Pennyrecord issue012016

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FISHING ORANGE COUNTY

Sports

OUTDOORS

Kaz’s Korner

Capt. Chuck Uzzle

Hunting & Fishing

Commentary

Capt. Dickie Colburn Page 1B

Evy’s Cajun Kitchen

Page 1B

Page 5A

Page 4B

The     Record TheRecordLive.com

Distributed FREE To The Citizens of Bridge City and Orangefield

Vol. 57 No. 38

Week of Wednesday, January 20, 2015

Ann Bryant: Her legacy lives on in music wonderful person. And Mrs. Bryant continued to bring the gift of music to children even after leaving education. She taught many children to play piano and appreciate music as a whole. Mrs. Bryant’s legacy will continue to be felt through the many students who passed through her doors. Tim Oroz-

Jennifer Clarke For The Record

President Gerald Ford once said, “Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them — a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement.” Many educaAnn Bryant tors work tirelessly dedicating their lives to the development of their students, but it is rare to find a public servant so ingrained in her community that her impact spans generations, and having taught her students, their children, and their grandchildren, Ann Bryant kept music alive in Bridge City. Many people in this community had Mrs. Bryant in elementary for their introduction to music education. Her com-

BCCC

needs help solving murder Staff Report For The Record

The Bridge City Chamber of Commerce is calling all Pirates to help solve their latest murder mystery at a mystery dinner to be held Feb. 6, at 6 pm, at the Bridge City Community Center. Tickets are $40 per ticket and $300 for a table of eight. For reservations or ticket information, call 735-5671 or email bcchamber@sbcglobal.net.

H

THE RECORD DIGITAL EDITION ONLINE NOW

TheRecordLive.com FisHing Orange COunty

sports

OutdOOrs

Kaz’s Korner

Capt. Chuck uzzle

evy’s Cajun Kitchen

Hunting & Fishing

Commentary

Capt. dickie Colburn Page 1B

Page 1B

Page 5B

Page 4B

The     Record TheRecordLive.com

Vol. 57 No. 31

Distributed Free To The Citizens of Bridge City and Orangefield

Week of Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Ann Bryant: Her legacy lives on in music wonderful person. And Mrs. Bryant continued to bring the gift of music to children even after leaving education. She taught many children to play piano and appreciate music as a whole. Mrs. Bryant’s legacy will continue to be felt through the many students who passed through her doors. Tim Oroz-

Jennifer Clarke For The Record

President Gerald Ford once said, “Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them — a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement.” Many educaAnn Bryant tors work tirelessly dedicating their lives to the development of their students, but it is rare to find a public servant so ingrained in her community that her impact spans generations, and having taught her students, their children, and their grandchildren, Ann Bryant kept music alive in Bridge City. Many people in this community had Mrs. Bryant in elementary for their introduction to music education. Her com-

BCCC

needs help solving murder Staff Report For The Record

The Bridge City Chamber of Commerce is calling all Pirates to help solve their latest murder mystery at a mystery dinner to be held Feb. 6, at 6 pm, at the Bridge City Community Center. Tickets are $40 per ticket and $300 for a table of eight. For reservations or ticket information, call 735-5671 or email bcchamber@sbcglobal.net.

H

THe RecoRd digiTAL ediTion onLine now

TheRecordLive.com

co of Bridge City was heavily impacted by Mrs. Bryant, and continues her legacy of music today, “As a former piano student of Ann Bryant, I can say without a doubt that she has been the foundation of making me the seasoned pianist that I am today. Her love for music education is one of no others. Looking back, I can’t fathom

her love, patience, and kindness that she has had for her students. I wasn’t particularly the student that spent all of my time practicing, but the encouragement that she patiently gave me has given me a future in music.” Orozco is not alone. McKinney suggests that Mrs.

counTy Page 3A

BCisd names Lintzen new superintendent Ann Bryant sits at her piano at Hatton Elementary in the 1960’s.

mitment as an educator did not go unnoticed. Courtney McKinney of Bridge City recalls “being in her class showed me how much fun music can be,” and Mrs. Bryant cared for the whole of her students, “she

even let me borrow a costume for Halloween from her stash in the back because I didn’t have one.” She impacted the lives of countless children who upon hearing of her passing felt real grief at the loss of such a

Filing begins for May elections Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record

The filing period for local elections in May has begun. The filing period for places on the May general elections is now open from Wednesday, Jan. 20 through Friday, Feb. 19, 2016 for several cities and school districts, along with various water districts and the port and navigation district. Early voting for the general election is from Monday, April 25 through Tuesday, May, 3. Election day will be Saturday, May 7. Some new laws are in place for this year’s general election. One of the new laws has changed the uniform election day to the first Saturday in the month of May, instead of the second Saturday. Another change pertains to voters who

wish to apply for a ballot by mail. The last day to apply for a ballot by mail will be April 26. It must be received by the Orange County Election Administrators Office on this date, not postmarked. City of Bridge City The City of Bridge City will have four positions open for filing this year, and two are guaranteed to have new representatives. Mayor Kirk Roccaforte and Place 2 councilman Mike Reed have reached their term limits and neither will be able to seek re-election, so both positions are open for filing and will have new officials this May. Also open for filing are seats in Place 4 and Place 6,

counTy Page 3A

Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record

Weeks of searching appear to be over as the Bridge City ISD Board of Trustees have announced a final candidate for superintendent. The Board of Trustees of the Bridge City Independent School District announced Todd Lintzen as its lone finalist for the district’s superintendent position following a lengthy meeting on Jan. 13. The Trustees held interviews with the final two candidates it considered for the position on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13, prior to naming Lintzen as the finalist. According to Jerry McInnis, president of the BCISD Board of Trustees, more than 30 applications were received from potential candidates but Lintzen’s experience and accomplishments proved beneficial. “He clearly stood out with his accomplishments at Blue Ridge Independent School District and he seemed to be a good fit for what we have here at Bridge City ISD,” McInnis said. “He has a history of staying at a job for a long time, and that is something we want here. He is very knowledgeable, as we noticed during the interview process, and has tons of experience. We are excited about having

Todd Lintzen was in attendance during Monday’s meeting of the Bridge City Independent School District’s Board of Trustees. Lintzen was named the lone finalist for the Bridge City ISD superintendent position on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Lintzen can sign a contract with the district following a 21day waiting period.

Mr. Lintzen here at Bridge City.” Lintzen is currently the superintendent of the Blue Ridge Independent School District, which is located in Collin County and is north of Dallas. The district has three campuses and is in the UIL’s 2A classification. Blue Ridge has a population of 822 people, according to the 2010 United States Census. He said the Bridge City ISD position appealed to him greatly for several reasons. “I have heard a lot of good things about Bridge City ISD

and that interested me,” Lintzen said. “Plus, I have family from both Louisiana and Texas, and this brings me closer to home. I have mixed feelings about leaving Blue Ridge ISD, but I’m really looking forward to being here in Bridge City. Everything I have heard about this community and this school district has impressed me. I’m excited to be here.” Lintzen, who has been the superintendent at Blue Ridge ISD since 2008, began his career in education more than 28 years ago with a parish school district in Louisiana. He started his career as an English teacher, while coaching football and baseball as well. He went into administration in 1996 when he became a principal. He continued his rise in administration over the years with positions as Middle School Supervisor, Director of Instruction and Assistant Superintendent. He retired from the Louisiana school system before being named Superintendent of Blue Ridge ISD in Texas in 2008. Lintzen has served as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern State University, Louisiana Tech University and at Louisiana State University-Shreveport through the years as well.

County establishs policy for bill payments Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record

Commissioners approved a new policy on Tuesday which will hopefully prevent any future problems with bill payments on the rare chance a meeting is not held. Orange County Commissioners unanimously approved a new policy Tuesday afternoon, which will continue until Sept. 30, 2016, the end of the current fiscal year, to help make sure certain county bills are paid when a situation arises and a meeting of Commissioners Court cannot be held. On Dec. 29, 2015, the last meeting of the calendar year for Orange County Commissioners, the meeting was canceled because a quorum was not in attendance. Two com-

missioners were out of town and one commissioner was ill, thereby canceling the meeting and prohibiting the court Carlton from approving the payment of bills, one of which included the county’s fuel bill. A special workshop session was held on Tuesday morning, where Orange County Judge Brint Carlton presented options on how this issue could resolved should it ever occur again. “Basically, what we did today was pass an order to pay bills in the event Commissioners Court doesn’t meet for some

reason,” Carlton said following Tuesday’s meeting. “It has nothing to do with our budget or funding. It’s just because we didn’t have a quorum to meet on December 29th, so the bill was already late by the time we approved it.” An issue which complicated the matter was the fact the bill was sent to the old billing address of the fuel company instead of the new address, which changed in late 2015. “That was no fault of the staff,” Carlton said. “We haven’t been using the return mail envelopes which are sent with the bill. Instead, we used a different envelope and sent it to the old address that we’ve always used.” Christy Khoury, Orange County Treasurer, asked the Court if it could request all en-

velopes remain with the bills, which eventually find their way to her office for payment, in order to help avoid such a dilemma in the future and to help reduce costs to the county by utilizing the supplied payment envelopes. Douglas E. Manning, county attorney, stated implementing such a policy guaranteeing the payment of select bills would be a good idea. “This is something we should consider for a couple of reasons,” Manning said. “This is just preparing for an occurrence that happens very rarely, where it maybe comes into play a couple of times every few years.” The new policy will not be utilized for all Orange County expenses, but it will include utilities, Internet, phones and

cell phones, fuel charges and credit cards, many of which are used by Orange County Sheriff’s Office employees when making long distance business trips and prisoner transportation. “There’s not always a Shell station, where we are going,” said Orange County Sheriff Keith Merritt. “So, that is when we have to use our credit cards.” Carlton stated any claims, which are paid outside of a Commissioners Court meeting, would be reviewed and ratified at a following meeting. Manning advised Commissioners Court to review and implement these orders each budget year to potentially prevent any further problems.

co of Bridge City was heavily impacted by Mrs. Bryant, and continues her legacy of music today, “As a former piano student of Ann Bryant, I can say without a doubt that she has been the foundation of making me the seasoned pianist that I am today. Her love for music education is one of no others. Looking back, I can’t fathom

her love, patience, and kindness that she has had for her students. I wasn’t particularly the student that spent all of my time practicing, but the encouragement that she patiently gave me has given me a future in music.” Orozco is not alone. McKinney suggests that Mrs.

ANN BRYANT Page 3A

BCISD names Lintzen new superintendent Ann Bryant sits at her piano at Hatton Elementary in the 1960’s.

mitment as an educator did not go unnoticed. Courtney McKinney of Bridge City recalls “being in her class showed me how much fun music can be,” and Mrs. Bryant cared for the whole of her students, “she

even let me borrow a costume for Halloween from her stash in the back because I didn’t have one.” She impacted the lives of countless children who upon hearing of her passing felt real grief at the loss of such a

Filing begins for May elections Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record

The filing period for local elections in May has begun. The filing period for places on the May general elections is now open from Wednesday, Jan. 20 through Friday, Feb. 19, 2016 for several cities and school districts, along with various water districts and the port and navigation district. Early voting for the general election is from Monday, April 25 through Tuesday, May, 3. Election day will be Saturday, May 7. Some new laws are in place for this year’s general election. One of the new laws has changed the uniform election day to the first Saturday in the month of May, instead of the second Saturday. Another change pertains to voters who

wish to apply for a ballot by mail. The last day to apply for a ballot by mail will be April 26. It must be received by the Orange County Election Administrators Office on this date, not postmarked. City of Bridge City The City of Bridge City will have four positions open for filing this year, and two are guaranteed to have new representatives. Mayor Kirk Roccaforte and Place 2 councilman Mike Reed have reached their term limits and neither will be able to seek re-election, so both positions are open for filing and will have new officials this May. Also open for filing are seats in Place 4 and Place 6,

MAY ELECTIONS Page 3A

Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record

Weeks of searching appear to be over as the Bridge City ISD Board of Trustees have announced a final candidate for superintendent. The Board of Trustees of the Bridge City Independent School District announced Todd Lintzen as its lone finalist for the district’s superintendent position following a lengthy meeting on Jan. 13. The Trustees held interviews with the final two candidates it considered for the position on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13, prior to naming Lintzen as the finalist. According to Jerry McInnis, president of the BCISD Board of Trustees, more than 30 applications were received from potential candidates but Lintzen’s experience and accomplishments proved beneficial. “He clearly stood out with his accomplishments at Blue Ridge Independent School District and he seemed to be a good fit for what we have here at Bridge City ISD,” McInnis said. “He has a history of staying at a job for a long time, and that is something we want here. He is very knowledgeable, as we noticed during the interview process, and has tons of experience. We are excited about having

Todd Lintzen was in attendance during Monday’s meeting of the Bridge City Independent School District’s Board of Trustees. Lintzen was named the lone finalist for the Bridge City ISD superintendent position on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Lintzen can sign a contract with the district following a 21day waiting period.

Mr. Lintzen here at Bridge City.” Lintzen is currently the superintendent of the Blue Ridge Independent School District, which is located in Collin County and is north of Dallas. The district has three campuses and is in the UIL’s 2A classification. Blue Ridge has a population of 822 people, according to the 2010 United States Census. He said the Bridge City ISD position appealed to him greatly for several reasons. “I have heard a lot of good things about Bridge City ISD

and that interested me,” Lintzen said. “Plus, I have family from both Louisiana and Texas, and this brings me closer to home. I have mixed feelings about leaving Blue Ridge ISD, but I’m really looking forward to being here in Bridge City. Everything I have heard about this community and this school district has impressed me. I’m excited to be here.” Lintzen, who has been the superintendent at Blue Ridge ISD since 2008, began his career in education more than 28 years ago with a parish school district in Louisiana. He started his career as an English teacher, while coaching football and baseball as well. He went into administration in 1996 when he became a principal. He continued his rise in administration over the years with positions as Middle School Supervisor, Director of Instruction and Assistant Superintendent. He retired from the Louisiana school system before being named Superintendent of Blue Ridge ISD in Texas in 2008. Lintzen has served as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern State University, Louisiana Tech University and at Louisiana State University-Shreveport through the years as well.

County establishs policy for bill payments Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record

Commissioners approved a new policy on Tuesday which will hopefully prevent any future problems with bill payments on the rare chance a meeting is not held. Orange County Commissioners unanimously approved a new policy Tuesday afternoon, which will continue until Sept. 30, 2016, the end of the current fiscal year, to help make sure certain county bills are paid when a situation arises and a meeting of Commissioners Court cannot be held. On Dec. 29, 2015, the last meeting of the calendar year for Orange County Commissioners, the meeting was canceled because a quorum was not in attendance. Two com-

missioners were out of town and one commissioner was ill, thereby canceling the meeting and prohibiting the court Carlton from approving the payment of bills, one of which included the county’s fuel bill. A special workshop session was held on Tuesday morning, where Orange County Judge Brint Carlton presented options on how this issue could resolved should it ever occur again. “Basically, what we did today was pass an order to pay bills in the event Commissioners Court doesn’t meet for some

reason,” Carlton said following Tuesday’s meeting. “It has nothing to do with our budget or funding. It’s just because we didn’t have a quorum to meet on December 29th, so the bill was already late by the time we approved it.” An issue which complicated the matter was the fact the bill was sent to the old billing address of the fuel company instead of the new address, which changed in late 2015. “That was no fault of the staff,” Carlton said. “We haven’t been using the return mail envelopes which are sent with the bill. Instead, we used a different envelope and sent it to the old address that we’ve always used.” Christy Khoury, Orange County Treasurer, asked the Court if it could request all en-

velopes remain with the bills, which eventually find their way to her office for payment, in order to help avoid such a dilemma in the future and to help reduce costs to the county by utilizing the supplied payment envelopes. Douglas E. Manning, county attorney, stated implementing such a policy guaranteeing the payment of select bills would be a good idea. “This is something we should consider for a couple of reasons,” Manning said. “This is just preparing for an occurrence that happens very rarely, where it maybe comes into play a couple of times every few years.” The new policy will not be utilized for all Orange County expenses, but it will include utilities, Internet, phones and

cell phones, fuel charges and credit cards, many of which are used by Orange County Sheriff’s Office employees when making long distance business trips and prisoner transportation. “There’s not always a Shell station, where we are going,” said Orange County Sheriff Keith Merritt. “So, that is when we have to use our credit cards.” Carlton stated any claims, which are paid outside of a Commissioners Court meeting, would be reviewed and ratified at a following meeting. Manning advised Commissioners Court to review and implement these orders each budget year to potentially prevent any further problems.


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