[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 47 (Wednesday, April 26, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE JOHN J. POLLARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 26, 2006

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, it is with deep sadness that I inform the 
House of Representatives of the passing of my friend, the Honorable 
John J. Pollard of Lexington, Missouri. He was 96.
  Judge Pollard was born on November 14, 1909, in Lexington, Missouri. 
After he graduated from Lexington High School in 1928, Judge Pollard 
worked various odd jobs. Judge Pollard was offered a special commission 
as deputy constable in 1931 and began, like his father before him, a 
lifelong career in law enforcement. In 1934, he was appointed deputy 
sheriff, designated the court bailiff, and moonlighted as a city 
fireman.
  Judge Pollard married Genevieve Bray on January 11, 1936. That same 
year, Judge Pollard first campaigned for public office and was elected 
Constable. Judge Pollard was elected Constable twice more; in 1938 and 
again in 1940. He also continued as deputy sheriff until 1940.
  In the fall of 1940, a conversation with Senator Harry S. Truman from 
Independence, Missouri, led to a position as one of the very first 
members of a security force being established at the new Lake City 
Ordinance Plant. Shortly after Judge Pollard was hired as a dispatcher 
and firearms inspector, war was declared. During World War II, the 
ammunition plant would reach a high of 23,000 employees, 600 of whom 
were on the security force. After World War II officially ended on 
September 2, 1945, Judge Pollard received a special ``Certificate of 
Meritorious Conduct'' from the United States Army, recognizing his 
service to the war effort.
  Judge Pollard was the only security man kept on staff after the Lake 
City Ordinance Plant closed a month after the war. When the plant 
reopened in 1949, Judge Pollard was made Chief of Security. When the 
Korean Conflict began in 1950, the plant once again aided in the war 
effort and Judge Pollard, as head of security, held the military rank 
equivalent of Colonel. Before retiring in 1974, Judge Pollard attended 
a 40-hour course in shooting at the FBI Academy; completed the MP 
School of the Army at Fort Gordon, Georgia; and graduated from the U.S. 
Army Intelligence School. He also took courses in industrial security 
management, effective speaking, human relations, communications, and 
job relations.
  In 1978, Judge Pollard was elected to the office of Municipal Judge 
of Lexington. When the legal qualifications to hold the office changed 
a year later, he was in the first group of judges to take the Supreme 
Court's mandatory test for Municipal Judges. His background in law 
enforcement served him well and he easily passed the test. He was held 
in high esteem by the local lawyers and was invited to become an ex-
officio member of the Lafayette County Bar, a high honor for a non-
lawyer. Judge Pollard resigned from office on May 30, 1989, having 
served for eleven years and one month.
  Mr. Speaker, Judge John J. Pollard was more than a civil servant, he 
was a true friend. He is survived by his son Jack Pollard; Jack's wife 
Beth; one brother, Dale Pollard; and two grandchildren. He will be 
missed and I know the members of the House will join me in extending 
heartfelt condolences to his loved ones.

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