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Overcast skies and a brief early afternoon shower kept race conditions at a tolerable level for the first Annual John-son County “Soap Box Clas-sic” Adult Soap Box Derby. Excitement filled the air while 24 eager race teams checked in 7:30 am for the elimination heats which were given the green flag at 9 am on the Wal-len Ridge incline, the service road to Hwy 67, Keene, TX.A crowd of over 400 local

race fans witnessed two racing divisions in this family team competition: Kids 10 – 15 and adults age 16 and up. The farthest race entry was from Wichita, Kansas and the oth-ers were from Austin, Waco, San Antonio, Marble Falls, Cleburne and Keene. Awards were given for the top three finishes in the two divisions as

well as for a variety of other categories.“This is a family-friendly

sport that brings people together” said Tim Sinclair, who worked with the Keene Chamber to introduce this event to Keene. “The rules are designed to let the creative genius come out. For exam-ple, the weight of the car can-not exceed 225 lbs. (which) does not include the weight of the driver.” A number of vendors lining

Wallen Ridge offered a variety of food items, drinks, snow cones and tee shirts while canopies and spectator seating were arranged by the Keene Chamber.Johnson County Soapbox

Classic is part of the National Adult Soapbox Derby As-sociation headquartered in

Marble Falls, TX. The NASD was established in 2009 and has changed the focus of the racers just being kids and the fathers doing the work of building the cars to the adults now being able to race what they have built. The construc-tion guidelines are different as well as the racing style. Ac-cording to the NASD “com-petition is still a key element but it is now between the big kids!”Keene Chronicle interviewed

several of the race participants who shared the following comments: Artie Berryhill of Marble

Falls with the entry named “Mean Green II” said “Next year will be our 5th Annual in Marble Falls. We have a 3 day event and hopefully this will get bigger but it’s just the most fun weekend you can have with a good group of people involved in it. And it’s a rush going down the hill in this thing! We’re hoping this event will be successful for next year and we will be up here I hope.”Jarred Hoskinson of Team

Hoskinson and Racing from Keene said “My son Trevin and I built these cars and we’re here to race them and have fun. It’s just a good community opportunity for Keene. So we want to take advantage of it! Adult soap box derbies are kind of a neat event.”Thad Davis from Wichita,

Kansas when asked what brings him to Texas said “The races are found only in Texas and Oklahoma, we don’t have any in Kansas. We are three generations of soap box rac-ers; grandfather, father and son!” Luis Elizondo from San

Antonio who shop built his own ride said “We heard about the race through the Marble Falls Association. These guys are real enthusiastic about what they do and I do too. It really is a lot of fun – win, lose or draw!” Elizondo’s wife Maxine shares a wife’s perspective: “My husband

spends countless of hours with this project. And, I’m okay with this being his hobby. It’s better than drinking and doing all kinds of other things. It’s a nice, good hobby but an expensive hobby!”Leon Sutherland of Gulf-

waith said: “We saw an ad in the paper with the NASDA and I showed it to my son and said ‘we gotta do that.’ So we built a couple of cars and here we are.”“It’s been a great turnout

and we’ve been very blessed with the weather” commented Sinclair after the awards were given, “I’m very thankful it wasn’t 150 degrees!”The winning entries were as

follows:1st Place, Adult Division:

Thad L. Davis of Wichita, Kansas 2nd Place, Adult Divi-sion: Thad M. Davis of Con-roe 3rd Place, Adult DivisionTom Gerino of Spicewood1st Place, Youth Division:

Evan Davis, 10, of Conroe 2nd Place, Youth Division: Thomas Elizondo, 11, of San Antonio 3rd Place, Youth Division: Trevin Hoskinson, 11, of KeeneOther local staff assist-

ing Sinclair in managing the event were Keene City Councilmember Donnie Gore, Aaron Moses, Joel Henslee, Bo Gendke and Jared Hosk-inson. Soap Box Racing HistoryIn the wake of the first car

races, local kid auto races took place in the US at a very early

stage. In 1914 the motion pic-ture Kid Auto Races at Venice starring Charlie Chaplin was shown in the cinemas. In 1933 Myron Scott, a

photographer for Dayton, Ohio newspaper Dayton Daily News, put together an impromptu race for 19 boys. There was so much interest that Scott arranged a big-ger race, with prize money for August 19. “An amazing crowd of 362 kids showed up with homemade cars built of orange crates, sheet tin, wagon and baby-buggy wheels....” The following year, the first

All-American race was held on August 19. The national winner was Robert Turner of Muncie, IN, who made his car from the wood of a saloon bar.In 1935 the race was moved

to Akron because of its central location and hilly terrain.[4] An accident in 1935 captured the public’s inter-est, and boosted the event’s profile. A car went off the track and struck NBC’s top

commentator and sportscaster Graham McNamee while he was broadcasting live on the air. Despite a concussion and other injuries (which would necessitate a two-week hospi-tal stay), McNamee described the collision to his listeners and finished his broadcast.In 1936, Akron civic leaders

recognized the need for a per-manent track site for the youth racing classic and, through the efforts of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Derby Downs became a reality.In 1946, the town of Mission,

British Columbia acquired the rights to the Western Canada Soapbox Derby Champi-onships and the Mission Regional Chamber of Com-merce, previously named the Mission City & District Board of Trade, organized the event annually until 1973.During the All American

Soapbox Derby’s heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, when

Labor Day, September 2nd, 2013 was race day in Keene, Texas!

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) highlights notable traf-fic and criminal laws that went into effect on Sept. 1, 2013.“As a result of these new

provisions, Texans now have additional protection while traveling our roadways, and individuals who disregard our laws will face tougher penal-ties for a variety of crimes,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “DPS encourages all residents to educate them-selves about the laws affecting their lives and to do their part in keeping Texas safe.” Please note that the follow-

ing is not a comprehensive list of all new laws passed by the Texas Legislature.HB 347 expands the cur-

rent limitations on wireless communication device (cell phone) use in an active school

crossing zone to include the property of a public elemen-tary, middle, or junior high school for which a local authority has designated a school crossing zone. The use will only be restricted dur-ing the time a reduced speed limit is in effect for the school crossing zone. Further, it will not apply to vehicles that are stopped, or drivers using a hands-free device or making an emergency call.HB 1174 amends current

statute to increase the mini-mum fines for the misde-meanor offense of passing a stopped school bus loading or unloading children. The minimum fine increases from $200 to $500, and the maxi-mum fine for such an offense increases from $1,000 to $1,250. The bill also enhances the penalty for a second or

subsequent conviction of that offense committed within five years to a misdemeanor punishable by a minimum fine of $1,000 and a maximum fine of $2,000. SB 181 allows a motor ve-

hicle operator the option of us-ing a wireless communication device (such as a cell phone) to display motor vehicle financial responsibility (proof of insurance) information as evidence of financial respon-sibility. The display does not constitute effective consent for a law enforcement officer, or any other person, to access the contents of the wireless communication device except to view the financial responsi-bility information. *This bill is effective immediately.SB 510 requires drivers to

move over or slow down (as required depending on the

roadway) when approaching a stationary Texas Department of Transportation vehicle with its lights activated and not separated from the roadway by a traffic-control device. This provision expands the state’s Move Over/Slow Down law, which already requires drivers to yield to tow trucks, police, fire and emergency vehicles. Violators would commit a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $200; punishable by a fine of $500 if property damage occurs; or a Class B misdemeanor if the violation results in bodily damage.HB 625 clarifies that the

penalty for operating a vehicle on a public highway without displaying the two license plates assigned to the vehicle is a misdemeanor offense pun-ishable by a fine not to exceed

$200.HB 3668 amends current

statute to require the opera-tor of a vehicle involved in an accident that results or is reasonably likely to result in the injury or death of a person to immediately determine whether a person is involved in the accident, and if so, whether the person requires aid, in addition to other exist-ing statutory requirements. SB 275 increases the pen-

alty for leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in the death of a person and failing to render aid from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony. A second degree felony carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000, whereas a third degree felony carries a penalty of two to 10

years in prison and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.HB 1284 increases the

penalty for the offense of initiating, communicating or circulating a false report of an emergency (such as a bomb threat) involving an institu-tion of higher education from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony. *This bill is effective immediately.HB 124 adds Salvia divino-

rum (unless unharvested and growing in its natural state) – including all parts of the plant, seeds and extracts from a part of the plant – to Penalty Group 3 of the Texas Con-trolled Substances Act. HB 2637 provides that an

individual fraudulently us-ing identifying information to avoid registering as a sex offender to be punished at the next highest degree felony

New Traffic, Criminal Laws Became Effective Sept. 1

Continued: Race Day Page 8

Artie Berryhill and spouse of Marble Falls with the entry named “Mean Green II”

Team Hoskinson and Racing from Keene

Thad Davis with his grandson and junior racer Trevin (in the background) from Wichita, Kansas

Tim Sinclair, announcing heats

Three generation triple winning team (L-R) Thad L. Davis, Thad M. Davis and Evan Davis

KPD Chief Rocky Alberti (L) challenging Councilmember Donny Gore (R)

2 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 • WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM

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After years of visiting na-tional parks and two trips to Yellowstone National Park my husband Ben & I had failed to see a bear. While we did see lots of animals in the wild, (buffalo, elk, pronghorns, moose, trumpeter swans, deer, bald eagles, etc) which thrilled us to no end, the elusive bear eluded us at every turn. We were beyond frustrated. We left Yellowstone this last week & traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the wedding of Ben’s cousin. We heart-ily recommend both of these places because of the grandeur of each.We were joined in Jackson

Hole by Ben’s cousin, his wife & his mother. It was decided that we should take a picnic lunch & go to the Grand Teton National Park by Jenny Lake, where “supposedly” a bear had been spotted. We loved being together & enjoying the beautiful wilderness, but much to our disappointment, no bear. So, being disappointed again

over not seeing a bear, we made plans to get up early the next morning & try the Lawrence Rockefeller Nature Preserve. We were driving very slowly with binoculars at the ready when all of a sudden we saw a group of cars parked in every direction & someone told us a bear was literally right next to us eating berries & drinking water from the stream. We jumped out of the car &

walked very quickly over to the edge. Imagine my won-derful surprise when I looked down & there was a beauti-ful black bear! I believe I could have reached down and

touched his fur. He slowly turned around & began eating more ber-ries. All of a sud-den he stood up & sniffed the air. We believe he sensed that humans were around him. My husband Ben, by this time, was on the opposite side from where the bear was. The bear began

to walk up the em-bankment where Ben was. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Ben back up that fast! The bear looked at all of us, and I assume decided we didn’t look too tasty, turned & walked up the edge of the stream. To be this close to a bear in the wild was an experi-ence I’ll never forget. Getting back into the car I imme-diately began silently praying to God, thanking him for this great bear, all the majestic animals living in the wild, and the beauty of the forests, mountains, and plains. I felt we had truly been

blessed by this sighting. We highly recommend Yel-lowstone & Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Happy traveling! Carla &

Ben Oefinger

Finally, A BEAR!Keene ISD Superintendent

Ricky Stephens, a former principal of Mineola High School in Mineola, Tx has been selected to represent the Texas Association of Second-ary School Principals as a Region 7 Outstanding Princi-pal of the year. TASSP recog-nizes outstanding principals and assistant principals from the twenty region Education Service Centers in the state. School administrators are nominated and chosen by their peers within their regions. Nominations are based upon exemplary performance and outstanding leadership. As a region 7 winner, Ricky Stephens is eligible to com-pete for the state title of Texas Principal of the Year.Ricky Stephens, an 18-year

principal, had headed the leadership team at Mineola High School since 2000. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University and earned a bachelors degree. He at-tended Stephen F. Austin State University and was awarded a Masters of Education in Educational Administration. Ricky sees himself as being a risk taker, a visionary and leader of learners. He recently moved into the superinten-dency by taking the superin-tendent job at Keene ISD.Each of the region winners

will be recognized during the Josten’s Night of the Stars Awards Dinner on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at the Hilton Austin Downtown Hotel. Each will be presented with an award and recognized in a

commemorative booklet en-titled Texas Principals, Texas Heroes. The TASSP Summer Workshop will be held June 11-13, 2014, at the Austin Convention Center.

Outstanding Principal of the Year

Keene’s newest police officer James (Jimmy) Luckie grew up in Midland, Texas before moving to the Granbury area in 2000. In 2010 he moved to Johnson County, just outside Keene, with his wife and two children. Jimmy Luckie began his law

enforcement career with the Granbury Police Dept in 2001 as a patrol officer. In 2007 he began working with the Hood County Sheriff’s Dept, where he served as narcotics officer, a patrol officer, and most recent-ly as a criminal investigator. Officer Luckie was sworn

in as Keene’s newest officer on August 29, 2013 by Mayor Ackermann.

Mayor Ackermann swearing in new Police Officer Luckie

Town Hall Estates Nursing and Rehab in Keene, Texas is thrilled to announce the upcoming birthday of our oldest resident, Mrs. Sudie Clark, who is turning 106 years old! To celebrate this amazing milestone, the public is cordially invited to attend a reception in Mrs. Clark’s honor on her birthday-- Friday, September 6--at 2:30 pm in the Town Hall Estates dining room.

Town Hall Estates Celebrates Oldest Resident’s Birthday

WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 • 3

In the Meeting of the Gov-erning Body of Keene, Texas on August 22nd, 2013 Coun-cilmember Gore requested placing the purchasing of “up to 5 police radios” on a future agenda for discussion while Councilmember Schram reit-erated her request made at the last City Council meeting “for the creation of a policy for the appointment of Keene City Council members or Board Members in case of death or resignation and/or forfeiture.” After some lively discus-

sion by both councilmembers and audience members the Council voted to take action on Ordinance No. 2013-473 of the City of Keene, Texas, amending chapter 31 of the code of ordinances “elections” by adding a new section 32.03 entitled “requirement to reside in ward”; providing a savings clause; providing a severabil-ity clause; and providing an effective date. (Item requested by: City Council)This action serves to clar-

ify the City Charter’s intent regarding what has been previously characterized as “vague and confusing” terminology by City Attorney Robert Brown (Keene Chron-icle August 22, 2013). The wording of this amendment is as follows: “Any candidate desiring to run for a Council member office in a particular ward must have resided in the ward for which the candidate seeks office for at least six months prior to the date of the election for which the candi-date seeks office.” Charles Ferrier, President of

the Keene Community Devel-opment Corporation addressed the Council for approval of the Keene Community Devel-opment Corporation’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014. He shared a copy of the 2013-2014 Type B Board budget which was adopted August 12, 2013 with the Council and his appeal to the Council is as

follows:“Mr. Mayor, Councilmem-

bers and members of the audience, I thank you for the opportunity to talk a little bit about our budget. First off, I want to thank the Board for the action that they took in purchasing the land (Keene Chronicle August 8, 2013). I’m still very excited about the purchase of the Shipman land and as to the future that it can help in the development of Keene. Also, I’m very thrilled about the Economic Develop-ment offices! We’re sharing a third of the load out there as 4-B Board. It gives us a very professional look to the City of Keene and I’m very, very happy with that. We’re happy that we can continue to support the economic devel-opment of the City of Keene. I’ve been a citizen of Keene since 1958 when I came down here to go to the Academy. My heart is in Keene; I want to see Keene grow, I want to see Keene prosper and I’m very, very happy to be part of it! Councilmember Janes moved

for approval of Ferrier’s proposed budget while Gore seconded this motion which was summarily voted in unanimously by the Council.On the motion by Coun-

cilmember Gore and seconded by Marin the Council chose to consider approval of Interlocal Cooperation Agreement be-tween the City of Keene and the City of Vernon to allow the Vernon police department to access to the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunica-tions System (“TLETS”) (Item requested by Rocky Alberti, Chief of Police) Two seats are open on the

City Council and early voting begins Monday, October 21 and runs through Friday, No-vember 1. Incumbent Gilbert Perez, Ward 1, Place 1 will be opposed by Davi Abrantes and incumbent James Chapline,

Ward 3, Place 1, will be running against Gerald Mauk. Coun-cilmember Cheryl Schram is unchal-lenged and as such will retain her seat.The City of Keene,

Texas will conduct public hearings on the proposed tax rate and budget for FY 2013-14 on Thursday, Sep-tember 5, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. and on Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Cham-bers, 100 N. Mock-ingbird. The public hearing is to obtain citizens’ views and comments. Provisions will be made for an in-terpreter or special assistance with 48 hours advance notice. The proposed budget can be viewed on the city website at www.keenetx.com or a copy may be picked up at city hall.Council Meeting - September

5 2013Notice of the Meeting of the

Governing Body of Keene, TexasNotice is hereby given that a

Regular Council Meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers at 100 N. Mockingbird, Keene Texas, on September 5th, 2013 at which time the following sub-jects will be discussed to wit:

Mayor’s remarks/pub-1. lic forum (The City Council invites citizens to speak on any topic; however, unless the item is specifically noted on this agenda, the City Council is required under the Texas Open Meetings Act to limit its response to one of the following: *Respond-ing with a statement of specific factual infor-mation or reciting the City’s existing policy on

that issue; or*Directing the person making the inquiry to visit with City Staff about the issue. (No Council deliberation is permitted.)Request by the City 2. Council for items to be placed on a future agenda for discussion.Consider approval of 3. previous minutes. Presentation to Yddo 4. Ortiz of a check from the City of Keene for match-ing funds for the Cham-ber of Commerce’s Flag Fund. (Item requested by Councilwoman Cheryl Schram)Public hearing on the 5. Proposed Tax Rate and Budget for fiscal year 2013-2014.Consider approval of 6. the Keene Economic Development Corpora-tion’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 (Item requested by: David Pat-terson, President of the Keene Economic Devel-opment Corporation)Discussion and possible 7. action on expenditure by the Keene Economic De-velopment Corporation for one third of the rent

on the new office space, $6,600.00 per year. (Item requested by: David Pat-terson, President of the Keene Economic Devel-opment Corporation)Consider appointing 8. Joyce Shaw as Election Judge and giving her the authorization to appoint the necessary Election Clerks. (Item requested by: Keesha Lay, City Secretary)Consider approval of 9. compensation for Elec-tion Judge and Clerks. (Item requested by: Kee-sha Lay, City Secretary)Consider Approval of 10. October 23, 2013 and October 29, 2013 as the days for Extended Early Voting Hours (7:00 A.M. To 7:00 P.M.) (Item re-quested by: Keesha Lay, City Secretary)Discussion and possible 11. action on purchasing 700 MHz Radios for the Police Department from General Fund Re-serves. (Item requested by Councilman Donny Gore)Discussion and possible 12. action on purchasing a Homalrto Extraction

power plant and tools for the Keene Fire & Rescue Department, to be funded from General Fund Reserves. (Item re-quested by Councilman James Chapline.)Review and approval by 13. the Council the financial statement as of June 30, 2013Executive Session -- 14. (Closed to the public as provided by Texas Government Code) As authorized by Section 51.071(2) of The Texas Government Code, The Workshop, Special Called, Or Regular Meet-ing may be convened into Closed Executive Session for the purpose of seeking confidential legal advice from the Attorney on any Agenda Item listed herein.Reconvene into Open 15. Session for possible ac-tion resulting from any items posted and legally discussed in Executive Session. Adjourn16.

The Meeting of the Governing Body of Keene, Texas - August 22, 2013

Charles Ferrier, President of the Keene Community Development Corporation

KPD Chief Rocky Alberti (L) introducing candidate for police officer James A. Luckie

Keene Chronicle

PO Box 135 Keene, Texas 76059

817-645-2333

Managing Editor - Robert Rael

robert@keenechronicle.com

817-701-8148

www.keenechromicle.com

KC Notice is hereby given that a Regular Council Meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers at 100 N. Mockingbird, Keene Texas, on September 5th, 2013 at which time the following sub-jects will be discussed to wit:

Mayor’s remarks/pub-1. lic forum (The City Council invites citizens to speak on any topic; however, unless the item is specifically noted on this agenda, the City Council is required under the Texas Open Meetings Act to limit its response to one of the following: *Respond-ing with a statement of specific factual infor-mation or reciting the City’s existing policy on that issue; or*Directing the person making the inquiry to visit with City Staff about the issue. (No Council deliberation is permitted.) Request by the City 2. Council for items to be placed on a future agenda for discussion. Consider approval of 3.

previous minutes. Presentation to Ydo Ortiz 4. of a check from the City of Keene for matching funds for the Chamber of Commerce’s Flag Fund. (Item requested by Councilwoman Cheryl Schram) Public hearing on the 5. Proposed Tax Rate and Budget for fiscal year 2013-2014. Consider approval of the 6. Keene Economic Devel-opment Corporation’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 (Item request-ed by: David Patterson, President of the Keene Economic Development Corporation) Discussion and possible 7. action on expenditure by the Keene Economic De-velopment Corporation for one third of the rent on the new office space, $6,600.00 per year. (Item requested by: David Pat-terson, President of the Keene Economic Devel-opment Corporation) Consider appointing 8. Joyce Shaw as Election

Judge and giving her the authorization to appoint the necessary Election Clerks. (Item requested by: Keesha Lay, City Secretary) Consider approval of 9. compensation for Elec-tion Judge and Clerks. (Item requested by: Kee-sha Lay, City Secretary) Consider Approval of 10. October 23, 2013 and October 29, 2013 as the days for Extended Early Voting Hours (7:00 A.M. To 7:00 P.M.) (Item re-quested by: Keesha Lay, City Secretary) Discussion and possible 11. action on purchasing 700 MHz Radios for the Police Department from General Fund Reserves. (Item requested by Coun-cilman Donny Gore) Discussion and possible 12. action on purchasing a Homalrto Extraction power plant and tools for the Keene Fire & Rescue Department, to be funded from General Fund Re-serves. (Item requested by Councilman James

Chapline.) Review and approval by 13. the Council the financial statement as of June 30, 2013 Executive Session -- 14. (Closed to the public as provided by Texas Government Code) As authorized by Section 51.071(2) of The Texas Government Code, The Workshop, Special Called, Or Regular Meet-ing may be convened into Closed Executive Session for the purpose of seeking confidential legal advice from the Attorney on any Agenda Item listed herein. Reconvene into Open 15. Session for possible ac-tion resulting from any items posted and legally discussed in Executive Session. Adjourn16.

Notice of the Meeting of the Governing Body of Keene, Texas

Sunday September 15 at 11:00am, Keene Baptist Church will celebrate eight years of ministry in Keene, Texas.

Following the service, the church will serve a fellowship luncheon featuring chicken, side dishes and dissert. Guests are welcome.Keene Baptist Church was

established as a Southern

Baptist mission church from First Baptist Church of Burle-son in September, 2005. The first meeting place was in the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church chapel. They moved from there to the current loca-tion in the Old Betsy Village Plaza. Becoming a church In April 2012, they have proved they are going to stay as part of the Keene community.

Their current Pastor, Lamar Black, came in June, 2010 having served churches in Florida, Maryland, Virginia and Texas. He followed the founding pastor, Norman Har-rell.The church participates in

the community as an active member of the Keene Cham-ber of Commerce, Keene’s annual StarFest celebration,

the 4th of July events and the Business Expo. Pastor Lamar also leads worship at Lake Pointe at Chisholm Trail each Sunday morning, 10:00am-10-:30am with a Bible message and hymns.The church worships each

Sunday from 11:00am-12-:00pm. Worship is classical (traditional) with singing of hymns. Bible study and

prayer meeting each Wednes-day from 7pm-8pm is a great time of fellowship and learning. Each 5th Sunday in a month, the church has a “SingSpiration” from 6:30pm-7:30pm the congregation chooses their favorite songs to sing and this is followed with a dissert fellowship.Pastor Lamar says, “We

want to invite everyone to be

our guest. Perhaps you are a faithful believer who feels called to be more local in your church ministry and ministry to the people of Keene; we believe this is a good place to serve that calling.”

Keene Baptist Church Celebrates Eight Years in Keene

4 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 • WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM

A monumental leap of faith pays off for Greg and Theresa Kauffman, Kauffman Leader-ship Academy COD & CEO/Founder, respectively.

In the winter of 2010 the couple bought the then “struc-turally substandard” old Irving Elementary School building built in 1915 and located on the 1100 block of North Anglin Street, Cleburne, Texas for $5,000 for the purpose of renovating and converting it into an open enrollment char-ter school. The Kauffmans informed the Keene Chronicle that they have spent their “entire retirement nest egg,” or about $260,000 on getting the building back to city code standards for occupancy and on-going operational costs to date.The Kauffman’s sacrifice and

dedicated labor has resulted in a structure that has virtually risen from the ashes and has now been transformed into a safe, comfortable and learning conducive environment which offers a wide variety of home school support, while play-ing host to a number of other educational, self-improvement and community outreach activities. Kauffman Leadership

Academy currently en-gages in a “liberal education model” which is defined as “an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world (e.g., science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest. A liberal edu-cation helps students develop a sense of social responsi-bility, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills such as com-munication, analytical and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings.” “An excellent education

is not rocket science” de-clares Theresa Kauffman, “it involves quality classroom instruction in a safe, nurtur-ing and learning environment that holds high expectations of staff, students, and parents.” “Kauffman Leadership Acad-

emy will attain this goal” adds Theresa, “by providing the following:

No more than 12 stu-• dents per classroomIndividualized instruc-• tionExtended class periods • (75 minutes)Extended school day (8 •

AM to 5 PM)Extended school year • (200 day curriculum calendar).”

“We believe” adds Greg, “that a quality liberal educa-tion must include developing leadership skills. Whether your child aspires to be a US Senator, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, or the per-son that everyone goes to in their community to get things done, Kauffman Leadership Academy will invest each child with the leadership skills that will make them successful in college, work and commu-nity endeavors. “These ‘leadership skills’ are

honed at KLA with involve-ment in the following activi-ties:

Community service • requirement of 4 hours per monthParticipation in student • body town hall meetingsCurriculum that will in-• clude mastering written and oral communicationsStudent active participa-• tion in designing their own course of study.

“If you are looking to choose a path that will be engaging, entertaining, and educational, this is it! All members of Kauffman Leadership Acad-emy are amenable in provid-ing assistance and they are working toward one goal: each student’s success.” “The core and the soul of the

school” are encapsulated by the Kauffmans in the five hab-its of “heart for community” and are as follows:

WE ARE ALL IN THIS • TOGETHER.WE VALUE AND • APPRECIATE EACH OTHER.WE WILL LEARN TO • HOPE IN AN IMPER-FECT WORLD.WE WILL GROW • CONFIDENT IN OUR OWN VOICE AND POWER.WE WILL WORK TO • STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY EVERY DAY.

“Kauffman Leadership Acad-emy is an open enrollment private school pending charter approval in Johnson County Texas. We are dedicated to educating students through engaging activities at the high-est academic standard while providing a safe environment to practice skills needed in postsecondary and future work experiences through caring, individual-focused teaching and learning.“Our focus” state the Kauff-

mans, “is on the following: Mastering the mind, •

high academic expecta-tions for all learners. Mastering the heart, • respect and relational trust for all. Mastering skills for • tomorrow’s workplace developed throughout the curriculum. Mastering community, • engaging in service to others beyond the Acad-emy.”

Kauffman Leadership Acad-emy is governed by a 501(c)(3), nonprofit corporation, whose Board members are community leaders, educa-tional experts, and parents.Greg Kauffman’s 22 years

of public school board service in both Oregon and Texas combined with Theresa Kauff-man’s 30 years of classroom and administrative experience provides a unique partnership for visioning educational best practice. Theresa is also com-pleting her Ed. D in Adminis-trative Leadership for Teach-ing and Learning. When she was interviewed by the Keene Chronicle she spoke about her doctoral research address-ing the importance of trusting relationships for enhancing learning. She also shared a bit more about herself, how KLA came about and the strategic short and long term plans for the school:“I have been an educator for

the past 33 years. I started teaching mostly middle school and I have also been an ad-ministrator of a small private school for kids with learning disabilities – or differences. I have also taught and prepared teachers. I’ve taught at Texas Wesleyan and in Oregon be-fore we moved here. My pas-sions were literacy and social studies – reading and history and that sort of thing. “About 3 or 4 years ago I

found myself taking a break from what I was doing, to fin-ish my doctorate. Then I real-ized that I really didn’t need to take a break - that it wasn’t that time consuming. Greg and I were involved in a youth program, “4-H Camp” back in Oregon. We discovered that they had a problem keep-ing campers interested in the camping program from when they were a camper to when they were a counselor; there was this gap. And so Greg de-signed a program called “The Challenge Program.” This program took middle school kids and it went to camp with them. So they weren’t really like the little school camp-ers, and we helped them learn leadership skills. We took them on an overnight where they learned to cook their own meals and organize their own games; it was a ‘learn by do-ing’ kind of a program. “So Greg and I began talk-

ing: ‘What would a school look like if it were based on the principles that the Chal-lenge Program was? How could we provide a space for kids to learn by doing and empower them in the process of learning?’ “And so we began talking

about making it a safe place so that they would be willing to take risks and have master teachers that know their con-tent well enough so that they can shape it in any direction they need to. And it kind of was born and evolved from that.”Theresa also shared with us

a bit of personal information: “Greg and I live in Johnson County and have a Crowley address. We have a blended family, I brought 2 children to the marriage and he brought 3; they range in age from 25-35. Greg and I are both very invested in kids that learn

differently and brains that think differently because all of our children – as I imagine most children - have some kind of struggle. Some of our children have struggled with ADD, some have struggled with dyslexia, and others have struggled with perfectionism. How do you get over that fear of not doing it right? So we very much have a heart for helping kids see their bril-liance despite how their brain is wired.”“We have been aiming to

earn a charter designation. We began designing a 5 – 8 grade program and intended to grow one grade a year. The home school effort is includ-ing high school. For example, if we got a charter to start next year there is a group of 8th grade parents that would say ‘please make sure that charter includes 9th grade because we don’t want to go anywhere else!’ “And so now we’re thinking

5 – 9 or beyond, because that is my expertise. Our goal is to grow up through Senior High School. In my 30 years of ex-perience I have taught mostly the upper grades. But then we want to eventually grow down to kindergarten and stretch up through the 12th grade and really offer a Geoffrey Canada style of program which goes from birth through college! We envision someday, be-ing able to do that kind of a program where if you start with us early we will build the foundation to get you to col-lege, and then to have funders that will help support you to go to college. So, that’s the big dream!“We also plan to focus more

of our efforts on providing the fine arts area. We will be connected with the Brazos Orchestra, the Carnegie Play-ers, the Plaza Theatre ... while they’ll be helping us by bring-ing in their resources, they’ll also be using students in their productions.”Theresa also makes reference

to the old hospital building on N. Main, Cleburne as a pos-sible expansion site. “It was way beyond our price range but this facility fell in our lap and our goal is still to be able to purchase that building and make it a part of our long term education plan.” “The Sleepy Read murals

(decorating the halls and classrooms) make this old school building a treasure,” states Theresa in appreciation for the aesthetic appeal pains-takingly contributed by Mr. Read. The building contains a total of 27 classrooms. “We offer art classes, Zumba

exercise classes, adult ESL classes, computer classes, and boxing classes out in the gym. So including our home school support enrollment and all the community classes, we serve around 450 people a week go-ing through our building!“One of the sweetest rewards

of the work we are doing is how grateful these students are for what we do,” shared Theresa. “They really appreci-ate the individual attention to shape their learning in a way that make learning fun again. We can do that here because the class size is small.” “Our home school support

program is made possible by a small group of highly quali-fied and dedicated instructors” adds Greg, “these individuals are not employees but rather a team of visionaries who are paid directly by the parents. Our fee per class is about $70 per month for 12 hours of instruction. For a child taking four core classes, the fee is $280 per month. We have many requests from families

who value our unique services but cannot afford this amount. We are looking for family members, businesses or just people who care about the educational future of every child. If you are willing to sponsor a child or a group of children, please contact us.”If you plan to visit KLA

don’t fail to tour Professor Josh Turner’s awesomely fascinating and educational Museum of Natural History located in room 25. The mu-seum is free to the public and open on Monday and Tuesday 10 am – 4 pm, and Friday and Saturday 10 am – 4 pm. Turner’s credentials, knowl-

edge, attitude towards learn-ing, passion for teaching and general philosophy is con-sistent with that of the other professors at KLA. “I grew up in Cleburne” discloses Turner, “and finished up my credentials at TCU, earning a degree in anthropology and geology - Bachelors and Mas-ters, in 2005 and 2007. Since graduating I’ve held a variety of positions within CISD and eventually was an integrated physics and chemistry teacher at Cleburne High School.“High school was interest-

ing! It seemed like I spent more time ‘pulling weeds than tending flowers’ if that makes any sense! It was one of those jobs where I would be tired when I got to work and I was kind of generally angry and tired when I left. So I did that for a year and then I actually demoted myself and went down to work with some special needs 6th, 7th and 8th graders. I absolutely loved it; those were the best kids in the world and some of my favorite students ever. At that time I also became with a security consultant firm. The money was a lot better there and I use that as a way to pay off my student loans and then get back into school to further my education. “When I finished up with all

of that in early 2011, I looked at the Cleburne school system again. At that time a friend of mine actually told me what the Kauffmans were doing here. So I contacted Mrs. Kauffman and really appreci-ated and was impressed with what they were doing because it was such a novel and good approach to educating kids; it incorporates technology but it also encourages learning and thinking outside of the box. And all of those are things that I greatly admire and that I try to do as much as I can. “So I got on with them. At

first I started off with one little 4th grade boy who was a grandson of one of our then biology teachers. I taught him mathematics and science and soon afterwards picked up another student. They were the two youngest guys here and our entire 4th grade class! They were just good as gold! They would blow up and they would pop off but they were sweet, sweet kids. “At that time I wished I had

a bigger class size but I was happy where I was. One thing that you will notice about KLA is that we grow little bits at a time and they assured me that we would get more students and we did. It just takes a little while to get there sometimes.“Currently I teach 4 very

normal classes and one that’s not so much. I teach the 5th graders mathematics, science, social studies and English lan-guage arts which par for the course and stuff we all grew up leaning. The other class that I teach we call it ‘para-normal studies.’ This was a class that was requested by the students and it is an amaz-ing class! I was a little leery of it just because it involves a little sci-fi and it is a little screwy sometimes! So I ran it by Greg and Theresa and they said ‘oh absolutely, if the kids want that, bring it on, let’s do it! So I did and we started off with crypto zoology which is the study of animals that are hidden or unknown to sci-ence. And after that was over, we got into ghosts, UFOs, fairies, leprechauns and elves, vampires, werewolves, uni-corn and all of that stuff! And what’s really neat is that you would be surprised that how much of that stuff holds up; or at least bits and pieces hold up under scrutiny. “The approach that I take, is

we look at the mythology, and whether it’s based in literature or it’s based in Hollywood. And we see where the mythol-ogy comes from. We look at the cultural and indigenous traditions. And then we say ‘okay well, how does this hold up against more acceptable scientific terms. How can nat-ural selection explain things like Sasquatch, or could the Loch Ness monster be a sur-viving unknown species from an earlier time?’ We look at the mythological and the paranormal through a scien-tific and an academic lens and try to treat these things as real

Kauffman Leadership Academy“Where excellence is the expectation!”

Continued: Kauffman Leadership Academy

Page 5

Greg and Theresa Kauffman standing in front of Sleepy Read Mural

The old Irving Elementary School building built in 1915 and located on the 1100 block of North Anglin Street, Cleburne, Texas now the home of Kauffman Leadership Academy

WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 • 5

as possible. And for the most part, all but one thing has held up pretty well. Because it is a student driven course and because the students decide what we want to talk about, at the end of each class I always open it up to them and say ‘alright, what are we going to talk about next week?’ “There is a whole host of

things that we would like to believe in but the facts just don’t back it up! And when I close the class I always back it by saying ‘if you haven’t learned anything else from me, I want you to learn this: we live in a remarkable uni-verse. Planet earth and outer space and whatever else is out there is so very, very incred-ible! Keep an open mind, be open to all the possibilities. Be open to the strange and the beautiful. Take the normal stuff and appreciate that we understand it, because there is a whole lot more that we don’t! Humans are a brilliant species, but we’re not as smart as we’d like to think we are. And sometimes we close our eyes to certain things.’ “And I share with them that

great quote from Hamlet ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ And that was kind of the motto for our para-normal class. I use this class to get the kids excited about learning. I want them to say ‘okay, here’s what happened, now how do science, archeol-ogy, biology, anthropology back this up? How do we plug this into thing that are a little bit more, quote-unquote, credible?’ And we have just had some really great times exploring some really of the wall topics! I don’t know who’s learned more, the kids, or me!Turner then explained

how the Turner Museum of Natural History came about. ““This museum is named for my mom and dad” explains Turner affectionately, “my dad was a Texas Ranger and was based in Cleburne for almost 30 years before he was promoted and moved to Waco. My mother is an emergency room RN at Walls Regional Hospital as well as John Peter Smith in Fort Worth. They are tremendous parents!”“To understand the museum”

explained Turner, “you kind of have to understand my background. I absolutely love paleontology, it’s been a pas-sion of mine since I was little. Unlike most kids who kind of grow out of the dinosaur phase, I didn’t – it was the terminal case for me! It led to some hard times growing up because you know, we reach a point in our social growth where you have to leave behind the childish things and you start to get into cars and football and pretty girls and all of that; and I was. But the dinosaurs were always there. They were too near and dear to my heart! And it caused some problems for me in the 6th and 7th grade. You know how kids are! “But I was blessed and

still am blessed with parents who support their children absolutely, no matter what. And mom and dad talked to me and they said ‘we know that you love dinosaurs and we know that you are really knowledgeable when it comes to this. Don’t sacrifice that by trying to fit in. Don’t give up something that you love for something that you don’t, just because you want the other kids to like you.’ And I took all of that to heart. I had enough self-preservation instinct to kind of push that away and manage to only be the ‘dinosaur nut’ on the

weekends! “So I figured out very early

on that I could make pretty decent money doing lectures; going around and talking about these animals; and I did that. In fact one of my very first jobs ever was as an instructor at a seminar pro-gram at TCJC. It was called ‘College for Kids’ and it was a whole college catalogue of courses that were designed for gifted and talented young people. So when I was in 8th grade I taught a course about dinosaurs and geology. And my students then were not much older than the kids that I have now. “So that kind of progressed

and eventually I got to the point while I’m doing lectures and all that, that I would oc-casionally ask private collec-tors to go around and either participate in full scale exca-vations. I’ve actually worked with Art Chadwick and Larry Turner from Southwestern Adventist University on their Keene digs. “So I was approached several

times by people who would like for me to sort of do the Indiana Jones things, if you will. They know what they want, they know where it is, but they need somebody to do the legwork; to go and get it or for somebody to work the channels to get it over here. And it is a tremendous adventure, getting to do all of this stuff and getting to go and find these beautiful, beautiful things be they dinosaur, be they human… be they what-ever! Just getting to hold a piece of nature in your hands and knowing that you’re the first person to ever hold it, to ever see it, to ever study it; it’s a tremendous feeling! “And so long story short,

when I had my science class-rooms set up, keeping with the way that the Kauffmans have set this place up; we’re very explorative and we work with stuff that gets kids excited about learning and we do it in a kind of non-tradition way. I brought in some of the better, more interesting specimens from my house that I had col-lected over the years. Now the good stuff - I always love that line from Indiana Jones that goes ‘it belongs in a mu-seum!’ The really good stuff, the really neat stuff really needs to go off and be appreci-ated. Because what good does it do me if it’s sitting at home by my fireplace and I already know all about it, but the rest of the world might not? “So everything that is in my

museum is either stuff that I have personally brought back from a dig, or expedition or an adventure or some sort of wheeling and dealing. And if it is not the real specimen - the real thing, it is a copy, a rep-lica of something that I have found. Because when we look in the museum we notice that there is no glass cases, there is no red velvet ropes. If you want something like that, go to one of the museums in the MetroPlex. The way that peo-ple learn, the way that people remember what they learn, the memories that make stories for when you are an adult and for later on down the road, are when you get to actually pick up and hold something that is incredible. I have dinosaur eggs, I have dinosaur teeth, I have fur from a Siberian mammoth and I have a copy of 2 Sasquatch prints from the Pacific Northwest. And every single thing in that museum, I will let you hold it, I will let you pick it up, and I will let you appreciate it for what it is. “The way the museum came

about is, I had all of this stuff in my room. And we did an open house here in November

and the Kauffmans requested if I would have my classroom opened up so the people could go through it. And some 20 or 30 of the visitors asked me ‘oh this is such a wonderful collection, is this going to be a museum?’ At that time I hadn’t really thought about it, but that planted a seed so I approached the Kauffmans about the idea. And one of my favorite things about Greg and Theresa is that they are so open, they are so willing to help. When the community wants something, when the community needs something, the Kauffmans are there. And that is incredible; it is so philanthropic. You just don’t see a lot of that! And Greg and Theresa said, ‘absolutely, make that happen, let’s make that be an asset to the school!’ And I would like to think that I have. Because how many other schools do you know that have their own built in museum? “We opened on May 18th

and since then the community response and support has just been tremendous! I’ve had two groups come in from Hill College, I’ve got a third group coming in the middle part of September to use my speci-mens that show the progres-sion and the different flavors of humanity over the eons. I’ve had hundreds and hun-dreds of very nice little fossil specimens donated by several members of society. “People have bent over back-

wards helping this museum and helping this school; it’s really tremendous. I was un-sure about it because there is obviously another very good museum here in town. They don’t quite offer the same stuff that I do so I wanted to check with them and make sure I didn’t step on their toes. I have people tell me all the time ‘this is incred-ible, because we didn’t know Cleburne had something like this! It’s not the Smithsonian, but I have things up in that room that certainly don’t exist anywhere else in town and may not exist anywhere else in the world! Every piece in that room has a story. And my house doesn’t look like the Adams Family mansion anymore, and that helps!”

CHARTER SCHOOL DE-FINED A charter school must meet

the definition in Section 5210(1) of ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act), which is as follows:“The term ‘charter school’

means a public school that:1. In accordance with a

specific State statute authoriz-ing the granting of charters to schools, is exempt from significant State or local rules that inhibit the flexible operation and management of public schools, but not from any rules relating to the other requirements of this paragraph [the paragraph that sets forth the Federal definition];2. Is created by a devel-

oper as a public school, or is adapted by a developer from an existing public school, and is operated under public supervision and direction3. Operates in pursuit of

a specific set of educational objectives determined by the school’s developer and agreed to by the authorized public chartering agency;4. Provides a program of

elementary or secondary edu-cation, or both;5. Is nonsectarian in its

programs, admissions policies, employment practices, and all other operations, and is not af-filiated with a sectarian school or religious institution;6. Does not charge tuition;7. Complies with the Age

Discrimination Act of 1975, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;8. Is a school to which

parents choose to send their children, and that admits students on the basis of a lot-tery, if more students apply for admission than can be accom-modated;9. Agrees to comply with the

same Federal and State audit requirements as do other el-ementary schools and second-ary schools in the State, unless such requirements are specifi-cally waived for the purpose of this program [the PSCP];10. Meets all applicable

Federal, State, and local health and safety requirements;11. Operates in accordance

with State law; and12. Has a written perfor-

mance contract with the authorized public charter-ing agency in the State that includes a description of how student performance will be measured in charter schools pursuant to State assessments that are required of other schools and pursuant to any other assessments mutually agreeable to the authorized public chartering agency and the charter school.”Kauffman Leadership

Academy supports NCLB (No Child Left Behind): “The purpose of this title is

to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.” Section. 1001. Statement of Purpose.Kauffman Leadership

Academy list of “home school support” core subjects:ALGEBRA I & II, BIOL-

OGY, CALCULUS, CHEM-ISTRY, CREATIVE ARTS AND THEATER STUDIES, CREATIVE WRITING, DRAWING, LITERATURE, ELECTIVE SCIENCE (aka Extreme Science), GEOM-ETRY, LATIN NOW!, LATIN I, LATIN II, LATIN III, LATIN IV, LATIN LITERA-TURE, MUSIC, PAINTING, PHYSICS, PRE-CALCULUS, SPANISH 1, SPANISH 2, SPEECH AND DEBATE, TRIGONOMOTRY, US HISTORY KLA Middle School Pro-

gram:LANGUAGE ARTS, MATH,

SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUD-IES KLA also offers other elec-

tives and can facilitate other classes as requested. Kauffman Leadership Acad-

emy is governed by a 501(c)(3), nonprofit corporation, whose Board members are community leaders, educa-tional experts, and parents. The school admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not

discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admis-sions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.KLA invites you to contact

them if they can help support your home school program or if you need a space for meetings, reunions, parties, Quinceañeras or other needs for space. Crystal Dudley, mother to a

currently enrolled KLA stu-dent gave the following testi-monial to the Keene Chronicle about the school: “We came here towards the end of the school year last year because my daughter had been bul-lied by a teacher at a school that she had been at since preschool. Before we moved her here she was rolled up in a ball crying and vomiting every morning before school, saying ‘I don’t want to go to school, I don’t want to go to school!’“So we came here and the

very first day she came back to being herself. She was beg-ging me to get her to school and she couldn’t wait to get here! And every day for the entire rest of the school year she was rushing me to get her here an hour ahead of time. She came out of her shell because she had completely closed up. She entered a rap contest with her classmate and won! She and Mr. (Josh) Turner just really hit it off. He was the best thing that could have happened to her! She became completely the person she is; no more vomiting, no more rocking back and forth. She excelled in school, no more struggling. She loves science and she got that from him. She never loved it before but now it’s her favorite sub-ject. We came back this year and we’re extremely happy; it’s been very, very good! She has also made special friends with another little friend in

class.“This school fosters the

children’s social and emo-tion self-esteem, where a lot of times public schools and private schools don’t. This is a huge part for these children! This school is hands on and child-centered, and that’s what children need.” Final thoughts to our read-

ers from Greg and Theresa Kaufmann:“Dear families and friends of

Kauffman Leadership Acad-emy: “If you are looking to choose

a path that will be engaging, entertaining, and educational, this is it! Every member of our staff is here to provide assistance and all are work-ing toward one goal: each student’s success.“We are looking forward to

a successful year at the end of which you will be able to say, ‘I have never had so much fun. I have never worked so hard. I have never learned so much!’“Come with us now and let’s

start the journey!”For further information on

classes offered, schedules and fees make an onsite visit or contact KLA at:Kauffman Leadership Acad-

emy1108 N. Anglin StreetCleburne, TX 76033-2736(817) 297-7793Theresa Kauffman at tkauff-

man@klacademy.orgGreg Kauffman at gkauff-

man@klacademy.orgYou can visit KLA at www.

klacademy.org or you can become a friend on Facebook to see all the latest announce-ments.“Teachers who know a lot

about teaching and learning and who work in environ-ments that allow them to know students well are the critical elements of successful learning.” - Linda Darling-Hammond

Continued from page 4: Kauffman Leadership Academy

Professor Josh Turner’s standing at artifacts table at his KLA Museum of Natural History located in room 25.

Sleepy and Martin Read’s art class

Pattie Martinez’s (front row, center) Zumba class

6 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 • WWW.KEENECHRONICLE.COM

A memorial service celebrat-ing the life of Ernest William McQueen, 62, of Keene, Texas will be held at 2 p.m. Satur-day, Sept. 7, 2013 at Cross-roads Seventh-day Adventist Church, 400 N. Main Street, Joshua, Texas. Pastor Henry Reid will officiate; assisted by Pastor Bunny Reid. Mr. McQueen passed away

Friday, Aug. 30, 2013 at his home in Keene. He was born in Beaumont, Texas on Sept. 25, 1950, the son of Catherine (Jones) McQueen and Harry E. McQueen. Ernest was a truck driver

and was a member of Cross-roads Seventh-day Adventist Church.He was preceded in death by

his mother, Catherine Mc-Queen.Ernest is survived by his

wife, Gail McQueen of Keene; father, Harry E. McQueen of Cleburne, Texas; sons, Eric McQueen and wife, Teresa, of Cedar Hill, Texas and Cody Ross of Glen Rose, Texas; grandchildren, Mason and Tristan McQueen; brothers, Harry McQueen, Jr. and wife, Joyce, of Cleburne and Frank McQueen of Tyler, Texas; and

sisters, Beatrice Mudryk and husband, Victor, of Arling-ton, Texas, Karen Walker and Carrie Wolcott and husband, Wayne, all of Keene.

The Newspaper That Has Keene In Mind

Keene Chroniclewww.KeeneChronicle.com

KC

“An Alumni View of Keene,” is a book written by the late resident and former Keene Adventist Elementary School teacher Lottie Warren. It was published in 1967 and gives readers an overview of the history of this unique, Chris-tian-founded community in Johnson County.The following is the 2nd in

a series of successive articles, proudly and exclusively pre-sented by the Keene Chroni-cle, containing Ms. Warren’s historical account:SOME FIRST BUILDINGSThe first house built in Keene

after the purchase of the 836 ¾ were for a widow by the name of Daniels. During the years that have followed many additions and improvements have been made. It is located just west of the church on Hillcrest and is being used as a meeting place for the young married people’s Sabbath school.Keene’s first merchant was

Charlie Morris, whose store stood across from the north-east corner of the campus, west of the residence long identified as the Lee Bruce house because the Bruces lived there for many years. It is presently the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Hardy. Some of those who were young people and children in 1893 say that Keene’s original post office was in Charlie Morris’ store. This is disputed by oth-ers, and the U. S. Post Office Department has no record of it. However, since five people are so positive of its existence and location, it is assumed that mail was brought out from Cleburne and distributed at the Morris’ place of business. The first official record of a post office at Keene is 1894, with J. W. Kirkpatrick as postmas-ter. It was located across from the southwest corner of the original campus, where Mrs. Flora Moyers’ home is now. More will be said about this in a later chapter.

About this time a Mrs. Jen-nings planned a boarding house for girls who would want to attend school at Keene but who lived too far away to commute. L. B. Wallen agreed to build the house for her on the third lot west from the corner of College Drive and Hillcrest, a site presently occupied by Mrs. Moyers’ apartment house. While the building was under construc-tion, Mrs. Jennings learned that other arrangements were being made to board girls, and she felt she must abandon her plans. Mr. Wallen finished the house for his own family; and they moved out of their tent into their new home barely in time to welcome the arrival of Wilford Wallen, the first baby to be born in Keene. He is a loyal Keenite who continues to live in his native home town.The opening of school found

a few boarding girls housed in a log cabin, now part of Miss Ranson’s house, on the east corner of East Magnolia and North College Drive. Neces-sary changes had been made to accommodate them and their preceptress, Miss Naomi Whittenberg. The boys were less fortunate, having to camp in tents until a dormitory could be built.In 1894 the first school

building, called “Assembly Hall,” was established on the west corner of Magnolia and North College Drive, where the Turner Auditorium and Gymnasium parking lot is to-day. Assembly Hall, a frame building, boasting two stories, was built of material from a building torn down and moved from Oak Cliff. Before the year ended, an addition doubled its size and its useful-ness, resulting in provision for church worship services as well as for a school.The dormitory was erected in

the summer of 1894, financed by money acquired from the sale of land to families

seeking close proximity to the school. The dormitory consisted of three stories, plus a basement in which the kitchen, dining room, and storage space was located. The attic held the overflow of boys from the third floor. C. C. Lewis, the principal, and his wife lived on the first floor; the girls occupied the second floor. For many years this building was known as “The Home.” Later it became “The Girl’s Dormitory,” and at present, in a modified form, is used for Fine Arts, with the kitchen and dining room for both dormitories still in the basement. A three-story wooden frame

Academy building with base-ment and attic was the second large structure added to the campus. It was erected south of the dormitory, south also of the present administration building and library. More room was required for the fast expanding church member-ship; so the worship services were transferred from “As-sembly Hall,” and Sabbath school and church meetings for school and village were held in the Academy chapel until the Keene church was built in 1905. Elementary and secondary school classes were temporarily housed in the academy building. The busi-ness office, commercial room

and church school operated on the first floor; the music department, library and chapel were on the second floor; classrooms filled the third floor. This building burned in 1921.Smaller structures were

mushrooming on the cam-pus about this time. Brother Lohman was in charge of a blacksmith shop on the west side; a greenhouse, under the supervision of Brother Niels Neilson, did business on the northeast corner; and a laun-dry on the west side served the school’s cleaning needs.An oak tree, that spread its

branches skyward even before 1899, stands on the corner where Clay R. Beeler, grand-father of Dr. Bernice Hoen, owned and operated a black-smith shop. This is off cam-pus and across the street from the southwest corner of the boy’s dormitory lawn – on the southeast corner of Hillcrest and Mockingbird Lane. Two doctors by the name

of Herr, a husband and wife team, were administrators of the first sanitarium in Keene. Their home was east of the house now occupied by Mrs. Flora Moyers. After they dis-continued their work, Keene residents built a sanitarium on the northeast corner of Third and College Drive. Some of the doctors connected with

this sanitarium during its years of service were: Pliny Haskell, Harris, D. C. Ross and Schamlaufel. Nurses Minnie Findley Kilgore, Ethel Findley House, Alice Cochran, and Kate Beeler Andrews worked there also.Brother William Hohnea

managed a bakery, built just north of the sanitarium and on the same side of the street. Felix Mosely was one of the workers. Bread and cookies were sold in Cleburne and Al-varado from bakery wagons, one of which was driven by “Uncle Tom” Woodruff. After 1911, H. B. French

having remarried and moved nearer Keene, built an addi-tion to his home and opened a sanitarium. He and his wife, a registered nurse, operated the institution until about 1915 or 1916. Mrs. French was Alma Warren, of the Warren family that moved from Oak Hill to Keene. L. B. Wallen drilled the first

successful school well in 1896. Water from this 750 foot deep well was used to make brick, on the grounds, for the Academy, and fur-nished water for the town until 1910.Ben Woods built a house

on the lot about where W. O. Belz store is. This has been moved several times but it is on College Drive down close

to Highway 67 just behind and north of Wilfred Wallen’s Premier filling station.The R. H. Woodall family

bought the land with the third log cabin on it. They tore it down and built their house about where the David Beck house is locate now. Elder Greer’s home was the

first house west of the present location of Keene Food Store – two doors west of College Drive and Hillcrest. The S. M. Bayliss home was

located about one-third of the distance between Hillcrest and Magnolia on Mockingbird Lane on the west side of the street. It was torn down when the college owned houses were built on that street. The Beeler house was just a little north of the Bayliss house and on the same side of the street.

To be continued…

Obituaries

Graveside service for Thelma Ruth Elkins Bailey, 79, of Cle-burne was conducted at 9:30 A.M., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013 in Keene Memorial Park Cemetery. Pastor Benjie Leach officiated. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 7, 2013 at 4:00 P.M. in the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church. Pastor Phil Robertson will officiate.Mrs. Bailey passed away Sat-

urday, August 31, 2013 in Ft. Worth. She was born March 21, 1934 in Medicine Lodge, Kansas to Walter and Blanche Brock Stienbarger. She mar-ried Dr. Ralph Bailey on June 19, 2005 in Keene. Mrs. Bailey worked as a se-

nior claims specialist for State Farm Insurance Co., retiring in 1998 with 26 1/2 years of service. She was known for her devotion to her church and her amazing gift of hospital-ity. She was a member of Keene Seventh-day Adventist

Church.Survivors include her hus-

band, Dr. Ralph Bailey of Keene; three children, Ruth Elkins Sopha and husband Rick of Paradise, Calif., David E. Elkins of Austin and James Elkins and wife Amy of Bur-leson; two step children, Doris Ann Bailey Bates and husband Denton and Dwaine Bailey; four grandchildren, Haley Tidwell and husband Richard, Rachel Sopha, Nick Elkins and Chris Elkins; one step grandchild, Jason Hall and wife Lanesa; two step great-grandchildren, Chloe Hall and Karsten Hall; three sibilings, Vernon Stienbarger and wife Kathy, Caroline Stienbarger Haddock and husband Don-ald and Larry Stienbarger and wife Jackie; and numer-ous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, first husband, Wendell Elkins in 2001; two brothers and one sister.

Memorials may be made to the: Southwestern Adventist University Student Scholar-ship Fund, 100 W. Hillcrest, Keene, Texas 76059 or www.iamsouthwestern.thankyou4-caring.org/giveagiftYou may sign guestbook,

view photo and obituary at www.cpcleburne.com.Crosier-Pearson Cleburne

Funeral Home512 N. Ridgeway DriveCleburne, TX 76033817-648-0522

Thelma Ruth Elkins Bailey

Teri Jeter Strickland was born in Longview, Texas on January 3, 1959, and passed away July 24, 2013, in Nash-ville, TN, after an extended illness. After graduating from the Longview High School in 1976, Teri enrolled in South-western Adventist University in Keene, Texas. After college days she spent

some time in Keene before moving to Oklahoma City. The1990’s found her back in Keene where she was active in community life as well

as various church activities--particularly in the field of music. She was a candidate for mayor and served on the Keene City Charter Commis-sion. She also wrote for the weekly Cleburne Eagle News in Cleburne specializing in feature articles. After leaving Keene she worked for several other newspapers. She was preceded in death

by her parents, Terry Jeter and Margaret Leiby Jeter, and grandparents James and Nolis Meadows. Her ashes were

buried next to her parents in the Longview Cemetery.

Teri Jeter Strickland Ernie McQueen

Keene, Texas, “The Jewel of Johnson County,” Past and Present... Part II

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KHS cross country teams traveled Friday to compete in the Burleson invitational meet. Sr. Pamela Marquez finished 1st with a personal best time of 11:37 and the varsity girls got 3rd overall.

At the August 29th Keene Chamber Luncheon, Yddo Ortiz (L) accepts a personal donation of $200 from City Administrator Bill Guinn for the maintenance and re-placement of the 220 flags displayed along Old Betsy Road during special holidays and events. Attendees to the luncheon at which Ortiz made an inspirational ap-peal, contributed $1,918 towards the fund. The City has also committed $1,000 for a total of $2,918.

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Chevrolet was a sponsor and famous TV and movie stars made guest appearances, as many as 70,000 people would gather in August to eat snow cones and cheer hundreds of youthful racer/builders (boys only in early years) ages 11–15 who were the champi-ons of local races around the nation and from several for-eign countries. In 1947, actor James Stewart was appearing in the Broadway playHarvey; in order to attend the event, he cancelled a weekend’s worth of performances and refunds were issued to ticketholders. At its peak, the Derby was one of the top 5 sporting events in terms of attendance.Starting in 1993, the All-

American Soap Box derby began the Rally World Cham-pionship. The Rally derby, works on a grand prix style of

race where each district, 10 in all, send back a number of champions based on number of racers and races in each district.Today there are broader

categories that extend the age range to younger racers and permit adults to assist in construction. This is especially helpful for younger children who cannot use power tools, as well as to provide an outlet for adults.

Continued: Race Day from Pg 1

Luis Elizondo (kneeling) and his son Thomas from San Antonio

“Mobile Home” entry rep-resenting Paige Henslee of Cleburne

Tax and budget time for the City of Keene. Proposed items would be a TAX rate increase of 7cents from 81 cents to 88 cents per $100 evaluation to get things started. The want list includes a new Tahoe for the police department at $56,000, a new $92,000 back-hoe and $5,000 for new mat-tresses and recliners for the fire dept. They need 5 twin extra-long mattresses and 5 recliners. And since the City is flushed with money another $30,000 to air condition the dog pound (animal shelter). Next public hearing on the proposed budget will be Sept 12 at City Hall. You might want to mark that date on your calendar and be there to hear firsthand their reasoning.The educational system is in

full swing in Keene. Enroll-ment figures as of Sept 3rd to compare with last October’s enrollment figures were: Keene Adventist Elementary-231/238; Chisholm Trail Academy- 173/186; Keene ISD -902: Elementary-440/443, Junior High (grades 6-8) 205/208, High School-257/248: South-

western Adventist University- 725/790 for a total of 2031 students enrolled in formal classes in Keene. Yes, don’t forget the home schoolers, unknown number in Keene that would need to be added to the total enrollment.Election Day for both the

city and Keene ISD will be held on November 5th. The city of Keene has 3 positions on the ballot. Gilbert Perez, incumbent, will face challenger Davi Abrantes; Cheryl Schram, incumbent, will face challenger Mark Stephenson and James Chapline, incumbent, will face challenger Gerald Mauk.Keene ISD will have 5 posi-

tions on the board up for grabs. In a special election to fill an unexpired term there will be 4 vying for the seat. The candidates are: Duc (DUKE) Webber, Michael Nightin-gale, Evamari Erazo and Gary Heinrich. The candidate getting the most votes will serve for the two years. Four incumbents have filed to retain their seats: Judy Miles, Sheri Hadley, Mary Ann Hodges and Geri Montgomery. There are

four challengers on the ballot: Patricia Miers, Edgardo Perez, Donnie Beeson and Robert Bischoff. The four candidates with the most votes cast for them will become a part of the KISD board of Trustees. The Keene ISD will be having an open house on October 10th and there is a plan to have a candidate’s forum that eve-ning in the gymnasium. You will get to ask and talk to the candidates to determine why they are serious about serving in the board. It should provide much needed information for the voters of KISD.Don Beeson, commissioner

Pct. 4 has announced he will not seek re-election in the 2014 election. A.J. Mathieu, a Joshua council member, has announced he will run as well as Grandview’s Larry Woolley a retired teacher and later a principal in Grandview ISD. He is a licensed realtor and auctioneer. Other people mentioned and are considering a run for Pct. 4 is Tim Sinclair and David Patterson both from the Keene area.You probably don’t need to

be reminded….but watch out while in Keene. The Keene Police are cracking down on more highway criminals. No more California Stops at stop signs…you need to make sure your vehicle comes to a com-plete standstill before leaving the stop sign. And if you do not signal that you are mak-ing a turn or changing lanes you will be ticketed. People have been stopped heading to Cleburne and turning west onto Highway 67 from Old Betsy from the turn lane for failing to signal. Beware!!!Lawmakers in Louisiana are

working on bringing a fuel plant to their state from South Africa. Sasol Ltd will report-edly spend $14.5 BILLION to build a complex near Lake Charles that will turn natural gas into chemicals, diesel and other fuels. Sound familiar? Sasol Ltd is expecting $257 million in tax credits to pursue the complex. At last report…B eEnergy were to have been in Keene signing contracts by the end of August. Did anyone see them?

Just So You Will Know…

Aryn Taylor Anderson arrived at 2:35am Wednesday Sep-tember 4, 2013 weighing in at 6lb 8oz at 18 inches long. The daughter of Dr Eric and Ginny Anderson of Loma Linda, California. Eric is the son of Drs Marvin & Dee Anderson in Keene, Texas

Aryn Taylor Anderson