Dickie Colburn
Joe Kazmar
Chuck Uzzle
Sabine Lake Fishing
Sports And More
Hunting and Fishing
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KING DUNN
Good times, hard times from the past See Page 9A
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H H H H H YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1960 H H H H H
The Record TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 52 No. 17 Week of Wednesday, July 25, 2012
The Penny Record of Bridge City and Orangefield • Founded 1960
Schamber named ‘The Record’ editor Penny Leleux
For The Record
Dunk a trooper for a good cause Debby Schamber For The Record
For those who have ever got a citation from a Department of Public Safety trooper, a chance to get even for a good cause is now here. A trooper will be sitting inside a dunking booth from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Snappy’s convenience store located at the intersections of Highways 62 and 87. In addition, there will be a car wash. All of this is an effort to raise money for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving walk on September 22 at Lumberton High School. This is the second year to participate for Cpl. Bryan Cooper, DPS trooper. The team had seven members the first time and this year the number has grown to more than 20 people. Cooper said the main reason he wants to help MADD raise money because he feels they are better equipped to deal with the injuries and death associated with drunk driving. One particular case that sticks in Cooper’s mind is the deaths of Katie, 11, and Cristen Grubbs, 12, of Nederland who were killed in November 2010. According to reports, they were travSEE DUNK PAGE 2A
Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................7A •Dicky Colburn Fishing...................1B •Outdoors Weekly Chuck Uzzle..........2B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................7B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................8B
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DIgital Edition Of The Penny Record Online Now.
The Record Newspaper welcomes Debby Schamber to the staff as editor. Schamber was raised in Kansas. She studied elementary and special education at Pittsburg State University and taught fourth grade briefly, in Kansas, but she didn’t like it. “I have lived in Texas since 1983,” said Schamber. “I have four children. Jason, now 26, Jessica, was 21 when she died, Joshua 19 and Jordan 16. I just celebrated one year of marriage to Curtis Herrington on July 16. “ Her first newspaper job was at the Mid County Chronicle in Nederland. “It was a temporary job while the editor was out on maternity leave. The story which got me the job was about a bluebonnet garden in the shape Texas.” “As that job was ending I saw an ad in the paper for a full time position at a local daily. When I called I was told it wasn’t available.” Schamber told the editor she would call him every Tuesday until he had her job ready. “Within four weeks he called and told me to bring my portfolio. I was hired and worked there for nearly five years.” During that time she earned awards such as Star Reporter of the Year for the Associated Press, Print Media Journalist of the Year for the State of Texas, and numerous awards from the Southeast Texas Press Clubs for photos, breaking news, features and columns. “I prefer to write stories
about crimes because of my need to help people,” said Schamber. “The victims need to have a voice. It is beSCHAMBER cause of this need that I write stories on cold cases, aggravated sexual
assaults, murders and things that can be devastating events for all involved,” she said. “One story in particular that makes me feel happy to be a journalist is the case of a missing teen. Her body was left in a field many years ago to be found by the property owner. “I needed a story one day and asked an Orange County
Sheriff’s Office investigator for some help. He gave me information on the case”. As a result, a person with the Doe Network (a Web site that lists missing person cases) saw the story online and called the sheriff’s office because they felt they knew the identity of the girl from the description in Schamber’s article.
BCCC names ‘Business of the Month’
Eventually, with DNA tests, the body of the girl was identified and returned to her family. The out-of-state investigators would then work on getting the suspect charged with the crime. “I am very happy to be working at the Record. I work with a great bunch of people who care about their jobs and work to put out a great newspaper we can be proud of. “I still get excited to see my name in print by a story. It gives me a sense of satisfaction.”
Ammie’s honored as Business of the Month From Staff Reports For The Record
Bridge City Chamber Member Jerry McInnis presented Ammie Uzzle with Ammie’s Monograms with the Business of the Month award for July. Also pictured is Ammie’s husband, Charles Uzzle.
The Bridge City Chamber of Commerce announced that Ammie’s Monograms and Designs was honored as the July Business of the Month at their monthly networking coffee held on Tuesday, July 10 at MCT Credit Union located at 4837 Hwy 87 in Bridge City. The Chamber welcomed Ammie’s into its membership after Hurricane Ike. Ammie’s Monograms initially began in the home of Ammie and Charles Uzzle in 1997 with one machine, no customers and lots of dreams. Their business grew slowly through the years SEE AMMIE’S PAGE 3A
Johannson to celebrate 90th Penny Leleux
For The Record
There is going to be a party Sunday at First Baptist Church in Bridge City. “A big party,” says Edward Johansson, “At the Welcome Center at the church.” Johansson turns 90 on July 29. He had raised his family in what used to be a rice field in Bridge City since 1953, but that’s the middle of the story. He was born and raised in New Orleans. Johansson said his dad died when Ed was 5. His mother went to sea to provide for the family by becoming a Merchant Marine as a stewardess on a passenger ship. His sister ran the household until she died in childbirth at the age of 21. Johansson was 13 at the time and has been on his own ever since. One day while swimming he saw a P.T. boat and thought that’s what he wanted to do, get assigned to a P.T. boat. Johansson and four of his friends went to the recruiting center to join the Coast Guard. Out of the five, Johansson was the only one that was accepted. “Uncle Sam sent me to Sabine during the war and I met my wife of 60 years,” he said. “I met her at the skating rink in Port Arthur. She was a Port
Johansson spent 39 months in the Coast Guard during World War II.
Ed Johansson moved to Bridge City in 1953 to raise his family with wife Llewellyn.
Arthur girl.” He said when her father met him, he told her, “You’re not going to marry a Yankee.” He mistook Johansson’s Louisiana accent for that of someone from the north. “I went with her every liberty I had,” he said. They got married when Johansson felt his time at Sabine was over and they were going to send him overseas in the war. “That way, if something happened to me, she’d have the insurance policy.” He was sent to Baltimore, Md., for diving school and ship repair. He already had paperwork assigning him to a gunnery crew and was going
to be shipped out, but the war ended. He spent 39 months in the Coast Guard. “I never saw a PT boat.” Even though he didn’t get overseas, his mother got action in the war. The ship she was on was torpedoed by a German submarine. She captained one of the life boats and received the War Shipping Administration Combat Bar with one star. Other women had received the combat bar, but hers is believed to be the first one presented with a star. All her letter said to her sons after the incident was, “I JOHANNSON PAGE 3A
James Whitehead served in the Marine Corp. He was later shot and killed by an Orange police officer.
Whitehead vigil marks two years Debbie Schamber For The Record
A candlelight vigil will be held at 9 p.m. Thursday at the O-Reilly Auto Parts store on 16th Street to mark the two year anniversary of the death of James Whitehead. It will start following the closing of the business where Whitehead was shot and killed by Orange Police Officer Robert Arnold. Family members were saddened by the lack of people attending last year, but are
hopeful more will attend and show their support. During the vigil, family and friends will take turns talking about the good times they shared with Whitehead. His mother, Diana, intends to sing the Lord’s Prayer although last year the vigil was particularly hard for her and she spent the time crying. It has been a “rough” two years for the Whitehead family as they cope with his loss. WHITEHEAD VIGIL PAGE 2A
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