The local march in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. drew a variety of people from those in their 80s to babies in strollers. Franklin Gans, the outgoing president of the NAACP Orange Branch, said he was glad to see young people. He told them they still have a job to do because generations share progress in civil rights. He told the group "We have not arrived," but things have changed. Now people can enter the occupation they dreamed of. “When I was a young person, I had some places in mind where I thought I wanted to live and raise my children,” he said. “God hear my prayer and there was … [Read more...] about MLK Remembered in Orange Monday

Blue Beacon commercial truck wash is adding a $2 million building to Orange. The company had the largest building permit issued by the city during December. The truck wash is being built off Interstate 10 at Highway 62. The city itself took out a permit for $43,800 in the commercial concrete category. The city had Allied Mechanical lay the concrete for the new skate park pad at Sunset Park on 16th Street. The equipment has not been installed. The city is using federal community development block grants to pay for the park. The Blue Beacon building will be 10,500 square feet. The city … [Read more...] about Orange Building Permits

New state health rules for businesses dealing with food include requiring the businesses to post their latest county health inspection and have a first aid kit. In the first part of January, Orange County Health Inspector James Scales gave demerits to stores or restaurants without the postings or the kits. Scales went to 33 businesses in December and the first part of January. Six of the businesses had perfect scores and three of them were day care centers. Several businesses were close to perfect, earning 99 or 98 scores. The lowest score was for Pine Forest Fuel with a 76 for numerous … [Read more...] about Health Inspection Scores

Retired Sergeant Sarah Jefferson-Simon was laid to rest Saturday at Magnolia Gardens Cemetery with a police honor guard. Jefferson-Simon served 25 years with the Orange Police Department. She was currently a member of the West Orange-Cove school district. She died last week at a Houston hospital at the age of 55. Police Chief Lane Martin presented her daughter, Diztorsha Jefferson Lavan with a framed American flag. The honor guard gave a 21-gun salute and Lieutenant Eric Ellison, wearing traditional kilts, played 'Amazing Grace' on bagpipes. Jefferson-Simon's son-in-law Ray Lavan, a musician … [Read more...] about Retired Sergeant Laid To Rest