Published For Orange Countians By Orange Countians
County Record
TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 58 No. 16
The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Week of Wednesday, August 17, 2016
County looking for new pharmacy supplier Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record
Orange County Commissioners are once again looking for a vendor to provide prescription pharmacy services for the Orange County Jail. During Tuesday’s meeting of Orange County Commissioners Court, commissioners announced they would be rescinding the recently renewed contract with Sholars Medicine Chest in Orange because the company announced it was going out of business. Sholars has provided the prescription pharmacy services for the Orange County Jail and was renewed to continue those same services this past May. “We found out less than two weeks ago that Sholars was going to close,” said David Dubose, Orange County Commissioner of Precinct 1. “It’s a sad day in Orange County
hearing that Sholars is going out of business.” According to Dubose, Sholars Medicine Chest was founded in the 1890s Dubose in Orange and has been a staple of the community under five different owners. Dubose was the fourth owner of Sholars from 1988 to 2006, prior to becoming Orange County Commissioners in 2008. Sholars Medicine Chest will close on Friday, Aug. 19. The county will use another local pharmacy temporarily to continue providing prescription pharmacy needs until another vendor can be determined. Dubose said the county will be required to start the bid-
Pinehurst proposes same tax rate for 2016-2017 Tommy Mann For The Record
Residents of Pinehurst will have the same ad valorem tax rate for the coming fiscal year. The City of Pinehurst met this past week and councilmembers have proposed an ad valorem tax rate of $0.69799 per $100 valuation for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, which is the same tax rate from the previous three years. “We are not raising the tax rate,” said Robbie Hood, city manager of Pinehurst. “Since the proposed (ad valorem) tax rate is not an increase over the previous rate, we are not required to hold the two public hearings which are required by law when an increase is proposed.” For a tax payer with a house valued at $100,000, this property owner would pay $697.99 in ad valorem property taxes. The tax rate may not have increased, but the value of the property may have, depending on the latest valuation by the Orange County Appraisal District, which would cause
“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.’ Exodus 23:9
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an increase in taxes. City councilmembers will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 13, for its annual budget. Hood According to Hood, the city is has created a budget of approximately $2.5 million for the coming fiscal year. This budget includes a pay increase for all city employees and vehicle purchases for the city. “This budget is roughly the same as last year, and it includes a 3 percent pay increase for all employees,” Hood added. “It includes the purchase of three vehicles. Two of the vehicles will be Ford F-150s at about $22,000 each, and one vehicle will be a new police cruiser.” One of the new trucks will be used for the waste water department, while the other truck will be purchased for animal control. The new police cruiser will be purchased with a matching grant, which will reduce the cost of the vehicle by 50 percent to the city. “Anytime you can purchase a new vehicle for 50 percent off, then you try to find a way to do it,” Hood said. The City of Pinehurst will be increasing rates for certain services, such as commercial container service, solid waste disposal and brush and limb removal, by 3 percent for the coming fiscal year. This is a reflection of the rate increase by Republic Services to the city, which handles waste removal. “Republic kept the same rates for us in the first year of the contract, but years two and three would have a 3 percent increase in the consumer price index,” Hood explained. In order to cover the costs of the price increase, the City of Pinehurst has adopted fees to cover the cost associated with collection and disposal of residential and commercial solid waste, as well as brush and limbs. The cost for a single family residence is $22.86 per month, but for an additional cart the cost is an additional $5.15 per
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ding process over for the prescription pharmacy services contract but no timetable was announced. “We will go out for bids just like last time, and, hopefully, we will have a good response,” he said. “Last time we had four vendors submit bids, and two of those were local and two were still in Texas but out of the area. We sure would like it
to stay local as it seems to make things easier.” In other news, as announced at the Aug. 9 meeting of Orange County Commissioners, the court will hold two public hearings in which Orange County residents can voice any concerns they might have pertaining to the proposed ad valorem tax rate. However, those meetings have changed.
The first meeting will now be at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 6, at Orange County Commissioners Courtroom, located at 123 S. Sixth St. in Orange. The second public hearing will be held at 9 a.m., Friday, Sept. 9, at the same location. The difference in time is to accommodate citizens who may have irregular schedules. The meetings were original-
ly scheduled for Sept. 20 and Sept. 23 before being changed on Tuesday. Commissioners approved a request from Tina Barrow, Orange County Elections Administrator, to hire personnel as early voting and election day judges, clerks and workers during the Nov. 8 General
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OCP unveils musical comedy for season opener Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record
Weeks of rehearsals have been fine tuned and now it is time for the debut. The Orange Community Players announced its 59th season earlier this month and the first production of the new season will open this week as OCP presents “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” Shows are scheduled for 7:37 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 18, through Saturday, Aug. 20, and Thursday, Aug. 25, through Saturday, Aug. 27. Matinees will be offered at 2:37 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 21, and Sunday, Aug. 28. General admission tickets are $20 and student tickets are $15. According to stageagent. com, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” is based on the book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music of Jimmy Roberts. It is a hilarious musical comedy which traces the overall arc of relationships throughout the course of life. Set in the modern world, it is a witty musical that tackles modern love in all its forms, from the perils and pitfalls of the first date to marriage, from having children to the twighlight years of life and is told through a series of vignettes and songs. One of the high points of this year’s OCP season is the influx of new faces, including actors, crew members and directors. One of the three new directors on tap for the OCP’s four productions for the 2016-2017 season is Barry
Beth Brooks, at left, and Shauna Temple perform the song “Single Man Drought” during a dress rehearsal of the Orange Community Players production of “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” at The Playhouse on Tuesday night. The OCP production opens at 7:37 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 18, and is the first show of the 2016-2017 OCP season. RECORD PHOTO: Tommy Mann Jr.
Foster. Foster is a member of the Orange Community Players Board of Directors and has plenty of experience assisting in OCP productions, but he got “the itch” to start directing from his involvement with dinner theater events outside of OCP. “I’ve directed some dinner theater productions previosly and I really enjoyed those events,” Foster said. “That’s why I wanted to give it a try with OCP.” Foster was the assistant di-
rector in the highly popular presentation of “Steel Magnolias” during the 2015-2016 OCP season and he produced “Bye, Bye Birdie” during the same season. Foster submitted four events earlier this year in hopes one would be selected and was pleased when “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” and “The Red Velvet Cake War” were both selected. He opted to direct the former for a simple reason. “I watched some videos
and performances of it online and I absolutely fell in love with it,” Foster added with a laugh. “It’s really funny and so true to dating and relationships. I think it is something people will enjoy and be able to relate to in some way.” Foster said the show is for mature audiences only, so patrons should be aware. “It’s definitely a ‘PG-13’ show,” Foster continued. “It has some language and situations. All of the scenes are
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New BC apartments to be available soon Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record
The construction of a new apartment complex is moving right along and is expected to open late this year. The Citrus Cove apartment complex is currently under construction along Texas Avenue in Bridge City and is more than half-way along in the completion process. The complex will feature nine individual buildings with 80 separate apartments and a clubhouse. Pioneer Property Management, Inc. is the company in charge of the managing the property, according to its official website. It manages more than 4,500 units in eight states and has 27 years experience. Pioneer Property Management, Inc. has properties in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa Mississippi, Missouri and Wisconsin, which is where the company is based. Citrus Cove is being built using tax credits and will provide for an affordable outlet for quality living for individu-
als and families. “This is a low-income housing development, but it’s not what individuals typically think of,” said Joe Marone, Vice-President of Operations with Pioneer Property Management. “It’s Section 42 housing where the income rates are set aside by legislature.” The Section 42 housing program refers to a section of the Internal Revenue Tax Code which provides tax credits to investors who build affordable housing. In return for providing affordable housing opportunities to people with fixed or low income, the investors receive a reduction in their tax liability. The main difference between a Section 42 program and a Section 8 program is that the Section 42 program is not a government-subsidized rental program. In a Section 8 program, the rent amount paid by the resident is based on 30 percent of the adjusted income with the remaining portion funded by the federal
The Citrus Cove apartment will feature nine individual buildings with 80 separate apartments and a clubhouse. RECORD PHOTOS: Mark Dunn
government. Residents who live in Section 42 housing units must be income and program eligible, which is similar to those who live in rental assistance apartments, according to Heritagesenior.com. However, a difference between the programs is that rent for a Section 42 resident is capped at a fixed amount and includes utilities which
are either paid by the property or are the residents responsibility. Income levels are determined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for each county or metropolitan statistical area. The maximum income level is based on the number of people in a household and the
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