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H H H H H Your Hometown Newspaper Since 1960 H H H H H

The     Record TheRecordLive.com

Vol. 53 No. 40

Distributed FREE To The Citizens of Bridge City and Orangefield

Week of Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Fields takes helm at BCCC, Jones to be honored David Ball

For The Record

Jambalya, crawfish pie, file gumbo. Son of a gun, we’ll have some fun on the bayou. The Bridge City Chamber of Commerce will host the Taste of the Bayou/annual chamber banquet, beginning at 6 p.m. on Monday, January 13 at the Orange County Convention and Expo Center, 11475 Highway 1442. Elyse Thibodeaux, chamber annual banquet chair and owner of Tiger-Rock Martial Arts International, said Bridge City City Manager Jerry Jones will be named as citizen of the year. There will also be three

BCLL Sign Up Begins Saturday Sign-ups for the 2014 Baseball/Softball season will be held on Jan. 11, 18 and 25 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., at the Bridge City Elem. Cafeteria, located at 1035 W. Roundbunch Rd. ALL Orange Co. youth are now eligible to participate! This includes the regular season and ALL-STARS! Age requirements: Boys ages 4-16 (as of April 30, 2014) and Girls ages 4-16 (as of Dec. 31, 2013) There is also a FREE Challenge League! Birth certificate and a current utility bill for proof of residency is required. *** DISCOUNT on REGISTRATION FEE IF REGISTERED ON OR BEFORE Jan. 18. *** Cost is : 1st child $110. 2nd and 3rd child $60 . 4th child or more FREE. A $20 late fee applies for 1st child and $10 each additional child if registered after Jan. 25. If you would like to manage, coach, umpire or help your child’s team at practice or games we will be processing Volunteer and Coach Applications at all registrations. All forms are available online @ www.bcll.org under downloads. Speed up processing and bring completed forms with you to registration along with a valid driver’s license. Any questions can be sent to info@ bcll.org. BCLL is also on Facebook: www.facebook. com/pages/Bridge-CityLittle-League.

H • Obituaries Page.......................6A •Dicky Colburn Fishing...................1B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................5B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................6B

Lucy Fields will become the incoming president of the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce.

businesses vying to be named as business of the year and a new chamber president named. In addition, several vendors and restaurants will be on the

Bridge City City Manger Jerry Jones will be honored as the Bridge City Chamber of Commerce ‘Citizen of the Year.’ RECORD PHOTO: Debby Schamber

Time running out for property taxes Debby Schamber For The Record

The holidays are over, now it’s back to work. Part of that reality check is it’s time to pay property taxes. Lynda Gunstream, Orange County tax assessor-collector, said said ad valorem property taxes finance everything in the county- roads, services, judicial courts, payroll, all of the taxing entities such as emergency services districts, navigation and port districts, drainage districts and school districts. Tax notices for 2013 were sent out in October. Taxes are due January 31 and they become delinquent on February 1. Once those taxes are paid, income tax notices will begin arriving on the same day. Mail-in payments must be postmarked by January 31. If that day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, it will due the next business day. The statements include the property description, the market value, taxable value, the tax due, the amount due and penalties if late. Penalties are as follows: February is a seven percent penalty March is a nine percent penalty April is an 11 percent penalty May is a 13 percent penalty June is a 15 percent penalty Those paying on an active mortgage may not receive a tax statement from the county. Gunstream said those business and/or home property taxes are paid in the mortgage note.

Payments made in person may be in the form of cash, check or credit card. The Orange and Vidor office are open GUNSTREAM from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. Payments may also be made online at www.co.orange.tx. us/taxoffice. Gunstream said online payments are increasing in popularity. There is a service fee to pay by credit card. The tax office also has drop boxes at the Orange County Administration building and at the Vidor Sub-Courthouse. Payment envelopes are on the side of the drop boxes. Taxpayers may request a receipt through the mail by enclosing a self-addressed stamp envelope. Property owners over the age of 65, or who are disabled, a disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran are eligible to make quarterly payments. Furthermore, installments payments are available for those with delinquent taxes. Gunstream said the tax office also accepts partial payments. Residents who don’t pay their ad valorem property taxes can be subject to being sued or foreclosed upon by the county. “We’d rather have people pay,” she said. “Come in and talk to us. We can get people set up on notes. The time is getting her. Don’t wait until the last minute.”

premises, catering food and refreshments for the event. Thibodeaux said Hush Puppy Seafood, Paradise Doughnuts, Peggy’s on the Bayou, Bridge City Pizza, Coca-Cola and Market Basket will feed the guests. Entertainment will be provided by the Gulf Coast Cajun Society Band, Bayou Tradition, and the Slaughter family. Dress will be business casual. The invocation will be given by Scot Shaffer. Mike King, BCISD Superintendent will emcee the festivities. There are three levels of sponsorship: silver, gold and platinum. A silver sponsorship is $500 for a table of eight and a business banner. A gold sponsorship is $1,000 for a table of 10 and two busi-

ness banners. A platinum sponsorship is $1,500 for two tables of 10 and two business banners with preferential treatment. Individually, tables for eight guests cost $150 and a table of 10 guests cost $180. Individual tickets are $15 each. Incoming president Lucy Fields said it’s a great honor to head the chamber. “I love my community. I want to give back,” she said. “I love working to make Bridge City a better place to live.” Fields is a retired school counselor who has served in several positions of leadership. She was also a member of the Bridge City city council, president of Aurora-Golden Triangle Sertoma Club, the Quota BCCC BANQUET Page 3A

Sklya Crosslin and her foster dog, Hooch, share a moment. Hooch wandered up to a house one night and was starving and extremely bloated from heartworms.

SAVING THE WORLD . . .

One dog at a time Debby Schamber For The Record

Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever. Skyla and Nicholas Crosslin have done what they could to change the their part of the world by fostering dogs in their home. They originally found a stray and contacted PAWS, Piney Woods Animal Welfare Society, on their Facebook page. Once they found out more about the program, they began fostering dogs. Skyla tends to get very attached to each of the dogs as she showers them with love and affection, but says in the end when she sees how happy they are with their new family,” it makes it all worth while.” The Crosslins have had a variety of breeds

in all sizes and ages in their home. They offer a fenced back yard and plenty of daily affection. “I just can’t stop,”Skyla Crosslin said. “I can’t be selfish and I have to follow my heart.” In the program there are currently up to fifty dogs. Each foster care provider has about six dogs. Skyla wishes she could foster more, but the funds are not available. Although PAWs primarily cares for dogs, not all foster care providers have dogs, some have cats, goats, rabbits and other animals. The animals they have collected are not always strays, but sometimes are just needing a place to live because their owner could no longer care for them. Although they strive to find an adoptive ONE DOG AT A TIME Page 3A

Vidorian convicted for murder of BC man Debby Schamber and Staff For The Record

Tanner Lynn Bourque, 34, of Vidor was sentenced Monday in the U.S. District Court for the murder of James Lee Sedtal, of Bridge City. Bourque, a/k/a “Two Shoes,” a/k/a “Hitman”, pleaded guilty on July 15, 2013, to murder in aid of racketeering and was sentenced to life in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone. The murder was committed as part of the SWS, “Solid

white inmates and Wood Soldiers” and advancement of “Separate White State” white supremacy and criminal enterprise in white separatism, the Eastern District of SWS expanded its Texas. objectives to include According to court illegal activities for documents, the SWS is profit, including trafa race-based organizaficking methamphettion operating inside amine and firearms. and outside of jails and BOURQUE SWS protects its prisons in Texas and power, territory, and elsewhere. SWS was founded during the 1990s by profits through intimidation inmates within the Texas De- and violence, including aspartment of Criminal Justice. saults, robbery, and murder. According to information Although the founders established SWS for protection of presented in court, Bourque

ordered Kenny Don Stanley, 32, to shoot and kill James Lee Sedtal, a/k/a “Lil Bit,” on Mar. 14, 2011. Bourque, Kristopher Leigh Guidry, a/k/a “Hollywood”, 29, and Vicki StarkFitts, 49, assisted in the murder, which took place in Liberty County, Texas, at StarkFitts’s residence. Bourque, Guidry, Stanley, and Sedtal were members of the SWS. The defendants murdered Sedtal on behalf of SWS, after Sedtal assaulted an Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) associate. ABT was poised to

retaliate against SWS, and Bourque, Guidry, and Stanley sought to maintain and increase their position within SWS by murdering Sedtal. From September 2010 to January 2011, SWS members manufactured “shake and bake” methamphetamine for distribution in the Orange County area of Texas. In February 2011, Bourque, Guidry and other SWS members became closely associated with Stark-Fitts, who supplied them SEDTAL MURDER Page 3A

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