H Published For Orange Countians By Orange Countians H
County Record TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 58 No. 70
The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Week of Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Pinehurst celebrates victory over Harvey
Dave Rogers
of all this bickering on TV and this water brought us all together,” Mike Wiley of Pinehurst Fire & Rescue said. Fred Hanaeur, police chief and emergency management coordinator for the city of
For The Record
Pinehurst’s city council meeting turned into a lovefest Tuesday night as city workers and citizens hugged and celebrated their small community’s victory over Hurricane Harvey. The 20-member volunteer fire department, with plenty of help from the city’s other 26 employees and an outfit called the Cajun Navy, rescued an estimated 1,000 people from high water the night of Aug. 29-30. They used everything from kayaks to flat bottom boats to airboats to the city’s grapple truck to swoop people – many of them elderly --
2,200, was plucked from his flooded Orangefield home by a city employee, who wound up rescuing a dozen more of Hanaeur’s neighbors. He lauded the work of Fire Chief Shon Branham and
city manager Robbie Hood. “Robbie was always there,” he said. “It makes me so proud to work here.” When dispatcher Dawanna Stringer needed a break after 19 straight hours at the
start of an 11-day encampment at her post, she turned to city secretary Debbie Cormier. “She knew just what to PINEHURST Page 7A
Debris haulers set for Orange County Pinehurst Fire Chief Shon Branham
out of their terror and misery and deliver them to higher ground. “The Good Lord got tired
City reacts to storm, OK’s budget Dave Rogers
For The Record
The City of Orange passed a proposed budget of $38 million for 2017-18 at its city council meeting Tuesday morning. But the focus of the first city meeting held after Tropical Storm Harvey’s record flooding was on reacting to the storm. City manager Shawn Oubre said he expects D&J Contractors to begin removing debris from city residences in “five to seven days after we give the OK.” Council voted that OK Tuesday. Councilman Bill Mello was the first to compliment city workers for their work during and since the storm passed Aug. 30 and left record flooding in its wake. “The city of Orange never did quit working throughout the storm,” Mello said. “We didn’t lose water or gas.” Ninety-five of the city’s
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
H
THE RECORD DIGITAL EDITION ONLINE NOW
TheRecordLive.com
Oubre
195 employees had water in their homes, councilman Brad Childs said. “But they still kept working, kept the city
running.” He also noted, “Our city water stayed at 100 percent, stayed drinkable, while the city of Beaumont [water] went down, which included closing the hospitals there.” Mayor Jimmy Sims counseled patience for the citizens. “It’s going to be a long process,” he said of the storm recovery. “We’ll work together as a city and get it fixed.” The final hurdle for the city regarding debris removal was approving a company to monitor D&J’s work, as required by FEMA. Council voted Tuesday to hire GP Strategies Corporation and Thompson Consulting Services to provide that monitoring. Only residential debris hauling will be reimbursed by FEMA, Oubre said. “This is not for businesses, non-profits, apartments,” he said. “We don’t get reimbursed for picking up things that are not in compliance, and we’re not going to do it.” The city manager said residents must sort and properly position debris for the contractor to pick up with a grappling claw operating from the curb. They are to be in four distinct piles, with no trash bags allowed unless they are see-through. The piles are for C&D Waste (construction and demolition materials); White Goods (refrigerators, stoves, washers, freezers, etc.); Green Waste (tree limbs, etc.); and Hazardous Waste. The vote on the budget was 6-0 to fund the city beginning Oct. 1, based on a proposed tax rate of 71.774 cents per $100 value. Council member Larry Spears, Jr., was absent Tuesday. The tax rate will be finalORANGE Page 7A
Household debris collection in Orange County could begin this week. Per FEMA rules, debris should be sorted into four stacks: one for construction and demolition materials; one for tree limbs and other green waste; one for white goods, like refrigerators and freezers; and one for hazardous waste. RECORD PHOTO: Dave Rogers
Dave Rogers
For The Record
Hurricane Harvey debris removal trucks should be moving about Orange County Wednesday. Just don’t ask where. Buddy Lofton, project manager for Orange County’s FEMA-approved debris removal contractor AshBritt, told commissioners’ court Tuesday he’s spent the last few days surveying residential debris piles in unincorporated areas of the county, even doing aerial surveys. “We’re trying to attack the worst-hit places first,”
he said, while admitting he hadn’t completed his surveying. Tuesday, there were parts of the county where the roads were still under water. But Lofton said he had two trucks in the county Tuesday and at least eight more are on their way. Each truck can hold 125 cubic yards of trash. Hurricane Harvey, reduced to a tropical storm by the time it showered the county with more than 50 inches of rain, flooded 65 to 70 percent of the 30,000odd residences in Orange County, County Judge Ste-
phen Brint Carlton said Tuesday. That’s two to three times more homes than suffered water damage in Hurricane Ike, in 2007. AshBritt was the county’s debris removal contractor for Ike, too. Lofton admitted Tuesday he needed six months to complete the cleanup job after Ike. “We’re going to ramp up to full speed in the next couple of days,” he promised. Besides the size of the affected area this time around, a big difference between the debris removal from Ike to Harvey is where
FEMA says the county’s contractor can pick up. First, FEMA will not reimburse for debris removal at businesses, non-profits such as churches, and apartments. Secondly, FEMA initially told Carlton that incorporated cities in the county – Orange, West Orange, Pinehurst, Bridge City and Vidor – would not be allowed to “piggyback” on the county’s contract as in the past. That would cause the cities a big financial hit. After Hurricane Ike, the DEBRIS HAULER Page 7A
Flooded LCM doubles up for schools Staff Report
For The Record
Little Cypress-Mauriceville’s school district announced Tuesday that Tropical Storm Harvey flooding damage will force students to double up this fall. Only LCM High School and Little Cypress Intermediate did not incur extensive damages, so students will begin their school year Wednesday, Sept. 20, attending school on half-day schedules at LCMHS, LCI and North Orange Baptist Church. LCM’s announcement comes on the heels of Monday’s announcement that Orangefield plans to have it students open school Monday, Sept. 25.
Orangefield schools received extensive flooding to approximately 100,000 square feet of classroom space from Tropical Storm Harvey. Floods have also impacted Little Cypress-Mauriceville and West Orange-Cove schools with LCM going to a split schedule for its students when they returns next week. RECORD PHOTO: Dave Rogers
CMYK
Currently it’s high school and elementary campuses are undergoing drying-out with huge vacuums and a cadre of remediation workers. Bridge City, whose students attended a week and a half of classes before Harvey caused schools to shut down Aug. 28, returned to classes Tuesday. West Orange-Cove district, its Middle School building also connected by hoses to large drying units, has set Tuesday, Sept. 19 for its students to open 2017 classes. Bridge City began its school year Aug. 18, while Orangefield, WOC and LCM SCHOOLS REGROUP Page 7A