Crowley Star (Crowley, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 25, 2013 Page: 4 of 12
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Page 4 ★ Crowley Star ★ Thursday July 25, 2013
www.crowleystar.net
CITY GOVERNMENT
Council approves application for anchor
BY JAY HINTON
crowleystar@thestargroup. com
The Crowley City Council unani-
mously agreed last Thursday to sub-
mit the application to acquire a an-
chor from the decommissioned USS
Shasta, but some of the same ques-
tions still exist from when the council
denied the motion one month ago.
The main issue then was where
would the city come up with the
money to transport the anchor from
Brownsville to Crowley. The original
estimate was between $2,ioo-$3,500
to transport the anchor as well as sev-
eral projectiles, which would be used
as bollards at the Crowley Veteran’s
Plaza.
City Councilman Johnny Shotwell
said the city has around $2,670 al-
ready committed to help with trans-
portation costs; a company to trans-
port the anchor at cost; and a company
to lift the 20,000-35,ooo-pound an-
chor off the truck with a crane.
“This would cover almost all of the
freight,” Shotwell said. “We are still
have to pay for the concrete for the
pad and have it put in. They city could
provide the labor, but we would have
to buy the concrete.”
Questions still remain: Where will
the anchor be placed? How will it be
positioned - standing straight up or
lay on its side? Who will absorb the
cost of the concrete pad on which it
will sit, and will the pad have to be
engineered?
“We haven’t been approved for the
anchor yet, but once we have the ap-
plication submitted I think it will be
at least 2-3 weeks before it is offered
to us and then we will have 30 days
from that time to pick it up,” Shotwell
said.
Some councilmen, including Jim
Hirth and Jerry Beck, want answers
Hirth recovering
Crowley City Councilman Jim
Hirth underwent a total replace-
ment of his left knee July 12 and
is now at home recovering.
He was scheduled to come
home Monday, July 15, but suf-
fered kidney failure the evening
before and was forced to stay in
the hospital until the following
Wednesday.
He missed the last City Council
meeting, but is planning on at-
tending the Aug. 1 meeting.
before making the decisions to ac-
cept the anchor or not, should it be
offered. If those questions aren’t an-
swered, the idea for the anchor could
sink for good.
“We need to make sure that we
know as close as we can the total cost
to get the anchor,” said Beck.
The council hasn’t discussed where
the final resting spot of the anchor
will be, but Shotwell will push to
have it near the road on Business
1187. Other possible spots could be
between the plaza and the library, be-
hind the plaza or in between the plaza
and the police station.
“To me that would be the ideal
place to put it because it’s visible
from the street coming from either
direction indicating that there is
something there,” Shotwell said.
The original price of the plaza was
set around $125,000, and the City
Council agreed to that figure, but
official bids hadn’t been received
when ground was broken Dec. 7,
2012. When the bids came back,
the cost was in the neighborhood
of $250,ooo-$26o,ooo. However,
some alterations were made to cut
the cost to $225,ooo-$235,ooo.
PARKING:
FROM PAGE 1
It will have all street park-
ing that will cover some other
issues,” he said. “We want to
be thoughtful of the people
who own trucks and heavy
vehicles, but we have to be
mindful of how Crowley looks
and if they cause any safety
issues.”
At any given time, one or
more trucks — some with
their cargo — are parked
there, but they are not parked
illegally, Loftin said.
“It’s private property,” Lof-
tin said. “It’s no different if
the trucks were parking there
if Brookshire’s were open. It’s
a parking lot.”
Loftin said it would be up
to the discretion of the prop-
erty owner to post the area
as “no parking” and have of-
fending vehicles towed, not
the city.
JOHNSON COUNTY
County planning big
century celebration
BY BRIAN PORTER
crowleystar@thestargroup. com
CLEBURNE - What a dif-
ference a century makes.
No longer is there a hitch-
ing post or gallows at the
Johnson County Courthouse,
but Tuesday some of the
keepers of this area’s history
gathered to discuss turning
back the clock to 1913.
The Johnson County
Courthouse will turn 100
years old this fall and a big
birthday celebration is be-
ing planned. The centennial
celebration of the construc-
tion and opening of the mod-
ern day courthouse will take
place Nov. 16 on and around
the county square.
“We’ve made a lot of prog-
ress with plans for this cel-
ebration,” said County Judge
Roger Harmon, who chaired
Tuesday’s meeting. “We have
a number of special things
planned.”
The day will start with a
commissioners’ court pro-
gram at about 10 a.m., which
Harmon promised will be
livelier than a typical meet-
ing of the commissioners. A
heavy dose of the county’s re-
corded history will be shared
at that time, Harmon said.
The other major events
will be the opening of the
courthouse cornerstone and
a dedication of the Confeder-
ate monument on the court-
house grounds. Those events
are tentatively scheduled
for noon and 2 p.m., but or-
ganizers are still weighing
which should take place first.
According to Harmon, one
birthday surprise inside the
keystone has already been
leaked. The county has a list
of what it expects to find in-
side.
“It must be a pretty good
sized box based on what’s on
the list,” Harmon said. “We
don’t know in what condition
it all will be.”
When it is closed, Harmon
is hopeful something repre-
senting every community will
be included. His office has
reached out to each Johnson
County city to participate in
planning of the event.
The exterior of the court-
house has the year “1912”
posted on each of four walls
facing the square. That de-
fines the year of construc-
tion completion, according
to Harmon’s office, and the
year 1913 defines when the
courthouse was opened and
initially occupied.
As the courthouse birth-
day is celebrated, organizers
hope to demonstrate what
it might have been like in
1913 around the courthouse
square in Cleburne and other
areas of the county without
the modern conveniences of
today.
“We don’t want anything
on the square that is mod-
ern,” Harmon said.
Some of the initial ideas
are the presence of a black-
smith, leather craftsman,
quilt and loom operators, a
flint fireworks demonstra-
tion and other attractions
such as a vendor who cre-
ated rag dolls and another
who makes Native American
crafts.
CACC GOLF TOURNAMENT
JAY HINTON/CROWLEY STAR
Crowley Assistant Fire Chief Pleasant Brooks takes a swing during last year's Crowley Area
Chamber of Commerce golf Tournament. This year's event is scheduled for Sept. 25 at Southern
Oaks Golf Course. For information on sponsorship opportunities or to enter a team, contact the
CACC at 817-297-4211.
HUGULEY
Martin
named
director
Texas Health Huguley
Hospital Fort Worth South
named Teresa Martin, R.N.,
as the Director of Behavioral
Health. The behavioral health
unit serves patients with psy-
chiatric needs and encom-
passes treatment for mental
illness and chemical and sub-
stance abuse.
Martin manages the daily
operations of the unit. The
behavioral health unit fo-
cuses on patient safety and
maintaining a strong culture
of teamwork between a staff
of 33 nurses, mental health
technicians, and social service
workers. Martin is also re-
sponsible for patient advoca-
cy enabled through strategic
initiatives for improvements
to environmental safety.
“I am most excited for
the chance to work with this
team in a role that addresses
patient advocacy intention-
ally and strategically,” Martin
said.
Martin has worked at Tex-
as Health Huguley since 2003
as a charge nurse. Before join-
ing Texas Health Huguley she
worked for seven years as a
travel nurse in behavioral
health. She is currently in the
process of obtaining her Mas-
ters in Nursing through Uni-
versity of Texas at Arlington.
“Teresa has been a leader
for us in the behavioral health
unit for years and we are ex-
cited to see her passion and
experience in this new ca-
pacity,” said Vice President
of Nursing, Tammy Collier,
R.N., F.A.C.H.E.
CROWLEY FFA
COURTESY PHOTO
From left, Sam Silva, Malia Marion and Wacey Horton show off
their Texas FFA Lonestar degree certificates they received earlier this
month at the Texas FFA Convention in Dallas.
JOHNSON COUNTY
Harmon to seek sixth term
BY BRIAN PORTER
crowleystar@thestargroup. com
Roger Harmon has announced his de-
cision to seek a sixth term as Johnson
County judge. He has served in the posi-
tion since 1995.
“The relationships I’ve developed and
the qualifications I have will be useful to
the future of Johnson County,” Harmon
said. “The engine in life that propels you
is relationships. Through them, you are
able to work more effectively.”
Filing will open Nov. 9 and close Dec.
9 for a place on the ballot in the March
4, 2014, primary party election. Harmon
will run on the Republican ballot.
The population of Johnson County has
increased by 64 percent since Harmon
was first elected and growth is projected
to reach 300,000 by 2030, Harmon said.
It is one of several reasons he decided to
line up for another term in office.
“Growth will put a big demand on this
county,” Harmon said. “The 2030 projec-
tion is almost double our current popula-
tion.”
He’s been critical of greater unfunded
mandates from state lawmakers while
Johnson County’s tax base has de-
clined for four straight years. Harmon
was one of two county judges selected
to serve on a state energy committee
to address road damage caused by oil
and gas trucks. It resulted this legisla-
tive session in an appropriation of $225
million to counties to aid in road repair,
he said.
“Even though they are finished drilling
most of our wells, trucking companies
are still on our roads causing damage,”
Harmon said. “These funds will help
commissioners repair our roads.”
Harmon is the acting president of the
Texas Association of Counties, County
Judges and Commissioners Association,
and past president of the North & East
Texas County Judges and Commission-
ers Association. He is an executive board
member of Texas Association of Counties
and Agricultural Extension for Johnson
County.
He serves as a member of the North
Central Texas Regional Transportation
Committee, many chambers of com-
merce, the Workforce Development
Board, the Johnson County Juvenile
Board and in an ex-officio capacity as a
board member of the Cleburne Chamber
of Commerce, Johnson County Econom-
ic Development Board and the Johnson
County Committee on Aging.
RAIN:
FROM PAGE 1
have responded. That’s one
thing the U.S. Drought Moni-
tor will look at for its next re-
lease.”
And that could mean North
Texas may not see a change
in its drought condition.
As to what caused the un-
seasonable temperatures and
rain, making it not feel like
July, Gudmested has the ex-
planation.
“It was a slow moving up-
per level low,” she said. “This
one uncharacteristically
moved up from the southeast
and brought lots of moisture
with it. This system didn’t
move fast and kept bringing
moisture to the area.”
But some are predict-
ing the only relief from the
drought could be the landfall
of a tropic system or hur-
ricane on the Texas coast.
While it would bring much
more rain to North Texas,
it would not be favorable to
South Texas.
“We don’t predict weather
that far out, but that seems to
be the best scenario for con-
tinued rainfall,” Gudmested
said.
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Hinton, Jay. Crowley Star (Crowley, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 25, 2013, newspaper, July 25, 2013; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth809042/m1/4/: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Burleson Public Library.