I hope everyone had a great holiday season and you’re off to a good start in 2026.
Probably like most of you, our house has been busy during the holidays but we haven’t slowed down in January. Mardi Gras is around the corner. In Orange it starts with the Ball next weekend. There’s clothes and seamstresses and scripts and rehearsals. Then there’s a group of people that handle the transformation of the VFW to a formal wonderland. Most don’t know what goes in to putting it on but everyone leaves having had a good time.
The parade will be February 7. But before that, Angie and I will be representing Orange County in what I’m told is a fun fundraiser known as the Not So Newlywed Game. It’ll be held in Beaumont with proceeds going to the non-profit Samaritan Counseling & Wellness Center. Of course part of the game is what couple raises the most money. You can vote for us for $1 a vote. If you’d like to do that you can click here and scroll down until you see our names.
–
You may have seen the story on KOGT as former LCM baseball coach Steve Griffith and his 609 wins were inducted into the Texas Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame Monday night in Waco. Griff became the 97th member and the third from Orange County with Ronnie Anderson and Chuck Young.
I was glad we could make the trip as I covered all of the players that Griff coached in his career and many made it to Waco. We saw Dean Reynolds, Macoy Marze, Chris Buechner, Billy Burrow, Jr, Beau Hale, Josh Richard, Joe Holland, James Swan, Jake Rowell, Landon Womack, Kyle Adams, Hunter Gonzales and Clayton Ehlert.
Besides Griff’s family we also got to visit with Billy and Pam Burrow, Sam Moore, Tim Erickson, Jim Sharon and Hallie Bearden, Ken Sury, Wayne and Lisa Stephenson, John Martin, Jason Bourgeois, Scott Burleigh, Kelly and Shay Marze, and Brady Fountain. I apologize if I forgot someone.
We got back from Waco in time to see Al Granger honored for his 50th year in the car selling business. To be honored for selling cars that long may be a first but if anyone deserves it it’s Al. Thirty years ago before Al and I became good friends, my next door neighbor told me he only bought used cars from Al at Automart. He said he would call him and tell him what he wanted. Al would call when he found it. No question on the price. With his success he obviously had a lot of customers he did that for. Congrats my man!
–
We lost a couple of KOGT Radio favorites last week. Jeanette Williamson was one of those listeners that knew more about the daily operation than some of our employees. Condolences to Jimmie who was also one of our better trivia players. And Danetta Gravett loved listening to KOGT so much it was mentioned in her obit. We’ve been honored to be mentioned in obits over the years. I’ve always said the relationships we made with our listeners was the best and most important part of any success we had.
–
I know we have some people in Jasper who read KOGT.com so I say this in hopes it gets back to the two I’m about to mention. I want to say Thanks to two guys from Jasper Road and Bridge who stopped to check on me when I had to pull over in the middle of nowhere on Hwy. 96 with a trailer issue. I had already fixed the problem when they stopped to ask if I needed help. I don’t care who you are it’s an “Oh Sh*t” moment when you have to stop on the side of the road with no friends are family near and one bar on your cellphone.
–
Longtime friend and Vidor girls basketball coach Laurence Williams made a post last week about the drop in participation in high school sports. I have noticed it too. I think he has eight on his varsity squad. Some talk about burn out, some say to much practice. I’ve seen one athlete quit and two or three join them because they don’t want to be there if their friends aren’t. And some say it’s no longer fun although I’ve seen coaches and schools bend over backwards to try to make it “fun.”
My thought is that sports for teens are becoming more privatized as “select” ball is no longer on the baseball/softball fields. Every sport has it now and more kids and their parents’ money are investing in it. It’s still a little taboo to talk about but like the shortage of officials in every sport, it’s there. I’ve even heard that Hemphill has had meetings about the possibility of shutting down athletics. I’d be surprised if it happened but it has drawn enough attention to get on the agenda.
–
One record announced the other day in Orangefield is one I’ve never seen. The Bobcats announced that their star guard Jaden Scales is the first Bobcat to be a part of 100 basketball wins in a career. Crazy that it happened on a night when the Bobcats hit the rare century mark in a 100-29 win over Kirbyville.
Scales has been on varsity since his freshman year. He could’ve made the team as an eighth grader if they allowed it. But it got me to thinking if that feat had been accomplished outside of Orangefield. The only one time that comes to mind is maybe when the Brittney’s (Scott and James) played at West Orange-Stark. Message me if you have someone else in mind. And congrats to Jaden. Looking forward to some long playoff runs from several of our teams in the postseason.
–
Baseball starts this week and it starts with a head scratcher. Texas High School Baseball has Bridge City with a preseason ranking at #4 in Class 4A but they have them finishing second to LCM in district who isn’t ranked at all. Of course that doesn’t make sense and I assume it was an oversight on their part. That’s why I’ve never given a lot of juice to state rankings because I know how loosely based they are. Your record matters (although some even question scheduling) but really it’s all about where you finish.
–
Shoutout to OC Commissioner Johnny Trahan who just wrapped up his year of serving as President of the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Committee. That included a couple of surgeries and rehab stints.
–
Rita Monson posted a quote I liked. You can either be a blessing to someone or a blister.
Have a great week!
-Gary Stelly-
gstelly66@gmail.com
Volume 2 No. 1
The Juice is a weekly column where Gary Stelly discusses things that happened the past week and mixes it with 40 years of being involved in the Orange County community. (If we think of a better way to explain it we’ll change it) You can also check out his podcast by clicking on the Behind the Mic banner on the KOGT.com front page.
Social Media