Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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Bridge City Independent School District officially hired a new superintendent Tuesday, March 30, and Mike Kelly can't wait to move into the new job. Kelly, a native of Houston who has spent the past 20 years as a teacher, coach, principal and superintendent in the Waco area, is definitely impressed with Bridge City. "The people in that community are just phenomenal -- the way they have welcomed me and my family," he said. "The way they can make you feel special in just 15...
Everyone's heard of substitute teachers. Bridge City's Judy Cole used to be substitute lunch lady. She found out there's no substitute for being around eager learners. That's why she's a six-year member of the Board of Directors for the Bridge City Independent School District – and is seeking a third, three-year term in the May 1 election. "I worked as a substitute cafeteria worker back when my son, Cody, was in kindergarten. I enjoyed being around the kids," says Cole, co-own...
Orange County Commissioners signed off on paying $3.6 million of weekly bills Tuesday, most of it thanks to Hurricane Laura. The $2.7 million that went to AshBritt Environmental for hauling away debris from the Category 4 storm will be repaid by FEMA – eventually. One of these days. But the uncertainty of when the feds will open the money tap has Commissioners concerned. They decided at their twice-monthly meeting to hold off spending $27,500 to replace a pickup truck with 1...
Bishop Charles Thomas, son of longtime Orange pastor Earl B. Thomas, is running for Mayor of Orange against incumbent Larry Spears, Jr. "Ministry is my heart," said the leader of the One Way Outreach Ministry. So is rebuilding the city he grew up in, so Tuesday he and leaders of two Florida-based companies and ministers from Houston and Florida were touring the vacant East Town Shopping Center at the corner of Turett and Simmons, near the Port of Orange. Thomas' vision is to...
Orange City Council moved a hospital and medical complex for Orange County closer to reality at its Tuesday evening meeting. The vote was unanimous to approve a 10-year schedule of decreasing tax abatements for the project at Eagle Point being put together by Orange Multi-Specialty Real Estate Holdings, a partnership fronted by local physician Dr. Marty Rutledge, and NexCore Group, a Denver-based healthcare developer. "This is a project that is long overdue," Orange Mayor...
After weather and pandemic setbacks, it's a miracle that B.A.S.S., the owners of the Bassmasters Elite fishing tournaments, are set to bring their $1 million event to the Orange Boat Dock in a couple of weeks. But the miracle of the April 8-11 tourney was the way the fishing tournament committee of the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce made so much happen in so short a time. "If you'd have asked me if we could do this in a month, I'd have said no," said Ida Schossow,...
It's been 50 years to the day – St. Patrick's Day, 1971 -- since Roy Dunn went into the newspapering business with the first edition of the Opportunity Valley News. It was a free weekly tabloid newspaper delivered to every home in Orange County. Its purpose, pronounced editor Lee Grimsley Jr., was "to keep you informed of events that are taking place right here in our rapidly growing community ... our fertile industrial valley between the Sabine and the Neches." Dunn, now 86 a...
Jimmy LeBouef's first week as Pinehurst Chief of Police was a bit of a shock to the veteran lawman's system. "Right now I'm trying to get my feet back on the ground. I've been out of full-time policing for about two and a half years." LeBouef, who spent almost 28 years as a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, was named Pinehurst Police Chief Tuesday, March 9. He replaces Fred Hanauer, who retired from Pinehurst at the end of February after 12 years on the job and...
The Big Freeze that swept across most of Texas on Valentine's Day weekend took a toll on Orange County gardens big and small. Shangri-La Botanical Gardens, Orange's world-class stress-reliever presented free to citizens and tourists alike by the Stark Foundation, was no exception. "We have a year-round winter routine," said Jennifer Buckner, Director of Horticulture. "This winter has just required more work than normal." The park, which is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5...
Rev. Paul Zoch said he wants to take bullying out of Bridge City schools. "A lot of parents are pulling their kids into home schooling because of bullying issues," he said recently when asked why he is running for a seat on the BCISD school board in the May 1 election. His opponent for Place 1 is incumbent Patty Collins, Executive Director of College Affairs for Lamar State College Orange. Zoch, the pastor of Bridge City's Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, and Collins were...
The Orange County Convention and Expo Center set a record Monday when it played host to 650 COVID-19 vaccinations. Then it broke the record Tuesday. "I can't say yet exactly how many we saw today, but it was the most ever," a woman working the door said. Last Friday, Orange County Judge John Gothia announced the county vaccine center would be available to all age groups, rather than only the 65-and-over bracket. "Priority is still given to anyone 65 years of age or older that...
Governor Greg Abbott's rescinding of mandates regarding the wearing of masks and reduced crowds has had an immediate effect on Orange County. The Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River, originally scheduled for April 8-11 but postponed because of COVID-19 restrictions, is once again scheduled for April 8-11, less than a month from now. Chris Kovatch, board chairman of the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce, delivered the news to a meeting of the Orange City Council Tuesday...
If the year-long coronavirus pandemic has taught people anything, it's to think creatively. So, after the Bridge City Knights of Columbus had to cancel their annual Lenten Friday Fish Frys in 2020 because of COVID-19 social gathering restrictions, they came up with a workaround. They are serving the $10 meals via a couple of drive-through lanes in the parking lot of their building at 770 Avenue A, just off West Roundbunch Road, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays March 12, March...
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan visits with Dr. Tom Johnson, Lamar State College Orange president, during Johnson's visit to the Capitol in Austin, where he reported last week on the school's progress and plans for the future to the Senate Finance Committee. Tuesday, Johnson had a virtual meeting with the Texas House Appropriations Committee, a routine happening for all state-funded schools. It hasn't yet reached Cloud Nine but Dr. Tom Johnson definitely likes the path Lamar...
Patty Collins is running for a second term on the Bridge City school board but hardly considers herself a politician. She's just continuing a career of service to education: Her day job is Executive Director of College Affairs for Lamar State College Orange. "The fringe of politics. That's what I call the school board," she said. "I never really had a desire to be in politics, but I love serving our district." BCISD stakeholders will go to the polls May 1 to decide two races....
Cheers mingled with tears at last week's scaled-down Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards luncheon that was topped by Michelle Tubbleville being named Citizen of the Year. Tubbleville, the Special Projects Coordinator for the County of Orange, was honored for the 24/7 way she brings together people with needs caused by natural disasters with volunteers or government programs to meet those needs. But she had to share the spotlight with the bittersweet memories...
Orange City Council Tuesday took two more steps the city hopes will pave the way for a new medical center and hospital beds for the area. A public hearing was held regarding the creation of the Eagle Point Reinvestment Zone and, hearing no objections, council members voted unanimously to a first reading of an ordinance that would make the zone a reality. "We're focusing on a 20-acre location at Eagle Point that will potentially be attractive for the medical center that's in...
Not long after lunchtime Monday, Orange City Councilman Brad Childs was called to comment on the damage done by back-to-back freezing storms last week. But the owner of Childs Ace Hardware and Building Supplies didn't have time to speak on the phone with a reporter because he was too busy dealing with his customers' plumbing emergencies. "We have been swamped," said the employee who tried to forward the call. Severe Winter Weather Events Uri and Viola were not kind to Texas,...
As a lifer here, she definitely knows her way around town. But in her three terms as a City Council member in Bridge City, Terri Gauthier is reaching out to help her hometown by working with other government bodies throughout Orange County and the greater Southeast Texas. She wants to continue serving her community, so she's signed up to seek another two-year term in the May 1 election. Kenneth Prosperie is running against Gauthier. Early voting for the election begins April...
The Orange County Sheriff's Office is going for the dogs. County Commissioners signed off Tuesday on reestablishing a K-9 program with two drug dogs. The purchase and training will require the expenditure of $20,000 of drug forfeiture funds from the Sheriff's Office plus $10,000 of county money to pay expenses for two dog handlers. "The Drug Enforcement Administration requires us to use a K-9 anytime we seize currency," Sheriff Lane Mooney explained. "If we call others in [a K...
"Saying we're going to loosen up as much as we can," Bridge City Mayor David Rutledge announced Tuesday that city buildings have adjusted their coronavirus restrictions. "As mayor, I instructed the department heads of the city today to begin to open the majority of city buildings on a limited basis," Rutledge said. "It'll begin Wednesday." Masks, sanitizers and social distancing will be mandatory inside all city buildings, Rutledge said. But most buildings will require an...
John Nickum, born into an Orange County insurance family, says he was delivered "with a State Farm tattoo." But the 1993 graduate of Bridge City High School hasn't just spent his entire life quoting great rates and offering safe-driving discounts. Nickum, whose father, Bill, operates Bridge City's State Farm agency, has his State Farm business in Vidor. But before that, he first achieved a degree in healthcare administration and long-term care from the University of Texas...
City aims abatements at medical complex Dave Rogers For The Record Mum’s the official word, but look for some news coming up soon about the Eagle Point project, maybe even the long-needed Gisela Houseman Medical Complex. In June of 2019, three months before Tropical Storm Imelda hit Orange County, Houseman donated 20 acres of land at Eagle Point on which to build offices and surgical suites for up to 20 doctors and a “mini-hospital” with eight to 20 beds with an ER and urgen...
As Orange County explores avenues to get more COVID-19 vaccinations into the arms of its citizens, two things keep getting in the way. The county does not have a hospital, an issue for about five years. And it doesn’t have a health department. As it is, Orange County has fallen underneath the coverage of the Hardin County Health Department. Commissioner Theresa Beauchamp wants a health department. “We [current commissioners] had nothing to do with getting rid of the prior heal...
To say that Tammi Fisette has spent her life at Bridge City’s City Hall wouldn’t be entirely accurate. But it would come close. Her father, Judge Don Peters, was Bridge City’s mayor in the late 1990s, after serving more than a decade on city council and city commissions. And then he served a two-decade tenure as Bridge City’s municipal judge. “When I was little, I’d go to City Hall with my dad all the time,” she said. “That’s pretty much how I got my foot in the door. “Where...
