DOWN Outdoors ORANGE KAZ’S LIFE’S HUNTING & COUNTY KORNER HIGHWAY FISHING FISHING SPORTS Roy Dunn- Columnist Capt. Chuck Uzzle Capt. Dickie Colburn COMMENTARY Page 5 Section A Page 1 Section B Page 1 Section B Page 3 Section B TheRecordLive.com County Record Vol. 61 No. 42 The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas Week of Wednesday, March 24, 2021 Minus FEMA checks, cash flow bugs county DAVE ROGERS erated by the it on Hurricane Laura,” TetraTech to do the work re- end of the year and we lar customers pay in state For The Record Mosquito County Judge John Gothia quired to haul debris out of haven’t started receiving taxes. Control De- said. neighborhoods. FEMA money yet.” Among the payments for Orange County Commis- partment, The judge has said in the “I don’t want us to be in a County Treasurer Christy the week ended March 23 sioners signed off on paying worried about past the county had about situation where we can’t ser- Khoury reported she accept- was a combined $197,000 for $3.6 million of weekly bills a cash flow $13 million in reserves last vice people because the ed $456,000 in sales tax re- monthly insurance for em- Tuesday, most of it thanks to problem. summer. That’s about the equipment won’t run,” ceipts from the state in Janu- ployees and retirees. Hurricane Laura. Gothia The expen- amount it cost to pay Ash- Gothia said. “Where the is- ary. That represents 1/2 cent Payments for the week of The $2.7 million that went diture was ap- Britt and monitoring firm sues begin is if we get to the from each 8.25 cents per dol- March 16 were $101,000. to AshBritt Environmental proved in the Fiscal Year for hauling away debris from 2021 budget but was to be the Category 4 storm will be delayed until January, after ‘Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention’ month proclaimed repaid by FEMA – eventual- much of the county’s annual ly. property tax payments have One of these days. been deposited. But then But the uncertainty of Laura happened. when the feds will open the The purchase of more than money tap has Commission- $300,000 of road equipment ers concerned. and trucks for Road and They decided at their Bridge Department was also twice-monthly meeting to delayed. hold off spending $27,500 to “When we went into the replace a pickup truck with budget season, we had a good 180,000 miles on it being op- reserve. But we’ve spent all of Quick reacting Chamber set for B.A.S.S. DAVE ROGERS year.” For The Record In addition to the fishing, After weather and pan- the Chamber demic setbacks, it’s a miracle puts on the that B.A.S.S., the owners of Orange Coun- the Bassmasters Elite fishing ty River Festi- tournaments, are set to bring Schossow val, which their $1 million event to the provides plen- Orange Boat Dock in a cou- ty of family fun beyond ple of weeks. watching dramatic evening But the miracle of the April weigh-ins. 8-11 tourney was the way the As always, that includes fishing tournament commit- food booths, craft vendors, a tee of the Greater Orange carnival for youngsters, a Orange County Commissioners Court, back row, proclaimed April Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention month, presenting the Area Chamber of Commerce proclamation to representatives from CASA of the Sabine Neches Region, Codie Vasquez, Halee Watkins and Robert Currie, on Gopher Industrial-spon- Tuesday. RECORD PHOTO: Dave Rogers made so much happen in so sored kids’ fish tank and lots short a time. of live music. “If you’d have asked me if “This is completely free, we could do this in a month, for people to come and en- I’d have said no,” said Ida joy,” Schossow said, “and I Negotiations move ahead on hospital deal Schossow, Chamber Presi- think people are ready to get dent. out at an event like this.” “But we’ve been doing it all DAVE ROGERS Joey Greer kicks off three For The Record since 2013. We did in a month what usually takes a BASSMASTERS Page 3A Orange City Council moved a hospital and medi- cal complex for Orange Thomas seeks new County closer to reality at its Tuesday evening meeting. The vote was unanimous life for old center to approve a 10-year sched- ule of decreasing tax abate- DAVE ROGERS thriving community. ments for the project at Eagle For The Record Hubb Agra will be build- Point being put together by ing a hydroponic farm on the Orange Multi-Specialty Real Bishop Charles Thomas, slab that used to be home to Estate Holdings, a partner- son of longtime Orange pas- Weingarten’s Grocery, TG&Y ship fronted by local physi- tor Earl B. Thomas, is run- dime store and S&H Green cian Dr. Marty Rutledge, and ning for Mayor of Orange Stamps and Weiner’s De- NexCore Group, a Denver- against incumbent Larry partment Store. based healthcare developer. Spears, Jr. Redland Ahead, a non- “This is a project that is “Ministry is my heart,” profit that is veteran-found- long overdue,” Orange May- said the leader of the One A rendering of the proposed Gisela Houseman Medical Complex, featuring a hospital with up to 20 ed and operated, will hire or Larry Spears, Jr., said. beds, an ambulatory surgical center and doctors’ offices, was presented to Orange city council Way Outreach Ministry. and teach the new farmers “We’ve all wanted a medical members. So is rebuilding the city he under a government grant. facility. This [abatement] is a grew up in, so Tuesday he down its emergency room tion of Interstate 10 and U.S. ey to help build a four-lane “This is to replace old way of saying, thank you for and leaders of two Florida- two years later. Route 62, on Orange’s east- Eagle Point Parkway to bi- farmers, like me, whose aver- helping us establish this. based companies and minis- A county-wide election to ern boundary for the project sect the property. age age is 69,” said John Mills, “I look forward to them ters from Houston and Flori- create a hospital taxing dis- voted on Tuesday. The project will be named a former mayor of Miami getting it going. I’m ready. da were touring the vacant trict aimed to prompt build- Those plans were sent to the Gisela Houseman Medi- Lakes, Florida who is Red- And so is the rest of council East Town Shopping Center ing of a new hospital was the backburner just months cal Center. land Ahead’s president. and staff.” at the corner of Turett and soundly defeated in Decem- later by Tropical Storm According to documents “We can keep farming Orange is the largest coun- Simmons, near the Port of ber 2017. Imelda, and delayed by later in Tuesday’s agenda packet, alive with hydroponics. ty in Texas without its own Orange. In June of 2019, the House- storms and the coronavirus the developers will invest ap- What it used to take 8 of 9 hospital since Baptist Hospi- Thomas’ vision is to revive man Companies donated 20 pandemic shutdowns in proximately $50 million in acres to produce, can now be tal Orange closed its in-pa- the old neighborhood by acres of land in the Eagle March of 2020. NEW LIFE IN OLD Page 3A tient care in 2015 and shut HOSPITAL Page 3A turning a food desert into a Point area near the intersec- The city has pledged mon- Get In The Truck Orange County! FORD F-150 SALE SabineRiverFord.com Keep Your Tax Dollars At Home - Shop Orange County! See Our Ad Page 3A CMYK 2A • The Record • Week of Wednesday, March 24, 2021 My 5-Cents . By State Senator Robert Nichols This week in 1836 the Con- are to establishing the Newton County, an area where broad- vention of 1836 adjourned Texas Broadband band access is lacking. DETCOG has abruptly as the Mexican army Office that will do vital also applied for a larger grant from GLO approached Washington-on- work connecting Tex- which, if approved, would allow the the-Brazos. The convention, as. While we’re still agency to construct a rural broadband which began on March 1, working out some of network in all 12 of its member coun- drafted the Texas Declaration the specifics of the bill, ties. Currently, DETCOG is working of Independence and the Texas I’m confident the com- out the details for the Newton County Constitution, organized the mittee will vote on it project. DETCOG began its broadband government, and named Sam soon and send it for initiative three years ago, so they are Houston commander-in-chief consideration before prepared to go to work with engineer- of the military forces before the entire Senate. I am ing and grants management teams al- the delegates had to be evacu- also very proud to work ready in place. While it will take some Sen. Robert Nichols ated. with Rep. Trent Ashby time to get broadband deployed, I’m ex- Here are five things happen- in the House, who is cited about this project and the pros- ing around your state: carrying House Bill 5, a very similar bill pects for the future of East Texas. to my Senate Bill 5. He is having a hear- 1. Texas to receive over ing on HB 5 this week. Ensuring Texans 5. Texas State Parks returning 800,000 COVID-19 have access to high-quality broadband to full capacity internet is imperative as we move into vaccine first doses an increasingly digital world.