H Published For Orange Countians By Orange Countians H
County Record TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 58 No. 38
Week of Wednesday, January 18, 2017
The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Retired state trooper joins OC Sheriff’s Office Dave Rogers
For The Record
Pardon Richard Howard if he seems a tad involved in his new job as Patrol Captain with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. “My biggest transition is learning how to do a new job,” he said four days into his first week on the job. “I’ve been in the DPS for 22 years. It’s what I’ve grown up with. “There are a lot of similarities, but there are a lot of differences. The Sheriff’s Office and the DPS have different ob-
jectives.” Howard, a native and resident of Vidor, recently retired from the Department of Public Safety, where he carHoward ried the rank of Sergeant. He was responsible for overseeing 12 officers but also active in the field. At the Sheriff’s Office he’s in charge of the 26 deputies and dispatchers in the Patrol
Division. Other responsibilities involve assisting the sheriff and chief deputy and assisting with the department budget. “Richard brings a wealth of law enforcement experience, especially in the field of patrol duties and responsibilities,” Sheriff Keith Merritt said. Howard attained a bachelor of science degree in criminal
justice from Lamar University in Beaumont and is a Master Peace Officer with over 3,300 hours of continuing education. He is also a decorated Army combat veteran. “I was in the service for 27 years,” he said. “First in active service, then the reserve. I was mobilized twice.” Howard was an infantryman whose reserve call-ups
involved serving in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea and in Iraq. “I’ve never been as cold in my life as I was in Korea, and I’ve never been as hot in my life as I was in Iraq,” he said. With the DPS, Howard began as a trooper and spent 10 years operating out of Orange. After his promotion to sergeant, he served three years at
the Capitol in Austin, four years in Huntsville, then back to Orange County for five years. “Change is always good,” Howard said. “I’ve done a lot of years in DPS, and I wanted to transition to something that’s different. “This job is very important, and that’s why I wanted to do it.”
Dr. Martin Luther King honored
Sheila Parks Faske, Orange County chair for the Republican Party, plans to attend a number of events celebrating Friday’s inauguration of Donald Trump.
Inauguration excites county’s GOP leader Dave Rogers
For The Record
Like Dorothy whisked away to Oz, Sheila Parks Faske is set to visit some legendary surroundings for Friday’s Presidential Inauguration. “There’s a 60 percent chance of rain,” Faske said of weekend forecasts for the Washington, D.C. area. “Yeah, it’s going to be cold.” But for someone who worked hard for her party’s ticket, it’s also pretty cool. Faske, the chair of the Orange County Republican County, departed early Wednesday morning for
“Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
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three event-filled days of celebrating the GOP taking back the White House in the person of Donald Trump. “It’ll be my first inauguration,” she said. “I got to thinking about it: I was our (the county’s) Texas delegate at the national convention, I worked on the campaign … shoot, this will be full circle.” Faske, who correctly predicted Trump’s lopsided victory in Orange County – he got 79 percent of the local vote compared to just 18 percent for Democrat Hillary Clinton – was in a strange predicament for last November’s general election. None of the Republican candidates drew opposition, so rather than work at boosting locals in tough races, she joined other Republicans politicos in Texas Strike Force. “We had no local election, so I went and helped in other elections,” she said. “I went to Lake Charles. Other people went to help in other states.” Her efforts did not go unrecognized. Among the first stops on her inauguration itinerary is a Wednesday night dinner with U.S. Rep Brian Babin. Thursday, she’ll be guest of the Republican Party of Texas at an inaugural brunch featuring an appearance by singer Lee Greenwood. Thursday night, she’ll be at the Black Tie and Boots inaugural ball. And, after Friday’s inauguration and parade, she has a ticket to the Freedom Ball. “It’s one of the ones Trump will be at,” she said proudly. If Faske could put on ruby slippers and click her heels for a wish, it would be for cheaper travel. “Hotel rooms were crazy expensive,” she said. But for this experience, it’s a price she happily paid.
Marchers pass the Stark Museum of Art as they walk up Green Avenue on their way to City Hall during Monday’s NAACP Martin Luther King Jr. Day March in Orange.
Dak Prescott dines with BC Cheerleaders Dave Rogers
For The Record
The Bridge City High School cheerleaders finished seventh in the state among Class 4A schools at the new UIL Spirit State Championship held at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Their dinner-time celebration included a surprise visit from Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. “They forgot they had come in seventh in the state when they saw his face,” Michelle Huff, cheerleaders coach, said. The Thursday night visit was arranged by Huff’s fellow BCHS teacher Valrie Gilbeaux, who is assistant cheerleaders coach, as a reward for the girls. Prescott is Gilbeaux’s nephew. He visited with the girls at a Frisco restaurant. About 45 miles east of Fort Worth, Frisco is home to the Cowboys’ new headquarters called “The
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott dropped by a Frisco restaurant to congratulate the Bridge City High School cheerleaders after they finished seventh in the state at the UIL Spirit State Championship last Thursday.
Star.” The squad for the Wednesday-Thursday competition consisted of 20 girls, Huff said.
Senior Maddie Thibodeaux is the head cheerleader. “She and her fellow seniors brought this team together by motivating them and pushing
them to be the best that we knew we could be,” Huff said. Other seniors on the squad are mascot Alexis Bertrand, Ashton Bonin, Kayleigh Collier, Carlee Dearing, Abby Faulk, Alyssa Fukuda, Hope Hill and Taylor Trevino. Juniors are Shania Dies, Kaylene Droddy, Mackenzie Land, Mackenzie Murdock, Jacelynn Price and Nicole Smith. Sophomores are Tori Bertrand, Taylor Fountain, Makenzie Martin and Maddie Price. Shelbi Whitaker is the lone freshman. A total of 80 Class 4A schools began the competition Wednesday, a group that included area schools Little Cypress-Mauriceville, Silsbee and Huffman Hargrave. LC-M finished 19th, Huff said. She said Texarkana Pleasant Grove was the 4A champion. PRESCOTT Page 2A
MawMaw featured in Cajun Comedy Relief Jan. 21 Staff Report
For The Record
Orange’s VFW Post 2775 plays host to Lone Star homecoming edition of Cajun Comedy Relief on Saturday, Jan. 21. The event benefits PAWS of Beaumont and Traci’s Texas Tails, pet adoption and rescue agencies. Entertainment begins at 5:30 p.m. at the hall on Highway 87 North with the music
of Bayou Sounds before the comedy begins at 7 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Jim Richard, founder of the popular fundraising event in Lafayette, Louisiana, is a native of Orange. He has been staging the show for 24 years and is bringing some of the most popular comedians from those shows.
MawMaw Thibodeaux will open. The native of Catahoula, Louisiana, was a finalist in the Last Couyon Standing comedy competition in Lafayette. Darryl Pellerin from St. Martinville, another finalist in the Last Couyon Standing and author of the Cajun Medical Dictionary, will follow. Other acts in the lineup include Steve Shaw from Thibodaux, Louisiana, and
Opelousas native Kent Gonsoulin. Shaw was voted most popular comic in New Orleans. Gonsoulin is a past winner of the Cajun Joketelling Contest. Richard began Cajun Comic Relief in 1992 as a fundraiser for the Lafayette Catholic Service Center. It has raised more than $1.2 million for non-profit organizations, including Goodwill Industries and D.R.E.A.M.
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