The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 52, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 23, 1992 Page: 1 of 24
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Clifton Record and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Nellie Pederson Civic Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
auTticsi HicvutusNiae hc.
tei iiwia,
a PASS II 7M2
* nm iriAV nrim iMPS * ^
«
★ HOUDAY DEADLINES ★
CLIFTON — Thu Record business office will be cloaed from 10 a m
Thureday, Dec. M, through Sunday, Dec. 27, apeninf*as usual on
Montay, Dec. 28
Since The Record will be cloaed on Friday, Dec 25, final deadline
for the Wednesday, Dec. 30, iaeue will be moved back to Thuraday,
Dec. M, at 10 a m, Depending on vnrioas factors, the office might
be open awhile on Saturday, Dec St, but this u net guaranteed. Per-
sona wishing to submit materials to be published in the Dec. 30(New
Year's) edition, are asked to adhere to the Dec 24 deadline
Deadline for the Wednesday, Jan. 6, issue of The Record is set for
10 a m on Thuraday, Dec. 31. The Record business office will be
cloaed Thuraday afternoon (31st), New Year's day, and (most likely).
Saturday, Jan. 2, with business commencing, as usual, on Monday,
Jan. 4.
Commented W. Leon Smith, managing editor, “We're hoping that
these odd deadlines aren't too inconvenient for our customers, but
this is one of few opportunities for some of our staffers to get time
off from work. Last year's flood kept many of us working straight
through the holidays and foregoing family get together*, so we're
keepi ng our fingers crossed that we can take some time off this year."
Smith urges persons wanting to submit material to do so early.
I
%
|
ting to suomn material io ao so eariy.
TBs the magic of Christmas unfolds, it brings Joy and wonder to
JLmLyoung and old alike. May the extraordinary spirit of this very
special holiday fill your hearts now and forever.
Several Christmas Services,
Programs Scheduled
DETAILS PROVIDED INSIDE THIS WEEK’S NEWSPAPER
The Clifton Record cm
■Serving Bosque County Since 1895—
1992 Tht Clifton Rncord
A* Rights Reserved
50C
TWO SECTIONS * Plus Supplements
CUPTOR, TEXAS 7WM
VOL 97, NO. 52 it WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1992
Two Suspects Charged
With Capital Murder In
Deaths Of Pierce Couple
By WILLIAM T. IORDAN
CLIFTON RECORD ASSOCIATE EDITOR
CLIFTON — A little more than 24
hours after the bodies of a murdered
couple had been found in their home
outside Clifton the morning of Dec.
16, two CHfton men were arrested
and charged with two counts of cap-
ital murder in connection with the
case
The murder victims were Gearey
and Cathy Pierce. Gearey Pierce,
42, operated Pierce Pfundbing Op.
Cathy Pierce, 39, owned Shear
Fashion Beauty Salon. Both busi-
nesses were located at 603 North
Ave. G.
Arrested were Daniel Frank
Etheredge, 19, 710 North Ave. N,
and Reginald Dewayne Thorflas,
Jr , 18,1202 West 11th St., accord
ing to Bosque County Sheriff’s
Department records.
Etheredge was arrested at 9:43
a.m., Dec. 17, by Clifton police when
£
W
A
w
1
CATHY AND GEAREY PIERCE were victims of what investi-
gators have termed a double homicide. Officers say the incident
occurred at their home about eight miles southeast of Clifton.
Plans Being Made For ’92
VFD New Year’s Eve Ball
Texas Safari Site Of This Year's Dance
Featuring Both Country/Western & Rock & Roll
CLIFTON — Clifton firemen have
a lot of entertainment lined up for
New Year’s Eve this year. Firefight-
ers will be sponsoring a total of
three New Year’s Eve dances on
Dec. 31, 1992.
Two of the dances, intended for
those age 21 and over, will be held
at Texas Safari again this year. The
other, for area high-school-age par- .
ticipants, will be held at The Ar-
mory in Clifton Municipal Park.
For the traditional Fireman’s
Ball, held at Texas Safari, tickets
are available from any member of
the Clifton Volunteer Fire Depart-
ment, or at the following buainess
locations: Clifton Automotive
Garage and Body Shop, Janrie or
Rob Zander; Rudy’s Radiator and
Tractor Repair, Rudy Bean; Spen-
rath Enterprises, Darrell Spenrath;
or T’s Audio, Terrence Sinderud.
Ticket prices are $.10 per person,
with soft drinks and snacks provid-
ed. A mixture of country and rock
music will be provided by disc jock-
eys at both Texas Safari dance lo-
cations.
Participants in the Fireman's Ball
at Texas Safari will have their
choice of two dances to attend. One
will be held in the old pavilion,
which has now been renamed Miss
Vickie’s Saloon. For persons wish-
ing to celebrate at the dance at Miss
Vickie’s, note that Miss Vickie’s Sa-
loon is a private club, and must be
run according to the state lawB
governing such clubs.
Persons entering the dance at
Miss Vickie's must pay an addition-
al $1.50 for a temporary club mem-
bership, in addition to the $10
Fireman’s Ball ticket. No alcohol-
ic beverages can be brought into
Miss Vickie’s, as beer and mixed
drinks are sold there, and none can
be taken out. All alcoholic bever-
ages purchased at Misa Vickie’s
must be consumed on the premises
or left inside when one leaves.
For persons interested in the
traditional type of Fireman’s Ball,
another dance will be held at tha
new pavilion, or “The Red Build-
ing” next door, where the former
See BALL, Page $
ing south from CHfton in his au-
tomobile, according to Sheriff
Dewell R. Harper. Thomas was
taken into custody at 1:06 p.m Dec.
17, at his home by sheriffs depart-
ment personnel.
Both men were arraigned before
Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Al-
vin James. Bonds were denied in
both caaaa Ip Judge James.
Transporting Etheredge from
Clifton to the Bosque County Jail in
Ms.idian jneMMiiiRsIlii Dipmi
ment (CPD) patrol ear were Sir/,
geant Adam C. Sawder and Officers
Rex Childress and Randy Hill of the
CPD
Escorting Thomas from Clifton to
the county jail in a sheriffs depart-
ment cruiser were Sergeant Albert
Biggs of that department; Consta-
ble Cecil Powers, and Sheriff-Elect
Tim S. Gage.
In both instances, the prisoners
were removed from the vehicle
t ransporting them to be walked into
a rear entrance to the county jail.
Members of the print and television
press filmed the scene.
Neither man responded to shout-
ed questions from one television in-
terviewer about the crimes. Sheriff
Harper said later than no state-
ments had been made by either sue
pect concerning the case.
The two arrested teenaged men
were processed at the jail by Ser
geant David Gilmore of the sheriff s
department, who fingerprinted
them; Jailer A1 Osgood; Corporal
Clint Pullin, and Sgt. Biggs. The
procedure was viewed and filmed by
members of the press from an ad-
joining garage through a small win
dow which gave a view of the
processing area.
Etheredge and Thomas changed
into prison garb and were taken to
their cells. Both men were later
visited by their parents, according
to Sgt. Biggs.
Attorney Steve Robertson of
Robertson and Robertson, Clifton le-
gal firm, counseled with Etheredge
family members.
District Attorney Andrew J.
McMullen is expected to seek grand
jury action in the case. If the two
prisoners are indicted, they will be
arraigned and given a pre-trial
hearing.
“No other arrests are pending,"
Harper announced.
In a Dec. 17 interview, Sheriff
Harper said that only the 1986 slay
ing of Mickey Blue Bryan was more
grisly than the murder scene at the
Pierce residence. ,
Before receiving a preliminary
autopsy report from the South-
western Institute of Forensic
Sciences, Dallas, the sheriff said
that he believed that the Pierces
had been bound and shot early in
the morning of Dec. 16. The hus-
band's body was found in a front
room of the residence, which was
about eight miles southeast of
Clifton. His wife’s body was in a
bedroom.
The bodies were found by a rela-
tive who had gone to the home to
check on the Pierces after they had
failed to arrive at work. The in-
dividual who discovered the trage-
dy asked not to be identified, Sgt.
Biggs reported.
At the distraught person's re-
See HOMICIDE8, Page 4
BOOKED into the Bosque County Jail as suspects in the shooting deaths of Gearey and Cathy
Pierce were Daniel Prank Etheredge (left photo) and Reginald Dewayne Thomas, Jr. (right photo).
Fingerprinting the teenagers was Sergeant David Gilmore of the Bosque County Sheriff's Depart-
ment (right, each photo).
—StaW Photos By W Leon Smith
County Adds $1,440 More
For Sheriffs Transition
By WILLIAM T. IORDAN
CUFTON RECORD ASSOCIATE EDITOR
MERIDIAN — Bosque County
Commissioners' Court has added
$1,440 to the $2,800 previously
authorized to cover transitional ex-
penses for Sheriff-Elect Tim S. Gage
of Clifton. Gage will succeed Sheriff
Dewell R. Harper on Jan. 1.
Sheriff-Elect Gage told the court
Dec. 14 that the extra funds would
allow Paul E. Johnson, Jr. an addi-
tional 160 hours of duty as Gage's
transitional consultant. Johnson
will become chief deputy
sheriff/lieutenant when Gage
replaces Harper next month. Leon
Angermann is Harper's chief
deputy sheriff.
The court's original appropriation
of $2,800 provided $2,160 for 240
hours of consultancy service, at $9
an hour. It allowed $640 for ad-
ministrative expenses, such as
newspaper advertising, office sup-
plies, and postage.
In a progress report, Gage assured
the court that he will have a staff
“ready to go to work on Jan. 1." He
said that 10 deputy sheriffs had
been chosen from a field of 28 who
had applied and 17 who had under
gone written and physical endur
ance examinations recently, at
Riverside Park in Clifton,
Of 22 individuals who sought po-
sitions as dispatchers or jailers, 16
took exams. Among the 14 persons
who signed up for secretarial as
signmenta, six underwent testing.
Gage informed the court that, in
advance of taking office, he had
completed training conducted by
See COUNTY, Page 2
Trash Pickup
Delayed Over
Holidays
CLIFTON - Centex Waste
Management will not provide
service for the City of Clifton on
two consecutive Fridays: Christ-
mas Da^ Dec. 25, and New
Year's Day, Jan. 1, according to
Bryan Harper, a representative
of the firm.
Centex will pick up trash on.
the following Tuesdays, he
advised.
Smiths, Progressive Media
Dismissed From Libel Suit
MERIDIAN - In an order signed
by Presiding Judge Vfc Hall on Dec.
4, Clifton defendants in a libel suit
filed by Bosque Cotlnty Sheriff
Dewell Ray Harper have been dis-
missed from the suit.
The “Order on Plaintiffs Motion
to Dismiss" stated that “the Court
finds the Plaintiff does not desire to
assert any claim against Defen-
dants, James W. Smith, W. Leon
Smith, individually, and Progres-
sive MeJia Communications, Inc.,"
publishers of The Clifton Record
and The Bosque Globe.
The order did not dismiss others
being sued, including Larry and
Debbie Newton, The Bosque County
News, Hollis Bogart, and William
M. Geofge—plus “other unknown
defendants."
The suit against the Smiths and
the Clifton-based publications was
the reault of a political advertise
ment printed in the publications
The advertisement had been pur
Chased by Hollis Bogart, a candi
See SMITHS. Page 2
Teen Party Set For New Year’s Eve At Armory
CLIFTON - Thank* to the
generosity of local businesses, and
with the assistance of the Clifton
Volunteer Fire Department, Clifton
tennagers will have their own New
Year’s Eve party this year.
The event will be held at The Ar-
mory (whkh the city is providing
free of charge), in City Park from
8:80 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Thursday,
Dec. 31.
Organisers stress that this will be
a drug- and alcohol-free gathering
with the goal of providing a safe
place for Clifton High School stu-
dents and their dates to ring in the
New Year.
Some of the scheduled activities of
the "Two Year - New Year” Party
include:
8m TEEN DANCE, Page S
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Smith, W. Leon. The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 52, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 23, 1992, newspaper, December 23, 1992; Clifton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth788231/m1/1/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Nellie Pederson Civic Library.