News

BISD to address audit debacle as inquiries show further issues

A week after The Examiner exposed  the Beaumont Independent School District for submitting a fiscal year 2010-11 audit to the Texas Education Agency that was never approved by the board of trustees, the district will now vote to send the corrected audit to the state – and address the $2.2 million found missing from its cash and cash equivalents account.

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One dead and a family torn apart by courthouse shooter

A man on trial for aggravated sexual assault of a child for allegedly having sexual relations with his daughter in a case that has dragged on for nearly a decade went on a shooting rampage outside the Jefferson County Courthouse Wednesday, March 14, killing one person and injuring three others.

Bartholomew Granger, 41, has been charged with murder and is currently being held at the Jefferson County Correctional Facility. No bond was set. Additional charges are forthcoming.

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Terminal velocity

The recent announcement by GT Logistics (GTL) that it had signed a marketing agreement with Cokinos Energy Corporation to enhance the services offered at its GT OmniPort in Port Arthur represents only the beginning for this major new player in the Southeast Texas petrochemical complex.

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Rough draft of new FEMA flood maps stirs up Orange Co. officials, residents

It’s been more than 20 years since FEMA released official National Flood Insurance and floodway maps for Orange County, and for the last several years planned revisions have been promised. This past week on March 1, FEMA advanced that agenda by releasing rough drafts of preliminary maps, which are scheduled to be ready for public viewing within the next couple of months.

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Two versions of audit for the same year uncovered

A comprehensive financial audit report (CAFR) for fiscal year 2010-11 approved by the Beaumont Independent School District Board of Trustees at its Jan. 19 meeting is different than the one filed by the district with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) a week later, an investigation by The Examiner has uncovered. And that information has now prompted the state to take action and demand answers from the district.

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UPDATE: Hazmat spill cleared after 19 hours

UPDATE: Beaumont Police officers and fire department personnel were on the scene of a chemical spill for more than 19 hours after a tractor trailer overturned on Interstate 10 at Martin Luther King Parkway. All westbound traffic was rerouted off of Interstate 10 down Pine Street.

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Murder warrant issued related to missing woman

 

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CASA volunteers ready to give their time, emotion

There’s a real sense of pride that comes from helping others, but it takes a little something extra to be a volunteer, whether it’s at a soup kitchen, a hospital or just helping out a local organization.

Seven new Southeast Texan CASA volunteers sworn in by Judge Randy Shelton this past Monday will be giving up not just their time, but also plenty of emotion and energy. They have become the latest group of CASA volunteers who will assist children navigating through the oftentimes emotional and difficult CPS Foster Care process.

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‘High and dry’ homeowner in floodway

t up a workshop in his backyard has now led to questions of whether Orange County resident David Duncan will be left holding the bag, and the responsibility, for a $200,000 home built without proper FEMA certification in a mapped floodway.

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Former mayor addresses ‘big trouble’ in China’

When former city of China Mayor and Councilman John Walker read The Examiner article last week titled “Big Trouble in Little China” (Feb. 23-29 edition, page 10A), he was appalled at the implication his administration was responsible for any of the city’s financial woes.

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