Dickie Colburn
Joe Kazmar
Chuck Uzzle
Sabine Lake Fishing
Sports And More
Hunting and Fishing
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Orange County FOOTBALL Is Back See Section B
County Record The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Vol. 52 No. 19
Week of Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Accused bank robber turned in by friends Debby Schamber For The Record
James Hunter Bergeron’s friend of 15 years is the person who turned him in for the Capital One bank robbery on July 27. According to a probable cause affidavit, Bergeron,22, of Sulphur, La., was behind on his pickup truck payments when he spotted the bank on 16th Street. It was close to the Interstate and he “just decided
Orange Jaycees to host Labor Day Festival
to do it.” A bank employee reported to police she was working the drive-thru at about 10:29 a.m. and when BERGERON she turned around saw Bergeron standing in line with the bank bag under his arm. She walked to the teller station and asked Bergeron if she could help
Eric Ellison plays the bagpipes during a funeral.
Debbie Schamber For The Record
Among the sounds in one Orange neighborhood are not only the sounds of lawn mowers and children playing, but also of the bagpipes being played. Eric Ellison, Capt. for the Orange Police Department, practices at his house and often outside. He said neighbors don’t complain but instead stop to listen to his unique music which fills the air for all to enjoy. Ellison, who has been a police officer for nearly 18 years, is self-taught on the bagpipes and started with a chanter in July 2009. The chanter is the melody pipe, played with two hands.
After he mastered it, he moved to the pipes in October of the same year. Hard work,dedication and endless hours of practice has lead him to where he is now. The bagpipes are composed of a nine note chanter, a bass drone and two tenor drones which are winded by the player through a valved blowpipe into a sheepskin bag. However, the bag Ellision uses is more contemporary and made of plastic. It was in the Buna Junior High School band where he first discovered his love for music and how to read sheet music. He continued through high school as part of the band. Later as an adult he would once again be in a band but this time it would be the Lonestar Pipe Band. Since 1987 the band has been making people in Southeast Texas happy with their unique sounds. They have played at many community events and various ceremonies. The music played is commonly known traditional tunes people would normally associate with bag pipes. But, they also play other instruments such as the Irish Drum, tin whistle, and the didgerido which leads to forms of Celtic music as well. During the holidays the band plays at the “Dickens on the Strand” in Galveston. More locally they can be heard at the Log-On Cafe in Beaumont, especially on St. Patrick’s day to celebrate the luck of the Irish. Ellison’s interests didn’t stop with just playing the bagELLISON PAGE 3A
ORANGE JAYCEES PAGE 3A
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Bergeron reportedly went back to where he had parked the truck and headed home. The friend told investigators he called Bergeron to see if he wanted to go fishing. But, Bergeron wanted him to come to his family’s plac of business instead. When he arrived, he told him he had something he needed to tell someone. Bergeron told his friend details which would later help him find the story on the In-
ternet such as his clothing which was a black cowboy hat, jeans and a shirt with pearl buttons. His friend would later provide investigators with Facebook pictures of Bergeron wearing the same shirt believed to have been worn during the robbery. In addition, Bergeron told the friend he spent the money to pay his truck note, buy a Ruger .380 pistol which he kept in his truck and gave some
money to his girlfriend. Another friend also identified him as the person who robbed the bank after she viewed the video of the robbery. The woman reported she had known Bergeron since he was a child, according to the affidavit. After being arrested he was extradited to Texas. Bond was set at $50,000. On Saturday he posted bond and was released from the Orange County Jail.
OPD officer has unique talent
Staff Report For The Record The Orange Jaycees will host a Labor Day Festival on Sept. 1, 2012 at the Orange Boat Ramp on Simmons Drive. The festival is a fundraiser and funds are designated to award high school students scholarship money towards furthering their education. The festivities include a kick-off pageant, barbecue cook-off and dessert contest, pooch parade, battle of the bands, talent show and vendor space. Kicking off the festivities, Aug. 25, will be a natural pageant in ‘Sunday Best’, red, white and blue outfit of choice, and optional categories: best hair, best smile, most photogenic. Early registration for both boys and girls ages birth to 19 years of age open until Aug. 10, will be $35; a late fee of $10 will be added after the Aug. 10. On Sept. 1, the festival will start off with opening ceremonies at 8:30 a.m.; following the ceremony will be a Pooch Parade at 9:00 AM. Proud pooch
him. He presented a note stating, “This is a robbery 20s and 100s there are gunmen outside that will kill us is you don’t do it” The teller attempted to take the note, but Bergeron had his finger on it and quickly took it back. The teller placed about $3,000 in the bag and he left the scene. According to police, he did not have a gun visible at the time of the robbery. Following the robbery,
Compactors could save county money Penny Leleux
For The Record
Orange County Engineer Clark Slacum’s monthly report on Road and Bridge to commissioners court brought attention the possibility of saving money by putting compactors at the landfill site. “Road and Bridge has been studying the feasibility of installing waste compactors at the solid waste collection site. Based on information sup-
plied to me by Waste Management, using compactors will allow us to increase by a ratio of three the amount of SLACUM quantity we can place in these dumpsters.” The cost of disposal of a compacted dumpster is $350, where as an uncompacted dumpster COUNTY BUSINESS PAGE 2A
First Presbyterian Church of Orange was the first air conditioned public building in the south in August 1912. RECORD PHOTO: Mark Dunn
On the 100th Anniversary of
Air Conditioning in Orange Debby Schamber For The Record
The summer heat may be sweltering but those wanting to escape the heat have been able to do so for 100 years in Orange with the first public building in the south, the First Presbyterian Church, to have the luxury in August 1912. In 1902, a year after Willis Carrier graduated from Cornell University with a masters degree in engineering, he landed a job at a printing company in New York. They paid him $10 a week. However, the company was struggling with the heat and humidity which caused the colors to run. Carrier invented a device which
made printing possible and made him a very valuable employee. The invention controlled the temperature. Carrier later went into business for himself and was contacted by Frances Ann Lutcher to install air conditioning in the First Presbyterian Church. The church was organized in April 1878 under the guidance of Dr. W.H. Vernor and Dr. R.H. Byers. The first chuch building was located at Market and Polk Streets. The current building was planned, errected and paid for by Frances Ann Lutcher. She wanted to build the church as a memorial to the Henry Jacob Lutcher family and it was named the Lutcher Memorial Church
Building. Frances Ann Lutcher took it upon herself to do all the planning and choosing of the windows herself. An architect from Kansas City, Mo., James Olver Hogg, was hired for the design. The granite is a native Texas stone and comes from Llano. However, the marble is from Italy. Construction began in 1908 and the glorious structure was completed in 1908. It was formally dedicated in January 1912. The plans for air conditioning was not without hurdles to overcome. But, when there is a will, there is a way. Church records have been AIR CONDITIONING PAGE 3A
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