it is.”

Sarah Ann Moss

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Sarah Ann Moss, 85, of Clarendon formerly of Memphis died Monday, December 9, 2024, in Amarillo.

Sarah Ann Moss

Services will be 1:00 p.m. Friday, December 13, 2024, in the Calvary Baptist Church in Clarendon with Rev. Seth Shipman and Rev. Daniel Downey, officiating. Burial will follow in Fairview Cemetery in Memphis, Texas.

Viewing will be held Thursday at the funeral home with family receiving friends for visitation from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Arrangements are by Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Sarah was born March 18, 1939, in Memphis to Glen and Marie Gilreath Stargel. She married James Moss on May 19, 1954, in Paducah. She had been a resident of Memphis most of her life before moving to Clarendon a few years ago. She worked at Hedley ISD as a custodian for many years. While working at the Hedley school, she deeply loved all the kids, teachers, and staff. Sarah was always the first to be a caregiver for anyone that needed help, enjoyed taking care of people, which both brought her the greatest joy. She enjoyed ceramics, but she also loved farming and ranching with her parents as well as her husband throughout the years. Sarah deeply loved her dogs, her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. Sarah was a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Memphis and was attending Calvary Baptist Church in Clarendon.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband in 2019; a brother, Roddy Stargel; and a great granddaughter, Ellie Grace Jeffers.

She is survived by her daughters, Debra Walton and husband Jack of Dumas and Jamie Jeffers and husband Larry of Clarendon; 6 grandchildren, Drew, Aaron, Jeremy, Lauren, Chance, and Evans; and 12 great grandchildren.

The family request memorials be sent to Mother Against Drunk Driving or the Calvary Baptist Church in Clarendon.

Franks hits slots in 7th round

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Cole Franks riding Ankle Biter in the seventh round of the 2024 NFR. PRCA photo by Roseanna Sales

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – Sometimes the penny slots cans still offer nice rewards.

After failing to find the pay window for three rounds at the National Finals Rodeo, bareback rider Cole Franks pulled the handle on an old campaigner and came up winner. It may not have been three 7s as he’d hoped, but his 84.5-point ride on Rafter G Rodeo’s Ankle Biter helped him to a $4,709 payday for finishing in a three-way tie for fifth place in Wednesday’s seventh round.

“I got on him in the second round the last time I was here in 2022,” said Franks of Clarendon, Texas. “I was one point higher than I was the first time I got on him, but I placed both times.”

He has ridden seven broncs for a cumulative score of 596 points and is second in the aggregate race, just a point and a half behind the leader, reigning world champion Keenan Hayes. Franks has earned just shy of $70,000 at this year’s NFR and is eighth in the world standings with $209,000.

“That horse leaves (the chute) a little funky,” Franks said. “He leaves hard and a little back and forth, which is kind of hard to keep up with. Then once he starts angling to the left, it’s a lot of fun. It’s hard, but it’s still a lot of fun. I really didn’t know what he was going to do, because every now and then, he’ll turn back and spin like a bull almost.”

Did having familiarity with Ankle Biter help?

“It depends on the horse, but it’s a lot better going in knowing what the horse is, knowing how it fit and how it feels,” he said. “I’d never been on my first five horses before, and it keeps you guessing. You don’t know what to expect. I’ve been on these last two horses before, so it’s a little better going into it.”

That hasn’t really seemed to matter to Franks. He’s been consistent through seven nights, and he has three more rounds in this 2024 ProRodeo season to see what will happen. It’s all part of the process. His goal is to continue to remain on task. Winning the average championship would add more than $86,000 to his pocketbook and provide him with the second-most prestigious title in ProRodeo.

“It’s just a matter of staying consistent and trying to take advantage of situations when I can,” said Franks, the bareback riding and all-around intercollegiate champion and the PRCA Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year in 2021. “You just take each round for what it is and see where it all falls.”

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