H H H H H The Home Of Atlanta Falcon Matt Bryant H H H H H
The Record TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 56 No. 21
Distributed FREE To The Citizens of Bridge City and Orangefield
Week of Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Bridge City six years after Hurricane Ike David Ball
For The Record
It’s been six years since Hurricane Ike came to town, but according to City Manager, Jerry Jones, the city’s recovery has been “pretty phenomenal.” As the storm approached, and looked certain to come to Southeast Texas, city officials took a gamble and planned ahead for generators. The day after they returned, the generators arrived which allowed them to get the sewer/water plants and lift stations up and running with the much needed power. City officials have worked with homeowners and torn down about 100 houses that were damaged in the storm. There are about 15 more houses on a list to be torn down within the next few months. The homeowners have qualified for a program which assists with the costs. There are still other houses to be taken care of as well. Five years after the storm, the city is still doing government funded Hurricane Ike related projects. City officials received $3.2 million from FEMA as recently as last week to continue on their many projects.
As a result of all the funds received, about 85 percent of all the streets in Bridge City are being resurfaced and JONES should be completed at the end of the year, according to Jones. The city initially got money for immediate needs. But, larger amounts for bigger projects didn’t start until later. The first check was given to the city in June 2009. “At the time we did what we could and for some items we were later reimbursed, but the majority of projects had to wait,” Jones said Initially, money was used to clean out the ditches, which were filled with debris, to allow for better water flow. They also used the funds for debris cleanup of the sewer systems in an effort to get the city up and running. The city was able to get the water and sewer up and running within 24 hours. The city received about $18 million from FEMA grants to do a sewer rehabilitation. They spent the money cleaning sew-
Orangefield students commemorate Patriot Day, 9/11
er lines along with the other parts of the sewer system. In addition, they repaired or replaced the lift stations, manholes, pumps, motors and controls due to the salt water in-
trusion. In addition, new generators were added to the water/sewer plants and all major lift stations and winding down on those projects too. Overall, it took roughly $21
million to get the city back to where it was before Hurricane Ike. “It’s great. We are appreciative to get everything back where it was,” Jones said.
BCHS 2014 Homecoming Court
Six years of recovery since Hurricane Ike Standing: Abby Faulk, Delaney Voegeli, Hannah Faulk, Kelly Zoch, Bailee Bacon and Hannah Hall Seated: Halle Huckabay, Malorie Becker, Kellyn Cormier and Tori Aras.
BC Homecoming Week starts Monday Staff Report For The Record
The Bridge City Cardinals will be celebrating Homecoming Week beginning on Monday, Sept. 15 leading up to the Homecoming Football Game on Friday, September 19 against the Liberty Panthers.
On Monday the festivities begin with Open House at Bridge City High School from 6:30 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. The traditional “Burning of the Letters Pep Rally” will follow at 8:00 p.m. The 2014 Homecoming Dance will also be on Monday at the conclusion of the pep rally.
Selected as the BCHS 2014 Homecoming Court are; freshmen Halle Huckabay and Tori Aras; sophomores Hannah Hall and Abby Faulk; juniors Delaney Voegeli and Bailee Bacon; and seniors Hannah Faulk, Kelley Zoch, Malorie Becker and Kellyn Cormier.
School funding unconstitutional Orangefield students gather around the flag at half staff for 9/11.
David Ball
For The Record
Some Orangefield High School students gather around the flag pole flying at half-mast to commemorate 9-11, or Patritot’s Day. 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.
However, he added, what city officials are the most excited about is the city population is growing again. Since the storm there are 65 new houses in Bridge City. But, it has been a long road to recovery. Of the nearly 3,800 houses in Bridge City, all but 16 were left unlivable. A large percentage of residents have recovered. The businesses also managed a come back. However, some left the area. The former Pizza Hut may be gone, but has been replaced by Pinehurst Barbecue. Jones believes the city will be better prepared if they are hit by another hurricane due to the fact that there are generators at new locations, water and sewer are in better shape and city workers know what to do since they went through both Rita and Ike. Bridge City is also part of a coalition to get a levy system built somewhere down the road. Jones added the city may possibly apply to complete additional projects if they can acquire more funds. Overall, it has been a long drawn out process, but in the end worth it, according to Jones. “It’s remarkable how far we have come,” Jones said. “But, it could not have been done without the citizens.”
David Ball
For The Record
An Austin judge has ruled the state’s school finance system is unconstitutional two weeks ago. School has just started in Orange County and two school superintendents shared their thoughts on the judgment and how it will affect their districts. In a 21-page Final Judgment, State District Judge John Dietz declared the Texas school finance system “constitutionally inadequate, unsuitable, and financially inefficient” and ordered that further funding stop “under the system until the constitutional infirmities are corrected.” Orangefield ISD Dr. Stephen Patterson, Or-
angefield ISD superintendent, believes the ruling is long overdue. He explained it as when a child moves to a difPATTERSON ferent school district and enrolls the annual expenditure per student either goes up or down depending on property values. “A poor school district can be taxed at a much higher rate and still receive less money from the state. They should be funded at an equal level,” Patterson said. The Texas Supreme Court will rule on the current school finance system since it was immediately appealed by the state. The Supreme Court will have a final verdict but it may be as late as the middle of next
year. He believes the Legislature which convenes next year won’t address school financing until the Supreme Court addresses the issue. “How is it fair for one district to spend $13,000 a year on one child versus a school district that can only spend $4,200 per year for a child?” he asked. Patterson said schools are economies of scale where greater resources are paid per student in wealthier districts and resources are paid at a reduced rate because some districts are property-poor. He added that the “Robin Hood Plan,” or Chapter 41, is still in existence where a district who has above x amount of wealth is given to the state and the state redistributes it to SCHOOL FUNDING Page 3A
This week marks the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Ike which hit Southeast Texas Sept. 13, 2008 and left many areas devastated in the months to follow. For some it has taken years to fully recover. It was the ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. It was a Cape Verde-type hurricane which started as a tropical disturbance near Africa at the end of August. On Sept. 1, 2008, it became a tropical storm west of the Cape Verde islands. By the early morning hours of Sept. 4, Ike was a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph which made it the most intense Atlantic storm of 2008. Ike passed over the Turks and Caicos Islands as Category 4, with winds 135 mph on Sept. 7. Moving west along Cuba, it made two landfalls as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 7 and as a Category 1 hurricane two days later. At one point, Ike was over 600 miles in diameter. The storm had come ashore with high winds and towering waves which pushed boats ashore, smashed many houses and flooded thousands of buildings. Power was knocked out to millions of customers. Many waited weeks or months for service to be returned. The storm first made landfall at 2:10 a.m. in Galveston as a strong Category 2 hurricane. The hurricane force winds extended 120 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extended far beyond that. For the state of Texas, it HURRICANE IKE Page 3A