The Commissioners Court discussed Tuesday appointing a replacement for Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 David Peck who is retiring in January. The first action as stipulated by Assistant County Attorney Doug Manning was for the Court to officially accepted Judge Peck’s resignation effective January 3, 2017, which it did.
The Commissioners then agreed to accept resumes and letters of interest for the position of justice of the peace in County Judge Brint Carlton’s office through Monday, November 28. The Commissioners Court will then make an appointment from those names received on Tuesday, November 29, at its next meeting. The haste was done to allow the person appointed to attend an 80-hour training course which is for judges and only held in December.
Attending the meeting Tuesday were at least two very likely candidates for the position. Both Gail Barnett and Cimarron Campbell came to the podium to tell the Commissioners they were interested in being appointed as Justice of the Peace. Barnett actually ran against Peck during the last election for the justice of the peace in 2014. Campbell serves as the city prosecutor for the City of Orange. He also was the first Republican elected to an office in Orange County as the Justice of the Peace in Precinct 2 over a decade ago.
Opponents to the proposed Loop 299 around Vidor spoke to the Commissioners Court Tuesday. Ellen Buchanan with the Coalition Opposing Vidor Loop 299 spoke primarily on the environmental concerns and the negative impact the building of the loop would have on the wetlands and the Big Thicket National Preserve in that vicinity.
Orange Attorney Leslie Barras commented on the permitting restrictions that will be involved in any effort to build the roadway. Barras quoted a 1998 memo from the Texas Department of Transportation which said the Loop 299 project had as much chance of getting a permit from the Corps of Engineers as “a snowball’s chance in hell”.
Others spoke against the county helping fund the construction of the proposed loop around Vidor because of the possibility of raising taxes to help pay for the project. Judge Brint Carlton and the commissioners did ask a few questions of the citizens that had comments, but there was no action taken by the Commissioners Court Tuesday.
Following a public hearing earlier on Tuesday to receive citizens’ comments on three proposed changes to roads in the county the Commissioners took action during the regular meeting. Hal LaPray who helped develop the area around Vidor requested LaPray Lane being changed to Luke LaPray Lane to honor his grandson who passed away recently from cancer at the age of fourteen. That request was granted by the Court with respects for the deceased Luke LaPray.
Also in the Vidor area is Lakeview Road which is a fairly straight road with minimal residential development. A petition was submitted requesting the speed limit be increased from 30 to 40 miles per hour. County Engineer Clark Slacum recommended the stretch from FM 1131 to about 200 feet from the intersection of North Fisherman have the increased speed limit. The residents become more frequent and there are more intersections after that. Commissioners approved Slacum’s recommendation.
The third consideration was changing the name of Owens Illinois Road in the northern portion of Orange. The request was made by the current owner of the paper mill there International Paper. Ashley Moore representing the mill asked that the street be named the I P Way which is somewhat of a company slogan. There was concern about the name change forcing the Sabine River Authority which also has an office on the road to change letter heads and business cards, but they did not comment during the hearing and apparently have showed their support for the name change to International Paper. The Commissioners Court approved the change to I P Way to go into effect January 1, 2017.
The election totals from the November 8 general election were submitted by Tina Barrow, Election Administrator, and accepted by the Commissioners Court. Barrow reported that 32,294 citizens voted which is a record turnout in Orange County. That total represents about 60 percent of the registered voters in the county according to Barrow. Early voting also set a new record in the county with 22,940 ballots cast.
The county’s on-line auction of surplus items was conducted October 31 through November 10. Connie Cassidy with the Orange County Purchasing Department informed the Commissioners that the auction raised $55,618.46 for the county as well as clearing out many items that were no longer being used by employees in the county.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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