Joshua Star (Joshua, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 20, 2014 Page: 1 of 8
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DONATIONS NEEDED
A garage sale fundraiser ben-
efiting the Joshua Hiqh School Na-
val Junior ROTC is from 8 a.m. to
4 p.m. April 12 in the high school
parking lot in front of Acker Audito-
rium. In the case of inclement con-
ditions, the sale will take place in
the MPAC center behind the high
school.
Donations will be accepted for
the sale from 9 a.m. to noon every
Saturday until the sale date. Enter
behind the Exxon gas station be-
hind Napoli's on Texas 174 and
Cooper Street, take the driveway
entrance to the back of the high
school and follow the signs.
If you are unable to drop off
at those times, call Lt. Col. James
Davidson at 817-202-2500, ext.
1148, or Master Chief Charles
Linville at ext. 1147 during school
hours to arranqe a more conve-
nient drop-off time. All donations
are tax deductible. Ask for a re-
ceipt. All proceeds go toward sup-
porting theJRTOC program.
EGG HUNT
SPARK, a non-profit ministry
through OpenDoor Church, holds
its annual community Easter egg
hunt from 1 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. April
19 at Joshua City Park, 831 N.
Main Street. All are invited for
egg hunting, free food, games,
slides, face painting and more.
For information, call Pam Artmier
at 817-229-7610.
FISH FRY
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Tri-Cities Post No. 6872 and the
Ladies' Auxiliary's fish fry is at 5
p.m. March 29 at 3409 County
Road 920, just east of the Precinct
2 maintenance facility. A dona-
tion of $10 for adults and $5 for
children ages 12 and under s
requested. Dinner is a buffet for-
mat. Firefiqhters, law enforcement
officers and military members in
uniform eat free.
OPEN HOUSE
The Joshua chapter of Take
Off Pounds Sensibly is hosting an
Open House at5:30 p.m. today at
the First United Methodist Church
in Joshua, 114 Paula Street. All
are welcome to visit and see what
TOPS is about and how they can
help you lead a healthier lifestyle.
Call Kay Gray at 817-239-8307,
or visit www.tops.org.
NRABANQUET
The Johnson County Friends
of NRA banquet, supporting
youth shooting sports, is today
at SPJST Lodge No. 180, 1150
S. Burleson Blvd. Doors will open
at 5:30 p.m. with dinner served
at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30, or a
"big shooters" ticket is $100.
Tickets for children ages 12 and
under are $15. Youth engaged
in shooting sports can apply for
grants funded through proceeds
from the event.
Additionally, tickets for a
three-gun raffle supporting Friends
of NRA, are being sold for $10
each, and grid board squares are
available for Henry rifle.
Dinner and raffle tickets are
available at Bennett Building Sys-
tems, 2540 S. 1-35, from Trent
Hassler at 817-295-2223 or at
thassler@bbsinc.net.
LIONS SHOOT
See information on plans for
the Joshua Lions Club's clay shoot
on Page 3A.
INSIDE
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Volume 43, Number 50
8 pages in 1 section, plus inserts
City Page............................2
Viewpoints...........................4
Sports.................................5
Around Town.......................6
Classfieds............................7
Community..........................8
To submit photos and story ideas,
contact reporter Kara Riley at
kara. riley@thestargroup. com.
WWWJOSHUASTAR.NET
JOSHUA STAR
NEWSPAPER
FIRE RESPONSE
IFD on record call pace In 14
By KARA RILEY
kara.riley@thestargroup.com
It has been a busy year for
Joshua firefighters.
“From Dec. 7 to Feb. 4,
we ran 22 fires,” Joshua Fire
Chief Wayne Baker said.
He said the department
usually averages 37 fires -
including grass, trash, brush,
car and building fires - a year.
“If you look at the aver-
ages, in a two-month period
we ran well over half of what
we respond to in a 12-month
period.”
Since early February,
there have been another three
or four fires, Baker said, in-
cluding the apartment fire in
downtown Joshua on March
5 and a mobile home fire
March 13.
The Joshua Fire Depart-
ment responds to an average
of two building fires a year,
but they have already doubled
that number in 2014.
During last Thursday’s
fire, despite significant fire
damage, the displaced fam-
ily of six was unharmed. The
Emergency Services District’s
Engine 290 even found and
rescued the family dog, Baker
said.
“There is no clear pattern
as to cause,” Baker said of the
fires. “In the city, it’s all been
accidental or electrical. We
have seen cigarettes becom-
ing a theme, though, and peo-
ple not using caution.”
See FIRES | Page 3
BURLESON STAR/COURTESY JEFFREY A. HARWELL
Firefighters from God ley, Joshua and the Emergency Services District respond last week to a fire in the 5800
block of Longhorn Trail. The loss displaced a family of six.
MEALS-ON-WHEELS
EMERGENCY SERVICES
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Meals-on-Wheels
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JOSHUA STAR/KARA RILEY
Mayor Joe Hollarn, left, prepares to deliver meals with Lacy Perry, center, of TXU Energy and volunteer Steve
Klein with Atmos Energy during March for Meals, a month-long effort to encourage program volunteers.
Mayor delivers on
mea s or seniors
By KARA RILEY
kara. riley@thestargroup. com
Mayor Joe Hollam went door-to-door
Monday. It wasn’t for votes; he helped deliver
meals to Joshua seniors as part of Meals-on-
Wheels of Johnson and Ellis Counties’ Com-
munity Champions Week.
The week-long celebration, ending Friday,
is part of a national campaign to raise aware-
ness nationwide about senior hunger issues
and encourage action on part of the local com-
munity, a press release from Meals on Wheels
said.
Volunteers deliver hot meals through the
program daily to homebound elderly and dis-
abled residents.
“Texas has the third-highest senior hunger
population,” said community development
coordinator Lisa Deese, “and we want to raise
awareness about that.”
Eleven elected officials in Johnson County
are participating in the event, alongside n more
in Ellis County and more than 2,000 through-
out the country.
Hollam has participated and delivered
meals for the past four years since becoming
mayor.
“I feel like this is a great cause, and I have
always wanted to participate and visit with
senior citizens I might not have met,” Hollam
said. “This gives city leaders the opportunity to
meet citizens who are not able to get out into
the community.”
See MOW | Page 3
Basket! on
board at
helm of ESD
By BRIAN PORTER
burlesonstar@thestargroup.com
Burney Baskett began his tenure Wednesday at the
Johnson County Emergency Services District less than a
week after being selected among three finalists for the ex-
ecutive director position.
“We’re excited to have him,” ESD
President Jack Watson said. “He’s
ready to get started.”
His first open meeting with ESD
commissioners is tonight.
Baskett has served twice as fire chief,
most recently from 2008-13 in South
Padre. He was previously Hillsboro’s
fire chief from 2002-08. Baskett began
his firefighting career in 1982 shortly
after graduating from Burleson High
School, advancing through the Arlington Fire Department.
He left the AFD to become fire chief in Hillsboro.
“Johnson County is growing, and I see a lot of oppor-
tunities here,” Baskett said. “While I was in Hillsboro and
since, I was able to observe changes and improvements
that have been made to the ESD. It is exciting to me to be
on the ground floor of positive changes that are going to be
made here.”
He has agreed to an undisclosed salary with a $1,500
maximum adjustment for moving expenses to relocate in
Burleson, where Baskett said his wife desires to live. He
will be provided standard ESD benefits and a vehicle for
use within Johnson County, but will not be on a contract.
“We thought he was the best fit for our county,” ESD
Commissioner Keith Kelly said.
“We’re taking a Johnson County native who has gained
a lot of experience and we’re giving him a chance to come
back home,” Watson previously said.
Baskett’s background includes relationships with
members at all levels of the fire service in Johnson County,
including personnel in the county’s two largest depart-
ments.
“We believe that will be an advantage,” Kelly said.
A contract with Baskett maybe a future consideration,
Watson said, should he perform as commissioners expect
based on his interviews.
“I see a lot of good things happening here,” Baskett said.
BASKETT
CITY COUNCIL
Review identifies plan for J oshua’s future
By KARA RILEY
kara. riley@thestargroup. com
City management has been re-
viewing operations for an eye to cost
and manpower effectiveness. It was
the subject of a special City Council
meeting last month.
“Where [should] the city’s re-
sources be focused — its time, en-
ergy and money,” City Manager
Paulette Hartman said. “We’ll look
at the things we’ve done this year
and make sure we’re doing things in
a manner that is most effective.”
The success of 2013 projects
were weighed and City Council dis-
cussed what could have been done
to improve success. Among the suc-
cesses was the building of the Josh-
ua Community YMCA, which came
in on time and within budget.
“The success of the Y right now is
because we did a good market study
of what the public was willing to and
wanted to use,” City Councilwoman
Sharlotta Connally said.
The city’s budget also went
well, Mayor Joe Hollarn said. And
City Councilman Glen Walden had
praise for department directors for
“staying within budget and being
adaptable” to changes.
The salary survey was a success
because low salary for city employ-
ees was identified. The city then
surveyed employees and addressed
the issue appropriately by adjusting
salaries to better match salaries in
comparable cities.
“Adjusting the salary ultimately
helps the city be more efficient and
reduces turnover,” City Councilman
Matthew Small said.
The building of the fire station
and creation of a heritage preserva-
tion committee created challenges,
the council said.
Opportunities for the future in-
clude housing developments, revi-
talization of downtown and Texas
174, the Chisholm Trail Parkway,
updating land use, transportation
and increased retail and commer-
cial growth.
Other challenges with the poten-
tial to be roadblocks include growth
coming from the Chisholm Trail
Parkway, the threat of sister cities,
the FM 917 overpass, planning for
growth, the image of Joshua as a
bedroom community, and increased
crime, fires and traffic, which would
put a strain on city resources and
potentially cause the need for a
larger staff and budget, according to
See CITY | Page 3
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Sorter, Dave. Joshua Star (Joshua, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 20, 2014, newspaper, March 20, 2014; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth823103/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.