Dickie Colburn: Fishing See Page 1B Cooking With Katherine See Page 8A
Columnist Kent Conwell Page 10A
County Record The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Vol. 51 No. 37
Week of Wednesday, December 21 , 2011
‘Super Tuesday’ may be held without Texas Mike Louviere For The Record
Super Tuesday will happen without Texas voters this year. Ten other states will vote in party primaries or caucuses, but not Texas. More voters go to the polls on that day than any other, due to being able to vote in the presidential primary races, but not Texas voters. The reason for Texas being out of the Super Tuesday primary election is that another redistricting map is being drawn for Texas. Some voters
may not know who to vote for and some candidates may not know where their district is at this point. At this point it is a confusing situation. One of the few things that Texas Democrat and Republicans have agreed to is that the March 6 primary races will be moved to April 3. Hopefully this will avoid confusion caused by lawsuits stemming from the redistricting plans for the U.S. Congressional Districts and the Texas Legislature. The agreement still has to be approved by a panel
WOS senior Ja’Marcus Corks is seen performing with the school choir during Christmas entertainment at various locations in Orange County.
WOS senior, Ja’Marcus Corks, overcomes obstacles Channing Doyle Special For The Record
As the dark blue curtains gracefully opened at Beaumont’s Julie Roger’s Theater, Senior Ja’Marcus Corks stands nervously waiting for the performance to begin. He has spent two months preparing and perfecting his voice just for the 2011 All Region Choir Performance. He has succeed-
Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................9A •Dicky Colburn Fishing..................1B • Kaz’s Forecast Joe Kazmar...........1B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................9B •CLASSIFIED ADS Page....................10B
ed through three rounds of eliminations and was chosen as one of the best baritones in the area. This moment is very sentimental to him. It is now his time to prove his talents to hundreds of people. As he looks across the audience gripping the rails of his walker, millions of things roam through his mind. Although this is a very special time for him, he has not always passed through life with ease. Ja’Marcus was born with cerebral palsy and was put into foster care at about two weeks old and later adopted by his foster parents at the age of five. “My biological mother was unable to care for me,” Ja’Marcus said. “I was blessed to be adopted into a loving and caring family and by two awesome parents.” Ja’Marcus first learned of his disability at the age of four after being sent to the doctor multiple times. His parents were aware of his disability but decided to let the doctors explain it to him. The doctors diagnosed him with cerebral palsy which is a non-progressive and non-contagious disability that causes complications in human development, structure, and body movement. They explained to him that he suffered a brain injury that damaged his cerebrum which controls his hand and leg motions and other various CORKS SEE PAGE 3A
of three federal judges in San Antonio. A complication to the redistricting plan has been brought forth by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear a
challenge from Hispanic voting-rights groups and the U.S. Justice department that election maps drawn by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature are racially gerry-
mandered. Texas has gained four congressional seats stemming from a growth of 4.3 million new residents since 2000. About 65 percent of that in-
crease is in the Hispanic community. Critics of the new maps contend that the new districts PRIMARY ELECTIONS PAGE 3A
OCS, Salvation Army delivers Christmas Nicole Gibbs
For The Record
Each year, The Orange Christian Services, the Salvation Army and the Bridge City-Orangefield Ministerial Alliance have worked very diligently to bring Christmas to thousands of people who might not have been to have one without their help. Food, clothes and toys have been all be generously donated from members in our community to help these organizations put a smile on some very deserving faces this Christmas. “Even though there’s been signups with the Salvation Army and Bridge City [Ministerial Alliance], there are still families that did not get to sign up,” Judy Jensen said. Lists from the Bridge City-Orangefield Ministerial Alliance and Salvation Army were shared with the Orange Christian Services to prevent any one family from getting duplicates. Every family that signs up with OCS must go through an interview process and certain documentation proving the children do live in their household must be provided. “We’re excited,” Jensen said. “We became a toy store down here.” Jensen explained that people will start lining up at their door around 7:30 a.m. on even though their doors won’t open until 9 a.m. Numbers and an instruction sheet were given when people signed Tuesday morning. Funding for holiday themed food boxes was not available to OCS this year, but they did receive a generous grant from a local refinery which allowed them to purchase a few holiday foods for the food bags. Food bags donations CHARITIES DELIVER SEE PAGE 3A
Ann, a volunteer for Orange Christian Services, sorts through clothes to help prepare for distribution. OCS donations were available for pick up Tuesday. RECORD PHOTO: Nicole Gibbs
Rugged Cross new venture in county Nicole Gibbs
For The Record
Many are still searching for that perfect gift for Christmas, but why go anywhere else to find it. One of the many wonderful qualities of living in our community is that we have many options for gifts without having to leave town. Billy Raymer provides just that. He is a local cabinet maker and fence builder but he uses the left over materials to design crosses. He uses all kinds of wood, fence pickets, barbed wire, gate operator chains, etc. He also designed crosses out of cedar logs by using only a chainsaw to carve it. The little pieces left over from the jobs he works on would pile up. Raymer would rather find something to do with the scraps than just throwing them away. “I’ve always liked tinkering with things,” he said. “I enjoy doing this and I’m surprised at how many I made in such a short amount of time. I also don’t like throwing away stuff that is good. I could take the metal to a scrap yard, but the wood would end up in a dumpster.” Raymer doesn’t change much of the shape of the wood when he makes the crosses. He cuts them and fashions them together to keep them sturdy. He’ll then either stain and lacquer the crosses or just put a lacquer coat on it to show the natu-
Billy Raymer uses the left over materials from his personal business to build custom made crosses. RECORD PHOTO: Nicole Gibbs
ral detail in the wood. “I like the wood that has character to it. I just want them to look at different,” Raymer said. “Most people want what somebody else has. I could mass produce them to look all the same, but I can custom make them as well.” He also makes coolers out of old wood he tears down from different jobs. He can
custom build each cooler to fit a particular style. He also hand makes washer boards and wood benches. “I didn’t want to be one dimensional,” Raymer said. “The more you can do, the better you are. I like doing stuff like this.” Even though Raymer has been working WOOD CRAFT SEE PAGE 3A