KAZ’S KORNER
Outdoors HUNTING & FISHING
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Capt. Chuck Uzzle Page 2 Section B
Page 3 Section B
ORANGE COUNTY
RELIGION & LOCAL CHURCH GUIDE
FISHING Capt. Dickie Colburn Page 1 Section B
Page 6B
The Record TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 60 No. 42
Distributed FREE To The Citizens of Bridge City and Orangefield
Week of Wednesday, March 25, 2020
OC’s Ardoin eyes drive-through testing DAVE ROGERS For The Record
The first public drivethrough COVID-19 testing center in Southeast Texas opened Tuesday morning on the circle drive in front of the Jerry Ware Terminal at the Jack Brooks Regional Airport on U.S. 69/96 in Nederland. Orange County could be next in line to host its own testing center in the near future, Emergency Management Coordinator Joel Ardoin said. Regional health officials said the test is free, but not freely available. Because of the scarcity of the testing kits and personal protection equipment, regional residents will not be
admitted to a public testing center until after they have been prescreened by telephone and been given Ardoin and appointment and a unique code number. If someone thinks they might have been exposed to COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms (fever, dry cough, shortness of breath) they can call the hotline at 409-550-2536 to be evaluated for testing. “This is a plan we’ve been working on for a couple of days,” Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel told a group of nine media members Monday as the emer-
gency management teams from Hardin, Jefferson, Orange, Jasper and Newton Counties previewed Tuesday’s rollout. Those five counties have established the Southeast Texas Regional Emergency Operations Center at the Jefferson County Courthouse in downtown Beaumont. “This will serve the region very well,” McDaniel said. “But you must be prescreened by nurses, because
we have precious few test kits.” As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, there were nine confirmed COVID-19 cases in the five-county area including Orange, Jefferson, Hardin, Newton and Jasper counties. Three new cases were confirmed Monday, but no new cases were confirmed Tuesday. Six of the cases are in Beaumont, one in Lumberton, one in Silsbee and one of those confirmed lives in the
Mauriceville area of Orange County. A total of 648 people had contacted the call center by 3 p.m. Tuesday. Of those, 107 were referred for testing. A total of 14 people were tested at the drive-through site Tuesday. The test took an average of 5 minutes per patient. McDaniel was joined by a number of elected officials, including Orange County Judge John Gothia, at the air-
port presentation for the media late Monday afternoon. Earlier Monday, Ardoin explained to Orange County commissioners how the hotline will handle a caller. “The call center is staffed with nurses,” Ardoin said. “It was set up to keep hospitals from getting overrun, because of the shortage of test kits. “Callers will be triaged Drive Through Page 5A
BCCC awards Bridge City senior March ‘Student of the Month’
BCISD trustee participates in Leadership Program STAFF REPORT For The Record
(Austin) –Mark Anderson, trustee from Bridge City ISD joined 35 other school board members from across Texas February 20-22 at the third session of the Leadership TASB class of 2020. Selected by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), the group is participating in a yearlong education leadership study program. These trustees represent school districts of all sizes, with student populations of 161 to 189,681, and reflect a similar range of property wealth. Participants who complete all required elements of the study will graduate next year by earning Master Trustee status. This is the highest
designation recognized by TASB. Meeting in Austin for the session themed “Where Leadership HapAnderson pens through Working Outside the Line,” the trustees began with a visit to O’Henry Middle School. The Austin ISD campus fully embraced the concept of social emotional learning (SEL) and integrated it into its entire curriculum. To add further understanding of SEL, trustees heard from Keeth Matheny, nationally recognized SEL speaker and advocate. Amy Lynch was the second featured speaker for the AusMARK ANDERSON Page 5A
The Bridge City Chamber of Commerce has announced that the March Student of the Month for Bridge City High School is Brianna Taylor. Brianna is the daughter of Claude and Lorrie Taylor. She is ranked #3 of 165 with a GPA 4.61. When asked about her future plans, Brianna said she plans to attend Lamar University and pursue a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. Brianna was presented her certificate and gift bag by our Bridge City Chamber President, Candace Mulhollan. Upon receiving her award she was surrounded and celebrated by her parents, grandmother, President Candace Mulhollan, Bridge City Counselor Nikki Harris and Principal Tim Wooley.
Bridge City lunch ladies connect students, schools DAVE ROGERS For The Record
The COVID-19 pandemic means public schools around the country are reaching their students’ minds by new means. But there is one longstanding connection that hasn’t been broken. Lunch ladies. They are still serving up school meals in Orange County. The delivery methods are a bit different, though. Students at Bridge City, Orangefield and West Orange-Cove schools are picking up their free lunch meals and Grab-and-Go breakfasts in drive-through styles at district campuses. At Little Cypress-Mauriceville, school buses are delivering the meals to student’s homes.
A Bridge City parent carries student meals back to her car after picking up the Grab and Go meals at Bridge City High School Tuesday morning.
“Our food department members went through health screening and temperature checks prior to preparing to launch the drivethru distribution,” Bridge City ISD announced on its Facebook page Tuesday, the first day of its Grab and Go program. “Be sure to thank these amazing workers for their countless hours of preparation and coming out of their homes to take care of our student needs. These behind the scenes heroes deserve all the credit!” The free meal program is run by the Texas Department of Agriculture and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow the schools to provide meals during an unanticipated school closure due to the coronavirus closure.
It’s open to all students under the age of 18 – and those older than 18 in public or non-profit school programs established for the mentally or physically disabled. The only requirement is that the student must be present in the car to receive a meal. In Bridge City, meals are available from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Bridge City Elementary School and Bridge City High School. Cafeteria workers work two at a time outside. They wear aprons, gloves and masks for safety. Parents and students driving up to the BCISD sites are asked by cafeteria workers how many students they are picking up for and workers look in the car windows to see the students. DRIVE-BY LUNCH Page 5A
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