As KOGT reported Wednesday afternoon, the Sabine River Authority was hoping to leave the flood gates closed after new information was gathered following their original announcement Tuesday that gates would probably be opened due to recent rains.  Thursday morning SRA made it official with the statement below.   NO GATE OPENINGS ANTICIPATED ON TOLEDO BEND RESERVOIR   Persons having interests in the Sabine River Basin below the reservoir are hereby advised that on Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 0945 hours, the reservoir elevation is 172.24 ft. MSL.  Currently, both generators are … [Read more...] about SRA Makes It Official, Gates Remain Closed

The Sabine River Authority was expected to open their gates at the Toledo Bend Dam Wednesday morning but they decided to wait because the levels had dropped a little.  Then Wednesday afternoon they saw an increase, most probably from a north wind, and have decided to wait until Thursday and see what the levels will be.  The sunny weather has also been a positive to keep the flood gates from being opened.  With all of that being said, the SRA has told KOGT that if the flood gates have to be opened, they're not expecting any flooding past those homes on the river, and even those homes may not be … [Read more...] about SRA Hoping To Avoid Opening Gates

The Texas Historical Commission took an up close look at the Orange County Courthouse Wednesday.  Architect Brit Barr with the commission visited the courthouse with Commissioner Barry Burton, Maintenance Director Kurt Guidry, and Phil Noland also in the county’s maintenance department. They observed the scaffolding on the front of the building before going inside and looking at the bolts which hold the marble façade to the structure that have started coming loose.  All four went to the roof and inspected the drains there near the flag pole that are suspected of causing the rust on the … [Read more...] about THC Inspects OC Courthouse

Orange County is down more than $340,000 in sales tax revenues for the first six months of the calendar year compared to last year. The Texas Comptroller's Office on Wednesday sent monthly checks to public entities collecting sales taxes. All but the city of Orange were down for the year to date. The checks cover sales for the month of April. The year-to-date figures are the totals sent to the entities since January. Statistics on sales taxes are: Orange County:  $374,348 for the month and $2.133 million, down $341,341 from the year to date in 2016, a 13.79 percent decrease. Bridge … [Read more...] about OC Down In Sales Tax Revenues

The new First State Bank building led construction during May in the city of Orange, according to building permits issued by the city. Contractors for the bank took out two permits for a total of nearly $3.5 million. The building at 4039 Interstate 10 East at the corner with Martin Luther King Jr. Drive has a permit for a $1.74 million building. The site also has another $1.74 million permit for storm drainage. The new bank has been started by County Bancshares, Inc., led by local banker Carlos Vacek. The City of Orange Economic Development Corporation has approved an investment of up to … [Read more...] about Orange Building Permits For May