Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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How Lamar State College-Orange came about is a somewhat interesting story about community involvement and politics. The story really began with Port Arthur College. Port Arthur College was established in the early 1900s by John "Bet-a-Million" Gates. There were not enough radio operators which were required to be on ships. And at the time were there enough stenographers, or people with office skills available for growing Port Arthur. Gates endowed the school to teach radio...
How many times have you heard someone running for office say, "I am not a politician"? The phrase seems to suggest that being a politician is necessarily a bad thing. I disagree. Anyone hoping to win in any game, be it athletics, business, cards or even monopoly must know the rules. To me in a free, democratic form of government one who knows and understands the rules and how to apply them is a politician. Washington, Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin et. al. were all consummate...
EARLY PRIMARY TO CAUSE LOWER TURNOUT Texas has the earliest primary election day in the nation, for a midterm election cycle, March 1. Early voting is set from Feb. 14 to Feb. 25. No other state in the United States holds primary elections before May. The new election date in Texas was by design by state-wide incumbents. The Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General are all on the ballot. Political experts say the early primaries sneak up on the voters that will likely resul...
UNVACCINATED PUTS VULNERABLE AT RISK Orange County continues to be one of the least COVID vaccinated counties in the state. In the last three weeks we have had three people die from the virus, ages 62, 57, 51. My cousin Debbie, a beautiful person, a wife, mother, grandmother, artist and also unvaccinated, died from the virus.. Debbie, who you would think was smart enough to dodge the pitfalls of conspiracy theories on social media talk shows and opinion PODCAST. Yes, she was...
It has been quieter the last few days at home. For 19 years there has been a TV blaring from the other end of the house, frequently joined by a country music station on the radio. I don't know how Bill could stand the two noises at the same time. It always made my brain hurt when I went in his room, with the TV and radio competing for attention. Bill's brain didn't work the same as ours, so it was music to his ears. Billy Wayne was my husband Gerald's younger brother. He was...
City Hall will be closed this month on Monday, February 21st in observance of Presidents' Day. When I was in school (way back in ancient times!) we observed February 12 as President Lincoln's Birthday and February 22 as President Washington's Birthday. I guess they consolidated them so we would only have one holiday in the month. Either way, it's probably good for us to remember these two and all the other chief executives for their contributions to our country and our...
The good news for Orange, County may be indicative of good news coming for all of America. There has been enough bad news in recent years accompanying the pandemic: arguments over wearing masks, the decline in supplies, inflation and other aggravations imposed on Americans. Good news for Orange County is certainly a bright spot for Southeast Texas. Good things seem to abound for Orange County. Never since the 40s when virtually overnight, Orange grew from a sleepy little East...
BRADY RETIRES MOST DECORATED PLAYER IN LEAGUE HISTORY Tom Brady is retiring from the NFL after 22 seasons. The seven-time Super Bowl champion officially announced his retirement on Tuesday via social media. "I have always believed the sport of football is an 'all-in' proposition, if a 100% competitive commitment isn't there, you won't succeed, and success is what I love so much about our game," Brady wrote. "There is a physical, mental, and emotional challenge EVERY single day...
Monday, January 31 is the last day to register to vote in the March primary elections. To register, simply complete an voter registration application available online through the Secretary of States website, fill it out with the necessary information, and return it to your county election office. The website to view this information is www.VoteTexas.gov. Remember, the voter registration application must be completed and returned at least 30 days before the upcoming election...
STARTING WEEK WITH MY BOAT FULL I had great intentions for this week’s column but my boat filled up before I knew it. Between doctors visits and falling way behind, I’m playing catch up. Besides that, I just heard my friend of over 60 years Essie just died. I need to do something on that in her honor. She deserves it. I received a gift from Pat Pate recently. She sent me Eddie Lovelace’s book. He now goes by the name Eddie Love. He and Christina Ledbetter wrote the book,...
Hello fellow gardening enthusiasts! We have been lucky this past week experiencing mild seasonal temperatures including a couple nights of below freezing temperatures (barely below). This got me thinking about cold-hardy plants which do well in our going environment. Strawberry plants came to mind since they are cold hardy and now is the time to plant them. Late January through mid-March is the ideal time to plant this low spreading fruit. They can be planted as early as six...
ANOTHER WEEK ROLLS AROUND I'm going to start this column on a different footing this week. Let me tell you about our youngest saint, Saint Agnes, who is celebrated every January 21. Born in Rome to a noble family, St. Agnes was one of the first martyrs for the Christian faith. Though she was a beautiful young woman with many admirers, she wanted only to be a bride of Christ and consecrated herself to Him at a young age. Because she refused to marry, she was turned in to the...
WHAT'S UP WITH SENATOR MANCHIN FOLLOW THE MONEY That question has been going around for several months. First the Democrat from West Virginia said he would not vote for Biden's Build Back Better bill. He opposed the clean air package in the bill. He's from one of the poorest states in the Union and his citizens would have really benefited from the Build Back Better bill. So why is he against it? Well, to start with, West Virginia is a coal producing state. The clean air bill...
I wonder whether or not there is anyone besides me old enough to remember when there was no bridge to Bridge City. When one was driving west out of Orange, as you neared the Neches River, you would veer sharply to the left and end up at the loading place for a small ferry. There was only one ferry boat and sometimes there was quite a wait if the ferry had recently departed and was loading on the other side. I remember, remember it quite well, because in the summertime, if we w...
THE LEGACY OF K.O.G.T. RADIO It was somewhat sad to see the radio station shut down. It is a legend in these-here parts. I go back to 1949 with K.O.G.T., when the studio was in the Molley building on Green Ave., across from the depot. I believe it is a vacant lot now. Then Ed Lovelace talked some Jewish folks into buying it so he could manage it. The station then was moved to a two story building on Fifth St. and Main Ave. Ed had worked with Baxter and Richard Corder in Port...
As a boy I was fascinated by books telling tales of gallant knights saving the people. It was exciting to read about Ivanhoe, King Arthur and other errant knights going forth to slay dragons and defend against evil doers. I loved reading about heroic exploits done by noble knights chosen by fair maidens for their defense. Like fair maidens of yore, we can choose our heroes to confront our enemies in the coming new year. In order to do so, however, we must be prepared by...
I don't know about you, but I'm ready for 2022 to get here and 2021 to finally leave. To paraphrase Yogi Berra, '21 was like déjà vu all over again from 2020. Covid-19 didn't seem to let go of us like we thought it would. However, it looks like we're starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel, if only these variants would just go away. With that in mind, I think I'd rather look at what's ahead of us this year rather than looking back at where we've been. In the C...
Has winter finally arrived in SETX? Well maybe, at least for a couple of cold days and frigid nights it has, making this the perfect time to review the litany of seed and gardening catalogues which have been piling up over the past several weeks. Seed catalogues are filled with detailed, useful information for gardeners and reviewing them provides an opportunity to learn new plant seed varieties available and to determine if they are a good match for our gardens. Perhaps you...
Hello fellow gardeners! 2021 is rapidly coming to an end and the new year is almost here. There are many gardening tasks which we can complete outside while we have good weather or shift tasks indoors on damp and dreary days, in preparation for springtime planting. Spring is rapidly approaching, now is a great time to get your soil analyzed for nutrients and pH levels through a soil testing laboratory. Results are usually returned within a couple of weeks. The soil analysis...
After chairing the Texas Senate Education Committee for several years, I am absolutely convinced that although education is expensive, it is not near so expensive as ignorance. I am also convinced that ignorance is the greatest danger to a free society. Jefferson and others of our founders often advocated knowledgeable citizens were essential to a free society. There is a growing concern today as to whether or our educational system is producing the level of knowledge...
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM CREAUX AND I Here's hoping you have a blessed Christmas and Holiday Season. When I was a boy we would have been disappointed with the Christmastime weather. Our favorite Christmas meal was fried, wild rabbit. No one could season and fry rabbit like my Grandma., NOBODY. We didn't have rabbit until after the first heavy frost killed the parasites rabbits carry. For a big gathering, Grandma made rabbit stew in a large cast iron pot served on a bed of rice....
If you are over 60 years old there is an additional plague attacking you rather than the current virus. I am absolutely convinced that computers were invented to drive us old folks crazy. Remember when phones were answered by humans? And the only folks with numbers were convicts? How many passwords do you have? Better yet, how many passwords do you have that you remember? Once upon a time ordering from Sear & Roebuck catalog and making phone calls was a simple matter. Now...
Young Cris had been going fishing since he was old enough to walk. Gramps, as he had called him, was raising Chris as best he could, living on a fixed income. Cris’ parents were taken from him in a car crash wen he was only six months old, and his Gramps was just like a dad to him. Gramps had lost his wife to cancer a year before Cris was born, so the two of them needed each other very much. Living within a mile of one of Texas’ largest bays, Cris enjoyed the time he and his g...
Hello fellow gardeners and Merry Christmas! Today I’m standing at the kitchen sink and beside me sits a steaming cup of coffee, as I peer outside the window mesmerized, once again witness to another dreary, damp overcast day. You see I’m pondering this week’s gardening article. Through the kitchen window I’m watching an abundance of leaves free-fall, suddenly whisked away at breakneck speed by an invisible force, driven without cause to the yard’s perimeter. Mounds of crisp...
Luke 2:8 "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." Who are your favorite characters in the account of the birth of Jesus? The shepherds or the three Wise Men, referred to often as Kings? I'm going to say hands down most of us chose the shepherds. Why is that? For me, it is because they represented a part of the more common of society, even the poorer part of society. Jesus said that it is very difficult for a...
