Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 28, Ed. 1 Monday, January 18, 1993 Page: 2 of 10
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2A-BurU»on Star, Monday, Jonuorv 18. 1993
Autopsy shows Livingston's death
was caused by accidental overdose
The autopsy of a 29-year-old
Burieson man who died in early De-
cember revealed the cause of death as
an accidental overdose, according to
a representative of the Johnson Coun-
ty Medical Examiners Office.
William Earl "Bill" Livingston
was found dead in a Gardens Boule-
vard residence on Dec. 2,1992, with
a bottle of pills by his side. The report
showed thecauseof death asan "acute
imipramine overdose/accidental."
Imipramine is used as an anti-depres-
sant At the lime of the police report,
Livingston's case was simply listed
as an "unattended death.”
A family member and the medi-
cal examiner’s office representative
said the autopsy revealed that Liv-
ingston had a hole in his heart—a
ventricular septic defect—that had
never been diagnosed before. His
family member said he had chest sur-
gery about three years ago and the
hole was not discovered then. She
said he was diagnosed with a heart
murmur and suffered from extreme
fatigue.
Livihgston was a respiratory
therapist at Huguley Hospital. He
had been a Burleson resident for 22
years, graduating from Burleson High
School in 1981. His survivors in-
clude his parents, Richard and Faye
Livingston of Burleson; two sisters,
Phyllis Livingston and Melanie
Samson, both of Burleson; one niece,
Stefanie Samson; and his grandpar-
ents, Asa Sanders of Lillian, Vivian
Sanders of Kennedale, and Mr. and
Mrs. Ernest Livingston of New York,
N.Y.
■He said he was weaving safely
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
left before Raines could fully explain
that he couldn’t continue to drive
through town in a reckless manner.
The second incident, running a
red light, took place at the intersec-
tion of Hwy. 174/Southwest Wilshire
and Newton Street. Raines said all of
the northbound lanes were occupied
so Hartless crossed from the left side
to the extreme right of the roadway
and crossed the intersection against a
red light.
Joel Hartless testified that his
father did not run a red light at the
Tarrant Street intersection but ran the
light at the Hillery Street intersec-
tion. Tarrant Street is one stoplight
north of Newton Street and was not
mentioned by the police officers.
Raines' supervisor, Cpl. Lan-
caster, contacted Raines and told him
to follow Hartless at a distance and
monitor his driving. Lancaster caught
up to Hartless at the Renfro Street
and Wilshire Boulevard intersection.
THE THIRD TICKET was for
disregarding a traffic control device,
which both Raines and Lancaster wit-
nessed. Raines said all of the lanes of
traffic were occupied so Hartless
crossed from the extreme right of the
roadway to the left side. In doing so,
he crossed a yellow line which des-
ignates the median (a traffic control
. device), travelled up through that me-
dian, and passed all of the other ve-
hicles going over the bridge leading
out of Burleson. At that point, Raines
and Lancaster tried to stop Hartless
again and asked the police dispatcher
to get an ambulance en route to them,
but Hartless would not yield.
Hartless testified that he was
weaving in a safe way and was going
between 45 and 50 miles per hour
through Burleson.
Once Hartless' wife was in an
exam room, Raines said he attempted
to talk to Hartless to "gain an under-
standing" about why theofficers were
concerned with his driving, but Hart-
less refused to talk. Raines said he
also asked for Hartless' driver's li-
censed he would know whom he
was talking to but that Hartless re-
fused that also. Lancaster told Raines
to go back to Burleson and he would
speak to Hartless.
Lancaster said he attempted to
explain to Hartless about the dangers
of driving recklessly through town,
but that Hartless said he didn't have
time for him.
"1 attempted several times to talk
to him but he made it clear that he did
not have time,” Lancaster said.
Lancaster then talked to Joel
Hartless and told him he needed to
talk to his father. Lancaster said he
gave the son his business card and
told Joel Hartless that his father
needed to call him or citations would
be issued. Joel Hartless testified that
Lancaster never gave him his card
and didn't tell him that his father
needed to call him. When Hartless
did not call, the citations were sent
by certified mail.
Opal Brawner testified that she
tried to help Hartless. The defen-
dant's wife had gone, by ambulance,
to the hospital the night before and
Brawner, a neighbor of Hartless,
called the morning of Oct. 2 to see if
everything was all right.
"You said everything is OK, my
wife had a nosebleed," Brawner said
when Hartless questioned her. Shortly
thereafter Hartless said he called
Brawner back when his wife's nose
began bleeding again.
"You trailed and said my wife is
hemorrhaging. See if you can get an
officer to help. I said I would,"
Brawner said.
The mayor called city hall but
she said the line was busy so she went
down and told the chief that they
needed an officer at the Hartlcss home.
An officer and the chief responded
but Hartless was already gone. When
Coontz cross-examined Brawner, she
said she did not tell Hartless that he
could disregard signs and traffic
lights.
" I was under the impression that
he was waiting for an officer,"
Brawner said.
Hartless testified that he only
waited about 30 seconds. He also
said that he thought the Joshua police
officer would let them ride iff his
patrol car with him to Huguley Hos-
pital.
The defendant said he didn't have
time to talk to the officers but Hartless
did have time to call the Burleson
Police Department and tell them to
"get the officer off my back.”
Hartless subpoened a copy of
the police department's phone tape of
that conversation. The conversation
took place at 9:28 a.m. (12 minutes
after Raines first spotted Hartless'
vehicle on Wilshire Boulevard). The
tape was somewhat garbled but a
loose transcription follows.
HARTLESS—"Mayor Opal
Brawner gave me permission . . .
she's supposed to have officers escort
me up here to Huguley emergency
room because my wife is having
severe bleeding and my doctor said I
didn't have time for an ambulance
and, uh, there's one of your officers
pulled me over, or rather, I tried to get
him to help me and he was wanting to
hinder me here in Burleson. He was
wanting me to get an ambulance and
the doctor said don't get an ambu-
lance. I'm up here right now and he's
wanting to hound me and talk to me.
Tell him I don’t have time to talk to
him right now, I got..."
DISPATCHER KAREN
KING —"OK, sir, you need to talk to
that police officer."
HARTLESS—"That’s why I'm
calling you ma'am..."
Hartless said he did not sub-
poena the doctor who allegedly told
him not to call an ambulance.
On several occasions through-
out the trial, Judge Steve McClure
admonished Hartless for what he
called "sidebar comments." He also
admonished the father and son when
Hartless was questioning his son on
the witness stand and Coontz ob-
jected. Coontz objected when Hartless
asked his son if an ambulance had
been called the night before and got
lost en route to their home. Before
McClure could rule on the objection,
Hartless vehemently said the testi-
mony was crucial and his son voiced
his agreement McClure told both
Hartless men to be quiet until he
ruled and warned Joel Hartless that
he was on the witness stand. Hartless
dropped the question.
Lancaster said the intention of
issuing the tickets to Hartless was to
impress on the Joshua man that what
he did was unsafe not only to other
motorists but to Hartless' family as
well.
In his closing statements, Coontz
told the jury thateven though Hartless
felt he had an emergency on his hands,
that did not justify breaking three
traffic laws. He also chastised Hartless
for calling thepolicedepartmentfrom
the emergency room instead of talk-
ing to the officers.
"He could call but he didn't have
time to talk to the officers?" Coontz
said.
Hartless asked the jury to "annul
bad judgement or lack of judgement"
on the part of the two officer$^nd
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interest of Burieson and adjacent areas by Burieson Pub-
lishing Company. Inc. 319 N. Burieson Blvd„ Burieson.
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find him not guilty.
Hartlcss' case came into the lime-
light OcL 15 when he made a citizen's
appearance at a Burleson City Coun-
cil meeting along with his son, who
videotaped the entire proceedings.
Haitless could have received a
fine of $l-$200 on each charge. His
minimum cost on three guilty ver-
dicts would have been $72 (three $1
fines plus three $23 sales tax) and his
maximum would have been $669
(three $200 fines plus $23 on each
count). Hartless did not pay his fine
Thursday night. He has 10 days to
pay the $121 or post an appeal bond
which would send the case to a jury
trial in Johnson County.
Over 50 people were called for
jury duty for Hartlcss' trial Jan. 12.
BISD Employees
of the Month
Commendations for employees of the month were presented at the
December meeting of the board of trustees. Recipients were (l-r) Pam
Guynes, transportation; Jan Stewart, Frazier volunteer; Alvie Bledsoe,
maintenance; Barbara Black, 5th grade at Frazier; Ernestine Edwards,
1st grade at Mound; Susan Lauderback, art at the junior high; Kristin
East, special ed at Nola Dunn; and Kim Tyler, P.E. at Norwood. Not
pictured are Chrisann Slusser, 2nd grade at Taylor; and Jan Sells,
Frazier secretary.
—Provider will assist in training and
purchase of equipment for volunteers
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
certainly entitled to do so. In addi-
tion to this, we have great compas-
sion with the people in the volunteer
fire service, the provider will assist
in training as far as Occupational
Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) regulations, and the pur-
chase of equipment for patient care.
—Jan. 28 meeting time
has changed to noon
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
illness, but is limited to a weekly
disability benefit of only $66. The
supplemental policy adds an addi-
tional $300 per week to this.
—Granted excused absences to
Councilman David Rubenkoenig for
both council meetings in January. He
was out of town Thursday night and
will be on reserve duty for the Jan. 28
meeting.
—Changed the time of that Jan.
28 meeting to 12 noon. Five council-
—Amended the existihg Flood
Plain Management Ordinance per
federal stipulations. "It's basically just
a formality for the benefit of the
federal agency," City Engineer James
Caswell told the council.
—Authorized the call for bids
for a dump body.
—Authorized the call for bids
for the interior painting of two
420,000-gallon ground storage tanks
at the Brushy Mound Pump Station.
—Approved on final reading an
j amendment to the ordinance setting
members are going to San Antonip ^the fees for payment extensions on
that day for a leadership seminar a/H ^utility Bills.
—Approved on final reading a
change in zoning to a portion of lots
5 and 6, Block 2 of the Highway
Addition from two family to light
industry.
—Heard a report from Parks and
Recreation Director Doug Evans on
tree plantings in the city.
—Rescheduled a report pertain-
ing to the police department's reac-
creditation until the Jan. 28 meeting.
needed the earlier meeting.
*
—Approved revewal of the
contract for maintenance of the tele-
phone system.
—Approved a resolution pro-
viding for regular plates on certain
police vehicles. An annual resolution
is necessary in order for some police
vehicles to have regular plates in-
stead of exempt ones.
Should the provider fail to provide
the specified requirements ina given
amount of time, then they would be
penalized up to $ 150. That money
• would go into a fund that would
provide cardiopulmonary resusci-
tation (CPR) training for the gen-
eral public, and a first responder
network program for the volunteer
fire department."
Once the county ambulance
provider is selected, then more of
the details of the program, and the
operation of that program will be
decided
ALSO AT THE MEETING,
commissioners approved nomi-
nations for rural fire commission-
ers.
Joe Durham, Johnson County
Judge, nominated W.R "Boot" Korb
to return as president of the com-
mission. R.C. "MAC" McFall, com-
missioner Pet. 1, nominated Wade
Wallace, whose term will expire
Jan. 1, 1994; Harmon nominated
Richard Barnett to the Pet. 2 post;
Bobby Estes, commissioner Pet. 3,
nominated John Cunningham and
Troy Thompson, commissioner Pet.
4 told commissioners that he was
still considering a nominee, and he
would tell the court of his selection
at their next meeting.
The term for Barnett,
Cunningham and the nominee from
Pet. 4, will expire Jan. 1, 1995.
All the nominees were approved
by the commissioners.
Commissioners approved Lee
Messick as Emergency Manage-
ment Coordinator.
Two of the goals outlined by
Messick for the county's emergency
management system were to im-
prove record keeping by the agency,
and improve county wide commu-
nications.
Last year, during tornado sea-
son, Johnson County was listed as
first in reporting tomadic activity to
the National Weather Service storm
spotters.
Commissioners adjourned the
Jan. 11 meeting, and began a meet-
ing to determine where they could
store salvageable materials from
the district courts building, which
burned Dec. 29.
CLASSIC CAMPERS
7108 S. Frwy.
Across From MIHsr
568-2070
•74 Tioga
90 Viking
Class C
Pop-up
s3988
A/C
'86 Dodge SE PU
'83 Pace Arrow
PW. PL, V8, auto, PS
Class A
*3650
"loaded"
53 n)
r
Member F DIC
First National Bank
699 N.E. Alsbury @ I-35 • (817) 295-0461
P.O. Box 699 • Burleson, Texas 76028
ASSETS December 31, 1991
Cash and Due From Banks...,.........................$ 4,561,166.84
U.S. Government Securities.............................. 299,935.46
U.S. Government Agency Securities................: 8,047,365.17
Federal Reserve Bank Stock.............................. 114,000.00
Federal Funds Sold.................. 3,615,000.00
Loans, Net....:..... 22,858,443.80
Fixed Assets.v................ 4,140,091.70
Other Assets............................................... 1.011.336.25
TOTAL
LIABILITIES
$44,647,339.22
Deposits.....................................................$39,302,200.95
Other Liabilities............................................... 406,607.26
Capital Stock................................................... 800,000.00
Surplus................................................. 3,000,000.00
Undivided Profits........................................ 1,138,531.01
TOTAL CAPITAL 4.938.531.01
TOTAL
$44,647,339.22
December 31, 1992
$ 5,533,565.05
.00
13,614,164.30
114,000.00
3,596,000.00
26,304,250.14
4,041,048.61
1.118.960.72
$54,321,988.82
$48,379,868.50
502,223.01
800,000.00
3,000,000.00
1.639.897.31
5.439.897.31
$54,321,988.82
DIRECTORS
JAMES M. RUSSELL
Chairman of the 8oard
JEWEL S. BALDWIN
Vice Chairman
DAVID L. BALDWIN
STACY CALVIN
DAVID E. ROBERTS
OFFICERS
_;_EMPLOYEES
SHELLYE BAILEY MERCY GEER
DAVID L. BALDWIN
President/CEO
PAUL R. WETHINCTON II
Senk ''ice President
GA W. SHIPP
Senior Vi . President/Cashier
DON RICHMOND
Vice President
LOIS JONES
Assistant Vice President
RUTH HOLLAND
Assistant Cashier
BETTY SHANE
Loan Operations Officer
GENA BLACKWELL
DONNA fJOOTH
BETTY BROWN
KARON BROWN
NEVA CLARK
JOYCE CORTHAY
PAM COX
DIXIE DANIELS
TERESA DAVIS
JEANNA GIBBS
TERRIE LYNN HARWELL
CHERYL HILLIN
RENEE JACOBS
judy McDonald
SALLY SHAFFSTALL
PAM SHELTON
KARAN WETHINGTON
CHERYL WILKINSON
7
BOBBY EVARTT
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Ellertson, Sally. Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 28, Ed. 1 Monday, January 18, 1993, newspaper, January 18, 1993; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth762725/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.