Dickie Colburn: Fishing See Page 5B
Orange County Cooking See Page 6A
Hometown Football
The Record
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Vol. 51 No. 22 Week of Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Penny Record of Bridge City and Orangefield • Founded 1960
Heritage festival acclaims swing bridge Mark Dunn
For The Record
From a town once called Prairie View, the bridges of Bridge City gave it it’s name. The place is blessed with them. Two of it’s namesake bridges are on the National Register of Historic Places securing their mark on the historic landscape of Texas. One of them, the Cow Bayou Swing Bridge, has reached a new milestone in Bridge City history. A commemorative ribbon cutting will be held in recognition of the 70th Anniversary
of the 1941 dedication of the swing bridge. The ceremony will kick-off the inaugural Bridge City Heritage Festival on Saturday, Oct. 1. The ribbon cutting will take place at the Cow Bayou Swing Bridge at 9 a.m. Gates open for the festival on the Community Center grounds at 10 a.m. The Bridge City Heritage Festival is being hosted by the Historical Museum of Bridge City, a nonprofit charitable organization formed in 2009 to help preserve local history and enhance tourism. Proceeds raised from the festival will go toward the future waterfront
Left: In 1941 Miriam David cut the ribbon during dedication ceremonies for the Cow Bayou Swing Bridge. Above: The BCHS Strutter dance and drill team posed on the bridge in recognition of the 50th Anniversay of the school district. RECORD PHOTO: Mark Dunn
Recent rain no drought breaker, ends burn ban Nicole Gibbs
For The Record
On Tuesday, the Orange County Commissioners’ Court honored W.J. “Dub” Davis who retired on Aug. 31 from serving as Chief Deputy Constable of Precinct Four. Davis started his public service career in 1957 when he and two other gentleman started the Vidor Volunteer Fire Department and he served the fire department in different capacities until the 90s. He started his law enforcement career in 1960 the Vidor City Marshall. He has worked for the city of Vidor in many difference capacities as well and even served at interim chief. He then went to work for the Orange County Sheriff’s office, where he served under Chester Holtz. About 40 years ago, Davis began working with the Orange County Precinct Four Constables office under Carl Ward. “When I first took office, Dub help make my job a little bit easier,” Pct. 4 Constable Weldon Peveto said. “He not only became my friend, he became part of my family.” Peveto went on to explain that David stood for three
Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................7A •Dicky Colburn Fishing..................5B • Kaz’s Korner Joe Kazmar...........4B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................7B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................8B
things: honesty, integrity and loyalty. “He is the epitome of an East Texas lawman and I am proud to have served with Dub all these years,” Peveto said. Peveto presented Davis with a plaque from Orange County to thank him for all the dedicated years Davis gave. “The Constables office is more like a law office now than it ever has before,” Davis said. “I had a good time working there.” Burn Ban The system that came through did offer a little relief for Orange County but is by no means a drought-breaker. “I believe we’ll be perfectly safe within the next seven to 14 days to lift the burn ban and give folks a chance to get caught up,” Jeff Kelley, director of Emergency Management, said. “I think we’ll be right back in here, discussing this again in short order.” Kelley went on to explain that the water produced in Orange County from Tropical Storm Lee will dry out and the long range forecast is not good. The burn ban was lifted for the time being and the Commissioners will reassess the wild fire conditions on Monday, Sept. 12. Fair Housing Activity Statement The Commissioners adopted a resolution, on Tuesday, that takes a stand against unfair housing practices. This resolution is necessary to apply for round two of the Ike funding available. The Fair Housing Activity Statement says that Orange County discourages discriminatory real estate loan practices as well as racial discrimination, develop a website to promote fair housing and assist in educating the public, seek funding for development and long term development to improve infrastructure and county development plans. “Even though Orange County does not conduct housing activities, we are still required address these issues,” Kelley said. Other business The Commissioners approved filing into the minutes revenue received in the amount of 49.800 from the city of West of Orange and COUNTY BUSINESS PAGE 3A
park on Cow Bayou in Bridge City. The heritage festival will feature carnival rides, entertainment headlined by Britt Godwin, arts and crafts, food and an arcade of games and contests. A children’s area will include games, a coin toss, duck pond, ring toss, milk bottle baseball throw, Plinko and a cow patty throw. On the
Community Center grounds a beer garden will be sectioned off with dancing under the pavilion. The festival will spill over to the Knights of Columbus Hall where there will be an antique and classic car show and judging. “The festival will be a mix of family fun, entertainment and BRIDGE CITY PAGE 3A
We remember Sept. 11, 2001 Nicole Gibbs
For The Record
Greg Hayes, Penny LeLeux and Darla Diagle contributed to this story. It’s a moment time that many will never forget. On Sept. 11, 2001, a shadow was cast over America as thousands of people watched the worst terror attack on America, killing over 3,000 people. At 8:45 a.m., the first plane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. At 9:03 a.m., the second plane crashed into the south tower. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon at 9:43 a.m. The south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 10:05 a.m.; the north tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. United Airline Flight 93 from Newark, New Jersey en route San Francisco, Calif., crashed in Shanksville, Penn. Less than an hour into the flight, the Flight 93 suddenly changed course, heading in the direction of Washington D.C. It was believed that this plane was headed for the White House. When we thought all hope was lost, a story of ultimate heroism came to light. A cockpit voice recorder revealed several passengers
and crew members attempted to take back the hijacked plane. At 10:10 a.m., Flight 93 crashed in a meadow near Shanksville, Penn., destroying the plane and instantly killing all on board. We watched as innocent lives were lost, we watched as buildings came crashing down, and we watched as the dust finally settled down to show complete and utter devastation. But we also watched as fire departments, police men and women, volunteers and complete strangers came together to search for people buried in the rubble. Orange County resident Rick Singer was enjoying a day of golf and relaxation when he first learned about the events of September 11th. At first, he wasn’t sure what to think. “My friend and I had just played nine holes at Bayou Den and we went back to the clubhouse to take a break,” Singer said. “We saw the footage of the plane hitting the first World Trade Center tower on a TV. At first, we thought it was just a joke, a hoax being played. No one knew about the Pentagon attack or the attempt on the White House (Flight 93) yet.” Singer said that he and his friend went out to play an-
BRENDA ELLENDER
BUTCH CAMPBELL
HEATHER BECK MYERS
VERGIE SCALES
other three rounds, but didn’t feel right. “It was a really strange feeling, so we went back to the clubhouse,” he said. “We watched the footage of the attacks and the buildings come
down. At that moment, we knew we were at war, but we just didn’t know who with as we had not even heard about WE REMEBER PAGE 2A
Thrift and Gift Shop observes 38th year
Greg Hayes
For The Record
Despite the current state of the economy, and unemployment on the rise around the nation, the Orange County Social Services have not seen an influx of people knocking down the proverbial door. In fact, director Jennifer Haney can count the number of new applicants on one hand … literally. “We have had five applicants file under the new guidelines,” Haney said. “We really haven’t had an increase in ap-
plicants like some think we might have.” The new guidelines Haney speaks of is the minimum percentage of the poverty level income being raised in the county from the state requirement of 21 percent to 49 percent of monthly income this past year. Under this increase, a family of five which would have received $458 under the state’s 21 percent can get $1,069 under the 49 percent. Applicants are re-evaluated every three months to see if they can keep receiving the as-
sistance, Haney said. The numbers for 2011 under the new guideline were approved by the Commissioners’ Court on Monday. “The commissioners approved the new guideline because they want to be able to help as many people as they can,” Haney said. “Raising the percentage under the new guideline was able to be done without affecting the budget.” Haney said that she thinks the reason they have not seen as many applicants approved is because people do not want to fill out the proper paper-
work and give the mandatory information required. “We’ve had people come by and ask, but a majority do not follow through,” she said. “I think it is because they do not want to fill out the required paperwork.” In the completed application, applicants must provide proof they are an Orange County resident such as: a driver’s license, mail addressed to their current address or a voter’s registration card. Social Security cards THRIFT AND GIFT PAGE 3A