Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, December 15, 1994 Page: 4 of 20
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4A-Burleson Star. Thursday. December iS, 1994
City calls witnesses at Mattix hearing
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
and after union meetings.
‘1 was asked if I wanted a beer. I
explained that 1 don't drink hecr, 1
don’t like beer,' Crawford said, nam
■ng Mattix as the pc -son who asked
the Question and tiia he told Mattix
that he hked wine coolers. "He
shewed me to another refrigerator
where thev were wire coolers."
Early in Crawford's tesMKNt),
he said lie didn't recall if Matux
Opened the refrigerator for him After
Springer reminded htm of a conver-
sation between herseit and Crawford
in which they were discussing what
his testimon\ wvxild f c. Uv dispatcher
said Mauix walked oxer to the bar
and opened the refrigerate., present
mg to me w here it was. I Jon t think
he ever physically pointed to any-
thing inside it’
When Jim Lam, Mitu.x aitor-
r>cy. cross-exam i net Cm a ford, the
dispatcher said that Mauix was stand-
ing there when "I took one," but that
Matux did not hand >t to him.
Lane questioned Craw ford about
the five days off with out pay that the
dispatcher received affc r Mattix
House fire started by 3 year old
playing with a fireplace lighter
A >year_oki boy who was playing with a fireplace lighter ijjniied a
house fire Saturday night at a two-story’ home on Cliffskfc Drive North,
according » Burleson Fire Marshal Stacy Singleton.
Thirteen fire personnel used two engines to answer a panic alt rm and
reports of a house fire at 135 Cliffside Drive North, the home of Dt. Frank
Junk, at 8:18 p.m. on Dec. 10. According to Singleton, the fire started
under the bed in the bedroom of the 3-year-old boy’s sister on the: second
floor.
"The fire damage was contained to that room but the upper floor suf-
fered heavy heat and smoke damage and the bottom floor suffered :moke
damage," Singleton said.
Two Christmas trees decorated with lights twinkled in the first floor
windows as firefighters squelched the fire. The blaze was under cor trol at
8:36 pm. Firefighters continued to ventilate the house and clean up Irefore
returning to the fire hall at 9:42 p.m.
Barton named to committee
Congressman Joe Barton (R-
Ennis) has been elected to the House
Republican Steering Committee.
The committee is the one which
determines which committees GOP
members will serve on. It's also re-
sponsible far determining strategy far
the new GOP majority.
In past Congresses, the commit-
tee was called the Committee on
Committees and its job was finished
when committee assignments were
set. This year Republicans have
broadened the committee's role. The
committee will meet weekly through-
out the 105th Congress to set strat-
egy on upcoming legislation.
Barton, whose 6th District in-
cludes a portion of Burleson, was
elected by Republican congress
members from a six-state region in-
cluding Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,
Louisiana, Kansas, and Missouri—
twenty-eight GOP members in all.
Barton will be one of nine regional
representatives from around the
country. The region is one of the most
powerful in Congress with four to
five committee chairmanships, two
members of the House lop leadership,
and at least seven subcommittee
chairmanships.
The steering committee has been
working to make Republican com-
mittee assignments and was expected
to finish its work by this past week-
end.
—County grant
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
loading and we work where our offi-
cers know there's a danger but we
don't write many citations because
we don't have the personnel to sit up
and watch a certain area for speeders
or other violators,” Griffith said.
The grant would pay for the
overtime hours, "x” cents a mile for
the vehicle used, and for educational
materials to be distributed.
”1 feel we sure need this," Pet 1
Commissioner R.C. "Mac" McFall
said. "It's a win-win situation.”
Pet 2 Commissioner Ron Har-
mon agreed.
"We certainly need to lake ad-
vantage of this. The more urban we
become, the more problems we have
as far as traffic flow "
The commissioners unani-
mously authorized the application
process. If the county receives the
state funding, the gram would not go
into effect until October 1995.
Also on Capital Hill, the House
Republican Conference moved
swiftly late last week to unanimously
pass a resolution by Rep.-ele ct Tom
Cobum (R-Okla.) calling on tne U.S.
House to hold hearings and have full
and open debate on Barton's bill to
require mandatory random drug test-
ing of members of Congress.
"This is another important turn-
ing point in the way the House is
governed," said Barton. "Tbs new
House majority has stepped forward
and voted to hold themselves to a
higher standard. Congress' recer t his-
tory has been marked by spec ial ex-
emptions and weak self-reguJation.
This is the beginning of the e nd to
that. There is simply no reason that
members of Congress should be held
to a lower standard than White House
employees."
Barton's amendment req uires
that a random 10 percent of the House
be tested for drug use each month.
The results would be reported to the
House Ethics Committee and be re-
ported publicly during October of
election years.
claimed that Crawford bought alco-
hol while underage. Crawford said
he got five days off Tor using a city-
issued badge (BriarDaks Fire De-
partment hadge) to avoid having to
give further proof of his age to get
into a bar. Craw ford :aid he was with
a police officer whe suggested that
he use his badge to get in so he went
along with the suggestion.
Jack Goleman, who was an offi-
cer under Mattix' supervision w hen
Mauix was a sergeant, testified that
Matrix called him at home and told
him that if he betrayed him again,
Goleman would think he had died
and gone to hell. The officer said the
conversation was in reference to a
disagreement over the assignment of
the department's new Ford Mustang
Goleman wanted to drive the vehicle
but when he requested it from Mat-
tix , the then-sergeant said the car had
already been requested by someone
else. Goleman went to then-Co-Act-
ing Chief Wade Pearcy who report-
edly said he didn't care w ho drove the
car.
When Lane questioned Golc-
man, the officer said he asked Mauix
if he could go to Pearcy about it and
that Mauix at first denied the request
then later said it didn’t matter. Gole-
man said he didn't report the phone
conversation to Pearcy because he
feared retaliation from Mauix. Gole-
man said on the next yearly evalau-
rion from Matrix, he received good
ratings and that Matrix did not deny
him any leave rime.
Goleman and Bruce Fayeue tes-
tified concerning a letter the commu-
nity services division officers re-
ceived from the union after those
four resigned as a unit. The officers
were asked to sign the later and re-
turn it, acknowledging that they had
resigned. Fayeue said a paragraph in
the letter that was not cited as being
from a state statute made him angry.
The paragraph in question detailed
what rights the officers would lose as
non-union members if the police
union asked voters to approve a col-
lective bargaining referendum. Fay-
cue said he told Mauix he had a
problem with that paragraph and that
Mauix told him the later did not
mean that Fayette could not partici-
pate in police department commit-
tees.
"I told him that 1 was sorry I was
leaving and he said he understood. I
told him I would not sign the
Fayette said. f
DeL/Cpl. Mark King and Offi-
cer Lcn Wickles testified that they
overheard conversations in which
they believed Matrix was being in-
subordinate to then-Co-Acting Chief
’tjaaonHlrerttitM
ALL TOO SOON THE YEAR HAS ENDED!
BUT, LOOKING BACK, I ENJOYED IT GREATLY.
THE GOOD LORD. HOME OWNERS AND BUYERS
HAVE BEEN GOOO TO ME AND I THANK YOU ALL
I HOPE TO CONTINUE TO SERVE YOU WITH
KNOWLEDGEABLE. UNDERSTANDING CARE
OF YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS
WELL DURING THE NEW YEAR.
I SHALL ALWAYS GIVE MY BEST EFFORT IN YOUR
BEHALF. TO MERIT YOUR CONTINUED LOYALTY.
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING AND MAY YOU AND YOURS
PROSPER THROUGHOUT THE COMING YEAR.
MOST FtESPECTFULLY,
RE/MAX
Associates
(817)447-3Tr7
Horn: (1171295-0624
Plfsr (617)671-7^13
» your pwsny • m rmOf it
After School Program
4&.
H rf
IK
f
tv :•
For Mora
or 295-2221
1. Obtain Rsgllrstton form from the Church
2 Fi n«4 ReaMration form oornotaMv
3. Pay <20 RagiafraUon F—
4. Return Registration form by December 16
(Space Imbed to fbst 30 registrants)
Wade Pearcy during the period in
which the collective bargaining elec-
lion took place.
King said Pearcy asked Matrix if
he was doing union business on city
time and that Mattix replied, "Yes,
arc you going to write me up for it?"
King said he was "taken aback" by
Mattix' comment and that Pearcy
appeared to be also, making a "grace-
ful exit" after "clearing his throat and
walking off like he didn't hear it."
Wickles testified that he over-
heard a conversation in which Mauix
"undermined the authority of a super-
visor" when Pearcy asked Mauix the
same question at a different rime and
Mauix allegedly replied, "What are
you going to do, write me up?" Wick-
lcs said he couldn’t sec Pearcy's re-
sponse.
Wickles said there appeared to
be a power struggle between Mauix
and Pearcy. King said, "Capt. Pearcy
was running the department but
Matrix had a great deal of influence
ova Capt. Pearcy," and that the rela-
tionship between Pearcy and Mattix
was "good for Ray, but not for Capt.
Pearcy."
Dci/Cpl. Mike Pollard and his
wife Lisa Pollard both testified that
Mauix was insubordinate to tlien-
Co-Acting City Manager Bill Davi-
son when Matrix allegedly called
Davison a "red headed, freckle faced,
--," using an expletive. Mike Pollard
said the remark was made during a
conversation between Matrix and Sgt.
Cindy Aaron in which Matrix was
talking about Davison not meeting a
union deadline for making a decision
about civil service or collective bar-
gaining. The Pollards said the com-
ment was "disrespectful" and "de-
rogatory" and that it offended them.
Mike Pollard said things had im-
proved around the police department
since Harvey Hightower took over as
chief because "the union is not run-
ning the show now. The city is run-
ning the show."
Mauix was terminated Aug. 8,
1994, by Hightower. The chief and
city manager demoted him from ser-
geant to police officer Jan. 14,1994,
and put Matrix on a onc-ycar proba-
tion effective March 1994. Mauix
was a nine-year veteran of the depart-
ment.
B
Dad
Candice
•••••••••••♦•••••♦••♦•••♦•••••••••••♦••ft
r
--“-^
Guess who turned
31 Dec. 1 Ith
L l Sk
Happy Birthday
Scotty Henderson
Love,
. W *49 J
Mom & Dad J {
HOLIDAY SPIN
HOUSE
Please join us in Celebration of the holidays and the\
opening of our New Burleson Location
Friday, December 16 & Saturday, December 17
10 AM - 5 PM. Refreshments served.
l^cuHCncc (fallen^
'pine pumUtup & s4rt
j.Vwr.wi
Hand Crafted Gifts, Christmas wreathes & more!
2000 E. Renfro, Burleson 447-6043
Booth space available for Lease
Tips for Crime Prevention
House numbers should be visible day and night from the
street. This is important for anyone in an emergency response.
Courtesy of the Crime Prevention Division/Burleson Police Department
iV Christmas
Open
House
. o
*
Friday • December 16th
4-6 PM
• Refreshments • Entertainment
• Pictures with Santa
- Provided by Jamie Patterson - Snappy Photo
201 Wsst Ellison Post Office Box 489 Burfsson, Tsxas 76028 (817) 295-1186 RDK
#»*»••••••••••
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Ellertson, Sally. Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, December 15, 1994, newspaper, December 15, 1994; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth763386/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.