The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, January 31, 2003 Page: 4 of 16
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.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Phone: (254) 675-3330 • Fax: (254) 675-4090
E-mail: nawa@cllftonracord.com • ad# .icllfionrecoid com
The Clifton Record
The Clifton Record ONLINE:
http://cllftonrecord.com
Friday, Jan. 31, 2003
The Clifton Record
Bosque County’s Leading Newspaper
Th« Clifton Record (USPS-118-100 • ISSN-1086-9352) i* published semi-weekly, on
Wednesdays and Fridays, by Progressive Media Communications, Inc., 310 West Fifth Street.
Clifton, Texas 76634-1611. Periodicals postage is paid at Clifton, Texas.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE Bosque County, one year $38 Elsewhere one year $45 Give old address
when requesting change of address Per copy pnee: 50 cents
POSTMASTER: Please send address change to: The Clifton Record, PO Box 353, Clifton, TX 76634
PUBLISHERS
James W. Smith, Publisher Ementus • W, Leon Smith, President
OFFICE HOURS:
Monday-Fnday, 9-5 Closed Weekends
EDITORIAL
W. Laon Smith. Editor-In-Chief
David Anderson. Associate Editor
Carol Moulton, Associate Editor
Nathan Diebenow, Staff Writer
Don M. Fisher. Special Columnist
Adrienne Cumins, Deed Records
Allison Smifft, Photography/Web
Caitlm Smith. Photos/Composition
ADVERTISING
Melanie MMxadt, Marketing Director
Joel Hawkins. Advertising Consultant
NBcki Afinowicz. Advertising Consultant
Barbara Dunlap. Advertising Consultant
Brian Milbradt, Composition
BUSINESS
Kay Calvert, Front Office Manager
Nancy Sorrells, Bookkeeper
CIRCULATION
Jack Bruton
Jean Harvey
Pemle Stanford
Melvin Steed
Charlie Gandy
Arhie Nelson '
Michelle Mclemore
nxAi mu
DEADLINES
3 p.m. Friday for Wednesday Edition
3 p.m. Tuesday for Fnday Edition
2002
THE CLIFTON RECORD welcomes letters of up to 150 words on any
public issue Any letter that exceeds the word limit may not be considered
for publication We publish only original letters addressed to The Clifton
Record An address and daytime phone number must be included so the
author s identity can be verified No letters will be published until
authorship is confirmed Those who write letters are asked to limit their
entries to one per month All letters are subject to editing The Record
reserves the nght to decline publication of any submission Letters must
be signed Letters wntten in the promotion of political candidates will not
be considered for publication unless they are scheduled for publication
one month or more pnor to the election Candidates or their supporters
may purchase advertising space during the period just pnor to the
election in support of candidates Letters wntten as cards of thanks may
be charged classified ad rate and be placed m classified section of
newspaper at editors option
Telephone (All Departments) — (254) 675-3336
Toll-Free 1-800-241-5504
Fax No. - (254) 675-4090
Email: news@cliftonrecord.com (News)
ads@cliftonrecord.com (Advertising)
CLIFTON RECORD ONLINE: cliftonrecord.com
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC Any error or erroneous reflection
f pers
will be gladly
inagement
m Record
upon the character, standing or reputation of any person, firm
corporation which may appear in this newspaper will be
g brought to the attention of the mai
1 upon being
NTIRE CON-
TENTS of each issue of The Clifton
are protected under the Federal Copyright Act Reproduction of
any portion of any issue will not be permitted without the express
permission of Progressive Media Communications, Inc
Red Cross Continues Appeal For Help
From Blood Donors With Friday’s Drive
— Area’s Blood Supplies Still Critically Low —
WACO — The Red Cross will
hold a promotional blood drive
this Friday, Jan. 31, from 11 a.m.
to 6 p.m., in the Red Cross Center
located at 4224 Cobbs Drive in
Waco. The Red Cross recently is-
sued an appeal to the community
for help with the critically low
blood supply. There continues to
be a need for all blood types with
a critical need for Type 0 and RH
negative factor types.
All participants at the drive will
receive a coupon for a free Long
John Silver’s meal, a commemo-
rative T-shirt, plus the opportunity
to register to win door prizes
which will be given away through-
out the day.
Extra staff will be on hand to
make donating fast and convenient.
Lunch and dinner will be available
to donors throughout the day.
The blood drive is open to the
community, and walk-ins are wel-
come. While no appointment is re-
quired, one can be made by calling
toll-free 1-800-GIVE LIFE.
Water Conservation, Brush Control
Being Addressed By Legislature
CLIFTON — Texas lawmakers
are addressing issues during the
current session of the Legislature
that are important to Texas farm-
ers and ranches, said Alan Day,
president of the Bosque County
Farm Bureau. “Water conserva-
tion and brush control are just tow
of these.”
Texas is one of the more pro-ac-
tive states in water and conserva-
tion planning, but developing a
water-use profile for each cus-
tomer category (residential, land-
scape, industrial, commercial,
institutional, and agriculture) can
require a lot of data analysis.
Farmers and ranchers, as mem-
bers of the Texas Farm Bureau,
Candidate Filing Period For Council,
School Board Gets Under Way Feb. 17
By David Anderson
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
CLIFTON — Potential candi-
dates for the Clifton City Council
and the Clifton Independent
School District’s Board of Trust-
ees have just over a month until
they can file their candidacies.
( t II TON \| I Rf ANIII I
• «us TnmriiTTIir- ----- -
Gift Items ~ Bedding
Home Decor ~ Furniture
So MuC^ More Come
To S«e! see Us!
Tues.-Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
126 N. Ave. D, Clifton
675-2444
H DAY!
@ 4-6”
$29»0
/100 Catfish
1 6-8”
$4900
/100 Catfish
8-11”
$7900
/100 Cattish
To purchase 8-11”
catfish you must bring
your own container and water (too big to bag)!
Also available: Bass, Crappie, Hybrid Bluegill,
Bluegill, Redear Bream, Minnows.
Wednesday - February 5,2003
8-9 a.m. Crawford, Carriage Crossing
6432 N. Lonestar Pkwy. - 254-488-2874
10:30-11:30 a.m. Bellmead Feed & Supply
3306 Bellmead Drive - 254-799-3128
NO PRE-ORDERS NECESSARY! JUST SHOW UP!
Tommy’s Fish Truck * 870-647-8539
OVERWHELMED WITH LOVE, James Burns (center), minister of La-
guna Park Church of Christ, thanks members of his current and past
congregations for sharing time with him on the 50th-year anniversary
of his ministry on Saturday, Jan. 26.
Staff Photo By Nathan Diebenow
• BURNS
Continued From Page One
are interested in how water issues
will be decided in Austin.
“Farm Bureau supports munici-
palities and water utilities being
required by the state to implement
water conservation measures,”
said Day. “We oppose mandating
water conservation practices on
existing agricultural water users.”
The U.S Natural Resource Con-
servation Service estimates that
brush in Texas consumes 10 mil-
lion acre-feet of water annually.
Controlling noxious brush like
mesquite, salt cedar, and water-
hungry species, would add to state
water supplies, recharge of
groundwater, and enhance spring
flows.
Both elections will be held on Sat-
urday, May 3, and candidates can
begin filing for the posts on Mon-
day, Feb. 17.
Two three-year trustee terms
currently held by Don McCrary
and Dawn Stenmark will be up for
election in the CISD race. Two
two-year City Council seats held
by Mayor Pro-Tern Joann Gloff
and Alderman Damaris Neelley,
as well as the two-year mayoral
post currently filled by W. Leon
Smith, will be on the city’s ballot.
The last day for a candidate to
file for a place on the ballot is
Wednesday, March 19. The last day
to register to be eligible to vote is
Thursday, April 3. Early voting
runs from Wednesday, April 16,
through Tuesday, April 29.
preached his first sermon on a
Wednesday night at East Elm
Street Church in Hillsboro after
attending training classes for pro-
spective preachers.
“I heard from a good source that
at one point you went totally blank,
forgetting the scripture you were
quoting,” said Downes, of her then
18-year-old father’s first sermon,
“but you quickly recovered. I also
heard you coined the phrase,
“Please, stand to your feet.”
On Jan. 26, 1953, Burns ac-
cepted his first full-time preaching
position in Burkett, near Abilene.
Two years later, the Burns moved
to Trent where he attended
Abilene Christian College, now
Abilene Christian University.
Preaching and parenting started
intermingling when daughter
Judy was born in Burkett, fol-
lowed by son Kenneth in Trent,
Clara in Georgetown, and Mark in
Fort Worth.
During his career, Burns served
over 10 congregations; nine in
Texas: Burkett, Trent, Lott, Geor-
getown, Fort Worth, Everman,
Burleson, Willow Park, and La-
guna Park, and two in Canada:
Regina in Saskatchewan and
Kelowna in British Columbia.
The Show
At certain points during the
“show,” voices from special people
from Burns’ past spoke up from
behind a wooden panel, reminisc-
ing about their precious moments
with him as the surprised
preacher tried to guess who they
were. Two disguised their voices
by impersonating Minnie “Ho^- .
dee” Pearl and Jimmy Stewart. '
The panelists covered a wide
range from Burns’ life: witnesses
to his wedding to Wanda, a mem-
ber of a youth sports organization
with which he served as president,
and one of first people he baptized,
Frances (Henniger) Baxter.
“She knocked on my door, and I
almost fell off my front porch,”
Burns said of Baxter who asked to
be baptized early on a Saturday
morning.
David Kennedy, who knew
Burns, not as a preacher, but as
the president of Hallmark Youth
Association in Fort Worth, read a
list of the many accomplishments
Burns facilitated under his lead-
ership in the 1970s from boys and
girls baseball and softball field
constructions to press boxes, elec-
tric scoreboards, and concession
stands.
A poem honoring Burns’ wife for
her commitment to her preacher-
husband, as well as letters and
emails of thanks and blessings
from past congregation members
from Canada who were unable to
come were also read out loud.
Igloos?
Burns preached for two small
groups in Canada as a missionary
for a total of eight years: five years
in Regina, Saskatchewan, and
three years in Kelowna, British
Columbia.
In 1961, the Burns family moved
to Regina after visiting a mission-
ary friend, who was later re-
quested to return to the United
States to finish his doctorate, and
getting to know the local people
through Vacation Bible School
programs and evangelistic meet
ings.
Only one of the three Burns chil-
dren had started school by the
time they moved to Canada, so the
transition was smooth, but when
after five years his kids returned
to Texas, “everyone thought they
sounded funny,” said Burns in an
interview with The Clifton
Record.
About two hoars from the U.S./
Canadian boarder, Regina boasts
a population of nearly 200,000
people almost half the size of the
City of Arlington. It’s also the
home of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police academy and mu-
seum. All Canadian Mounted Po-
lice go there for training.
Fifty-one inches of snow fell on
the ground the first winter the
Burns’ spent in Canada. Burns
recalled watching the snow drift
from eve of the house all the way
across the driveway. His friends
had to dig a tunnel from their front
door to their barn, but none of the
members of his congregation lived
in igloos, he admitted laughing.
“No, but that’s what my mother
and dad thought when we moved
to Canada—we’d be living with all
the Eskimos,” said Burns.
Then, in 1973, while preaching at
a church in Burleson, Burns be-
came a part of a missionary team
to Kelowna, British Columbia, a
town a little smaller than the City
of Waco approximately five hours
northeast of Seattle, Washington.
The Burleson parish supported
the Burns’ for about 15 months
while becoming acquainted with
his new Canadian congregation.
Speaking on why he liked
Canada, Burns said, “I think that
often times you find what you’re
looking for. If you go somewhere,
and you say, ‘Well, these people are
going to be hard, cold, stiff-necked,
indifferent, reserved’—you’re go-
ing to find people to be that way.
“I've found that if you go there
expecting the people to like you,
they’re going to be more likely to
be that way than other times.”
Burns continued, “Wherever
I’m at, I’m home. I’ve always car-
ried that attitude. If I’m in Canada,
that’s my home.
“I told them when I moved up
there, ‘I’m not here to American-
ize you or Texanize you. I came up
here to make you Christians.’”
However, Burns didn’t leave
Canada without getting a little
Canadian-ized a la ice fishing by
chopping a hole through 12 inches
of ice with an axe in order to fish.
A lover of fishing, Burns enjoyed
the experience, he said.
“Winter Wonderland”
Before preaching at Laguna
Park Church of Christ in 1994,
Burns served Willow Park for 16
years; his longest stay with one
congregation. For 12 of those
years, he was also a Willow Park
volunteer firefighter.
Downes read an email from one
of the Willow Park youths her fa-
ther served. The woman, who was
attending Abilene Christian Uni-
versity at the time, told of how she
and her friends collected “millions
of rolls” of toilet paper with which
to “TP” Burns’ house.
“We honestly thought we pulled
off something excellent,” the
woman wrote; however, after
thinking about her deed, her cheer
turned into guilt, but she won-
dered why her youth minister
hadn’t heard her in all the excite-
ment and stopped her from “roll-
ing” his house until it looked like a
winter wonderland.
She asked her mother about it,
to which her mother replied that
Burns and his wife had indeed
seen her through their window
and laughed together at all the fun
she and the girls were having out-
side.
While serving Laguna Park
Church of Christ, the Burns’ urge
to travel and to nurture the youth’s
spirituality never seemed to di-
minish. Ironically, Burns learned
to snow ski not during his stays in
Canada but during ski retreats by
driving 12 hours away to the near-
est slop with his youth group.
Burns also recently hiked the
Grand Canyon going “wherever
the kids went,” according to one of
those voices behind the panel,
Karen Caldwell.
Most Importantly
To Burns, the most important
part of being a minister is “being
able to share the word of God with
individuals and lead them to a
greater knowledge of the scrip-
tures, to administer to people with
various kinds of needs in their
lives, and to help and encourage
people to work with each other
harmoniously.”
Judging by that quote, it’s no
wonder his favorite Bible verse is
Romans 8:28: We know that in ev-
erything God works for good with
those who love him, who are called
according to his purpose.
Ending the “This Is Your Life
James Burns” celebration,
Downes said, “Dad, we are all so
proud of you. You have always
been such a Christian example....
You have gone and visited, taken
food, clothing and money to those
who needed help.
“I remember you helping people
who just stopped by the house, tak-
ing calls at all hours of the night,
KEEPING THE SECRET, Wanda Burns (center), wife of James Burns,
minister of Laguna Park Church of Christ, coordinated the “This Is Your
Life, James Burns” reception honoring her husband’s 50-year anniver- “
sary in the ministry. Over the last year with her family’s help, she tracked *
down a sampling of her husband’s past congregation members to serve
on the “Life” panel on Saturday, Jan. 26. statt photo By Nathan Diebenow
talking with, crying with, and pray-
ing with different people.”
Downes added, “The most thrill-
ing thing to me and I know it is to
you also is that there are souls in
heaven right now "because of you
and many more that have the hope
because of you sharing the gospel
with them.”
But to Burns, being a minister
is all his pleasure: “The pleasure
I get serving people is to see that
they can work out things in their
live, become well-adjusted and
more at peace with themselves,
and have a greater hope of eter-
nal life.”
Not Least
The very last person to be rec-
ognized Saturday afternoon was
Burns’ wife, Wanda, who has “sup-
ported him and has always been
content with being in the back- „
ground,” said Downes, as Wanda
walked to the front of the room to -
give her husband a hug.
“I certainly was not expecting ,
this,” said Burns to his wife who '
spearheaded the whole event by *
gathering everyone together.
Holding back his tears, Burns
added, “It’s overwhelming for me
to have you all here today. They ’
have done a tremendous job keep-
ing this a secret.”
Laguna Park Church of Christ
member Carlon Lemmons cap-
tured the thought and care put into ,
keeping Burns in the dark about
his reception when he said, “It’s
just a testament to how well he is
loved.”
BRAD NEWSOM
Attorney At Law
304 W. Morgan
P.O. Box 465
Meridian, TX 76665
(254) 435-2001
Rated: PC-13 for epic battle
sequences and scary images.
Run Time: 3 hours
ALL Tickets: $4.00 Per Person
Box Office Opens 30 Minutes
Prior To Movie Time.
m
*2 Adults Only
p Thursday, Jan. 30 7 p.r
General Audiences
'g Friday, Jan. 31 7 p.r
Saturday, Feb. 1
7 p,m
i
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.
Matching Search Results
View 10 places within this issue that match your search.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. 108, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, January 31, 2003, newspaper, January 31, 2003; Clifton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth790532/m1/4/?q=waco+tornado: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Nellie Pederson Civic Library.