Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Sorted by date Results 1335 - 1359 of 15400
Talk about a landslide. Dade Phelan, Orange County's man in the Statehouse, won support from every corner of the state and sailed into the 87th Texas Legislature Tuesday as the Speaker of the House. The Beaumont native, who represents District 21, which takes in much of western Jefferson County, much of Port Arthur and all of Orange County, was elected by a 143-2 vote with four members not voting. The area was well represented on Phelan's big day. Bishop Curtis Guillory, the...
The Houston Chronicle’s Editorial Board has called for Orange’s representative in Congress, Rep. Brian Babin of Woodville, to resign for his part in last Wednesday’s deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. Babin, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump the past four years, released a statement blaming the Supreme Court for the riot of Trump supporters that left five people dead. “If SCOTUS [Supreme Court of the United States] had properly acted and heard the Texas lawsuit...
Grandma’s Country Cooking has been open for several weeks in Bridge City amongst the delays of Covid 19 and Hurricanes last year. The new restaurant features home cooking from family recipes and is located in Bridge City at 33 Patillo Road. The original Grandma’s which operates in Port Arthur on 9th Avenue has been a favorite of many for over 2 years. They have been voted best plate lunch both years. They have a set special each day, except Sunday. The specials come with two sides, bread and tea for $10.99. Grandma’s daily...
After more than 25 years as mayor of West Orange, Roy McDonald said he is "99 and 9/10% sure" that he will not run for reelection in May. And a former Louisiana Justice of the Peace is ready to take his place. Jim Whittington, 51, a relative newcomer to West Orange in that he has only lived in town for 17 years, about half the time McDonald has served as an alderman or mayor there, says, "I love West Orange. I want to clean up West Orange and head in a new direction. "I think...
Brian Babin, Orange County's voice in the U.S. House of Representatives, said those who don't join him Wednesday in objecting to the Electoral College vote count will live to regret it. Babin was an early adopter of a "Hail Mary" plan to make a formal objection to the Electoral College results when they are presented to a joint session of Congress Wednesday. "This is a pivotal moment," Babin posted on his Twitter account Saturday, Jan. 2. "It's time to stand up and be...
County Judge John Gothia was sworn in for a two-year term and County Commissioner's Johnny Trahan and Kirk Roccaforte were sworn in for four-year terms on Jan.1, 2021. Pictured left to right: Orange County Commissioner Johnny Trahan, Orange County Judge John Gothia and Commissioner Kirk Roccaforte...
Lannie Claybar, left, Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, joins Brad Frye, Justice of the Peace Precinct 3, and Jeremiah Gunter, Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, at the Orange County Courthouse after they were sworn in to their offices Jan. 1 following their elections in November, 2020. All three had been serving unexpired terms of their predecessors....
Orange County has published a priority list for its citizens receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. The info sheet posted on the Orange County website (co.orange.tx.us) under a red "Public Health Notice" bar on the bottom left side includes the note "The rollout and allocation of this vaccination program is 100% handled by the State of Texas." It says Phase 1A, vaccinating Healthcare Workers, has not been completed. Phase 1B has six categories and the info sheet indicates they will...
The state announced Monday that it would be getting another 325,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, saying it already had received more than 793,000 doses. Orange County had received just 200 doses as of Tuesday morning. Those were shipped to one location, the Brookshire Brothers Pharmacy in Vidor, which is giving a maximum of 20 vaccinations per day to predetermined sections of the public. The vaccinations are not yet available to the general public. County Judge John Gothia said...
After winning what is believed to be the most expensive election race in Orange County in 20 years, Rex Peveto had to wait nine months before claiming his office. He wasn’t complaining last Saturday, Jan. 1, after taking the oath of office as 163rd District Court Judge. He did it at the family estate in north Orange County, with his new court coordinator Liz Langston reading the oath and Peveto repeating after her. Because of Covid-19, only the closest of family members a...
Ray Fontenot has voted in 20 Presidential elections. "Every president from Roosevelt to Biden," he said Tuesday as the dishes were cleared from his 100th birthday party, a small family affair. "I voted for [Franklin] Roosevelt twice." Born on Jan. 5, 1921 and raised in Grand Prairie, Louisiana, near Opelousas, the World War II vet and DuPont retiree was actually alive during the final days of the Woodrow Wilson administration, just after the ends of World War I (1918) and the...
While Congress and the White House go back and forth on whether to increase individual stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000, Texas Sen. John Cornyn is taking a well-timed victory lap. The $1.4 trillion bill to fund government agencies that President Trump signed Sunday night along with the $900 billion pandemic relief package included the Water Resources Development Act of 2020. That will fund a feasibility study for the Port Arthur and Orange County flood risk management...
Mid-year retirements increased for teachers in the Little Cypress-Mauriceville school district and its superintendent says Covid-19 is to blame. "I think I have seven or eight that are leaving Dec. 31 and I've never had that," Stacey Brister, third-year superintendent and 20-year administrator in the district, said. "I think Covid has played a major, major role in that. Not only Covid itself, but how it affects people as far as a teaching standpoint. Our teachers are teaching...
West Orange Mayor Roy McDonald says that while a big box store already exists to sell lumber or housewares, Harbor Freight Tools will be the place to buy the tools once it opens in early 2021. "We're looking forward to that," he said. The California-based, family-owned company already has stores in Port Arthur, Beaumont and Lake Charles but its new location at 3109 Edgar Brown Drive (Texas 87), between Wendy's and Walmart, will be its first in Orange County. It is expected to...
Orange County small businesses could be eligible for a second round of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans if legislation passed by Congress Monday is OK’d by the White House. Under the legislation, loans are eligible for forgiveness and the money from PPP loans is not taxable. This changes the old law, making the tax deduction retroactive. President Trump threatened Tuesday not to sign a stimulus bill based on $600 checks to American taxpayers, calling it “ridiculously...
To say Sheriff Lane Mooney's first six months on the job have been full of surprises might be putting it mildly. There was: -- a day-long August SWAT standoff that included a two-hour gun battle; -- a train derailment and chemical spill that forced evacuation of a neighborhood of 600 people; -- a hurricane that destroyed the jail roof and forced the movement of 100 prisoners nearly 200 miles. And all this came during the worst health disaster in U.S. history, the ongoing...
The County Judge is asking for a way out, but said Tuesday afternoon that he has passed along the state’s order rolling back relaxed Covid-19 restrictions: Until further notice, Orange County bars without food service must shut down and restaurants and businesses can operate with only 50% capacity. Elective surgeries must be postponed. Orange County is part of a nine-county Trauma Service Area that stretches from Newton County to Galveston County but does not include H...
Increased wildfire potential is expected across much of the state early this week due to approaching dry cold fronts and high temperatures. Dry fuel conditions will expand north from the southern Hill Country into the Rolling Plains, southern High Plains, eastern Hill Country and Cross Timbers regions this week, aligning with the pre- and post-frontal winds to create an increase in potential wildfire activity. “Most wildland fires this time of year occur just before or just after a frontal passage,” said Brad Smith, Texas A&M...
Lamar State College Port Arthur has been chosen to receive $300,000 under the Texas Reskilling Support Fund Grant Program which will go to support students directly in their efforts to return to college amid the COVID-19 pandemic. LSCPA is among just 49 institutions selected from across the state by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to receive this money designated to help existing college students who were unable to return this past fall semester due to financial impacts from coronavirus. “Attending c...
AHCA/NCAL Urges All Americans To Remain Vigilant Around Holiday Gatherings To Protect Vulnerable Populations With the holiday season kicking into high gear, it is important remember that COVID-19 still remains a deadly threat, especially to our most vulnerable citizens – long term care residents. The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) released an updated report today showing how nursing homes are experiencing the worst outbreak of new cases and deaths since the spring due t...
Nothing makes an Orange County Commissioner's day like a call from a constituent complaining about potholes. Clark Slacum wants to help – and says he can, thanks to FEMA. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced last week that federal assistance will be made available for those affected by Hurricane Laura, which raked this area with winds as high as 100 mph on Aug. 27. President Trump signed the authorization needed last week so a five-county area including J...
Vaccinations for COVID-19 should be available to the general public in Orange County by the end of the year, officials say. That's little more than two weeks away, so the three-staged rollout will have to hurry. No vaccines had been given out in the county as of Tuesday afternoon, a day after Beaumont and Houston hospitals took delivery of their first vax kits. But both County Judge John Gothia or Joel Ardoin, the county's Emergency Management Coordinator, said they were in...
“Over the moon,” was the way Bridge City’s high school band director described the mood on the bus ride home from San Antonio Tuesday morning. “It was a great time. A little bit of stress wrapped up with excitement,” Tami Goss said after the band finished seventh out of 20 teams at the University Interscholastic League’s Class 4A Marching Band State Championships. The competition was held in the Alamodome in San Antonio. It was the first time Bridge City had qualified f...
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's doing it. So is Russian President Vladimir Putin. And so does the Orange County Republican Party chairman. David Covey joined McConnell and Putin on Tuesday in recognizing Democratic Sen. Joe Biden as the president-elect, one day after the Electoral College certified Biden's 306-232 win over Donald Trump in November's election. It was the exact vote count Trump bragged was a landslide when he won office four years ago. "He is the...
If you’ve got the drive, Lamar State College Port Arthur has the money to help you, thanks to a substantial scholarship donation by the Port Arthur Industry Group. The PAIG recently donated $60,000 to fund a scholarship that will enable students to earn a commercial driver’s license, something that in Southeast Texas almost immediately presents career opportunities. “Local industry leaders are looking for people with CDL certification. The jobs are there for the taking,” Dr. B...
