In the past we’ve done year-end stories at KOGT.com talking about the news that we thought were the top stories of the year. This year we decided to dig into the numbers (aka The Rabbitt Hole) to see what stories were viewed the most. Many were the stories we would’ve selected but we were surprised where the stories ranked.
Our most viewed story is not a surprise. The August announcement of a new HEB Store being built where Market Basket is now at the corner of 16th and I-10 in the Northway Shopping Center. They also plan to reroute Meeks Drive to curve and meet 16th St. instead of the service road. Of course the million dollar question is, “When?” since they purchased land in Pinehurst almost 10 years ago and never built.
Our second most viewed news story was “Firefighter Charged With Arson.” A volunteer firefighter was caught in the act by West Orange Asst. Chief Jessie Romero. He was also charged with setting fire to a vacant home and questioned about several other suspicious fires.
The next story was the unfortunate incident of two people being shot in Orangefield in September. A property dispute ended with a shooting victim and the shooter killing himself.
Our fourth most viewed story was the passing of Shantel Jordan, a woman who lived on the streets in Orange but wasn’t homeless. It touched the hearts of many.
A head on collision in May on FM 1006 took the life of a Vidor man. DPS had to update their original version of their report.
The bottom five of our Top Ten include:
Robert’s Meat Market closed the restaurant and then their meat market at the end of the year after 45 years in business.
Police searching for a red truck after a hit and run near LCM High School.
One arrested after chase. Pretty sure his name and mugshot is what made this one popular.
Bridge to close for 18 months
Accident kills man in Bridge City
Honorable Mentions include: Arson at CVS, St. Mary School closes, Stroud Out in Pinehurst, Hood is back in Pinehurst, Snow in January, El Bethel Church Fire (above) and new shopping center planned for Orange.
Our local master gardener columnist John Green had several columns that went viral. The biggest was his story on hummingbird migration . Also his columns on yellow tomato leaves, crepe myrtle pruning and the holiday cactus were also very popular. You can look our stories up in the Search bar.
Our top sports story according to our readers was the passing of Dan Ray Hooks who lead West Orange-Stark to four appearances at State, winning two. We also had a story with local reaction and a guest column from Terry Johnson.
Second was the story of the missing play-calling band in the Bridge City vs LCM football game. One coach ended up suspended and the case was brought to the UIL.
Our annual Coaches on the Move list made the top five along with our stories on Steve Griffith being inducted into the THSBC Hall of Fame, and WOS reaching the State Championship game.
We also had two stories that had plenty of local interest although they didn’t happen here. The story on the Ghost Deer Case and the Game Warden and his K9 finding 10 illegals inside a bale of hay made our top ten.
The rest of the top 10 were Friday night football scores. Honorable Mention went to our coverage of Bridge City baseball and girls basketball reaching the final four.
We lost some good people in 2025. Dan Hooks was also our most viewed obituary. Second was the passing of Orangefield teacher Becky Sparks, followed by the passing of local businessman Tony Dallas after a battle with ALS. Also making the top ten included Ethan Hinds, Gerald Rach, Crickette Welch, Billy and Genell Torbett, Fred Bolton, Becca Lynn Marlowe, and Lisa Granger.
As in most years there are highs and lows, triumphs and tragedies. And we couldn’t tell you about it without the support of our community and local advertisers. So, thank you! And we hope to do it again next year.
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