Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 96, Ed. 1 Monday, September 11, 1995 Page: 1 of 8
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Monday
September 11. 1009
• p*ft* la OM iKtlM
lk'
Serving the
Burlmmon
area ainem
1900
90 Cento
It’s time for
homecoming!
It * the second game of
the year—the first home
game— and Hurlenon High
School i* already celebrating
homecoming
If you've been procraati
nating about
turning in your
parade entry
form, time i* run
ning out The pa
rade will step off
at 6 p m on
Thumday. Sept
14 The deadline
for getting your
entry in is 4 p m
Wednesday,
Sept 13
The Claaa of 1965( and it*
homecoming queen > and ev-
ery claa* ending in five will
be the parade honoreea Tlii*
year * homecoming court (in-
cluding princea and prin-
ceaaes) will also be honored
For more information
about a float or entry in the
parade, contact Brad Allard
at Burleson High School at
447-5700 For coverage of the
homecoming events (includ-
ing the parade route and the
Ex-Students Association hon-
orees), see Thursday's
Burleson Star.
Commit your
soles to walk
for ADA
Commit your soles to
walk Sunday, Oct. 1, in the
American Diabetes Asso-
ciation's Walktoberfest.
Hundreds of
Metroplex resi-
dents will be
walking the
streets of Fort
Worth to raise
money to find
cure for dia-
tes.
Check-in time
for the event is
7:30 a m. at
Scott Theatre.
The 10 kilometer/6.2 mile
race begins at 8:30 a m.
Volunteers are needed
from 5 a m. to 3:30 p m. to
handle accounting and regis-
tration, rest stops, team cap-
tain check-in, parking, and
refreshments
To sign up or find out
more about the event, call the
ADA at metro (214) 263-7073.
Don’t miss ‘Accent
on Home* section!
You’ve been reading
about it for weeks, and now
you have a spe-
cial section to
make you sali-
vate.
Included in
this issue is the
“Accent on
Home” Home-
makers School
section.
The e^ent is free, but
keep this paper because the
names of thy businesses who
will have, free tickets is on
page 1/You must have a
ticket ifo get in the cooking
show. [
The) 16th annual Home-
makers/School and Country
Fair Is set for Monday, Sept.
18.
ON THE INSIDE
Burleson Police Reports... 2
Burleson Police Arrests... 2
Burleson Fire Report.....3
Obituaries..............3
Sports..................5
Classifieds.............6-7
The Burleson Star
is printed on
X / recycled newsprint
Burleson
Council OK’s budget on first reading
■ Former fire chief a*k*
council to find alternative
to retirement plan for
volunteer firrflghters
By 8A1 J.Y KLLSftTBON
Star yanting Cdito
Only one person from the audience
■poke up when Burleson Mayor Kick
Roper opened the public hearing for the
proposed city budget Thursday night
John Crocker, former chief of the
Burleson Fire Department, asked city
council members to reconsider com pen
satmn for firefighter*
"The firefighters receive $720 a year
or $60 a month of water credit,” Crocker
said "That is a small incentive to pay
these guys for the time away from their
families I encourage you to study.the
options besides retirement benefits for
these guys They are average family men
who need to supplement their incomes
now, not when they are 55.”
For over 30 years, volunteer
firefighters have received compensation
via free water, sewer, and trash pick up
In the I990-I9M budget that compen
• ation is replaced by a retirement ben
efit plan
Once firefighters reach 55, they are
compensated for the years of service to
the community Volunteers must serve
five years before they are vested, and 15
years before becoming eligible for full
benefits
A firefighter who is 25 now and serves
15 years is eligible for a pension of $240
h month That number jumps to $336 per
month after 20 years service Firefighters
w ho are 56 and serve 15 ygars are eligible
for $72 a month or $78 if they serv e
20 years
Council member Hups Richardson
said he understood that tie fire adminis
tration surveyed the firefighters for their
input
“I don't know of any otfier suggestions
that were made, received, or looked at.”
Richardson naid.
Executive Director offlperations Bill
Davison said Fire Chief Kerry Kinney met
with the firefighters and presented the
pro* and cons of the retirement plan
"It was the deal re of the volunteer*
to have the pension fund.” Davison said
“So many live outside the city that they
were getting nothing for their service to
the city This way it is more evenly dis
tributed and nil are receiving some ben
efit *
Burleson City Manager Key Godbey
agreed
"We went forward with it with the
understanding that that's what they
wanted.” Godbey said
Crocker and two other former fire
chiefs will continue to receive free water,
even if the retirement plan is OK'd, be
cause they were given lifetime water end
Its
Finance Director Charlie Hams did
u brief overview of the budget and the
proposed tax rate of 67 75 cents per $ 100
valuation dunng the public hearing
Owners of a home valued at $57,290
would pay $388 14 a year, or $32 34 a
month Harns said an average monthly
cable bill is $36 84
Council member Todd Pearson said
the city was making progress toward an
‘essential goal *
That (goal) is continued economic
development, so we can move more of the
tax burden off the single-family rooftops
It is too big a burden to support the city
on h< use* (residential taxes),* Pearson
said ’I'm glad to see that we have addi
tional money for economic development
and that we re trying to do everything we
can to encourage that It is for the better
ment of the entire community *
The 1995 1996 budget establishes a
budget for the office of economic devel
opment In the past, funds from the* city
manager's office were used for economic
development
Over $34,000 is earmarked for per-
sonal services, materials and supplies, op
erating expenditures, and advertising
I'nder hotel/motel tax funds. $14,000 has
been set aside for the 1-35 Comdor Coa
I it ion (the group attempting to gel 1-35
designated as the national trade comdor >
and n $3,450 contribution to the Histon
cal Burleson Society
The council approved Uie budget, ad
valorem tax rate, and water and waste
water rates on first reading Sept 7 The
final reading/adoption of the budget will
probably take place Sept 21
Leukemia patient
gets bad news
Bsrlrum StmrttiLF.NN COCHRAN
THE RECONSTRUCTION HAS BEGUN: If you are a frequent traveler of Renfro Street, you may
want to find another route for the next year The contractors began reconstruction work, approved by
voters in a bond package, last week The traffic was shut down to one lane as workers dug into the
concrete. Reconstruction on Renfro Street, from the intersection with Hwy. 174 to the intersection with
Rosamond, and AJsbury Boulevard—from Tarrant Street to Douglas Street—is expected to be finished
by December 1996
BISD academic achievers get
big boost from local chamber
By TERRY EVANS
Star Publications News Director
One of the most successful
programs in BISD's history has
a new friend
The Burleson Area Cham-
ber of Commerce is backing Re-
naissance at Burleson High.
Actually, the chamber has
provided seed money to set up
Renaissance Foundation, a 501
3(c) tax exempt entity that will
fund the program.
To this point, the school dis-
trict has been paying the bill, to
the tune of about $6,000 annu-
ally.
Six educators and/or par-
ents selected by the superinten-
dent of schools, and six business
leaders picked by the chamber
will form a committee to elect
officers and submit bylaws, ap-
plication, other paperwork and
fees for the foundation.
In districts where founda-
tions have been established,
huge amounts of money have
been generated after donations
become tax deductible. In Bur-
leson, that could mean extend-
ing the program to middle and
elementary schools
An immediate response
from detractors is that programs
like Renaissance are, in essence,
"paying for grades."
Such opinions just don't
wash.
"For most kids, intrinsic
motivation is all they need to
make good grades; for them this
is just recognition," said Richard
Crummel, BHS principal "Oth-
ers need a boost, a jump start, a
goal School is kind of like the
business world that way. The
premise is, what gets rewarded
gets done."
Crummel saw how Renais-
sance was helping get things
done at Athens High School,
where the program was intro-
duced in Texas He brought it to
BHS in 1990
The high school's perfor-
mance wasn't bad then, but vir-
tually anything can be im-
proved.
"I remember that after we
initiated Renaissance, the num-
ber of honor roll students in-
creased substantially, from
around 400 to 500," Crummel
said. "We've inherited the ninth
grade since then, and we're al-
ways around one third of the
student body (on the honor
roll)."
The program rewards good
grades in a few ways, but the
principal said one of the most
significant and sought after is
the Renaissance Card.
Recipients have maintained
B or better grades through six
weeks, and need only flash the
card to gain entry to Smart Kid
Nirvana. Well, it's just the caf-
eteria, but Renaissance Card
holders are allowed 25 minutes
there while all other students
are busy in mandatory tutorial
periods.
Renaissance students may
spend their almost-half hours
visiting with other Mensa can-
didates, grabbing extra snacks,
or studying on their own to
make sure they keep their cards
The second biggest attrac-
tion is a badge of honor For a
full semester of honor roll sta-
tus, students are awarded cov-
eted Renaissance T-shirts.
Redesigned every year, they
become collector's items.
"This is really important to
the kids," Crummel said "They
wear them with great pride."
Crummel explained that
students who work hard enough
to make these kind of grades
like to be recognized, and Re-
naissance shirts are recogniz-
able.
He added that the feedback
from the student body has been
positive. Recognizing academic
excellence just makes good
sense.
"Think about how athletes
get recognition," Crummel sug-
gested. "They get their names in
the paper, letter jackets, maybe
scholarships. We want to show
students they can be recognized
for achievements in academics
as well as extracurricular activi-
ties."
The hall just outside
Crummel's office is another way
inequity between academic and
athletic achievement is being
resolved. Renaissance Hall of
Fame holds display cases in
which plaques containing the
names of students whose wis-
See NAMES, Page 3
■ She must undergo
chemotherapy before
she can try again
By NANCY IIUCKABY
Star Publications Staff Writer
Two Burleson sisters re-
turned home Thursday night
last week with a huge disap
point mont
Debbie (Huckaby) Pruett
had hoped that the stem cell
transplant she could give her
sister, Margie (Huckaby)
Henderson would provide the
cure for her sister’s acute myel-
ogenous leukemia.
Stem cell transplant is simi-
lar to bone marrow transplant
but is much easier on the donor.
The pair, along with
Margie's husband Gerald, had
traveled to Omaha, Neb last
week to begin the procedures at
the University of Nebraska at
Omaha Medical Center (They
were the subject of a front page
article in last Thursday's Bur-
leson Star.)
Instead, just two days later
they were on an airplane headed
back to Texas.
Doctors in Omaha deter-
mined that Margie’s leukemia
was too advanced to continue
with the procedures until she
underwent another massive
round of chemotherapy.
The Hendersons were given
the option of staying in Omaha
for the four- to six-week chemo-
therapy Jri&tment, or returning
to Texas. This was going to be
in addition to the 100 days or
longer they will have to-be in
Omaha when the actual stem
cell replacement is done.
They chose to return home
in order to be with their son,
Geoffrey, 10, until after the che-
motherapy is finished Then
Margie will have to wait another
four weeks before she and
Debbie can return to Omaha to
try again
Debbie was also given the
option of staying in Omaha, and
going ahead with the "harvest-
ing'' procedure to gather stem
cells for transplantation into her
sister But Margie did not want
her to have to stay alone, so all
three sadly returned to Ifexas to
wait a little longer for the
miracle Margie needs
Margie was to return to
Medical Plaza Hospital on Fri-
day to begin the chemotherapy.
The girls' mother, Jackie
Huckaby, said doctors have in-
dicated the treatment will last
four to six weeks. Then she must
wait four more weeks, so the
earliest the siblings could return
to try again would be around
Halloween.
However, the family will
rely once again on its strong
faith in God, and in the belief
that Debbie will be able to save
Margie's life... they'll just have _
little longer than they'd
hopec'
In the meantime, organizers
for a giant garage sale, planned*
for Sept. 15 and 16 at the Ameri-
can Legion Hall in Burleson,
said the event will still take
place. It is planned for FYiday
from 9 a m. to 4 p.m., and Sat-
urday from 8 a m until 4 p m.
Anyone wishing to make
donations can contact Sharon
Pruett at 295-7346 or Carleton
Weaver at 297-4460. An account
for donations has been estab-
lished at First National Bank in
Burleson.
City goes modern
with voice mail
■ All city buildings
would be connected
with new system
By SALLY ELLERTSON
Burleson Star Managing Editor
It could get a lot easier to get
a message to city staffers.
Burleson, City Council ap-
proved the purchase of a new
phone system that would tie city
buildings together and bring a
voice messaging system on line.
“Our current system is
maxed out,” Paul Stevens, assis-
tant to the city manager, said.
“No more extensions can be
added. There would be offices
without phones at the police de-
partment, there would be no
phones at the new library, and
no phones at the fire substa-
tion.”
The Norstar telephone
equipment and the use of Plexar
would allow the city to make the
community center and the fire
station part of the city, which
means calls to city hall could be
transferred to either place with-
out having the caller hang up
and dial the number directly.
Callers can still talk to a
person, instead of a machine, if
they call the main number. The
switchboard operator can trans-
fer the caller to the appropriate
person or the person can call the
voice messaging service.
The price tag is $75,976.13,
but that doesn’t include adding
the municipal court, which is
See RETIREMENT, Page 3
295-1102 /mSW'vsr
CHEVR0LET-GE0
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Ellertson, Sally. Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 96, Ed. 1 Monday, September 11, 1995, newspaper, September 11, 1995; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth762948/m1/1/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.