Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 89, Ed. 1 Monday, August 24, 1992 Page: 1 of 12
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BEST AVAH ABLE C™>v
T
Monday
August 24, 1992
"DURLESOf
-^STAR 1
Volume 27, Number 89
12 Pages in 2 Sections
Crocker resigns as
fire chief of BVFD
BY SALLY ELLERTSON
The chief of the Burleson Vol-
unteer Fire Department resigned last
Wednesday morning, according to
Co-Acting City Manager Bill Davi-
‘ son.
John Crocker's Aug. 19 resigna-
tion followed a Tuesday night meet-
ing between Davison, Mayor Rick
Roper, Councilman Jim Bailey, and
nine out of 10 officers—Tom Foster,
Layton Jameson, Buster Foster, Jim-
my Johnson, Terry Messer, James
Williams, Foy Dunaway, Lester Sain,
and Liston Bryant—for the fire de-
partment.
"He turned his keys in Wednes-
day and said he was resigning," Da-
vison said. "The assistant chief (Tom
Foster) is currently in charge, in ab-
sence of a chief."
Crocker's resignation came six
days after almost half of the fire de-
JOHN CROCKER
told Davison, Roper, and Bailey that
he couldn't get any help from his
officers or firefighters. That remark
lead to an emotional response from
one officer who reeled off a list of
work that he and other firefighters
performed for Crocker so that the
former chief could present it to the
city manager and to the council. The
meeting ended when Crocker said he
was leaving.
"He never officially resigned but
he said—'I'm out of here; who wants
to go with me?"' one officer said.
The officers said they have yet to
see a written resignation.
Davison said he was talking to
both the city attorney and the state
board of fire protection to find out
how to install an interim chief. From
there the city will decide what to do
for a permanent head of the depart-
ment.
Crocker was voted in as chief by
-v--------------------------- recall, whichsetthestageforan Aug.
partment showed up at the Aug. 13 31 election. According to one of the vn.ji_K.ei was voicu in as enter in
city council meeting and registered volunteer firefighter officers, there the members in January of 1986. He
their concerns about an ordinance to wouldbeatleast28affirmative votes, was re-elected in 1987, at which time
appoint Crocker as a part-time paid Two firefighers didn’t sign the peti- the membership voted to change the
Things were really jumping at the ice cream social Thursday evening chief and Foster as a part-time paid tion because they were out of state at term of office to two years. Crockei
at Burleson High School—including this high-flying Elk cheerleader, assistant chief. the time and two others feared rerali. was elected aonin in t .n,.-.™ „r i o«t
The football team plays its first game Sept. 4 when the Elks host Both men would become part-
Lancaster at 7:30. See Sports,inside, for more icecream social photos, time city employees. The ordinance
would give all power to terminate,
suspend, or reduce the rank of volun-
teer firefighters to the chief. The chief
Things were really jumping at the ice cream social Thursday evening
r j /~ii , at Burleson High School—including this high-flying Elk cheerleader.
spiraea L fleer leader The football team plays its first game Sept. 4 when the Elks host
Lancaster at 7:30. See Sportr r --:-------—
Good and bad
That's how Johnson County rates
the time and two others feared retali-
ation.
According to one of the fire-
fighter officers, Crocker's resigna-
tion came as the result of some con-
flict in the two hour Aug. 18 meeting
would also be in charge of develop- to iron out the differences concerning
ing written policies and operating the ordinance. Davison reportedly
So, just how does Johnson Coun-
ty rank among the scheme of "all
things both great and amall?" (with
apologies to Samuel Taylor Cole-
ridge, oneof many early English poets
who never suspected there would be
a Johnson County, much less that
he'd be badly quoted in a newspaper
published there).
With acounty population tagged
at 97,165 by the Census Bureau, the
county ranks 31st in the state in
number of inhabitants—justahead of
Grayson ((Sherman) and Randall
(Amarillo) counties and just behind
Potter (also Amarillo) and Tom Green
(San Angelo) counties.
Tarrant County ranked fourth in
population with just under 1.2 mil-
lion.
Median household income is
relatively high at $30,612, ranking
the county 16th in the state. Collin
County (Plano) is first in that cate-
gory with an average household in-
come of $46,020. No other county
comes close, although two others—
Fort Bend and Rockwall, both top
$40,000.
Johnson County beats the state
average of $27,016 by 13.3 percent.
Tarrant County ranks seventh at
$32,335. Surprisingly, Dal las County
is farther down the list at 11th with a
median household incomeof $31,605.
In per capita income, Johnson
County falls to 42nd place with an
average of $12,054—a figure that
may be deflated somewhat by the
fact that more than one in five Johnson
Per capita inome forCollin Coun
ty is $20,503. In Tarrant County,
ranked 12th, it's $15,178. The slate
average is $12,904.
The median household value for
Johnson County is $61,100, a figure
that ranks 25th among the state's 254
counties.
The median value of homes in
can't even crack the top 100 in the
percentage of residents who have a
bachelor's degree or higher. ^miciy
The state average is 20.3 per-
cent. In Johnson County, ranked
120th, only 11.5 percent of the resi-
dents have a college degree.
In Collin County, almost 40
percent of the people have college
procedures for the operation of the
department.
The day after the council meet-
ing, a petition to recall Crocker, due
to a lack of confidence, was circu-
brought up the subject of the recall
petition and was going through a list
was elected again in January of 1989
and in January of 1991. He was up for
re-election in January of 1993. He
has been a volunteer firefighter for
21 years.
As far as the lift ordinance, Da-
vison said he believed that the fire-
fighters understood the city's liability
position a little better after the Aug.
18 meeting. The ordinance was
Jated. Twenty-four out of approxi-
4t) firefighters signed the
i----.. w MUUU511 a itot — xiv viumunu wa
of rumors he was trying to clear up. adopted on first reading ami will conn
"That lead to a confrontation up for a second reading before it cai
about the recall and the meeting dete- be approved. Davison said he didn
riorated from there, "the officer said, expect it to be on the next counci
At one point Crocker reportedly agenda.
. —— — -----— — (juvmii ui uit .pcupic nave college
Tarrant County, ranked 10th in the degrees. In Tanant County, 24 per-
state, is $72,900. In numeroneCollin cent do (16th place).
?,TLy™th4Laverage h0me value is Total gross sales in Johnson
$ 1 °6,600. TTie average home in Texas County topped $1 billion in 1990,
Gunderson Southwest to open
manufacturing branch in Cleburne
is worth $59,600.
Despite the large number of stu-
dents in the county, the median age of
32.1 is over a year older than the state
average of 30.8. It's not nearly so
high as in Llano County, though,
where the average resident is over 55
years old.
One hundred sixty-eight coun-
ties have older populations than
Johnson County, but Tarrant isn't one
of them. The average Tarrant County
citizen is 30.5 years old.
Education-wise, the average for
Johnson County residents is well back
of the leaders with 71.9 percent of
the county’s population being at least
high school graduates. That ranks the
county in 46th place.
It's not far off the state average of
72.1, however.
The rate in Collin County (first
place) is 88.3 percent; in Tarrant
County (number 12) the percent is
79.9.
For most Johnson County resi-
--------------------------------------- dents, education stopped after gradu-
County residents attends the public ation from high school. The county
schools.
Drum Majors
Please see COUNTY, Page 2
69-year-old
charged in
assault of a
pre-teen girl
BY SALLY ELLERTSON
A 69-year-old Burleson man wa.*
arrested at his home Thursday after-
noon on charges of sexually assault
ing a Burleson girl.
John D. Davis was arrested by
Officer Melvin McGuire and Detec-
tive Nike Duckett at 804 Southridge
at 3:12 p.m. on Aug. 20.
The arrest came after an aggra-
vated sexual assault report was filed
with the Burleson Police Department
the morning of Aug. 18. The charge
is aggravated sexual assault because
the girl is less than 13 years of age.
Davis has a prior conviction for
a sex offense.
According to a report by Duck-
ett, police were alerted when it was
reported that Davis may have been
sexually assaulting numerous victims
in the surrounding area on a routine
basis. Interviews were conducted with
at least four girls, all under the age of
13.'
A representative from Child Pro-
tective Services was with Duckett
when the detective talked to one girl
who said she had been having sex
with Davis for a couple of years. The
girl said he bribed her with money,
rides, and gif ts in exchange for sex.
One assault occurred as recently as
June of this year.
The other girls said the 69 year
old would take them swimming. They
said that he touched their private parts
and held them uncomfortably close.
The Burleson Police Department
forwarded the case to the Johnson
County District Attorney's Office for
case filing. If Davis is tried and con-
victed of aggravated sexual assault of
a child—a first degree felony—he
By RANDY SCOGGIN
Gunderson Southwest
Incorporated, a railroad car
manufacturing and refurbishing
company, will open a branch of its
plant Nov. 1, in Cleburne.
Clark Wood made the
announcement last week at
ceremonies welcoming the firm to
Cleburne.
Medal Winner Turns Actress
Susan Ashcraft has acquired over a dozen medals during her two and a
half years of ice skating. And now not only does she compete as an ice
^ « giiiiu—a ursi ucgrcc iciony—nc jwisui aiumng. Aim now noi only aoes site compete AS All ice
When the Burleson High School Band takes the field at halftime this year, could face a sentence of five-99 years skater, she performs. Next month she will appear in a show including
it will be under the direction of drum majors Kellie Neal and Jesse Lewis, in prison and an additional fine of not U.S. Olympics bronze nudalist Nancy Kerrigan. The show is in honor of
The band will do just that on Sept. 4 at Elk Stadium. more than $10,000. the Re-opening of Americas Ice Gardens in Dallas.
“This will be good foi
Gunderson Southwest, and 1 hope
and expect it will be good foi
Cleburne, and Johnson County,’
Wood said.
Gunderson Southwest, a
division of The Greenbriei
Companies, is one of only six railroad
freight car manufacturing companies
in the United States. The companj
currently employees 1,200 at its
Oregon facility, and has not had a
lay-off of employees in three and
one-half years.
Gunderson Personnel Directoi
ScottEvans, said,’The company wil
hire all workers locally, and wil
begin interviewing in September
The pay wi'l be skill related, and the
company wifi be selective ir
choosing its employees, hiring
approximately 40 people to begir
work when the facility opens ir
November.”
The Cleburne facility will
concentrate mainly on refurbishing
used freight cars, but may expand tc
manufacturing new cars, as well.
Overtheyears many Texas citie:
have thrived because of the railroad
and with the addition of Gundersor
Southwest 150 to 200 new jobs wil
be created in Johnson County.
The move by Gunderson tc
Johnson County is due to efforts o
the Johnson County Economic
Development Commissior
(JCEDC).
During announcemen
ceremonies County Judge Joe
Durham thanked Lloyd Moss, ;
consultant for the JCEDC, for the
work he has done to bring Gundersot
to the county.
“This is a quality company, anc
it is coming to a quality county,’
Durham said.
Persons wish ing to find out more
information about Gundersor
Southwest should contact the
Cleburne Chamber of Commerce
Persons may also send employmem
resumes to the Chamber.
Employment applications are
available in the Gundersor
Southwest, Inc. office Monday
through Friday,9a.m.-3 p.m. located
in the old Santa Fe Railroad office at
101 Park Street, Cleburne.
Any persons who have left
resumes prior to Aug. 24, need to fill
out applications at the Gunderson
Southwest office.
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Ellertson, Sally. Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 89, Ed. 1 Monday, August 24, 1992, newspaper, August 24, 1992; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth763300/m1/1/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Burleson Public Library.