Sabine Lake Fishing See Section B
PLAYOFFS
LCM Bears BC Cards
Down Life’s Highway
See Section B
Roy Dunn Page 11A
County Record The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Vol. 52 No. 5
Week of Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Different kind of spirits brewing in Orange County David Ball
For The Record
S
mall is beautiful when it comes to some handcrafted alcohol producers in the county. Orange County has a burgeoning business with a small scale winery, vodka distillery and beer brewery. And though they’re small at the moment, the sky may be the limit for some. Piney Woods Wine Piney Woods Country Winery and Vineyard is the oldest producer of the three. Owner Alfred Flies, 88, began a second career with the winery 27 years ago after owning a carpet and drapery business for many years. The business lies off of Interstate 10 near Adams Bayou. He has continued to add acreage to the vineyard over the years. Things have changed for
Flies since he opened in 1985. “We ship a lot of wine on our Internet web page,” he said.
Alfred Flies inspects grape vines at Piney Woods Winery in Orange. The winery has been in business for more than 20 years and has won numerous awards for their wines.
County address gunfire near residential area David Ball
For The Record
Maybe some residents in one Orange County subdivision may feel a little safer now that the commissioners’ court passed an ordinance at their meeting Monday afternoon. The ordinance dealt with prohibiting the discharge of firearms within the Quail Trails Estates Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3, off of FM 1442. Prior to the vote, a public hearing was held on the matter. Karen Blanda lives on the back of the property in question. She spoke to the court and said she has had to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Office a couple of times about the discharge of firearms. “We have bullets skip across a 10 acre lake on our property,” she said. “My husband
Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................8A •Dicky Colburn Fishing..................1B •Outdoors Weekly Chuck Uzzle..........5B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................9B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page....................10B
“Thirty stores in the state carry our wine including Spec’s. There’s plotting the plant to
and son water ski on it and I’m concerned about them getting hit.” Precinct 2 Commissioner Owen Burton said the ordinance was a “very important” safety issue. He asked Sheriff Keith Merritt what kind of citation would people receive for discharging a firearm. If there was an ordinance they would probably receive a Class C THIBODEAUX Misdemeanor. The commissioners were also concerned if residents would be in violation for discharging a firearm if they shot at a snake or squirrel from the yards. Douglas Manning, assistant county attorney, answered cities can control firearms but counties cannot according to the Texas Local Government Code because counties do not have general police powers. Judge Carl Thibodeaux said an ordinance wouldn’t be necessary if shooters weren’t careless with firearms. Precinct 4 Commissioner Jody Crump asked Merritt how many calls about shooting the OCSO received for Quail Trails Estates. Merritt replied they received five calls over six months. All the calls related to rabbit hunters or a resident shooting from their yard. None of the violators could be located. Precinct 3 Commissioner John Dubose said law enforcement officials can use common sense when answering a call. For instance, if a resident shoots a snake in his yard. Crump rhetorically asked what can the county gain with the OCSO going out four or five times on calls there. Thibodeaux said if one perCOUNTY BUSINESS PAGE 2A
the harvest, aging and bottling. It’s a complete operation here. It’s one of the oldest win-
eries in Texas, the sixth oldest. We are pioneers in Texas wines.”
Owners Thomas Germann, left, and William Manning, pose with a bottle of Vodka at The Original Texas Legend Distillery in Orange. RECORD PHOTOS: David Ball
Flies said nature has supplied him with the grapes needed to make wine — the red and the white muscadine grape. He added no other winemakers have a complete list of wines using the muscadine as Piney Woods has done. The proof, furthermore, is in the pudding. Piney Woods has been successful with their muscadine formula, winning awards in competitions at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo including the best wine in Texas award. “We feel we’re up there in quality,” Flies said. In addition to making the wines with the muscadine grapes, the winery also makes wines using blackberries, blueberries, peaches, pecan mocha, oranges, ports and a cherry-chocolate flavor. OC SPIRITS PAGE 2A
Bridge project spans past and future David Ball
For The Record
The Cow Bayou Swing Bridge will soon be receiving a makeover. The bridge was opened in 1941 and will be totally refurbished, according to Paul Smith, a Texas Department of Transportation environmental specialist. Refurbishing the bridge will cost $2 million dollars versus spending $15 million to build a new bridge. Smith said the bridge rehabilitation project has been in the works for several years, especially since it received some damage from Hurricane Ike. He added they are in the second part of a twofold project. “Phase I has already been done, preIke in 2007. We replaced the armor joints on the south side of the bridge so it could swing freely because it was binding at the joint,” Smith said. “Phase II will rehabilitate the remainder of the structure. “After Ike came in, there was a survey of the damages completed. It will be completely refurbished. It will essentially be a brand new bridge.” Basically, Smith said the mechanics are in good condition and the bridge will open much more efficiently.
Historic preservation of the Cow Bayou Swing Bridge will begin in May 2013. RECORD PHOTO: Mark Dunn
“You’ll be able to flip a switch, the crossing arms go down, the traffic stops and the bridge swings open,” he said. Construction is scheduled to begin in May 2013 and may last a year or two. Southbound traffic on the taller bridge adjacent to the swing bridge will be converted into a two-way traffic pattern in both direction, southbound and
northbound. Portable traffic barriers will separate traffic lanes. The lanes will be narrow with no room for shoulders, though both lanes will be 11-feet wide. “It will be an inconvenience to some folks who aren’t used to this. It’s now a HISTORIC SWING BRIDGE PAGE 3A
Godwin headlines Senior Citizens’ Rally David Ball
For The Record
Each year Texas AgriLIFE hosts the Senior Citizens’ Rally Day which combines a health fair with a free meal and Bingo. This year’s event is the 43rd annual and is scheduled for May 8 and will be held at the Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) hall in Orange. “Hooked on Health” is the theme and participants are encouraged to dress accordingly in the fishing theme. The rally is a project of the extension office’s Committee on Aging overseen by Paula Tacker, the
county extension agent for Family and Consumer Sciences. A popular event, the rally brings in seniors from all over Orange County and some former citizens that have left the area. “We start the day off with Bingo and they can walk around a see the different vendors,” said Tacker. ”We have about 42 vendors and different people that are there to promote their services or their products.” “We’re gonna have a fish dinner for lunch. I know my volunteers have been waiting to have fish for a long time, so
Country music star Britt Godwin will perform during the AgriLIFE Senior Citizen Rally.
we are going to have it fried on site,” said Tacker. “I know it’s not the healthiest, but we don’t eat like that every day. “We’re going to talk about heart health.” Prizes are awarded and the Senior Citizens of the Year are recognized. “We’re going to give awards to the man and woman ‘Sr. Citizen of the Year’ for outstanding community service,” said Tacker. “We are also going to give awards to the people that traveled the farthest; who has the most grandkids and great-grandkid; SENIOR CITIZENS’ PAGE 3A