Crowley Star (Crowley, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 9, 2012 Page: 4 of 10
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Page 4 ★ Crowley Star ★ Thursday August 9, 2012
www.crowleystar.net
There are no winners
in the Fleming firing
In my opinion, the June 25 firing of former Crowley
police lieutenant Bud Fleming has polarized the commu-
nity and surrounding area.
Those who support Fleming have
picketed, attended several city coun-
cil meetings, started a Facebook page
“Where’s Crowley’s Officer Bud?,” and
they are now getting a petition signed
to have him reinstated.
The city, by law, can’t say a word.
The city council, by law, can’t overturn
it, and the city manager, by law, is the
only one in the city that has the power
to rule on Fleming’s termination and he
ruled in favor of Fleming’s termination.
Lance Wyatt, Fleming’s attorney, is be-
ing judicious in what is released out of his
camp. He did release last week the reason
why Fleming was fired: Lying; performance and conduct.
At the same time, he released a few documents, which
appear to discredit Crowley Police Chief Kirk Nemitz, as
well as the decision of Crowley city manager Alan Grind-
staff to uphold Fleming’s firing.
Basically, what it has turned into now is a he said, he said.
Unfortunately, the public is getting a somewhat one-
sided view because personnel issues involving city em-
ployees can’t be discussed.
As I dig deeper and deeper into the issue, I hear unsub-
stantiated stories about maleficence in the police depart-
ment and more stories about Fleming’s character — both
good and bad.
What is one to believe? Or deduce, rather.
Both sides are very believable. Both sides seem to be
very credible. Both sides have very opposite agendas.
To me, however, this seems to be more than Fleming alleg-
edly telling a man at Fountains Fellowship Church, which held
its meetings at H.F. Stevens Middle School, that he could carry
a concealed weapon in the property and getting fired for it.
The wounds appear to be deeper.
It appears there has been bitter blood in the police
department for a while now. Who those bitter parties are
I don’t know. I do know, however, in some fashion it in-
volves Nemitz, Fleming, and several more Crowley police
officers, and perhaps some police officers who have left
the department in recent years and recent months.
My question is this: Why can’t we all just get along?
Have you heard that before?
To me this case has turned into “My dad can beat up
your dad” or “My mom is cuter than your mom” or “My
truck is bigger that your truck.”
It’s easy to be the Monday Morning Quarterback, and I
will be just that.
Was the alleged offense one that could merit a firing? Yes.
Was the alleged offense one that could have merited a
short suspension? Yes.
Was the alleged offense one that could have merited a
slap on the hand? Yes.
As we know, the chief chose the dagger, and the city
manager backed it for reasons only known to a few.
From the QB looking in, if the chief would have chosen to
do one of the other two, this would be over. Done. Finished.
Since he chose the first — in essence what some con-
sider the death penalty to Fleming’s career in law enforce-
ment — it’s not over and will go on for a long time, but
who is going to win here? Nobody.
Fleming could get his job back, but there will be a thick
tension in the air whenever he walks into the station. If he
does go somewhere else, there is enough Internet info to
deter someone from hiring him.
The ability of the police chief, city manager and mayor
to manage will fall into question.
The integrity of the police department as a whole will
suffer for who knows how long.
And, the city will carry the scarlet letter for who knows
how long as well.
Jay
Hinton
Commentary
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Crowley-jcStar
Volume 26, Number 14
10 Pages in 1 Section
(ISSN-1092-4965)
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Have courage to live life, leave legacy
The year has been a great
year for movies.
I have loved many of the
cinema
offers for
2012 and
just re-
cently sur-
rendered
to liking
3D. “The
Avengers,”
“Spider-
man,”
“Brave”
and“John
Carter”
Troy
Brewer
Fresh From
The Brewer
are some
of my favorites. I have some
others also, but would get
more hate mail than usual if I
told you I liked them. Appar-
ently, there are religious folk
in Texas who don’t believe
Christians should like movies.
Yes, they live among us.
Though I am a fanatical
Jesus freak, I reject religion
and control the way my
stomach rejected tater tots
after my weight loss surgery.
So yes, I do tend to go to
movies.
Everybody knows the
summer cinema buffet came
to a major crescendo with
the latest release of the new
Batman movie. Hello nurse!
I have to admit, I was not
super excited about it simply
because the Dark Knight
Trilogies is so...well...Dark.
Though I was blown away,
like everybody else with the
characters, gadgets and the
performances of the last Bat-
man flick, I left my Burleson
Premiere Movie House with
a bad taste in my mouth and
it wasn’t from the popcorn.
Burleson rocks, it was the
spirit or the theme of the last
Batman movie which didn’t
set well with me. But then, as
the Joker would say, “Why
so serious?”
So I took my son and
son-in-law up to West 7th
Street in Fort Worth to see
“The Dark Knight Rises” and
I haven’t stopped grinning
since. I thought it was, to
borrow a term from a MAR-
VEL counterpart, Amazing.
The major criticism
against this movie is that it
didn’t go to some strange,
French or European influ-
enced noir picture. This is
what I love about this movie.
It reverted to the Americana
idea of the-sheriff-has-come-
back-to-town. It went where
it should have went. “The
Dark Knight Rises” is all
about fictitious and fantasias
exit strategies.
Faced with the curse of
the famous jinx of third films,
Christopher Nolan decided
to make this Batman very
different than most modern
trilogies. He wanted the char-
acters and the trilogy to finish
well. There is a special chal-
lenge in endings with Batman
because superheroes have
crazy beginnings but hardly
ever have endings.
Everyone imagines a dif-
ferent scenario of where they
go and how they end up and
for a director to make that
definitive is risky. I am glad
he did. I also think as far as
trilogies and character end-
ings, it is one of the best ever
for Bruce, Alfred, Commis-
sioner Gordon and even Bat-
man himself. Again, I haven’t
stopped grinning.
Everybody needs a good
finish.
I tie the theme of great
endings into this week’s
column from this highly
caffeinated Christian. It is
so important that you and I
finish well. A lot of people do
not finish well, but I believe
by the grace of God, you and
I will.
Dr. J. Robert Clinton,
whose heart for God out-
weighed his brilliant mind,
did a life long study on
Christians who finish well.
In his thesis published at
Fuller University, he noted
six characteristics of Chris-
tian people who leave lasting
legacy and come to great
endings.
Believing that being fore-
warned is being forearmed,
he summed up his study
with six bullet points.
— They maintain a per-
sonal vibrant relationship
with God right up to the end
— They remain gifted
learners right up to the end
— They display the heart
of God and manifest the fruit
of the Spirit
— They live life like God’s
promises and command-
ments are real
— They leave behind a
lasting contribution of mod-
eling how others can live too
— They live life with a
huge sense of destiny and
importance to life.
Have the courage to live
life and leave a legacy.
It doesn’t take a Hol-
lywood director and several
hundred million dollars to
finish well. It takes a heart
committed to something
much bigger than you.
“I have set the LORD
continually before me;
Because He is at my right
hand, I will not be shaken”
(Psalms 16:8).
Troy pastors OpenDoor
Church in Joshua and can
be found at www.opendoor-
experience.com
Texas water debate starting to get ugly
The chatter about where
Texas gets water to meet a
future population explosion
has taken
an ugly
turn lately
as agricul-
ture—the
state’s
largest
water
user—is
being ac-
cused of
wasting
water.
The
criticism
Mike
Barnett
Texas Farm
Bureau
comes on the heels of last
year’s devastating drought
which left many areas high
and dry and has many specu-
lating on how Texas will
meet future water needs.
What really grabbed my
attention was a recent edito-
rial in the Houston Chronicle
that suggested agriculture
will be responsible for future
water shortages in high
growth areas of Texas, which
is nonsense.Then there is an
activist group called Envi-
ronment Texas that is on
a water conservation cam-
paign, labeling agriculture
and other users as “water
hogs” in their attempts
to grab attention and stir
change.
What seems to be forgot-
ten in this debate is that
people have to eat. And
crops and livestock need wa-
ter to grow. Still, agriculture
is an easy target because it
is the single biggest user of
water in Texas. And I’m not
here to tell you that every
single drop of that water is
used wisely. But I can tell
you a remarkable record
of agriculture’s water use
in Texas over the past four
decades.
The total number of ir-
rigated farm acres in Texas
declined 18 percent from
1974 to 2008, while the total
amount of water used for
irrigation dropped by 32 per-
cent. Those numbers come
from the USDA Census of
Agriculture, Farm and Ranch
Irrigation Survey.
Irrigated corn production
increased from 138 bushels
per acre in 1981 (the first
year irrigated corn numbers
are available) to 202 bush-
els per acre in 2010, a 46
percent increase, according
to USDA’s National Agricul-
tural Statistics Data Base.
Irrigated cotton production
per acre more than tripled
from 335 pounds in 1974 to
1,015 pounds in 2010.
In other words, Texas
farmers are doing a whole lot
more with a lot less water.
That doesn’t sound like
water waste and inefficiency
to me.
But we can do better. As
can industry and munici-
palities. We have to because
Texas will only get thirstier.
Conservation is part of
the answer. But so is ex-
ploration of new methods
of obtaining fresh water
such as desalination and
recycling waste water. We
need to repair existing
water distribution systems
and draw plans for future
systems. New incentives
to use less water must be
developed and funding for
water improvements must
be addressed.
The Texas water debate
may become intense and
ugly, especially if Texans
choose sides and pitch rural
interests against urban. The
better alternative is to work
together to wisely manage
this precious resource to en-
sure our prosperity for years
to come.
Mike Barnett is the direc-
tor of publications for the
Texas Farm Bureau.
Letters policy
The Crowley Star welcomes letters to
the editor for consideration for publica-
tion. Letters to the editor are offered
by the newspaper to the community for
expression of personal views on matters
of concern.
Residents are encouraged to use the
column in a constructive manner, shar-
ing their views on subjects of interest
with the newspaper's readers. Letters
are individual opinions and not those of
this newspaper.
Each letter must be original, limited
to 300 words or fewer, signed by the
writer and bear the address and phone
number of the writer. Only the writer's
name and the city will be published
with the letter. The Crowley Star does
not withhold the writer's name for any
reason. Anonymous letters or letters
signed by an unidentifiable pseud-
onym will not be published. The phone
number and address are necessary for
verification of authenticity or clarifica-
tion of content. Letters which cannot be
verified will not be published.
The Crowley Star reserves the right
to edit all letters. Letters deemed libel-
ous, slanderous, unclear or otherwise
unacceptable will not be published.
Thank-you expressions singling out
individuals or organizations will not be
published. Poetry is unacceptable as a
letter to the editor.
During election campaigns, the
Crowley Star will accept letters to the
editor discussing issues or offering en-
dorsements. The deadline for election-
related letters is two weeks prior to
Election Day.
Address letters to: Editor, Crowley
Star, P.O. Box 909, Burleson, TX 76097-
0909. Letters may also be faxed to
817-295-5278, or e-mailed to publisher®
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letters must include the writer's com-
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Hinton, Jay. Crowley Star (Crowley, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 9, 2012, newspaper, August 9, 2012; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth808609/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.