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FISHING ORANGE COUNTY

Sports

OUTDOORS

Kaz’s Korner

Capt. Chuck Uzzle

Commentary

Capt. Dickie Colburn Page 1B

Page 1B

Hunting & Fishing

RELIGION & LOCAL CHURCH GUIDE Page 6B

Page 3B

The     Record TheRecordLive.com

Vol. 58 No. 8

Distributed FREE To The Citizens of Bridge City and Orangefield

Week of Wednesday, June 22, 2016

BC man given probation in negligent homocide Debby Schamber For The Record

Tyler Wayne Hodgkinson, 20, of Bridge City, who was involved in a fatal wreck in March 2015, accepted a plea bargain agreement and sentenced to five years probation and $1,000 fine in the 128th District Court with Judge Courtney Arkeen presiding. According to Ashley Molfino, special prosecutor in the case, five years was the maximum sentence of probation he could have received. Taken into consideration was Hodgkinson’s age and the fact he did not have any prior criminal history. The case began when around 4:45 a.m. police were called to State Highway 87 at

M.L. King Drive where a collision had occurred. When officers arrived they found 43-year-old Bret Allen Gentzler, dead at the scene in a 2011 Chevrolet Aveo. During the investigation it was determined Hodgkinson, who was driving a 2009 GMC pickup truck and his passenger were underage and intoxicated. Hodgkinson was arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter. Bond was set at $50,000 and he was later released from the Orange County Jail. Orange County District Attorney John Kimbrough requested a special prosecutor to handle the case due to extenuating circumstances. As a result, Molfino, of the Jeffer-

County revises pay matrix for some exempt employees Tommy Mann Jr.

For The Record

Orange County Commissioners are following a federal mandate to make changes to the employee pay matrix for certain exempt status employees to go into effect later this year. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Orange County Commissioners, the court unanimously approved a change to the pay matrix which is utilized by select exempt status employees. The change, which will go into effect on Dec. 1, 2016, will im-

“A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit” Psalm 51:12

H THE RECORD DIGITAL EDITION ONLINE NOW

TheRecordLive.com

pact certain Exempt level 1 (E1) and Exempt level 2 (E2) employees with Orange County. “This is a federally mandated change based on a recent update from the Department of Labor,” said Orange County Judge Brint Carlton. “It will help make sure employees aren’t being taken advantage of based on whether they are salary or hourly or to keep from paying overtime hours.” According to the United States Department of Labor website, the Department of Labor proposed an update to regulations governing which executive, administrative, and professional employees, also commonly referred to as white collar workers, are entitled to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime pay protections. The Department of Labor last updated these regulations in 2004, and the current salary threshold for exemption is $455 per week, or $23,660 per year. With this proposed rule, the Department of Labor has updated the salary level required for exemption to ensure that the FLSA’s intended overtime protections are fully implemented, and to simplify the identification of non-exempt employees, thus making the executive, administrative and professional employee exemption easier for employers and workers to understand and apply. Currently, an E1 employee in Orange County starts at $38,022.40 per year. Based on Department of Labor mandated changes, the new annual salary for an E1 would be $47,476 per year. An E2 employee starts at $43,971.20 currently, but once the new change goes into effect in De-

COUNTY Page 2A

son County District Attorney’s Office was assigned to the case. As part of the agreement, the case was reduced to the State Jail Felony of criminally negligent homicide. Hodgkin-

son will have to complete the terms of his probation such as report weekly to his probation officer, stay within Orange, Jefferson and Newton Counties, abstain from alcohol and drugs, submit to random urine

tests and he cannot go to any bars or where alcohol is served. In addition, he must have a full time job or be enrolled in a full time college program. Futhermore, he is to do 100 hours community service, partici-

pate and complete individual counseling and participate in program such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving where he will speak to peers about

PROBATION Page 2A

A ‘Honeyhouse’ Homecoming BC native returns home for music event

Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record

A love of life, music and travel has served one woman well since leaving her hometown, and this week she returns home to share those same joys with her friends and family. Mandy Todd Buchanan is a native of Bridge City, who currently resides in Lubbock, Texas. She is part of an all-female acoustic trio known as hONEyhoUSe, which is scheduled to perform at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, June 23, at Sunset Grove Country Club, 2900 W. Sunset Drive in Orange. Tickets are $15 in advance and can be purchased online at www.eventbrite. com. Tickets will also be available at the door. The trio, which is comprised of Hillary Smith, vocals; Yvonne Perea, vocals and acoustic guitar; and Buchanan on vocals, combines the talents of three very diverse and seasoned artists into one unexpected powerhouse force which performs all original music influenced by blues, soul, folk and Amer-

Bridge City-native Mandy Todd Buchanan, at center, returns home this week with her acoustic music trio, hONEyhoUSe, which also features her friends Yvonne Perea, at left, and Hillary Smith, at right. The trio will perform at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, at Sunset Grove Country Club in Orange. Tickets are $15 in advance and at the door.

icana. “I’m so thrilled,” Buchanan said in a telephone interview in advance of Thursday’s concert. “I’m excited for the girls in the group to be able to meet my friends and family back home. That’s very important to me. I’m over the

moon about this.” The trio has rarely been so close to Orange County with past performances only reaching as close as Pearland, Alvin and one showcase at the renowned Mucky Duck in Houston. “I have a lot of family and

friends who have supported hONEyhoUSe but have never seen us perform,” she continued. “But a few have been able to come to the Houstonarea to see us. Being able to bring the group back home

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Orange Depot renovators discover history Tommy Mann Jr. For The Record

Work is progressing slowly and steadily toward completion of the much anticipated Orange Depot Museum, and some interesting discoveries have been made on features not seen in years about the historic location. The Friends of the Orange Depot, the official non-profit organization responsible for the effort to turn the historic train depot into a tourist attraction, was able to tour the facility this past Friday morning to see what has been uncovered during the abatement process of the depot. Work began this spring on preparing the facility for its renovation, which included having an abatement company removing lead paint and other items from the building. Jack Elliott of Jackbuilt,

which is the general contractor of the project and is located in Orange, provided some insight on some of the features which have been discovered about the Orange Train Depot since the abatement project began. “We’ve found doorways which have been covered up over the years, and we’ve found window positions which have been changed over time too,” Elliott said of the recent work on the project. “It’s been very interesting uncovering the past of this building.” 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

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The Bridge City Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that J Scotts Aflorist has been named Business Member of the Month for June. Scott Hasty accepted the award, sponsored by Sabine River Ford, from Ambassador and Director Lucy Fields, at the June Networking Coffee hosted by CASA of the Sabine Neches Region. J Scotts Aflorist received gifts from several local merchants. J Scotts Aflorist is locally owned and operated by Scott Hasty. Pictured are Scott Hasty, owner of J Scotts Aflorist and Chamber Ambassador, Lucy Fields.


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