Early voting for the seven state constitutional amendments has been slow in Orange County even though one will lower school property taxes if it passes and another recognizes the right of citizens to hunt and fish. County Elections Administrator Tina Barrow said 1,352 people have voted by the end of Tuesday, which was the seventh day of early voting. Early voting will continue on Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The election will be Tuesday. The Mauriceville early voting box has been moved to the County Office Building on Highway 62. Other sites are the Orange Public Library, the … [Read more...] about Voting is Slow

The Orange City Council on Tuesday agreed to buy five new Tahoe SUVs for the Police Department. The new vehicles will cost a total of $203,000 with an added police package. Chief Lane Martin said the SUVs will be replacing old patrol cars that have more than 100,000 miles each. The police department in the past few years has been buying SUVs for patrol vehicles instead of passenger sedans. The fleet has been using Ford Explorers. The five Chevrolet Tahoes will cost $175,000 and will be purchased through the Houston-Galveston area cooperative. The SUVs will need another $28,600 for … [Read more...] about City Buys Vehicles

Orange County Sheriff's Office calls October 20-26 Theft, 10:04 a.m. October 20, Dixie Drive in Vidor. Reckless damage to property, 11:30 a.m. October 20, 800 block Cherokee Street in Vidor. Burglary of habitation, 1:27 p.m. October 20, 2800 block Patillo Road in Bridge City. Burglary of a residence, fraud and credit card abuse, 1:54 p.m. October 20, 900 block Old Highway 90 in Vidor. Assault by threat, 4:21 p.m. October 20, 2200 block Linda Street in Little Cypress. Violation of protective order, 6:35 p.m. October 20, 9400 block West Bend Drive in Mauriceville. Burglary … [Read more...] about OC Sheriff’s Calls October 20-26

The Sheriff’s Office needs patrol vehicles. The county says it does not have the money to buy new cars for the Sheriff’s Office. After half an hour of discussing the problem Tuesday the result was the Commissioners Court voted to take no action on getting more patrol vehicles for the Sheriff. The Court was split 3 to 2 as both Commissioners John Banken and David Dubose expressed desire during the discussion to purchase some vehicles for the Sheriff even if it was not the full total of 15 requested by Sheriff Keith Merritt during budget workshops. Sheriff Merritt says it is a question of … [Read more...] about Commissioners Discuss Sheriffs Vehicles