Joshua Star (Joshua, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 18, 2013 Page: 1 of 10
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THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013
J aslniaxStar ©
_ joshuastar.net
CT100 MEETING
A members-only meeting of
the Chisholm Trail 100 Club will
take place at 1 1:30 a.m. July 19
with lunch, club presentations
and selection of new board of
directors at the Cleburne Confer-
ence Center. Former Oklahoma
City Fire Chief Gary Marrs will
be the guest speaker.
The CT100 club is in its third
year of existence with a prima-
ry goal to provide a $50,000
death benefit to more than
1,000 emergency responders in
Johnson County. Visit CT100.org
to become a member or email
niki.passmore@ctl 00.org.
BACK TO SCHOOL
The Joshua ISD has released
the registration schedule for stu-
dents planning to attend classes
this fall through its website at
www.joshuaisd.org. Returning
students can complete online
registration through Aug. 1 1
and new students can begin
registering in early August. See
the schedule on the website for
information on how and when
your student should register.
MLB Hall-of-Famer Lou Brock
will discuss his life and personal
battle with Type 2 diabetes dur-
ing a lecture at Texas Health Hu-
guley's Fitness Center at 12:30
—|— p.m. Tuesday. He ranks second
among all MLB players in stolen
bases and is one of 28 players
in the 3,000 hit club.
TELL US WHEN
Submit information on your
upcoming event n Joshua
through the newspaper's new
calendar listing.
Entries should be submitted
by going to www.burlesonstar.
net and navigating to the "Calen-
dar" link at the top of the page.
Once there, entries can be sub-
mitted through the "Add Event"
button. The newspaper reserves
the right to decline online publi-
cation of an event at the discre-
tion of the editor and publisher.
HELP NEEDED
Meals-on-Wheels needs
volunteers to deliver noontime
meals in Joshua and surround-
ing areas. Call Christina at 817-
558-2840 for information or go
to www.servingthechildrenofyes-
terday.org.
QUILT GUILD
The Johnson County Quilt
Guild is seeking new members.
The club meets on the fourth
Monday of each month from
6:30-9 p.m. at the Joshua Com-
munity Room, located north
of City Hall on Main Street in
Joshua. Contact Fran Snay at
817-295-4649 or bagrags2@
aol.com.
INSIDE
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Volume 43, Number 16
10 pages in 2 sections, plus inserts
City Page..........................2A
Johnson County......3A, 4B-5B
Viewpoints.........................4A
Sports...............................IB
Classified...........................2B
To submit photos and story ideas,
contact reporter Kara Riley at
kara.riiey@thestargroup.com.
WWWJOSHUASTAR.NET
JOSHUA STAR
NEWSPAPER
I ^ O tL
CITY COUNCIL
Budget tops council agenda
By KARA RILEY
kara.riley@thestargroup.com
Tonight’s City Council meeting will in-
clude the initial presentation of the city
budget for the upcoming 2013-14 fiscal
year beginning Oct. 1.
The discussion will be a high-level pre-
liminary look at the budget, and it will be a
chance for the City Council to review where
it stands on revenue and expenditures. A
look at departmental budget requests will
also be presented. The final tax figures will
be released to the city July 25.
“Even though the economy has improved
greatly, it is still going to be a tight budget,”
said Joshua City Manager Paulette Hartman.
The final draft of the budget will be re-
leased and reviewed Aug. 8. The first pub-
lic hearing on the budget will take place at
6:30 p.m. Aug. 22 at City Hall, and it will
be the first opportunity for citizens to voice
their opinions.
In other business, City Council will also
receive an update today on the progress of
YMCA construction.
CONCERT FOR CLEBURNE
JOSHUA STAR/KARA RILEY
‘Tandy Rogers meets Friday with, from left, Lisa Montgomery; Dillon Grisham and Kaylee Elrod. Lisa and
her son, Dillon, were some of the hardest hit by the Cleburne EF-3 tornado.
Family tells story of loss, recovery
I As Rogers responds to help, recovery not yet complete
By BRIAN PORTER
joshuastar@thestargroup.com
Dillon Grisham has had quite the story to
tell to his classmates.
After his home was destroyed May 15 by
an EF-3 tornado that struck Cleburne, he got
the chance to meet Randy Rogers, who is a
household name in town.
“I loved it. I was excited to meet him,”
Grisham said.
Rogers, who recently released his eighth
album “Trouble,” learned of the tornado while
traveling on tour with his band. As the tornado
turned toward Cleburne, Rogers was on the
phone with his mother. He recently returned
to tour some of the most heavily damaged ar-
eas of his hometown.
That’s when Rogers ran across Dillon
and his mother, Lisa Montgomery. Their loss
made such an impact on Rogers that during
Concert for Cleburne, an event Rogers put to-
gether to benefit tornado victims, Dillon got a
chance to come aboard Rogers’ tour bus and
meet the country singer.
“All my friends want to meet him,” Dil-
lon said.
His mother predicted the storm would
miss their house, ignoring a sixth sense Dil-
lon seemed to have of the havok the torna-
do would cause. Moments later, the storm
trekked through their home, and it took some
time before the family began to realize just
what had happened.
“I wanted to go outside and see the hail,”
Montgomery said. “Dillon wouldn’t let me.”
“I thought we were going to die,” Dillon said.
They were just a few of those impacted by
the tornado who turned out to hear Randy
Rogers and friends perform Friday. Funds
raised through the concert will benefit fami-
lies like those who have lost as much as Mont-
gomery and her son Dillon.
“You could hear the tornado when it came
through the house,” Montgomery said. “When
it was over, I couldn’t get up. I was trapped.
The roof was gone, but my front door stayed
locked and shut.”
Dillon’s bedroom was a mess.
“There were three poles stuck in the mid-
dle of my bed,” he said. “The roof caved in and
everything was thrown everywhere.”
They spent the night in a hotel, and by the
time they returned to their house on May 16
there were already people there.
“That day, the people from West who had
experienced loss helped us,” Montgomery
said. “We had given to West and bought ‘Pray
for West’ T-shirts. Then this happened and
they were here.”
LIBRARY
CELEBRATING FREEDOM
JOSHUA STAR/JAY HINTON
Members of the Joshua Junior ROTC's Color Guard march Saturday
in the parade opening Crowley's Celebration of Freedom.
JOSHUA ISD
Trustees partner up
with Coca-Cola
By KARA RILEY
kara.riley@thestargroup.com
It’s the rivalry that’s
been going on for decades:
are you a Pepper or a polar
bear?
The votes have been
cast, and the winner ap-
pears to be Coca-Cola, at
least as far as the Joshua
ISD is concerned.
The district had part-
nered with Pepsi for more
than 10 years as its beverage
supplier. When that con-
tract ended, JISD trustees
had to decide who should be
the new beverage sponsor
for the school district: Dr.
Pepper or Coca-Cola.
The decision by trustees
Monday ultimately came
down to what would be the
better financial move for
the district, according to
district officials.
Although both beverage
services offered a 20 percent
commission to the school,
the estimated annual totals
favored Coca-Cola. It offered
$15,600, versus the $10,800
from Dr. Pepper.
“It should provide more
money for the schools,”
said Scott Wrehe, chief fi-
nancial officer for the JISD.
Cash sponsorships also
came in to play, with Dr.
Pepper offering $4,500 per
year, while Coca-Cola of-
fered $10,000 per year. In
addition to cash sponsor-
ships, Coca-Cola offered
more incentives, including
money that can be used
toward extra-curricular
activities, as well as addi-
tional cases of water and
Coca-Cola products for the
campuses.
The decision to go with
Coca-Cola will be positive
for the JISD, Superinten-
dent Fran Marek said.
“I think we will have
more participation with _r
this contract,” she said.
“I think our staff will be
pleased with the selection.”
But, at 10, 2 and 4,
anyone still wishing to
have their Dr. Pepper can
breathe easy. Coca-Cola
will allow the district the
selection of one Dr. Pepper
product to be sold.
WEATHER
Three inches of rain
in 60-hour period
■ Commissioners predict no action
on burn ban
By BRIAN PORTER
joshuastar@thestargroup.com
A 6o-hour period of consistent precipitation Sunday
through Tuesday should result in county officials being
able to delay an outdoor burning ban, and it could bring
back dry grass and pasture land.
“It has been wonderful for hayfields and grass,” County
See RAIN | Page 6A
Summer reading program booming
By KARA RILEY
kara.riley@thestargroup.com
As the summer slowly winds down
to a hot and sticky end, the reading
program at the Joshua School and
Public Library is also coming to a close.
It has been particularly successful.
“We broke records this year for our
summer reading performances, aver-
aging about 250 people every week,”
said library director Sheila Carter.
“We are so excited.”
The program is in its third year in
Joshua.
Summer reading performances have
included special events about once a week,
including a Dinosaur Valley dino dig, a
clown, a puppeteer, a petting zoo, jugglers
and a Native American storyteller.
The final special event is a presen-
tation by the Dallas Art Program at 1
p.m. July 23.
The reading program is aimed at
drawing families to the library, which
has been more than successful. It’s not
just Joshua ISD students and families
who attend, Carter said but also resi-
dents of surrounding communities.
Why does Carter think the pro-
gram has done so well?
“We keep close ties with the six
other libraries in Joshua schools. We
are a very tight-knit group, and I think
that’s one reason we are so successful.
We have the common goals of promot-
ing reading and building excitement
about the library,” Carter said.
In addition to summer entertain-
ment events, the library hosts story-
time at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Last year was the first year sto-
rytime was offered, and sometimes
there have been up to 100 people in
attendance, Carter said.
“During storytime, we like to have
a relaxed approach. Kids don’t have to
sit down and be quiet,” she said. “Our
library will be a little on the loud side,
but that’s OK. We want parents to be
able to bring their kids without worry-
ing about making them sit still. We like
to integrate movement and songs.”
Most stories are from award-win-
ning books, and Carter’s staff tries to
match them up with non-fiction sto-
ries on the same topic.
The program also includes the sec-
ond Summer Reading Olympics tak-
ing place through Aug. 2, a program
for JISD students.
Students entering grades 1-6 may
participate by choosing an accelerat-
ed reading book, taking a reading quiz
and scoring 85 percent or better to
earn points. The three students with
the most points from each campus re-
ceive medals and gift certificates to be
used at Scholastic book fairs.
“I’m so proud we have a dedicated
staff that’s very passionate about what
we do. We definitely want to continue
doing things the way we’ve been do-
ing them for the past three years, and
we hope to add more events in the
many years to come,” Carter said.
Call 817-202-2547 or visit www.
j oshualibrary.org.
JOSHUA STAR/KARA RILEY
Amy Bruton Bluemel, a member of
the Chickasaw Nation, entertains
children Tuesday with information
on language, artifacts and stories
of her tribe.
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Sorter, Dave. Joshua Star (Joshua, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 18, 2013, newspaper, July 18, 2013; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth823046/m1/1/?q=architectural+drawings: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.