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KEENE CHRONICLEVolume 01, Issue 20 June 27, 2013www.KeeneChronicle.com

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I don’t know if you’ve ever driven down 805B, Cleburne, Texas and noticed the build-ing construction of the rock house located on this prop-erty. But after corresponding with and listening to Bart and Cindy Keeney’s Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting presentation on Thursday, May 30, 2013, I’ve come to know a little bit more about the property and the own-ers on 805B, and I have also learned the true meaning of the phrase: “Don’t despise the small beginnings!” The original owners of this

property, according to Bart and Cindy, started with a sim-ple mobile home. They tore down the inner walls, changed the rooms and enlarged the place into a 2000 square ft home. Bart and Cindy (hus-band and wife), purchased the property in 1995 and lived there until returning home from out of town on Christ-mas, 2001. The following is the rest of

the story delivered by Bart and Cindy Keeney, to the guests attending the ribbon cutting ceremony:Bart: “I noticed like water

seeping up out of the drive-way and the yard was wet so I got to looking, I opened the hatch underneath the house and it had about a foot of water standing under it, I got to looking and sure enough, I had a swimming pool under the house - I started draining it. It was actually a water line that broke!Anyway, we ended up with

mold under the house and

now the floors needed to be ripped out and we needed to move out. We started taking stuff apart and fighting with insurance companies and 12 months later the insurance company finally settled with us.” Cindy: “After living in a

motel for a month, renting a house for 6 months and 3 months with my folks, to get back to the property we turned our 3 car garage into a little house and piled the kids up in there! When the insurance settled we just decided to pay the property off and rebuild debt free. Not knowing it would be 2009 till we could completely move back into, what we began to call ‘The Big House!’”Bart: “I told Cindy, while

we’re doing this I’m going to change the roof line on the house. I used to build a lot of steel buildings so I framed this whole house out of steel. And I built the whole roof system right out here in the yard. All the neighbors were like ‘man what’s this guy doing, build-ing an A-frame out here by the street!’ So we worked on that for a year and a half - two years or something. And I got everything ready; I was going to try to save the ceilings in

the house. So I had the crew guys come over and we tore the roof off so I could set this other on the steel beams. “Well that night it started

raining. It rained, it snowed, sleeted, it hailed, it did ev-erything! So needless to say, we lost the ceilings, but really it was a blessing in disguise

otherwise I would have 8 foot ceiling in this house! We had a crane pick up the A-frame and flew it up over the trees. I got big steel columns to bed-rock and we set it on them and welded it all in place; and then the work began after that.”Cindy: “It became a huge

project and a little challeng-ing… But I just have to give God all the glory because even though in the midst of the drought and storms, God always does more than you can think or imagine. Some-one gave us all the rock that’s on that house! …and so we

just saw His mighty hand throughout the whole thing on a regular basis. So Along the way, He sure made us learn a lot of things about each other! And I felt, this huge place would be used for something, I didn’t know what but…”“One weekend Bart men-

tioned weddings and I knew that would be right for us seeing we like to have people over and throw parties. The kids were getting older and I needed a project. So BB’s Venue was birthed! “We’re just starting out,

we’re brand new; we had

our first 2 events a couple of weeks ago. We’ve already booked 7 weddings for Sep-tember and October, and one in 2014!“We’re so glad that you all

are here and that we could open up our home to you. Thank you Chamber for making us feel so at home and doing the ribbon cut-ting. This is awesome and we just want to thank the city of Keene and all you guys - thanks for being here! I’ve really been impressed with the support and friendship of the City of Keene’s Chamber of Commerce. Thank You Very Much!”Cindy Keeney, BB’s Venue

owner, gave the Keene Chron-icle the following breakdown of the Venue’s services and fee schedule:Cindy’s Reasons to book

BB’s Venue: • BB’s is an outdoor venue

with the WOW factor! • It has an atmosphere you

can’t beat!• When you arrive, you will

experience an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.• It has a fabulous “Country

Chic” décor and it’s gorgeous!• With all the decorations in

place, it’s just breathtaking!• And we have a service staff

that treats you like no other!• If you’re looking for an

outdoor venue, BB’s is the place for a wonderful romantic wedding!• The venue spans 3 acres and

is surrounded with luscious landscape. • The cabana ceremony area

space and the grassy knoll

seats up to 400! (5,000 square foot area)• The 5,000 square feet main

house is made of beautiful log and cut rock making a mag-nificent backdrop for your memorable photos. • And the inside is a sight to

behold! • It overlooks a gorgeous

tropical pool leading to a large beautiful reception area. Cindy describes the covered

reception area:• The covered reception area

has cedar logs, wood ceilings, grand 10′x10′ fireplace with chandelier, mantle and hearth, plus two adjacent 10′x10′ feature rock walls with LED lights to coordinate with your wedding colors.• Bar includes: keg refrig-

erator, drink well and ice bin, refrigerator, sink, stainless steel counter and led lights under and over the bar. • Outdoor cooking area

includes: grill, griddle, seerer, and oven. • Covered space for the DJ

and disco ball with LED lights. • The reception area overlooks

a gorgeous tropical pool with colored led lights. • The total outdoor covered

area is 2000 sf. “hot”- no worries we have a fog and fan system to help make your day cool and comfortable! • Large (under cover) round

tables seat 100 guests including dance floor, cake table, bar and grill area. Seats120 without dance floor.• If you want a more ca-

sual atmosphere with guests mingling and dancing, we also

Did You Know: BB’s Venue

Continued: BB’s Venue Page 6

Morris Lowry, a retired his-tory professor, taught for many years on the campus of South-western Adventist University. He earned a Master of Arts degree in History from Texas Christian University. In his 1951 Master’s Thesis entitled “A Background of Seventh-day Adventism and its Early De-velopment in Texas,” he traces the history of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Texas from its humble beginnings. The following is the first in

a series of successive articles, proudly and exclusively pre-sented by the Keene Chronicle, containing Mr. Lowry’s per-sonal account of the early years of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in TexasThe Seventh-day Adventist

movement is now over one hundred fifty years old, and during its history, it has had some courageous, zealous individuals to serve in respon-sible positions of leadership. Robert Meade Kilgore was the outstanding official leader of the Seventh-day Adventist cause in the days of its infancy in the state of Texas…In the battle of Shiloh (U.S.

Civil War), Robert and David Kilgore were among those taken captive by the Confeder-ates… After spending some time in

Memphis the prisoners were taken to Mason, Georgia, and incarcerated there; then later they were taken to Libby Pris-on… When Robert finally was released and when he arrived at home he appeared poor and sallow, as if he had been ill.This was the Robert Kilgore

who was destined to be the leading figure in the early work of Seventh-day Adven-

tists in the state of Texas. His birth place was in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and the date of his birth was March 21, 1839. He was joined in wedlock to Asenath M. Smith October 9, 1867. His father-in-law, Cyrennes Smith, was one of the early observers of the Sab-bath in Michigan. In 1865, when Robert arrived home he found his parents observing the Sabbath. In accordance with a request of his parents he drove a distance of thirty miles in order to hear his first Seventh-day Adventist sermon. At a later date he accepted the views of Seventh-day Adven-tists and retained his belief in them firmly until the end. Eventually he was ordained to the ministry of the gospel. After having had the Eastern States as his field of labor for a while, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in 1876 recommended him as a missionary for Texas.…When the Kilgore family

had left the state of Iowa, the ground was frozen, and the bodies of the travelers were protected by overcoats and un-derclothes, while in Texas the fields were green, flowers in blossom, and vegetables from the garden were available. Kilgore wrote a report in The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald on the first day after his arrival, that the children were running around barefoot.(In his Texas ministerial

endeavors) The current of re-sistance against Kilgore was strong, and the best arguments the opposition could muster were employed. One time Kilgore wrote:“The opposition against us

is strong, and every effort is

made to scare the people away from the (Cleburne Camp Meeting) tent. The best argu-ments they have are brought to bear against us, such as ‘He is a Yankee;’ ‘he has come here to preach nigger equality;’ etc. While some of the ministers are preaching such tidings, we are preaching an entirely different gospel. Let God be thanked.”…Another difficulty facing

early Seventh-day-Adventists in Texas, other than the weath-er and difficult denominations’ ministers, was the advocacy and observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath by Seventh-day Adventists. Possibly as a result of controversy Kilgore wrote the editor of the Denison Daily Herald the following let-ter on Sunday in Texas:“In answer to many inquires

whether it is not a violation of the law of the land for one to keep the seventh day and work on Sunday, the first day of the week, I wish to append the statutes of Texas on the sub-ject. I copy from the Revised Statutes of the State of Texas which took effect yesterday May 28, 1879, in which is embraced the following:“‘Penal code, title 7, chapter

2, article 183: Any person who shall hereafter labor or compel, force, or oblige his or her em-ployees, workmen or appren-tices, to labor on Sunday, shall be fined not less than $10 nor more than $50.’”“‘Article 184. The preceding

article shall not apply to house-hold duties, works of necessity or charity: …nor to any person who conscientiously believes that the seventh or any other day of the week ought to be observed as the Sabbath, and

who actually refrain from busi-ness and labor on that day for secular reasons.’”…Opposition to a Sabbath-

keeper was not always confined, however, to legal means… The antagonism over the Sabbath observance resulted in the persecution of a Seventh-day Adventist in the early history of the movement in Texas. …The following Sunday he labored in his shop and was arrested.In spite of the antagonism…

Kilgore visited the believers of his faith in Cleburne Febru-ary 2-3, 1878, and organized a church with a membership of twenty. There was a group of approximately fifteen to twenty individuals in Cleburne who were observing the Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath and were striving toward the build-ing of Christian character.…A meeting was held at

Rockwell, Texas, in August, 1878, which had been ad-vertised as a general one but which became a camp meet-ing in form. Seventh-day Adventists from Cleburne, Dallas, Peoria, and Terrell were there… At the meeting… Ev-eryone was pleasantly antici-pating the 1879 camp meeting and the Texas Conference’s being formed. The organization of the Texas

Conference (of Seventh-day Adventists) occurred at this camp meeting. James White, writing in 1879, said the Texas Conference was a small one, and the state possibly had no more than three hundred Seventh-day Adventist. He mentioned that two tents were ordered and that the preach-ers who worked in Texas were lacking in funds. If through

collections they could meet their running expenses, they would be doing satisfactorily, White felt. He made the sug-gestion that the Texas Confer-ence President could borrow money until the cotton season to pay for the tents; afterwards the Texas Conference and the Tract and Missionary Soci-ety could be credited by the General Conference and the Review with the full cost of the tent they paid for and used. …In his report of a camp

meeting in 1881 George I. But-ler said the growth of the Texas Conference had been encour-aging and that it probably had three hundred Sabbath keepers. With slight assistance, Kilgore, the only ordained minister, had worked very hard.In Midlothian, in 1883, a

two story frame structure was completely destroyed by a terrific storm that came up. Inside the building there were ten or fifteen laboring men. As Kilgore was taking the victims out, his clothes were soaked and he wore them for several hours before changing. Kilgore subsequently had an attack of “bilious fever” as the product of his work on Sabbath and Sunday end the experience with wet clothes.As a result of the poor

heath… Kilgore had to stop further tent work after the camp meeting of 1883. …After camp meeting in 1884, Kilgore had to stay and receive some treatments in the city of Dallas. (At) the 1885 Texas camp

meeting held at Arlington, Texas, Kilgore, who had been in Illinois for a few months prior, attended to terminate his relationship with the confer-

ence. …Kilgore had served in a prominent way in building up the Conference where his work was closing. Educational work has been an

important phase of the program carried on by Seventh-day Adventists. In relation to the topic of a school Kilgore wrote (to the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists) in 1882:“I would speak especially

concerning the existing de-mand for a school in our State. It is the unanimous voice of those with whom we have conversed, that we must have a school at once. It is true that our children are growing up around us with no advantages that we can safely trust; and to avail ourselves of such as we have at the present time is to endanger their spiritual interests and final salvation. Yes, brethren, we must have a school, and we have no time to spare in making a beginning. We should have one opened this fall, and we can have it if we all move together, and dismiss all selfish and personal considerations. Then let all of us think over this very impor-tant matter, and come up to this meeting with a mind to act, and with a determination to make some sacrifice of what God has given us in order to set this noble enterprise on a good, substantial footing. Our children are more precious that the treasures of earth; and their future well-being and eternal destinies are infinitely more important than earthly consid-erations…”To be continued…

From the Pen of Morris Lowry

2 • THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013 • WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM

Keene Chronicle

PO Box 135 • Keene, Texas 76059

817-645-9808

Managing Editor - Robert Rael

robert@keenechronicle.com

817-701-8148www.keenechromicle.com

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Long time residents Harold and Flora Lindsay celebrate their 71st wedding anniver-sary in the Barnes Barn on Barnes Avenue with friends and family

Harold and Flora Lindsay Celebrate 71st Anniversary

"Drew Davis, Lillian Davis' grandson and son of Dr. Greg Davis, M.D. (practic-ing in Paradise, CA), is a graduate of Loma Linda Medical School. He ranked #3 in a class of 155 (stu-dents). Dallas Davis, her other grandson (pictured) is studying X-ray at Pacific Union College in Angwin, CA. His daughter, Da-nae (pictured) is a Dental Hygienist. Dustin Davis, a third grandson, has been accepted to Loma Linda Dental School, where he He will be enrolled in Au-

gust, 2013.Lillian's son and grandson,

Greg and Drew visited her on June 10-12 en route to Atlanta where Drew will be doing his Pathology resi-

dency.Pictured L-R: Lillian Davis’

son, Dr. Greg Davis, grand-sons Dustin & Dallas, and granddaughter, Danae.

Drew Davis, graduate of Loma Linda Medical School

Hodges Hayfield on the west side of Keene. Notice how uniform Barry Hodges lays those rows of grass. He learned it from his father, Bobby and Bobby learned the technique from his father. Maybe the last green field you see until the fall rain begins. Welcome to summer 2013

In Keene for years we have used initials to refer to indi-viduals and for some their full real names were never known.Most of the time when you

heard EK it was for Elray Birdwell the broom man of Keene. When you heard JH it was referring to the 3rd mayor of Keene Joseph H Bischoff. And in the early years if you

wanted your water meter re-read you would tell Lloyd Winn to send WO back out to my house with his glasses on! Meaning the one and only WO Belz, of Belz Store, on Col-lege Drive and everyone knew who you would be talking about. Here are a few more common initials for the men of Keene. See if you recog-

nize any: JH, LC, LG, JT, JH, JK, JC, RL, RQ, TG, QQ, TJ, PW, QO.You can choose among these

names if you are not famil-iar. Essig, Woodall, Scales, Hopps, Miles, Kimbrow, Ball, Williamson, Janes, Ward, Hancock, Carr.

Yes, People use initials as their names!

For years this house was adjacent to the Nu Cushion or the Candy factory. Today it is no longer on South College Drive. It is now on the road to......??? Urban renewal??

WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM • THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013 • 3

At the Keene City Coun-cil meeting on the evening of June 13, while Mayor Ackermann announced “a proclamation designating June 10th through June 14th as Star Week in the City of Keene, Keene residents Bud Findley and “Jack” Hard-wick launched (in the public forum) into what can only be described as ranting and often rambling tirades, publicly deriding the Keene Chronicle as “unethical, disrespectful, disgraceful and arrogant!” Bud Findley, while address-

ing the “due diligence” issue to the City Council Members, made the following statement: “The Keene Chronicle article is in absolute error. All the commentary concerning the above, mudslinging, inaccu-racy and incompetent behav-ior by the Keene Chronicle are representative of their owner/staff minions and assigns. They are continuing to endan-ger economic development, tax income and jobs in Keene, by using unethical behavior

in order to publish content, sell content and supposedly (sic) profit under the ruse of a newspaper. “…One solution would be

for the Keene Chronicle to do something supportive and creative for a change and host Bay Minette jurisdiction to come to Keene. This would be a good tax write-off for the Keene Chronicle ownership. Since city and boards are tax exempt entities, that would surely be received and consid-ered. If interested, please con-tact Bill Guinn, City Manager. He would be glad to provide you the donation documenta-tion, I am sure. “…The Keene Chronicle’s

due diligence on legal matters represents the same wisdom, public commentary, and fair and equal handed nature or your research and profession-alism. Tactics being used by Keene Chronicle, minions and assigns: Interview requests submission after commentary has already been created and circulated to the public and

elected officials. This shows intent and ill will. No, none, zero interview requests to B.e, reconfirmed this afternoon, pm for fair and equal handed reporting. Taking of license plate numbers of vehicles located on private property for the purposes of freedom of information requests at City Hall, the waste of City resources and staff time from actions required by the above, public commentary and publication of K.C. ownership and staff personal agendas resulting from election results and personal vendettas, which are damaging to the city and economic development op-portunities, public and harm-ful exhibition of an internal jurisdictional policy debate is for sensationalism and greed, printing disrespectful and ar-rogant condemnation of staff and elected officials, with no apparent appreciation of their sincere efforts, time, insight and experience. “To say it bluntly, you

believe by the manner and dis-

play of your commentary you are intimating you are smart and they are incompetent to lead, shame on you! Real and good change comes from the inside out on municipal policy. We should be insulted and wary of efforts that have not first been vetted with sweat equity and teamwork. That’s all I have to say.”Keene resident “Jack”

Hardwick made the following commentary: “…I think that’s Keene

Chronicle is an insult to the newspaper industry as a whole. This is a worth-less piece of paper! I also resent saying that I and these people out here have held the mayor’s feet to the fire. When you say “Keene residents” you’re talking about me. I have never held your feet to the fire, have I Mr. Mayor? I wouldn’t know how to light somebody’s feet to the fire. I think personally, this is the most disgraceful thing! They, Keene Chronicle, use the name Keene, which is the

most insulting thing I’ve seen, very insulting! “And I noticed too, that most

newspapers – real newspapers, they have a masthead – I don’t know if this is the proper name or not. And it shows a Robert – I don’t know how to pronounce that last name, and could care less! But it doesn’t show the owner, who’s the owner? “…But certain parrots and

puppets get up and make some statements that were some of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard! And I think this, if you really want to know, put in a masthead, why don’t you put the owner’s name in here? And I noticed today’s paper; you had a letter to the editor, that’s very unusual! Now they’re beginning to come out of the woodwork. You also have had articles where the writer of the article would not use his name, he used initials. Now whether they were real initials, it was a real person, was it you, or who it was – I don’t blame them. If I had

had an article published in here, I don’t think I’d want my name published in here either! I think that this is probably new low for the City of Keene, a very new low for Keene, one of the worst things that has happened to Keene!“I like Keene, I’m very proud

of these people, these people were elected, they were actu-ally elected! And I’m sorry that I promote them 100%. I may not always agree with what they’ve got to say, but I will say this, they have been elected, they didn’t come out of the woodwork, they are not hiding behind a shield, they are not trying to say that they are uh, what they’re posi-tion is. And if the owner had enough guts to put his name on here, or you’d put a name in here, I think anybody else that’s concerned with it, most-ly papers do put the owners, the publishers, the writers, the circulation people and all the rest of them. “I think it’s time that the owner comes forward! Thank you.”

Two Keene City residents bash Keene Chronicle at City Coun-cil while The Star Group receives public recognition

Keene resident Robert Bish-off’s related comments in public forum: “Two weeks ago, I sat in this chamber and listened to Councilman Chapline’s folksy description of the state of the newspaper business in Keene. Then I realized that his objec-tive was to deride the distribu-tion of pertinent information to the citizens of Keene. Was Mr. Chapline being totally honest or could he be riding to the rescue of the man who singlehandedly put him in the Keene City Council? As I remember the set-up, the appointment was facilitated by a last minute mayoral ordered agenda item neatly limiting the candidate list to one per-son - James Chapline! “Just think of it, power politics being played out right here in Keene – how comfort-ing! A similar appointment has previously played out in Keene. In 1973 a certain mayor, Roberts contacted me and asked me if I would accept an appointment to the City Council. Two differ-ences attend that appointment: one, I have been a candidate for council at the most recent election which I lost 169-151 to Lyndon Davis and two, Mayor Roberts and I seldom agreed on questions before the City Council. “It is possible that our mayor accidently discovered a brain that thinks exactly as he does when deciding city issues. If that is not the case, please cite from the record a contrary vote! When we consider our mayor’s enemies list record with Mr. Lopez, Mr. Jilge, Mr. Guinn and Keesha Lay, isn’t it about time we dun the mayor for the cost of these investi-gations? A check for $5,000 will cover the expense of your most recent venture into that acuity Mr. Mayor.”In other Keene City Council matters Harry McQueen gave the following power point presentation entitled “City of Keene Strategy Review:” “Mr. Mayor and Council Members thank you again for having me here tonight. And it’s been a pleasure working with the City of Keene on certain strategies since early 2009. And I look in the audi-ence and I see some people who have worked with me on this strategy through the years. Councilwoman Schram has been engaged in this strategy since the beginning. Joyce Shaw sat on several of our committees. Dave Patterson has been engaged since the beginning and has worked dil-igently with us through these past few years. Wes (Schram) even sat in on several of our

committees, we had other people. “It’s always good to come back occasionally and just review the strategy, take a look at where we stand today and just validate that we’re working on the right things from a strategic standpoint for the City of Keene. “So, this is going to be a fast overview tonight, we’re not going to get into any detail. We’re always available for questions. We’re going to do just a quick strategy review, we’re going to do just a little validation of our vision for the City of Keene, a valida-tion of the major initiatives we have and we’ll take a quick overview of some of the major products that came out of these strategic sessions over the last 3 or 4 years. “This next slide ‘what is the strategy?’ Basically to have a strategy for any corpora-tion or any organization, you always need to have a vision of where you want to be in the future. And that vision is, and that vision is this is what we picture the City of Keene being in the future. And then the second thing you need to do is document your current state or where are you today, what is your baseline? And as we develop this strategy we looked at the critical success factors for moving forward, we looked at guiding princi-ples, we looked at roadblocks of things that might get in the way and we looked at the business issues that the City was dealing with. And then in the final product, we had short term goals and we had long term goals in the form of ma-jor initiatives to move forward on. So, in the final analysis, the components of the strategy again of the City of Keene, the vision for the future and the current state, we looked at the building blocks, and that was the infrastructure - the way the City was managed, the way the City was governed, all the major areas, or building blocks upon which you create a well run, well functioning organization. We went out and looked at the citizens pri-orities. We had a lot of input from the citizens of Keene. And then we spent a consid-erable amount of time with the Council Members at that time defining what the City’s priorities were. “Now out of that you map in the master plan that’s been developed, financial capa-bilities, road blocks, critical success factors, business issues and guiding principles; and this gives the City a way to - on an annual basis - put a plan in place for what they

want to achieve on a yearly basis and map their budget to those plans. Again, showing our vision and a brief state-ment - there were a couple of paragraphs really defining this vision, but the original vision for Keene in 2009 was ‘a city that maintains its traditional heritage of a small town com-munity while providing an exceptional quality of life for all residents.’ Now you’ll see in a few moments that we have refined that somewhat. “And again, if you look at this, the annual planning and the financial capabilities to build on the city infrastruc-ture, have a well run City governance, structure, city management and operations, building partnerships and relationships, really moving forward with economic de-velopment, that’s the way you build the city of the future! McQueen then drew the Council Member’s attention to a listing of the citizen’s priori-ties and the City management priorities. “These,” continued McQueen, “were extracted from many, many sessions.”“We have developed some initiatives to work on in year one: partnership, collabora-tion and teamwork. We had a real deficit in that in 2009 and initiatives were put in place to work on improving that area. Infrastructure, we had initiatives to improve our infrastructure, work on retail development, work on city governance and manage-ment, housing and community growth and industrial develop-ment. “So all of those initiatives were established in 2009. In year 2, we also had some of those continuing in the year 2 initiative. We had several rec-ommendations for the council members. Recently, I think Mr. Guinn gave each one of you a copy of the strategy. So you all have that in your hands so you can go through and re-ally look at the details of this strategy. “Now I want to talk for just a moment about the original vision. The original vision, as you can see was ‘a city that maintains its traditional heritage of a small town community while provid-ing an exceptional quality of life for all residents.’ Now we’ve worked several hours on trying to revise that vi-sion to better where we are today with the city of Keene and what our vision might be today. A community that honors its traditional heritage while embracing opportunities for future growth, to be known as a patriotic and friendly community providing oppor-

tunities for high-tech green industry growth along with exceptional educational and senior health care services for Johnson County residents. “And I’m bumping that off the City Council tonight just to get any responses or any reactions you have to what we have developed for that new vision. And that was devel-oped by a few of us (who) put our heads together and developed the vision simply because of some of the major initiatives that are in place today and what we continue to talk about developing here in Keene. Does this make sense?“Moving on, the initiatives, partnerships, collaboration, teamwork, those are the initiatives that we’ve looked at. And as of today, we still have and are working on those same initiatives. And I’ve listed them in the order in which I think they are pos-sibly the order of importance. Industrial development, and the reason I’ve put that at the top is because we have a lot of activity going on in that area. And as we bring in new industries, that will definitely increase the tax base, and as the tax base is increased, it will allow us to move forward rapidly on some of the other initiatives. So that one has kind of risen to the top and we’re putting a lot of effort and time on that. “Infrastructure, number 2, because you cannot do development without the appropriate infrastructure in place. And as you know, we have a detailed infrastructure plan. We are working on that plan to upgrade our current infrastructure to prepare us for the infrastructure to support future development. We still need retail development, we need housing and community growth, we still need to work on partnerships, collaboration and teamwork and we still need to work on city gover-nance and management. No matter how hard you work on that, there’s always room for improvement. “Major products of the strat-egy, just to let everyone see that over this period, we have produced some major docu-ments. You are going to see a few things that have been produced. There are a whole list of things that I could put up today! I’m only going to focus on the major, high impact – I think – documents that have come out of the past 2 years. First of all was the strategic plan itself, and that was adopted by the Council in October 2009 as their strategy for the future. Then in 2010 we developed we developed

a detailed economic strategy. That was approved and adopt-ed by the Council in October 2010. We also developed a detailed infrastructure strategy for the improvement of our infrastructure that was also adopted by the City Council in October 2010. We then developed, for the Economic Development Corporation, a Board Orientation manual. We developed a grant applica-tion process manual, and we developed a grant application. We worked very closely with Mr. (David) Patterson on pro-ducing that. That was adopted by the ‘A Board’ and by the Council in February 2011. We did the same thing with the ‘B Board’ - same manuals, except they were tailored for the ‘B Board.’ And that was approved by the ‘B Board’ and adopted by the Council in August 2011. “There are 2 manuals that have been developed that have not yet been to the Council for approval. Those are still in the wings, waiting for the appropriate time to bring them forward. That’s an economic development protocols manual which describes all the differ-ent players and how economic development should work here in the City of Keene, with all the players coming to the table, how they inter-act and how they work for success. There’s also a City Council Orientation Manual. And that manual is developed for the City Council to have – especially as turnover occurs and as new City Council Members come on board, they have a manual that they can go through that gives them a broad brush of thing that they need to know in order to very quickly become a functioning council member. “And that is the overview that I wanted to give you today,” concluded McQueen.McQueen then entertained several questions from both the City Council Members and the meeting attendees.In other Governing Body of Keene matters:

Council Member James • Chapline quoted a letter from Judge Sydney B. Findley, a former Keene resident who recently visited Keene and be-moaned the neglected and “deteriorating condition of many of the proper-ties.” Chaplain continued reading “The purpose of this letter is to implore the Council to take aggres-sive posture regarding code enforcement … you have the power of making Keene the ‘jewel of John-son County as the web

site promises.’” “This is a real priority item” added Chapline, “that I would like to put on a near Council meeting, an agenda item on this. We do need to explore what we can do to take care of these issues.” Chapline later recommended July 25 for “as a discussion item” on the City code enforcement issue.

On other “further items • to be placed on a future agenda” Councilman Donny Gore proposed “I would like to discuss at a future council meeting the remarking of Hillcrest, making one side a fire lane.”The Council supported • a motion by Council Member Chapline to table a discussion on renting or leasing office space for Keith Jilge, Keene Economic Development Director “until more in-formation is available.”Tim Sinclair shared a • vintage derby video and gave the Council Mem-bers an update on the Johnson County Adult Soap Box Derby planned for Monday, September 2. (See page 2 of the Keene Chronicle, June 13, 2013)Mayor Ackermann made • a proclamation designat-ing June 14, 2013 as Relay for Life Day in the City of Keene. “We are coming closer to finding a cure for cancer” stated Ackermann, “but we must not let up in our efforts until the battle has been won over!”As there is no current • vacancy, the Council did not act on an agenda item to possibly appoint Chad Aden to the athletic as-sociation. The Council supported • a recommendation by Public Works Director, George Evans to purchase a chipper. Mayor Pro Tem Dale Janes made a motion to purchase a 12” $34,000 chipper. Janes’ motion was seconded by Councilwoman Cheryl Schram and unanimously approved by the council.

Absent from the above proceedings were Council Members Lorena Morin and Gilbert Perez.

More Council Actions and Reactions

4 • THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013 • WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM

This is a Custom 4 bedroom 2 bath 2 car garage home sits on 2.5 acres and is a gardner's dream home hosting dozens of mature fruit bearing apple, peach, pear, fig trees , home has city water but the grounds are irrigated by well water.Gated entrance for

privacy, Covered RV space and 35'x40' work shop with inte-rior office within the workshop.This a Beautifully

constructed custom home which is located at 925 County Road 702, Cleburne TX 76031It sits on the outskirts

of Keene as you go down Oakdale headed East.

Call Real Estate Agent if you have Questions.Bonnie Allen972-880-9600

The Michael Group

The City of Keene/Keene Chamber of Commerce 24th annual 4th of July parade will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 4th, from Pinnacle Bank at the corner of 4th Street and Old Betsy Drive with animal entries staging across the street at Chisholm Trail Academy. Registrants are asked to bring 10 canned goods to help area food pantries for an entry fee or $10 and need not register before the day of the event. Registration will begin at 7 a.m. and participants must be registered by 7:30 to be judged. Sheriff Bob Alford and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department mounted color guard will lead the parade.The parade route will begin

at Pinnacle Bank going west on 4th Street to Woodlawn. It will proceed north on Wood-lawn to Greenbriar then east to Oakwood. Then North on Oakwood and turn east onto Hillcrest Street and from there, it will turn south onto Old Betsy Rd and then east on 4th Street ending at the bank.After the parade, approxi-

mately 10 a.m., festivities will begin at the Chisholm Trail Academy Gymnasium at the corner of 4th Street and Old Betsy led by the posting of the colors, the singing of the na-tional anthem and the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Local entertainment will perform in the gym where there will be continuous door prizes and face painting with a delicious dessert auction that will in-

clude by-the-slice availability. The two winning raffle

tickets—one for the beautiful, original oil painting donated by Sleepy Read and one for the free Route 44 drink cou-pons from the Keene Sonic—will be drawn around 12:30 p.m. You need not be present to win. Tickets are $3 each or 2 for $5 and can be purchased for the Sleepy Read painting before the event at Keene City Hall, Pinnacle Bank, Sweet Peppa’s and Two Amigos and for the free Route 44 drink for a year from the Keene Sonic at the Keene Sonic. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the City Celebration.Outside there will be lots of

good food including hotdogs, nachos and tasty interna-tional dishes from a variety of cultures. Once again, the Keene Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the drinks booth. Vendors will be set up with various wares. For those who would like to have a booth, the fee is $35. Applications are to be picked up and returned to City Hall. There will be games and activities for the children and teens including a dunking booth, pony rides from 10-11:30 a.m., bounce houses, train rides and water gun fun. All proceeds, including

those from the raffles, will go toward a pavilion in the Elisa Carver Park. The fun and festivities will end at 1 p.m. We hope you can come and join us!

4th of July Activities

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Classifieds

This was the last week for Wanda Smith to be superinent-edent of KISD. This was the week of down-sizing....her duties and her desk!

Thanks for all your YEARS of service to Keene and Keene ISD. Now go and enjoy the sum-mer!!

Wanda Smith’s last week as superinentedent

This little, well behaved & house broken, dog was found in Keene along Hillcrest Street on Father’s DayIf you know the owner please call Ann at 817-645-2256

Lost Dog

Here is the grave stone for Dr. C C Cooke,MD, a long time noted doctor that served the residents of Keene and Cleburne and all of Johnson County. He delivered count-less babies and was known for suggesting names for the each new born. More names were accepted than rejected. Some-times his only pay was having

the priviledge to name the newborns. Dr Cooke was the family doctor to many Keene residents. He is the grandfa-ther of Judge CC “Kit” Cooke of Cleburne. Now you know the who & why FM 3048 , north of Keene, is named CC Cooke Parkway. He is buried beside his wife Emma in the Keene Memorial Park.

Dr. C C Cooke, MD

Graveside service for Margaret L. Cunningham, 87, of Keene will be conducted at 10:00 A.M., Thursday, June 27, 2013 in Godley Cemetery. Pastor Wayne Mc-Coy will officiate. Visitation will be from 6-8:00 P.M., Wednesday, at the funeral home.Margaret L. Cun-

ningham passed away Monday, June 24, 2013 in Keene. She was born Nov. 15, 1925 in Acton to Rush and Allie Mae Pribble Raifs-nider. She married Joseph Ray Cunningham on July 12, 1945 in Cleburne and he preceded her in death in 1986.Mrs. Cunningham was a

homemaker and a member of the Assembly of God Church. Survivors include her son,

Michael Cunningham of Eu-less; three daughters, Viola Newman of Keene, Alice Cunningham of Keene and Joy

Yaremko and husband Brian of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; four great-great grandchildren; three brothers, James Raifsnider, Albert Raif-snider and F.M. Raifsnider; and four sisters, Mary Poole, Dorothy Rogers, Lula Mae Pickeral and Virginia Brown.She was also preceded in

death by her parents and two sisters.

Margaret L. Cunningham

Nov 15, 1925 - June 24, 2013

By TG

In the mid to late 60’s, we got Honda’s. My first one was a bright red S-90. She was a beauty, but she didn’t last long. I got her in March of 1968 and was plenty proud! In August of that same year

I dropped my brother off at work in front of Brandom’s. I turned right and was headed west on Magnolia Street. I passed the Science Building and was crossing Mockingbird Lane. There was a car com-ing north on Mockingbird, pretty fast. I was already in the intersection and could tell the car was not going to stop at the stop sign. I shifted down and rolled the throttle on but it wasn’t quick enough. The left front fender of the car hit my beautiful red S-90 on the rear wheel, spinning it around and my head then hit the front left fender of that car. I was wearing a helmet and it

probably saved me from a bad head injury or death. An eye-witness said I was flying about six feet off the ground; I was knocked out so I really could not tell you. When I came to, I was lying on my back, feet first on the grass down toward Leiske Pultar Auditorium about 75 feet from the point of impact. It peeled the shirt off my back. I can tell you that grass can take the skin off your back, if you’re sliding on it fast enough. About 3/4’s of my back scabbed over in the next couple of days, and my left hip was injured. But in time everything healed. My S-90 was leaning against

the stop sign catty-cornered across the intersection from the stop sign the car ran; it was pointing south. She wasn’t pretty anymore; she was crum-pled up pretty bad. The people from the insurance company had her picked up and I never saw her again.The man who hit me was late

for work at Brandom’s and was in a hurry, trying to get to work on time. He didn’t make it. His last name was Cooper. Later, I went to school with two of his grand children. They were good people. The insurance paid for my

S-90 and for my clothes and doctor bills. Good old Dr. Thomas; in 1968 doctor bills were not that much. Things have sure changed haven’t they? Well, I took my insurance

money and bought a bright blue Honda 125-Scrambler. She was pretty too.

Carl Crane had one just like her and we rode together a lot. I don’t know if Carl would want this story told or not, but there used to be a lot of water melon patches around Keene. We would ride in, pick us each a melon, set them on our gas tanks and ride out of there in a hurry. We thought we were bad. I guess we were.Eddie Crane had a go-cart

without a motor. One day we thought it would be fun to pull it with a rope, so me and one of my brothers were on my 125, and we were pulling Eddie on his go-cart. Randy Ramsey was with us and he was on the back of the go-cart squatted down with his feet on the plate where the motor goes and hanging onto the back of the seat. Don’t try this; it doesn’t work out well! Anyway, we were out on East Oakdale, going east at about 45 or 50 mph. We were getting close to

where Oakdale tee’s with a county road. Eddie would not let go of the rope, so I pulled over to the side and stopped. Eddie and Randy flew past us. Well Oakdale and the county road were both gravel in those days. Eddie’s go-cart that had no motor - well it also had no brakes! He tried to turn but the front tires just kind of skidded and they went pretty much straight across that county road. Do you know what was at the end of Oakdale in 1969? The same thing that’s there today - a barbed-wire fence! Eddie laid down in the seat; he and the go-cart went all the way through that barbed-wire fence. Eddie never got a scratch! Randy stopped at the fence. We were lucky that Mike Birdwell drove up on our little accident and took Randy to the emergency room.The story you have just read

is true. The names have not been changed to protect the innocent or for that matter the guilty.

Signed, TG

Fifty Years In Keene

WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM • THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013 • 5

SENIORS 2013

Ω %♦♥Nick Acevedo (18)♥Eric AllenJulie Armstrong (in absentia)♦→Laurie BajoHeather Baker♦Suemina Bohanny→Peter BokadrikMonTwaun BoykinNestor Cano%♥Catherine Chastain (12)∆ Erica ChruschiakiΩ →♥Alec Elliott (21)∞Ω %→♥Brian Foley (30)Dennis GarciaNaomi George∆ Jiron Gibson (in absentia) Manual Gonzalez (in absentia)♦Kierston Green♥Steven Hadley (in absentia)♦♥Brittany HanksReagan HigginsAreli JacquezAriana JacquezSaulson Joash♥Benjamin JordanKaylee KirkpatrickPatrick Krajewski♥Taylor Lane→Lean Langidrik (WC)♥Amanda Langmos♥Lee Lanki♦♥Ritok LebanΩ %♦♥Timothy Machado (27)♦Alex McKnightAndrew McKnight

♦→♥Andy Montenegro→Keishla Morales♥Angel Ortiz♦Viviana Ozuna∆Windy Payne♦♥Emily Pierce (15)Michael Price∆ Kasey ReevesEdwin RiveraJennifer RiveraJohn Robert♦♥Priscilla RosendoΩ →♥Pauline Rubio (24)♦♥Wallace SantanaMelissa Servin♦Mary ShawΩ % Nicholas Shawn (27)♦Tiffany TalladinoGerardo Villalobos∞Ω %→♥Stewart Walker (30)♦♥Brittany Webber♥Kaylee Whiteside (21)Nicholas Wiggins (9)

Xavier Winland (WC)

Alternative Learning Center

Reymen ArmentaZachary BradyStephanie CortezSonia PrinceArthur Smith♦→Tony Thomas →Thirteen-year Seniors ♥ Carter Blood Donators Beta Club National Honor Society % Top 10% (#) College Credit Hours from Hill College ∆ Completion of Attendance ♦ FCCLA

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CLASS OFFICERS

Stewart Walker, PresidentBrian Foley, Vice-PresidentPeter Bokadrik, Treasurer

School Colors ...Electric Blue and SilverSponsors....Ammie Hill and Billy CoffinValedictorian ...Timothy MachadoSalutatorian ... Brian FoleySponsors...Ammie Hill and Billy CoffinValedictorian...Timothy MachadoSalutatorian ...Brian Foley

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Cleburne is starting over. A new farmer’s market is now open on Saturday’s 8am -12pm behind the Exxon Station on West Henderson Street just west of McDonald’s. Here are Cleburnites Carla and Ben Oefinger selling vegetables last Saturday.

Cleburne’s Farmers Market

Ricky Stephens, Keene ISD’s new superinten-dent, was elected Outstanding High School Principal for ESC Region VII. Counties served by Re-gion 7 Education Service Center include: Ander-son, Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Hender-son, Nacogdoches, Rains, Rusk, Sabine, San Au-gustine, Shelby, Smith, Panola, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood.Congratulations

to Mr. Stephens and his family. Keep up the good work!

Ricky Stephens, Keene ISD New Superintendent

It is about time....someone is replacing the curb along West Magnolia Street where it has been bent out of shape for a few years!If it is the Univerisity or the

City of Keene a big thanks for noticing and getting it replaced.

New Curb on West Magnolia St.

6 • THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013 • WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM

Can’t you just smell that lucious BBQ and Cobblers at Wagon Wheel BBQ? Look at that Loaded Baked Potato and Homemade Potato Salad and Cole Slaw!

Ya’ll come on down and have some!

Wagon Wheel BBQ Ph 817-556-2817 1916 E Henderson Cleburne, TX 76031

Open: Thursday 11 am - 7 pm Friday 11 am - 6:30 pmSaturday ClosedSunday 11 am - 6 pm

Keene Chronicle Subscription Form

Name: _______________________________

Address: _______________________________

City: ____________________ State: _____

Zip Code: _______________________________

Telephone Number: ___________________________

Email address: _______________________________

52 issues…..$25.00 in Johnson County52 issues…..$35.00 outside Johnson County

26 issues….$15.00 in Johnson County26 issues….$25.00 outside Johnson County

Amount remitted $_____________

Remit to: P.O. Box 135 Keene, TX 76059

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have smaller tables and pub tables. • The covered reception area

(plus) surrounding concrete will seat 200 guests includ-ing dance floor, food and cake table, bar and grill area.• If you want tables through-

out the venue including “the ceremony’s grassy knoll” you can seat hundreds!Cindy describes the Cedar Ca-

bana Ceremony and options:• The cedar cabana ceremony

area is beautiful and surround-ed with luscious greenery and beautiful flowers. • Awesome wedding pho-

tos, especially with wedding spheres hanging from the trees!• Shepherd hooks lining the

isle and draping of the cabana. The scene is just magnificent!• Parking is on the east side

and rear of the venue. A trellis entrance at both locations lead-ing to the ceremony area.• You also have other options

such as an intimate ceremony in front of the fireplace, or a grand ceremony from the 2nd story balcony.Cindy describes the Bridal

Suite:• This 900 square foot suite

has all the comforts of home!• The bridal suite has a dress-

ing room with one suite bath. • Make-up and hair prep area

with8′ granite countertop and chairs; large lounging space with2 couches and 2 chairs. • A full kitchen where you

may bring in your own food to store and do light prep (no cooking).• Inside you will find clear

plastic serving dishes of vary-ing size to create your own food table arrangement.• This suite is right off the re-

ception area and for the bridal party only. • Unless granny needs to rest

( ), but otherwise no parting inside during the wedding.• All brides get the suite for 3

hours prior to ceremony!Cindy explains photo opts:• There are many romantic

spots for magnificent photo opportunities yielding you the most wonderful pictures!• All wedding rentals come

with a free hour of venue use for your photo shoot.• BB’s decorations.• We can decorate for you! We

decorate: ceremony area, fire-place mantel and feature walls, bar area, and all tables.BB’s Venue parking:Parking is available on the

east side and rear of the venue. There is a trellis entrance at both locations leading to the ceremony area.BB’s Venue packages:Wedding ceremony and

reception amenities include the following:1. Bridal suite- 900 square

feet complete with: -bride’s dressing room and

on suite bath -8′ hair and make-up coun-

ter space -large lounging area -full kitchen for food stor-

age and light meal preparation - no cooking2. Beautiful cedar covered

cabana surrounded by luscious landscaping for a romantic ceremony. 3. Large reception area with

cooling mist/fog fans, dance floor with LED lighting and disco ball, 10′x10′ fire place with hearth and mantle, pow-ered area for DJ, stereo system with iPod connections/wireless microphone/ atmospheric light-ing (total covered area 2000 square feet).4. Outdoor kitchen with: grill,

griddle, sear, oven.5. Full bar with: refrigerator,

keg refrigerator, sink, and bev-erage prep area with ice bin, stainless steel counters.6. Large beautiful pool with

grado type fountain and at-mosphere fog and colored led lighting.7. Tables, linens and chairs.8. A wedding coordinator to

help your big day and wedding

prep run smooth. One hour rehearsal (during the week).9. One hour bride’s or an-

nouncement photo shoot (Mon-Thur).10. One hour bride’s or an-

nouncement photo shoot (Mon-Thur).11. Great spots for photo opts.12. Venue for 5 hours and

bridal suite available 3 hours before ceremony.13. You are allowed to bring

in your own food and drink!FULL SERVICE: Up to 100

guests- $4000, 101-150 guests- $4500, 151-200 guests- $5000.You receive all the amenities

1-13 above plus:We set-up and tear down

tables and chairs, provide all the linens and direct parking.We supply clear; platters,

bowls and food serving dishes for your food table arrange-ment. You will need someone to design and set up your food table.• We assist with carrying your

designed platters of food to the table.• We supply clear; large and

small plates, cups and utensils for your guest!• We serve tea and water to

the arriving guests.• We offer arriving guests a

hand fan.• We provide: ring pillow and

flower basket with silk peddles/ sign-in book/cake stand/ roll-ing cake table.• We help keep trash and

discarded plates picked up. We help serve cake and help keep food area tidy. Plus +++ our team decorates

everything!-guest tables-bride/groom table-cake tableIf your family is preparing

their own food: you will need: -gift table-fireplace walls, mantle and

hearth-hanging crystal bling

throughout dance area-drape venue entrance-drape the cabana for the

ceremony-hang wedding spheres or

ribbons in the trees around ceremony cabana-shepherd hooks with flowers

line the aisle-“card cage” for gift tablePARTIAL SERVICE: Up

to 100 guest- $3000, 101-150 guests- $3500, 151-200 guests- $4000. We set-up and tear down tables and chairs, provide all the linens and direct parking. If your family is preparing their own food, you will need someone to design and set-up your food table. We supply clear platters, bowls and food serving dishes for your convenience.

PATRON’S RESPONSIBILI-TIES/OBLIGATIONS:• You are ultimately respon-

sible for clean-up: unless you prepay for clean-up service ($250).• If alcohol is present: bar-

tender ($200) and/or security ($200) required for your legal protection. • If using the pool: life guard

($100) required.• If using caterer: “big house”

kitchen space required unless your caterer can do outside, on-site, prep and delivery.• Food prep service- $200 to

$400 for those bringing in their own food and wanting us to prep, serve and cleanup their food table.• Big house kitchen rental

$500 a chef’s “dream kitchen” for light prep, warming and serving.• Big house kitchen rental

plus $800 a chef’s dream kitchen for heavy prep, warm-ing and serving, large sitting areas with outdoors in view, wireless internet, photo opt access. MINISTER: $100 Reception only: $2500, or

$3000 with decorations. Both come with tables, chairs and linens. Cabana ceremony only (Mon-Thurs): $900 (with deco-rations).Cabana ceremony with deco-

rations plus: social time and service attendant for serving your cake and champagne (2 hrs, total venue time): $1200. Inside big house dinner party

with your caterer: $1000 (with tables, linens, center pieces and the use of outside space - everyday furniture).PHOTO SHOOT:-Outside: $100/hr-Inside and outside: $200/hrVIDEO & FILMING: must

be negotiatedPOOL PARTY: $500Small Wedding and Reception

under 75 guests has the option of “No Service” / you do the work: $2500 You may rent the venue and

equipment and do the work yourself such as: Set-up tables and chairs and tear down, apply linens, serve, decorate, clean-up and take out trash. You are required to leave the venue the way you found it. A wedding coordinator is pro-

vided to help your big day and wedding prep run smooth. No additional service attendants!BB’s Venue is located at:3125 County Road 805Cleburne, TX 76031Call Cindy for consultation:817-538-6311e-mail: cindykeeney@bbsv-

enue.comWeb page: http://bbsvenue.

com

Continued: BB’s Venue

315 Pecan St…Keene…Open concept, great corner fireplace, beautiful landscaping a great buy at $105,000

119 Rosedale Ave…Keene… Large 3 BR with additional one BR rented apartment. REDUCED to $104,900

113 Rosedale Ave…Keene…Beautiful 3 BR, open concept. Features great deck on the back. Ready to move in at.....$95,500

113 S Fairview St…Keene… Nice 3 BR on 300 foot deep lot. Currently leased. A great buy at……..$84,500

One lot on John Thomas Dr…Keene…$23,900

3.5 acres on CR 414, beautiful building site………$55,000

5 commercial acres on Hwy 67 service road, adjacent to Peterson’s Gym……………..$199,000

3.15 acres on CR 703, Alvarado…………….………..$79,000

1 commercial acre, downtown Alvarado…..……….$85,000

Read-Billingsley300 S Old Betsy Rd • Keene, Texas 76059

817-645-8785

Read-Billingsley Real Estate

PENDING