Published For Orange Countians By Orange Countians
County Record TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 58 No. 22
The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Week of Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Anglers chase ‘kicker fish’ in tourney
Dave Rogers
For The Record
“Four chunks and a kicker.” That will be the goal of 250 or so two-man teams of fishermen competing in this weekend’s $200,000 Skeeter Bass Champs Team Championship fishing tournament based at the Orange Boat Ramp. Action begins at first light Saturday and Sunday, with the first fishermen due to weigh in their catch each day at 3 p.m. The tournament awards ceremony is set for 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Only the best of the anglers from the 20-odd tournaments put on or sanctioned by Texas-based Skeeter Bass Champs are eligible for this weekend’s event. The winning team will go
home with a $75,000 Skeeter bass boat. Second prize is a $50,000 boat. The next 38 highest finishing teams will get checks ranging from $1,000 to $6,000. “There’s not a bass tournament in the state of Texas that’s run better,” said Little Cypress resident Jonathan Simon, owner of Simon Outfitters, 2313 MacArthur Drive in Orange. “They’ll pay out about 100 percent (of entry fees) at every tournament. They have awesome sponsors.” Simon should know. He and partner Cade Durio of Lake Charles have been fishing this tour for three years. This year they rank No. 5 in points for the East Region, one of four regions for the tour. And Simon likes the fish
Clown face from the Stephen King movie “It.”
Clowns’ net threats target local schools Dave Rogers
For The Record
The first week in October seems like Orange County’s turn in the barrel as a nationwide rash of creepy clown sightings and internet threats hit home. “I’m gon kill everybody in the fruit for fun!” was among the opening salvos Sunday night from a Twitter account with the handle The Fruit City Clown and a scary redheaded Stephen King movie clown mask as an avatar. “I’ll be at West Orange tomorrow,” proclaimed another
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
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Tweet by The Fruit City Clown and that was followed by a Tweet with a schedule: “Wos Monday “LCM Tuesday “Memorial Wednesday “OZEN & CENTRAL on Thursday “West Brook FRIDAY” And then came the warning, “I got clowns out in Bmt to Port Arthur Every where” At least one Tweet had the sender’s location tagged as Orange, Texas. “This is something that seems to be growing across the nation at this time and everybody’s just taking their turn,” Little Cypress-Mauriceville superintendent Pauline Hargrove told trustees and patrons at Monday night’s monthly school board meeting. “It was at Houston last week. The authorities did determine it to be a hoax. However, we are listed in the one (threat) we were made aware of early this morning, so we are taking it seriously, following our own protocol.” Another Twitter account “BridgeCityClown” invited folks to the Walmart parking lot Monday night “for a little surprise,” but later noted, “no one showed up.” The threatening Tweets by the Fruit City Clown were deleted by late Sunday night. By Monday, the Twitter account of The Fruit City Clown was issuing apologies. “I never intended to go to schools or harm anyone. This was all just a joke please accept this apology,” said one Tweet. Another went farther in CLOWN Page 3A
he’s finding near his hometown this year. “Our river has been fishing awesome this year,” he said. “We’ve seen fish like we’ve never seen.” Heavy rain in the north Texas area has kept the salinity low in the river and its outfalls, Simon said. “That hurts the trout guys but helps the bass guys,” he
weigh a total of five fish. “I’d say you’re going to see a lot of eight- to 11-pound sacks,” the fisherman predicted. “Who gets that 14 or 15 pounds, that’ll be the key.” Teams in the tournament can run their boats as far as they can go and return in an eight-hour day, as long as they stay out of the Gulf of Mexico.
Toledo Bend, as far east as Calcasieu Lake in Louisiana, or as far west as Galveston. “These boats go 75 to 80 mph now, so you’ve got a good range,” Simon said. “If you’re fishing a long way away, you just have to catch ‘em fast and run back.” A change this year is Texas’ new 12-inch keeper limit. It used to be 14 inches.
its, you’re not going to win.” The really big bass, 4 to 5 pounds and up, are referred to by tournament fishers as “kicker fish.” The 2- to 3-pounders are “chunks.” “If you have a limit, you’ll get a check,” Simon said. “But it’s all about who gets that kicker. Four chunks and that kicker, the big one that separates you from all the rest.”
Travis Collins intoxication manslaughter case stalled “We’ll have a lot more (fiveSimon said teams Collins committed tosome state mental hospital for evaluation might venture as far north as fish) limits come in, but if
said. A two-man team is allowed to Debby Schamber For The Record
The intoxication manslaughter trial of Travis Collins, 28, who is accused of killing Riley and Emily Portie in May 2015 has met with yet another stall. As a result of the examination by Dr. Ray Coxe, Collins was committed Sept. 2nd to the North Texas State Hospital in Vernon for observation and/or treatment for a period not to exceed 120 days. The objective of the commitment is to attain competency to stand trial. However, according to the court order, if it is determined there is no chance he will be competent to stand trial he will be transported back to Orange County. The case against Collins began after he was driving a 2012 Dodge Pickup truck and according to the probable cause affidavit, “was extremely intoxicated, having consumed a large amount of
Travis Collins, 28
alcohol all day long.” Witnesses also reported Collins was “driving really bad, committing several traffic violations including running the stop sign at 10th and Park Streets.” The witness also told investigators Collins drove over the railroad tracks at a high rate of speed and jumped the tracks. Riley Portie, 54, and his wife, fifty-year-old Emily
you’re were catching 12-inch limPortie out riding their motorcycle when Collins’ pickup truck landed on top of them. They were killed at the scene. Officers at the scene noted in their report, Collins was unsteady on his feet and had the odor of what is believed to be an alcoholic beverage coming from his person. Collins was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released. He was transported to the Orange County Jail and released to jail staff where he was charged with intoxication manslaughter. Intoxication manslaughter is a second degree felony. It carries a punishment range of two to 20 years in prison. The trial was scheduled to occur in August, but it was put on hold after Collins competency to stand trial became an issue. According to court documents, Collins stated he has been mar-
ried since 2008 and dropped out of school in the ninth or tenth grade. For the past four years he has worked as a box prepper in light industry at a local refinery. He stated he also worked in the fast food industry but was fired because of conflicts with the law. He said he has always had difficulty getting jobs and his wife fills out the job applications for him. During the evaluation, the doctor noted Collins’ memory was impaired in all areas and he was unable to provide specific dates, places or names. He also did not know the year he was married. Collins also reported he experiences hallucinations such as voices in his head which occur throughout the day and night. However, he denied experiencing visual hallucinations. There was “no evidence” of delusional disorder although he does COLLINS CASE Page 3A
Orange set to annex land for truck wash Dave Rogers
For The Record
Orange city council last week held its second public hearing about and is expected to vote next week to annex land for a new commercial truck wash at Texas 62 and Interstate 10. The owners of the 5.3-acre tract at the intersection’s northwest corner want the city to extend city services to the site in exchange for tax payments. “It’s a voluntary annexation request,” explained Jay Trahan, Orange’s director of economic development. “The owner, Blue Beacon, a commercial truck wash chain
out of Salinas, Kans., is making a $2.7 million capital investment. They project 40 to 50 fulltime positions paying Trahan about $12 per hour and two to three management positions in the $60,000 per year range. “They have a location in Baytown and another in Baton Rouge. They just targeted that intersection based on traffic and accessibility.” In another recent action, city council also approved issuing $5 million in certificates
of obligation for construction, repair, replacement or improvement to city water and wastewater systems. It authorized hotel/motel occupancy tax funding of $634,000 for the fiscal year 2017. The largest recipient was the Convention and Visitors Bureau at $416,000. In descending order, the city granted $50,000 to Lutcher Theater, $30,000 each to Heritage House, Chamber of Commerce national fishing tournament, and Future Tourism Related Events. Friends of the Orange Depot received $25,000, with $15,000 set aside for Riverfront Boardwalk/Pavilion Landscape
maintenance; and $10,000 for SETAC Off-Ramp Magazine. Chamber of Commerce Mardi Gras Parade was funded with $8,000, and getting $5,000 each were Chamber of Commerce-Sabine Riverfront Festival, Chamber of Commerce-High School Fishing Tournament, Gulf Coast Annual Festival, and Orange Trade Days. The hotel/motel occupancy tax funds are raised from a 15 percent levy for each night’s hotel/motel stay in Orange. Of the total, 7 percent goes to the city, or $634,000 this year. The state claims 6 percent of the collected tax and Orange County gets 2 percent.
Police seeking person of interest in two cases Debby Schamber For The Record
Police searching for persons of interests in two cases Investigators with the Orange Police Department are searching for person of interest in the homicide case of 20-year-old Jeremiah Aaron Klinkhamer. Officers responded to a call of a disturbance at about 8 p.m. on Sept. 28 to 111 Pine. When officers arrived they discovered Klinkhamer with
a gunshot wound to his chest. Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1, David Peck, responded to the scene and has ordered an autopsy. However, according to Capt. Robert Enmon, no arrests have been made at this time although the investigation is ongoing. They are continuing to talk to people to gather information. In other police business, detectives are wanting information in the robbery of the Orange Cinema II on Bowling
Lane. According to reports, about 30 minutes after the opened Saturday afternoon the theater was robbed at gunpoint. At about 1 p.m. a man armed with a gun along with a woman walked into the theater. They took an undisclosed amount of money and fled the scene. There are no reports of injuries. The suspects are believed to be in their late teens or early 20s. The man is described as a black male and about six
feet tall. He was wearing a hat with a marijuana leaf on the front of it and the words “kush” on the back. He was also wearing a Christmas style sweater with bears on it. The couple were both wearing combat style boots. Anyone with any information on either of these cases, no matter how small or trivial they think the information many be, is asked to call the Orange Police Department at 409-883-1026.