Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY THANKS FOR YOUR READERSHIP We don’t think to thank our faithful readers enough. We have some longtime followers that cover the last 50 odd years. We keep picking up new readers along the way. Our reporters and writers do a great job. Our feature writer Margaret Toal is a real professional, with many years of experience. The former Orange Leader editor graduated with a Journalism major from Denton Women’s College in the 1970’s and has been a very we...
Often I've written about the Cajun side of me, but I seldom have said much about the fighting side of me. That's my Irish side. While a kid in Abbeville, I was a strange youngster, the only person in the little Cajun town with the Irish name of Dunn. The real kick in the behind was that this Irishman couldn't speak a word of English until I was nearly seven. I was poor and endured a lot of abuse because of the way I dressed or didn't. I didn't own any everyday shoes, but I...
Don't be afraid to fill gaps in beds with plants, flowers, and objects – the most beautiful flower bed ideas, borders and pots are teaming with color and plants of multiple heights and varying structure. The past two weeks I've been on a mission which started with the mundane, but necessary task of scrutinizing each flower and vegetable bed, thoroughly weeding rogue plants and removing the roots where possible. Another layer was added, and yes, this is the second t...
The common practice of senators and representatives is to give names to legislation they have introduced. Often a bill with a great sounding name has a better chance of passing than one without. Unfortunately, oft times as well, a name has little to do with the content of the bill. We need to examine the words of proposed laws rather than simply accepting the name at face value. A good example is the long-lasting bill in Texas legislation which has been on the books many...
It’s time to spring forward! Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend. Remember to set your clocks forward Saturday night. Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Bill filing deadline This Friday, March 10 marks the end of the bill filing period for the 88th Legislature. After Friday, no more general law bills can be filed. There are exceptions for local bills. After the deadline, the Legislature and the public will have a good idea about the total number of bills...
WAITING FOR SPRING AND THE ROBINS Grandma used to say, “”Have the Robins come yet? Spring will come when the Robins come.” I always thought it was the other way around. The Robins would come when spring got here. Well, maybe she was right. For several years I’ve seen very few Robins, maybe a single one in an open field. The weather has been so up and down that about the time I think maybe Spring is here we get a cold blast. Maybe Grandma was right, the Robins are here waiting...
There is no doubt in this gardener’s mind spring has arrived in SETX! Let me stop you before many of you nay-sayers begin your hoopla saying the thirty day weather outlook predicts we have cold weather arriving…blah, blah, blah! This gardener is planting his vegetable garden (tomatoes and peppers included), as well as flowering plants. Composted manure has been top-dressed on each gardening area and weeds removed, uhm mm, well most of them! Succession planting, a method whi...
The Good Book says that without vision one cannot become a great leader. Recent acts by some of our state politicians seriously questions their reasoning on whether they have the amount of vision required to become good leaders. Telling us what we can read or teachers what they can teach limits what might be in our future as well as limiting our individual freedoms. Reading can also lead us to things we have never imagined. Reading can be helpful in everyday life. Recently I...
On March 2, we celebrate Texas Independence Day! On that day in 1836, a delegate from each of the 59 existing settlements in Texas signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. This document officially declared Texas’ independence from Mexico and created the Republic of Texas. The delegation met at Washington-on-the-Brazos and also organized the interim government, naming Sam Houston commander-in-chief of the republic’s military forces. Here are five things happening aro...
LYING FOR PROFIT—RATINGS OVER TRUTH Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corporation, acknowledged in a deposition taken by Dominion Voting Systems that some Fox News hosts endorsed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Murdoch’s remarks were made public in a legal filing as part of Dominion’s $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News. In his deposition. Murdoch conceded that Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, and former host Lou Dobbs promoted the falsehood ab...
Almost without exception, first-time candidates for office promise improvements in necessities such as health care, education, fighting crime or reducing taxes. The number one answer given when asked how they plan on doing that is that they will be able to afford such ambitious programs by cutting waste. When asked about the definition of “waste” they intend to cut, they get somewhat ambivalent. Usually they give a lecture about our nation’s creeping national debt. Many of the...
On February 24, 1836, William B. Travis wrote his famous letter from the Alamo. He wrote the defenders would never "surrender or retreat" and ended with the iconic line "Victory or Death." Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Governor Abbott announces emergency items Last week, Governor Greg Abbott gave his State of the State address. In that address, he listed his seven emergency items that he is asking the Legislature to address this session. Emergency items...
Gardeners, our local weather forecasters are telling us to expect daytime temperatures to be ten degrees above-average for the next several days. What my brain is telling me, not in so many words, spring has arrived in SETX. Naturally, my thoughts run contrary to the Farmer's Almanac, stating we have a couple weeks longer to wait. Through my past gardening experiences, I know the consequences of planting a garden too soon but also in case you do plant now, of being prepared...
BIDEN MAKES SURPRISE VISIT TO UKRAINE President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to the capital of embattled Ukraine on Monday, traveling under a cloak of secrecy into a war zone to demonstrate what he called America’s unwavering support for the effort to beat back Russian forces nearly a year after they invaded the country. Biden arrived early Monday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a 10-hour overnight train ride through Ukraine, and the two stepped out into t...
On February 15, 1876, Texas adopted the Constitution of 1876. The document is the sixth constitution by which Texas has been governed since declaring independence from Mexico. Despite having been amended more than 230 times, it remains the basic law of Texas today. Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Lt. Governor Patrick releases list of priority bills Earlier this week, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick released a list of 30 pieces of legislation that he would like...
Any student of American history knows the importance of a free press. Thomas Jefferson rated it at the top of his list of necessary freedoms and thereby placing it number one in our constitution. Unfortunately, too many people today do not share Jefferson’s attraction for openness in government. A recent president saw no reason to share with the American people the sources of his income. Here in Texas our governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general have taken steps t...
Gardeners, we have experienced what I would consider a fantastic week, leading this gardener to believe spring may have arrived a bit early this year. Be mindful if you choose to plant early and be prepared to cover 'tender plants' with a frost blanket. Planting a spring garden is a true joy but with challenges for novice and seasoned gardeners alike. Most of us are ready to replace the austere color of winter with a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors associated with spring, as...
SUPER BOWL LVII Patrick Mahomes was magical when the Kansas City Chiefs desperately needed him to pull off another Super Bowl comeback. Playing on an injured ankle, Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and scrambled 26 yards on the go-ahead drive before Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to give the Chiefs a 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. Coach Andy Reid, who couldn’t win the big game in P...
The foundation of a hügelkultur raised bed begins by selecting a sunny location. Next dig into and remove several inches of garden soil, followed by digging a shallow trench. Add logs and branches to the trench. Grass clippings, shredded paperboard boxes, leaves, fresh manure and other organic materials called “green waste” are then added, filling in the spaces between the log and limbs (courtesy Farmer’s Almanac). We seem to be stuck in a somewhat dreary weather “holdi...
Representative Phelan of Beaumont has shown courage in presiding over the Texas House of Representatives as speaker and should be commended for it. Over objection of a handful of extremists he has included members of both parties in leadership positions to attack problems facing the state of Texas. A former speaker, Joe Straus, from San Antonio followed the same practice using both Republicans and Democrats in strategies to address problems facing the state. His tenure as spea...
Super Bowl LVII is this weekend and, for the first time in history, both starting quarterbacks are from the great state of Texas. Whichever team you support, it will be a win for the Lone Star State! Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Business and Commerce hearing on the electric grid This week the Senate Business and Commerce Committee met to discuss possible redesign of the electric market and the electric grid. Representatives from the Public Utility...
SUPER BOWL LVII TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL QB’S ON BIG STAGE The two youngest quarterbacks ever will face off in next Sunday’s SuperBowl. Jalen Hurts, 24, of Philadelphia and Patrick Mahomes, 27, of Kansas City. Both are native Texans and were high school quarterbacks. For the first time the Super Bowl will feature two Black quarterbacks and also two sibling brothers will play against each in a Super Bowl. Texas high schools developed the wide open passing game. Ronnie Thompson, a hig...
Hey gardeners! Valentine’s day is close at hand…and so is spring! The weather has moderated a bit and become a little more spring-like and who knows, maybe our final round of cold weather has passed. I wouldn’t bet my plants on it just yet, but most of you (like me) can hardly wait for spring to arrive, we are simply ready! We have about a month to go before our last anticipated frost date which falls somewhere between the end of February to mid-March. Gardeners now is a great...
At 88 years old I don’t have to read history any longer, I just remember most of it. In that regard it amazing me that histories and things I have seen in the way of change Bridge City. Occasionally, my family would pack up in our old car and make the trip from Groves, Texas to Logansport, Louisiana; a little town on the Sabine River. The trip was not necessarily easy because of having no four lane highways and some poor roads. It took the better part of an entire day. Whether...
It was Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow last week, indicating six more weeks of winter; unwelcome news after ice storms covered much of the state this week. The iconic groundhog made his 137th appearance and records of his predictions go back to 1887. Here are five things happening around your state: 1. Abbott names new border czar This week Governor Abbott named long-time Border Patrol agent Mike Banks to be the new Texas Border Czar. He will report directly...
