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Bridge City Heritage Festival H
Carnival starts Thursday at the Community Center • Festival begins at 10 a.m. Saturday H H H H H YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1960 H H H H H
The Record TheRecordLive.com
Vol. 52 No. 26 Week of Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The Penny Record of Bridge City and Orangefield • Founded 1960
Commissioners adopt budget, tax rate Penny LeLeux For The Record
VFW, Ladies Auxiliary to host Voice of Democracy Staff Report
For The Record
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2775 and The Ladies Auxiliary are once again hosting Voice of Democracy for students high school sophomores, juniors and seniors; the Patriot’s Pen for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students; and the Outstanding Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year competitions (grade levels K-5, 6-8 & 9-12). All criteria are in the schools and further information can be obtained by contacting Auxiliary Chairman Patricia Kemp ( 409-8862796 or 409-988-3269) or Post Chairman James Seales (559-362-6509). Local Awards will be: Voice of Democracy--$300 & $200 Scholarships to be issued when a student enters an institution of higher learning; Patriot’s Pen-$100, $100, $75 and $50 in the form of a check; Teacher of the Year--$100 check for each level. First place winners in each category will advance to the district level; district winners will advance to the state level and the state winners will advance to the National Level.
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Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................8A •Dicky Colburn Fishing..................6B •Outdoors Weekly Chuck Uzzle..........6B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................9A • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................9B
Finally, after several weeks of budget workshops, the 2012-2013 budget for Orange County has been adopted. Orange County Judge Carl Thibodeaux said it’s not over. “Because it is in the budget does not mean you’re going to be allowed to spend it.” He said all departments will continue to be reviewed throughout the year to keep a close eye on the budget. “There have been some revenue drops in various areas. We will be studying why they dropped the way they did.” Thibodeaux said they will be working on ways to get the revenue back. He also plans to hold many workshops during the year with each department. “Everybody will know where we stand. Everybody will know where we’re headed, so we don’t have to go through this again next year,” said Thibodeaux. With additional cuts of
three percent in departments that had not previously volunteered reductions and with the adopted tax rate of .5299 the adopted budget is expected to have ending cash and investments balance THIBODEAUX of $1,031,302. The largest reductions came from capital outlay cutting $3,290,853 and major road construction cutting $300,000. Freezing elected officials pay and other payroll deductions, excluding insurance, cut $202,721 from the budget. Group insurance reduced the budget another $15,448. The tax rate of .5299 set by commissioners is the same as last year’s tax rate. Only residents whose property value has increased will see a raise in taxes. If your property’s valuation is the same as last year, your taxes will remain the same. The taxes are for
maintenance and operation of the County only; the County has no debt at this time. In other business the court set the salaries, expenses and other allowances of elected County and precinct officials for fiscal year 2012/2013 as those published in the newspaper Sept. 15. They also accepted a payment of $370,822.87 from the state comptroller for sales tax for the month of July and paid
bills totaling $912,391.93. The time of the Oct. 1 meeting was changed to 10 a.m. A request for $20,000 from the Spindletop Center was accepted by commissioners and is a budget item. Jeff Kelley director of emergency management said we just received a $380,000 payment from the state for the Shelter of Last Resort project on Farm Road 1442. He said the state is up to date on pay-
ments of Hurricane Ike firstround money. Commissioners also signed a lease agreement for offices occupied by social services through Dec. 31 for $900 a month. After December, the space will be rented on a month-to-month basis with option to terminate with 30 days written notice because the office is expected to change location within the first three months of 2013.
Bobcats defeat Beaumont Kelly 47-19
Orange PD still searching for clues in cold case Debby Schamber For The Record
It has been more than three years since Billy Harris, 71, of Orange was found dead at a residence located at 518-C Dupont Drive. Officers from the Orange Police Department were called to the small frame house in the Cove area in May 2009 after an acquaintance had found him dead on the floor facing kitchen area. The door was slightly ajar when they arrived at the scene and found the body and confirmed there were “no signs of life.” It was noted in the report there was both old and new damage to the door jamb. In addition, near the victim’s head was a hole in the wall where the sheetrock had been damaged, according to reports. It was reported Harris did not live at the residence in which he was found. Precinct 3 Judge Janice Menard was called to the scene and she ordered an autopsy. Initially, of-
Tyron Como stiff arms a Kelly defender amidst a very successful Orangefield running attack. RECORD PHOTO: Larry Trimm
Heritage Festival set for Saturday Staff Report
BILLY HARRIS
ficers thought he died a natural death. However, it was discovered he actually died of a gunshot wound to his head. As a result, it was determined to be a homicide and an investigation was launched. Orange Animal Control was called to the scene to remove more than a dozen cats from the area. Investigators were then able to work more effecCOLD CASE PAGE 2A
For The Record
The Second Annual Bridge City Heritage Festival will take place on Saturday, September 29 at the Bridge City Community Center on West Roundbunch Road. The event is put on by the Bridge City Historical Society. Admission to the festival is $l per person donation. The festival will expand this year and boast more than 15 food vendors, an expanded carnival, music stage with live
bands, a petting zoo and many other activities and games for kids, a silent auction, one-of-akind arts and crafts including jewelry, candles, crosses, etc. They will also will have three authors present and a dunking booth with the following “victims:” Some of our Dunking Booth victims include: Norman Gaspard, Bridge City Elementary Assistant Principal; Pastor Brad - St. Paul United Methodist Church; Pastor Paul Zoch, St. Mark Luthern Church; Brian Landry - Bridge City
BC’s Jordan Smith three time UIL champ Staff Report
For The Record
As part of Bridge City High School’s “Traditions Project,” an ongoing initiative to celebrate the achievements of BCHS students throughout its history, current senior Jordan Smith, three time State Champion In Literary Criticism,poses next to the newest addition to the project. This granite display recognizes UIL Academic State Champions across multiple events. This display joins a bronze plaque honoring those “Car-
dinal Veterans” who have gone on to serve in our nation’s military and a beautiful granite display recognizing the Valedictorian and Salutatorian from each graduating class. The “Traditions Project” is an ongoing effort and looks forward to completing additional displays in its mission to celebrate the success that has defined BCHS for over 50 years. The staff and students of BCHS are thankful to the Bridge City Alumni Association for their support in this endeavor.
High School Counselor; Lance Groppel - Bridge City Middle School Principal; Dr. Servet Satir; Brad Thibodeaux; Rick Dearing; and Troy Trahan. Last year, they had over 2,000 people attend the inaugural festival. This year, planners are making it even bigger. Proceeds from the festival go towards collecting and preserving the history of Bridge City and the many events that are put on for the community. “We were so pleased with the amazing turnout last year for our first ever festival. This year, we have even more support from the local community. We appreciate that even more merchants are involved in donating supplies and prizes,” said Paige Williams, event chairperson, “and that’s helped us to offer more activities for all ages.” The Bridge City Historical Society also put on Bridge City’s first annual “Born On The Bayou” Fourth of July Celebration during the summer which attracted more than a thousand people who came by boat and land to listen to music, eat and see the fireworks display. For anyone wanting to volunteer to help at the event or donate supplies, prizes or funds, please send an e-mail to info@bchistorical.com.
• Award Winning Hometown News