OC Sheriff, Constable Choose Early Exits
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DOWN ORANGE Outdoors KAZ’S LIFE’S COUNTY HUNTING & KORNER HIGHWAY FISHING FISHING SPORTS Roy Dunn- Columnist Capt. Dickie Colburn Capt. Chuck Uzzle COMMENTARY Page 5 Section A Page 1 Section B Page 1 Section B Page 2 Section B TheRecordLive.com The Penny Record Vol. 61 No. 2 Distributed FREE To The Citizens of Bridge City and Orangefield Week of Wednesday, June 10, 2020 OC Sheriff, constable choose early exits DAVE ROGERS ignation on place him, beginning June terms as the county’s top weeks ago he planned to term, but I strongly feel and For The Record the Facebook 29. lawman. serve through the end of his my heart is telling me it’s page they Merritt, an Orange Coun- When he announced he term in December. time to quit my law enforce- Orange County Sheriff share. The ty lawman since signing on wasn’t running again last Tuesday, he said Mooney ment career and retire,” Mer- Keith Merritt resigned Tues- short note was as an unpaid reserve deputy fall, he said he was open to had agreed to take over in ritt said. day afternoon, effective June full of colored in 1979, did not run for re- letting the new sheriff-elect, July. “I have loved working for 30. type and emo- election in 2020 after being Lane Mooney, get an early “It was my intention to The announcement was Merritt jis; his “offi- elected to three four-year start. But Merritt said two serve out my third four-year OC SHERIFF Page 3A made by County Judge John cial” 20-word Gothia, who said he received resignation letter was writ- Merritt’s letter of resignation ten in a different color for ev- Bridge City area on the grow with new businesses, expansions . Tuesday morning. ery letter and ended in “Out- Already on Tuesday’s agen- ta Here.” da for the bi-weekly County The veteran of just under Commissioners meeting was 30 years in county law en- the resignation of Precinct 3 forcement, first as a deputy, Constable Mark Philpott, then a constable for 12 years, which was accepted. will work his final day will be Philpott, or maybe his wife June 26 and constable-elect Babette, announced his res- Brad Frye was OK’d to re- Creative thinking boosts LSCO despite Covid DAVE ROGERS While summer school has For The Record already begun, the second summer semester does not Making the best of a bad begin until July and registra- situation, educators have tion remains open. been busy since the onset of The pandemic forced pri- the coronavirus to think mary, secondary and higher outside the box. education schools around It’s paying off at Lamar the country to switch most State College Orange, which of their classes to online. on June 3 set a new school At LSCO, only a few stu- standard for summer enroll- dents in technical courses, ment with 1,019 students. like nursing and instrumen- “It’s a great day. I’m very tation, meeting on campus, excited,” Dr. Tom Johnson, in small groups that qualify president of LSCO, said. “We under social distancing Bridge City is on the grow as new businesses open and expansions are seen throughout the area. One example of that progress is made lemonade out of lem- guidelines. seen above with the construction of what will become the new home of Olson Engineering, Inc.. The 22,000 square foot facility on ons this year.” Johnson praised Dr. Wen- FM 1442 near the Bridge City Elementary School is another step forward for the local company founded in 1998 by Mike and Karan The two-year college in dy Elmore, LSCO provost, Olson. The full service, multi-discipline engineering company are professional engineers from every discipline providing the petro- downtown Orange is waiv- and Mary Wickland, vice chemical market with both in-office and in-plant services. The company is currently located at 355 West Roundbunch Rd. and in ing tuition and fees for two president for finance and op- Mont Belvieu, Texas. In 2019 Olson Engineering was honored as Bridge City Chamber of Commerce “Business of the Year.” 3-hour summer classes in RECORD PHOTO: Mark Dunn 2021. LSCO Page 3A Orange missionaries serve God on ‘The Rez’ DAVE ROGERS For The Record The retirement LaVern and Ricky Sterling had planned for didn’t happen. God had a better plan. For the past 16 years, the North Orange couple has spent about half of every year living and working as Chris- tian missionaries on the Na- vajo Nation Reservation in the northeast tip of New Mexico. “When I retired I intended to play golf or go fishing ev- ery day,” Ricky said. “But I sold the boat and I only play golf about once every two Lions install new officers . years.” Kacey Burnitt was installed as President of the Orange Lions “We sold the beach cabin,” Club at their clubs annual officer installation Monday. President LaVern says as if she’s still Chris Kovatch presented Burnitt the gavel. Kovatch gave the surprised it happened. clubs annual report. He also presented the Lion of the Year Award The Navajo U.S. Indian to Lion Ralph Thon and Rookie of the Year to Lion Tiffany Bell. Reservation – known locally Ricky Sterling, left, and wife LaVern Sterling admire a Navajo rug made for them during one of their The club officers installed were Terrie Salter, 1st Vice Presi- as the Rez -- has a population dent, Grover Roberts III, 2nd Vice President, Ann Ellis, Secretary, summers working as missionaries on the Navajo Nation Reservation in New Mexico. The couple left Kovatch, Treasurer, Lois Hughes, Membership Chairperson, (175,000) slightly less than Orange this week to return for the 17th year. RECORD PHOTO: Dave Rogers Stump Weatherford, Tail Twister/Lions Clubs International Foun- the Dallas suburb of Frisco, dation Chairperson, Butch Campbell, Lion Tamer, Sandra Wil- Texas spread across an area years,” she said. “We’ve Vern, 70, have been married spiritually and physically – liams, Communication Officer. the size of the state of West watched a lot of kids grow up 42 years. They both worked for the Many Waters Mis- Installed also were 1 Year Directors, Marlene Merritt, Bill Smith Virginia. It lies mostly in Ar- out there.” “It’s kind of like for DuPont and both retired sion, located just outside the and Carlene Ortolon, 2 Year Directors Ron Rudeseal, Ed Freiberg izona but extends to New and Dan Mohon and 3rd Year Directors Randall Morris, Tiffany Bell family out there,” Ricky said. early so they could spend and Brittney Johnson. RECORD PHOTO: Stump Weatherford Mexico and Utah. Ricky Sterling, 69, and La- more time ministering – ORANGE Page 3A “We’ve been out there 16 CMYK 2A • The Record • Week of Wednesday,June 10, 2020 Why I am a Democrat . A WORD FROM Labor laws, the G.I. Bill, the bility to decent housing, a and “a more perfect union”. Federal Housing Act (FHA), fair minimum wage, and an I know that if America con- THE CHAIRMAN the FDIC, Medicare, Medic- absence of discrimination tinually moves toward the John Cash Smith aid, The Affordable Care because of race, gender, reli- ideal set forth in the Declara- Orange County Act, the 1964 Civil Rights gion, or sexual orientation. tion of Independence, we will Democratic Party Act, the Voting Rights Act, “A rising tide lifts all boats” be prosperous and unified. Chairman Head Start, the Peace Corp, and the water is very shallow America’s “original sin” of the National Institutes of in today’s America. slavery, white supremacy, I am a Democrat because I Health, the National Labor We are at a critical point in and racism must be ex- believe in social justice. I Relations Act, and many our nation’s history. The punged from our national believe in equality before the more. The Republican Party 2020 election is the most im- culture. The Democratic law for every person, regard- has opposed or tried to water portant since 1860. What di- Party is the only party mov- less of race, religion, gender, down those progressive laws rection are we going to take? ing in the right direction to- sexual orientation or social but there is no doubt that we Are we going to move toward ward being “One nation, un- status. The American ideal have all been elevated be- the Constitution’s goal of der God, indivisible, with lib- is in the Declaration of Inde- cause of them. “forming a more perfect erty and justice for all.” Mar- pendence, which says, “We My life experience as a Orange County Democratic Party Chairman John Cash Smith. union”, or are we going to tin Luther King, Jr. quoting a hold these truths to be self- Baptist Christian, a lawyer RECORD PHOTO: Lawrence Trimm stay divided and unequal? pre-civil war preacher said, evident, that all men are cre- and a historian has molded cerned about the present state socialism, but serious History will be kind to lead- “The arc of moral history is ated equal, that they are en- me into a strong believer in state of our country. For the reform is needed, and only ers who, although imperfect, long, but it bends toward jus- dowed by their Creator with social justice. The Bible has past forty years, our progress the Democratic Party has are dedicated to the principle tice”. I believe that and that certain unalienable Rights, over 2,000 passages in it em- toward equality under the proposals that can accom- “that all men are created is why I am a Democrat.