H THE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER OF BRIDGE CITY & ORANGEFIELD H
The Record TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 58 No. 99
Distributed FREE To The Citizens of Bridge City and Orangefield
Week of Wednesday, April 4, 2018
County department heads playing copy cats Dave Rogers
For The Record
The copy cats ruled the day at Tuesday’s meeting of the Orange County Commissioners’ Court. Four different county departments scored new copy machines to replace decadeold equipment. Commissioners voted 4-0 to spend a total of $26,700 for the auditor, adult probation, elections and purchasing departments to get Minolta and Sharp copiers. County Judge Stephen Brint Carlton was absent for the fourth straight week. He has been on national guard duty at the Pentagon for the past three weeks. At the March 13 commissioners’ meeting, Human Resource Director Lori Ardoin
scored a $4,400 copier and a $2,500 shredder for her department two weeks ago, the first meeting after the March 6 primary election. But last week, when four departments separately requested new copiers, Commissioner Johnny Trahan suggested that the separate requests by the Treasurer, Auditor, Purchasing and Elections offices be rolled into one for better pricing. He said Tuesday that a check had found that prices had already been discounted 20 percent. “The price wasn’t going to change,” he said. “The price was so good, we decided to move forward.” Some of the department heads had requested new copiers in their budget hearings last summer, before
Tropical Storm Harvey created all sorts of uncertainty. Some were me-too requests. Treasurer Christy Khoury asked that no action be taken on her request for a $4,439 Minolta 458 until next week. But Jayme Culbertson, director of Adult Probation, scored a $4,439 Minolta 458, as did Purchasing Director
Connie Cassidy. Auditor Pennee Schmitt got a 4-0 vote on a high-speed 65-page-a-minute Sharp copier costing $6,486 and Elections Administrator Tina Barrow was granted her request for a Minolta 654c costing $6,486. Schmitt paid for her copier out of funds from the audi-
tor’s budget while the rest came from contingency funds. Of course, copiers weren’t the big ticket items Tuesday. Commissioners OK’d Schmitt paying $812,600 in bills, including $634,800 to Ashbritt Environmental, the county’s debris contractor for Harvey.
County bosses approved $12,200 for backup batteries for critical 911 infrastructure that covers Orange, Hardin and Jefferson Counties, then another $19,600 for five years of preventive maintenance for the batteries. Also approved was a $900 computer for Justice of the Peace Rodney Price. and
Historic church roots extend 140 years in county The award winning BCHS Strutters brought home several National Champion awards during the recent International/National American Dance Championship in Denton.
Strutters bring home National Champion awards Staff Report For The Record
The Bridge City Strutters won several National Champion awards in extra small category at the International/National American Dance Championship held at UNT Coliseum in Denton, Texas recently. The Strutter Officers are National Champions with three National Champion awards in modern, novelty,
Church member Karen Colburn explains to a recent tour group the story behind the opalescent windows in the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church in Orange, built in 1912. RECORD PHOTO: Dave Rogers
Dave Rogers
For The Record
It wasn’t the first air-conditioned building in the country and it’s probably not the oldest church in town. But Orange’s First Presbyterian Church isn’t too far down either list. “We’re one of the two- or three-oldest churches in Orange,” Pastor Mike Umbenhaur said. “We have a longtime presence in this community, and in this building.” And Friday, the church is turning 140 years old. That’s a lot of candles, so it’s a good thing the A/C is back on after getting knocked out by Tropical Storm Harvey. What church members brag is the first air-conditioned building west of the Mississippi River opened at 902 West Green in 1912, some 35 years after the church was founded in 1878. That wooden structure -- a far cry from the two story granite, marble and stained glass masterpiece built by one of the wealthiest women
in the world -- was located at the corner of Market and Polk Streets, not far from the current sheriff’s department. According to a history published by the church, W.H. Vernor and R.H. Byers, representatives of the Presbytery of East Texas, arrived to start the church. The group petitioned for the new church establishment on April 6, 1878, church records say. The charter members chose Dr. M.K. McLeod as the ruling elder. D.C. Hewson, S.H. Levingston, Mrs. A. Lawrence, Mrs. J.M. Speake and Mrs. Jessie B. Latchem signed the original petition with McLeod. The original Presbyterian church building in Orange was dedicated July 1, 1883. At the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, Frances Ann Lutcher, wife of timber tycoon Henry Lutcher, was taken with three award-winning stain glass windows crafted by J&R Lambs Studio in New HISTORIC CHURCH Page 3A
and contemporary. Officers are Captain Mia Woodruff, 1st Lt. Macie Moore, Lt. Jaelyn Nichols, Lt. Carlee Weeks, and Lt. Chelse Cisneros. The Strutters team earned 1st runner-up with three National Champion awards in novelty, contemporary, and modern. They also won National Academic Champions, Gussie Nell Davis Award, and 1st runner-up in kick category.
Macie Moore won National Champion Soloist and performed in the coliseum in front of thousands of viewers. Mia Woodruff was named first runner-up soloist. Moore and Woodruff also earned runner-up in duet category. National JV Miss High Kick is Natalye Allen. National winners were awarded National Champion jackets, trophies, medals, and crowns.
The BC Strutters contest team consist of seniors Chelse Cisneros, Lyvia Ebarb, and Mia Woodruff; juniors Macie Moore, Jaelyn Nichols, and Carlee Weeks; sophomores Madison Juneau, Jaci Monceaux, and Haley Spikes; freshmen Natalye Allen, Felicity Matthews, Macy Mouton, Brenna Swanton, and Natalie Varney. Director is Cathy Riley.
Port commish candidates out for change Dave Rogers
For The Record
The Orange County Navigation and Port District has a $2 million annual budget, of which about $400,000 comes each year from taxpayers. It also has $12.1 million in the bank, with $6.7 million of that “unassigned,” and eight employees. Five port commissioners, each paid $50 and a free lunch in a historic building each month, can hire and fire and direct the Port Director, who runs the day-today operation. Gene Bouillion has been Port Director since late 1998 and most of his commissioners have changed little. In four of the last seven everyother-year elections, none of the commissioners has drawn an opponent. This year is different. “This is very unusual to have so many people running for election in my time here,” Bouillion said. Come May 5, a total of five men will seek to become or retain the job of port commissioner. Early voting be-
gins April 23 and runs through May 1. There will be no run-offs since only a plurality of votes is needed to win. At-large commissioner Jerry Hughes has retired after 12 years and three fouryear terms for which he ran unopposed. Three men are after running to fill his chair. They are: Chevron retiree Carroll Holt, 70-year-old longshoreman Walter Mullins III and Tim Schossow, a product and dock coordinator for TOTAL refinery. In Precinct 1, Keith Wallace, owner of Reliable Cleaners and a commissioner since 2006, is running for his fourth term against Travis Miller, an Orange dentist. John W. Young Jr., a 76-year-old retired farmer who has been on the board for 24 of the last 28 years, is running unopposed in Precinct 4. Precinct 3 already has a new commissioner, as Jimmy Smith moved out of the county after Hurricane Harvey. He had another two years before he was up for re-
election so board members decided to name a replacement, 37-year-old John Montagne Jr., a homebuilder with Deep South Properties. Montagne will attend his second monthly meeting next week. Besides Montagne, Barbara Winfree is the newest commissioner. She was named by other board members to replace her husband after he died in 2010. Three of the four seeking new spots on the district board want big changes. Holt, who is running for the third time after getting 37 percent of the vote against Wallace in 2010 and 38 percent against Wallace in 2014, regularly attends the second Monday of the month board meetings. He wants to move the Orange port to the Neches River. “We need to grow as a port or get out of the business,” Holt said. “All of the vessels are a lot larger than they used to be and they can’t come to Orange. “You don’t make money off barges. You make it off ship-
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ping.” Bouillion says that’s not realistic. “When I interviewed for the job, I said I felt like the Port of Orange was more of a barge port rather than a shipping port,” Bouillion said. “People are always talking that we need to dredge the Sabine River to a 40- to-45foot depth like the Neches River. It’s not cost feasible. You’re talking about billions and billions of dollars. “Not only would we have to go down 10 to 15 feet, we’d have to double the width because ships get wider as they get deeper drafts. The Neches is 400 feet wide. We’re 200 feet wide.” The Orange port has five berths being rented to companies to fleet and outfit their barges there. The tenant provide jobs and about rent payments and other dockage fees make up about $1.6 million of the port’s $2 million in annual revenue. Despite being retirement age, Mullins says he continORANGE PORT Page 3A