Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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Beaumont, TX (June 21, 2022) – There's no substitute for experience and area educators recently learned first-hand what it takes to succeed in local high-demand careers. About 60 local teachers, counselors and educators partnered with host business and industry leaders earlier this month for a hands-on approach to learning job skills designed to strengthen alignment between education and employment opportunities in Southeast Texas. The Texas Externship Initiative allowed teach...
Orange County's State Representative, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, proposed Monday that the state's highest elected officials should take "immediate, concrete action" to make Texas schools safer. The price tag: more than $170 million reallocated from other budget spending pools to pay for mental health services and school safety improvements to be in place before schools reopen in late summer. Phelan transmitted his proposal in a four-page letter to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan...
The City of Orange conducted the swearing in ceremony for John Bilbo to be the new Fire Chief on Thursday, June 9, at the Central Fire Station in Orange. Bilbo was sworn in by Judge Jim Sharon Bearden, Jr. Chief Bilbo replaces David Frenzel who retired earlier this year as the city's Fire Chief after 25 years in the position. Frenzel said it was one of the proudest days of his life to see Bilbo officially replace him as the head of the City of Orange Fire Department. Frenzel...
Joel Ardoin, Orange County's Emergency Management Coordinator, told County Commissioners Tuesday that the county had not been as dry as it is since before Hurricane Harvey hit in 1997. "We went several weeks without rain," he said, discounting a light morning shower in the Bridge City area. "We're getting close to where we need to put a burn ban into effect." Ardoin noted that as of Tuesday afternoon no county east of Houston had called for a burn ban but added a heat wave of...
Orange City Council approved spending $500,000 of hotel occupancy tax funds to renovate the first floor of the old City Hall building on Green Avenue Tuesday morning. Also, longtime Public Works Director Jim Wolf announced his retirement. "Sometimes it's time," he said. "I've been here 23 years and it's been an honor to serve the citizens of Orange." Wolf celebrated his 75th birthday last week. Historical architect Dohn LaBiche provided the numbers and a rough plan on how the...
Sales across Orange County were mixed in April with some cities seeing a slight drop in sales tax revenues for the month. The Texas Comptroller's Office announced the payments this past week. The city of Orange had the biggest overall increase in sales taxes, while Orange County also saw an increase. Bridge City had a slight drop for the month, but is still ahead for the year to date. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, the inflation rate for April was at...
The Krewe de Onyx of Orange has organized a two-day Juneteenth Festival for Saturday and Sunday at the Orange Boat Ramp off Simmons Drive. The event will have lots of live music, food, activities for children, and a community prayer service on Sunday morning. The lineup fits with the tradition of Juneteenth, which began in Galveston, 100 miles away. Smithsonian Magazine said the news of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in confederate states reached Texas...
ORANGE, TX – Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) announced this week that it has seen more than a 16% increase in summer enrollment when compared to the previous year. Summer I and Summer Full Term unduplicated enrollment was 796 in 2021 and is 925 for 2022, representing a 16.2% increase. “We are excited to see this increased Summer enrollment because it means that our class offerings, lowered tuition, and flexible schedules are resonating with students,” LSCO Provost and Execu...
AUSTIN - Today the Texas General Land Office announced its public outreach initiative to encourage Texans to be prepared and stay prepared for hurricane season, which began Wednesday, June 1 and runs through November 30, 2022. The preparedness campaign includes a video advertisement series titled, “Don’t Ignore Your Risk”, a bilingual multi-media, multi-platform campaign urging Texans to take time now to know their risk, purchase flood insurance, protect their home, safeg...
Lamar State College Orange was excited to host six "externs" from area ISDs who came to campus to learn about our Healthcare and Maritime Program offerings for dual credit students and students who are graduating high school. We appreciate these educators visiting our campus!...
Orange County is getting healthy, both physically and fiscally. That was the message left by Tuesday's County Commissioners meeting and an employee health insurance workshop that preceded it. Commissioners Court allocated $1.1 million of the $10 million FEMA check recently received to reimburse the county for Hurricane Laura expenses. Midway through the last decade, a group insurance consultant labeled Orange County the least healthy in the Tuesday, Ashley Cureton, an...
When a hurricane threatens, the senior population may experience additional peril. They face many more obstacles during an emergency than most people: isolation, limited mobility, and medical needs. Older adults can lower their risk by preparing for hurricanes and other emergencies before they happen. Make a List of People Who Can Help You may rely on a single relative as your main caregiver. But emergencies can happen at any time, and your usual caregiver may not be with...
Noon is still a half hour away on a June morning, but pickup trucks are already pulling off Old Highway 90 into the parking lot of JB's Barbecue. The drivers don't even get out after seeing the "Closed for Repairs" sign. They will have to wait another week before getting the famous juicy, tender, smoked brisket dripping with JB's unique sauce. And when the landmark barbecue restaurant opens on June 15, it will be a special day. JB's is celebrating its 50th anniversary, making...
It’s time for the Pinehurst City Council to renegotiate its deal with the people they pay to engrave the nameplates in front of the members’ seats in the council chambers. The little city within a city should get a quantity discount, having seen seemingly constant turnover at the front of the room. Three elderly mayors in a row retired early only to be replaced by another council member. The six-member council can’t seem to fill one vacancy before another seat opens up. Such...
Often wished for, rarely realized, Meri Elen Jacobs, a member of the first class of students and first four-year graduating class at West Orange-Stark High School, spent 22 years in her dream job. Now she's putting it in the rear-view mirror. "Being at West Orange-Stark, that was my dream job. Now I just want to spend as much time as I have taking care of my grandkids," Jacobs said last week. She retired from the school district at the end of May. A 1981 WOS grad, Jacobs...
The Orange Public Library received a surprise gift from Dow Chemical in time for summer reading. The company with a plant facility here gave more than three dozen new children's books to the library with diverse stories to tell history and empowerment. Library Director Brenna Manasco said the library has received grants before, but not such a large gift of new books. She said the books were chosen by Dow from the Conscious Kid site. Many are award-winning titles or come with...
ORANGE, TX – Lamar State College Orange announced today that several nursing faculty members have been promoted to oversee various nursing programs within the college. Sherri Foreman, BSN, RN, was named Vocational Nursing Program Director. Ms. Foreman has taught at LSCO for 16 years. Tammy Davis, BSN, RN, was named Basic Nursing Team Leader and LSCO DHHS Program Coordinator and has been employed at LSCO for 8 years. Finally, Jessica Montgomery, LVN, was named Medical A...
The worst kind of tragedy – the senseless murder of 19 children and two adults – touched the world last week and hit home especially hard in Texas. The events involved in the state's worst school shooting ever, a lone gunman's attack at an elementary school in Uvalde, are under close scrutiny. "Something like this was unthinkable when I was growing up," said Brian Ousley, Director of Support Services for Orangefield's school district. "Fire drills, stop, drop and roll, and...
When a possible $6 billion Chevron-Phillips Chemical ethylene plant was first introduced to Orange County headlines in January of 2019, everyone agreed it was a big deal. That single investment, it was noted by someone who knows, would be equal the rest of the county's industrial plant values all put together. In the three-plus years since, Orange County's list of "possible" investments has nearly tripled in value, to $16.5 billion with between 25,000 and 30,000 construction...
Peggy Claybar likes to give little lessons to her grandchildren and little ears were listening to the ones about community service. On their own, four of them decided they could bake cookies and lemonade to sell to help rescue dogs. Now, Annabelle, Caroline, Breelyn, and Keller will hold their Fifth Annual Lemonade Stand on Wednesday, June 1, outside the home of F. David and Peggy Claybar on Pine Avenue at Fifth Street in the Old Orange Historic District. The hours will be 9 a...
The City Council of Orange voted to promote John Bilbo to be its new Fire Chief Tuesday night. City Manager Mike Kunst called the Special Meeting to deliver his hand-picked candidate for a council vote. Bilbo, 50, had been serving as interim Fire Chief since the April retirement of David Frenzel. A 1990 graduate of Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School, Bilbo will complete his 22nd year with the Orange Fire Department in August. The U.S. Army vet worked his way up from...
The 2022 hurricane season is starting out with a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico, but the good news for a storm-weary Orange County is that the National Weather Service predicts it will affect the Florida coast, rather than Texas or Louisiana. The NWS in Lake Charles issued the news Tuesday afternoon as the season started on Wednesday. The tropical depression is from the remnants of Hurricane Agatha, which started in the Pacific Ocean and crossed the Yucatan. If the...
The Heritage Veterans Memorial Committee hosted its 18th annual Memorial Day Weekend tribute to local armed forces veterans who died in service to their country at Orange's First Church of the Nazarene Sunday evening. Those in attendance listened to a reading of the names of 16 men and women killed in action or missing in action, followed by a three-volley salute by the Southeast Texas Veterans Service Group, then saluted the American flag as a bugler played Taps. Memorial...
The City of Orange has scheduled a special meeting of City Council for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, at which it is expected to name longtime Fire Department employee John Bilbo the next Orange Fire Chief. City Manager Mike Kunst has the responsibility of bringing forth a candidate to the city council after several candidates for the job were interviewed last week. He called the special meeting, which will take place at the City Council Chambers at the Orange Public Library, 220 N....
The first round of interviews for hiring a new Orange Fire Chief are over and City Manager Mike Kunst said Tuesday he’s doing “due diligence” before recommending his choice at a future City Council meeting. But Council member David Bailey has spent time in two of the last three council meetings objecting to Kunst’s candidate search process. Bailey is upset both that Kunst has a non-Orange resident on his four-person committee and that Bailey is not on that committee. The com...
