Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 484
Schools in West Orange-Cove and Orangefield, along with classes for LSCO, were canceled Tuesday because of widespread damage after a severe thunderstorm with small hail ripped westward across Orange County late Monday afternoon. The storm left widespread damage with numerous trees and power poles down everywhere from the Bridge City-Orangefield area up to McLewis. Parts of Pinehurst along with downtown Orange and the old Orange Historic District appear to have the worse...
Bryant Champagne won the open seat for the Bridge City City Council during the May 6 election beating Kenneth Prosperie 225 votes to 173 for the Place 3 spot. Once again, strong early voting totals accounted for most of the votes across Orange County in the city and school board elections Saturday. For the West Orange-Cove CISD school board, longtime incumbent Ruth Hancock lost her spot on the board as challenger Donny Teate led the voting with 419. The district has at-large...
People in Orange County have been praying for decades to get economic and population growth. Last week, they found out one way that long-awaited growth affects them. Property values across the county jumped up, with an average increase of 16 percent, putting Orange County in the growth percentage values of places like the San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth metropolitan areas, according to the Orange County Appraisal District. Chief Appraiser Scott Overton of the Orange...
Get out your stretchy pants. It's time once again for the AYCE in Mauriceville, better known as "all you can eat" crawfish at the annual community festival paying tribute to the crustacean. Nearly 50 years ago, crawfish farming was beginning and Mauriceville had one of the first farms in Texas, leading to the nickname, "Crawfish Capital of Texas." And that became the community's reason to celebrate with a special event. The tradition continues with the annual Mauriceville...
Ten years ago, the early 1900s Southern Pacific Railroad depot stood abandoned and decaying. Graffiti often was sprayed on its brick walls. Then Orange native Carrie Joiner Woliver of Houston started a foundation to save and restore the depot, Friends of the Orange Depot. Today, the restored train depot on Green Avenue in downtown Orange is a cherished landmark downtown and , a popular party venue. Saturday, May 6, the public will get a chance to support the upkeep of the...
For the first time in history, voters throughout Orange County on Saturday will be able to go to any of the five open polling sites instead of being required to go to a neighborhood voting box. The elections will be for city council and school board races. Some entities were able to cancel elections because of no contested races. This year, the only elections are for city councils in Orange, Bridge City, Vidor, and Rose City. School board elections will be for West...
A dream is beginning to come true for lots of people in the Bridge City school district as the construction of a new middle school is on the way. The ground-breaking ceremony for the new Bridge City Middle School will be held Monday, May 8, at 5 p.m. The 160,000 square-foot school is being built with money voters approved in the 2022 bond election. The ceremony will be held at the site of the new school, which is across the street from the current middle school at 300 Bower...
After two days of early voting, a total of 505 people in Orange County have cast ballots for the city and school board races set for May 6. Some of the entities did not have contested races and were able to cancel elections. The positions with elections are for Orange City Council, Bridge City City Council, Vidor City Council, Vidor ISD board, and West Orange-Cove CISD board. The Orange County Elections Administration Office reports a total of 249 people have voted early at...
The Bridge City school districts is making a major change in the times for school days for the 2023-24 schedule. The district will have three different start and end bells schedules. Previously, the district has had two different schedules. The changes will help the district accommodate more bus routes for students. Adding one more start time will allow the district to have all regular, full-time bus drivers working each route. In addition, fewer students will travel...
Governor Greg Abbott and officials with the Texas Public Utilities Commission were among the dignitaries attending the groundbreaking ceremony for Entergy's new $1.8 billion power plant outside Bridge City. The new plant will use a combination of hydrogen and natural gas to generate electricity. It will be known as the Orange County Advanced Power Station and be next to the Sabine Power Plant, which was built more than 60 years ago. The construction of the plant is estimated...
The Texas Legislature is now in session and several bills controlling what cities can do have been introduced, but one especially could seriously affect the city of Orange's income. State Senator Paul Bettencourt, a Republican from Harris County and a former Harris County tax assessor-collector, has introduced a bill restricting the amount of land that can be included in a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. Orange City Manager Mike Kunst said the proposed bill...
West Orange is having a special spring weekend with a citywide clean-up plus a chance for people to help clear out the city's animal shelter. The residents-only clean-up will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. behind the West Orange Volunteer Fire Department building. Bark in the Park, a festival to show off dogs available for adoption, will be Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Alford-Seal Plaza park next to city hall on Western Avenue. For the city clean-up, residents may take their...
For the first time in several years, sales tax collections in February were up across Orange County for all entities. The cities, along with the county and Emergency Services District 3 collect sales taxes. According to payments from the Texas Comptroller's Office, the sales taxes had increased from February 2022 to February 2023, and the entities were collecting more in four payments for the year-to-date than they collected last year at the same time. The comptroller's...
Lamar State College Orange is the leading example of how industrial growth in the county is leading to building expansions to accommodate the influx of newcomers and the need for trained workers. Wednesday morning at 10, LSCO will have a ground-breaking ceremony for the new construction of a 55,000 square foot academic building. The two story brick building with wide windows will cost about $38.1 million. In addition, LSCO is opening its first satellite campus outside of...
Early voting for city council and school board races across Orange County will begin Monday, April 24. Election Day is Saturday, May 6. This year, the only elections are for city councils in Orange, Bridge City, Vidor, and Rose City. School board elections will be for West Orange-Cove CISD and Vidor ISD. Other cities and school districts were able to cancel elections because of no contested races. Orangefield ISD, however, has its board election in November. Orange County Port...
The annual Depot Day festival to support the historic Orange Train Depot is getting help this year from the Little Cypress-Mauriceville High building trades class. The students in teacher Matthew Huckaby's class made wooden cutouts of a miniature train that will allow families at the festival to take photographs as they look out the windows of the train. Carrie Woliver, founder of the non-profit Friends of the Orange Depot, said local artist Lauren Leigh will paint the train...
The 2024 Orange County political races are beginning veteran law enforcement officer Ronald Dischler, who is currently a lieutenant with the Beaumont Police Department, announced he will run for sheriff in the March Republican primary. Besides his law enforcement background, Dischler is also proud of being an Eagle Scout with a bronze palm. Dischler has lived in Orange County since 1999 and said he is announcing early "because I've worked all my years in Beaumont not a lot of...
Cowboy Church of Orange County is hosting a professional rodeo this weekend that will offer family-friendly fun and entertainment. People will be able to watch competitors from all across the country compete in a variety of categories including bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, bareback bronco riding, and saddle bronco riding. Some local competitors, like barrel racer Abi Champagne, will also be participating. The rodeo will be at the T2 (Tin Top) Arena at 3810 Old...
Some of the $2.4 million building permit fee Chevron Phillips paid to the county is being used to improve parks and recreational sites. Monday, Commissioners Court approved new playground equipment at Claiborne West Park and improvements at the Raymond Gould Community Center. The $8.5 billion Golden Triangle Polymers plant is now under construction off Highway 87 South between Foreman Road and FM 1006, known as "Chemical Row." County Judge John Gothia said each of the...
Building permits issued in March show some of the medical services that will be in the new Gisela Houseman Medical Center now under construction as four permits for a total of $1.69 million were issued for interior build-outs for clients. The city of Orange issued the permits for the medical complex being built on acreage known as Eagle Point off Highway 62 and Interstate 10. The medical center build-out permits were $800,000 for Spine and Sports Medicine Clinic, $237,000 for...
In Orange, like most small Texas towns, everyone knows the name of the starting high school quarterback. He's a celebrity in town. Fifty years ago, Joey Robins led the old Stark High Tigers as a sophomore. Today, he goes by "Joel" and is more of a bearded history professor who has given his old hometown an invaluable gift. The retired chemical, who has long lived in Friendswood, worked seven years to compile a detail history of sports at the old Orange High, later Stark High....
(sending mug shot of Chadwick Alan McMillen) Local law officers Sunday afternoon stopped a man from escaping the Orange County Jail. The 35-year-old man was hidden in the ceiling area of the jail before being found. The man, who has a long criminal history and was released from state prison in late 2022, was arrested on January 4 for a string of crimes in West Orange and Orange that included stolen vehicles, a chase in which a shotgun was fired at police, and then a standoff w...
The federal Small Business Administration has set up a disaster center this week at the Orange County Expo Center to help businesses, homeowners, and renters affected by the January 24 tornadoes and thunderstorms apply for low-interest loans. Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared several Southeast Texas counties, including Orange County, as a disaster area because of the strong storms and tornadoes on that date. The National Weather Service reported Orange County had two...
Orange County Commissioners unanimously voted to keep the same property tax homestead exemption at 20 percent for the upcoming tax year. Senior citizens will continue to get an additional $25,000 exemption on their homes. Tax Assessor-Collector Karen Fisher asked the commissioners to set the rates for 2023-24 so she can begin income calculations as the time comes for estimates for a new county budget. The county has long had those exemptions, with the 20 percent homestead...
Ministers often need a bit of help with expenditures and the Methodists of Orange County have a unique history for a part-time income. Early denomination ministers here rode the "Alligator Circuit," nicknamed that because the traveling preachers killed alligators to sell the hides. First United Methodist Church of Orange is a direct offshoot of those circuit riders, with records showing the ministers came here as early as 1859. The first Methodist Church here was formally...
