Dickie Colburn: Fishing See Page 1B
Cooking with Katherine See Page 8A
Hometown Baseball
Page 1B
County Record The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Vol. 51 No. 48
Week of Wednesday, February 29 , 2012
Orange cedes land for riverfront development David Ball
For The Record
Electric bills to fall nearly $33 Staff Report
For The Record
Customers of Entergy Texas, Inc. will be paying much less for electricity beginning March 1. The company’s recently announced fuel refund for the months of March, April and May will now combine with a dramatically lower fixed fuel factor, driving down the average 1,000 kilowatt-hour residential springtime bill to $81.28, a drop of almost $33. Even after the fuel refund ends in May, the lower fuel factor will remain in place through August, offering customers a respite from the high bills typically associated with the hot Southeast Texas summer. “The amount we pay for fuel to generate electricity is continuing to decline,” explained Joe Domino, president and chief executive officer, Entergy Texas, Inc. “This means we can pass these savings along to our customers during a time of year when electricity bills are normally on their way up.” Earlier this month, customers learned that they would share in a $67 million refund that would knock $21.70 per month off the average 1,000 kilowatthour bill during the months of March, April and May. That was before a new fixed fuel factor was decided. The factor is set twice a year and remains on bills for six months at a time. ELECTRIC SEE PAGE 2A
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Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................7A •Dicky Colburn Fishing...................1B •Outdoors Weekly Chuck Uzzle..........4B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................7B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................8B
The Orange City Council approved an offer from the Stark Foundation for riverfront development property at their regular meeting Tuesday night at Orange Fire Department Substation #3. The meeting was part of neighborhood meetings the council was sponsoring for the week. Jay Trahan, Orange Economic Development Corporation executive director, said the property is for the boardwalk and pavilion portion of the project. The land exchange is for certain land that is owned by the city and located at 806 Front Avenue. The council approved an ordinance closing the railroad crossing at Elm Avenue, Pine Avenue, Cypress Avenue, Orange Avenue, John Avenue and Church Street at the Riebeck crossing in connection with the Texas Department of Transportation Interstate 10 roadway project. The plan is to extend the Interstate 10 service roads and add two railroad crossings on the north and south sides of the interstate contingent of closing the six existing crossing in the city. A resolution calling for the closing of the railroad crossing at Elm and Cypress was approved by the city council on Jan. 25, 2011 in relation to the TxDOT project and the creation of a quiet zone in the city
of Orange. An ordinance allowing a building and fence at 65 Green Avenue was approved.
The structures will encroach into the Green Avenue right-of-way. The ordinance also allows a fence at the west
right-of-way line of Pier Road. The request is from Signal International from Dec. 13, 2005, granting Jarvis Buckley
the right to encroach into the right-of-way. SEE ORANGE PAGE 3A
Brandon Humphery dons ‘war paint’ as a Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin’ Bear during tournament baseball action at LCM. This week the Bears head to Brenham for tournament play against some of the best in Texas. See ‘Hometown Baseball’ Section B. RECORD PHOTO: Mark Dunn
PINEHURST
New businesses coming Mike Louviere For The Record
Joyce Gonsoulin, an instructor for the AARP Driver Safety Program appeared before the Pinehurst City Council with a request for the council to consider letting her use a meeting room at the city hall complex. Gonsoulin is the first instructor from Orange County for the AARP program. The driver safety program will be held at the new senior citizens center in Orange when that building is completed. Until then Gonsoulin needs a place to present her program. Councilman Dan Barclay expressed reservations about letting the group use the city hall since there is, at this time, no clear procedure for the use of the
city hall by special interest groups such as AARP. Mayor T.W. Permenter informed Gonsoulin that there are senior citizens meetings held monthly at the Salvation Army Center and that there may be a possibility of meeting there. The council took no action on Gonsoulin’s request. Grady Johnson, a 65 year resident of Pinehurst and former mayor, in addition to holding other city offices appeared before the council, gave a presentation of his concepts of the past, present and future of Pinehurst. “When I first came to Pinehurst there was no water system,” Johnson said. “We had water well with 12 people on it. When we had trouble with the well there were 12 families
without water. Now we have a modern water system that is the finest in the area. We had sewers running in open ditches; the water was nice and green. We had one city marshal that could not write tickets because he could not catch the speeders. Our only fire truck was an old one the Edgar Brown gave the city. Look at what we have now. We have a very modern city. “If you look at what is going on around 16th Street, MLK, and Highway 62, I think you will see that Pinehurst is going to be the hub of all that activity. Pinehurst is going to grow. I am proud to have lived in such a fine city for so long and am excited to see what will PINEHURST PAGE 3A
Grady Johnson, 65 year resident and former Pinehurst mayor presents his thoughts about the past, present, and future of the city. RECORD PHOTO: Mike Louviere
County to replace Anderson Orange celebrates David Ball
For The Record
The Orange County Commissioners’ Court held off hiring a new county engineer at their meeting Monday afternoon. County engineer Les Anderson died last week and the court was to begin a search to fill the vacancy. County Judge Carl Thibodeaux, however, opted to delay the action for one week so further research could be completed. Mike James of the Road & Bridge Department, meanwhile, was named as temporary county road administrator in the absence of a road
engineer. Commissioners also approved adding $5 an hour to James’ current salary during this period. Vidor resiANDERSON dent David Duncan went before the court regarding a flood damage prevention order for his residence at 830 Ashford St. Duncan said he was planning to build a shed in his backyard. His permit, however, was revoked and he discovered his property is located in the Caney Creek floodway. Additionally, 16 houses and the water treatment plant are
in the floodway. Duncan added he can’t renew his flood insurance because he’s situated in a floodway. His lien holder also requires he have flood insurance. “I don’t know where to go,” he said. Thibodeaux replied if flood insurance is refused for Duncan, FEMA will have to do it for the entire street. County attorney Douglas Manning said no-rise certification was required for the neighborhood as early as 1987. The neighborhood was platted in 1990 and none of the COUNTY BUSINESS PAGE 2A
Black History Penny Leleux
For The Record
It was a day of education Saturday, at the Orange Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Black History Month Program. It was held at the Joe Ware Plaza on W. Park Street in Orange, following a parade. The program was opened with singing of “Lift Every Voice.” “What if there were no black folk,” a children’s story told by Vinnie Mathews Hunter, was not only entertaining, but very educational to many present. According to the tale, black inventors and innovators are responsible for many everyday items we take for granted including the ironing board, combs, brushes, dust pans, BLACK HISTORY PAGE 2A