Dickie Colburn: Fishing See Page 1B Cooking With Katherine See Page 8A
Columnist Kent Conwell Page 5A
County Record Vol. 51 No. 40
The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Riverfront project gets the green light Jenny Morgan For The Record
Texas lawmakers consider new sexting legislation
Week of Wednesday, January 4 , 2012
After nearly a decade of planning, dissuasions and two hurricanes, the downtown riverfront development project is
a go for the city of Orange. The Orange City Council conducted a special call joint meeting Tuesday night with the Orange Economic Development Corporation to approve a base bid and also alter-
nate bids on the riverfront boardwalk and pavilion. SpawGlass of Houston was the low bidder with a base bid of $5,087,000. The OEDC Board of Directors were unanimous in their
approval vote while the Orange City Council’s vote tally was 5-2 with Councilmen Jeff Holland and Cullin Smith voting no. Smith said he didn’t agree with SpawGlass’ request for a $500,000 contingency
Central Fire Department construction making progress
Staff Report
For The Record
Child pornography laws are aimed at protecting children; by criminalizing the possession and distribution of child pornography, lawmakers aim to eliminate the harm to children when such materials are created. The penalties are steep under Texas laws, possessing images of those under the age of 18 engaging in sexual conduct is a felony. Federal convictions result in long sentences. A child pornography conviction in any court will result in lifetime sex offender registration. However, the phenomenon of teen ‘sexting’ has put legislators in a difficult position. The practice of ‘sexting’ -teens creating and sending sexually explicit text messages to one another - is on the rise. A 2008 study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy stated that 22 percent of teenage girls have electronically sent or posted nude or semi-nude images of themselves. Though such acts are forbidden under existing child pornography laws, these acts often are not prosecuted even when they are discovered. Prosecutors are hesitant to press charges for these acts, given the severe penalties of conviction for these felonies - including mandatory registration as a sex offender, potentially for life. To address this situation, Texas lawmakers have proposed new legislation that would crack down on sexting with offenses and penalties that are less severe. Under Texas Senate Bill 407, those under the age of 18 who are convicted of sending sexually explicit images of themselves or NEW SEXTING PAGE 3A
Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................7A •Dicky Colburn Fishing...................1B •Outdoors Weekly Chuck Uzzle..........2B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................7B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................8B
fund. Allco Construction of Beaumont had a base bid of $5,403,900, Daniels Building and ConCLAYBAR struction, Inc. of Beaumont came in at $5,999,000 and SeTEX Construction of Beaumont had a base bid of $6,200,000. The alternate bids approved — Alternate #1- the pavilion structure, Alternate #2- additional beds and irrigation, and Alternate #15- pavilion theatrical lighting were as followed: • Allco- Alternate #1 of $816,000, Alternate #2 of ORANGE SEE PAGE 3A
Sheriff requests seven vehicles Penny Leleux
For The Record
is no one more deserving than him to be there. In July 2010, Ray Cotton honored Peters and Dickie Richards by recognizing their contributions to rodeo at the summer rodeo at the Texas Longhorn Arena. The two old time cowboys were each given
In a special court session held Tuesday, Jan. 3 the Orange County Commissioners’ Court approved the purchase of seven Dodge Chargers for the Sheriff’s Department. “Do you need all seven of them at one time, sheriff?” asked County Commissioner Precinct 3 John Dubose. “Yes sir, to stay on our rotation,” said Orange County Sheriff Keith Merritt. Merritt said an impending price increase is also reason to purchase all the vehicles now. County Commissioner Precinct 4, Jody Crump asked if all the vehicles were for active, on-the-street law enforcement. “This is boots on the road?” he asked. The sheriff said “yes” it was for patrol and narcotics, five
RODEO LEGEND SEE PAGE 3A
ORANGE COUNTY PAGE 3A
The construction for the Central Fire Department is well underway and the Masonic Cornerstone Ceremony and Flag Dedication was held on Dec. 15. The fire department received a hurricane relief grant from the state that is paying for the entire project. “This won’t cost the tax payers anything,” Frenzel said. “A four million dollar building and it won’t raise our tax rate. When it’s built, it will be paid for.” The new building is patterned after Orange City Hall with the dark red bricks and the green roof. The building is approximately 21,000 square feet with a little over 10,000 square feet on both levels. Due to the devastation of the previous building from Hurricane Ike, all living quarters and administrative offices will be located on the second floor. All that will be down stairs will be engine bays. Should another storm like Ike hit this area, this allow the OFD to move the equipment out for the duration of the storm, bring it back in when the flood waters recede, hose the building out and begin again. RECORD PHOTO: Mark Dunn
Rodeo legend Jim Peters dies at 77 Mike Louviere
during the years when he was active record keeping was “hit or miss.” Even though he worked and competed in several hundred rodeos, the books were not kept and recorded as accurately as they are today. In spite of the fact that there was not enough paper trail to place Peters in the Hall of Fame, there
For The Record
Jim Peters, a rodeo legend with hundreds of cowboy and rodeo fans in Southeast Texas, passed away on Christmas Day. Peters was 77 years old and his obituary modestly said he was a rancher. He was much more than that. Peters was born in Jenks, Okla. and worked any type of ranch work anyone would hire him to do. He first competed in a rodeo at the age of 15 and continued in rodeo until he was 53. However, he rode his last bull at the ripe old age of 75. The occasion for that was a rodeo produced by the Cowboy Church of Jasper, Peters’ church. “I rode for a little over seven seconds, until I lost my grip and bucked off,” Peters said. “I was sore for a few days, but it was worth it.” Records in the PRCA office show that he competed from 1949 until about 1961 on either a permit or as a cardholder. Overlapping in those years were the rodeos he competed in and rodeos he worked as a clown. Peters is best known and most remembered for his years as a clown and bull rider protector. In Peters day fighting bulls the clown/bullfighter only wore baggy jeans and a shirt. There were no pads like the bullfighters of today wear. He is also remembered for working with his long time traveling companion, a small mule named Sidekick. Side-
WOS robotics team advances to state Jim Peters
kick was highly trained by Peters and also possessed a large vocabulary. Among Sidekick’s best tricks was the ability to kick a volleyball over rodeo bleachers. After Sidekick died, Peters had his head mounted and hung on the wall at his Kirbyville home. Regretfully, Sidekick was destroyed in a fire that destroyed Peters’ home. “Jim Peters was the best man I ever worked a rodeo with. He was very fast and agile and always did his best to protect a cowboy. I am proud to have had Jim as my friend,” longtime rodeo announcer Coleman Peveto said. Peters was nominated to become a member of the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2010. He was not selected, probably because the majority of his career had been in the Southeast Texas region and he was not well known in the West Texas rodeo area. Another complication was that
A three-person West Orange-Stark Elementary School team comprised of fourth and fifth grade students defeated a field of 12 other teams and took second place honors in the regional LEGO Robotics Challenge sponsored by the Texas Computer Education Association in December. Pictured are Shaelin Brown, Dax Fregia, Rionna Sparrow and their sponsor, Amy Craig.