Enterprise purchases Red River Sun

Hicks Media LLC and The Clarendon Enterprise today announced the sale of The Red River Sun to Roger and Ashlee Estlack of Clarendon.

The sale brings the Sun under the management of the Texas Panhandle’s oldest newspaper although the two papers will continue to be separate publications.

The Red River Sun covers Childress, Collingsworth, and Hall Counties and combines the heritages of The Childress Index, The Wellington Leader, and the Memphis Democrat / Hall County Herald.

Although the sale of the Sun did not become finalized until December 30, the Estlacks took over management of the paper December 1, 2025.

“We’re excited for our family to become more active in our neighboring communities, and we look forward to working with Managing Editor Elizabeth Tanner in Childress, Associate Editor Bev Odom in Wellington, and their staff to continue providing strong local journalism to the Greenbelt of the Texas Panhandle,” publisher Roger Estlack said.

“We appreciate what Mark Hicks has done for the Sun and for the community. He has been so gracious and helpful during this sale and transition, and we also want to thank our intrepid new staff for their helpfulness and dedication as well. This new chapter for the Sun has also been made possible by the support of the Childress Municipal Development District and the Childress Chamber of Commerce. The MDD and Chamber boards, led by Sheabree Nix and Susan Leary, have been a pleasure to work with, and we appreciate their support and their faith in this newspaper.”

The two papers carry a long heritage of covering local news in the southeast Panhandle, and the Estlack family plans to build on that foundation to serve the readers and advertisers of the area.

“The Higleys, the Wells, the Combs – those families were all contemporaries of our family, and they all shared a commitment to serve their communities,” Estlack said. “History is important to us, but so is working for the future.”

The Estlack family has 75 years of publishing history in the Panhandle, printing The Donley County Leader from 1929 to 1974 before Roger purchased the Clarendon paper in 1995. Ashlee joined the paper in 2002 and continues to be involved in the business as a contributing editor. The couple’s children – Benjamin, a junior at Texas Tech University, and Elaina, a junior at Clarendon High School – have grown up in the newspaper business and continue to help.

Sun readers will notice a slightly different size to the newspaper starting with the January 2 edition as printing moves from Lawton, Oklahoma, to Shamrock, Texas. Other changes will come in the next few weeks and months as the papers become more familiar with each other’s operations and determine where functions overlap and can be made more efficient.

“We will be redesigning both the Sun and the Enterprise. You will see the classified pages combined to give broader coverage for advertisers, and we will be exploring areas where we can expand or improve coverage,” Estlack said. “Liz and Bev are doing a great job for us. We want to support them all we can, make their jobs easier where possible, and be able to cover more local news in the Greenbelt area.”

Deadlines for the Sun remain unchanged at this point. Advertising policies and subscription rates are all being reviewed, and the Sun’s digital footprint will be examined as well.

“We remain committed to the printed newspaper, but our family has long realized the importance of digital communications for today’s readers,” Estlack said. “One of Ashlee’s specialties is social media, and we like to think of our business not just in terms of print circulation but overall audiences – print subscribers and digital subscribers as well as website and social media readers.”

The Estlacks also ask the communities for their support of the newspaper.

“A strong newspaper is an indicator of a vibrant and growing community,” Estlack said, “but we need your help to continue the tradition of local journalism and make it even better. We welcome your suggestions for changes, but we can’t do anything without the support of readers buying subscriptions and local businesses and organizations advertising with us. We want to work together to make our region the best place it can be for families and for business.”