TxDOT Road Closures for Monday
Jefferson County
IH-10: Westbound alternate lane closures between Walden and FM 365 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Louisiana Closures
IH-10: Eastbound traffic switch and detour in Iowa. Eastbound exit and entrance ramps closed at LA 397. Expect Delays.

A strong storm system that ran through Orange County Sunday morning around 5am included hail and a possible twister.  The office building at Hillcrest Cemetery on Hwy. 87 in Bridge City was moved some four feet away from its steps.

Orange Mayor Brown Claybar returns for a fourth term after defeating Charles Atkinson by 148 votes.  Jeff Holland (right) will become the newest member of city council with a convincing win over incumbent Cynthia Jackson.

The May 10 Election didn't come and go without controversy. In the seat for Precinct Two on the OC Drainage District Board J.B. Arrington defeated incumbent Pete Bean by 19 votes. However, it was learned on Election Day that Arrington's home is registered in one precinct while his voter registration card has him in another precinct.  Drainage District General Manager Wilbert Duhon says County Attorney John Kimbrough will be asked to determine a ruling.

The Kiwanis Club Team of Andrew Culpepper, Rebecca Patterson, and Chris Smith won the 10th Annual GOALS Spelling Bee held Friday at LSCO.  They defeated the defending champs from West Orange-Cove ISD in the finals.  Bridge City ISD was third, followed by United Methodist Women, Orange Lions Club, LCMCISD, LSCO, LSCO Student Government, and Orange Rotary Club.

The Inspire XII™ Foundation announces that upon graduation, 175 students from West Orange-Stark High School and Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School will receive a two or four-year scholarship to attend any accredited Texas public university, community college, public health related institution, or technical college as recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “We are extremely excited about sending 175 students to college this fall,” said Tremain Lewis, CEO and Founder of the Inspire XII™ Foundation. “This is our first class of college students and they are excited about the possibilities of what a college education can do for them and their families. Our goal is to motivate students and provide an opportunity for them to follow their dreams. This is a great blessing.” Lewis, a 1989 graduate of West Orange-Stark High School further stated that 92% of the applications submitted were accepted into the program. Inspire XII™ Foundation began strategic planning and program development in January 2007. Inspire XII is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise of Kalamazoo, Michigan. For more information about Inspire XII™ or to donate, please visit www.inspire12.org.

The City of Orange Fire Dept. responded to a report of a vehicle crash at HWY62 and FM1078 Thursday morning at 9:30am. A passenger car and 18-wheeler collided. Roxanne Preble, 17, the driver of the passenger car was seriously injured and was transported by helicopter to the hospital.

Bridge City Fire & Rescue responded to a report of a house fire on Edgar Street in Orangefield Thursday night. McLewis VFD also responded.  Crews found the fire in the garage that contained two sport utility vehicles which were also heavily involved in fire. Fire attack crews entered the structure keeping the bulk of the fire damage to the garage and laundry room areas. No injuries were reported from the fire crews. The home owners were home at the time of the fire, both escaped without injury as a smoke detector alerted them of the fire. The cause of the fire was deemed unintentional with a possible origin in one of the SUV’s.

West Orange-Cove Superintendent Taylor Collins shows the elementary students how it's done as they broke ground on the new elementary school Thursday, scheduled for opening in the fall of 2009.  The 200,000 sq. ft. school will be located on 25 acres of land off MLK Dr. near Sparrow St.

Some stolen merchandise from Hurricane Rita has been returned to the rightful owner. Orange Police received a call from Danielle Derrick saying she believed 11 paintings stolen from McCoy's Picture and Framing following Rita were located at a home on Main St. OPD went to the home of Lisa Lynne Jones, 43, at 1401 Main and when she answered the door, she was asked if she possessed any of the paintings. She just stood and looked at the officer as he looked over her shoulder and noticed one of the paintings on the wall. She gave a consent to search and all 11 paintings were recovered. The owners did not file charges.

The City of Orange Fire Department responded to a report of a house fire at 1819 Beverley Street at 9:37am Wednesday. Upon arrival, fire crews reported light smoke showing from the residence. The fire crews entered the structure to search for victims and locate the fire. No one was found during the search but three cats and a rabbit were rescued. One cat required resuscitation. The fire was located in a bedroom and quickly extinguished. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation but initial findings are that it was unintentional with a possible electrical source of ignition.

John Cash Smith was the guest speaker at the Lamar State College-Orange spring commencement, Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. in the Lutcher Theater. Mr. Smith graduated from Baylor University in 1961 and from University of Texas School of Law in 1964. Graduates

Heroes of the Orange County American Red Cross

DuPont to Invest $150 Million, More Than Half of That in Texas. More than half of this $150 million investment is expected to be spent between the Sabine plant in Orange and Victoria sites. The investment is expected to take place over a three-year time horizon. Sabine River Works expects to hire about 200 people into full time DuPont jobs in the next three years. The Victoria site will hire about 10 people during the same period of time. Most of these jobs will be to backfill positions left open by retirement and attrition. At SRW this investment will be used to install distributed control systems (DCS), enhance our capabilities to produce Surlyn® and Vamac®, and improve energy efficiency by as much as 15 percent. "This announcement is great news for the Sabine River Works.. This is a vote of confidence in our future by our global business leadership," said Mike Sanchez, site manager.

This is our Pet of the Week.  Margie is a domestic medium hair Gray and White in color, she is awaiting for someone to adopt her and make her a member of your family.  Contact the City of Orange Animal Shelter for more information.

Orange County Building Permits for April 2008

Shopping downtown once meant dressing up to look for a dress, maybe not in Sunday school clothes, but at least in regular school clothes. A mother didn’t want her children to be seen in a little shop in worn play clothes. A lot of clothes were bought at little shops. Until MacArthur Shopping Center, a chain store was mostly Green’s, later the Fair Store.  Looking Back

Mike Magnuson WO'72	KOGT is now accepting your Senior photos for consideration in our Class of 2008 photo gallery.  Orange County graduates will need to email the photos as JPEG attachments.

Orange native Shon Sims will make his debut as a tenor on May 16, 2008, at Rice University. The recital is open to the public at no charge and details can be found on his website, www.shonsimsrecital.com.

CHECK OUT the KOGT Photo Gallery where you can now purchase photos on-line. Click on Photo Gallery Button on the left. New galleries will be added regularly, so check it often.

If you have a news story or see news happening, email us or call the station and let us know about it.
 

Do you have an outstanding warrant in Orange County?  Might want to check the list.  

KOGT.com only carries summations of news stories.  For the full story including interviews, tune in to KOGT Vocal News at 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, and 11:50am, as well as 4:30 and 5:30pm weekdays.

You can find out if you, your friends, or your relatives have outstanding warrants in the City of Orange by clicking on the orangetexas.net website. The City of Orange Municipal Court is open Monday - Friday from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm. Court is held at 8:30 am on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If you have any questions about an outstanding ticket you may talk to the Municipal Court staff at 883-1063.