Dickie Colburn: Fishing See Page 4B Cooking With Katherine See Page 8A
High School Football See Page 1B
County Record The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Vol. 51 No. 23
Week of Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Commissioners work to cut spending
Nicole Gibbs
For The Record
The Orange County Commissioners have been working diligently on next year’s budget by scheduling a host of workshops to find ways to cut spending. They are trying to
cut in all ways they can without cutting benefits earned, layoffs, etc. On Monday, they discussed possible ways to cut even more. The Commissioners addressed the issue of County vehicles being driven home. “Only vehicles that we can
justify having a possibility of being called out after hours or on the weekend in emergencies [should be driven home],” Thibodeaux said. Included in those cars would be one for the Road and Bridge Department to be used by a foreman from each precinct
for the purpose of opening and closing the swing bridge when needed. Thibodeaux felt the best option would be for the foremen to be on a rotating weekly schedule. If adopted, each will be on duty for a week for after hours calls for the bridge to be opened beginning
Oct. 1. There is a concern of overtime pay and the time it would take for the foremen that has to drive the far- THIBODEAUX thest. The County is currently logging each time the bridge is open to see if would be worthwhile to hire part time bridge tender to open and close the bridge. The Commissioner also addressed an issue with the number of employees in Orange County. “We don’t want to fire anybody,” Thibodeaux said. “We have to start looking at our workforce. If we don’t, it’s go-
ing to catch up with us where we will not be able to pay the employees who have been here a substantial length of time the salary they deserve and support the benefits they’ve earned.” Thibodeaux also said that the overall workload for the County has not increased. The Judge and Commissioners stated they won’t be the ones to say if anyone needs to be let go. “The department [heads] are going to have to take a good look at their department,” Thibodeaux said. “If somebody retires, do you really need that [position filled again].” COUNTY BUSINESS PAGE 3A
Winfree legacy celebrated in ‘cattle drive’ Mark Dunn
For The Record
The 4th annual Showdown on the Sabine tunnel boat racing is scheduled for Sept. 24-25 at the Orange Public Boat Ramp on Simmons Drive. Admission and parking are free. Tunnel boat races are fun for the entire family.
Showdown on the Sabine Darla Daigle
For The Record
For the fourth year the tunnel boats will be showing their stuff on the Sabine River. “We are expecting about 60 boats and drivers to be with us this year. We will race in four classes, Formula One, Formula Light, Tri-Hulls, and J-Hydros. The J-Hydro class is for youngsters ages 8 to 12. It is a fun class to watch, but the kids are as serious as the adults,” said Darlene Zavada, of the Orange Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“The Formula One class will replace the SST class that we have had in the past. The difference is that the motors are bigger in the Formula One, some of these boats will reach 150 miles per hour.” The popular annual event will once again be held at the Orange Public Boat Ramp on Simmons Drive. Admission and parking are free. There are only a few things not allowed: no ice chests or coolers, no pets, no bicycles and no skateboards. “We ask that people be considerate of others, we want everyone to come out
and have a good time and be respectful of other’s rights. We will allow folks to set up canopies, but this year we are limiting that to the top of the levee. In the past canopies have been set up anywhere on the levees and the canopies have blocked the view of other people. This year we ask those with canopies to stay on top of the levee to make the races more enjoyable for all,” said Zavada. The area around the boat ramp always resembles a fair more than a boat race. There will be food vendors selling SHOWDOWN ON THE SABINE PAGE 3A
Frederick, LCM grad, retires Navy Mike Louviere For The Record
When John Roy Frederick Jr. graduated from LCM High School in 1991, he felt he needed direction in his life. After weighing his options and discussing the situation with his dad he decided that the U.S. Navy would be a good choice. Frederick would spend the next 20 years in the Navy leaving as a retiree. He consulted with the local recruiter and was given several choices of specialization. He was offered a rapid increase in rank if he took an offer to go into sonar training and the schooling it required. It also meant that his first enlistment period would be six years instead of the usual four. “I decided that to leave boot camp as an E4 would be worth the extra two years,” Frederick said. “I never regretted that decision.” By the spring of 1993 Frederick had been assigned to the USS Hayler and was doing anti-submarine detection. This was the duty his extra training had prepared him for. He
Chief Petty Officer John Roy Fredrick, a 1991 graduate from LCM High School, retired from the United States Navy after 20 years. Fredrick, the son of John Roy Frederick Sr., was honored with a retirement reception at the VFW 2775 Hall on Hwy 87. Rep. Mike Hamilton was in attendance and the Rev. Keith Brown served as the Master of Ceremonies. COURTESY PHOTO.
• Award Winning Hometown News
served on the Hayler for years as a Sonarman. After a year in the Middle East he reported to Ingleside, Texas to serve on the USS Chief as the Senior Enlisted Combat Systems Advisor. His next duty station was a return home to Orange, Texas as a Recruiter. By the time he left Orange he had been selected as the “Recruiter of the Year” and had been instrumental in the Orange station being selected as the “Station of the Year.” In 2002 he joined the crew of the USS Ardent and spent three months in Iraq finding and clearing mines in inland rivers so that relief vessels could enter and bring in needed humanitarian supplies. 2005 saw Frederick stationed at Lackland Air Force Base. At Lackland, Frederick’s duty was to teach American Culture to foreign military members from 110 different countries, who were there attending English Language training. His final tour of duty began FREDERICK PAGE 3A
The Winfree family legacy will be celebrated as part of the ‘Cow Bayou Cattle Drive’ to be held Satuday, Sept. 17. Similar to a “ducky derby,” 500 floating toy cows will be tossed from the SH-105 bridge crossing Cow Bayou in Orangefield and be herded by boat and cowboys on jet skis over a mile away to Cow Bayou Marina in Bridge City. Port of Orange board member, Barbara Winfree, wife of the late Lester “Buckshot” Winfree, will start the ‘cattle drive’ at high-noon by dropping the herd from the Orangefield bridge. She will journey with the drive down the bayou by boat to pluck the winning cow from the water as it crosses the finish line. The grand prize winner will receive a 40-inch television donated by the Sears Hometown Store in Orange. Prizes will be awarded for the first five places during the Bridge City Heritage Festival on Oct. 1. “We are delighted to recognize the Winfree family. They have played such a large role in our local history,” said Paige Williams, chairwoman of the event. “It’s going to fun. There are still cows available for anyone who wants to enter.” The Cow Bayou Cattle Drive will begin near what was once Winfree’s Crossing, an outpost for cattlemen driving herds to New Orleans. Abraham Winfree settled on the land in 1831 when it belonged to Mexico. He was one of the first Anglos to settle in what became Orange County. Winfree’s Crossing was along the Opelousas Trail. Cowboys driving cattle would stay there overnight, and Abraham kept a 20-acre pen for the cattle. Family history says Republic of Texas soldiers, traveling with captured Mexican Gen. Santa Ana to New Orleans after the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, stopped at Abraham’s and spent the night. Abraham was also friends with Claiborne West (the park’s namesake) who lived in the Cow Bayou settlement and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
The Winfree name is legendary in Orange County. Most notable in recent history was Lester “Buckshot” WINFREE Winfree, a cattleman, rice farmer and owner of Winfree Cattle and Rice trucking company. He served as a Port of Orange board member from the 1980’s until his death in 2010. Barbara Winfree was unanimously approved to fill her husband’s seat on the board. Barbara grew up in Bloomington, Texas, and graduated from Lamar University in 1981. She taught kindergarten at Orangefield Elementary School for 22 years and retired about 10 years ago. Barbara met Buckshot at a rodeo in Robstown, Texas. They were married 46 years. Their children are Kirk Dillard, Will Winfree, Leslie Holtkamp and Elizabeth Neely. The Cow Bayou Cattle Drive is being hosted by the Historical Museum of Bridge City, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit charitable organization COW BAYOU CATTLE PAGE 5A
Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................7A •Dicky Colburn Fishing..................4B • Kaz’s Korner Joe Kazmar...........4B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................7B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................8B