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  • Orange mayor calls for love, unity for citizens.

    Updated Jun 5, 2020

    Orange mayor calls for love, unity for citizens. Larry Spears, Jr., mayor of the city of Orange, issued the following statement to citizens Wednesday relating to last week's death in Minneapolis, Minn., of Houston native George Floyd while in police custody. To the Citizens of Orange, Texas: I wish to convey several thoughts about our mutual feeling of frustration concerning the horrific murder of Mr. George Floyd. I also wish to convey what we as a community must do to help...

  • LSCO sets record for summer enrollment

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated Jun 5, 2020

    Lamar State College Orange President Dr. Thomas Johnson announced Wednesday that the two-year college in downtown Orange has set a new summer enrollment record with 1,019 students. That number represents the number of students enrolled for classes as of June 3. He expects it to be broken many times before the summer semesters end in August. "It's a great day. I'm very excited," Johnson said. "We have made lemonade out of lemons this year." Johnson was referring to the...

  • Construction continues on East Roundbunch Swing Bridge

    Updated Jun 4, 2020

    Construction continues on the East Roundbunch Swing Bridge in Bridge City. On Monday afternoon a diver steps from a barge dropping down in to the brackish waters of Cow Bayou as crew members work to retrieve wrecked concrete pilings from the bottom. The bridge has been closed since state inspectors ruled it unsafe in March 2017. A spokesperson for Texas Department of Transportation said the bridge and the road, a well-used shortcut from Bridge City to Chemical Row, should be...

  • All eyes on Gulf for Hurricane Season

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated Jun 4, 2020

    Cutline: Joel Ardoin was promoted to the position of Orange County Emergency Management Coordinator in 2018. If anybody in Orange County can be forgiven for constantly watching the weather radar, it has to be Joel Ardoin, Emergency Management Coordinator. But as Tropical Storm Cristobal bounced around the Bay of Campeche in the southern end of the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday afternoon, Ardoin didn't seem rattled. "They say it won't be any worse than a tropical storm or a low...

  • After four Sheriffs, Chief Deputy retires

    Dave Rogers, For The Record|Updated May 28, 2020

    Orange County's Sheriff's Office loses 43 years of law enforcement experience in this week's retirement of Chief Deputy John Tarver. But as Tarver exited one door, the county added 20 years of law enforcement experience through a different door, with Tuesday's swearing in of Precinct 2 Constable Jeremiah Gunter. And Gunter said Tuesday marked only a step along his intended path. "I'm looking to be Sheriff of Orange County one day and this is going to help me get there," he...

  • Covid, flood control grants hit OC accounts

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 28, 2020

    Money. Money. Money. Orange County Auditor Pennee Schmitt had a lot of it to talk about at Tuesday’s bi-weekly meeting of the County Commissioners’ Court. First, she introduced a special budget to park $2.27 million of no-match COVID-19 mitigation grants from the Federal Emergency Management Administration. Then she introduced another special budget for a $631,000 grant created in 2006 by Congress and just delivered to the county for the first time. But, as happens every mee...

  • With virus, hike in values worrisome

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 19, 2020

    As if the citizens of Orange County need any more bad news, preliminary property values have risen about 2 percent since 2019. Property owners should have received those values already and they have until the end of May to file a notice of appeal. The valuations are based on what was being paid on homes or land in your neighborhood as of Jan. 1, 2020, explained Orange County Chief Appraiser Scott Overton. That was several months before the outbreak of the coronavirus; Before...

  • VFW Post 2775 and Auxiliary honor Veteran's graves

    Updated May 19, 2020

    Thanks to VFW Post 2275 and its Auxiliary, the gravesites of 128 Orange County veterans at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens on Texas 87 will be newly cleaned and marked by American flags for Memorial Day 2020, Monday, May 25. The idea came when one member's grandchild asked, "Why don't we remember our veterans?" The VFW and Auxiliary members only had time to search out the veterans' graves on part of the cemetery but pledge to add more each year. RECORD PHOTO: Mark...

  • Pinehurst loses city leader to Vidor

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 19, 2020

    Robbie Hood, city administrator and top employee for the City of Pinehurst since 2015, has resigned that job to become city manager for Vidor. Hood’s final day at Pinehurst is June 15 and his first at Vidor is the following morning. “Robbie’s done a great job for the city,” Mayor Dan Mohon said. “We hate to see him go, but we understand he’s going to a larger city, and he goes with our blessing.” Hood returned the love in his resignation letter to Mohon and Pinehurst Cit...

  • Testing slows as OC reopening takes off

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 19, 2020

    Are folks happy to get back into a gym? “We had a guy come in last night and kiss the floor,” Mark Bland, owner of Bodyworkz Gyms in Orange and Bridge City, said Tuesday afternoon. “For a lot of people, going to the gym is part of their life.” Reopening gyms and exercise studios is one of several landmarks for this week as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott goes about reopening the state’s businesses after issuing a Stay-At-Home order in late-March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic....

  • Nurse returns from Covid battlefront

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 14, 2020

    Sierra Roberts ended her final day on the job the way she began her first. She was holding up a cell phone so a family could say their final goodbyes to a dying patient. Roberts, a Bridge City High School grad and Registered Nurse for Beaumont's Baptist Hospital, just returned to Texas after spending 21 straight days working 12-hour shifts at New York City's Coney Island Hospital. New York City has been the nation's No. 1 hotspot for the coronavirus and the deadly Covid-19...

  • Port board swears in 2 new members

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 14, 2020

    John Montagne, Jr., left, and Walter Mullins III take their oath of service as Orange port commissioners from board attorney Scot Sheldon. The Orange County Navigation and Port District swore in two new board members Monday and they weren't exactly rookies. Walter Mullins III, was a four-term port commissioner toward the end of the 20th century and John Montagne, Jr. joined the board a couple of years ago, to fill an unexpired vacancy. Both filed to run unopposed for seats on...

  • Gunter named to take over as constable

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 14, 2020

    Orange County Commissioners voted to accept the resignation of Precinct 2 Constable Mark Jones, effective June 1, and named Jeremiah Gunter his replacement. Jones did not stand for re-election and Gunter was the only candidate for the job to run in March's primaries. Also, commissioners voted extend the county's disaster declaration for the coronavirus pandemic for another 30 days – through June 9 – at Tuesday's bi-monthly meeting. The purpose for maintaining the dec...

  • Sherlock Breaux in the Creaux's Nest

    Sherlock Breaux|Updated May 14, 2020

    Daylight comes and the three cats and birds have been fed. One cat is not only a cat; he's a Manx, the only Manx kitten that survived Hurricane Ike. All the others didn't make it. His name is Bobby Stagg, but we call him the "Old Man." The Stagg family, our neighbors, raised him but he moved to our place a couple of years ago. He's showing his age, arthritis, etc. Anyway, for most of my life daylight would have found me at work. I would have picked up the daily papers, had a...

  • Governor's rules allow real-time graduations

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 14, 2020

    In a year when tradition has taken a turn upside down, Orangefield schools are still trying to decide when they'll hold high school graduation. Truthfully, every school district is. But in the Age of Covid-19 everything is tentative. "We had scheduled ours for May 22, but we can't do it then. That's not in the governor's window," Shaun McAlpin, Orangefield superintendent, said. Last Tuesday, May 5, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued guidelines for how high schools can hold actual...

  • Numbers point to virus letup in OC

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 14, 2020

    Ding dong, the Covid's dead. One can hope. Orange County Judge John Gothia reported some big news Tuesday on the back of a similar announcement by Orange Mayor Larry Spears, Jr. And Bridge City could, too. "This is our fifth day of no new cases at all," Gothia told Commissioners' Court in a discussion of the coming shutdown of the six-county Southeast Texas Regional authority formed in mid-March to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. At a city council meeting held earlier...

  • Cow Bayou offers outdoor getaway for nature lovers, boat enthusiasts

    Updated May 14, 2020

    Since the coronavirus pandemic has forced social distancing many Orange County residents have been doing more projects around the house and spending more time in their gardens. They have also been spending more time outdoors, on the whole, getting more exercise and enjoying the fresh air, especially during one of the most beautiful springs our area has seen in years. Cow Bayou in Bridge City is a great example. It offers residents the opportunity to get out on the water and...

  • LSCO loses tech director to coronavirus

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 14, 2020

    Dennis Ferrell was retired when Chris Stewts recruited him to a new job as an instructor at Lamar State College Orange. “Everyone, when you start a new job, needs a mentor and even though I was 70 at the time, Chris was my mentor,” Ferrell said. “He really helped me. We worked together a lot and I appreciated him. I honestly don’t know how we’re going to get by without him.” Stewts, 68, died May 3 at Baptist Hospital in Beaumont from complications from COVID-19, according to f...

  • Mother's Day dining out faces virus setback

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 7, 2020

    Mother’s Day is normally one of the busiest days of the year for Robert’s Meat Market and Steakhouse, Orange’s biggest restaurant. But this year? Not so much. “I don’t expect it to be good this year,” owner Robert Ramirez said of Sunday’s family get-together event. “We can only seat about 60 and then stop. When some people come out, some more will get in.” Prior to the outbreak of coronavirus and the Covid-19 illness it carries, Robert’s could squeeze in as many as 400 dine...

  • Thanks to Zoom, OC justice prevails

    Dave Rogers, For the Record|Updated May 5, 2020

    Jury trials have been postponed at least until June 1 in Orange Country. But that doesn't mean justice isn't getting done. "We're still conducting essential hearings," Courtney Arkeen, 128th District Court Judge, said of life in the time of COVID-19. "That's things like protection orders, some criminal cases, or restraining order hearings, family violence and injunctions." Since April, the employees of her court and the rest of the county courts are maintaining office hours...

  • CRAPPIE PICKING UP THE SLACK

    Updated Apr 21, 2020

    “It’s already been a little different year on T-Bend,” said Jimmy Coleman, “but this white perch bite has really been a surprise.” The Shreveport native should know! Coleman has owned a trailer in the Red’s Point area on the south end of the lake since 1973 and has fished through every major change on the huge impoundment. “We’ve come full circle,” he was quick to point out.“For years there was no grass, then we were covered up with grass and now we’re back to no grass.” Through it all, Jimmy preferred to hustle bream and cra...

  • NFL hires ‘Beef Ref’ Defee as ref coach

    Updated Apr 21, 2020

    Dave Rogers For The Record Mauriceville’s Mike Defee is making the jump from college football to the NFL. The Big 12 referee known as “Muscle Ref,” “Beef Ref” and “Jacked Ref” because of his enormous biceps, is retiring from active officiating to take a position in the NFL front office. Defee, who has officiated every major bowl game and gained fame during the January 2017 College Football National Championship game, will coach current NFL officials, specifically focusing on the referee position, reports say. Walt Anderson...

  • TxDOT to narrow MacArthur, add sidewalks

    Updated Apr 21, 2020

    Dave Rogers For The Record The Texas Department of Transportation is asking for public comment on a plan to replace two traffic lanes of MacArthur Drive with sidewalks on either side. The number to call is 409-898-5732 or email [email protected]@txdot.gov . The change is an $800,000 “pedestrian safety improvement project,” and it seems like it’s a done deal. The TxDOT news release that announced it Monday said it “is currently scheduled to go out for bids in late summer.” “Essentially, it’s just paint and sig...

  • Sherlock Breaux in the Creaux's Nest

    Updated Apr 21, 2020

    THE VIRUS THAT CAME TO STAY Three months ago this week, April 21, the United States confirmed the nation’s first case of what was then called the “Novel” Coronavirus. A Washington State man, in his 30’s, had recently returned from Wuhan, China, the epic-center of an outbreak that had killed six people, was infected. What transpired since then has gone beyond what anyone could have imagined. The story is still growing and will be sometime in our future before it plays out. Now almost 2.5 million people worldwide have been in...

  • Class of 2020: They adapt, overcome

    Updated Apr 21, 2020

    Dave Rogers For The Record It was hardly a shock when it happened. They couldn’t be fazed after 14 or 15 years of schooling filled to the brim with upheaval and challenges on top of challenges. When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott channeled Alice Cooper and announced last Friday that “School’s out … forever,” for the Class of 2020, the young men and women of Orange County did as they have learned during one natural disaster after another: They adapted. And their past proves, they will overcome. “It’s been a crazy past four years,” Kie...

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