Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 528
FRIEND RECORDS HISTORY We’ve come on another week and finally got some rain. King would have liked that. Appearing, starting in this week’s issue, is a column by the late King Dunn, who died recently at age 94. Before his death he recorded his life as a youngster and adult and the times. Mr. Dunn, a longtime post master at Mauriceville, spent his entire life in the country community where he and his late wife raised their family. They both contributed to making their community better. You will find King’s column, about the o...
REMEMBERING THOSE WHO GAVE ALL Memorial Day is a most special day because it’s the day set aside to honor our fallen heroes. It’s a time to reflect on the lives given in sacrifice, given by so many throughout all of our wars. Since World War I, nearly a million youngsters have died and their families were left to live with the ultimate loss of a loved one who gave his or hers life for the better good of the rest of us. My heart also bleeds for the many youngsters I see return beyond recognition. In this week’s issue, we are d...
TIME AND HISTORY MOVES ON Thank you for the your great response to our 52nd anniversary issue. We heard from many people, from many quarters. Our advertisers report they also got good response and did good business on their advertising. We also thank you for supporting them. ***** BREAKING NEWS: Tuesday on the anniversary of the killing of bin Ladin, President Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan where he signed an agreement of support with President Karzai from 2014 to 2024 after major combat troops leave. President...
WELCOME TO OUR 52ND ANNIVERSARY EDITION Here we go again embarking on another year. With this issue, we celebrate our 52nd anniversary. For all those years this publication has been free and available to anyone who wants one, plus delivered free to 20,000 homes. I believe we’re one of the few free, real community newspapers, not a shopper. Over the past few years there has been some difficult times, especially since Ike, but we bit the bullet and kept on printing and delivering the best product we could. Ike got our p...
ELECTION TIME WILL SOON BE ON US I was just thinking about the disadvantage Republican Primary candidates have to face with no presidential race and how that will cut down the turn out. If the Primary had been held in March, with Santorum and Romney battling it out, there would have been more interest and excitement. The local GOP candidates are working hard but to create excitement is costly. Those that don’t spend the money will be left behind. Money moves the masses. Mitt Romney is not a great candidate yet he will be t...
TEA PARTY FADING Well, here’s hoping you had a good Easter weekend. The Lord sure sent us some great weather for outdoor activity. Thanks to PESTCO there wasn’t a mosquito in sight. Not one bite. For just pennies a day they will run all the “Skeeters” away and those pests will be gone for several weeks. Ask Karen Jo. She lives where the “Skeeter’s” are thick and she never donates any blood to them. Just call Marty, Donna or Cindy and no more swatting and itching. See PESTCO’S ad for more information.*****B...
HOLY WEEK BRINGS ON EASTER The big question always was who is going to beat Kentucky? The answer always was nobody. With two freshmen and two sophomores, Kentucky won the national basketball championship by beating Kansas 67 to 59. Four players on the Wildcat team will be drafted by the NBA, freshman Anthony Davis, 20, will be the first player taken overall. It will almost be total rebuilding by Kentucky next season. *****How about those Lady Baylor Bears. The game against Notre Dame Tuesday night is after my deadline but...
WE KEEP ROLLIN ALONG We couldn’t have asked for a better week weather wise. On a quick trip through Central Texas we saw on display the beautiful Texas wildflowers. The Blue Bonnets are thicker and brighter than I’ve ever seen.*****On a sad note, we’ve lost too many friends. I’ve recalled the trail we traveled together over many years.*****The Supreme Court is in session taking up the Health Care issue. It could be the most important decision in 50 years. The conservative court ruling will affect almost every America...
TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING Well, we have sprung into spring. We predicted last summer that it was going to be a mild winter but it was milder around the country than we expected. Many ski slopes didn’t get any snow; even Boston and Minnesota hit 80 degrees. Time keeps flying by, it seems Christmas was just a few weeks ago and already it’s coming on Easter. Ms. Pearlhas published a poem this week titled “Time.” At age 91, she has seen a lot of time come and go. Read it, you’ll enjoy it. There was an awful tragedy at the Jeffe...
THANKS FOR TUNING IN Well, the clock has sprung forward and I’ve been screwed up every since. Besides being away, I haven’t been too perky but will do my best to bring you another entertaining, informative column. I always welcome any tidbits you might have. Just let us know. Thanks to the mosquito control the skeeters are not as bad. I dread when our little homegrown skeeters hatch out, those little suckers hurt. Fair weather is predicted for the next few days and it’s spring break time. That always worries me; it looks...
YOU GOTTA FEEL FOR TORNADO VICTIMS While we’re enjoying the nice weather and a big, bright, full moon hanging up high, it’s easy to forget that many are facing devastation. Tornados have swept through many states leaving over 50 people dead and many more left homeless and with everything gone. Some communities have been totally wiped out. Unless you’re a victim, it’s easy to just ignore those unfortunate people’s problems. The Tuesday “USA Today” newspaper, the nations largest, has no coverage of the vast destruction i...
RECALLING THE PAST, 19 YEARS AGO On Feb. 28, 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) RAIDED Mount Carmel. The raid resulted in the deaths of four agents and six Dividians. Shortly after the initial raid, the FBI HRT (Hostage Rescue Team) took command of the federal operation, since FBI has jurisdiction over incidents involving the deaths of federal agents. Contact was established with David Koresh inside the compound. Communication over the next 51 days included telephone exchanges with various FBI...
SKEETER INVASION – TIME TO FIGHT BACK Six months ago we predicted it would be a mild winter but we are even surprised that it has been so mild, not only here but all over the country. The rain we’ve gotten lately is appreciated but would have been a lot more helpful last spring and summer. Many of our great trees might have been saved. *****I don’t recall that mosquitoes have ever been so bad in February. It’s really time to do something about it. We were raised with “Skeeters” and learned to live with them, small price...
REMINISCING—A LONG AGO DAY The date on a couple of pictures that Mike Louviere brought us is Nov. 5, 1960. What is so unique about the pictures is that they were taken at a reception held for Lyndon Johnson, candidate for vice-president, held at Jefferson County Airport, three days before he and John F. Kennedy were elected. Kennedy became the youngest and first Catholic elected president of the United States. One picture is Johnson and Congressman Jack Brooks waving at the crowd while disembarking from the plane. Speaker S...
WELCOME TO ANOTHER WEEK Well, it’s come on a full moon. This morning at 3:30 a.m., the sky was as bright as day. The big bright moon hung high in the sky when five of the raccoons showed up for their morning treat. All but one of these coons is a different bunch than those who show up for evening meal. “Rocky” has been a friend for a long time and shows up for both feedings. He would come in the house if I would let him. He likes for me to feed him individually. Those coons go through 50 pounds of dog food in three weeks...
SKEETERS, SCHOOLS AND HIGH GAS PRICES So far it’s been one of the mildest winters that I recall. It hasn’t been cold enough to kill the bugs and we have again been invaded by large “Skeeters.” The pests are so numerous that if you open your mouth you’ll suck in a load of them. If it continues we will have to escalate the spraying. Kids can’t go outdoors, parent’s fear they will be carried off and eaten up. Our school administrators across the state become more upset every day for the condition Gov. Rick Perry has put our e...
THE RACE IS ON Across the nation, the GOP establishment woke up Sunday morning to find out that Newt Gingrich had won the South Carolina primary and was now their new leading standard bearer. If it didn’t give the Republican purest heartburn, they got bad stomach cramps realizing what Newt’s nomination would do to down ballot candidates. They have only one choice and that is to field dress him. To do that, they must gut him. That will be interesting to watch. In Romney they have a very weak candidate and if he can’t get t...
FASTER I GO, SLOWER I GET Well, I’ve rolled up on another week. They sure do come around quicker than they did 30 years ago. I haven’t been up to speed the last few weeks so time is traveling faster than I am. I have to rush my mind to catch up but it still falls behind. Sometimes old folks get too much on their plate. Deadline and old age don’t go hand in hand. I need to find out what the old man at the parks secret is, but then maybe that’s exactly what I don’t need, I’m just half alive now. I’m four hours away from dea...
TOO MUCH FOOTBALL AND POLITICS For the first time in many months I saw water sitting in the yard and the ditches half full. Monday nearly three inches of rain fell. It was welcomed but came too late to save many of the trees that will have to be cut down come spring.*****Our lake water is our most valuable asset and if we’re not careful it will end up in Houston or Dallas. A company wants a 99-year deal to purchase 200 billion gallons a year from Toledo Bend. Louisiana must sign off on it but that’s just another move to acq...
WORTH STAYING UP FOR I stayed up too late but it was worth t. I watched the wildly entertaining Fiesta Bowl. Stanford beat themselves in a 41-38 loss to Oklahoma State. Stanford’s Andrew Luck is everything he’s billed as. It’s easy to see why he would be the number one pick in the NFL draft. It just doesn’t seem fair if he goes to the Colts and has to sit out a few years behind Payton Manning. He’s ready for the big time on day one. The Colts can get a bunch for him. Listen up Jerry Jones, give ‘um Romo and throw in coaches...
OUT WITH THE OLD - WELCOME THE NEW Here I sit at mid-morning Tuesday, facing a 5 p.m. deadline and no idea what I’ll write about. I had planned to make some predictions for the New Year but this time squeeze I’ve gotten myself in doesn’t allow for research and compiling. I’ll just have to go with whatever comes to the top of my head. Sometimes that’s some of my better columns but also the ones who get me in more trouble. I’ll try to avoid that. Here we are in the last few days of 2011, it’s unbelievable that in a few days it...
MERRY CHRISTMAS The first day of winter, Dec. 21, is now upon us, Christmas follows in a few days. The foliage has been more colorful than I ever recall. The bright leaves are falling now and covering the ground with a multitude of colors. In the next couple of months we may have to throw an extra log on the fire but the weather folks say, in comparison, this should be a mild and dry winter. Nowadays, with blood thinner running through my veins, I find anything under 40 degrees cold. I recall when that was shirtsleeve weather...
GO FIGURE, THE SQUIRRELS ARE LOOSE Filing for local offices ends Thursday, Dec. 15. I’ll wait on all the cards to be dealt before commenting. I learned however, that Judge Pat Clark was not going to run for the County Court at Law seat. I can hardly remember when Pat wasn’t a judge. He’s a darn good one and his leaving the bench is one heck of a big loss. More next week. Meanwhile, the United States Supreme Court granted a request by Texas attorney general Greg Abbott to block the use of interim maps, drawn by three San A...
Pearl Harbor United The Nation On this day, Dec. 7, 1941, 70 years ago, just before 8 a.m. our time, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Nearly 2,200 were killed and over 1,700 others wounded. This is the one event that mostly stands out in my lifetime. That’s also true for most people who were around when the attack occurred. The other two surprise events were the unexpected assassination of President John Kennedy in Dallas and the 9-11 terrorist attack on the New York Twin Towers and Pentagon. Everyone who lived through W...
COMES A TIME WHEN THE MIND SLOWS DOWN We got a little rain, then here come the high winds, cold weather with frost and dried everything up, also damaged some plants. Overall it’s predicted to be a warm, dry winter.*****Things are getting serious in Iran and could affect elections next November. I feel comfortable with Obama as Commander in Chief. He has the balls to do what needs doing when the time comes.*****Doctor Conrad Murray is sentenced to the maximum four years in prison for his part in the death of Michael J...
