County Record Vol. 56 No. 50
The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Week of Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Pinehurst names Hood as new city administrator David Ball
For The Record
Out of 23 original applicants the city of Pinehurst chose who would become their next city administrator at a special meeting on April 7. Robbie Hood, originally from Nederland and currently city manager of Linden in northeast Texas, was unanimously selected for the job over former City Councilman Matthew Chandler. Current city administrator Joe Parkhurst announced his retirement last month after serving for four years at the post. Hood’s annual salary will be
Barbecue benefit planned Saturday There will be a benefit for Dawn Wright Hollingsworth Saturday, April 11, beginning at 11:00 am until, at VFW Post 4759, in Starks, La. Dinners will be served beginning at 11:00 am and will consist of BBQ chicken quarters, hot link, beans, potato salad, roll and a sweet cake. Plates are $7 each and can be purchased at the benefit or reserved by calling 337-324-0006. All reserved plates must be paid in advance before March 27. There will also be a raffle, auction and musical entertainment during the benefit. Raffles will start at 3:30 pm. Joe’s Metal Scrapping will also add to the benefit by donating a portion of their intake to expenses. For more information on donating scrap metal to the benefit, please contact Joseph Henry at 882-8094.
Pet photo contest to be held Orange Trade Days and Jacq Finley Photography will hold a Pet Photo contest April 17-18, from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm, at 200 E. Turret, Orange. For more information, call 8834344.
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$66,668 with all inclusive benefits. He will give the city of Linder his 30 day notice. The council interviewed and Hood deliberated for an hour and ten minutes before announcing their decision. Mayor Pete Runnels said a committee of four tasked with finding a new administrator narrowed the list from 23, to six, to the final two candidates before the decision was announced. “Both of them are extremely qualified,” he said. Parkhurst agreed with Runnels that both men are really good applicants.
“They (the committee) narrowed them down to six. Two were at the top. They will do us a good job,” he said. Councilman Dan Mohon was hoping there would be one outstanding candidate over the others. Instead, they had two outstanding candidates. “With the process one candidate will be disappointed,” Mohon said. Runnels added the city is “so fortunate” to have as many applicants as they did. “There’s no doubt the final two are extremely qualified. It’s too bad we can’t have two city administrators. Hood started his career in the U.S. Army. From there he was hired by the city of Stephenville to work in the water and sewer department and later in community development
and customer service. He next worked for the city of Liberty as the neighborhood services director before becoming the city manager of Linden two years ago. He has
16 years experience in municipal government and added being a city manager is his dream job. Hood also serves as the executive director of the Linden Economic Development Cor-
poration. Hood has family in south and mid Jefferson County. “I’m ready to come home,” he
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OC welcomes new extension agent David Ball
For The Record
There’s a new Orange County Extension Agent for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office to fill in for the vacancy that was created when Dr. Roy Stanford departed. Ashlee Krebs was named to the position at the regular meeting of the Orange County Commissioners Court on April 6. She will start on May 11 and be paid $30,373 a year with a travel allowance as budgeted, according to Dr. Dale A. Fritz, district extension administrator. Krebs earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Services and Development with a minor in Animal Sci-
ence from Tarleton State University. She also attended McNeese State University. While at McNeese and Tarleton State, she was active in rodeo team, livestock judging, collegiate FFA and Equestrian Club. She is currently working on an online Masters Degree in Animal Science from Sul Ross State University. Currently, Krebs serves as an agricultural science teacher with Kountze ISD. In this role, she instructs courses in horticulture science, animal science, food technology, principles of agriculture, personnel skills and introduction to education and career prep. She also supervises animal
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CASA hosted a Candlelight Vigil for the 151 deaths due to child abuse in Texas in 2014; two were from Orange County. The vigil was held on the night of April 6 at the Orange County Courthouse. Attendees released 151 hot air lanterns into the night sky to commemorate the victims and to raise awareness in child abuse prevention. Residents are also asked to wear something blue on Fridays to raise awareness. RECORD PHOTO: David Ball
151 Points Of Light David Ball
For The Record
Ashelee Krebs was named as the new Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agent for Orange County on Monday. She will fill the vacancy left by Dr. Roy Stanford when he departed. Krebs has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricutlural Services and Devlopment with a mionro in Animal Science from Tarleton State University. She also attended McNeese State University. She is currently working on an online Masters Degree in Animal Science from Sul Ross University. RECORD PHOTO: David Ball
Mitzi Conn, principal of Little Cypress Junior High; Stacey Nichols, counselor at Little Cypress Elementary; Heather Ferguson, a teacher at Little Cypress-Mauricevile High School; Patti Steele, assistant principal at Little Cypress Elementary and Kayla Casey, principal of Little Cypress Elementary, said they attended the Candlelight Vigil on the night of April 6 at the Orange County Courthouse to raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention Month in Orange Coun-
ty not only as educators, but for their own reasons as well. Conn said she works with students who are affected by domestic abuse. She wants students to be aware of abuse is occurring and to be sensitive to those who are experiencing it. She added that the students of today will one day be parents themselves and they will later be the ones to care for victims of abuse. Others said friends and families have adopted children through either Child Protective Services or through Court Appointed Special Advocates and it has
been a wonderful experience for them. They also recognize as educators they are the first line of defense in recognizing and preventing child abuse. Casey said her administrative team at her school were present at the event to support children in Orange County. David Dunn, retired district court judge spoke first at the vigil. He said he has been working for 43 years in the prevention of child abuse. He said 151 children died
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OC offers plenty for outdoor adventures Mike Louviere For The Record
Orange and Orange County may not have an abundance of nightlife and five star restaurants, but the area is rich in outdoor recreational facilities for families. There are nine city parks in the city limits of Orange, including Simmons Field. Simmons Field has been in use since the 1950s at the same location on Simmons Drive and Elm Street. The playing field is
fenced, with a chain link backstop and two sets of bleachers. The most historic park in Orange is Levingston Park on Moss Street. It was the original homestead of Samuel Levingston, who started the Levingston Shipyard. The park is located on the west end of Moss Street, Levingston’s shipyard was on the east end at the river. There is a historical marker that gives a brief biography of Levingston and his ship building enterprise. The park is a
large well maintained grassy expanse with playground equipment and two picnic tables. Brownwood Park, Navy Park, Norwood Park, Ridgemont Park, Solomon Johnson Park, and Sunset Park are all similar in layout with playground equipment and some picnic tables and grills in some locations. Solomon Johnson is slated to have the two tennis courts converted to basketball courts.
Navy Park is on the list to have a splash park installed in the near future. Splash parks are becoming popular with children who just want to get wet and play in water and are not too concerned about swimming. Splash parks are coming into wide use because cities are finding them more economical to maintain and operate and also safer than traditional swimming pools. Northway Park on Meeks Drive is a wooded park with
picnic facilities, playground equipment, rest rooms, and a hard packed dirt walking/running track that meanders through the shaded park. Paying homage to its location in the LCM school district is the large brown bear slide for the kids. Located on Western Avenue next to the West Orange City Hall is City Park. The park is a very well maintained and land-
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