Whittington is baaack for Hot Sounds!

Buddy Whittington and his electric guitar are back in Old Town tonight, June 19, for the free Hot Sounds of Summer concert series. He was a popular Hot Sounds headliner in 2014. Buddy Whittington and the Buddy Whittington band will be playing a rousing 90-minute concert that includes blues and original songs. Whittington's first self-titled CD came out in 2007, but his big break was in 1993 when he joined The Bluesbreakers. He was with John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers for 15 years. Whittington's biggest influences have been Clapton, Elvis, Buddy Holly, the Beatles, and Gary Bond, to name a few. Hot Sounds showcases free 90-minute concerts that start at 7:30 p.m., every Friday between May 29 and June 26. Come down early and eat and shop at our Old Town restaurants and stores, then set up your lawn chairs and blankets in the street for the concert. The stage is at the entrance to the city hall parking lot. If you have business in Old Town today, the parking spaces on Ellison, between Warren and Wilson streets, will be closed starting at 12 p.m. (noon). We don't want your vehicles to get trapped in the concert arena!  

Strong wins Place 3 seat in runoff

The winner of the June 13 runoff election for Place 3 on the Burleson City Council is DanO Strong. Strong earned 59.1 percent of the vote. Curtis Hawk brought in 40.88 percent. There were four candidates for Place 3 in May. In order to win the seat outright then, the person with the highest number of votes would have had to earn 50 percent of the total vote, plus one. Voter turnout for the June 13 Place 3 Runoff was 1.52 percent. Voter turnout for the May election was 2.15 percent of the total number of registered voters. The votes from the June 13 election will be canvassed Monday, June 22, at 9 a.m. DanO Strong will be sworn in at the July 6 council meeting. Read More

Deputy Chief Havens is named president of the Texas Police Association

A deputy chief with more than 20 years of service to the Burleson Police Department was tapped as the new president of the Texas Police Association. Deputy Chief Chris Havens was sworn in at the 116th Annual Training Conference at South Padre Island on June 10. He will serve a one-year term. The Texas Police Association, organized in Fort Worth in 1895, is the oldest law enforcement organization of its type in the state. Officers from municipal police departments, sheriff's departments, constable's offices, the Department of Public Safety, federal agencies, and more are members. The Association strives to upgrade the efficiency and professional status of all Texas law enforcement officers. TPA devotes a sizable amount of its resources to the sponsorship and support of law enforcement training and education. Havens served as first vice president of the state's seven-member executive board in 2014. He has worked his way up the ranks from sergeant at arms. Read More  

Apply to be a career firefighter!

 Do you want to be a career firefighter in Burleson? You can apply online on the City of Burleson website! Applicants should have their basic firefighter certification and EMT (EMT-I or Paramedic preferred) certification. The filing deadline is June 26. The testing date is July 18. The City also has openings for a public safety communications specialist, BRiCk camp counselor, part-time lifeguard, seasonal lifeguard, recreation center swim instructor, and golf course beverage cart attendant. For information on how to apply for a position, go to the Application Process page. If you have any questions, please email Human Resources or call 817-426-9641. 

It's called Dog Tales . . .

On Saturday, June 27, Natasha, a Golden Doodle, and her owner Doris Robinette, will be at the Burleson Public Library for Dog Tales. Dog Tales is a reading support program to help children maintain their reading skills. Natasha is a registered therapy dog and a great listener! Doris decided to try her hand at having a therapy dog after she saw one greeting families and friends at a hospice. Doris got Natasha at 10 weeks old and they started training when Natasha was 6-7 months old. At 18 months old, Natasha started her therapy training. Natasha and Doris visit patients in four nursing homes as well as students at Ann Brock Elementary in the Burleson school district and at Tarver Rendon Elementary in the Mansfield school district. If you want your children to read to Natasha, be sure to register in advance by calling 817-426-9204. Dog Tales starts at 10 a.m. on June 27! The Burleson Public Library is located at 248 S.W. Johnson Ave. 

Sign up for BRiCk's design camps!

Has your kiddo (ages 9-17) already started showing interest in computer design? The BRiCk may have the perfect opportunity for them this summer! The BRiCk has partnered with Youth Tech Inc. to offer video game design, web studio, movie maker camps, and much more! The camps will start up the week of June 29. For more information, call at the BRiCk at 817-426-9104!

Concert & fireworks are on tap July 4th

Don't leave Burleson, Texas, on the Fourth of July! The City's Independence Day Celebration concert and fireworks show takes place at Chisenhall Fields Sports Complex on Saturday, July 4. The gates to the park at 500 W. Hidden Creek Pkwy. will open at 5 p.m. The 90-minute Fourth of July concert featuring Al Nelson starts at 7:30 p.m., and the fireworks show choreographed to patriotic music will start shortly after 9 p.m. Admission is free. Al Nelson's concerts span three decades of music and include tributes to Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney and Elvis. Mark your calendars for the City's patriotic celebration! 

Citizens on Patrol bring home honors

Congratulations! Vicki McElroy and Kristy Gilbert were honored with Lifetime Memberships, Chuck Ashton won Overall Best Shooter in the Laser Shooting Simulator, and the Burleson Police Department's Citizens On Patrol Ford Expedition won third place overall in the conference car show. The honors were earned at the Texas Citizens On Patrol Association state conference June 13. The Lifetime membership is awarded by the TCOPA president to a member who exemplifies volunteer service and promotes purpose of the Association in a positive manner. McElroy joined COPs in 2006 and Gilbert followed in 2007. The Burleson program was started in 2006. There are currently 30 active members. Burleson Police Sgt. Brian O'Heren is the group's coordinator. Read More  

Have an emergency contact card?

Great tip from the Burleson Police Department! Create an Emergency Contact Card and place it in your wallet/purse and your glove box. This will help first responders in the event you are unable to respond after an accident or medical emergency. You can also put medical info (i.e.- diabetic, allergies, etc.) on it. Write it on a note card or print one up on your computer. Laminate the card to protect it from the elements. You can get as creative as you want but don't include your address, Social Security Number, or date of birth just in case the card gets misplaced or stolen. First responders can get that information from your driver's license (as long as your address is up to date).Having this information available could help save your life and make notifying loved ones quick and easy for first responders!

Don't miss Junior Fire Academy!

Do you want to be a firefighter? The deadline to apply for the Burleson Fire Department's four-day Junior Fire Academy is July 3 and the spots are filling up fast. The free academy is for students who are entering the fifth grade in the fall of 2015. The first session is Monday-Thursday, July 27-30, 8 a.m.-noon. The second session is Monday-Thursday, Aug. 3-6, 8 a.m.-noon. Each academy is limited to 15. Participants receive their own bunker gear, tour the fire stations, and learn about disaster safety, extrication, fire safety, fire hydrants, fire hoses, and search and rescue. Applications are available at Fire Station #1, 828 S.W. Alsbury Blvd., and online. Contact Firefighter Jon Wheat or Secretary Kristie Menchaca at 817-426-9176 for more information.

Lions host Independence Day Parade

You have questions about the Fourth of July parade? Here you go! - - - Show your patriotism on Saturday, July 4, as the Burleson Lions Club hosts the 11th annual Independence Day Parade in Burleson. The theme is "Honoring our Military Heroes, Past and Present." The parade kicks off at 9 a.m. from Kerr Middle School on Johnson Avenue. Antique vehicles, classic vehicles, emergency vehicles, military vehicles and motorcycles as well as businesses, churches, horses, pets, school groups, sports groups and more are what this parade is all about. For more information, call 817-295-5565 or check out the online brochure. 

May building permits are online!

Show your new neighbors what a great place Burleson, Texas is to live! Thirty-one new residential permits were issued in Burleson in the month of May. The average size of those new homes is 3,205 square feet, and the average value is $202,106. The new homes are in 10 subdivisions, with the majority in Bluebird Meadows and Shannon Creek. On the commercial side, new commercial permits were issued to Raising Cane's, Pence & Panache (remodel), Berry Stewart Eye Center (remodel), Joshua school (remodel) and Okinawan Karate (finish out). Completed projects include the St. Matthew's addition, Awards by Mastercraft (remodel), Auntie Anne's, Sulak Auto Collision, First Baptist Church expansion, and a commercial remodel. May was also a busy month for fences (41 permits), lawn sprinklers (19) and signs (17). To read the rest of the story, go to the May 2015 Building Permit Activity Report.

ESCAPE had Old Town rocking

What a night! ESCAPE, a Journey tribute band, called Burleson's Hot Sounds of Summer crowd the best crowd ever. Fans filled Ellison Street from city hall to Main Street on June 12. The cigarette lighters that were used when Journey was big, were replaced by cell phone lights as ESCAPE paid tribute to the classic rock/arena ballad band. "Don't Stop Believin," "Lights," "Faithfully," and "Wheel in the Sky" where just a few of the hits that kept the fans singing along. Check out the rest of the pictures in the ESCAPE album on the City of Burleson Facebook page!

Read City agendas and minutes

Are you looking for agendas for City meetings? You can still access them through the Public Notices page on the City of Burleson website, but now you can go straight to the agenda by using the Agendas & Minutes page. You can see current meeting agendas as well as past meeting agendas, minutes, and video (city council and Planning and Zoning Commission meetings are live streamed and archived).