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22 Cleburne Conference Center 30 Museums

Cleburne has deep roots and down home country living with a splash of city life just around the corner in Dallas and Fort Worth. When you want to get away from the hustle and bustle, visit our city for good, clean family fun and entertainment.

Cleburne ... This is Texas

Cleburne Youth Sports Complex

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48 Plaza-Carnegie theaters 74 Railroad history

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W elcome to Cleburne. We are glad you have chosen our community as your new home or as a destination of interest. We are proud of our community, our people, our heritage and the fact we offer

the convenience of a hometown atmosphere so close to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. We encourage you to take an active interest in Cleburne and join us in making it a better place to live.

At the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce, we are committed to helping you get settled in as soon as possible so that you will be as happy to be here as we are to have you here. Please call our staff at 817-645-2455 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Cathy MarchelChamber President

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Cleburne This is Texas magazine 2012 is produced by the Cleburne Times-Review. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. Cleburne This is Texas magazine is

distributed by the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce.

PUBLISHER Kay Helms &ADVERTISING [email protected] DIRECTOR

MANAGING Dale Gosser EDITOR [email protected]

GRAPHICS Ashley Garey DIRECTOR

BUSINESS Lynn Coplin MANAGER

CIRCULATION Toscha Vaughan MANAGER

WRITERSAND Monica Faram PHOTOGRAPHERS Matt Smith Pete Kendall Chris Gill Steve Knight City of Cleburne Cleburne Chamber Lisa Magers Ginny Rodgers Gigi Barnett John D. Harden Amber Washington

COPYEDITORS Dale Gosser Monica Faram

ADVERTISING Dawn Bennett ACCOUNT Amy Lanciano EXECUTIVES Jennifer Jacobs Sherri Jouett

ADVERTISING Connie Crannell GRAPHICS

CLASSIFIED Teresa Slade ACCOUNT Eric Faught EXECUTIVES

108 S. Anglin St., Cleburne, TXP.O. Box 1569 , Cleburne, TX 76033

Phone: 817-645-2441Metro: 817-558-2855

Fax817-357-8031 News

817-645-4020 Advertising

A&A Iron & Metal ..............................................32Air EVAC Life Team ...........................................14Allstate Angela Warmath ...................................20Arbors of Cleburne .............................................3Arts Unlimited...................................................76Ball Insurance ...................................................25Ballman & Associates ........................................32BATES etc. Travel ..............................................79Bennett Printing ................................................46Berry & Berry Dental Associates .........................21Bethel Temple ...................................................25Bob’s Furniture .................................................18Bob’s Rural Garbage .........................................78Bowden Travel ..................................................36Bradley Law Firm ...............................................51Branlin’s Wild West ............................................76Caddo St. Grill ..................................................15CareFlite .....................................................40-41Carnegie Players ...............................................14Casa of Johnson County ....................................19Cataract Eye Center ...........................................24Center for Cancer .............................................25Childress Engineers ..........................................73Cleburne Chamber of Commerce ......................37Cleburne Economic Development Foundation....73Cleburne Electric ...............................................68Cleburne Eye Center .........................................62Cleburne Ford ...................................................21Cleburne Funeral Home ....................................50Cleburne Healthcare .........................................43Cleburne Home Place ........................................19Cleburne Times-Review ....................................65Cleburne Shipping ............................................68Coldwell Banker ................................................53Community Bank ..............................................24Community Hospice ..........................................46Cowan Costumes ..............................................18Dr. Karla Davidson Cox .....................................19

List of Advertiser’s A-Z

Table of Contents10 CITY

Planning for the future

66 JOHNSONCOUNTYCounty preparing for the future

54 TEXAS121High hopes for new highway

26 ECONOMICDEVELOPMENTCleburne by the numbers

70 ENTERTAINMENTEvents and entertainment

78 EMERGENCYINFORMATIONEmergency contacts and helpfulorganizations

16 CHAMBERA thriving endeavor

34 CHISHOLMTRAILOutdoor museum continues to grow

38 LAKESANDPARKSFun for the entire family

44 EDUCATIONCleburne ISD serves community with educational opportunities

64 CLEBURNETIMES-REVIEWNewspaper a staple in the community

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Eagle Ridge RV ..................................................18Family Medicine & Associates ............................53First Baptist Church ..........................................62First Financial Bank ...........................................56Flamingo Bingo .................................................46Gateway ELC .....................................................29Gissiner Electric ................................................76Harmon Insurance.............................................63HEB Grocery ......................................................43Heritage Trails Nursing & Rehabilitation ............19Hill College .......................................................62J&J Pharmacy .....................................................32James Hardie Building Products .........................73Jeff England Motor Company .............................50Johnson County Sheriff Posse ............................32Laser Tech Solutions .........................................68Liberty Hotel .......................................................9London’s Look ..................................................77LoneStar Ag Credit ............................................68Pack N Mail .......................................................18Plaza Theatre ....................................................43Pinnacle Bank ....................................................51Pinnergy ...........................................................33Pipeline Specialties ...........................................77Raintree Homes ................................................24Republic Title ....................................................36Rocking C Ranch Catering .................................57Sally’s Flower Shoppe ........................................77Santa Fe Trails ..................................................33Simply Zinful .....................................................76Southwest Media ...............................................80Stone Gate Senior .............................................57Texas Oncology ................................................. ??United Cooperative Services ..............................56Wellness Fitness Center ....................................77Wells Financial ..................................................57Westhill Church of Christ ..................................46Zimmerer Kubota ................................................2

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CleburneWelcome to Cleburne, where history

lives in the form of people and things but mostly of places such as

Layland Museum, the restored Liberty Hotel, Yellow Jacket Stadium and the pastoral Hulen Park pond.

Nothing, however, screams Cleburne quite like the 98-year-old Johnson County Court-house, where two prominent highways (U.S. 67 and Texas 174) intersect and where hobby photographers still congregate, after all these years, to snap memories of the one-block-square Beaux Arts Classical structure designed by distinguished Dallas architects Otto Lang and Frank Witchell, both students of the re-nowned Frank Lloyd Wright.

The courthouse is the county’s fourth and Cleburne’s second. It was constructed in 1914 at a cost of $226,000.

What makes the Beaux Arts Classical-style courthouse a relative rarity is that most Texas courthouses went up in the 1880s and 1890s. Only about 40 Texas courthouses built be-tween 1908 and 1914 survive.

Cleburne was incorporated on May 3, 1871. Its first mayor, Mr. A.M. Cunningham, served in 1871-72. The first post office was es-tablished in 1867.

The Gulf Colorado & Santa Fe railroad opened the first of 22 miles of track between Cleburne and Kopperl on Oct. 21, 1881. The service was extended to Fort Worth on Dec. 8, 1881.

The first public schools were established in 1868. In 1862, the first public school build-ing was constructed by bond money issued by the city.

But back to the start ... Cleburne was once known as Camp Henderson and was a training center for a number of Civil War soldiers.

The name Henderson came from a man, Col. W.F. Henderson, who had as much to do with settling this area as anyone, although there is no record of his ever having lived here.

Henderson had Col. B.J. Chambers survey the area which is now known as Cleburne. Chambers is considered the father of Cle-

burne.Chambers was born Barzialli Jefferson

Chambers on Dec. 5, 1817, in Mount Ster-ling, Ky.

Barzialli attended school in a Kentucky log cabin and studied surveying under a private tutor until he was 17. He then went to work as a teacher in the same school where he had been a student. In 1836, Barzialli’s uncle, Gen. Thomas Jefferson Chambers, an officer in the Texas Patriots, came to Kentucky to buy can-nons and recruit men to fight in the war of independence against Mexico.

He convinced his young nephew to join the Texas forces, and the men left for Texas on horseback March 8, 1837.

An 1895 edition of the Cleburne Enterprise reported that Barzialli “had many adventures with the wild and war-like Indians,” but said he treated them “justly” and the Indians re-ciprocated.

Chambers settled in what is now the south-ern portion of Cleburne and remained there until the death of his second wife, Emma Montgomery, in 1857.

He moved back to Cleburne in 1865 after serving in the Confederate Army and never left Cleburne after the war was over.

The town was named for Gen. Patrick Cleburne, Confederate Army officer. He was killed at the Battle of Franklin near the end of the war.

In 1866, N.H. Cook supposedly became the first settler in Camp Henderson. He built a log house at the southwest corner of the pres-ent square and started a mercantile business to serve cowboys driving doggies north on the Chisholm Trail.

There is so much more to learn about Cle-burne’s past that you couldn’t possibly learn it in this brief essay. For details, our advice is to head for our hallowed museum (201 N. Cad-do) and public library (302 W. Henderson). They can point you in whatever direction of Cleburne you think you might want to ven-ture later. If you get lost, we’ll get you back on your way. Cleburnites are among Texas’ friendliest folk.

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F rom the Chisholm Trail to the Civil War to the coming of the railroad and the Barnett Shale, Cleburne has remained a vibrant city with a small-town feel, steeped in tradition and community camaraderie.

A short distance from Fort Worth and Dallas and the more rural cities and areas of Johnson and surrounding counties, Cleburne contains the best of both worlds.

Cleburne offers shopping, dining and an array of cultural and entertainment attractions coupled with the opportunity to get away from it all and commune with nature. Both exist a short distance and mere minutes apart.

The city offers a host of seasonal events, museums, live theater, historic homes and buildings, two lakes, numerous parks, a golf course and Friday-night football courtesy of the Cleburne Yellow Jackets.

Cleburne: Small-town feel and plenty to offer

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The renovated and expanded Cleburne Conference Center opened in 2010, followed by the new Cleburne Chamber of Commerce building, which houses the chamber, tourism center and economic development offices.

Renovation recently completed on the Low-ell Smith Sr. History Center. The center, a for-mer auto dealership, serves as a research library and archive storage for the adjacent Layland Museum. The renovation of Layland Museum and the establishment of a railroad museum are in the works.

Plans in the early stages of consideration call for numerous renovations and attractions at Lake Pat Cleburne over the coming years.

HistoryCleburne’s frontier roots stretch back to the

1800s.Soldiers used a wagon road, Johnson Coun-

ty’s earliest road, to pass through the area while traveling from Fort Belknap in Young County to Fort Graham near Hillsboro.

Soldiers established Camp Henderson as a bivouac for Civil War troops heading to com-bat, which led to the establishment of a perma-nent settlement in 1867.

Many of the new settlement’s residents served under Confederate Gen. Patrick R. Cle-burne during the war and later named the town in his honor.

The city grew with the coming of the rail-road. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Rail-road arrived in 1881, and the city’s population dramatically increased. Santa Fe opened ma-chine shops in the late 1800s, securing Cle-burne’s future and serving as a major employer for the town.

The shops closed more than 20 years ago, but other industries, such as a Walmart Distri-bution Center and Cleburne’s Industrial Park, sustain Cleburne’s economy.

The onset of natural gas exploration in the Barnett Shale, underlying Cleburne and John-

son County, supplied new opportunities, em-ployment and the promise of more growth.

GovernmentThe Cleburne City Council consists of four

single-member district seats and a mayor.In the single-member district system, each

area elects its own representative. The mayor, however, is elected by all residents eligible to vote.

Cleburne has a council-manager system of government. Under this system, an elected council makes policy and passes ordinances, and the city manager supervises city operations and implements policies adopted by the coun-cil.

Council members serve two-year terms.The council meets at 7 p.m. the second and

fourth Tuesday of each month at Cleburne City Hall, located at 10 N. Robinson St.

The city hall building, anchoring the east end of downtown, formerly housed a post of-fice.

The public is encouraged to attend council meetings. For information, call 817-645-0908 or visit www.ci.cleburne.tx.us.

Emergency servicesThree fire stations serve Cleburne, and a

fourth is planned. For non emergency situa-tions, call 817-645-0964. The Cleburne Police Department is located on 302 W. Henderson St. For non emergency situations, call 817-645-0972. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is located in Cleburne on 1102 E. Kilpatrick St. For non emergency situations, call 817-556-6060. For emergency services from any of these agencies, dial 911.

CareFlite provides air and ground ambu-lance service to Johnson County. For emergen-cy service, dial 911. For membership or other information, call 817-339-2273 or visit www.careflite.org.

The Johnson County Emergency prepared-ness office is located at 121 W. Chambers St. in Cleburne. For information, call 817-556-6346.

Cleburne Municipal Airport Hazlewood Field

Cleburne holds a special place in aviation history being, along with Keene, the construc-tion location of the first airplane built in Texas.

Floyd Rodgers, with the help of John C. Fine, built what became known as Old Soggy No. 1 in 1911.

Construction began in Cleburne, near pres-ent day city hall, before moving to Keene. Once completed, two mules pulled the plane from Keene to Cleburne, a trip that took six hours. Rodgers built a wall around the plane, charged 50 cents admission and collected $700 in three days.

An earlier Cleburne Airport had a Santa Fe boxcar for an office and a runway lit by smudge pots. Facilities at Hazlewood Field, named after a former Cleburne mayor, are a bit more high tech.

The 520 acre airport, located at 1650 Air-port Drive, serves as a general aviation airport that meets the growing demands of business, corporate and personal aviation needs.

Corporate aircraft often use the airport to avoid Dallas and Fort Worth air traffic.

Recent improvements include a city owned fueling station. Plans are under way to add an interactive aviation museum.

For airport information, call 817-641-5456. For information on hangar availability and rates, call 817-645-0949.

MuseumsCleburne’s Layland Museum, located at 201

N. Caddo St., came into existence through a gift in 1963 from William J. Layland, a local businessman.

His family donated his collection of almost

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500 ethnographic items to the city.The museum is a department of the city and

as a steward of records and events and main-tains archives documenting new construction, improvements and or the loss of historic struc-tures, new roadways and bridges, as well as no-table personages in the community.

Housed in the historic Carnegie Building, previous home of the Cleburne Public Library, the Layland offers numerous free activities and educational programs for children and adults throughout the year.

The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every second and fourth Saturday. For informa-tion, call 817-556-8840 or e-mail [email protected].

The Lowell Smith Sr. His-tory Center, located adjacent to the Layland, serves as a research center and archive storage and offer classes and a classic-auto display.

A small museum display in the Guinn Justice Center, for-mer home of Cleburne High School, focuses on the history of the high school and Cle-burne.

The Chisholm Trail Out-door Museum, on U.S. 67 near Lake Pat Cleburne, of-fers a trip back to Johnson County frontier days. The museum contains the orig-inal county courthouse, a stagecoach station, black-smith shop and other at-tractions.

A fourth museum, located on the first floor of the Johnson County Courthouse, focuses on the history of Johnson County.

Johnson County Commissioners voted to install the museum in the historic courthouse several years ago following a major renovation of the courthouse.

Cleburne Public LibraryThe Cleburne Public Library, located at

302 W. Henderson St., provides Cleburne and Johnson County residents with print and non-print materials.

Services include delivery for home-bound patrons and weekly story time for children, public computer and Internet access and a host of activities and programs throughout the year.

The library is open 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday and Thursday. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tues-day and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For informa-

tion, call 817-645-0934.

Parks and lakesCleburne contains 14 parks offering 459

acres of recreational opportunities. The parks offer a variety of amenities from walking trails to picnic grounds and playgrounds.

Carver Park, in the city’s eastern side, con-tains a splash pad for cool summer fun. Splash Station, in Hulen Park, contains several pools and water attractions. Summer concerts, Dachshunds Days, Ducky Derby and Whistle Stop Christmas events also take place at Hulen Park.

Winston Patrick McGregor Park, a recent gift to the city, offers a tranquil retreat and an ever-changing botanical wonderland tucked away in one of the city’s busiest areas.

The Cleburne Youth Sports Complex con-tains 20 baseball, softball and soccer fields, two football fields and batting cages. The complex hosts regional and state tournaments.

For parks information, call 817-645-0959.Lake Pat Cleburne, a 1,500 acre lake, offers

swimming, fishing and boating fun. Plans un-der discussion call for numerous improvements and renovations to be implemented at the lake in the coming years.

GolfCleburne Golf Links, overlooking Lake Pat

Cleburne, opened in summer 2009 to rave re-views from resident and visiting golfers. The course has already hosted several tournaments and received acclaim for its clubhouse restau-rant, which quickly became one of the city’s fa-vorite dining destinations for golfers and non-golfers alike. For tee times and information, call 817-641-4501.

Booker T. Washington Community and Recreation Center

The Booker T. Washington Community and Recreation Center, located at 100 Mansfield Road, offers a multiuse gymnasium, exercise room and rooms for classes, meetings and ban-

quets. To build the center, workers renovated and expanded the former gymnasium of the Booker T. Washington High School. The school provided education for black students in Cle-burne from 1904-65.

The center is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tues-day and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For information, call 817-556-8858.

Conference and Performing Arts CenterThe site of the Cleburne Conference Center,

1501 W. Henderson St., once housed a Nation-al Guard Armory, which was used as a German prisoner of war camp during World War II.

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The Conference Cen-ter underwent significant renovation and expansion and re-opened in 2010. The Cleburne Performing Arts Center, which shares build-ing space with the conference center, also opened in 2010. The center stages live theater by the Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players, concerts and other cul-tural events.

Hotels/motels and bed and breakfasts

The Historic Liberty Hotel, at 205 S. Caddo St. in downtown Cleburne, originally opened in 1924. The hotel re-opened in 2009 after a complete renovation. Cleburne has nine other hotels with a total of 750 beds, and three more are scheduled to open soon.

The Anglin Rose Bed and Breakfast is locat-ed among other historic homes at 808 S. Ang-lin St. and contains two-themed bedrooms. For information, call 817-641-7433 or visit www.anglinrose.com.

The River Rock Bed & Breakfast at 206 W. Dabney St. rents cottages by the day or for mul-tiple days. For information, call 817-774-6248 or visit www.riverrockbbcottages.com.

Emergency radio stationCleburne’s radio station, located on 1670

AM, provides information, announcement of city events and emergency notifications. The city established the station, paid for largely by grants, in 2007. The station normally broad-casts announcements of city related events such as Springfest and Antique Alley, hours of op-eration for city facilities and other information. But the main purpose of the station is to broad-cast information in times of emergency, such as weather-related or other disasters or Amber Alerts.

Signs throughout the city serve to alert residents and visitors of the station and flash

in emergency situations to notify motorists to tune into the station for information. The station works in tandem with a city wide phone calling system and outdoor warn-ing sirens to ensure notification of residents of emergency conditions whether they be inside, outside or in a vehicle.

Cleburne Senior Citizens Center

The Cleburne Senior Citizens Center offers seniors a place to socialize and engage in games

and other activities. The center is also available to rent for fund raisers, banquets, meetings, civic clubs and other uses.

The center, along with the Booker T. Wash-ington Community and Recreation Center and the Cleburne Conference Center, offers groups and residents a variety of locations in Cleburne to host meetings or events of any size. Located behind the Cleburne Conference Center, the senior center is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday unless otherwise reserved for another event.

The center is located at 1212 Glenwood Drive. For rental rates or other information, call 817-532-8852 or visit www.ci.cleburne.tx.us/seniorcenter.aspx.

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T h e Cleburne Chamber of Commerce’s values include customers, credibility and commitment, all which chamber President Cathy Marchel concentrates on making sure they achieve on a daily basis.

“Our No. 1 goal is to promote business and our community,” she said. “But we’re continually trying to find ways that we can enhance the value of the member’s benefits and chamber membership.”

Two of the charter members of the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce are still active today. Zimmerman Sons and Co. Inc. and Patrick’s Cleburne Floral were two businesses involved in the December 1918 meeting of the Cleburne Commercial Club for the purpose of organizing a chamber of commerce for Cleburne.

Plans were laid at their “Get Together Banquet,” and after several meetings, a set of bylaws was approved and an application for a charter was filed with the secretary of state.

Chamber focuses on shopping Cleburne,

local businesses

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Bob’s Furniture Outlet“The working Man’s Friend”

1102 W. Henderson, Cleburne • 817-645-8010New Hours: Wed. - Sat. 10am - 6pm

The total number of chamber members was 84, and each one pledged themselves as build-ers of a Cleburne Chamber of Commerce.

The secretary of state ad-vised charter members of the Cleburne Chamber of Com-merce that the charter was ap-proved on Feb. 17, 1919.

Fast forward to 2009, when the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 90th anniversary in February.

The chamber now has more than 900 individual and business members.

“I feel very honored that I’ve even had the opportu-nity to work for the cham-ber,” said Cathy Marchel, president of the chamber. “I am only the second woman to serve as execu-tive director.”

The chamber provides the opportunity for local

businesses in the community to ad-vertise themselves, Marchel said.

“We promote shopping our community

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first,” she said. “We provide services to people who live here and visitors and provide a service to our community’s nonprofits.”

During the past 90 years, 78 different men and women have served as president or chairman of the Cleburne Chamber of Com-merce.

Shopping Cleburne first has been a focus of the chamber since its inception.

“There have been a lot of great lead-ers,” Marchel said. “Through that history, one thing the chamber is really strong in is shopping Cleburne first.”

Cleburne is made up of about 80 per-cent or more small businesses.

“This chamber has a lot of people who have a lot of respect for the organization itself,” Marchel said.

The chamber added a new program in 2011 called SCORE geared towards small businesses.

The program, which is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration, offers free counseling and support information for new and existing small and mid-sized businesses.

“They help small businesses start their business and they also help businesses that are already in exis-tence that might need a little assistance and advice,” Marchel said.

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Businesses have the opportunity to sign up for a free session with retired entrepreneurs who donate their time to offer counseling sessions. Sessions will be available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Wednesday, beginning every hour.

To schedule a counseling session, call the Fort Worth office at 817-871-6002.

On top of the new SCORE program, the chamber has lots of services available to its members.

“Our biggest thing is we’re continually try-ing to showcase and keep our members and our businesses to urge shopping Cleburne first be-cause that continues to keep our tax dollars here in our community,” Marchel said.

A free, one-page webpage that is linked to the chamber website is available to all members.

“One of the things we continually try to do is provide networking opportunities,” Marchel said. “Business expo events, different things that can get them in front of others.”

Other networking opportunities include ProNet groups, quarterly luncheons, after-hour business socials and more.

EventsThe chamber hosts several large events for

its members and the community throughout the year.

Pat Cleburne Days are held as a birthday celebration for Gen. Patrick Cleburne. A full day of events honor the Irish-born Confed-erate general. The birthday commemoration activities include a Scottish Festival and Heri-tage celebration with living history camps, Civil War re-enactors, a chuck wagon cook-ing contest, Scottish and Irish vendors, a wild west show and Scottish games.

The Business Expo is held yearly, giving members a chance to showcase their busi-nesses. Drawings are held throughout the day.

A similar event is called Taste of Cleburne, which gives local restaurants a chance to shine.

The chamber holds a golf tournament yearly as a fundraiser. It returned to the Cle-burne Golf Links after the course’s renovation

was completed in 2009.Whistle Stop Christmas is possibly the

biggest event the chamber holds. The annu-al event centers on more than three million lights that decorate Hulen Park. The lights are turned on about Thanksgiving with a special lighting ceremony and shine nightly until New Year’s Eve.

A Christmas parade is held at the begin-ning of December, followed by special events at the park. During the holiday season, Plaza Theatre Company and the Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players present Christmas-themed productions. For information, visit www.whistlestopchristmas.org.

TourismWith a number of 4B projects recently

completed and in the works, tourism has be-come a hot button in Cleburne.

4B projects are funded with a voter-ap-proved sales tax that is dedicated to commu-nity improvements.

“Without the commitment of the city to the community, the 4B projects in the town would not be such a viable location to mar-

ket,” said Carl Watson, tourism director for the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce, Con-vention and Visitors Bureau. “For example, the sports complex has made a great impact in the Metroplex and is becoming very well known.

“The continuing growth of the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum is also great.”

Plans are in works to incorporate the Ch-isholm Trail Outdoor Museum with meetings when people visit town and use the Cleburne Conference Center.

“Plaza and Carnegie are great entertain-ment venues,” Watson said. “It’s all about combining with all the different things we already have in town.”

Watson also hopes to create bus tours be-tween Cleburne, Glen Rose and Granbury.

“We all have the same vision to see the city grow, but a smart grow,” Marchel said. “Cle-burne is a great place to raise a family and a great place to visit.

“We would love to continue to enhance and make Cleburne a better place to live in and visit. The best is yet to come.”

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Come Worship with Us Sunday Morning Prayer 9:00 AM Sunday School 9:45 AM Sunday Morning Worship 10:45 AM Sunday Evening Worship 6:00 PM Wednesday Night Prayer 6:00 PM Wednesday Family Night 7:00 PM Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal 7:00 PM

www.bethelcleburne.org

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T he Cleburne Conference Center, opened in 2010, provides the city an aesthetically pleasing addition and marks a significant

upgrade in space and amenities offered compared to the former Cleburne Civic Center, which previ-ously occupied the site.

Working off the existing center, city leaders renovated and substantially expanded the earlier building into the new 45,000-square-foot confer-

ence center. The new center holds both the con-ference center and the Cleburne Performing Arts Center.

Both contain ample space to host entertainment and cultural events, seminars, conventions, meet-ings, presentations, family reunions, wedding re-ceptions and other events. The Cleburne Senior Center, located adjacent to the conference center, offers 5,250 of additional space.

Center ideal for events, meetings and activities

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moreexperienced bankers whocare about you

104 N. Nolan River Road817-641-9000communitybank-tx.com

The conference center lobby, about 2,000 square feet, functions wonderfully as a space for wedding receptions, art show exhibits and a reception area for major events in other parts of the center. The lobby also has a concession stand, available for major events, and a coat room.

The exhibit hall, the center’s largest room, con-tains 10,302 of usable space. The room can accom-modate banquet seating for up to 680 or theater-style seating for up to 1,472. A large caterers prep kitchen, attached to the exhibit hall, is also available for rent.

Several smaller rooms fill the center. They pro-vide, depending on the room, seating for 14 to 444 people.

The Cleburne Performing Arts Center seats 297 with additional space set aside for nine wheelchairs. The wide aisles between seat rows allow attendees to pass by without disturbing fellow patrons.

State-of-the-art light and sound equipment make the room perfect for conferences, seminars and presentations.

The center also hosts the Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players, Brazos Chamber Orchestra and other cultural and entertainment events and pro-ductions.

While the conference center serves local arts and residents, it has also become an increasingly popular destination for out-of-town individuals and groups to hold their events and functions, said

Jeremy Allen, CCC facility manager.The Cleburne Conference Center is locaed at

1501 W. Henderson St., and the Cleburne Se-nior Citizens Center is located at 1212 Glenwood Drive. For information on availability, rates and rentals, call 817-556-8860 or visit www.cleburne-conference.com.

Chamber buildingThe Cleburne Chamber of Commerce also

opened its new building in 2010.Located at 1511 W. Henderson St., near the

Cleburne Conference Center, the chambers sits where the previous, since demolished, chamber sat.

The new building is sig-nificantly larger and more visually pleasing.

In addition to chamber offices, the building houses Cleburne’s tourism center and economic develop-ment offices.

Together the offices work to promote and attract business in Cle-burne as well as tourism while touting Cleburne’s attributes and quality-of-life amenities.

The new building represents a marked improvement over the previ-ous building, chamber President Cathy Marchel said.

The new building, which contains about 5,900 square feet, holds two conference rooms — one with room for about 10 people, the other with room for 40 to 50 — both of which may be used by chamber members when available, Marchel said.

For information on the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce, call 817-645-2455 or visit www.cle-burnechamber.com.

For information on the Cleburne Economic Development Office, call 817-645-8644.

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Cleburne’s proximity to the Metroplex makes it the per-fect location to raise a family, locate a business or simply visit, Cleburne Economic Development Director Jerry

Cash said.“A lot of companies, and families, like to be near Dallas,

Fort Worth and the Metroplex, but they don’t want to be in it,” Cash said.

Cleburne offers easy access to all three, Cash said. “We’re close enough to DFW International Airport and

Love Field, and two interstates [U.S. 67 and I-35W],” Cash said. “And we have two railroads.”

Cash mentioned that Cleburne Regional Airport, in addi-tion to serving the city, serves as a destination to many flying in to do business in Dallas and Fort Worth.

In addition to U.S. 67, which runs through Cleburne and connects to I-35W, Texas 174 and Texas 171 also run through the city. Preliminary construction is underway to connect Texas 121 from Fort Worth to Cleburne. Once completed — con-struction is scheduled to wrap in late 2014 — Cleburne resi-dents will be able to reach Fort Worth in about 20 minutes.

Those and other factors make Cleburne a prime location for business, Cash said.

With a population of about 30,000, Cleburne offers a good labor pool to potential employers, he said.

The city’s labor pool totals 12,569, according to November 2011 numbers. The same report lists Johnson County’s labor pool at 76,204.

The local economy remains vibrant, Cash said, having weathered the economic storms of the last few years better than

many areas of Texas and the nation.The most recent numbers show Cleburne’s unemployment

rate at 7 percent and Johnson County’s at the same. State un-employment numbers for the same period total 8.1 percent while national numbers totaled 8.5 percent.

For families looking to relocate, Cleburne offers a wealth of local history and small-town atmosphere not far from, but removed from, Dallas and Fort Worth.

Average home prices rank below those in many neighbor-ing cities, Cash said. The latest figures, according to the John-son County Association of Realtors, show the average listing price of a home at $110,414 and the average selling price at $108,805, with the average number of days homes remain listed at 71 days.

Taxes run lower than those in many area cities as well, Cash said.

Cleburne property taxes are 72 cents per $100 of valuation. County taxes are 38 cents per $100. Cleburne ISD taxes are $1.24 per $100.

Cleburne ISD enrollment for the 2010/2011 school year totaled 6,915 as of January.

Business activity and growth continues and should increase markedly in the coming years thanks to population growth and the coming of Texas 121, Cash said. Johnson County also re-mains one of the core counties of Barnett Shale gas exploration activity, Cash said. The latest numbers, as of January, list 10 ac-tive drilling rigs in Johnson County compared to 24 in Tarrant County and four in Parker County.

Sales tax collection numbers remain strong, Cash said, post-

ing double-digit increases in recent months. The latest figures, January, show an 18.61 percent increase over collections the same time last year.

Quality-of-life amenities also provide a strong draw for fam-ilies, tourists and businesses, Cash said.

Work is underway to construct a second wastewater treat-ment plant, and several projects are planned in the coming years to increase water capacity to meet the city’s growing population in the years to come.

Cleburne also offers several incentive programs to businesses looking to relocate such as two tax increment financing districts and a 380 Program. The latter encourages retail companies to set up in Cleburne, bringing jobs, sales and property tax, by giving a percentage of those taxes back over a period of time.

“We have two strong theater companies [Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players and the Plaza Theatre Company],” Cash said. “Which is pretty rare for a town our size.

Other amenities include numerous parks, a new golf course, a museum complex, a youth sports facility, Splash Station, Booker T. Washington Community and Recreation Center, the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum and others, Cash said.

The city recently renovated and substantially enlarged the Cleburne Conference Center, a building that also houses the Cleburne Performing Arts Center.

Cleburne is also rich in annual events such as the Save Old Cleburne Candlewalk Tour of Homes, Antique Alley and Springfest, Cash said. Lake Pat Cleburne and Cleburne State Park offer a host of outdoor activities, he said.

“There’s something for everyone,” Cash said.

Cleburne: The perfect location

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many areas of Texas and the nation.The most recent numbers show Cleburne’s unemployment

rate at 7 percent and Johnson County’s at the same. State un-employment numbers for the same period total 8.1 percent while national numbers totaled 8.5 percent.

For families looking to relocate, Cleburne offers a wealth of local history and small-town atmosphere not far from, but removed from, Dallas and Fort Worth.

Average home prices rank below those in many neighbor-ing cities, Cash said. The latest figures, according to the John-son County Association of Realtors, show the average listing price of a home at $110,414 and the average selling price at $108,805, with the average number of days homes remain listed at 71 days.

Taxes run lower than those in many area cities as well, Cash said.

Cleburne property taxes are 72 cents per $100 of valuation. County taxes are 38 cents per $100. Cleburne ISD taxes are $1.24 per $100.

Cleburne ISD enrollment for the 2010/2011 school year totaled 6,915 as of January.

Business activity and growth continues and should increase markedly in the coming years thanks to population growth and the coming of Texas 121, Cash said. Johnson County also re-mains one of the core counties of Barnett Shale gas exploration activity, Cash said. The latest numbers, as of January, list 10 ac-tive drilling rigs in Johnson County compared to 24 in Tarrant County and four in Parker County.

Sales tax collection numbers remain strong, Cash said, post-

ing double-digit increases in recent months. The latest figures, January, show an 18.61 percent increase over collections the same time last year.

Quality-of-life amenities also provide a strong draw for fam-ilies, tourists and businesses, Cash said.

Work is underway to construct a second wastewater treat-ment plant, and several projects are planned in the coming years to increase water capacity to meet the city’s growing population in the years to come.

Cleburne also offers several incentive programs to businesses looking to relocate such as two tax increment financing districts and a 380 Program. The latter encourages retail companies to set up in Cleburne, bringing jobs, sales and property tax, by giving a percentage of those taxes back over a period of time.

“We have two strong theater companies [Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players and the Plaza Theatre Company],” Cash said. “Which is pretty rare for a town our size.

Other amenities include numerous parks, a new golf course, a museum complex, a youth sports facility, Splash Station, Booker T. Washington Community and Recreation Center, the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum and others, Cash said.

The city recently renovated and substantially enlarged the Cleburne Conference Center, a building that also houses the Cleburne Performing Arts Center.

Cleburne is also rich in annual events such as the Save Old Cleburne Candlewalk Tour of Homes, Antique Alley and Springfest, Cash said. Lake Pat Cleburne and Cleburne State Park offer a host of outdoor activities, he said.

“There’s something for everyone,” Cash said.

Cleburne: The perfect location

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TRANSPORTATIONAir service-Cleburne Regional AirportRunway length ...........................5,700 feetRunway surface ............................. asphaltLighted. ................................................ yesFuel ...................................................... yesInstrument landing system ................... yesDallas Love FieldRunway length ...........................8.800 feetRunway surface ...............concrete/asphaltLighted ................................................. yesFuel ...................................................... yesInstrument landing system ................... yesDallas/Fort Worth InternationalRunway length .........................29,000 feetRunway surface ........................... concreteLighted. ................................................ yesFuel.. ................................................... .yesInstrument landing system... ................ yesAirports within one hourInternational... .................Dallas/Fort Worth

InternationalRegional... ..................... Dallas Love FieldMunicipal... .......Cleburne Regional Airport

Rail serviceAmtrak, BNSF, Fort Worth & Western (FW&W)

Freight carriersCentral Freight, Consolidated Freight , Federal Express, Purolator, United Parcel Service, Western Tex-Pack, ABF, Conway, Covenant Transport, Yellow Freight, National Freight, Red River Freight, Keller Freight, Deboer Transportation, J.B. Hunt, Dart Transportation, Snyder International, Werner Enterprises, Roadway Freight, Roadrunner Transportation, Roadway Freight.

Wage dataOccupational title entry-level wage ($/hr) Low HighProduction classificationsForklift operator ................ 8.66. .....16.12Janitor, any industry ...........7.25 .....14.17Laborer, general ................7.25 .....14.73Machinist/related occup .....8.12 .....19.67Mechanic (maintenance) ...7.27 .....22.35Sheet metal worker ............7.69 .....23.64Truck driver ........................7.25 .....21.53Welder, production .............9.33 .....22.64

Carpenter ...........................9.39 .....32.71Manufacturing ....................7.86 .....20.31Electrical ...........................10.00 ....29.26Mechanic, auto ..................8.16 .....27.63Office, clerical and technical classificationsCustomer service rep ........7.25 .....15.58Secretarial .........................7.63 .....13.61Accounting, auditors,bookkeepers ......................7.76 .....18.58Managerial positions .........13.69 ....50.89Medical fields .....................7.25 .....18.30Computer fields .................7.47 .....18.66Retail positions ..................7.25 .....18.66

Taxation -Tax rate (per $100 assessed value) - 2011Johnson County ........................... 38 centsCleburne ...................................... 72 centsCleburne ISD ......................................1.24Hill College-Cleburne ................... 44 centsSales tax total .....................................7.75

IncentivesTax abatement ........... yes, city and countyEnterprise zone ................................... yesIndustrial foundation ............................ yesForeign trade zone ................................noReinvestment zone .............................. yesFreeport exemption ...............................noOther incentives ................................... yes380 economic incentive program ......... yes

UtilitiesElectric Energy Delivery, Oncor Electric DeliveryReliability ..........................99.9513768605Transmission voltage ........... 69 KV, 138 KV, 345 KVService voltage 120/208, 120/240, 240, 480, 277/480Other electric delivery...United Cooperative ServicesOther provider reliability ...........................0Natural gas: Atmos EnergyBTU content per cubic foot ...............1,020Water supplier: City of CleburneSource ......................................lakes/wellsMax. daily sys. capacity .. 15,000,000 gallonsMax daily use to date ...11,789,000 gallonsPressure on mains ...................... 35-70 psiStorage capacity ............9,000,000 gallonsSize of mains .....................................6-30”System looped ..................................... yes

Projects under construction ................. yesSewer systemTreatment plan types ..............................Single state nitrificationMaximum capacity .........7,500,000 gallonsMax. daily use to date ....6,800,000 gallonsProjects under construction ................. yesTelephone serviceATT/SBCDigital available ................................... yesAnalog available ....................................noElectromechanical .................................noMake and model .....................AT&T 5ESSSoftware level ......................................5E8 Fiber optics ......................................... yesSwitched 56 KBps ............................... yesHigh capacity digital (T01) ................... yesDigital data service .............................. yes911 available ........................................ yesOther network systemsCellular, Paging, Custom Calling, Voice mail, Plexar, Maximizer 800, Extended Metropolitan Service, Caller ID

Community informationClimateAnnual average temperature ...........65.8 FAnnual average high temperature ....78.1FAnnual average low temperature ......53.5FAnnual average precipitation ......34 inchesAnnual average snowfall ...........0.0 inchesElevation ..............................................764HealthTotal hospital beds in city .....................137Total doctors (medical) in city ................58MediaDaily papers .............................................1Weekly papers .........................................0Local TV .............................................. yesCable TV available .............................. yesRecreationParks .....................................................12Area lakes ................................................3Country clubs ...........................................0Health centers .........................................4Public golf courses ..................................1Theaters ..................................................6Tennis courts .........................................16Bed & breakfast facilities .........................3Hotel & Motel rooms ............................500Libraries ...................................................1OtherBowling, community theater, recreational

sports, baseball, football & softball complex, soccer complex, two basketball courts.Houses of worshipAssembly of God, Baptist, Catholic, Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Epis-copal, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Latter Day Saints, Lutheran, Nazarene, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Seventh day Adventist, United MethodistAttractionsCleburne State Park, Hulen Park, Layland Museum, Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum, Splash Station, Cleburne Youth Sports Complex, Plaza Theatre, Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players

EducationCleburne (2011)

Number Total of schools enrollmentElementary ............... 7 .................3,469Middle ....................... 2 .................1,539High school ............... 2 .................1,757Private schoolsNumber of schools ...................................2Enrollment .............................................80Area colleges and universitiesBaylor University - Waco; Hill College - Cleburne (Johnson County branch); Hill College - Hillsboro; Southern Method-ist University, Dallas; Southwestern Adventist University, Keene; Tarleton State University, Stephenville; Texas Christian University, Fort Worth; University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington; University of North Texas, Denton; Texas Wesleyan Univer-sity, Fort Worth and Cleburne

LocationCity of Cleburne, County of Johnson, State of Texas, located 29 miles South of Fort Worth, 55 miles Southwest of Dallas, 60 miles North of WacoPopulationYear 2011(est.) 2010 Census 2000City 29,337 29,337 26,005County 150,934 150,934 126,811City GovernmentNumber on Council ............................ 5Municipal Police ............................... 56Paid Firefighters .............................. 55City Zoning Body ............................YesMaster Plan ....................................Yes

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Four museums in Cleburne — two city operated, two county run — offer a wealth of exhibits, programs and educational and research opportunities.

Layland Museum, located at 201. N. Caddo St., provides the crown jewel in the city’s evolving plans to create a museum and cultural district.

Built in 1905 and housed in the historic Carnegie Building, the site originally housed the Cle-burne Public Library, which is now located at 302 W. Henderson St.

A 1963 gift from the family of William J. Layland, which consisted of almost 500 ethnographic items, led to creation of the Layland Museum. Since then, numerous donations and acquisitions have substantially increased the museum’s collection.

Museums offer a historical perspective of Cleburne, Johnson County

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The museum’s mission is to celebrate and preserve home and family life as well as the his-tory of Cleburne and the region, said Julie Bak-er, Layland director.

The recent opening of the adjacent Lowell Smith Sr. History Center has helped to greatly advance that mission, Baker said.

Built in 1914, the Smith Center’s building previously housed grocery stores and automo-bile dealerships. Classic automobiles, gas pumps and other memorabilia now fill the Smith Cen-ter’s front window display, a nod toward the building’s former life.

Although neither a museum itself nor a re-placement for Layland, the Smith Center both supports and compliments the museum, said Julie Roberts, Smith Center project chair.

The center serves multiple functions with the majority of space dedicated to archival storage. While off-limits to the public, that area allows the Layland to better preserve artifacts as well as much needed storage space. The archives also make it easier to change up exhibits in the Lay-land.

The Smith Center also includes a reference library, relocated from Layland, and a fully stocked kitchen, known as the Armadillo Room. The Armadillo room features space for the cen-ter’s ongoing cultural cooking and demonstra-tion classes. The space also doubles as a room

for lectures and educational programs.The Layland likewise offers a

variety of activities and programs throughout the year for all ages. Two popular favorites include summer programs for children and the muse-um’s concert-in-the-park series held in Hulen Park.

In addition to periodic changes to the museum’s regular display col-lection, the museum displays a new temporary exhibit about every six weeks. Recent temporary exhibit themes included sad-dles, fishing, teddy bears and luggage.

Change is afoot at the Layland and will be for some time to come. Renovation of Layland’s landscape and aging building continues. The city recently purchased a third adjacent build-ing, which will one day serve as the third struc-ture in a planned museum complex.

Long-range plans call for construction of an exterior elevator tower, development of the up-stairs theater into space for lectures, programs, community events and weddings.

Layland and the Smith Center are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every second and fourth Saturday.

For information, call 817-645-0940 or email [email protected].

Just a couple of blocks from the Layland sits

the Johnson County Historical Museum, lo-cated on the first floor of the Johnson County Courthouse at 2 N. Main St.

The museum, which celebrates Johnson County history and tradition, contains a num-ber of exhibits, documents and research materi-als.

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., al-though closed from 12-1 p.m. for lunch, on Wednesdays and Thursdays. For information, call 817-556-6360.

A small museum display area in the base-ment of the Guinn Justice Center at 204 S. Buf-falo St. offers a nostalgic look back at the history of Cleburne High School. Appropriate given that the Guinn, which presently houses courts and other county offices, occupies the former home of CHS.

Guinn Justice Center

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Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum a Cleburne gem

L ocated off U.S. 67 on the banks of Lake Pat Cleburne, The Ch-isholm Trail Outdoor Museum began more than a decade ago with a simple log cabin building, Johnson County’s first court-

house. Additional buildings and attractions added in the years since have transformed the area once covered by inpenatrable brush and thicket into arguably the county’s greatest tourism, family fun and historical destination. Overseen by the Johnson County Historical Foundation, the museum, admission is free, exists both to provide adventure and fun and preserve the history of Johnson County and the Chisholm Trail.

David Murdoch, JCHF president, starts a tour of the museum in the 16-by-16 foot Wardville Courthouse.

As the first county seat and the oldest log cabin in Johnson Coun-ty, the Wardville Courthouse is filled with artifacts from more than a century ago — an American Indian hatchet that doubles as a flute, a judge’s desk and gavel, flags, guns and photos, and an original framed copy of the Texas Constitution.

The roof’s tan, unfinished exterior contrasts with the dense black of the logs that survived a fire five years ago.

“We had some kids that tried to burn it down in May 2007,” he said, still leaning against the courthouse door frame. “The fire marshal said it got to about 1,500 degrees in here. They were so old, they were too mean to burn.”

William O’Neal and his wife, Permilla, donated 80 acres of land for the first county seat here in 1854 with property he was awarded by Sam Houston for fighting in the Battle of San Jacinto, Murdoch said.

Before then, the county used to run all the way from Somervell County to Corsicana, making travel for county work difficult.

“So, nine years later in 1854, they split Texas up and made smaller counties, and that’s when Johnson County came into existence,” Murdoch said.

That year, O’Neal built the small courthouse using 16th-century Irish technology.

It was used for two years before the Texas legislature passed a law saying a county seat must be five miles or one day by horseback from the center of the county.

The courthouse was moved to Buchanan, between Godley and Cleburne, before eventually finding it’s way back to the banks of Lake Pat Cleburne, where the historical society’s museum injects life back into the past.

Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford donated a reproduction chuck wagon that is located next to other wagons and an old Amish buggy from the 1800s.

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Nearby, an old butane tank, transformed into a large grill made to look like a steam en-gine, sits underneath a stone pavilion near the shore of Lake Pat Cleburne, the perfect spot for corporate outings and family gatherings.

Three reproduction American Indian tipis, one decorated with hieroglyphics, sit near the edge of the woods and represent the tribes that once used the Chisholm Trail.

“In fact, Highway 67 was originally an In-dian trail then it became a military trail, and it’s slowly evolved over the years,” Murdoch said. “There were a lot of Indians here — Caddo Indians and there were Comanche here, the meanest of the bunch.”

A bois d’arc tree used by American Indians for weapons and tools faces a blacksmith shop full of collectible horse shoes and any other tools related to the craft. Across the way sits a mule barn that once sat along the stagecoach route from Cleburne to Fort Worth to Weath-erford and back.

A massive 1930 stagecoach, used in sev-eral western films, including a couple of John Wayne movies, sits in front of a stagecoach sta-tion, which also serves as the museum’s infor-mation center.

“W.H. Johnson was the stage line that actu-ally ran out of Cleburne. It went from here to Fort Worth, a seven-hour trip,” Murdoch said.

“Interestingly, they show these in the movies with pretty horses moving them, but around here and in most places they used mules in-stead. The reason is because Indians despised mules. They were beneath them and they wouldn’t steal them. So, if they wanted to stay in business, they had to switch to mules.”

Outside, Murdoch points out a large, gray stone leaning on a tree near the tiny courthouse marked with sharp tools to spell “sacred to the memory of Nolan.”

“Philip Nolan is who Nolan River is named after. He was down here on a secret mission from Thomas Jefferson because Jefferson knew we were going to go to war with Mexico, and he was trying to figure out the best route to go to Mexico City,” he said.

Nolan, a horse trader, had lived with Ameri-can Indians and was familiar with the land. Un-der the pretense of gathering wild horses, word got around to the Mexicans, who sent 100 sol-diers and killed him in 1801.

“He was so revered by Thomas Jefferson that Jefferson went into seclusion for five days be-cause he had plans for Nolan to do what the Louis and Clark expedition did,” Murdoch said. “He had two black slaves with him who could read and write, which was very unusual in 1801, and we feel like they were sent down here by Jefferson. They are the ones who did the

headstone.”Other developments are in store for the mu-

seum, Murdoch said, calling the museum an ever-developing project.

Work is under-way on a one-room school house, a project museum officials hope to com-plete in summer 2012. The school will host field trips from area schools and other events, Murdoch said.

A sheriff’s office and jail added in 2010 has proven to be one of the museum’s most popular attractions. The jail doors were originally used in the old Wardville Jail in 1855 and last used by the county about 1973, Murdoch said.

“There were 17 men incarcerated behind the doors [of the Wardville Jail].” Murdoch said. “Of that, five were hanged legally, the rest basi-cally drug out and lynched.”

The arrival of a gunsmith shop operated by John Schultz in 2011 has also proven a popular draw. Plans call for more shops and activities in coming years to transform the site from a stat-ic to a living museum. Annual events such as General Pat Cleburne’s Birthday Party Scottish Festival and Heritage Celebration in March and Pioneer Days in November already draw huge crowds to the site.

On the web:www.jcchisholmtrail.com

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F rom large to small, more than 10 parks dot Cleburne and the Cleburne area providing plenty of space for unlimited outdoor fun and activity. Just outside city limits sits Cleburne State Park, which

recently underwent major rebuilding projects, courtesy of voter-approved bond funding from the Texas Legislature.

Those include new air-conditioned and heated group barracks building, complete with modern men’s and women’s bathrooms and a breezeway that accommodates 48 guests in bunk beds. Rental cost of the facilities totals $450 per night with a two-night minimum on consecutive days from Thursday to Sunday. Also available for guests is a day-use group dining facility that can accommodate up to 75, officials said. Reservations for that facility are available at the park.

Parks, lakes offer something

for everyone

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The improvements at the park, originally built by Civilian Conservation Corps Company 3804 and opened in 1938, are part of a $44 million list of major Texas State Parks rejuvena-tion projects completed or underway aimed at making the parks more fun, safer and customer-friendly.

The renovations, Project Manager Greg Thelen explained, included refurbishment of the beach area, curing erosion problems and bringing in sand to create a nice beach area.

The new buildings and changes replace the former bathhouse area, which had deteriorated over time, Thelen said. The improvements now provide a major day-use area for people visiting the park.

The park has been without a store for several years, thanks to the condition of the old conces-

sion building. A new structure, which park officials hope will be completed in the near fu-ture, will offer room for a small, grill-type food service and a small store. Plans call for selling camping supplies at the store, Park Superinten-dent Collis Park said.

Just across Cedar Grove camping loop from the concession bathhouse, the group barracks will fill the demand, park officials said, for bar-racks-style accommodations. Families, Scout troops, church groups and others are among those leasing the entire unit.

The new barracks have modern and larger bathrooms with lockers for both genders, are more energy efficient, and have built-in bath-room heaters and heated and air-conditioned dorms. Park officials are also working to ensure the new facilities meet Americans with Disabil-ity Act standards.

Plans in the works call for construction of a new bridge, Park said, which includes refur-bishing the current bridge back to its 1938 con-dition. It will be used for biking and hiking, Park said. Park officials also hope to add Wi-Fi to the facilities in the near future, Park said.

“We’re also working with fisheries to in-crease our fish habitat and better fishing,” Park said. “So our stock is going up and we’ve had people catching some really nice crappie lately. You also don’t need a fishing license to fish in Cleburne State Park.”

“We have people who bring their big boats, their pontoons, and we don’t have any problem with it,” Park says. “A lot of people like to kayak and canoe. They use fly rods. We are noted for a lot of crappie. Inland Fisheries (a division of

Texas Parks and Wildlife) stock catfish in here every year. We’re in the process of working with Inland Fisheries right now to improve our fish-ing.”

The park has 58 campsites, all with water and either 30- or 50-amp hook-ups. Some in-clude sewer facilities. There are also six screen shelters, which rent for $30 per night.

The park has 24 campsites with 30-amp availability and water and electric; seven 50-amp sites with water and electric; 12 30-amp sits with water, electric and sewer; and 15 sites with both 30- and 50-amp and water, electric and sewer, Park said.

The 528-acre park, located 10 miles south-west of Cleburne just off U.S. 67 on Park Road 21, encircles 116-acre Cedar Lake, a no-wake lake that features a three-tier spillway built by the CCC in 1935.

Park entrance fee is $5 per person, per day for adults ages 13 and older. Children ages 12

and younger are admitted free.“People still want to go on vacations,” said

Texas Parks Division Public Affairs Officer Bry-an Frazier. “They might not be able to go as far or spend as much. That’s where the state parks come in.”

Park agreed, adding that drought conditions of 2011 were less severe at Cleburne State Park than at other state parks and that boat ramps remain accessible.

For park reservations, call 512-389-8900 or visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us.

Winston Patrick McGregor ParkWinston Patrick McGregor Park, at the cor-

ner of West Henderson and Colonial Drive, was bequeathed to the city of Cleburne by M. Frank Scott, longtime resident of the city. Scott granted the gift with the proviso that the land be used as a park and be named after his dogs.

The 10-acres supply a botanical=style park featuring native plants and plants suitable for the Cleburne area. Park amenities include walking paths, a pavilion/gazebo, a pond with fountain, children’s garden, memorial grove and a variety of educational and recreational activities.

The house, now completely restored, is used for meetings, small receptions, and other gatherings. The gazebo accommodates concerts, weddings, and other events.

City leaders call McGregor Park a jewel and an oasis of serenity in the middle of the city’s busiest area. McGregor also repre-sents an ever-evolving project, city leaders say, with plans to add new additions and change previous ones through the years.

Cleburne Sports ComplexCleburne’s Youth Sports Complex

is known for its combination of classic looks and modern features. The 90-acre

site, located at 900 All Star Parkway in South-east Cleburne, is the largest single park and rec-reation project ever undertaken by the city of Cleburne.

The seven baseball/softball fields, 20 soccer fields and two football fields provide more than enough space for athletes of all sizes to play and compete.

Added attractions include two playgrounds, batting cages, four pavilions, scoreboards and lights on several fields.

Since opening in September 2005, the com-plex continues to gain recognition as one of the leading youth sports venues in the Metroplex. Several regional and pre-state tournaments have been hosted at the complex and more are in the planning.

Hulen ParkHulen Park, located between West Westhill

Drive and Country Club Road along Buffalo Creek, offers pavilions, picnic tables, a play-

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ground, walking path, a baseball field, bas-ketball courts and tennis courts

To help honor a time in history when Cle-burne was a major part of the Santa Fe rail-road, the park is also home to Steam Engine 3417, which went online in 1919 and was retired in 1954.

Hulen Park is also home to Splash Sta-tion, which features a zero-entry leisure pool, lounge chairs and shaded tree decks, interac-tive spray pad, spectacular water spray fea-tures, a whirling vortex and two 120-foot winding slides.

It also boasts an 8-lane, 25-yard competi-tion pool that is open year round. For more information on Splash Station, call 817-556-6259 or visit www.cleburne.net/new_splash-web/index.html.

During the Christmas holidays, Hulen Park transforms into a magical wonderland, filled with more than 3.5 million lights, sure to delight children of all ages.

Carver ParkA cool summer fun splash pad provides

the focal point of Carver Park, located at 515 Park St. on the city’s east side.

The park also offers pavilions, picnic ta-bles, a playground, a basketball court and a softball field.

Buddy Stewart ParkThis park near Texas Health Harris Meth-

odist Hospital Cleburne on U.S. 67 features soccer fields, a boat dock and camping sites. Overnight camping is allowed only with a self-contained sanitary facility. Pavilions and picnic tables are also available.

For more information about Cleburne’s parks or to make a pavilion reservation, call 817-645-0949.

Lake Pat CleburneLake Pat Cleburne, located in the south-

western edge of Cleburne, at 1,500 surface acres serves as the principle source of water for Cleburne.

Along with four conveniently located boat ramps around the lake, recreational activities at and around the lake include a municipal golf course, swimming, boating, picnicking and fishing. The lake is an excellent loca-tion for bird watching, and pelicans and bald eagles have been observed during migratory periods.

Lake Pat Cleburne is also the site of Cleburne’s annual Fourth of July celebra-tion where a dynamic fireworks display is launched from the dam. Thousands of spec-tators enjoy the display from every vantage point from boats to rooftops.

Hamm Creek ParkWith limestone cliffs, sandy shores and

smooth water, this might be Johnson Coun-ty’s best kept secret.

Hamm Creek Park, located about eight miles west of Rio Vista on the Brazos River reopened last year. The renovated park has 10 primitive camping sites and 30 camping sites with water and electricity, five of those with a sewer. There are also 10 camping sites with water and electricity specifically for those with horses.

For boating and water skiing enthusiasts, the park has a boat ramp leading to the Bra-zos River with parking to accommodate 50 boat trailers. There are also more than 30 day-use picnic shelters. Large and small pa-vilions with electricity are also available for rental. Bathroom facilities, some with show-ers, also dot the park.

From Texas 174, visitors should turn west in Rio Vista on FM 916. Visitors should take the first entrance on the left after Fisherman’s Paradise.

Admission for day use is $1 per person and $4 per carload up to six people. There are additional fees for campsites and other facilities.

For more information or to make a camp-site reservation, call 817-556-9311.

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Edu

cati

on

C leburne ISD covers 205.98 square miles in Johnson County, employs a staff of more than 900 who serve about 6,800 students, and is classified as a 4A enroll-

ment institution by the University Interscholastic League.Cleburne ISD has 12 campuses serving students from

early childhood to adult education. They are Cleburne High School, TEAM School, Wheat Middle School, Smith Middle School and elementaries Adams, Coleman, Cooke, Gerard, Irving, Marti and Santa Fe.

Cleburne ISD is accredited by the Texas Education Agen-cy as an “academically acceptable” district with five recog-nized campuses.

The school district dates to 1883, when voters gave con-trol of the schools to the city council. Frank M. Johnson was named superintendent in 1884.

Learning opportunities for all ages

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School was held in a building formerly oc-cupied by the Cleburne Institute. B.J. Cham-bers donated the land.

This school building burned in 1886, and classes were held in the old Varsity Theatre near the Santa Fe railway station.

Cleburne’s first graduating class was 1892. A new high school was constructed in 1908

on land now occupied by Fulton school. After that facility burned in 1916, voters ap-

proved a $25,000 bond for a new high school, built in 1919 at 204 S. Buffalo. It became a middle school when the newest Cleburne High was built in 1976.

Southwestern Adventist University Founded in 1893 and affiliated with the

Seventh-day Adventist Church, Southwestern Adventist University is located in Keene at 100 W. Hillcrest, between Cleburne, Alvarado and Joshua.

Enrollment is 790, with students from 35 states and 30 countries. The county’s only four-year university, students have a choice of 37 undergraduate majors and 26 minors, four un-dergraduate degrees, as well as master’s degrees in business and education.

Departments include biology and geol-ogy, business administration, mathematics and physical sciences, communications, computer

science, education, Eng-lish as a second language, music, history and social sciences, modern lan-guages, nursing, kinesi-ology, psychology and religion.

SWAU is accredited by Commission on Col-leges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, General Conference Accred-iting Association of SDA Schools, Colleg-es, and Universities, International Assem-bly for Collegiate Business Education, Texas Education Agency, Texas Board of Nurse Ex-aminers and the National League for Nursing.

For information, call 817-645-3921 or visit www.swau.edu

Hill College Hill College, located at 2112 Mayfield

Parkway in Cleburne, counts an enrollment of more than 4,400 students at its five campuses: Hillsboro, Cleburne, Burleson, Glen Rose and Clifton. Two-thirds of the students attend are full time.

Sixty-seven percent are from Johnson Coun-ty.

A comprehensive residential community college that opened in 1923, Hill offers two-year programs of study leading to admission at four-year schools.

With more than 60 fields of study, Hill of-fers numerous academic curriculum such as health sciences, physical education, humani-ties, social services, mathematics and sciences. Hill features nationally recognized technical programs in such areas as nursing, cosmetology

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and Cisco training. Noncredit and continuing education courses are also

offered. Hill provides more than $500,000 per year in scholarships to students.

Since 1974, Hill College, Cleburne Extension Center has provided post-secondary education to the citizens of Johnson County.

In 1997 and 1998, the citizens of Alvarado, Cleburne, Godley, Grandview, Joshua Keen, Rio Vista and Venus ap-proved a local maintenance and operation tax for the pur-pose of supporting a branch campus of Hill College.

The Cleburne Extension Center became the Johnson County Campus of Hill College.

The Cleburne campus overlooks Lake Pat Cleburne on U.S. 67 and consists of 32 acres of land, plus 15 acres of adjoining acres leased from the city.

The campus has a classroom building, a library, a stu-dent center, the Margie Faye Wheat Kennon Health Sci-ence Center, and the Tolbert F. Mayfield Administration Building.

The Cleburne campus awards associate degrees, certifi-cate of technology and certificate of completion and offers up to 44 hours in state core curriculum courses.

For information, call 817-760-5600 or visit www.hill-college.edu.

Cleburne Christian AcademyCleburne Christian Academy, 1410 Glenhaven Drive,

is a nonprofit, interdenominational, Christian-centered educational institution offering Christian academic cur-riculum in traditional classrooms.

It is a member of the Association of Christian Schools International. CCA is a member of the Association of Christian Schools International, which provides students with opportunities to participate in academic events such as the Spelling Bee, Speech Meet, Science Fair, and Math Olympics. CCA is now now offering classes University-Model high school classes for home school students. For more information call 817-641-2857.

Kauffman AcademyKauffman Leadership Academy is due to open for the

2012-13 school year at the former Cleburne ISD Irving Elementary School, 1108 N. Anglin St., as a fifth through ninth grade campus.

A class year will be added with each school year. Enroll-ment will be limited to 100. Eligible for attendance will be any student currently in a district that is in total or in part in Johnson County.

As applications are received, they’ll be assigned a num-ber. If there are more than 100, a lottery will be held for admission slots. Classes will be 70 minutes and the school day 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be 200 instructional days. The curriculum will be technology-based.

County schoolsJohnson County features nine school districts and 10

high schools. Districts are Burleson, Cleburne, Joshua, Al-varado. Venus, Godley, Grandview, Keene and Rio Vista. Burleson has two high schools, Burleson High (4A) and Centennial High (4A). All other districts have one high school each. Cleburne and Joshua are 4A, Alvarado and Ve-nus 3A, and Godley, Grandview, Keene and Rio Vista 2A.

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Theater groups breaking a leg

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Plaz

a Th

eatr

e an

d C

arn

egie

Pla

yers

R ather than competing against each other, the two local theater groups in Cleburne have come together to

help each other.Sometimes, actors appear in plays for

both Plaza Theatre Company and the Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players. They also share resources and a common goal — to bring entertainment to Cleburne.

“Our goal is to offer a different kind of theater, so we do theater-in-the-round,” said JaceSon Barrus, one of the Plaza founders. “We’ve met and talked with Carnegie about this as well.

“Between the two of us we feel like we of-fer a fairly wide range of options as far as what to go see. Almost 60 percent of our patronage travels here from outside of Cle-burne. My daughters have played in a show for them, and I’ve played in a show.”

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The theater groups do compete, but also share.

“We have a very good working relationship,” said Jay Cornils, executive administrator for Carnegie. “We are in competition. We compete for advertising and audience. We also compete for actors.

“We share our audience dates and we share our actors as well. We share costumes. We share different set pieces. We work very closely to-gether.

“The competition between us makes both of our programs’ quality just that much better.”

Greater Cleburne Carnegie PlayersThe Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players,

named for Andrew Carnegie, is a nonprofit thespian group that has been bringing live the-ater to Cleburne since 1980.

“It started when they remodeled the the-ater on the second floor of what was the Carn-egie Library,” Cornils said. “A small group got together and wanted to do plays.”

In 1978, when the city of Cleburne moved its storage, Carnegie was given the opportunity to renovate the theater above the second floor of the Layland Museum, 201 N. Caddo St.

The year 1980 marked the beginning of the more than 30-year theater legacy.

“Through the years it has grown from doing a

couple shows a year and usually shows ran for two weekends,” Cornils siad. “Last year we had five shows but we’re back to doing four shows a year, but we do three weekends a show.”

In summer 2010, the Carnegie Players moved into the Cleburne Performing Arts Cen-ter located in the newly remodeled Cleburne Conference Center. The Carnegie Players’ last production in the old Carnegie Theater was the

musical “1776” in March 2010.“Moving to the new Performing Arts Center

was needed,” Cornils said. “We had outgrown Layland’s theater technically. We were ready to start doing more with our shows in terms of lighting and sounds and sets than that theater was capable of supporting.”

Carnegie performs four shows a year, fall, winter, spring and summer.

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“It’s a place for me personally to participate in acting and exercise my God-given talent,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed doing it. Now I get to do what I very much enjoy, the challenge of creating a character in a play.

“Carnegie puts on shows that are very pro-fessional. That are very entertaining and chal-lenging. We do stuff that is not only family-friendly but can also be a bit more challenging intellectually. We always look to put on an ar-tistic show. It’s well worth the time to come out and see a play.”

“Established in 1978, the Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players remain a nonprofit volun-teer organization dedicated to the heritage of enriching the cultural lives of the community through excellent and professional theatrical arts,” according to Carnegie’s website.

For information, visit carnegieplayers.com.

Plaza Theatre CompanyTwo couples, JaceSon and Tina Barrus and

Aaron G. and Milette Siler, came together to create the Plaza Theatre Company.

Aaron Siler and JaceSon Barrus had a vision for the company when they attended college in Idaho. Although they went different directions in their careers — because they were geographi-cally separated for 16 years — their passion for theater allowed them to cross paths again a few years ago in Hurst.

Barrus needed audio assistance for one of his performances, and a man recommended Siler for the job.

Barrus said he wondered if this was the same Siler he knew in college years before.

After they were reacquainted, the men began acting in JaceSon’s performances. Shortly there-after, Aaron mentioned their college dream of opening a theater company together.

A few months later Jackie Vinson of Cle-burne came to the Hurst theater and told Bar-rus the Downtown Cleburne Association want-ed to put in a community theater.

The first show was November 2006. Full-time operations began in April 2007 when the group moved into a theater at 208 S. Main St. The theater moved into a new facility at 111 S. Main St. in August 2008.

Plaza will celebrate it’s fourth year in April, and the theater has seen more than 40 produc-tions.

“Our goal has always been to help make people think of Cleburne as an entertainment district,” JaceSon Barrus said.

It is a part of the Cleburne

Performing Arts Foundation, which was found-ed by the DCA.

All four are actively involved in every pro-duction the nonprofit theater puts on, whether it be directing, acting, creating costumes or do-ing sound effects.

Mostly musicals, Plaza’s productions are performed in-the-round, where the audience is seated on all sides of the stage.

“Our mission is to enrich the community with high quality, family-friendly entertainment that warms the heart, uplifts the spirit, and tells worthy stories,” according to Plaza’s website. “To provide volunteer opportunities for those in the community and offer educational experi-ences for children, teens, and adults to develop artistic talents and learn the theatre craft.”

For information, visit plaza-theatre.com.

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Texa

s 12

1

I n late 2011, the North Texas Tollway Authority secured funding for its long awaited Chisholm Trail Parkway. And in

November, leaders held a ceremonial ground breaking, signaling the start of a project that has been idle for many years.

Local leaders call the planned expansion of Texas 121 the most important project to hit Johnson County and Cleburne since the rail-roads arrived in the 1880s.

The project, decades in the works, calls for

extending Texas 121 from its present loca-tion in Fort Worth through Tarrant County into Johnson County terminating at U.S. 67 in Cle-burne.

In addition to supplying a fourth main ac-cess road into Cleburne, the roadway will sig-nificantly decrease travel time between Cle-burne and Fort Worth. More importantly, local officials say the road will facilitate a boom in growth and economic development for years to come.

Texas 121 expected to bring growth, prosperity

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MANAGINGENERGYUSE

Cleburne Economic Development Direc-tor Jerry Cash said several business groups and developers have inquired about land availability along the road’s intended route.

Johnson County Judge Roger Harmon said the roadway has been a collaborative effort among several North Texas leaders. He also said that there’s no one person who made the park-way happen.

“It was truly a combined, team effort,” he said.

An official with the Cleburne Regional Airport manager said the airport already re-ceives numerous fly-ins of people destined for Fort Worth, Dallas and other Metroplex des-tinations. Texas 121’s proximity to the airport should greatly increase traffic and usage in the coming years, she said.

The 28-mile extension, about 14 miles of

which will run through Johnson County, will operate as an all electronic tolling system. The road will decrease from six to four lanes in Tar-rant County and, from Crowley to Cleburne, run as a two-lane highway. Plans call for in-creasing the Johnson County portion to four lanes at some future date as usage and revenues increase.

Realization of the estimated $1.4 billion project alternately moved forward and stalled for decades right up to 2010 when the North Texas Tollway Authority and Texas Department of Transportation reached an agreement on fi-nancing. TxDOT agreed to backstop NTTA’s efforts to build Texas 121, and Texas 161 in Arlington, but putting the state’s gas tax fund as collateral and agreeing that funding for both projects will come from the same pool.

Work on two interchanges — one in Cle-burne, the other in Fort Worth — funded by federal stimulus money in 2009 is under way. Work on the connector road is began last year and is scheduled for completion toward the end of 2013, Cash said.

In a separate but related project, TxDOT in 2010 undertook a project to widen the portion of U.S. 67 passing through Cleburne to im-prove access and safety on the road. Work on that project and the Texas 121 interchange at U.S. 67 remains ongoing.

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Cleb

urn

e G

olf

Lin

ks

“A top-notch city deserves a top-notch golf course,” former Cleburne Mayor Ted Reynolds said during the opening of Cle-

burne Golf Links in July 2009.Nestled along the banks of Lake Pat Cle-

burne, the 18-hole course offers challenging play and picturesque views. The course retains, and makes a perfect fit into, the area’s natural beauty thanks to the fact that the builders left much of the native grass areas, which run along most of the holes, undisturbed.

Restricting those areas from play leaves them available to birds and other wildlife of the area.

The par 72, 7,068 yard runs mostly north and south, and starts from the clubhouse.

Course architect John Colligan dubbed it, “the best true links golf course in the Metro-plex.”

Many tend to agree. An immediate hit with locals, the Links soon became a magnet for out-of-town golfers and tournament play, pro-viding one of the city’s premiere tourist draws. Nor have the charms of the course escaped those in the know.

Avid Golfer, a magazine covering golf in the North Texas area, ranked the Links in five cat-egories of its 2009 year-end listing of the best area public course with the Links topping the list in three categories.

The magazine ranked the Links 26th out of 50 in its list ranking DFW public courses, a ranking the writers predicted will improve

Cleburne Golf Links highlights lake area

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Cleburne Golf Links highlights lake areaconsiderably in coming years. Avid Golfer ranked the course No. 4 on its list of hidden gems.

More impressive, the magazine chose the Links as the best new golf course.

“While Cleburne Golf Links is not techni-cally a new course [the city expanded and reno-vated an older course], it did make significant changes throughout to where it’s nothing like what it once was,” the article reads. “Colligan fully utilized the lake shore land to create a 7,068- yard stunner.”

Rates, which include greens fee and cart rental, vary by season. The course also offers frequent-player packages. For a list of current rates, visit www.ci.cleburne.tx.us/golfweb/in-dex.html.

Players may also book tee times online.Golf lessons are available and the pro shop,

located inside the clubhouse, stocks an array of golf and golf-related items.

For those less interested in golf, the Links Grill, also inside the clubhouse, offers a variety of great food. Customers may dine inside or enjoy the outdoor deck overlooking Lake Pat.

Open to the public, golfers and nongolfers alike, the Links Grill has become one of the city’s most popular dining destinations.

Recognizing as much, Avid Golfer also ranked the Links Grill atop its best burger and best pulled pork sandwich lists.

Cleburne Golf Links is located at 2501 Country Club Road. For information, call 817-641-4501.

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Par 4. 409 yards. Nice starting hole with wind be-hind and from the left. A 3 metal or driver placed in the fairway should set up a birdie opportunity.

Tour the course

1Par 3. 195 yards. This

may be the toughest par 3 on the course as it plays uphill and into a quarter-ing wind. Better use at least one more club.2

Par 4. 437 yards. Anoth-er downwind hole that may not require driver. A pond is left of the tee-shot land-ing area, and an approach missed left of the green will

spell big trouble.3

Par 4. 320 yards. One of my favorite holes. A great risk-reward hole with a crosswind that will entice long hitters to try to drive the green. Sets up perfect

for a low 3 metal under the wind to leave a little pitch shot underneath the hole.

4Par 5. 584 yards. This

hole shares a double green with the 12th hole and is definitely reachable downwind, but using the fairway around to the left

to set up your approach is my advice to most players.

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Par 4. 460 yards. Will play as the longest par 4. Tough hole with a cross-wind from left to right. Hole makes a gradual bend from right to left all

the way from tee to green.6

Par 5. 540 yards. Reachable downwind in two. Fairway narrows in the landing area, and a good drive will pay big dividends.7

Par 3. 106 yards. Pic-turesque, but watch out for the crosswind from left to right.8

Par 4. 460 yards. Looks harder than it is. Downwind. Play a safe tee shot up the right side, and you’ll be OK.9

Front 9 Note: The course will almost always play with a prevailing southwest wind off Lake Pat Cleburne, and that informa-tion is used here in setting up how to play the holes. The greens have nice undula-tion, and it is always a good idea to keep your shot below or to the center side of the cup to have the most makeable putts. Distances in this tour are measured from the Championship, or black, tees.

The outward nine is 3,565 yards in length and plays to a par of 36.

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Par 4. 411 yards. Great fin-ishing hole that requires an accu-rate downwind tee shot. A nice

ball off the tee will reward you with a birdie opportunity.

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18

Tour the coursePar 4. 375 yards. My

favorite view of the course is from this tee box. There is more landing area than you see off the tee. Play to the left center. Not long

but plays into the wind. Long hitters should use a 3 metal to avoid a rock creek about 40 yards in front of the green.

10Par 5. 564 yards. One

of the best par fives in the Metroplex. A little more room to the right off the tee than what you see. Plays into the wind and

will require most players to hit an accurate second shot to set up the approach.

11Par 4. 427 yards. You

don’t feel the right to left crosswind standing on the tee, but it will move a tee shot as soon as it clears the trees. Deceptively long. Aim just left of the

big pecan tree, and let it rip.

12Par 4. 354 yards. Even

though it’s against the wind, it’s a short hole and a great birdie opportu-nity. A 3 metal down the right side is my choice to

set up the best approach.13

Par 3. 212 yards. Take plenty of club and hit it solid. Better long than short and plays with a right-to-left crosswind.14

Par 4. 402 yards. A downhill tee shot into the wind needs to be in the fairway to set up the ap-proach to an elevat-

ed green that might require one more club.15

Back 9

Par 5. 578 yards. Into the wind. Hit it long and straight, hit it long and straight again. Err your ap-proach short. There

is a severe drop off to a water hazard be-hind the green.

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Par 3. 180 yards. Water is not really in play unless you duff it, but take an ex-tra club for this

uphill shot with a crosswind from left to right.

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The inward nine is 3,503 yards in length and plays to a par of 36 for an 18 hole total of 7,068 yards and par 72.

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Y es, it’s true, the Times-Review was a more colorful newspaper to read, and notably to by employed by, in the early to middle

years of the 20th century.One editor, Harold Ratliff, was known to

stand behind the front desk with a baseball bat at his side when visitors stopped by to discuss the finer points of journalism. Harold’s special-ty in those days was crime.

Another editor, Jack Proctor, took things even further. He ired a reader so terribly with a trial report that the reader punched out Proctor at the Liberty Hotel cafe. Proctor, knowing a scoop when he saw one, printed a story of the fight, as well as a picture of his black eye, on the next day’s front page.

Cleburne has always been a good journalism town — partly, one can say, because there was always quite a bit to cover.

The Cleburne Chronicle, located at 108 E. Chambers, was for many years the county’s leading newspaper. J.C. Scurlock sold it in 1904 to J.C. Scott, who later sold it to Hardy Solomon in 1911. It was sold to J.P. Chambless, who published the paper semi-weekly.

U.A. Anderson then bought the paper and sold part of his interest to John W. Murphy in 1916. Anderson then bought out Murphy, and The Chronicle ceased publication, although its job shop continued operation. The paper had published as a weekly several years before it

ceased publication.In 1895, J.R. Ransone Jr. published the Cle-

burne Daily Enterprise and the Cleburne Weekly Enterprise. In 1924, the equipment was pur-chased by a stock company, that on Jan. 2 of that year printed the first issue of the Cleburne Daily Times.

Another early paper, whose history has con-tinued under various owners and names, was the Johnson County Review, established in April, 1891 by J.A. Templeton and H.E. Oldfather.

The paper was printed as an eight-page, five-column publication in a plant located on the second floor of a brick building at the southwest corner of the courthouse square. Col. T.B. Bail-lio, from Rapides Parish, La., became one of its owners and editors in 1892.

O.H. Poole, who was connected with the company, continued the paper as its manager, under the name of the Cleburne Morning Re-view. On Oct. 1, 1928, the Cleburne Morning Review and the Cleburne Daily Times were pur-chased by the Southwest Newspapers Inc. and consolidated into the Times-Review, which is the present publication and the only daily in the county.

The consolidation of the Morning Review and Times on Oct. 1, 1928, was heralded in a page one story (that called it) “a progressive move in the newspaper business of the city.”

O.H. Poole was chairman and George W.

Bowman manager of the new concern, which boasted modern equipment and full-leased wire news reports by teletype.

In 1937, the paper was purchased by C.C. Woodson, who operated it until 1940, when it was purchased by Walter Murray, who owned newspapers in Ranger, Eastland and Brecken-ridge. He also owned the Mineral Wells Index.

William Rawland, who had served in the ad-vertising and bookkeeping departments and as business manager of the Times-Review, purchased an interest in the publication and took over as publisher for Murray. In 1948, Rawland pur-chased the Times-Review outright and remained at the helm until 1976, when he sold the newspaper to Donrey Media Group.

In 1950, the Times-Review added teletype-setter equipment and was the first newspaper in Texas to join the new TTS United Press circuit.

The Times-Review was published six days a week with no Saturday edition in those days. By the ’50s, the paper had 25 employees and 20 carriers, in addition to the executive group — Rawland, Proctor and business manager Peyton Lawson.

Now fully modernized, the Times-Review is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. Publisher is Kay Helms and editor is Dale Gosser. It is published Tuesday through Friday afternoons and Sunday morning and can be ac-cessed on its web site cleburnetimesreview.com

Read all about it ...

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Johnson County growing, growing and ...

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O fficial U.S. Census Bureau numbers have shown that Johnson County has grown 19 percent between 2000 and 2011. The county now holds 150,934 residents, an increase from 126,811.

According to census numbers, Johnson County is one of the fastest growing counties in Texas.

Johnson County consists of 734 square miles south of Fort Worth, in-cluding the county seat, Cleburne, and more than a dozen other towns.

The Johnson County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. on the sec-ond and fourth Mondays of each month at the Johnson County Courthouse, located at 2 N. Main St. Roger Harmon became county judge in 1995 and handles the duties of presiding officer of the Commissioner’s Court and judge of the county court.

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Commissioners, along with Harmon, func-tion as the governing body in the county, fo-cusing on the judicial system, health and social service delivery, law enforcement and road con-struction.

It serves as the legislative and executive

branches in the county and has authority over budgets of all county departments. The court has set the county property tax at $0.379500 per $100 of assessed value.

The county tax office is headed by Tax Asses-sor-Collector Scott Porter. The office has three locations at 2 North Mill St. in Cleburne, 118

South Friou St. in Alvarado and 247 Elk Drive in Burleson.

Cleburne is also home to the Guinn Justice Center at 204 S. Buffalo Ave., which holds the 18th and 249th District Courts that serve John-son and Somervell counties. The 413th District Court serves only Johnson County.

The county is served by the Johnson County

Guinn Justice Center

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Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Bob Alford. Alford was elected and took office Jan. 1, 1997, and has started the STOP Narcotics Task Force, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement and pre-sided over the recertification of the county jail since then.

Alford said law enforcement in Johnson County is improving all the time with great co-operation with local, state and federal agencies.

“Now, everybody is getting computers in their cars and that’s a great advantage because we can check quicker on who is supposed to be in what car, who is supposed to be at what house,” he said. “It’s a great advantage that we didn’t have in the past.”

Homeland Security is a growing focus with area law enforcement agencies, and Alford said the sheriff’s office cannot work alone.

“Of course, anything entails getting citizens involved because without the citizens, there is no law enforcement. They tell us what they want and how much they want,” he said. “We need their input and we can’t do it alone, you can’t hire enough police officers. It takes the citizens getting involved to be the eyes and ears for law enforcement.”

The sheriff’s office has realized that even citizens can help solve cases. The office has be-gan using its Wise Eyes alert system, which is a neighborhood or county safety program that allows citizens to report any suspicious activity to police.

In 2011, the program helped solved nu-merous cases based on eye witness accounts.

HOPE Medical/Dental ClinicThe HOPE Medical/Dental Clinic, located

at 111 Meadowview Drive in Cleburne, offers low-cost and dental care three days a week on a rotating schedule for uninsured and low in-come people in Johnson County.

The clinic is staffed by certified local vol-unteers, physicians, nurses and nurse practitio-ners.

The clinic does not offer emergency care, X-rays, mental health care or pregnancy and pain management. Call 817-641-5858 to set up an appointment.

Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne

Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne, located at 201 Walls Drive, is a divi-sion of Texas Health Resources.

The hospital is a full-service, 137-bed acute care medical center with more than 80 phy-sicians on staff and is a three-time honoree among the “Top 100 Hospitals in America.”

The Walls Regional Medical Auxiliary, es-tablished in 1969, has 80 members who volun-teer in all departments of the hospital.

For information on Texas Health Cleburne program and services offered and physician re-ferral, call 817-641-2551 or 888-4-HARRIS.

Texas Health Cleburne

HOPE Medical/Dental Clinic

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C leburne is a hotbed for events and enter-tainments. Two local theater groups, Plaza Theatre Company and the Greater Cle-

burne Carnegie Players, present musicals and plays throughout the year. The Brazos Chamber Orchestra provides concerts throughout the year, while Layland Museum hosts free concerts during the summer.

Several large events give residents the oppor-tunity to dress up, watch a good rodeo or donate their money to a good cause. Many of the events, such as the Children’s Advocacy Center’s Cow-boys for Kids rodeo, Relay For Life and Heritage Assembly Ball are fundraisers for nonprofits that donate money to charities. Others such as the PRCA rodeo and Springfest provide entertain-ment for local residents.

EntErtainmEnt

Brazos Chamber OrchestraThe Brazos Chamber Orchestra, a nonprofit organi-

zation, was founded in the fall of 1998. It is composed of musicians from the Metroplex and area communities and provides free concerts in Johnson County and the Brazos Valley Region. The Brazos Chamber Players is an extension of the Brazos Chamber Orchestra that is dedicated to small ensemble chamber music. The fea-tured ensembles are typically made up of members of the Brazos Chamber Orchestra, including the string

quartet Forte Strings. For information, visit brazoscham-berorchestra.org.

Greater Cleburne Carnegie PlayersThe Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players was founded

in 1904, named after Andrew Carnegie. A nonprofit thes-pian group, the Carnegie Players present productions in the Cleburne Performing Arts Center in the Cleburne Con-ference Center. Starting with the first season, which in-cluded two shows, and continuing to the present with four shows performed annually, the Carnegie Players encour-age participation both on the stage and off by anyone in the greater Cleburne area. For information and schedules, call 817-645-9255 or visit www.carnegieplayers.com.

Plaza Theatre CompanyPlaza Theatre Company is a “in the round” theater lo-

cated at 111. S. Main St. The focus of the theater is to present family-friendly, high-quality musicals, comedies, children’s shows and acting classes for the kids. The non-profit thespian group was founded by JaceSon and Tina Barrus and Aaron and Milette Siler. Together they bring more than 80 years of theatrical experience in working with community and professional theaters of all sizes. For information and schedules, call 817-202-0600 or visit www.plaza-theatre.com.

Summer concert seriesLayland Museum hosts free concerts in Hulen Park

weekly throughout the summer. The concerts showcase both local entertainers and those from across the Metro-plex. For information, visit www.cleburne.net/museum.aspx or call 817-645-0940.

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EvEnts

Antique AlleyAntique Alley and Yard Sale is held twice a

year during weekends in April and September. Independent landowners, small businesses and individual entrepreneurs hold sales along miles of roads through Cleburne, Grandview and May-pearl by way of Farm-to-Market Road 4 to Farm-to-Market Road 916. Vendor booths range from garage sale items to antiques and collectibles. Food vendors are also set up throughout the route. For information, visit www.antiquealley-texas.com.

Black and White GalaBlack and White Gala, hosted by Friends of

Texas Health Cleburne, is held yearly in August. About 700 guests attend the event, which fea-tures silent, big board and live auctions. Pro-ceeds benefit Johnson County health-related causes such as Shots for Tots, no-cost child-hood immunizations; Mammograms Are a Must!, a no-cost screening mammograms program for women with no health insurance; Know Your PSA, no-cost prostate screens for men; and HOPE Clinic, a free clinic in Cleburne. Other projects the Gala has helped raise funds for in-clude Ann Marti Schmidt Women’s and Infants Services Unit, Surgery Department renovation and expansion, Emergency Department reno-vation and expansion, lobby renovation, digital mammography equipment and Ladders in Nurs-ing Careers. The organization has raised more than $3 million during its 17 year history.

Candewalk Tour of HomesCandlewalk Tour of Homes is Save Old Cle-

burne’s annual fundraiser, held the first Saturday in December. The tour includes historic homes decked in the host family’s cultural and tradition-al Christmas decor. Candlewalk is known as the oldest home tour in this area. For information, visit soc-cleburne.com.

Christmas in ActionChristmas in Action, in partnership with the

community, repairs homes of low-income elderly or disabled homeowners by putting Christian val-ues and principles in action. Volunteers from the local business community, civic organizations, church groups and schools donate their time to complete the projects. Since the program arrived in Johnson County 11 years ago, the group has repaired, repainted and refurbished about 60 houses in the county, including locations in Cle-

burne, Rio Vista, Alvarado, Joshua, Keene and other surrounding cities. Most of the renovations are done by volunteers, but the organization must raise money to pay for electricians, plumb-ers and other skilled laborers. Those major proj-ects are started in advance and finished up on the scheduled day when between 200 and 300 volunteers arrive, with 50 or 60 people swarming each home. For information, visit www.christma-sinaction.net.

Cowboys for KidsCowboys for Kids is a weekend event hosted

by the Johnson County Children’s Advocacy Center each April. The event kicks off on Friday night with the Roping the Stars Gala, which fea-tures a silent and live auction. Celebrities such as Jay Novaceck, Susie Luchsinger, and a num-ber of Western actors have attended the event. On Saturday night, a Professional Bull Riding rodeo event is held at the Johnson County Sher-iff’s Posse grounds. Proceeds benefit the center, which provides counseling and other services to sexually and physically abused children and teenagers. For information, visit www.cowboys-forkids-jc.org.

Day of CaringUnited Way of Johnson County holds Day of

Caring each spring. Volunteers donate their time on a Saturday morning and complete projects for United Way partnering agencies For information, visit www.uwjc.com.

Fourth of JulyThe Cleburne Chamber of Commerce hosts

Fourth of July festivities every year on the holi-day. A parade is held in downtown Cleburne, fol-lowed a fireworks show at Lake Pat Cleburne at dark. For information, visit www.cleburnecham-ber.com.

Goatneck Bike RideThe Goatneck Bike Ride happens every

July on a rolling hill course that winds through the county. About 2,500 riders participate in four different races, a 10-mile, 27-mile, 41-mile and 70-mile. The roads are well maintained country roads with little traffic. Rest stops are provided every eight to nine miles of each race, staffed by volunteers. All money raised goes to various Johnson County charities. For information, visit www.thegoatneck.com.

Heritage Assembly BallThe Heritage Assembly hosts its annual

Heritage Assembly Ball yearly in April, as it has done every year since 1965. High school juniors and seniors are selected each year to serve as pages, selling raffle tickets. Silent and live auc-tions are held in addition to the raffles. Proceeds benefit local nonprofits and scholarships for high school students. Charities supported include American Historical Rail Road Foundation, Brazos Chamber Orchestra, Buffalo Creek As-sociation, Burleson Hertiage Foundation, Camp Fire USA, Carnegie Players, CASA, Christmas in Action, Cleburne Performing Arts Founda-tion, Community Partners of Johnson County, Johnson County Heritage Foundation, Layland Museum, Sons of the Confederate and Whistle Stop. For information, visit www.heritageassem-blytexas.com.

JuneteenthJuneteenth is a weeklong event hosted by the

East Cleburne Community Center as a celebra-tion of the first emancipation celebration granted official state recognition. The Juneteenth Pag-eant is held in conjunction with the Women’s Health Forum and Luncheon, which provides free and minimal-cost health screenings. Free-dom Celebration culminates on a Saturday, with a parade and festival. For information, visit www.eccc1.org.

Junior Livestock Show and Youth FairThe Johnson County Junior Livestock Show

and Youth Fair, hosted by the Johnson County Livestock and Agriculture Association Inc., is held yearly in February at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse grounds. Area high school stu-dents involved in Future Farmers of America, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America and 4-H compete in animal competi-tions, the youth fair and ag mechanics. Win-ners are announced at a Saturday event, where the top entries are auctioned off. A queen and ambassador are chosen each year, and they receive the George Marti Scholarship. The Jo C Marti Beef Heifer Showmanship Scholarship is also presented yearly. For information, visit www.jclaa.com.

Pat Cleburne DaysAfter an 11-year hiatus, a birthday celebra-

tion for Gen. Patrick Cleburne returned to his namesake city in 2011. A full day of events are scheduled to honor the Irish-born Confederate general takes. The birthday commemoration ac-tivities include a Scottish Festival and Heritage

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celebration with living history camps, Civil War re-enactors, a chuck wagon cooking contest, Scottish and Irish vendors, a wild west show and Scottish games. For more information, call the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce at 817-645-2455.

PRCA RodeoA Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association

Rodeo, hosted by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse, is held each year in June. Mutton bustin’ and stick horse rodeos are held for children, a parade is held in downtown Cleburne before the rodeo. Wednesday night is “God and Country Night,” and the other nights have themes such as Military Appreciation and Tough Enough to Wear Pink. The grand finale is Saturday night of the rodeo, and rodeo winners are announced and a rodeo queen is crowned that night. For information, visit www.sheriffsposse.com.

Relay For LifeRelay For Life of Johnson County is held

every year during the summer. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event. Participants can walk as part of a team or as individuals. The event runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with entertain-ment provided throughout the night and morn-ing, including a luminaria ceremony, fight back ceremony and caregiver and survivor stories. The first lap is walked by cancer survivors and caregivers. Proceeds from the event benefit the American Cancer Society to provide funds for

cancer research. For information, visit www.re-layforlife.org/johnsoncotx or email [email protected].

SpringfestSpringfest, sponsored by the Downtown

Cleburne Association, is held every year in the spring. Events held during Springfest range from live performances of music, dance and cheer, to vendors which line that streets of downtown Cleburne. Raffles are held each year. Layland Museum hosts workshops for children and en-tertainment throughout the weekend. The Buffa-lo Creek Association hosts Ducky Derby, which benefits Buffalo Creek repairs and renovations. The event showcased local musicians and oth-ers. For information, visit www.downtownclebur-neassociation.com.

Whistle Stop ChristmasHosted by the Cleburne Chamber of Com-

merce, Whistle Stop Christmas is an annual event centered on more than three million lights decorating Hulen Park. The lights are turned on about Thanksgiving with a special lighting ceremony and shine nightly until New Year’s Eve. A Christmas parade is held at the begin-ning of Christmas, followed by special events at the park. Throughout the holiday season, Plaza Theatre Company and the Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players present Christmas-themed productions. For information, visit www.whis-tlestopchristmas.org.

AthleticsYouth have many opportunities to participate

in athletic activities in Cleburne. The Texas Amateur Athletic Federation of-

fers swimming for youngsters. For information, call Cleburne Parks and Recreation at 817-556-8858.

For information about he Cleburne Soccer Association, for boys and girls ages 4-18, call 817-382-7070, visit www.cleburnesoccer.com or e-mail [email protected].

For information about the Cleburne Baseball Softball Association call 817-645-9585 or e-mail [email protected].

For information about the Brazos Valley Football Association, visit www.brazosvalley-football.org/Cleburne.

For information about the Cleburne Football League, call 817-487-8870 or e-mail [email protected].

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R eal estate developers knew a good opportunity when they saw it in 1871, congregating on the banks of Buffalo Creek and system-atically staking off land for livery stables, bars, hotels and even a

newspaper or two.In no time at all, the community of Cleburne was incorporated and

earned a richly deserved reputation as a peaceable way station for white settlers heading west of the Brazos to match wits with the few remaining warring Indians.

But something was missing from the equation, our forefathers quickly noticed. If you wanted to travel from here to there — wherever here and there happened to be — you had little choice but to walk, hitch your steed to a buggy or mount a horse.

Cleburnites lobbied persuasively for one of several railroad conglom-erates to serve the city. The Santa Fe responded, laying track south to north from Galveston through Cleburne in 1881 and establishing our fair city as one of the great hubs of the Southwest.

Santa Fe Railroadbuilt Cleburne

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It may not be completely accurate to say there wouldn’t be a Santa Fe without Cleburne, but there might not be much of a Cleburne without the Santa Fe and other rail ventures.

Cleburne was an aorta of free world rail transit by the early 20th century. According to a 1916 Morning Review, Interurban cars departed on the hour from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The 9 p.m. car stopped at Burleson. All cars arrived at 10 minutes to the hour, with the exception of the car leaving Fort Worth at 11 p.m. It rolled in at 12:15 a.m. sharp.

On the Santa Fe Main Line north, arrivals were 5:20 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 10:10 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. Departures were 6:55 a.m., 10:25 a.m. and 7:10 p.m. On the Main Line south, arrivals were 9:05 a.m., 6:20 p.m. and 9:55 p.m. De-partures were 9:30 a.m., 6:45 p.m., 10:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

On the Santa Fe Dallas Branch, arrivals were 9:15 a.m., 6:15 p.m. and 10 p.m. Departures were 6:45 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 7:15 p.m. On the Santa Fe Weatherford Branch, arrival was 6:35 p.m. and departure 8 a.m.

On the Katy, departures were 8:50 a.m. (the No. 50) and 6 p.m. (No. 56). Arrivals were 11:15 a.m. (No. 51) and 8:20 p.m. (No. 55). The Katy had its own depot in Cleburne, across the tracks from the Santa Fe depot. Both are long gone.

The Trin-ity & Brazos Valley north-bound arrived at 6:40 p.m. The south-bound de-parted at 9:15 a.m. According to a schedule provided by re-tired railroader Jack Carlton, stops included Fort Worth, Cleburne, Parker, Covington, Osceola, Hills-boro, Bynum, Malone, Hub-bard, Munger, Coolidge, Datura, Tehuacana, Mexia, Limestone, Teague, Free-stone, Donie and Jewett.

The Boll Weevil, as the T & BV was called, was not exactly the Orient Express. Commerce depended more on acorn squash than crown jewels. Additionally, there were de-railments and financial setbacks, and the sup-port of participating communities was at best fair-weather.

But in one respect, the T & BV was more

closely linked to Cleburne than big daddy Santa Fe. The GC & SF was run from afar. The T & BV was run from the next farm.

“The road was variously known as the Trin-ity & Brazos Valley Road, the Valley Road and

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other names,” according to a 1954 story by Times-Review Editor Jack Proctor, “but a 78-mile stretch of the railroad from Cleburne to Mexia, completed early in 1904, bore the moniker of the Boll Weevil from the time of its inception until its death in the early ’30s.”

Since the venture called for the location of a road between the two principal rivers, the Brazos and the Trinity, its founders could think of no better name than the Trinity & Brazos Valley.

If you’ve traveled Amtrak from Fort Worth to points south, you have an idea which communities Santa Fe served a century ago. Some, but not all, still have their depots. Arguably the most rustic is Kopperl. That station was abandoned when Lake Whitney was built some 60 years ago. Unless you count Burleson’s old Interurban building, Johnson County’s only remaining rail depot now resides on land outside Alvarado owned by John Percifield.

Katy depots are more common. Itasca’s is clean and well maintained. So are Hillsboro’s and West’s. The most picturesque, if also most de-serted, is the cavernous Katy depot at Temple. If walls could only talk.

Helpful Telephone Numbers& Community Resources

• American Cancer Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .800-227-2345

• American Red Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-558-2329

• Children’s Advocacy Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-558-1599

• Child Protective Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-202-2200

• Family Crisis Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-558-7171

• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne . . . . . . . . . . .817-641-2551

• HOPE Medical and Dental Clinic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-641-5858

• Huguley Memorial Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-293-9110

• Meals-on-Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-558-2840

• North Central Texas Workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-641-6201

• Operation Blessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-8511

• Outreach Health Services – WIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .871-641-7211

• Salvation Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-558-1296

• Texas Crime Stoppers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .800-252-8477

• Texas Department on Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .800-252-9240

• Texas Neighborhood Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-556-3752

• United Way of Johnson County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-9153

• Veterans Service Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-556-6351

HELPFUL ORGANIZATIONS

IMPORTANT NUMBERSAMTRAK INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION CENTER . . . . . . . . . . .817-641-1800

206 N Border St ., Cleburne, TX 76031BIG COUNTRY 93.1 FM/1460 AM PHONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-6643

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Metro: 817-558-7666

BOATING REGISTRATION INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 800-262-8755

CITY OF CLEBURNE ANIMAL SHELTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-648-0650

CLEBURNE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-2455

CLEBURNE CONFERENCE CENTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-556-8860

CLEBURNE PUBLIC LIBRARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-0934

CLEBURNE REGIONAL AIRPORT HAZLEWOOD FIELD . . . . . . . .817-641-5456

CLEBURNE TIMES-REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-2441

CLETRAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-641-1800

DFW AIRPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .972-973-8888

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-8644

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESSJack Snow116 S . Mill St ., Cleburne, TX 76033 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-517-2306

FAMILY CRISIS CENTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-641-2343

JOHNSON COUNTY HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICERandy Gillespie2 Main St ., Cleburne, TX 76033 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-556-6350

JOHNSON COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-517-5111

JOHNSON COUNTY SHERIFFS POSSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817- 645-6643

KCLE 1140 AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-6643

POISON CONTROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 800-222-1222

SHERIFF BOB ALFORD1102 E . Kilpatrick St ., Cleburne TX 76033 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-556-6060

STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT

108 E . Kilpatrick St ., Cleburne, TX 76033 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-517-2306

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICESCLEBURNE OFFICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-202-2650

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-877-643-3108 (toll free)

TEXAS ROAD CONDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 800-452-9292

TOURISM AND VISITORS BUREAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-2455

TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARMENT

U.S. POST OFFICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .817-645-3991

FOR NON-EMERGENCYALVARADO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-783-3344

BURLESON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-447-5300

CLEBURNE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-645-0972

GODLEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-389-2500

GRANDVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-866-3399

JOSHUA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-558-3194

KEENE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-641-7831

RIO VISTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-373-2600

VENUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972-366-3348

JOHNSON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-556-6058

JOHNSON COUNTY CRIME STOPPERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817-556-6058

FOR EMERGENCY SERVICE

DIAL 911

LifeommunityC

Forty20Community Life Magazine

under

Senior Living Edition: Special 8-page inside look at issues facing today’s senior citizens

Tommy WebbXXXXXXXXXXX

The magazine for Johnson County and surrounding areas September-October 2011 Vol. 6, No. 5

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LifeommunityC

Don’t miss this edition’s special features inside

Special Whistle Stop Christmas& Candlewalk Tour of Homes edition

The magazine for Johnson County and surrounding areasNovember-December 2011 Vol. 6, No. 6

LifeommunityCYddo Ortiz

found his way to the U.S. and has never looked back

Susan CrummelBurleson woman loves

writing children’s books

The DonnellsCouple helps those in need through ministry

The magazine for Johnson County and surrounding areas July - August 2011 Vol. 6, No. 4

Senior Living Edition: Special 8-page inside look at issues facing today’s senior citizens

Take a closer lookat the faces and people in yourcommunity.

Published every other month.For more information or to

advertise call 817-645-2441.

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