A press conference was held Tuesday morning in the Commissioners Courtroom concerning a problem that has been on going on the Neches River.  Citizens have been seeking action from the Texas General Land Office to cause a company to cease using fleet barges in the Bessie Heights Marsh. The Savage Inland Marine fleeting company held a public meeting last week to explain what they were doing.  Tuesday’s press conference was in response to that one.  The General Land Office held hearings in Jefferson County in June, but not in Orange County and did not even invite representatives from Orange … [Read more...] about Group Concerned With Barges

The Commissioners Court approved tax abatements for eight residential properties in Vidor at Tuesday’s meeting.  The properties are all part of the Pride and Progress program begun earlier this year in Vidor and which Orange County joined in June.  Vidor Mayor Robert Viator attended the meeting.  He informed that at least two of the properties already have families in them.  Viator reminded that the tax abatements are good for seven years on a graduated scale for the new home owners. The Commissioners approved moving the Local Registrar of the Texas Department State Health Services whose … [Read more...] about Commissioners Approve Tax Abatements

Jimmy Burnitt is ready to build a new house along the Sabine River, but first he wants his road fixed. Instead of turning to Orange County to repair the rural road, he needs the city of Orange, which owns West Bluff Road. Burnitt, a lawyer retired from the Texas Attorney General's Office, said he discovered the city annexed West Bluff Road in 1968. The road is now in such bad shape car's are damaged. He said one elderly woman now needs to buy a new car. Even though the road is legally in the city, none of the people living along the road are in the city limits. Burnitt said a city … [Read more...] about Homeowners Want W.Bluff Road Repaired

The Orange City Council met Tuesday morning and they had several citizens in line to meet with them. Included in the group were several people who spoke against the city suing Leslie Barras to collect city legal fees. Barras is a lawyer who lives in the Old Orange Historic District. Earlier in the year she filed a lawsuit against the city contending the council violated the city charter by the way they agreed to move city hall and buy the first financial bank building for $2 million. The decision was made without public discussion. Barras and the non-profit group Historic Orange … [Read more...] about Citizens Speak Against Suing Barras

A 47-year-old woman had to be taken by ambulance to a Beaumont hospital Monday night for a head injury. She told Orange police she thinks her husband hit her in the back of the head with a pipe. Detective Captain Robert Enmon said the woman had a large cut to her head. Acadian Ambulance took her to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont for treatment. Officers were called to the 1800 block of Church Street. The woman told police she and her husband had been arguing. She had seen him holding a pipe. Captain Enmon said the woman reported she felt a sudden pain in the back of the head and was … [Read more...] about Orange Police Reports