Kree-m always rises to the top Debby Schamber For The Record
Southeast Texas native, Kree Harrison, 22, has kept her word and is definitely “in it to win it” with only two contestants remaining on the 12th season of the popular TV show American Idol. Kree Harrison of Southeast Texas has made it to the top two performers remaining on the television program American Idol.
Harrison was in the top three when Angie Miller, 19, of Beverly, Mass. was eliminated because of having the fewest votes. Now, Harrison will compete with Candace Glover, 23, of St. Helena Island, S.C. for the top prize of a recording contract. With her upcoming birthday next week, a win would certainly be a gift that keeps on giving. “Kree is very excited,” said Beverly Mire, Kree’s grandmother, about the fi-
nals. Harrison who lived in Woodville as a young girl, had becoming a star on her mind from the start. Harrison began performing at an early age when she was three years old. As a young girl, she performed at the Jasper Lion’s Club rodeo and area ball parks singing the National Anthem. She also attended Bridge City schools before making her way to Nash-
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Vol. 53 No. 08
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Week of Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Thibodeaux attends Gulf Coast levee study Penny Leleux For The Record
County Judge Carl Thibodeaux reported to commissioners this week about a meeting he attended in Galveston with the Corp of Engineers. The two and a half hours meeting concerned the Gulf Coast Levee study to protect the area from future hurricanes. “It was a very productive, interesting and positive meeting,” said Thibodeaux. “They have started a three-year, $3
Orangefield Bobcat Wall of Honor The Orangefield Athletic Department is developing a “Wall of Honor” for those athletes who have either been named All-State or have gone on to play at the next level. Much of the Orangefield Bobcat memorabilia was lost in a fire in the early 1990’s. An effort is being made to rebuild the collection. The Orangefield Athletic Department is asking for the community’s help to rebuild this “Wall of Honor” that will celebrate the accomplishments of their athletes, past and present. For any questions, please call the field house at 735-4504 or email jsmalley@esc5.net.
H • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page...................... 4A • Obituaries Page.......................8A •Dicky Colburn Fishing.......Section B • CHURCH NEWS Page.......................7B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................8B
million study on the hurricane protection system for the Gulf Coast that runs from Brazoria County THIBODEAUX all the way to Orange County. They are going to do a feasibility study where the various apparatus will be located.” Thibodeaux said the study will list the different types of systems to be implemented including possible gates at the Houston Ship Channel. “The most positive thing to come out of the meeting was they were very pleased with our product for the protection of Orange County.” Orange County has already spent half a million dollars on a study to protect the county with a possible levee system. “We presented it again to them in a Power Point presentation,” said Thibodeaux. “They were very thankful that we had already done this as a county. We are the only county that has any study of that nature, available to be picked up and looked at by anybody.” He said A&M is working on an “Ike Dike” study, but it is nowhere near completion and will be several years before results will be released. “Our study will be incorporated into the Corp of Engineers study,” said Thibodeaux. “The three year clock started this past Jan. 1. They’re hoping at the end of three years they will have public hearings to offer a presentation to citizens in the six county areas.” Thibodeaux will keep commissioners up to date on any new developments. In other items, the county received $431,203.06 in sales tax revenues for the month of March, which is a continuing trend upward over recent years. County Tax-Assessor Collector Lynda Gunstream reported that 94.89 percent of property taxes for 2012 have been collected. This past month $2,605,363.84 was collected of which $402,451.57 is the county’s portion of the revenue. She also reported that litigation with Weingarten’s properties over property located in Vidor was settled with over $1 million in loss, but the counties actual loss was only $9,675.14 for years 2010-2012. Patrick Beebe reported calls to mosquito control service for April only totaled four due to the unseasonably colder
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For the majority of our area students summer is almost here and school has all but taken a backseat to everything else. The much anticipated free days of summer are now upon us and it’s this time of the year that is tailor made for taking a youngster fishing. Above: Chad Dallas knows what summer fishing in local waterways is all about. See Capt. Chuck Uzzle’s fishing column on Page 3B for more.
Child indecency case goes to trial Debby Schamber For The Record
Trial testimony began Tuesday in the trial of Eric Jarrod Williams in the 128th District Court. Williams is facing third degree felony charges of indecency with a child from an alleged incident on or about June 2008. The victim was 13 years old at the time the crime was reported to have occurred. The jury will decide guilt and the punishment will be determined by Judge Courtney Arkeen. If convicted he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000. The mother of the victim, Toni Harding, was the first to take the stand. She testified she noticed her son’’s behavior had changed and he began having problems at school and was getting into fights. Harding stated her son later told her of the alleged incidents to which she took him to the Orange Police Department to give a statement. Harding broke down and sobbed when she told jurors her family felt forced to move from the area after the news of the allegations “got out.” The family fled for their safety. The victim also took the stand. He is now 18 years old. At times he also broke down and cried. However, he began his testimony by telling jurors how he met the defendant. He recalled meeting Williams at his aunt’s house. Later, the same day, the
defendant reportedly asked the victim and two other teens to join him across the street in his vehicle. The victim WILLIAMS said Williams showed the boys pornography from a laptop computer. They all agreed to be paid for per-
forming sexual acts on themselves while Williams also performed sexual acts on himself. At first, the victim said he was embarrassed, but when the others participated, he decided to join in. After they were done, they went back into the house, “like nothing happened.” Incidents such as this continued, but for the most part
the victim participated in the acts alone with Williams and was paid “most” of the time. The alleged incidents stopped when Williams reportedly wanted to take the actions a step further, according to court testimony. However, the victim stated
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Orange woman turns 104 Penny Leleux For The Record
Born May 17, 1909, Inez Turner has seen a few things in her lifetime though she doesn’t remember them all. “My memory isn’t good and I can’t hear,” she said. “I’ve got hearing aids, but they don’t seem to do much good.” Other than that, her mind is clear and she is in good health. Friday, Turner turns 104. “If I make it,” she said, smiling. “You never can tell. I’m hoping, but you never know.” Her son is throwing her a birthday party Saturday at Optimist Village, where she lives. “I just wanted to go eat somewhere,” said Turner. She didn’t want him to go to any fuss, but he insisted he wanted a party where she could visit with her friends. “He wanted to do something
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Inez Yurner of Orange turns 104 on Friday. RECORD PHOTO: Penny Leleux
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