A teacher at Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School is now under investigation after an allegation of an improper relationship between an educator and a student. The school district announced Friday morning that the teacher was placed on administrative leave Thursday after information was revealed.  The teacher later turned in his resignation. The Orange County Sheriff's Office was notified and is investigating the complaint. KOGT has learned the allegations involve a male high school teacher and female student. The charge of improper relationship between an educator and a student is a felony under the Texas Penal Code. The charge applies even if the student is legal age and a relationship is consensual. The offense is a second degree felony with a punishment of two to 20 years in prison plus a fine up to $10,000.

On Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at approximately 7:40PM the Orange County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the Principal at Orangefield High School concerning suspicious circumstances. On arrival Deputies met with the OHS Principal concerning a “Hit List” that had been located in the boys bathroom inside the school. The “hit list” had several students’ names on it and was written on the bathroom wall. Orange County Sheriff’s Office Investigators were contacted and conducted the Investigation. They were able to locate and speak with all of the kids who names were on the list. Investigators also spoke with each child’s parent advising them of the situation. Investigators located the suspect in this case who is a 16 year old student at Orangefield High School. The 16 year old spoke with Investigators and confessed to writing the “hit list” and advised he did it as a prank and was not planning to follow through with the threats. Orangefield High School suspended the 16 year old student and charges are pending in this case. The investigation is ongoing. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been providing extra patrols and walking through all of the schools in Orangefield during this time making sure that the school and students are safe.

Orange County Deputy Fred Ashworth is in stable condition Thursday evening at a Beaumont hospital after being shot. Authorities report a 16-year-old prisoner got Ashworth's pistol during a struggle as the deputy was delivering the teen to the Minnie Rogers Juvenile Detention Center outside of Beaumont. The shooting happened about 10:30 a.m. in the sally port of the detention center. The sally port is similar to an attached garage with doors that close so a prisoner can be taken from a car directly into the building. Orange County does not have a juvenile cells and uses the Jefferson County facility. Ashworth had brought the teen offender to a hearing at an Orange County court-at-law and was taking him back to the detention center. Ashworth was shot twice. Jefferson County deputies got the youth to surrender the gun and apprehended him. He was never outside the detention center’s sally port. The wounded deputy was conscious and taken by ambulance to a Beaumont hospital. Sheriff Keith Merritt and Ashworth's family were soon at the hospital. Doctors removed one bullet from his upper left chest below the shoulder. The second bullet will be removed at a later time. Information about juveniles is not public under state law. The youth is now facing a charge of attempted capital murder because of shooting an on-duty peace officer. The case will be prosecuted by the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office. The youth could be tried as an adult. If he is declared an adult, then the proceedings and his identity will be public.  more

Riley Rich Gibson, III, a 30-year-old Orange man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas. Gibson, also known as Trae Gibson, pleaded guilty on May 20, 2011, to production of child pornography and was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison Thursday by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark. According to court documents, on Sep. 23, 2010, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Gibson's residence located in the 1500 block of Link Avenue in Orange. A search of Gibson's personal computer revealed images of child pornography, some of which are alleged to have been produced by Gibson by using his cell phone camera to photograph a female child younger than 3 years old in sexually explicit poses. Gibson was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 6, 2010.

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The Orange Camp Fire Council Thursday honored Tim Schossow of Bridge City and Leigh Anne Dallas, a senior at West Orange-Stark High School. Camp Fire gave Schossow the Community Service Award and Dallas the Dan Domas Youth Award at the council's 69th Annual Dinner.  The awards give tribute to people who volunteer to improve Orange County. Schossow is currently the chairman of the board at the American Red Cross Orange Chapter. In addition he serves on the boards of the United Way of Orange, the Sabine Chapter of Ducks Unlimited and the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce. Miss Dallas has been a member of the local Camp Fire since she was in kindergarten. In recent years she has become a camp counselor. At West Orange-Stark High School she has been a cheerleader and member of the student council and has participated in many community activities, including the Bayou Clean-up and the Lions Club Carnival. She also started the Socks for Seniors program to gather new socks to give to senior citizens at nursing homes.

A 21-year-old woman was robbed as she walked across the parking lot at the International Apartments Wednesday night. The woman told police about 10:17 p.m. that she was going to her vehicle carrying money in her hand when a man asked if she knew the location of a pay phone. She pointed out a pay phone. However, the man didn't walk toward the phone, he kept walking to her. The man pushed her and as she stumbled backwards, he grabbed the money and ran in the direction of Zurich Street. Police reported the woman was scratched in the fall. The man is described as white with a heavy build and about 5-feet-7-inches tall. He was wearing a dark hooded jacket and denim jeans, along with a black and white striped hat and tennis shoes.

This pit bull was found at the county admin. building. If it is yours and you can identify it, please call 882-7008. Please call (409)350-7118 if this is your black smiling dog.

Annette Pernell has her own definition for "soul food"--it is made with love from the heart. That's a major ingredient she expects to use in the kitchen when she opens her restaurant, "Having Cake," next week. The Bakery and Soul Food Cafe is at 902 10th St., the former home of The Bread Box cafe and Parlours. The Orange city councilwoman is putting her heart in her project. She has fallen in love with her adopted hometown and the Old Orange Historic District. She hopes Having Cake will be the kind of place where neighbors and friends can walk and enjoy her home-style cooking or a piece of pie. more

A worker at a 16th Street pawn shop held a copper thief at gunpoint early Wednesday night. The thief was caught tearing apart an air conditioner unit inside a fenced area behind the Best Pawn in the 1200 block of 16th Street has been the victim of copper thefts twice before in the past two months. Several other businesses in the same block have recently had air conditioning units dismantled and the copper tubing cut out.

Orange police arrested a homeless man, 40-year-old Jerry Wayne Jeans. Officer J.M. Busby said the suspect was found inside the small fenced area standing on top of the air conditioner. The worker inside the pawn shop went outside with someone else after hearing noises in the back of the store about 6:15 p.m. A 911 call was made to police while the suspect was held by the worker at gunpoint. Police found seven pieces of copper tubing that had been cut from the air conditioner. The pieces were stacked and partially hidden away from the unit. Jeans is known by local police for hanging around businesses on 16th Street. He was arrested Nov. 16 for criminal trespassing at a washateria on Burton near 16th Street.

People driving to work on Green Avenue at 16th Street a little before 8am Thursday morning thought they saw a covered body by the roadway. However, Orange police report that a man fell on the sidewalk. Officers covered him with a police jacket to protect him from the wetness and the chill. The man sat up and was okay. He refused medical care.

Longtime Pinehurst City Councilman Bob Williams said today he will not seek another term in the May election. "I've decided it's time for some new blood," he told KOGT's Glenn Earle. Williams has been on the council for five years during his current stint. He had previously served some 12 years on the council with terms dating back to the 1980s. Pinehurst City Council Tuesday night officially called the next city council election for Saturday, May 12. Mayor T.W. Permenter said he will run for a third term in that position. Councilman John Zerko told Earle he will likely run again. The Pinehurst election is all at-large and this year will have the mayor's position plus those two council seats up.

Bear Lake? The Orange area didn't get as much rain as some parts of the state, but still received a decent amount. The Sabine River Authority gauge by the Temple-Inland plant recorded 2.02 inch. The SRA gauge on Pier Road new downtown Orange had about 1.5 inch, and the National Weather Service gauge at the Orange County Airport on South Hwy. 87 between Orange and Bridge City had almost 1 inch.

The Orange City Council also Tuesday called the election for Saturday, May 12. This year, Mayor Brown Claybar is ineligible to run because of term limits. He has served 10 years, with five consecutive two-year terms. Last year Orange implemented a system with four council seats elected by specific districts. The city had a staggered election with two of the single-member seats elected in 2011 and two this year. The seats for District 1 and District 3 will be elected in May. Also, one of the two at-large positions will be on the ballot this year. That spot is currently held by Charles Guillory.  Theresa Adams Beauchamp told KOGT's Glenn Earle on Wednesday that "I might not run at all." She previously said she might be considering a run for mayor. Beauchamp has held the Position 1 spot for several years when it was elected at-large. She lives in the area of District 1 so she would be able to seek election to the seat. However, Jeff Holland, who holds the Position 3 seat, does not live in District 3. He will not be able to run for council in that district. He could, however, run for the at-large seat or mayor. So far, no one has announced officially that they will be a candidate for mayor.

On Tuesday January 24, 2012 at about 7:40 p.m. the Orange Police Department responded to the report of a man who was holding hostages at gun point inside of a residence located at 516 Knox. The responding officers learned that Michael George Mitchell a twenty-eight year old from Orange was holding another adult male and a ten year old child hostage. During the course of the event, Michael George Mitchell discharged a handgun several times. The Orange County SWAT team responded, as did the West Orange Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol and Texas Rangers, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The Orange Fire Department and Acadian EMS responded and prepared to provide emergency medial treatment should it have been necessary. Michael George Mitchell surrendered to police at about 9:50 p.m. and was placed under arrest. He is charged with Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Kidnapping, and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. No one was injured in the course of this event.

A Buick sedan went into a deep ditch about 3:45 Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of Cordrey and 14th Street. Orange police at the scene said a pickup truck may have been involved in a small collision with the car but officers were trying to sort out what happened. The roads were wet. Rescue workers had to remove the driver on a backboard. She was taken to the local hospital by Acadian Ambulance service with non-life-threatening injures. A young teenage girl was a passenger in the car but was not seriously hurt.

Orange police were called to the local hospital Monday at noon because a 70-year-old woman said her 31-year-old daughter had pushed her. Officer T.W. Hilyar reported the woman had suffered a severe cut above her left eye that needed medical treatment in the emergency room. Police arrested the daughter on a warrant for a misdemeanor offense from Orange Municipal Court. The woman could face a future assault charge.

A man told Orange police Monday morning that someone took nearly $6,800 worth of items from his vehicle that had been parked at the International Apartments on Meeks Drive. The missing items included a laptop computer, a job box with power tools, a tool bag with power tools, a Freon bottle and loose change.

Someone stole numerous items from a house in the 3600 block of Ridgemont Drive while the resident was at work Monday. The woman told Orange police she went to work at 6 a.m. and discovered the items missing when she returned at 2:10 p.m. The missing items include a 32-inch TV and a Toshiba tablet.

A small business jet skidded on water during heavy rain and ran off the runway at the Orange County Airport Tuesday morning. The pilot and eight passengers were not injured, said Sgt. Richard Howard with the Texas Department of Public Safety in Orange. The jet had come from Alabama and the passengers were going to one of the local industries, he said. DPS Trooper Stephanie Davis in Beaumont reported the craft was a Cessna 560 and the pilot was Claude Edward Collins. The landing gear of the craft was damaged. Howard said the runway is like any asphalt surface in that oils and other materials rise to the surface in the rain. The pilot had been coming in for a landing about 10 a.m. and hydroplaned. During the skid it made a 360 degree turn before stopping in the grass. He estimated the aircraft traveled about a quarter of a mile after the skid. Regulars at the Orange County Airport said the pilot and Cessna come to Orange often. Witnesses said smoke or water was coming from the wheels as the craft after it hit the runway. The pilot had come in during the heaviest part of the morning’s rains. DPS conducted the initial investigation and has notified the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA investigates all aircraft accidents. Also responding to the accident were the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Orange Fire Department and Acadian Ambulance. The ambulances left after finding that no one was injured.

The Mauriceville Middle School University Interscholastic League (UIL) math and science team competed on Saturday, January 21, at a meet sponsored by Odom Academy in Beaumont. This was the first ever math and science competition for MMS and the team placed Fourth overall out of the fifteen schools in attendance; some from as far away as Houston. Matthew Cox earned First Place in the Seventh Grade Science Division, while Parker Linscomb won Third Place in the same division. In Eighth Grade Science, Richard Warner placed Seventh out of 45 contestants in that group. Pictured left to right - Matthew Cox, Parker Linscomb, and Richard Warner.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office will be getting a fitness center for the staff courtesy of money confiscated from drug dealers. Commissioners Court Monday approved Sheriff Keith Merritt's plan to develop the fitness center that will be equipped like a commercial gym. The workout center will be set-up in a building on Border Street that the sheriff's office previously used. Merritt told commissioners that the expenditure has been approved by the U.S. Department of Justice, which sets rules on how law enforcement agencies may spend confiscated drug money. In other business, commissioners approved the purchase of a 2,000 gallon oil truck for the road and bridge department for $152,000. The new truck will replace a 1992 model. Assistant County Attorney Doug Manning told commissioners that legally, the sheriff's office must continue to pay full benefits and salary to jailer Chris Brown until the end of December. KOGT's Glenn Earle reports she was injured, but Manning did not say how she was injured.

The West Orange-Stark High School chapter of Business Professionals of America competed at the Area 5, Region 1 Regional Leadership Conference at Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches on Saturday. Earning second place or higher in their events, the following people qualified to compete at the State Leadership Conference (March 1-3) in Dallas: MyQuesha Davis, 2nd place, Economic Research Project; Casey Chapman, 2nd place, Prepared Speech. The Computer Animation Team of Roman Sandacz and Raven Pard also placed 2nd to advance to State. The following people also placed, and will serve as alternates. Morgan Neal, 3rd place, Extemporaneous Speaking; LaTasha Richard, 4th place, Medical Office Procedures; Amina Flore, 6th place, Keyboarding Production; And the Video Production Team, which placed 4th and consists of LaTasha Richard, Danielle LeDay, Tristan McDonald, and MyQuesha Davis. Casey Chapman also placed 5th in the Administrative Support Concepts and Information Technology Concepts open events, which are tests available for all students at the conference. Chapman is chapter President. Lacey Hale and Donna Enard are club sponsors.

The U.S. Marshals Service is reporting that a Louisiana man wanted for aggravated rape of a child may be in the Orange-Vinton area. The man is 40-year-old William Charles Langley Jr., or Bill Langley. He is white or Hispanic, 5-feet-8 inches tall and weighs about 225 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Information about his whereabouts should be made to the marshals at 337-251-6921. A cash reward is available for information leading to his arrest. Informants will be kept confidential.

St. Mary Catholic School Student Council sent 17 leaders to the TASC District 17 Winter Retreat at the Houston Galleria. The retreat consisted of leadership activities, ice breakers, small group activities and skits led by selected student leaders (Junior Councilors). Three of the St. Mary students were selected to be these JC's for the consultant. They were Madison Miller, Tyler McCorvy and Mitchell Lee. Pictured (bottom left to right) in the group are Nathan Hughes, Dalton Wimberley, Michael Lee, McCartney Miller and Lydia Covington. Then Kaitlyn Braquet, Madison Taggart, Morgan Lindsey, Olivia Fuselier and Sarah Gonzalez. The top rows are Edward Doan, Madeleine Fuselier, Alexis Cox, Mitchell Lee, Madison Miller, Tyler McCorvy and Emily Erb.

Frances Ann Lutcher had the wealth that made the 1890s known as the "Gilded Age" in America. Her husband, Henry Jacob Lutcher, had started the great Lutcher and Moore Lumber Co. that owned vast lands of timber and mills to make boards that were shipped around the world. God was always in her thoughts and for decades, she planned on building a beautiful church with the best designs and artwork of the Victorian Era. On Sunday, January 28, 1912, she sat with her family in the dedication service for her grand building for First Presbyterian Church in Orange. On Sunday January 29, the congregation of First Presbyterian will mark the 100th anniversary of the Lutcher Memorial Building with a rededication service.  more

	Orange Community Christian held their Homecoming and the Royalty was announced. Duchess Samantha Leifeste, Queen Ivey Benoit, King Jacob Trevino, and Duke James Herbert. Right: Homecoming Beau's Ryan Tibbits, Jacob Trevino, Jacob Alexander and Sweetheart Madalyn Tran-Reno.

A variety of 17 rifles, shotguns and pistols was reported from a house in the Westmont subdivision during the weekend. The owner of the house on Bruce Lane called Orange police about 10 a.m. Sunday to report the burglary. The owner was not living in the house at the time but owns the property and uses it for storage. The thief got in by forcing open a place in the back of the house. Police reported the missing guns included collector commemorative rifles for the American Centennial, Teddy Roosevelt Centennial, Canadian Centennial and NRA Centennial.

A man walking in the 1400 block of Main Street Sunday night was jumped by four or five men and beaten. Cash and prescription medicine were stolen. The 46-year-old man called 911 at 9:39 p.m. after being attacked. He said he had walked from his house in the Ridgeon area. The men came out of a house on Main Street when he walked by and attacked him. He was taken by Acadian Ambulance to the emergency room at Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital Orange.

Also during the weekend, the owner of a Chevrolet Impala reported that his car was vandalized and an IPod was stolen from inside. The car was at a house on Bridal Wreath Street in the Roselawn neighborhood. Someone scratched slur words on the panel of a back passenger door and also cut the two front seats. The incident was reported at 8:36 Saturday night.
Burglaries reported to Orange Police:
8:16 a.m. Friday: Ford tailgate with a fold-out step, worth $1,500, from 6000 block of Ironwood Drive.
11:49 p.m. Friday: Acer laptop computer from house in 500 block of Bilbo.
10 a.m. Saturday: A 42-inch TV, laptop computer and assorted jewelry from 2000 block of Lincoln Drive. Total value estimated at $11,200. Entry made by kicking in locked door.

The Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School University Interscholastic UIL Prose and Poetry team, under the direction of Theater Director Cory Broom, attended the Nederland Academic Practice Meet on Saturday, January 21. Three LCM students earned spots in the finals. They are: Aaron Alford – Third Place in Poetry and Emily Dodd – Fifth Place in Prose, both seniors; and freshman Triston Stringer – Sixth Place in Poetry. Combined with Debate Team scores, the LCM Speaking Team won First Place overall at the tournament. Students are, from left, Aaron Alford, Emily Dodd, and Triston Stringer.

West Orange – Stark High School Journalism students won the second place team award at the Hamshire-Fannett UIL Academic Practice Meet held earlier this month. WO-S students placed in every journalism event. Kylie Hughes led the team of WO-S students. She placed 3rd in News Writing, 4th in Feature Writing, and 6th in Editorial Writing. Casey Chapman placed 1st in News Writing. Miller, Jacobs and Platt placed 2nd, 4th, and 5th in Headline Writing, respectively. In other events, Bailey Baer placed 5th in Poetry; while Otis Frazier placed 6th in Calculator Applications. Meri Elen Jacobs is the WO-S Journalism sponsor. Brandy Bonnin and Cynthia Tolliver are WO-S sponsors of poetry and calculator applications, respectively.

Flex Oil Services of Channelview will be recycling used oil and oil filters from Orange County. Commissioners Court on Tuesday awarded a contract to the firm, which was one of two bidding. Flex will pay the county $1.30 per gallon for used oil and will pick up the used oil filters at no cost to the county. The county generates the used oil and filters mainly through the sheriff's office cars and equipment used by the road and bridge department. Also, Commissioners Court learned that county Purchasing Agent Connie Cassidy has received her credentials as a "certified public buyer." KOGT's Glenn Earle said about Cassidy "Congratulations for a job well done. The honor does not come easy."

Austin lawyer Dan Lawton, who represents cities in Orange County opposing the proposed Entergy rate increase request, said his law firm is still working with consultants before filing documents with the Texas Public Utilities Commission. He told KOGT's Glenn Earle he hopes to deliver the paperwork to the commission soon. Lawton has a record of getting reduced rate increases from Entergy in the past because of his filing with the PUC. Entergy Texas in November asked for a system-wide rate increase of $112 million a year. That rate would mean the rate for the average home consumer would go up about $14 a month. Lawton also told Earle that he is working with the company to get a $43 million rebate to customers based on Entergy overcharges on fuel charges.

Construction on the new Orange Senior Citizens Center-Meals on Wheels building could be finished by the end of February or the first of March, according to Jay Trahan, Orange economic development director. The senior citizens center is going up on the corner of Fifth and Division streets and is part of downtown development. Earlier this month, the Orange City Council and City of Orange Economic Development Corporation awarded a construction bid for riverfront development downtown. Trahan told KOGT’s Glenn Earle that the contractor, SpawGlass and members of the Jeffery Carbo Landscape Architect team have held the first pre-construction planning meeting.

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