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FISHING ORANGE COUNTY

Capt. Dickie Colburn Page 1B

Sports

Caroline Brewton

Commentary

Evy’s Cajun Kitchen

Feature Columnist For The Record

Kaz’s Korner Page 4B

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County Record

TheRecordLive.com

Vol. 56 No. 51

The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas

Week of Wednesday, April 15, 2015

WO Council pass ordinances affecting landlords David Ball

For The Record

Landlords will now be responsible to annually register and meet inspection requirements for rental properties or face a penalty after an ordinance was passed at the regular meeting of the West Orange City Council on April 13. The approval was unanimous by the council. The agenda item read, “An ordinance of the city of West Orange, Texas establishing annual registration and inspection requirements for owners of residential rental property; providing for a penalty for the violation of this ordinance; providing for repealing, savings and severability clauses; providing for an effective date of this ordinance.” Before the vote was taken, Councilman Mike Shugart asked if a committee was formed to research the issue. Mayor Roy McDonald answered a committee composed of council members, landlords

St. Mary to host Spring Festival St. Mary Catholic School will hold its 81st annual Spring Festival Saturday, April 25, from 10:00 – 7:00 pm and Sunday, April 26, 11:00 – 5:00 pm, at 2600 Bob Hall Rd., Orange. The festival will include a fashion show, Class Acts, Mass with Father David, on Saturday and a talent show and live auction on Sunday. There will also be a raffle, beach volleyball, gumbo, inflatables, dunking booth, boiled crawfish, BBQ, plant booth and more fun and games. Admission is free and open to the public.

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and city officials was formed last year to study the issue. Shugart then asked if the item should be tabled for furMcDonald ther discussion. Councilman Dale

Dardeau said there has already been four council meetings on the topic and it was time to act. “These houses need inspecting so they can be decent to live in,” he said. Dardeau added it’s up to the landlords to contact the city if they’re having a problem meeting the ordinance’s requirements. Also passed was an ordi-

nance regulating garbage disposal in the city and providing a penalty for violations. Shugart asked if the same committee researched this ordinance. McDonald answered yes. McDonald said of the 134 letters for sanitation violations sent out this month, 96 were rental properties. As of March 15, 74 were rent-

al properties of the 110 notices sent out. “The majority of the delinquencies in sanitation are rentals. They are left vacant for 30, 60, and 90 days. It is a problem,” he said. Pete Amy, a rental property owner and also president of the West Orange-Cove CISD, said during the public comments portion of the meeting he

didn’t agree with this ordinance and the ordinance on the agenda regulating garbage disposal. He said requiring landlords to inspect properties will initially cost them $50 and an additional $25 for a re-inspection if necessary. Amy also said the city didn’t

WEST ORANGE Page 3A

OC native helps steer ACM Awards

Mike Louviere For The Record

Ryan Peadbody became the Orange County Emergency Management Coordinator at the start of the new year. He said he has been learning about emergency management and he hopes to save the county money for unfunded liabilities through his background of working with contracts if there is a disaster. RECORD PHOTO: David Ball

County tables employee policies David Ball

For The Record

There’s a new Orange County Extension Agent for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office to fill in for the vacancy that was created when Dr. Roy Stanford departed. Ashlee Krebs was named to the position at the regular meeting of the Orange County Commissioners Court on April 6. She will start on May 11 and be paid $30,373 a year with a travel allowance as budgeted, according to Dr. Dale A. Fritz, district extension administrator. Krebs earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Services and Development with a minor in Animal Science from Tarleton State University. She also attended McNeese State University. While at McNeese and Tarleton State, she was active in rodeo team, livestock judging,

collegiate FFA and Equestrian Club. She is currently working on an online Masters Degree in Animal Science from Sul Ross State University. Currently, Krebs serves as an agricultural science teacher with Kountze ISD. In this role, she instructs courses in horticulture science, animal science, food technology, principles of agriculture, personnel skills and introduction to education and career prep. She also supervises animal projects, oversees the Greenhand Chapter Conducting Team, and works with supports of FFA. In this role, she has increased membership in FFA, participation, and the number of competitive teams. Prior to her current position, Krebs served as an agricultural science teacher with Garrison High School for one year. In this position, she instructed

COUNTY Page 3A

For the last six years Teresa George has been planning what will be the largest country music awards show ever held and the first major show to be held in Texas. Not bad for a girl from Bridge City. George is a 1981 graduate of Bridge City High School and a former writer for The Record Newspapers. After starting her career in journalism, she shifted gears and moved into public relations and event planning. She is a Senior Vice President of Brand Integration and Strategic Partnerships. “I’m on the road an average of 100 days each year and travel to places as far apart as Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, and California. I am lucky enough to work for a firm based in Los Angeles, but can live and work at home in Nashville”, said George. The last 15 years she has worked with the Academy of Country Music and has been instrumental in bringing the upcoming awards show to Dallas. The show will be held in AT&T Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys play. Sponsors for the show are partners in George’s firm. They include major corporations like Ram Trucks, Mary K Cosmetics, Cracker Barrel, and Cabella’s to name only a few. This year’s events will include a festival on April 17 and 18 to be held at Globe

Life Park. It will be two days of various events, food vendors, and country music performers. The attendance for the festival is expected to be over 40,000 for this event. “When it was announced that the ACM awards show would be coming to Dallas, music fans turned out in droves when tickets went on sale. It quickly became the fastest selling event in the academy’s history with 65,000 tickets being sold in 18 minutes,” said George. “Having the show in Dallas is exciting because this is the first major show in Texas and the 50th annual ACM awards show. We have the biggest stars in the industry on board for this great event. This year we have expanded the show from three to three and a half hours.” Even though the show is scheduled to be held in a large sports stadium, George and her group have strived to create a sense of intimacy. It will be the most unique

Teresa George, a Bridge City graduate, is a planner of the 50th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards Show to be held on April 19 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

show ever held, she said. Another first is that this is the first time an event of this nature has been held in a stadium. “There have been shows of this type held in much smaller arenas, but never before in a major sports venue”, said George. “For the last two

TERESA GEORGE Page 3A

Pinehurst mobile home park to become duplexes Mike Louviere For The Record

A mobile home park in Pinehurst is making way for new apartment duplexes after the item was approved at a meeting of the Pinehurst City Council on April 14. City Code Enforcement Officer Harry Vines and property owner Jay Deville appeared before the council and reported on Deville’s request to convert a mobile home park on Raven Street to a multi housing complex. The proposal is to remove

all traces of the mobile home park and rebuild with duplex units. Each unit would be about 544 square feet. Each would have a kitchen, a bath, and laundry hookups in each unit. Most would be one bedroom, but there is a possibility of some two bedrooms units. “As proposed, the housing complex complies with our city ordinances. Since it does comply, I am recommending that Mr. Deville be allowed to proceed with his plans to convert the property from mobile homes to the duplex units”,

said Vines. Deville presented a small plat of the complex and two sample floor plans to the council for their information. “I am not pleased with the way the property looks now. I want to remove all the old mobile homes and build nice housing that will be a credit to me and to the city. It will not be Section 8 housing. It will be affordable for single parents or older citizens needing a nice, affordable place to live,” said Deville. Several comments were

made by council members in support of the complex. Vines in a later report stated the Planet Fitness is hoping to open for business by April 18. Ditch cleaning of 41st and Whipporwill Streets is progressing as the weather allows and residents on those streets are reporting that drainage has improved because of the cleaning. Darla Daigle of the Southeast Texas Suicide and Rape Crisis Center appeared before the Pinehurst City Council and thanked them for issuing a

proclamation in support of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. “Sadly and unbelievably in our area we had a sexual assault charge filed on someone who had molested a three day old baby girl. We also had a case of an assault on a 90 year old woman in a nursing home. It is a problem that will not go away and we need to keep awareness of the problem in the forefront. We thank Pinehurst for supporting us and issuing these proclamations,” said Daigle.


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