Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Sorted by date Results 901 - 925 of 15400
Bridge City businesses showed strong sales during the month of May based on sales tax payments to the city last week. The Texas Comptroller's Office collects the sales taxes for entities that collect them. The office keeps the state's share and then sends the amounts to entities once a month. Gasoline and fuel taxes are in a separate category and do not go to local entities. Bridge City had a 10.95 percent increase in the May sales taxes this year compared to last year, and is...
Plans to run a 42-inch crude oil pipeline around Bessie Heights Marsh and under the center of Sabine Lake are meeting opposition in Southeast Texas. Environmentalist John Beard of Port Arthur, a retired refinery worker leading the Port Arthur Community Action Network (PACAN) and SaveSabineLake.org, says the company behind the proposed Blue Marlin pipeline can't be trusted to avoid dangerous oil spills. Houston-based Entergy Transfer Partners, a company that transports about...
The lights from the shiny, new "city" were already glowing at night from the flatlands along the Sabine. But it wasn't official until the first week of July, 1947. Seventy-five years ago, the DuPont Sabine River Works officially began production. Eight hundred men and women were working at the plant when it opened with another 1,400 men working in construction, according to a special edition newspaper printed for the event. More than 3,500 construction workers were involved...
Bridge City Mayor David Rutledge has been on the job since 2016, but half the city council members – three out of six – are first-termers. What better time to get back to the basics? Rutledge and council members began the summer with a day-long training session which served as an orientation for new members and a refresher course for veteran members. Sherby Dixon and Patty Collins were elected to city office for the first time in May. Aaron Roccaforte is still in his fir...
COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Hot and dry conditions across the state of Texas will create high wildfire potential through the weekend. Continued triple digit temperatures and dry conditions will reduce the moisture in vegetation across the landscape, increasing the possibility for wildfire ignitions to occur this week. Today, the fire environment will support an increased potential for large wildfires that are resistant to control to occur near Wichita Falls, Fort Worth, Waco, A...
For the past six years, I've been working for Roy Dunn and The Record Newspapers and learning and sharing a ton of things I never knew about Orange County despite living next door for 30-odd years. Along with being informative and oh-so helpful, everyone has been so kind. That list begins with newspaper publisher Roy Dunn and prominently includes Margaret Toal, who I'm proud to say will be taking my place writing and coordinating news and feature coverage at The Record...
Life for students at Lamar State College Port Arthur just got a whole lot easier. LSCPA was notified this week that it has received a $50,000 Accelerate Student Success Planning Grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. LSCPA is one of just 80 colleges and universities across the state to receive part of the more than $4 million grant. This financial windfall will allow LSCPA to better assist students with more engagement among incoming freshmen, enabling...
The West Orange City Council met Tuesday, July 5, and approved to condemn four delinquent properties in the city. Two of the property owners attended the meeting and asked for alternatives to demolition. Building Official Michael Corbett for the city reviewed the four structures that all had been residences but are now vacant. Corbett told the City Council that all four properties are delipidated, substandard, and constitute a hazard to the health, safety, and welfare of the...
The City of Orange's much anticipated grand opening of the new Recreation Center has developed a late-stage hiccup. The massive temperature control system has to get the humidity just right inside the 17,200-square-foot building before the rubberized floor can be installed. The last-minute snag is frustrating. "The city hasn't had an organized recreation program since 1993," says James Lawrence, Parks Director for the city. "I think the challenge we're going to face is...
The USS Orleck, a navy destroyer built in Orange at the end of World War II, opened to the public on Friday for the first time at its new home in Jacksonville, Florida, on the Atlantic Coast. The ship was originally saved from the scrapyard by a preservation group in Orange, but local efforts to make it into a tourist attraction and museum did not work out. Third Coast News in Jacksonville reported that the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel along with the...
Two people from Orange will be serving time in federal prison for sex trafficking underaged girls between Louisiana and Texas. The case shows the danger of teenagers communicating with strangers on social media. U.S. District Judge James D. Cain, Jr., of Lake Charles sentenced Kevondric Fezia, 26, and Calista Jenee Winfrey, 23, last month. Fezia was found guilty by a Lafayette jury earlier this year of sex trafficking and trying to entice a minor into prostitution. He was...
The Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen at Bridge City's First Church, 201 Roberts, will open at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 7. Initial plans are to offer a hot lunch weekly to Bridge City seniors not already participating in Meals on Wheels programs. "We are targeting senior citizens to start," Duane Gault said. "But anyone who needs a meal, we're not going to turn them away." "It won't be steak and lobster," Pastor Allen Chapin said. "Maybe spaghetti and meatballs. But it'll be...
While the neighborhood children pop firecrackers and shoot bottle rockets Monday night, the big July 4 fireworks displays in Orange County are taking place on the east and west sides. The City of Orange's celebration of the 246th birthday of the United States of America will be held at Riverside Pavilion, 708 Simmons Drive, beginning at 5 p.m. Meanwhile, at Vidor's Maplecrest Baptist Church at 7 p.m., the Republican Party of Orange County is hosting an indoor community-wide...
Twenty years ago, a few people were getting music from the internet thanks to a new device called the iPod. Netflix mailed DVDs. Less than half of Americans had broadband internet service. No one had dreamed of a smartphone that people would allow people to have a computer in their pocket, or conceived of social media. Technology has changed the world in two decades. But technology still has not caught up with Orange County's biggest mystery. Who killed little Dannarriah...
Things would really suck the breath out of you if Orange County suffers another storm like Hurricane Harvey. But first responders and others working out of the Emergency Operations Center at the Orange County Convention and Expo Center aren't likely to complain about the eats. County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to pay $30 per meal for four meals a day – or $120 per day per person -- for Disaster Food Services served at the EOC. L3S BBQ & Catering, a business h...
The city of Orange continues its effort to clean up as more sub-standard buildings were torn down. The clean-up goes along with the progress on adding new residences. Last month the city issued eight building permits for new houses along with seven permits issued for demolitions. The buildings were in different areas with the addresses as 1205 Main Avenue, 1207 DuPont Drive, 2311 Riverside Drive, 2322 Butler, 1110 13th Street, 3915 Meeks Drive, and 1910 Luther Drive. DSLD...
The Orange Lions Club celebrated its history Monday night, then made some more. Lion Butch Campbell highlighted the club's long tradition of service to the community as he installed a new slate of club officers and directors for the 2022-23 term after dinner at the Brown Center in Pinehurst. He pointed out the Orange Lions had a special history as the presenters of their annual Lions Club Carnival for almost a century as he reminded that the officers had a defined role in...
Motorcyclists rallied on Saturday, June 25, for what they hope will be the first of an annual event to promote awareness for motorcycle safety. The 500 for Life rally began in Orange at the Community Church and concluded at the Cowboy Harley-Davidson dealership in Beaumont. Cowboy Harley-Davidson cosponsored the event with Columbanus Motor Sports of Orange. Keli Borel of Columbanus Motor Sports said 500 for Life is to emphasize motorcycle safety. "Motorcycle riders are one...
The dangerous heat continues this week, bringing high temperatures and sweltering humidity to much of the country. In the American Red Cross Texas Gulf Coast region, millions will experience excessive heat warnings and record-breaking high temperatures throughout the coming days. Because extreme heat and humidity can be deadly, the Red Cross offers steps you can take to help stay safe when the temperatures soar. WHO’S AT RISK? Some people are more at risk of developing a h...
The folks at 3rd Coast Movement are stepping out in a big way for Bridge City. The personal fitness training center is holding a Team 10K Relay fundraiser Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. at its location at 300 E. Roundbunch Road. From two to 10 runners can be on a team, with an entry fee of $20 each due the day of the event. Proceeds are going to a Public Outdoor Recreation Project for Bridge City. “We do an annual 10K run just to give back to the community,” says Maggie James,...
After three weeks of being closed to roadway traffic, the East Roundbunch swing bridge was being repaired and a new master control panel tested by technicians Tuesday afternoon. The outlook for reopening was good and it can’t come soon enough for Peggy Albair. Her restaurant, Peggy’s Place, is at the north end of the popular shortcut from Texas Avenue in Bridge City to the plants on Chemical Row, also known as FM 1006. The bridge, which used to bring Albair a packed-house lun...
Seven years have passed since Bridge City had a good roasting and as the summer of 2022 grows into a scorcher, it's County Judge John Gothia who is going to face the heat. On August 4, the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce is having a "celebrity roast" of the head of county government. "Tables are going fast," said Chamber Director Mandy Lyda. Gothia is a longtime Bridge City resident who has been active in the Orange and Bridge City chambers of commerce before successfully...
Fun science experiments aren't usually listed as entertainment for a gala event, but they are fitting to honor the late science teacher Michael Hoke. Science Superstars demonstrations will be part of the fundraising gala for the Michael W. Hoke Foundation on July 23 at the Shahan Events Center of LSCO. Robert Hoke, son of Michael, said his family established the foundation to award scholarships to students seeking careers in teaching science or environmental education at...
The local chapter of Cowboy H.O.G. is sponsoring a rally on Saturday, June 25, to promote motorcycle safety and awareness. The rally being called 500 for Life will start in Orange at the Community Church and conclude at the Cowboy Harley Davidson dealership in Beaumont. Cowboy Harley Davidson is co-sponsoring the event along with Columbanus Motor Sports of Orange. Van Jordan the director for Cowboy H.O.G. Chapter 4974 of the Golden Triangle came up with the idea of 500 for...
Gulf Coast homeowners are getting hammered this year when renewing their property and casualty insurance and the Bridge City school district is no different. Insurance carriers are socking it to their customers in the areas hard-hit by hurricanes and tropical storms in recent years. After watching its property insurance bill practically double from $418,000 in 2019 to $820,000 in 2022, the district’s board members held their noses and signed off on a bill of $1 million, 87 tho...
