Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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NAME CHANGE COMING TO MONTAGNE CENTER The late Bob Montagne Remembered The Montagne Center, Lamar’s basketball arena, has been named for the late A.H. “Bob” Montagne since it opened in 1984. He was a 22-year member and president of the Lamar Board of Regents. Montagne, along with Senator Carl Parker was the key figure in getting the $12 million basketball complex built. It seats over 10,000 and is often used for functions other than basketball. “Bob” did a lot of backgroun...
ORANGE COUNTY ADVANCED POWER STATION STATE OF THE ART The new power station in Orange County, near Bridge City, at the present Entergy location, will be in the city of Port Arthur. However, the advanced power station will continue to be in the Bridge City school district. The power station will provide critical power to Southeast Texas with a significantly lower emissions rate than the legacy generation it replaces. An outside analysis conducted by TXP, Inc. determined that co...
THANKS IS A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD We folks here in Southeast Texas have much to be thankful for. All around us, in many ways, from crime to weather and more, this is one of the luckiest areas. Anyone who wants a job can get one and the economy is now on the verge of booming. I probably won’t be here to see it but you can’t even envision the drastic change that will occur. It won’t be without affecting our infrastructure. Traffic will be a solid bottleneck. Six-thousand new const...
DEMOCRACY WINS OVER VOTERS Last week, in predicting the outcome of the national elections, I came as close as anyone in making the right call. After months of the Republican party saying there was going to be a big “Red Wave” and a “Blood Bath,” I predicted otherwise. I feared the only loss might be in Congress by a few votes. All the polls and pundits predicted a Republican “Title Wave.” Here’s what they missed. They polled many subjects; inflation, gas prices, abortion, etc....
MID-TERM ELECTIONS WILL DETERMINE UNITED STATES FUTURE Tuesday Nov. 8, was Election Day around the nation. Mid-term elections usually favor the party that is not in power. For the last few months the GOP has been predicting a Big Red Wave. Former President Donald Trump has personally endorsed and financially supported 286 Republican candidates. The outcome will probably decide if and how quickly Trump jumps into the 2024 presidential race. A bad showing of Trump candidates...
WORLD SERIES-PHILLIES HOST ASTROS Rain forced World Series game 3 to be moved from Monday to Tuesday. Two games will follow on Wednesday and Thursday in Philadelphia. If the series doesn’t end there, game 6 and 7 will be played in Houston Saturday and Sunday. All games between the Astros and Phillies start at 7:03 p.m. and are televised on FOX. The Astros blew a five run lead in game one in a 6-5 loss but came back to win the second game 5-2. The teams were tied going into g...
WORLD SERIES STARTS FRIDAY PHILLIES vs ASTROS The Philadelphia Phillies are going to the World Series for the first time in 13 years, and they are going there in a fashion that defies any and all words, Harper's two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning propelling them to a 4-3 victory over the Padres in Game 5 of the NLCS. Whatever happens from this point forward, whether it ends in victory or defeat in Houston or in Philadelphia, the 2022 Phillies have cemented...
PATH TO WORLD SERIES YANKEES vs ASTROS The Houston Astros have a record six consecutive American League Championship Series appearances after an 18-inning win over the Seattle Mariners. Jeremy Pena parked a full count fast ball over the center field wall to give Houston a 1-0 victory and series sweep in three games. The 18-inning game tied the record for the longest playoff game in major league baseball history and tied the Astros franchise record for most innings in a post...
BASEBALL PLAYOFFS NOW STARTED Baseball League playoffs and the World Series championship games are my favorite times of the year. Baseball is still truly like apple pie; it doesn’t age, and is the one team sport that magnifies the talent of the individual player. Baseball is special; it is an American sport, played by youngsters as early as five years old. It takes great talent to make it to the Major Leagues and a good amount of luck. Many youngsters who are very good just d...
POWERFUL STORM IAN SWAMPED FLORIDA I’ve lived long enough to have witnessed many hurricanes. I go back to an un-named storm in 1939 and many with names since. I don’t recall all the bad ones except maybe Audrey, in June 1957, which was as powerful a hurricane Ian that hit Florida Wednesday, Sept. 28. It’s one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the United States. Besides the catastrophic damage, it left over 100 people dead. The hurricane’s center struck just west of...
BUM BORN HERE 99 YEARS AGO “BUM” NFL Coach Never Forgot His Roots O.A. “Bum” Phillips was born Sept. 29, 1923, at home on John Street in Orange, Texas. “Bum” the most popular and well known native to ever come out of Orange County would be 99 years old this week. All of Bum’s children were born in Orange, including son Wade, who started his coaching career at Stark High. He has been a longtime successful NFL head coach and defensive coordinator. The Phillips family roots run d...
LAST QUEEN FOR A LIFETIME LAID TO REST Masses line the roads as Elizabeth is taken to castle for burial. Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was lowered into the royal vault of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on Monday afternoon, signifying the end of a state funeral that began with a majestic service at Westminster Abbey, and a procession in London before closing with a more intimate service at the place where the queen lived in the twilight years of her life. It was a culminat...
YEARS LATER WORDS JUMP BACK AT ME Words you read from our Out of the Past section, 20-45-50 years etc, are words I wrote all those many years ago. I just rework them for today’s publication. Some things I wrote years ago seems like I penned them recently. Example: In 45 Years Ago, you will read about Larry Spears, no not our Mayor of Orange but the Mayor’s dad, who was a big football star who I was writing about. That seems very recent. There are hundreds of examples of mem...
WATCHING 9-11 AS IT UNFOLDED 21 YEARS AGO As I sit here on the 21st anniversary of 9-11, my mind goes back to that moment. I was sitting in the office, my feet propped on the desk, the paper for that week was running late and Dwayne Marsh and I were just waiting on the truck. We were watching on what had been Uncle Jim McKay’s old black and white television when Katie Couric, on the Today Show, made the announcement and showed a picture of a plane hitting the first of the T...
ANOTHER LABOR DAY ROLLS AROUND Monday, September 5, is Labor Day. Over the years, Labor Day in our area was always a big day of celebration. Just a few years ago, before the Reagan years, the labor movement that grew from the textile mills of the East became a strong liberal force in our country. Labor unions in this area of Texas were responsible for all workers getting better wages, even if they were not represented by a union. Labor, in the United States today, is at an all...
TOP SECRET DOCS NOT ACCIDENTAL Robinson Once Luther Theater Guest Eugene Robinson, a Washington Post columnist and associate Editor, has covered the White House for decades. In the past, Robinson, was a speaker at the Luther Theater, in Orange. “Former President Donald Trump had to be determined to grab top secret files to hide them away in his Florida home. Presidents don’t accidentally end up with such sensitive files among boxes and boxes of documents hauled out of the Whi...
TIME ROLLS ON As you get older time does seem to go faster. You look at your 30-year-old Rolodex and over half of the people listed in it are now gone. That’s one reason why elder people don’t have many friends. It’s amazing how many I’ve lost in just the last 10 years. We have a great “people paper” so read us cover to cover. Margaret and staff are doing good work. I have to move on. Please come along, I promise it won’t do you no harm. RECALLING THE WORSTER YEARS “Last One t...
TRUMP’S HOME IN FLORIDA SEARCHED Monday the FBI searched Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home. The search, according to multiple people familiar with the investigation, approved to be focused on material that Trump had brought with him to Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence, when he left the White House. Those boxes contained many pages of classified documents. Trump delayed returning 15 boxes of material requested by officials with the National Archives for many mon...
COUNTY JUDGE TO FACE THE HEAT AT ROAST On August 4, the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce is having a "celebrity roast" of the head of county government. John Gothia is a longtime Bridge City resident who has been active in the Orange and Bridge City chambers of commerce before successfully running for Precinct 3 County Commissioner. When the county judge resigned suddenly, Gothia was appointed to the position and then won election. Gothia was instrumental in getting Bassmaster...
THE EAGLE HAS LANDED JULY 20, 1969 It was 1961, John F. Kennedy was the president of the United States. He wanted to land humans on the moon in that decade. The United States had just started trying to put people in space. Was NASA ready to go to the moon? Apollo II blasted off on July 16, 1969. Neil Armstrong, Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts on board. Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. They landed on the moon in the Lun...
LEAVING HENRIETTA RECALLING SPECIAL TIMES GREAT FRIENDS AND A GOOD RUN On September 12, 2008, Hurricane Ike came ashore, completely overrunning Bridge City with water as high as six feet in some homes and businesses. The Record Newspaper office where we did all of our production was destroyed. On second thought, Mark Dunn had the good judgment to unplug all of the computers and equipment and load them in his van. After Ike cleared out we discovered we had lost all of our vehic...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIDGE CITY Fifty-two years ago, July 7, the small community of Bridge City incorporated and the town of Bridge City, Texas was born. A young attorney named H.D. Pate had recently arrived in the area. The community leaders had hoped to attract a lawyer. H.D. Pate had recently moved in and converted a house, owned by Bubba Hubbard, on the corner of Roundbunch and Bland, into an office. Hubbard rented it to Pate rent free. Hubbard was one of the leaders in the...
TRUMP DIDN’T WANT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT VIOLENCE AT CAPITOL The House Committee investigating the Capitol attack Jan. 6, 2021, held an abruptly scheduled hearing Tuesday with testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson and ‘recently obtained evidence.’ Hutchinson witnessed White House strategy sessions to challenge the 2020 election results as a top aide to former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Meadows told White House lawyer Pat Cipollone on Jan. 6, 2021, that...
FATHER'S DAY-JUNETEENTH APPROACHES THE DROUGHT CONTINUES Some mornings, about 6:30 a.m., Phillip Welch and I will visit on the phone while he travels to his school job at Kountze. Phillip remarked how green the foliage is despite no rain for some time. I'm sure that will change. If we don't get rain soon Judge Gothia will have us under a fire ban. I spoke with Sue and Tommy Simar who reported the fig trees are loaded with small figs and it could be a good year. However, if it...
ACTOR McCONAUGHEY ASKING FOR ACTION For Matthew McConaughey, the May 24 shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead, is more than just another casualty in American history. The actor is asking for action. On Monday, the Texas native wrote an op-ed for ‘The Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network, titled “It’s Time to Act on Gun Responsibility.” “I am a father, the son of a kindergarten teacher, and an Americ...
