Cooke County — Ken Arterbury feels it is his responsibility to know what is going on in Cooke County, where he resides. That’s why you will see him attending various meetings and staying involved in the public and community.

Arterbury said he wants to be involved wherever he pays his taxes and to know how the money is being spent, and sees himself more as a conservative and a concerned citizen than a watchdog or an activist.

In revealing one reason for patrolling his turf and being a responsible citizen, Arterbury said,“You all know the old saying, ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ Well, any power can be corrosive if you don’t stand above it. The deception only serves their purpose and can slowly erode elected officials.”

Arterbury expects public officials to be accountable to the people and to serve the people who put them in office. He also expects them to be responsible in spending the people’s tax dollars.

“I attend as many of our public meetings as time allows,” he noted. “I attend these meetings to stay informed and to have first-hand knowledge.”

Those meetings include the Cooke County Commissioners’ Court, North Central Texas College board meetings, Cooke County Appraisal District meetings, the Whitesboro Independent School District board meetings and the North Texas Groundwater Conservation District meetings in Aubrey.

Since the May 2009 election, Arterbury has served as a Gainesville Hospital District/North Texas Medical Center board member.

“It has been my honor to serve and represent the citizens of Cooke County,” he said of his presence on the board.

Being on the board has been a learning experience for him, and somewhat time-consuming, but he said his intention is to keep the citizen’s best interest in mind when making decisions that affect them.

He also serves on NTMC’s quality committee.

Arterbury is not a stranger to Austin and on many occasions has gone to the capital to meet with officials.

“There are several reasons why I go to Austin where our state elective officials have their offices,” he said. “They can always find the time to meet with you if you make an appointment, and that shows them that you wish to talk to them face to face and value their view on the subject.”

He said he goes to Austin because he wants to hear it “straight from the horse’s mouth,” not someone’s interpretation of what is going on and how things should be done.

“When I do something I want to be sure I’m doing it correctly,” he noted. “I want it in black and white...if I get it wrong, everybody jumps on me...”

Sometimes he goes to Austin just to listen to the legislative session.

Arterbury’s background is in the construction field and he said it was rewarding to be self-employed in his business, where he has built small buildings and demolished other structures. He retired from the business in 1991.

While he now resides in Dexter, he was born and raised in Idabel, Okla. and then moved to Dallas after school. He said that most of his higher learning comes from “the school of hard knocks.”

He is a veteran and served in the Navy for four years and was wounded in the Vietnam War, but said he doesn’t like to draw attention to himself over it.

When it comes to family, Arterbury said he has been blessed with two of them.

His immediate family is his wife, Nancy Ann, who he said has “put up with him nearly 43 years.”

“She is a strong and understanding woman that gives me the freedom to pursue my passions,” he continued. “Second, this lady gave me two of the best children anyone would want.”

Their oldest, Dwayne, has blessed them with a grandson, Augustus. Their daughter, Natalie, has blessed them with two granddaughters, McKenne and Anna.

“In a short time I have managed to spoil them rotten,” he admitted of his role as grandfather.

The second family consists of “my brothers and sisters at the Dixie Baptist Frontier Church,” he added.

When handing out the credit, Arterbury gives a lot of it to his parents and said he learned everything he knows from them and yes, they were also “concerned citizens” in their community.

“My mom and dad had their hands full with me,” he said, “but I turned out OK and I made them proud of me later in my life with the accomplishments I have achieved.”

For fun, he likes to spend quality time at the deer lease, hunting white-tail deer with his three grandchildren and their dads. He also likes to attend posted meetings and fellowship with his church family.

“It doesn’t get any better than that,” he noted.

While he wishes that more people were involved with what is going on in Cooke County, their school districts and other public entities, Arterbury said he realizes that people are very busy, especially during the day.

He said he would like to see public meetings held in the evening, and cited the City of Gainesville council meeting as a good example of a public meeting taking place in the evening, when more people can attend and have their say in what is going on.

When and how did Arterbury initially became an active concerned citizen? He said the interest came after an experience about eight years ago when he and some other citizens worked to freeze the property value taxes for those 65 years of age and older. When he approached the County Judge with the request, it was denied, so they started a petition drive to place the issue in the November ballot.

“When it was over the citizens of Cooke County passed that issue by nearly 84 percent,” he said.

Since then, he has been keeping his eye on things.