Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 150, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 30, 2015 Page: 15 of 28
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LOCAL
15A
Denton Record-Chronicle
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
From Page 1A
Open carry
zones. We will follow the same
guidelines as with the former
concealed [hand]gun statute.
Concealed or open carry weap-
ons are not permitted on our
premises.”
Weapons can’t be be openly
carried on college campuses,
even when campus carry goes
into elfect Aug. 1. Then, the only
weapons allowed at Texas
Woman’s University and the
University of North Texas will
have to be concealed and car-
ried by a person with a CHL.
Jim Cline, Denton County
Transportation Authority presi-
dent, said his agency recognizes
that open carry is now the law.
CHL holders will be allowed to
openly carry their weapons on
DCTA’s trains and buses.
“This is what the Legislature
said and we’re prepared to fol-
low the law,” Cline said.
Staff writers Jenna Duncan
and Britney Tabor contributed
to this report.
BJLEWIS can be reached at
940-566-6875 and via Twitter
at @BjLewisDRC.
Plemons said open carry will
be permitted in Denton County
buildings except for the court
buildings and juvenile court
and adult probation facilities.
He said dispatchers answer-
ing 911 calls are being trained to
determine whether a report of
someone openly carrying a fire-
arm warrants a law enforce-
ment response. In any event, of-
ficers will still have to use their
discretion to determine wheth-
er concerns and complaints
warrant investigation.
What deputies will not do,
Plemons said, is stop someone
openly carrying a pistol just to
demand proof the person has a
concealed handgun license.
“That does not prevent a
deputy from interfering if a per-
son is found to be committing a
crime, [involved] in a suspi-
cious place or activity, intoxicat-
ed. ... Things along this nature
that would be normal flags for a
law enforcement officer to stop
and identify someone,” he said.
In addition to training dis-
patchers, Plemons said training
has been ongoing with county
staff on what to expect as they
start to see customers with guns
on their hips as a normal routine.
“We will be notifying the
public through our website and
putting together a list of tips,
guidelines about [open carry]
related calls for service. We will
be putting that out in addition
to the guidelines the sheriff’s of-
fice will be following,” Plemons
said.
The signs banning weapons
must be in contrasting colors
with block letters at least 1 inch
tall; displayed in a “conspicuous
manner” at the entrance; be
written in English and Spanish;
and read verbatim: “Pursuant to
Section 30.07, Penal Code (tres-
pass by license holder with an
openly carried handgun), a per-
son licensed under Subchapter
H, Chapter 411, Government
Code (handgun licensing law),
may not enter this property with
a handgun that is carried open-
7 don’t anticipate a lot of trouble from
the implementation of the law. I know that
CHL holders as a class of people are
very law-abiding citizens, so / am not
really worried about the fact people
will be carrying openly.
— Lee Howell, Denton police chief
openly carry in any portion of a
city building open to the public,
according to police officials.
“I don’t anticipate a lot of
trouble from the implementa-
tion of the law,” Howell said. “I
know that CHL holders as a
class of people are very law-
abiding citizens, so I am not re-
ally worried about the fact peo-
ple will be carrying openly.
“They just need to under-
stand that carrying a firearm
brings with it a huge responsi-
bility, and they need to be famil-
iar with the law and familiar
with how to use their firearm.”
Plemons and Howell said
their officers are trained to ex-
pect the possibility of weapons
popping up during any call for
service. Both men said they be-
lieve some people will openly
carry a pistol as a political state-
ment, but most CHL holders
will continue to conceal their
pistols to avoid alarming peo-
Denton police
Denton Police Chief Lee Ho-
well said his department is not
crafting any specific policy relat-
ed to the open carry law, but he
has been educating his officers
as well as community members
on the changes.
Under the law, businesses
will be able to ban open carrying
of pistols on their premises by
posting signs. That same provi-
sion — a shop’s ability to prohib-
it guns on premises — has ap-
plied to concealed carrying of
handguns for several years in
Texas.
¥
“We have had a lot of conver-
sation with business owners
and managers around town
about ... the signage require-
ments,” Howell said. “There’s
been a lot of different reactions
on that.”
Howell said officers as well
as officials from other city de-
partments have been getting
training regarding how to react
and what to do if they are
alarmed by somebody who is
openly carrying.
People will be allowed to
pie.
“The sense I get from a lot of
current CHL holders is they will
not change what they do and
continue to carry concealed
more often than not,” Howell
said.
In a statement, Denton ISD
Superintendent Jamie Wilson
said all of the district’s facilities
“will continue to be gun-free
OBITUARIES
From Page 1A
Corinth
Roy Lee Goetz
Roy Lee Goetz, 73, of Ponder, passed
away Saturday, December 26, 2015, in
Denton. He was born October 2, 1942, in San
Angelo to LeRoy and Minnie Bowman Goetz.
He married Faye Barton in 1994. He was a
General Contractor.
Visitation will be Saturday, January 2, 2016,
from 2:00 - 3:00 P.M. prior to the service at 3:00 P.M. in the
chapel of DeBerry Funeral Directors.
He is survived by his wife, Faye Goetz, of Ponder;
step-sons, Warren McNeely, of Denton, Christopher
Roumillat, of Justin, and Kenny Roumillat, of Ponder; sisters,
Carolyn Watson, of Midland, and Marlene Blevins, of San
Angelo; grandchildren, Trinity Roumillat, Liberty Roumillat,
Aiden McNeely, and Taygen McNeely.
i/h/Z Zfftt/ie/HtZ
2025 W. University * 383-4200
www.deberryfuiieraldi rectors,com
W \
Mote was one of 32 officers
who protect the people of Cor-
inth, a city of nearly 20,000
people southeast of Denton.
He’d been with the department
for nearly six years when he met
with other officers in February
to form a board for a local
TMPA chapter.
The board, however, never
got a chance to collect members
before the alleged intimidation
and retaliation from Mote’s su-
periors began, he said.
“We got attacked so fast,”
Mote said. “I had officers tell me
that [Walthall] had cut the
head off the snake and struck
fear into other officers.”
Christopher Livingston, a
Dallas-based attorney for
TMPA, represented Mote dur-
ing his termination appeal and
said they’re weighing their op-
tions, including a possible law-
suit.
department management, re-
sources and employee satisfac-
tion.
“Nobody asks to do a man-
agement study until things have
gone south,” Lawrence said.
The management studies
have been successful, he said,
because they result in more
transparency. Lawrence said
the management study of the
Allen department eventually
led to a new police chief.
Walthall, who left the Allen
Police Department two years af-
ter the firestorm hit the Allen
City Council, stressed in an ear-
lier interview that she did not
retaliate against Mote or any
other board member for want-
ing to form a local TMPA chap-
vacation, Walthall said. She was
briefed about his termination
when she returned. Mote has
been the subject of two internal
investigations and was found at
fault both times, she said.
The first investigation al-
leged that Mote ran “back-
ground checks” on nonstudent
prom dates at Lake Dallas High
School.
The probe led to his removal
as a school resource officer,
Walthall said.
Walthall wouldn’t discuss
the results of the second inter-
nal investigation that placed
“two juveniles and two Corinth
residents in grave danger,” as the
interim city manager said in her
news release.
“Look, the guys violated pol-
icy,” Walthall said. “They act like
they got in trouble because I was
looking for a reason to get them
in trouble.
“But there are several officers
who are members of the TMPA,
and nothing has happened to
them,” she added.
M
i
The TMPA reported 62 per-
cent of the 100 respondents sur-
veyed felt pay and compensa-
tion were based on relation-
ships, while 64 percent believed
administration ignored em-
ployee input.
The survey’s results led to a
firestorm that erupted at an Al-
len City Council meeting in
April 2006 when the city man-
ager and police chief countered
TMPA’s survey results by claim-
ing that the association was try-
ing to institute civil service in
Allen, an issue that voters had
turned down on two occasions,
according to an article by Star
Local Media.
“They had these field reps
who never worked in manage-
ment,” Walthall later told the
Record-Chronicle.
ter.
She said that in the late ’80s,
she formed the first local TMPA
chapter in Allen.
Walthall also pointed out
that she’d met with Mote to dis-
cuss forming a local TMPA
chapter and gave him a few sug-
gestions about how to start the
organization.
“But I did tell him about
some of the things that we faced
in Allen, some of the things that
I don’t care for [about TMPA],”
she said.
Mote’s termination, howev-
er, happened while she was on
Willard Leon Strong, Jr.
Willard Leon Strong, Jr., 49, passed away
peacefully and unexpectedly at his home on
December 25, 2015. Willard was born on
August 16, 1966, in Phoenix, Arizona, to April
and Willard, Sr.
He is survived by his wife, Kathy Strong;
daughters, Amanda Wagner, and her
husband, Mark, and Theresa Johnston, and her husband,
Richard; sons, Willy Strong, Brian McCarthy and his wife,
Kashmir, Danny McCarthy, and Justin Eldridge; mother, April
Lalor; brothers, Vincent Scott Lalor, Larry Strong, Adam
Strong, Josh Strong; and sister, Amber Strong; six
grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles
and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his sister, Brandi Strong;
father, Willard Strong, Sr.; and son, Daniel Strong.
He worked hard all his life to provide for his family in the
construction industry. He was an employee at Texas
Department of Transportation. He was self-made and
self-reliant.
He is loved and will be missed by his many friends and
most especially his family. He loved his family passionately
and adored his wife and best friend, Kathy, for 18 years. He
was a man that could always be depended on when
someone needed help. He was unable to pass anyone
stranded on the side of the road, always fed any stray that
needed food, and he was generous with his time and money
to those in need. He was our rock and we miss him.
Services will be held at First United Methodist Church at
10:00 A.M. on Wednesday, December 30, in Cole Chapel
with a reception to follow._
k
Denton
“And they start trying to tear
down the administration.”
“We are disappointed that
the interim city manager rati-
fied the retaliation Mr. Mote
suffered under Chief Walthall,”
Livingston said.
Mote and three other TMPA
board members, Livingston
said, were placed under internal
investigation and moved from
desirable assignments to less
desirable ones when they began
trying to form the organization
in late 2014.
Livingston said Mote and
another officer were removed as
school resource officers and
placed on “deep-nights” patrol,
another officer was moved from
senior criminal investigator to
deep-nights patrol and the final
officer was pulled from the war-
rants/bailiff' division and moved
to deep-nights patrol.
The Corinth Police Depart-
ment’s treatment of the officers,
he said, is a clear violation of the
Texas Labor Code, which allows
officers to organize free of coer-
cion and intimidation.
Livingston also produced an
email that Walthall sent on Feb.
23 to members of her command
staff, warning them about the
dangers of allowing a local
TMPA chapter to form.
She also provided a fink to a
newspaper article that discuss-
ed unrest at the Edinburg Police
Department after a TMPA sur-
vey was conducted.
“This is exactly what TMPA
will lead our guys to,” Walthall
wrote in the email. “This is the
same survey that they did years
ago on Allen PD.”
Walthall was referring to her
time at the Allen Police Depart-
ment in late 2005 when a local
TMPA chapter conducted a sur-
vey requested by its members,
causing unrest in the depart-
ment. The survey presented
questions that inquired about
However, Kevin Lawrence,
TMPA executive director, said
the surveys, or “management
studies,” are not meant to tear
down a police department’s ad-
ministration but bring trans-
parency to a department.
CHRISTIAN McPHATE can
be reached at 940-566-6878
and via Twitter at @ writeron
theedge.
^robate and Probate Disputes^
Need help probating
or contesting a will?
CALL (940) 387 - 0565
Your Local Law Firm
Betty Jean Wolf
Funeral Mass for Betty Jean Wolf, 82, of
Gainesville, is set for 10:00 A.M. Thursday,
December 31,2015, at St. Mary’s Catholic
Church, with the Rev. Gary Picou officiating.
Burial will follow in New Resthaven Cemetery
under the direction of Geo. J. Carroll & Son
Funeral Home. A rosary with visitation to
follow will be held at the funeral home at 6:30 P.M.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015.
Betty was born on October 15, 1933, in Gainesville, to
Edward Lawrence and Teresa Catherine (Gieb) Heitzman.
She passed away on December 27, 2015, in Gainesville.
She is survived by her daughter, Debbie Leonardi, and her
husband, Jym; daughter, Gayle Wolf; son, Glenn Wolf; son,
Danny Wolf, and his wife, Laine; daughter, Diane White, and
her husband, Roger; daughter, Danelle Wolf; son, Greg Wolf,
and his wife, Darla; grandchildren, Chris Leonardi, Melissa
McHugh, Brittany Saladino, Chelsie Nail, Lindsey Fisher,
Kaycee Wolf, Karly Wolf, Dylan Wolfe, Kendal Wolf, Vincent
Simmons, Trey White, Travis White, Gredan Wolf, Ella Wolf,
and Chance Wolf; six great-grandchildren; sister, Barbara
Davis, and her husband, JC; sister, Loreen Neu;
brother-in-law, Walter Wolf, and his wife, Georgia;
brother-in-law, Adam Wolf, and his wife, Alma; brother-in-law,
Walter Hermes, and his wife, Joann; brother-in-law, Johnny
Wolf, and his wife, Fran; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Lee Wolf;
and her parents.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary’s Catholic
School.
You may sign the online registry at www.geojcarroll.com.
Law Office of Howard E. Watt
z -
1112 North Locust Street
Denton, TX 76201
howard@howardwatt.com
Serving Denton County for over 40 years
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■ Jompassionate and caring
’ ^ SCrvicCS with dignity
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K. &
Services and arrangements in keeping with your
wishes, helping people in our community during
their time of need.
TJ
We’re here on weekends to help with pre-planning
and decisions.
John Lawhon
Attorney
Wills • Trusts
Probate
Board Certified
Estate Planning & Probate Law
Texas Board of Legal Specialization
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this newspaper
2025 W. University • 383-4200
www. deberryfuner aldirectors. com
(940) 387-4401
Bill DeBerry
Bill DeBerry, Jr.
Denton
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Parks, Scott K. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 150, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 30, 2015, newspaper, December 30, 2015; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1124954/m1/15/: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .