News

City of Vidor accepting applications for Hotel Occupancy Tax grants

The City of Vidor is accepting applications for Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) grants for fiscal year 2016-17, and the Sept. 7 deadline for eligible businesses to apply is fast approaching.

According to Vidor City Manager Mike Kunst, HOT grants are basically meant to put “heads into beds” at local hotels.

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Hardin County jail inmate dies after being found unresponsive in cell

The Texas Rangers are investigating the death of an inmate at the Hardin County Jail who was found unresponsive in his cell following a public intoxication arrest on Aug. 27, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Stephanie Davis reported in a news release. 

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Donations provide protective gear for local police department

Donations from a group of local families provided tactical body armor kits to the Beaumont Police Department, BPD announced in a press release Aug. 29.

Judge Cory Crenshaw reportedly spearheaded the effort he calls “Protect Our Peacemakers.”

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Jefferson County Tax Assessor reports back on legislative conference

Allison Getz

Allison Nathan Getz, Jefferson County Tax Assessor-Collector, was one of hundreds of county officials who gathered in Austin on Aug. 24-26 at the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) 2016 Legislative Conference to discuss the upcoming legislative session and the common concerns shared by Texas’ local governments and local taxpayers.

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Man sentenced to 20 years for 2014 phone store robbery

Latashi Henry and Jamail Wallace

A Jefferson County jury has sentenced 26-year-old Jamail Wallace to 20 years in prison for the 2014 armed robbery of Beaumont’s AT&T store on Dowlen Road. According to prosecutor Luke Nichols, the trial began the week of Aug. 22 and concluded Monday, Aug. 29, with a guilty verdict and 20-year prison sentence handed down by a jury.

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Four injured in multiple vehicle crash in Jasper

Troopers with the Texas Department of Public safety responded to a multiple vehicle accident that injured several people and shut down Highway 63 in Jasper Aug. 28, Trooper Stephanie Davis reports.

According to a news release from Davis, DPS received a report of a crash involving multiple vehicles on Highway 63, approximately one mile outside of Jasper city limits, at approximately 4:25 p.m.

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Obituary: Dr. Steven K. Sooudi

Dr. Steven K. Sooudi

Dr. Steven Kavon Sooudi, 47, of Beaumont, died Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016, at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. He was born Jan. 26, 1969, in Detroit, Michigan, to Joyce J.

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Recycling to renew in Beaumont

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School seventh grade student Desmond Williams

During a council meeting Aug. 23, the Beaumont City Council voted unanimously to renew recycling in the city.

Waste Management recently pulled its recycling service from Beaumont due to its high cost and the limited interest in subscriptions. The move impacted over 500 Beaumont residences.

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Texans late on child support could be denied vehicle registration, but turning away drivers is left to county offices

Paxton and Getz

The Texas Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division, which utilizes a number of tools to enforce payment of child support and to encourage evaders to pay up, has now indicated it plans to add another tool to its enforcement toolbox, but Jefferson County Tax Assessor-Collector Alison Getz worries that implementation of the new initiative could cause problems for parents behind on payments and for her staff, as well.

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Jury finds Beaumont man guilty of murder

Beaumont man, Arthur Christopher Harmon, 23, was found guilty of the first-degree felony offense of murder and was sentenced to 45 years in prison, according to Assistant Jefferson County District Attorney Rachel Grove. The jury returned a guilty verdict after one-and-a-half hours of deliberations on Aug. 25.

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