Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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Fourteen years ago, a grave marker carved with a Fender guitar was placed at the grave site of Grammy-winning singer and musician Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, who is buried in Orange's Hollywood Cemetery. But flood waters continually damaged the marker, which included his quote engraved "I won't limit myself to one type of music. There's a lot of universe out there, and what is the universe? Music." Now, a fan and family friend has started an online fundraiser for money for a...
Everyone has heard of the El Nino and La Nina weather patterns. The new pattern is "El Carnivale." It's guaranteed to bring on rain. That's the latest joke from the Orange Lions Club as the community crosses its fingers for good weather during the last four days of this year's charity carnival. But yikes. Rain is in the forecast. The 83rd annual Lions Charity Carnival in Orange will open this Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Lions Park in Orange. For years, the...
Will it or won't it rain? That is the question these days any time the Lions Club Carnival is ready to open. The 83rd annual event with rides, food, games, and lots of local volunteers is set to open on Wednesday, March 14, and run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Then it will begin again on Wednesday, March 21, and that week's Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Right now the National Weather Service in Lake Charles is forecasting some rain later in the week, however the bulk of...
In the Gilded Age, Green Avenue in Orange was lined with mansions and grand houses. The biggest and most elaborate of the mansions was built by J.W. Link, a lawyer who owned a lumber mill. Link also served as mayor of Orange, but a few years later, moved to Houston, where he became a major land developer and founded the Montrose subdivision. His mansion in Houston, similar to his one in Orange, still stands today and serves as administrative offices for St. Thomas University...
The battle for Texas House of Representatives District 21 is now in a runoff and will depend on how many people get out and vote in the Republican primary runoff on May 28. According to the Orange County Elections Administration, the county has 54,871 voters and a little more than 41,000 did not cast a ballot in last week's primary race. Of those voting, 12,834 voted in the Republican primary and only 981 in the Democratic primary. Anyone who did not vote in a primary race...
Retired Texas Ranger Bobby Smith pulled an unusual political win by beating incumbent Sheriff Jimmy Lane Mooney and two others in the Republican primary with a margin wide enough that no runoff will be needed. Also, in a race drawing national attention, David Covey of Mauriceville had a large margin over Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelen for the District 21 state representative. However, the fraction of votes for Alicia Davis of Jasper County appear to have thrown the...
Quilts have long been a way for women to display artistic skills, but do not expect to see any of the "quilts" at the Stark Museum of Art on a bed. These quilts were mean to be hung and displayed as they show the history of African-Americans in the West. The museum now has on display the first of its kind showing of quilting artists who have made simple "paintings" to collages of materials to tell history stories. The exhibit is Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West. Sta...
The Orange Police Department on Monday, March 4, issued a warning to people not to fall for a scam phone call from someone claiming to be with the department. Detective Stephen Ward in a release said the caller was claiming to be "Sergeant Chuck Steele with Orange PD" with an "urgent legal matter." The recipient was to contact 409-420-3458. That is not a phone number connected to Orange police or any other local law enforcement agency. This is the latest in a number of phone...
As wildfires blazed across the Texas Panhandle region Monday afternoon, Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties and warned that parts of East Texas also had an increased danger of wildfires. During the weekend, a few scattered wildfires were reported in Orange and Jasper counties, though they were able to be contained without spreading far. The Panhandle fires by Tuesday afternoon had consumed more than 250,000 acres and were not under control....
Tuesday, March 5, is primary Election Day in Texas with a local Republican race drawing national attention with a fiercely fought race for the Orange County state representative’s seat. Incumbent representative Dade Phelan, who serves a speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is being challenged by David Covey. Phelan led the house’s successful impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for accusations of misdoings. The Texas Senate did not impeach him. Covey, a f...
Orange County Commissioners Court got received an update from the Chevron-Phillips Golden Triangle Polymers plant with reporting of nearly $241 million being spent locally by the company and its contractors for construction of the $8.5 billion petrochemical plant on Highway 87 South. Company representative Heather Betancourth told commissioners that in the fourth quarter of 2023, which ended December 31, the company had spent a total of $79.9 million locally. Of that, $42.7...
The West Orange-Cove school district will have a $72 million bond issue on the May 4 election for city councils, school boards, and special districts. However, the only contested races will be for Bridge City mayor and for directors of the Orange County Drainage District. The cities of Orange, West Orange, Pinehurst, and Vidor are able to cancel council elections because of no contested races. In addition, the Bridge City and WO-C school boards, along with the port district,...
The Boomtown Film and Music Festival Friday and Saturday, February 23-24, in Beaumont may be on the west banks of the Neches River, but it has a strong showing from Orange County. The festival's director Penny LeLeux, a local film maker, is from Orangefield. Special guest Dolores Cantu is a West Orange High graduate and will talk about her 50-year career in Hollywood as an actress and agent. She will also appear at a showing of "Saturday Night Fever" to talk about her role in...
If you've got it, flaunt it. And Dr. Tom Johnson, president of Lamar State College, loves to flaunt the campus and programs the school offers. "The thing that I'm most excited about is our graduation rate," he said. That rate includes students earning a certificate, rather than a two-year degree. "Come in and get a low-cost certificate, then get a job, and then come and get an associate's degree," he said. Besides the percentage of students graduating through programs, he...
The first day of early voting for party primary elections drew 938 people to the polls, with 877 votes in the Republican primary and 61 in the Democratic primary. The only local races for Orange County are in the Republican Party with contested races for sheriff, Precinct 2 Constable, Precinct 4 Constable, and county party chair. Also drawing interest from around the country is the Republican race for Texas House of Representatives District 21. Incumbent Dade Phelan, who has s...
Lamar State College Orange and the Stark Foundation are assuring local residents preserve the past while preparing for the future. On Tuesday, under a clear crystal blue sky, the local college had a groundbreaking ceremony outside the old First Baptist Church building on Green Avenue in downtown Orange. "We want to preserve this beautiful building, said LSCO President Dr. Tom Johnson. PDG Architects of Houston has designed a modern style interior to serve as the new Student Su...
Three challengers to incumbent Sheriff Jimmy Lane Mooney said they want to improve relationships between the Orange County Sheriff's Office and other agencies. Mooney said he stands on his work of the past three years, which includes negotiating a new contract with deputies and getting them pay raises. The four appeared in a question and answer forum last week that was sponsored by the Orange County Republican Party. All four are running in the March 4 party primary with no De...
Amateur radio operators in the region will be gathering Saturday, February 24, at the Orange County Expo Center and the public is invited to attend to learn more about the radio operators who talk with others around the world. And sometimes, out of the world. Mike Manshack of Orange, one of the organizers, said amateur radio operators are able to speak with astronauts in the International Space Station as it passes over them. The event will be from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on...
The three Republican candidates for Precinct 2 constable touted their long experience in law enforcement as reasons voters should elect them in the March 4 primary races. The candidates, incumbent Jeremiah Gunter and challengers David C. Bailey and Harold Hass, are running for the Republican nomination. Because no Democrats are running for local offices, the winner of the primary will run unopposed in the November general election. Last week, the Orange County Republican...
Orange County Commissioners Court has declared February as Southeast Texas Workforce Month and the county's economic development director said there's reason to celebrate. Megan Romero Layne, the EDC director, told the court just this month, the county added 80 new healthcare jobs with the opening of Christus Hospital-Orange. The EDC in Orange County currenting has $12.5 billion in construction and planning projects, with another $73 billion in construction and planning for...
More than 20 years ago, Betty Harmon began putting into motion an idea from the late Carolyn Hogan for Orange to have a Mardi Gras celebration. "I never thought it would grow to this magnitude," Harmon said as the city gets ready for three days of events with the 20th anniversary of the first parade. The celebrations will start Thursday evening with a free concert at the Riverside Pavilion and culminate Saturday evening with the grand parade through downtown Orange. Before...
Orange County voters will get a chance Thursday to meet and hear the three candidates running for Precinct 2 constable. Then next week, the the four Republican candidates will be featured in a forum. The forums are sponsored by the Orange County Republican Party for three of the four local contested races. Because the Democratic Party has no local candidates, the winners of the Republican primary races will run unopposed in the November General Election. On Thursday, February...
Philanthropist Gisela Houseman and Dr. Marty Rutledge took the center of attention Tuesday afternoon as the helped cut the ribbon for Orange's first hospital in seven years. The two were crucial in getting the new, 24-hour hospital built and operating on what is now called the Gisela Houseman Medical Campus, which includes a professional building. Dr. Rutledge is an Orange native with a longtime general family medical practice here. The 55,000 square foot hospital is operated...
Mardi Gras on the Sabine has become more than one parade. Now, there's free live music, food trucks, kids games, a munchkin parade, of course the grand parade. Starting with a free rock concert Thursday evening and going through Saturday night, Orange is ready to celebrate. This year the events will include a tribute to Kevin Smith, recently named to the College Football Hall of Fame. Smith, a native of Orange and graduate of West Orange-Stark High School, was a football star...
Dolores Cantu got a job at the old Strand movie theater in the 1960s when she was 14 years old. At the time, she could only dream she would one day be on the big screen. She ended up on the big screen and TV screens for decades and has gone down in film history as the only woman who ever beat up John Travolta in a movie. It was the classic "Saturday Night Fever." Cantu, a 1968 graduate of the old West Orange High School, will be returning home to be featured at the Boomtown...
