Burleson Area Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 48, No. 96, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 25, 2013 Page: 4 of 18
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Page 4A ★ Burleson Star ★ Wednesday, September 25,2013 WWW.burlesonstar.net
-1 EDITORIAL |-
Coalition has aim to
address the future now
The issue: City and county leaders have joined
to form the Greater Johnson County Transportation
Coalition in an effort to solve the area’s transportation
needs.
We say: Together these leaders can work to ad-
dress concerns of today for solutions of tomorrow.
What will tomorrow look like in Johnson County
and southern Tarrant County?
Home building will continue, businesses will con-
tinue to sprout up and at some point there will be four
high schools serving Burleson, that’s what our local
officials tell us.
It all points to the growth we’ve seen only continu-
ing. And that is leading local officials to work diligently
toward transportation solutions.
That’s the point of the Greater Johnson County
Transportation Coalition. City and county officials
aren’t sitting back waiting for the growth. They are tak-
ing the initiative to solve today’s issues with an eye on
the future.
The group held its first public meeting last week.
The coalition is an idea with merit. It will bring together
leaders from different communities to consider ideas
that may mutually benefit all areas.
We have experienced growing pains in our area, as
our roads are burdened with more traffic than they were
designed to handle. Some roads are in better position
than others. The creation of the Chisholm Trail Park-
way, slated for a 2014 opening, promises to bring more
growth, and yes, more vehicles. It will also alleviate
time in our commutes.
Burleson Mayor Ken Shetter has called for a fully
multi-modal transportation system. That’s more than
cars and trucks.
Joshua Mayor Joe Hollarn defines the challenge as
“moving people around.” The means by which you do
that today is four-wheel vehicles. Our cities don’t have
connectivity other than through roads.
How do you get from Cleburne, to Joshua, to Bur-
leson, to Crowley? Most people use State Highway 174.
Today its the automobile. One day it could be a light
rail.
It took DART some time to get the solution in mo-
tion in Dallas County. It promised a light rail to member
cities that came only years after public buses. Today,
its light rail connects communities and, in theory, takes
commuters off the road to alleviate traffic congestion.
Shetter makes the point that because growth came
later to this area, leaders have the advantage to weigh
what others did right and wrong. We can choose not to
repeat the mistakes made in other areas of North Texas,
and this leadership council should have that result - at
least that’s the intention.
It all comes down to moving folks from place to
place. Planning now to do that will put the area in a bet-
ter place tomorrow.
-1 LETTERS POLICYl-
The Burleson Star welcomes letters to the editor for con-
sideration for publication.
Letters to the Editor are offered by the newspaper to the
community for expression of personal views on matters of
concern. Residents are encouraged to use the column in a con-
structive manner, sharing their views on subjects of interest
with the newspaper's readers.
Letters are individual opinions and not those of this news-
paper. Each letter must be original, limited to 300 words or less,
signed by the writer and bear the address and phone number of
the writer. Only the writer's name and the city will be published
with the letter.
The Burleson Star does not withhold the writer's name for
any reason. Anonymous letters or letters signed by an uniden-
tifiable pseudonym will not be published. The phone number
and address are necessary for verification of authenticity or
clarification of content. Letters which cannot be verified will
not be published.
The Burleson Star reserves the right to edit all letters. Let-
ters deemed libelous, slanderous, unclear or otherwise unac-
ceptable will not be published.
Thank-you expressions singling out individuals or orga-
nizations will not be published. Poetry is unacceptable as a
letter to the editor.
During election campaigns, the Burleson Star will accept
prior to Election Day.
Address letters to: Editor, Burleson Star, P.O. Box 909, Bur-
leson, TX 76097. Letters may also be faxed to 817-295-5278,
or e-mailed to burlesonstar@thestargroup.com. Faxed and e-
mailed letters must include the writer's complete address and
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Robb Krecklow................Vice President
Dan Taylor..................................Publisher
News Staff
Brian Porter....................................Editor
Trina Nelson..............................Reporter
Paul Gnadt.................................Reporter
Ricky Moore..................................Sports
Advertising
Candy McMichen...........Special Projects
Chelsie Brandes ..Marketing Consultant
Pat Poole..............Marketing Consultant
Sharon Cregg........Classified Supervisor
Composing Staff
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Troy Szurgot.........Advertising Graphics
Front Office
Allyne Middleton...................Manager
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Volume 48, Number 96
18 Pages in 2 Sections
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DEVOTIONAL
Walking the walk will make progress
When I was a kid, I was
a huge Southern Rock fan.
Mostly because I’m a south-
ern boy who plays guitar, but
really because I hated disco
the way God hates slavery.
While there are a couple
of disco songs worth talking
about, most of them give me
the same feeling I imagine I
would have if I were stand-
ing in line at the DMV with
a 103-degree temperature. It
just makes me miserable.
The first band I put
together with my fellow
seventh-graders was a
chicken-fried Motley Crue
from Joshua that included
my brother, Todd, another
brother, Mike, and a fun-
loving drummer with the
notorious name of John
Smith. We called ourselves
The Midnight Riders. We
took it up after the song writ-
ten by the Allman Brothers,
the acknowledged architects
of Southern Rock music.
We never played Madi-
son Square Garden, but
we did play for the middle
school and the world-famous
Joshua centennial. We only
knew eight songs and our
gig was three hours long, so
we played the same set four
times in a row. It was epic.
Some fairly funny facts
about the Allman Broth-
ers is that one of its early
bands, founded in 1965, was
named the Allman Joys. A
few months earlier, Gregg
Allman had dodged fighting
Troy
Brewer
Fresh from
the Brewer
in Viet-
nam by
studying a
foot chart;
throw-
ing a foot
shooting
party,
drawing a
target on
his moc-
casin; and
blasting a
hole into
himself
with a shaky pistol. His aim
was perfect.
If you look up the term
“Shoot Yourself in the Foot,”
it shows up in the urban dic-
tionary like this: An action
of cowardice. Commonly
regarded as dishonorable.
Honor wasn’t high on
Greg’s agenda of getting
high in 1965. He decided he
would rather be on a stage,
instead of a body bag and he
was successful in both avoid-
ing the draft and in staying
high until he got clean in
the 1990s. Its a miracle he
survived both.
On englishclub.com it
says this: “If you shoot your-
self in the foot, you harm
yourself in some way by
doing something stupid or
making a silly mistake.”
I have never actually
popped a cap into my Justin
boots, but all of us know
something about shooting
ourselves in the foot.
Let me change gears here
a little bit. While I still love
to listen and even play the
songs of my youth, my tune
got changed in 1986.1 had
a life-changing, personal
encounter with Jesus Christ
and I have never been the
same since. This coming
weekend, I will celebrate my
18th anniversary as senior
pastor of OpenDoor Church.
We are having our grand
opening at our new Burleson
campus.
Over the years, I have
seen the joys and the sorrow
of church leadership. I have
seen every extreme you can
imagine from denominations
and nondenominations on all
four sides of the globe. Since
I am so passionate about the
advancement of the cause of
Christ, I am constantly con-
fronted with the pitfalls and
obstacles of why the amazing
heart and goodness of God is
not seen.
In my opinion, the great-
est hindrance to the cause
of Jesus Christ and the
advancement of the church
is not evil in the world. It is
not the government, or even
the devil. It’s us. Christians
fail to represent Christ, plain
and simple. We tend to shoot
ourselves in the foot and
gimp around, complaining
about how mean the devil is.
How can we expect any-
one to know God is loving
if we are not loving? Do we
really think anybody with
a brain is going to receive
a message of freedom from
a religious group of people
who have an agenda to
control others? Do not think
for one minute that a grown
up human being will believe
in the miraculous power of a
transforming God if the mes-
sengers are weak and power-
less at everything except for
complaining. If you do, it’s
because you are on crack.
We are not supposed to
walk like Greg Allman. We
are supposed to walk like
Jesus. Love people. Self-
lessly love people, not just
with words but with action.
If you can’t say amen to what
somebody is doing, say amen
to who they are. Let’s be who
God has called us to be and
make Jesus famous.
I live in hope that my life
will cause people to be excited
about Jesus. It’s not some-
thing I always accomplish,
but it is something I continu-
ally go after. If I can just keep
from shooting myself in the
foot, people can see the Lord
in me instead of me in the
world, it changes everything
and people run to Him.
“And I, when I am lifted
up from the earth, will draw
all people to myself.”
- John 12:32 (NIV)
Troy Brewer is the senior
pastor of OpenDoor Church
in Burleson and can be
found at www.opendoorex-
perience.com.
COMMENTARY
Heart-speak trumps language barriers
My precious mother-
in-law lost her husband of
nearly 60 years last week.
After a long, exhaustive
battle with Alzheimer’s, Papi
died quietly in his sleep.
The peace in Mami’s
heart glowed on her face
as she gathered her family
around her to celebrate his
life. This time our laughter
was filtered through tears
as we happily shared our
memories of times with Papi.
Mami reminds me of
my own mother, who died
suddenly at the age of 54.
We decided the two of them
must have attended the same
mom school.
Crying when we arrive,
and crying when we leave,
Mami tells us we’re fat and
need to diet all the while
stuffing us with her native
rice, beans and plantanos.
Her hugs are strong and last
longer than a few seconds —
she means her embraces.
Taking care of her family
is her reason for being. Her
kitchen is the center of her
home and
is always
full of
people.
Preparing
dinner
while trip-
ping over
aunts, un-
cles and
cousins is
_ the norm
Consider This while try-
ing to get
Candy
McMichen
food on her table.
The first time I met her, she
was giving me things; slippers
she had made, cuttings from
her plants and homemade
sofrito to take home. She gave
the same to my best friend and
sent more for my daughter and
daughter-in-law back home
in Texas. My mother-in-law is
a giver. She designs beautiful
jewelry to give it away.
A woman of great faith
and prayer, Mami believes
her God will always take care
of her as she puts others first
in her life.
“Mijita,” she whispered to
me one evening, “You need
to speak Spanish better so we
can talk,” her eyes sparkled as
she winked at me. I promised
her I would be more diligent
in my language so we could
share the things that were in
her heart. She didn’t think
she could speak English well
enough to completely com-
municate her thoughts.
What a special bond we
share. She blesses my life
in ways I never even con-
sidered. Two hours before
Papi’s service, we had to take
her to the emergency room.
She was doubled over in
pain. We wanted to postpone
the service but she insisted
we carry on without her.
As I walked into her
hospital room with the rest
of our family after the service
that evening, I was especially
touched when she reached
her arms out for me. She
pulled me to her chest and
cried into my hair. In Span-
ish, she poured out her heart
as I held her frail body close
to mine. When I opened my
eyes, the room had emptied
and she was smiling.
“Well, she laughed, “I
guess we know how to get rid
of them.”
We have been trying to
convince Mami to move to
Texas for several years, as
Papi grew weaker and the
burden upon her shoulders
grew heavier. She knew she
needed to but could not make
the move from her Florida
home, community and
church she had grown to love.
When I left her Sunday
evening, she once again
pulled me to her and told me
she could not stay alone in
the house they had shared.
She smiled when I told
her we would love to have
her in our home then tear-
fully nodded.
I don’t know what life has
in store for her, but I know
Mami is a precious gift I am
so blessed to call mine.
Candy McMichen is the
special projects editor of the
Burleson Star.
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Porter, Brian. Burleson Area Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 48, No. 96, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 25, 2013, newspaper, September 25, 2013; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth851872/m1/4/: accessed June 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Burleson Public Library.