Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
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TIME—DID WE WASTE OR USE IT Well, here we are, it’s almost mid-May and in a couple of weeks a half year will have gone by. In a few days school will be out for the summer. It seems to me like the school year just started. Time does seem to travel faster as you get older or maybe we old folks just travel slower while time moves on. Remember when it seemed that the school year lasted so long and summer took forever to get here. Is it for real or is it just perception? Today we...
LOVE TO MOTHER’S EVERYWHERE Throughout my life, Mother’s Day has always been important to me. Mothers not only carry and give birth, but also nurture us through those formative years but when we skin a knee or fall out of a tree Mom will always make it okay. Her tenderness and motherly love is unmatched. Often it’s when you look back you realize just how important her part was in your development. Sometimes it’s after she is gone, when the big picture fully comes to you. Th...
RUN OFF—WHO CAN VOTE The Primary runoff election between incumbent Dade Phelan, Speaker of the Texas House, and newcomer David Covey is Tuesday, May 28. Early voting begins May 20 and ends May 24. Some people seem to be confused as to who is eligible to vote in the runoff. If you voted in the Republican primary, you can vote again. If you voted in the Democratic primary, you can’t vote. If you didn’t vote in either primary, you are free to vote in the runoff. Democrats didn...
On April 21, 1836 the Battle of San Jacinto was fought and won by Sam Houston and the Texas army in a matter of minutes. Only nine Texans were killed while 630 Mexican soldiers died in the battle. Santa Anna was captured after the battle and with the victory, the Republic of Texas began. Here are five things happening around your state: 1. East Texas law enforcement agencies receive grants The Comptroller’s office announced this month it has delivered nearly $126 million in g...
JUST SAY IT AIN’T SO I’m just having a real hard time accepting that my longtime friend Harry Stephens is gone. Early Sunday morning I glanced down at the ringing phone and seeing Margie Stephens’ name I knew it wouldn’t be good news. I had checked on Harry a few days earlier and had gotten Margie’s cell number to use if I couldn’t reach Harry. She told me he was wearing an oxygen machine full time but was still working at the store five days a week and a half-day on Saturday...
HISTORIC TRIAL OF TRUMP BEGINS Not until mid-afternoon Tuesday did Donald Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors select the first seven jurors for the case, which centers on allegations that the former president falsified documents to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn star. Dozens were dismissed after saying they could not be fair, underscoring the towering task of trying a former president in a city where he is deeply unpopular. The lawyers reached the heart of the s...
TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE—BIG DEAL The much anticipated solar eclipse shifted billions of dollars across the country. The ‘first’ reports came out of Mexico, headed to Texas Hill Country and beyond. The eclipse laid a 100 mile path from Texas to Maine. It was a big deal for small towns that usually lose out to big sporting events in large cities. Unlike other major events, the 2024 total eclipse was a family affair. Families drove or flew together to unknown places throughout the c...
NEWS AROUND TEXAS Texas is making a lot of news ahead of next Mondays April 8th total solar eclipse. Cities around Texas expect to see a major influx of tourists. Good weather is expected. The Hill Country is a great place to see the eclipse but not the only place. The path of totality is expected to stretch between 108 and 122 miles. There are lots of Texas locations in that wide strip. The First Monday Trade Days, in Canton, this year will be set up for RV and tent camping...
For the first time since 1878, Texans will see their first total solar eclipse next month. Total solar eclipses are rare because the sun, the moon, and the Earth must align such that the moon moves in between the sun and the Earth. Only people who are within the path of totality will be able to see the full effects of the eclipse. The path of totality encompasses a large swath of Texas including the DFW metroplex, Tyler, Austin and the Hill Country, and Del Rio. The eclipse wi...
Monday I got a call from Senator Carl Parker, I always called him ‘Senator.’ He said he was checking on me. I told him outside of nearly daily visits to some doctor, and having to get up too much during the night I was hanging in there. He said join the club about night’s ups and downs, that’s an old man’s curse. He told me he was due to have a heart valve repaired. I didn’t understand why it was put off, something about the doctor not being available. I asked if he had talked...
SERVICE TO BE HELD FOR SENATOR PARKER Longtime lawmaker and political titan Carl A. Parker passed away Friday, March 22. He was 89. Parker was born in 1934 in Port Arthur and left home to live elsewhere twice: the first time when he attended law school at the University of Texas — he graduated in 1958 — and the second when he served four years in the U.S. Navy. For more than three decades, he served in the legislature: from 1962 to 1977 in the House of Representatives and fro...
My grandmother Availia had many children; among them were three sets of twins and a set of triplets. Many of the young died as infants. Only one twin, my uncle Meldan “Tee-Dan” survived. His twin Melda didn’t make it past 3 years old. Grandma had been the carrier of 20 children or more. Few made it to birth, some lived a few months or a few days, and only seven of those children lived a long life. My aunt Eve died in 2008 at age 105. The rest all lived to be 90, with the excep...
SUPREME COURT PERMITS TEXAS TO ARREST PEOPLE WHO ILLEGALLY CROSS THE BORDER AS LEGAL CLASH CONTINUES The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Texas to start enforcing Senate Bill 4, a new state law that allows Texas police to charge people with illegally entering the state from other countries. The federal government argued that the law is unconstitutional because enforcing immigration laws is a federal responsibility. The legal case is far from over. The case will now go...
As a long time, Democrat, I must admit I have mixed emotions about the way Dade Phelan is being treated by the Republican Party. While I am pleased to see the Republicans are so disorganized, I am convinced that having the Speaker of the House representing this area is a great benefit to us all. There is a time and place for an area to benefit. The time is while the Legislature is in session. The place is various committees of the House and Senate. As an example, had I not...
YOGI SAYS “IT AIN’T OVER TILL IT’S OVER” First let me congratulate the winners in the Primary Elections. Those with opponints and those without. After the smoke cleared we ended up with one runoff race in District 21. Our state representative Dave Phelan, who also is speaker of the house, one of the three most powerful offices in state government, finds himself in a runoff with David Covey. Covey, a political unkown from Mauriceville chosen by Attorney Gen. Paxton and Lt. Gov...
I am starting to think that America is becoming like the old gentleman who once said that ignorance and lack of action is what is wrong with the world. He followed by saying, “I don’t know what’s wrong, but I really don’t care.” Our news sources daily carry stories about violence we impose on one another. Shooting and killing four or five people would have made front page headlines at one point; now such incidents cause little notice. We are getting de-sensitized to these kin...
ELECTION MOSTLY GOP PRIMARY Every election I run my traps trying to get a read that I can make predictions on. That didn’t happen in this election cycle. The best I got was maybe, not probable, but possible, that we could end up with three races in run-offs. The state representative race, sheriff’s and constable races all have been hard fought and for the most part well run campaigns. Going into a race with multiple candidates usually favors the incumbent, but not necessarily...
Here are five things happening around your state: 1. TEA announces opening of Texas Student Heroes Award nominations This month, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that nominations for the annual Student Heroes program are open. The program recognizes Texas public school students in prekindergarten through high school who do an outstanding volunteer service that benefits their fellow students, schools, or communities. One student from each of the 15 State Board of...
WHY PHELAN SHOULD BE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE One of the three most powerful political positions in Texas is on the line. It is more important to House District 21, in Southeast Texas because that is the district the powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives is from. It is the first time in Southeast Texas history that our little part of Texas has had such a strong hand in the governing of Texas. Speaker Dade Phelan is a true southeast Texan; his roots are deep in the...
Clay Jackson Dunn was the product of a pioneering background. His father, Allen, had come to Texas from Arkansas in a covered wagon with his mother, Sarah Jane, who apparently was a pretty tough cookie for a 26-year-old. She embarked on a 14-month journey in Texas that held many uncertainties and dangers. Her husband, Dr. Stephen James Dunn, had been killed a few months earlier in the Civil War. Sarah Jane sought a new life for her son and younger sister. Abraham Lincoln was...
BIDEN INNOCENT—VICTIM OF CHEAP SHOT The fact that President Joe Biden is a senior citizen is not going to go away. The world is full of successful senior citizens and the president is one of them. Accomplishments in his first term in office are remarkable, and yes, people accuse him of being a senior citizen in that campaign. Through his many years of service, along with getting older, he gained the knowledge that has made him the most experienced and knowledgeable person o...
A BORDER SECURITY BILL WORTH PASSING The Senate bill has reforms Trump never came close to getting. Despite weeks working with Democrats to shape a compromise on illegal migration that also bolsters national security threats, the Trump-dominated GOP intends to do nothing until Election Day. Do Republicans want to better secure the U.S. border, or do they want to keep what has become an open sore festering for another year as an election issue? That’s the choice presented to C...
One hundred and eighty-five years ago this month, the Republic of Texas passed a piece of legislation that set the framework for education funding to this day. On January 26, 1839, a bill passed that set aside land for public schools in Texas and two public universities. It fulfilled the vision President Mirabeau Lamar had for a public education system endowed by public lands in the state. Though not immediately successful, the program had lasting impacts and earned Lamar the...
If you are reaching your so-called “Golden Years,” you most likely have a new adventure in store. I just finished eight weeks as a guest of a hospital. I escaped but learned a lot about medical practice in the USA. It is said that we have the highest quality but worst delivery of any developed nation I the world. Your first challenge is to negotiate the requirement to gain access. What insurance or what government program such as Medicare apply. Most doctor’s offices will help...
COURT SAYS TEXAS CAN'T BLOCK FEDERAL AGENTS The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered Texas to allow federal border agents access to the state's border with Mexico, where Texas officials have deployed miles of concertina wire. The order for now, effectively upholds longstanding court rulings that the Constitution gives the federal government sole responsibility for border security. In recent weeks, Shelby Park in Eagle Pass has become the center of a standoff between Texas and...
