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County Record
TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 57 No. 52
The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Week of Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Group presents options for Orange City Hall issues so.” Along with moving the garage, a new construction is part of Barras’ first option as
Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record
A group seeking to keep City Hall in downtown Orange, and possibly in its current location, presented two options to City Council on Tuesday afternoon. Leslie Barras, representing Historic Orange Preservation Empowerment (HOPE), addressed Orange City Council during the public comments section on Tuesday afternoon and presented two options she hopes council would consider to possibly keep City Hall at its current historic location or at least in downtown Orange, while maintaining the current site. “Basically, with this option, we would end up with three buildings at the current site,” Barras explained. According to Barras, the first option would be to improve the interior of the current City Hall faclity and “make it more usable.” Also part of this plan would be to
Summer Youth Cooking Camp Staff Report For The Record
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Summer youth cooking camp offers a wonderful opportunity for children to learn hands on how to prepare and cook meals, while learning kitchen skills, proper sanitation, menu development and nutrition. The kids will also participate in a food challenge on the fourth day of the camp. The day camp is open to youth ages 8-14, with a limit of 60 kids. The camp is filling up fast, so please call 882-7010 now to secure reservations for your child. The camp will be held June 13-17, 10 am-2 pm, at the Orange County Convention & Expo Center. Cost is $40 per child and covers snacks, apron and all supplies needed. Release form along with payment must be received by June 3. You are encouraged to register your children early as the class will fill quickly.
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well. “The other part of this plan would be to build a new, onestory, 2,500 square-foot office
building where the garage currently is,” Barras said. “It
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Out and About This Week In Orange
Architectural rendering of proposed option for the City of Orange.
relocate the “garage” in back of City Hall to the west side of the property to where the parking lot currently is. “The city’s plan supposedly has demolition of the garage estimated at $30,000, so I think moving the garage would be cheaper,” she said. “A
few years ago the city spent $40,000 to move a house two blocks down Eighth Street, when the new fire department was being built, so, it would have to be reworked, but it would have to be cheaper than that because this would only move a couple hundred feet or
Turnout runs high in early voting Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record
Early voting is now underway for the May 7 uniform election and turnout for the Bridge City races is off to a quick start. Early voting began Monday, April 25 and continues through this Friday, April 29. It resumes on Monday, May 2 and concludes on Tuesday, May 3, with varying hours depending on the location. The City of Bridge City and Bridge City Independent School District are sharing the Bridge City ISD Administration Building, located at 1031 W. Roundbunch Road, for early voting. Hours are 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., through Friday, April 29; and 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., Monday, May 2 and Tuesday, May 3. Election day is Saturday, May 7. The City of Bridge City has three races on the ballot this spring and voter turnout was very steady with 106 ballots
submitted on Monday and 71 ballots submitted on Tuesday for a two-day total of 177 ballots. Mayor Kirk Roccaforte and Place 2 councilman Mike Reed have reached term limits and cannot seek re-election for those respective positions. Roccaforte has filed for the Place 2 council position and is being opposed by challenger Carl Harbert. In Place 4, incumbent Eric Andrus is seeking re-election and is opposed by candidate Phillip Todora Jr., while Place 6 councilman Danny Cole is opposed by former Bridge City councilmembers, Lucy Fields and Kevin Mott, in his bid for re-election. Current Place 1 councilman David Rutledge has filed for the open position of Mayor and is unopposed. In the Bridge City Independent School District election, there were 151 ballots submit-
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Hundreds of guests attended Eco-Fest on Saturday, April 23, at Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange to enjoy a day of beautiful weather, vendors, family activities and the annual butterfly release. Approximately 1,000 Monarch and Painted Lady Butterflies, which are native to the area and are considered good pollenators, were released on Saturday. RECORD PHOTO: Tommy Mann Jr.
The clients of OCARC got a special treat this past Monday morning when Elite Redfish Series anglers Mike Frenette, Eric Rue and Michael Frenette made a special visit. The anglers, who were part of the Yellowfin Elite Redfish Series Classic Kick-Off in Orange earlier this month, are participating in a Elite Redfish Series tournament in Port Arthur this coming weekend. The anglers visited with those in attendance, as well as gave out caps, shirts and lures.
Renovation work set to begin Orange Train Depot Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record
Months of hard work and dedication have finally come to fruition as a historic structure will soon be returned to its former glory. The Friends of the Orange Depot have spent countless hours and numerous months attempting to acquire $650,000 in donations to restore historic Orange Train Depot, located in the historic district in downtown Orange at Green Avenue and 11th Street. The group held a special groundbreaking ceremony this past Saturday (April 23, 2016) to commemorate the occasion of reaching its preliminary goal of $450,000 and to signal the next phase of the
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Saturday, April 23, to commemorate the reaching of the fundraising goal, which will allow work to begin on the interior and exterior of the future Orange Depot Museum. Pictured, from left to right, are Rose Simar, Mayor Jimmy Sims, Jack Ellington, Rob Clark, Carrie Woliver, Susan Quigley, Diana Hill, Walter Riedle III and former Mayor Brown Claybar.
project. “These funds will let us begin the work on the interior, exterior and do some of the painting that we need,” said Carrie Woliver, president of the Friends of the Orange Depot. “The museum will not be outfitted yet, until we reach the rest of our fundraising goal, but we could possibly use it as event space until we get the museum going.” The purpose of the project is to convert the train depot, which was built in 1910, into a museum and educational attraction. The facility will pay tribute to railroad transportation, timber, shipbuilding and the petrochemical industries of the city which have been so vital to its growth and history. According to the official
website, the Orange Depot Museum will include exhibits about the industries of Orange and the significance of each to the area, replicas of ships and boats built in Orange, model trains and other interactive exhibits to educate local school students and guests. “Traveling by train was the main mode of transportation before automobiles and the development of roadways,” Woliver added. “That’s really how people got from town to town back then.” Work has already begun on preparing the facility for its renovation and an abatement company will be arriving in the next two weeks to begin removing lead paint and other
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• Published For Orange Countians By Orange Countians