Dickie Colburn
Joe Kazmar
Chuck Uzzle
Sabine Lake Fishing
Sports And More
Fishing and Hunting
Page 6B
Page 4B
FOOTBALL
LCM Battlin’ Bears and the WOS Mighty Mustangs See Section B
Page 7B
County Record The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Vol. 52 No. 24
Week of Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Mentally disabled man sentenced to five years Debby Schamber For The Record
An Orange man received five years in prison Friday on charges of aggravated sexual assault before Judge Buddie Hahn in the 260th District Court. He could have faced up to 99 years for the first degree felony. Johnathan Taylor, 20, was
LCM teacher faces charges Debby Schamber For The Record
A Little Cypress-Mauriceville Junior High School teacher is under investigation for charges of an improper relationship between educator and student. Concerned friends of the 17-year-old girl approached their Little-Cypress-Mauriceville High school coach about the issue involving the girl. The coach in turn forwarded the information to the high school principal. As a result, on Sept. 4, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the State Board of Educator Certification were contacted and an investigation was launched. Investigators obtained information from school district officials and students and are looking into the alleged incident. The alleged victim is believed to have played on a softball team coached by LCM TEACHER PAGE 3A
H • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................8A •Dicky Colburn Fishing..................6B •Outdoors Weekly Chuck Uzzle..........7B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................9A • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................9B
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found guilty August 4 of assaulting a 7-year-old boy in November 2011. Taylor, who was 19 at the time of the TAYLOR assault, along with a 12-year-old boy and the 7-year-old boy went to an abandoned house. During testimony, the 12-year-old boy told jurors he had witnessed the sexual assault. He said he then grabbed the younger boy’s wrist and pulled him away after he “hit” Taylor in the face. Friday, in a rare moment, in the hallway following sentenc-
ing, Taylor stopped and apologized to the victim’s mother. Then she hugged him as he stood there in handcuffs and shackles. She told Taylor he had destroyed her family. She also said she forgave him, but could not forget what he had done to her son. The victim’s mother, during the victim impact statement had told the judge she did not wish ill will of Taylor but thought he should still be punished for his actions. There are specialized prisons in Texas which can accommodate Taylor, who is mentally disabled and suffers from Cerebral Palsy, which causes him to shake uncontrollably.
Sheriff Merritt seeks pay raise
Debby Schamber For The Record
Orange County Sheriff Keith Merritt was expecting a raise this year, but since the pay of elected officials has been frozen by county commissioners — it won’t be happening. To make matters worse, Merritt said as of October 1, the chief deputy, Clint Hodgkinson, will be making a considerable amount more than himself. The chief deputy’s and other personnel raises are due to an agreement made as part of a four year contract between the county and the union. “The chief deputy is well worth the money, but am I not worth it ?” Merritt asks.”It just hurts they chose to do that.” Merritt said his job as sheriff comes with a large responsibility as he manages the biggest budget in the county. He is also responsible for 147 employees and about 200 inmates. Although, he said he didn’t expect anything special,
just what he feels is owed to him. To avoid any problems, Merritt said he began talking to county comMERRITT missioners in May about the upcoming budget. He also said during last year’s budget he was not included when other elected officials were given raises. “I was told they were going to look at it and make it right,” Merritt said. John Dubose, Pct. 3 county commissioner, regrets not being able to give Merritt his raise as they had intended. He said it was unfortunate Merritt was left out of the raise process, but it was not brought to their attention before the budget was adopted. Once the budget is adopted, it must be strictly followed. “An error was made and this is not the year to fix it,” Dubose said. ‘This is one of the SHERIFF SEEKS PAGE 3A
OC man gets two life sentences Debby Schamber For The Record
A 33-year-old Vidor man was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences on charges of sexual assault. According to a probable cause affidavit, Steven Paul Works voluntarily went to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in May 2011 to meet with detectives to address the sexual assault allegations against him. Works confessed and in a written statement indicated he had indeed sexually assaulted a 14-year-old family member. Works was indicted in June 2011 and bond was set at $350,000. He was charged with three counts of sexual assault. In March, he was sentenced by Judge Dennis Pow-
ell, in the 163rd District Court, to 10 years in prison on two of the charges to be served concurrently. On the third WORKS charge he received 10 years probation. He was also ordered by the judge to not contact the victim in any way. However, he called her on the phone from the jail and prison more than 270 times. As a result of his non-compliance, Works was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. He will have to serve a minimum of 30 years before he is first eligible for parole. If parole is approved, then he will begin his second life sentence of 30 years.
Sweet Toro captured the hearts of her owners for many years. The champion race horse won many races and produced four foals while enduring incredible odds.
Heart of a champion Debby Schamber For The Record
For some people it’s the thunder of their hooves as they pound the ground beneath in a race to the finish line all in an exhilarating matter of seconds. But, for three Orange teachers it was their love of horses when they decided to pool their money together and buy a race horse. After doing their homework with intense studying in an effort to learn everything about quarter horses, they set off to the Texas Quarter Horse yearling sale in 1991. With catalogues in hand, they arrived early to see the yearlings and were prepared for their adventures to come. One magnificent bay filly who was “spunky and light on her feet” caught their eye. “At an auction you don’t want to look too interested in a horse or it could drive up the selling price,” said Shirley Marshall, retired teacher and race horse owner. “So we played it cool.” The trainer they had found was alerted to
their choice and double checks were made to confirm they were making a wise investment. During the auction, many horses are brought into the arena at one time. Then one by one each is presented and the auctioneer begins his chant until the horse is sold. The ladies anxiously awaited their chosen horse to appear. Finally, Sweet Toro pranced into the arena. She was very alert and turned her ears and head to every sound. Her dark mane was braided and had burgundy and gray pompoms tied onto her bridle. Marshall still has the pompoms to always remember her beloved Sweet Toro. Finally, the moment had arrived and the bidding began. After several bids the auctioneer loudly says, “sold!” The ladies were then the proud owner of a race horse. According to Marshall, this is not the name they would have chosen, but they did what they set out to do which was acquire a “fine” horse. Sweet Toro would prove to be an HEART OF A CHAMPION
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‘Gift of Life’ promotes ovarian cancer awareness Penny LeLeux For The Record
Regina Rogers and Norma Simpson of the Julie Rogers “Gift of Life” program were making their rounds and stopped by commissioners’ court for a proclamation recognizing September as “National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month” and” October as “National Breast Can-
cer Awareness Month.” They were joined by Orange County breast cancer survivor and “Gift of Life” volunteer, Beverly Perry. Oct. 1 is recognized as Julie Rogers “Gift of Life” Day. The Gift of Life has several upcoming events planned including “Lace Up and Save Lives” with Richard Simmons, celebrity guest and internationally recognized fitness ex-
pert. The second annual Julie Richardson Proctor 5K ribbon run/walk presented by Casa Ole’ and HEB is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29 in downtown Beaumont. Registration is $35, students (21 and under) $10. Lunch and activities are included. Registration is at 7 a.m. Welcome and warm up with Richard GIFT OF LIFE PAGE 2A
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