Dickie Colburn: Fishing See Page 1B
Cooking with Katherine See Page 8A
FOOTBALL SCHEDULES See Page 1B
County Record The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Vol. 51 No. 17
Week of Wednesday, August 3, 2011
New Adult Probation construction underway Taylor Wendt
For The Record
When Hurricane Ike hit, many buildings in downtown Orange suffered much damage, and some were even completely destroyed. One of those buildings was the Adult Probation Office. After about three years, a new Adult Probation office has finally received the approval to be built and is currently under construction. The original Adult Probation office was located on west Division Street in old Orange, right across the street from the Old Orange Café. When Ike struck, the probation office flooded, collecting up to four feet of water. The flooding in old Orange
damaged more than 51 percent of the Adult Probation office. Insurance companies will not repair buildings with that percentage of damage, so the old building had to be demolished. The land that the office was on had to be raised from about four and a half to five feet, which would put it above basic flood level, in order for the insurance company and FEMA to insure a new building. “It was a terrible loss, and we had to completely tear down the building and start over,” said Nancy Haworth, director of the Adult Probation office. Where the old Adult Probation office used to sit, there is now an unoccupied concrete slab. Workers in the old office had to be relocated to the
sheriff’s department on Old 1442 when the building was destroyed. The idea for a new Adult Probation office originated
shortly after Ike destroyed the previous one. After a property swap with the Heritage House in which the probation office acquired a bigger footprint of
land within their complex, the plans for a new office became finalized. With help from a hired general contractor, the construc-
tion for the Adult Probation office started about six to seven weeks ago. The predictADULT PROBABTION PAGE 2A
County battles mosquitoes Nicole Gibbs
For The Record
The Mosquito Control Department for Orange County saw a significant increase in mosquito activity in the month of July. Prior to the increase in activity, which began on July 21, they had eight calls into their
OC Retired Senior Citizens to meet Aug. 8 The Orange County Retired Senior Citizens will have their meeting on Aug. 8 at the Salvation Army Building on MLK. The meeting will start at 9:30. Please be on time as they will have guests speakers. The noon meal will be catered. Each member is to bring door prizes. Also, soap for Orange Christian Services. If more information is needed, call 409883-6161.
Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................7A •Dicky Colburn Fishing..................1B • Kaz’s Korner Joe Kazmar...........1B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................7B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................8B
The Record Digital Edition Online Now
office. The remaining 206 service request calls came later due to all the rain we’ve been experiencing. “We can’t have rain without the mosquito,” Patrick Beebe, director of the Orange County Mosquito Control department, told the commissioners’ court on Monday. The ground spray treatments covered a total of 131,328 acres throughout the county for the month of July. The aerial spray treatments covered 170,240 acres. “We did increase all of our spray treatments throughout the county,” Beebe said. “We’ve been scheduling two flights in the morning and one in the evening, as long as weather allows. We’ve been spraying three flights a day for almost two weeks now and we’ve increased the ground treatments.” Beebe assures the commissioners that his department is working the best they can to treat all of the affected areas in the county. Some areas are not as affected by the mosquitoes as others, but the entire county is having problems with them. The Mosquito Control office targets the most heavily affected areas first in order to keep the other less affected areas from getting a mass influx of mosquito activity. Beebe assured the commissioners they will continue working to decrease the mosquito population in all parts of the county that they are allowed to treat. Beebe also said his office has been working seven days a week to help the citizens of Orange County with this problem. The commissioners looked at a summary of the budget for 2011/2012 even though a budget workshop is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. The tax revenue and sales tax is estimated to be the same as last year. The only revenue that has changed is that the county is due to receive $2.5 million from FEMA, however they may receive as little as last year. The County is seeing a revenue increase of $804,525 from last year, for a total of $40,357,610. The County estimated that COUNTY BUSINESS PAGE 2A
Jason Barnes, superintendent of the new Orange County Adult Probation project, moves dirt that will be the foundation of the new building. Due to new elevation requirements by FEMA, the walls pictured in the background are the height of the foundation. The floor of the building will be just above it. Barnes said completion of the project is expected in December. RECORD PHOTO: Penny LeLeux
Burkheimer retires from ‘Community’ Community Church pastor retiring after 53 years
gan to grow rapidly. “We were just a perfect fit. Seems like we just became the place to go [to church]. The late 70s and early 80s was a time when people began to take a closer look at spiritual things, reading Christian books and looking at their lives,” said Burkheimer. He had his finger on the pulse of the Christian community, and made sure there was a solid Biblical foundation for new members. As the membership grew, so did the need for room. “For years we just grew like mad. Almost like there was nothing we could do wrong.” With growth there came new issues.
Darla Daigle
For The Record
The decision to give one’s life to serve others cannot be made lightly. It involves thinking little of one’s own desires and focuses mostly on the needs of others. For one local pastor this has been the case for over 50 years. The Rev. David Burkheimer has been the senior pastor for Community Church in Orange for 32 of those years. Under his shepherding the church has experienced tremendous growth during some of the most difficult times Orange has seen. Burkheimer recently decided to retire from the position. “It’s not really retirement,” Burkheimer explains, “it’s more like a transition. I will still be very involved and most likely in the pulpit from time to time.” He smiles, knowing that pastors cannot ever actually retire. A calling to serve is a life style. Born in Battle Creek, Mich., he graduated high school and continued to Central Bible College in Springfield, Mo. There he met his wife Melba, from Texas City. By 1958 they were both ordained ministers with the Assemblies of God, married and pastoring a church in Mission. In 1961 they held a pastorate in Comfort and Rosenberg, both in Texas. They also did two years of missions ministry in Portugal. The Burkheimers moved to Orange in 1979. “When we first moved here the church ran solid around 200 members.” Community Church originally started on Border Street with a stint on 3rd Street. When the Burkheimers arrived, the church was located on 16th Street. The church be-
Rev. David Burkheimer.
RECORD PHOTO: Darla Daigle
BURKHEIMER PAGE 2A
Funds sought for annual picnic Penny Leleux
For The Record
An annual event since 1998, the City of Pinehurst Labor Day Picnic has been enjoyed by hundreds of Orange County citizens. Hurricane Ike caused the cancelation of the picnic in 2008, but it picked right back up in 2009. This Labor Day, Sept. 5, the picnic celebrants will gather at the Family Worship Center (old Bancroft Elementary School on 41st Street). Donations are slightly down over this time last year. Pinehurst Mayor T.W. Permenter is seeking assistance from local businesses and residents. PINEHURST PICNIC PAGE 3A
Pete Runnels, left, chats with Buddy Wolford at a previous picnic. Runnels started the Labor Day Picnic in 1998 when he was Pinehurst mayor. RECORD FILE PHOTO
• Award Winning Hometown News