Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 65, Ed. 1 Monday, June 2, 1980 Page: 1 of 26
twenty six pages : ill. ; page 24 x 15 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
MICRi
Graduation
Happiness was graduation day for 350
Burleson High School seniors Friday
night. For the thousands of spectators
in the stands at Elk Stadium, happiness
was also the dry weather which allowed
the ceremonies to be held in the
stadium instead of in the gymnasium.
For the seniors, it was not only the end
Of 12 years of schooling but also of three
consecutive nights of graduation pro-
grams, beginning with Baccalaureate
on Wednesday night and followed by a
Scholarship and Awards program
Thursday. The seniors show some
jubilation at left as ceremonies near an
end and when it was ail over, there
were numerous tearful embraces such
as the one at right. Star Staffotos
,:>•.!• cf tzx., inc,
Scholarship Winners
INclurc l*a«re On 3A
14 PAGES IN 2 SECTIONS
MONDAY
EDITION
Newsstand Price
20c
For Mail Delivery Call 295-5273
Monday, June 2, 1980 Burleson, Johnson County, Texas 76028
Vol. 15. No. 65
It's Inside!
SECTION A
Police Report...............
......2
Scholarship Awards.........
......3
Sports.......................
Classified...................
SECTION B
People, Etc.................
Larry Gatlin Special........
Church News...............
......3
On Campus.................
Business Review............
......6
Groundbreaking
Set For New Plant
Landmark
Destroyed
Firefighters pull down a smoldering wall from the burning Assembly of God
Church in Crowley Friday night. Thirteen fire trucks from four departments
fought the blaze, hut the building was totally destroyed. Flames had already
reached the roof of the wooden structure when the fire was reported. The
building was constructed near the turn of the century and had orginally been
built as a Methodist Church. star Staffoto
Crowley Church Burns
CROWLEY- The First Assembly of
God Church, a landmark here for ap-
proximately 70 years, was destroyed by
fire Friday night.
Fire fighters from Crowley and three
neighboring departments fought the
blaze for almost two hours, but were
unable to save any part of the frame
building. One unidentified fireman was
treated at the scene after being over-
come by smoke but, other than that, no
one was injured.
Crowley Fire Chief Jerry Buncik said
the blaze apparently began in the back
part of the building, which contained
classrooms, restrooms, an office and an
auditorium. Firemen received the call
at 10:03 p.m. and the roof was already
engulfed in flames when the first of five
Crowley units arrived on the scene
moments later.
At 10:13 p.m, Burleson responded
with four trucks and Everman also
assisted with three fire trucks and an
ambulance. Edgecliff Village sent one
truck.
Trustees
To Meet
A special meeting has been called for
7:00 this evening (Monday) by the
Burleson School Board to consider a re-
quest for funding by the Johnson Coun-
ty Single Member Taxing District.
Supt. of Schools Bill Stribling said he
would have no recommendation to
make to the school board. The City of
Burleson had already turned down the
request for funds since it was an un-
budgeted item and no funds were
available.
Stribling said the school district also
had no funds budgeted for the tax
district.
At least four water lines were laid to
nearby fire hydrants.
Buncik said that although a tremen-
dous amount of water was poured on
the fire, the flames were protected
when the roof collapsed at the rear of
the building. This allowed the fire to
spread into the sanctuary at the front of
the church, he added
Streets all around the church were
closed to traffic for several hours while
firemen were battling the blaze. One
police officer was sent from Burleson to
assist Crowley in traffic and crowd con-
trol.
The church was originally built as a
Methodist Church, but was sold to the
Assembly of God congregation over 20
years ago when a new Methodist
Church was built.
Pastor of the church is Curtis Carlin.
BAY Plastics, Inc., a new company
which will manufacture small-
diameter plastic pipe, has decided to
locate in Burleson and will break
ground for its $1.7 million plant Monday
(today), according to a joint announce-
ment late last week by BAY officials
and the Burleson Area Chamber of
Commerce.
The plant will be located on a 5.4 acre
site on S. Dobson St. at the southern
edge of the city. The location is adja-
cent to the MKT Railroad and will be
served by a rail spur.
Announcement of the new industry
came following a meeting of the
chamber board of directors Thursday
morning.
Principals in the new firm include
Bob E. Younger and W. Abner Smith,
both of Fort Worth, and both former ex-
ecutives with a large plastic pipe firm
with a combined 21 years in the in-
dustry.
BAY will construct a 20,000 square
foot metal building to be used as the
manufacturing facility plus a 1500-foot
office building.
Land for the plant was purchased
from D.E. Beals whose firm Beals
Mechanical Contractors, Inc., will be
general contractor for construction.
BAY expects to employ about 45 peo-
ple in its first 12 months of operation,
Younger said, and expand to 60 to 65
persons in the second year.
“We are happy to be a part of
Burleson,” said Younger. “We have
had excellent cooperation and
assistance from the people of Burleson
over the last several months as we
developed our plans.
“City officials, chamber leaders, the
industrial development
people everyone has been super
“We visited several communities in
the Dallas Fort Worth Area and some
of them offered more from the stand-
point of financial incentive.
“The thing that sold us on Burteson
was the people that make up the com-
munity. We expect to employ the same
kind of people at the plant.”
Smith explained that BAY will con-
centrate on making small-diameter
pipe which is enjoying a favorable
market in the Southwest. With most
other plastic pipe companies producing
large-diameter pipe, a shortfall in
smaller diameters has been created, he
said.
-Demwd iaanatrang, ioiact, the com- I
pany has commitments for almost its
entire first two years’ production,
Smith noted
The company has projected an an-
nual payroll of about $500,000.
Because the plant is considered a.
“basic industry,” the employment is
See Industry, Page 2A
U. S. Chamber Official §
s
To Speak At Luncheon 5
Ken Scarborough, public affairs
manager for the Southwestern Region
of the U S. Chamber of Commerce, will
be the speaker tomorrow < Tuesday) at
the monthly membership luncheon of
the Burleson Area Chamber of Com-
merce, announced Barbara Gieser, ex-
ecutive vice-president of the Burleson
C-C.
Another highlight of the luncheon will
be the introduction of the principals of a
new Burleson industry, Bay Plastics.
Groundbreaking for the company will
be held this morning at 11:30 at the in-
dustry site on Dobson St (see separate
story)
Reservations for the luncheon will be
accepted at the chamber office until
5:00 this afternoon. Cost of the meal is
$3.50. The luncheon will be held at the
First United Methodist Church.
Scarborough has been with the Na-
See Luncheon, Page 2A
KEN SCARBOROUGH •:
. . .chamber speaker £■
Proposed Airport May Reach Burleson
By BOB SONDEREGGER
A major portion of the site considered
No. 1 choice for a South Side Airport
may be in the Burleson City Limits, the
Burleson Star has learned.
In fact the runway for the airport
may extend into a platted subdivision
south of Hardgrove Lane that appears
on the newest Burleson City map.
Under the proposal to be presented to
the Fort Worth City Council Tuesday
night, Hardgrove Lane would have to
be re-located if that airport ever
becomes a reality.
Officially, Tuesday's action by the
Fort Worth Council will be the first step
in a series ot steps that will call lor
hearings on land use and environmen-
tal impact if it selects that site or any
site at all.
Three other alternate sites were con-
sidered financially less feasible than
the site that will be recommended to
Fort Worth councilmen
Officially and unofficially Burleson
city officials have not been in contact
with the City of Fort Worth about the
airport.
★ ★ ★
CITY MANAGER MARK Sowa said
Friday that all his information about
the proposed airport came from what
he read in newspapers or from what he
gathered from talking to newsmen
He said he did plan to contact Fort
Worth officials to learn more about the
airport.
Fort Worth officials and their Dallas-
based consultant could not give exact
locations of the rectangular site in the
prime airport proposal but the south
end of the airport property would be
somewhere between Hardgrove Lane,
the city limits line between Burleson
and Fort Worth, and the Johnson-
Tarrant County Line.
If the airport proposal moves along,
Burleson could be caught in something
of a dilemma
"I would say the concept of an airport
for the south part of Fort Worth in
general is supported by most of the
community,” Sowa said. But in the
same breath, he added, “proper ap-
plication and zoning would have to be
approved by the council
In addition to 200-home Huntington
Place subdivision that is platted south
of Hardgrove, Sowa said much of the
adjoining land is also commercial.
Once land in or near the city is con-
sumed for airport use, nearby land is
expected to become prime land for
commercial and industrial use.
As Fort Worth officials have already
predicted, Burleson, Crowley, Rendon
and Everman would join South Fort
Worth in benefitting from an economic
boom usually associated with
municipal airports.
★ it it
THE OTHER THREE sites con-
sidered for an airport were a larger site
taking in Oak Grove Airport on the east
and stretching west to Interstate 35 on
the west and including all land—about
535 acres—in the prime airport pro-
posal.
The other two proposed sites are west
of Luck Field and difficult terrain as
well as costs of relocating power lines
and railroad track made them less
desirable.
Consultant Bruce Clark of Dallas,
who made studies on each of the four
sites, said a tunnel roadway under the
airport to prevent altering the route of
Hardgrove would be “very costly.”
Stopping the airport at Hardgrove
Lane would apparently make the run-
way too short to adequately fill the
needs Fort Worth has projected for the
airport.
A south side airport is something that
apparently cannot be put off much
longer
Clark said Fort Worth was "urged”
by the Federal Aviation Authority to
determine a site and “get on” with a
south side airport to relieve a busy
Meacham Field.
* * *
IF THE AIRPORT were placed in its
proposed location, it would alter and
probably greatly enhance the develop-
ment of roadways in Burleson.
In the initial planning, a road on the
west side of the airport from Highway
1187 (Rendon Road) would be the main
airport service road.
In the longer range planning, that
road could become the extension of Oak
Grove Road, a road eventually to be ex-
panded to six lanes.
At that point, Oak Grove would be ex-
tended to Hardgrove which also is pro-
posed to be a six-lane road in the distant
future, according to Clark.
Also in the future-estimated to be
more than 10 years—would be an ac-
.*
cess road to the airport from an exten-
sion of McAlister Road.
Relocating Hardgrove Road is a
relatively minor cost in the $12.4 million
estimated cost for land acquisition con-
struction of the first phase of the air-
port—a cost to be absorbed by Fort
Worth through matching federal
grants. ;
★ it it
A LARGER RELOCATION cost
would be the removal of two power lines
at a total cost of $1.75 million. Total
land acquisition and relocation costs
are estimated at $6.1 million.
An approximately 8,000-foot by .
2,700-foot rectangle is proposed for the
airport. Its northern boundary would be
Rendon Road. Its western boundary
would be a line extending from Oak
Grove Airport. The eastern boundary
would be about a quarter of a mile welt 3
of Interstate 35 and its southern boun-
dary would be somewhere in the
Burleson City Limits but within Tv-
rant County. ?
Clearly, a South Fort Worth Airport,
often promoted by Burleaoa
businessmen, is a potential reality that
may hit awfully close to home.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Hutson, Wayne & Moody, James. Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 65, Ed. 1 Monday, June 2, 1980, newspaper, June 2, 1980; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth760995/m1/1/: accessed June 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Burleson Public Library.