PNG senior tops at state competition
Port Neches-Grove High School senior Jason Tristan won state champion at the SkillsUSA Texas Leadership and Skills Conference for criminal justice in Corpus Christi recently.
According to the Port Neches Police Department, they have a partnership with the high school’s criminal justice department, and several officers and one investigator worked with Tristan to prepare and train for the competition.
The senior will represent Texas at the 2023 SkillsUSA National Championship Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 19.
Reynolds named Region 5 Top AP
Little Cypress Elementary Assistant Principal Sommer Reynolds was named the 2023 Region 5 Assistant Principal of the Year by the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA), the only one for the Region for the year.
Region Assistant Principals of the Year are eligible for the National Assistant Principal of the Year for Texas.
Three women honored for heroic actions
Three China Elementary School staff members were honored by the Jefferson County Emergency Services District No. 3 Fire Department at the Hardin-Jefferson ISD school board meeting on March 20.
According to Assistant Fire Cheif Phillip Kibodeaux, on Feb. 28, at 10:15 a.m., Jefferson County ESD No. 3 was alerted to a medical emergency at 605 Henderson Ave. and that a child was in severe respiratory distress and his oxygen saturation was critically low.
Three staff members sprung into action by bringing the child to the nurse’s office and began administering the child’s medication, buying time for responders to arrive to begin advanced treatment.
“Had it not been for the quick actions of these ladies, there may have not been a positive outcome,” stated Kibodeaux
Heather Gilley, Taryn Holmes and Linda Gates were presented with the Jefferson County ESD 3 Citizens Life Saving Award.
Local students shine in floral competition
At the YMBL South Texas State Fair’s Horticulture Floral Competition, the top five winners were from Silsbee and West Brook High School.
An Nguyen of West Brook took first place, while teammate Brook Byrd was fourth.
Silsbee’s Heather McMillian and Madison Konstantine placed second and third respectively, while Morgan Byers was fifth.
Silsbee ISD bus driver heads to state
Rose Laird, a bus driver for Silsbee ISD, participated in the Regional Bus Road-E-O at Bridge City ISD recently.
She placed first in the written part of the test, and second in the driving obstacle course to advance to the state competition on April 29 in Mesquite.
FFA president places fifth in pro rodeo
Hardin-Jefferson FFA President Kenli Smith competed in the pro rodeo held in conjunction with the South Texas State Fair recently.
Smith placed fifth in the breakaway roping competition with a 3.2 score. She competed against 47 competitors.
Jenna Dean Day
The Nederland City Council approved a proclamation declaring March 27 Jenna Dean Day. In February, Dean was presented with the Milken Educator Award. Annually, the Milken Educator Award goes to approximately 40 teachers in the U.S., recognizing educators who make a profound difference for students, colleagues, and communities. Dean is the first Nederland ISD teacher to receive the award.
Harmony schools awarded $18 million grant
The U.S. Department of Education has granted Texas-based Harmony Public Schools $18 million for further expansion of its public charter school network throughout Texas.
The grant will further Harmony’s current “Inspiring Futures Across Texas” growth initiative, which focuses on offering quality enrollment opportunities to more Texas students at future Harmony campuses. Currently, Harmony has 60 campuses across Texas, including one in Beaumont, and one online-only virtual academy.
“Our new student application numbers are higher than they have ever been, and continue to grow each year,” Harmony CEO Fatih Ay said. “All over Texas, families are seeing the opportunity that Harmony Public Schools contributes to their communities, and this grant is proof that the U.S. Department of Education sees the value that Harmony provides, as well.”
Additionally, Harmony Public Schools has recently received financial support from a variety of education-focused philanthropic organizations, including the Charter School Growth Fund, CREEED, FWEP, and the George W. Brackenridge Foundation.
Harmony Public Schools is a Texas-born, Texas-wide public charter school system with campuses serving PreK-12 students in 23 cities across the state. Harmony’s curriculum places a heavy focus on STEM skills, character education, project-based learning, and college readiness.
ExxonMobil celebrates shared success in BLADE completion
More than 200 local officials and ExxonMobil executives gathered at the Montagne Center for a red-carpet event in celebration of the BLADE unit completion on April 4.
“We did it,” exclaimed Beaumont Refinery Plant Manager Rozena Dendy to the crowd, as the celebration commenced.
“Those of you who call this region home, know very well the story of Lucas Gusher at Spindletop, and how it gave birth to the Texas oil boom in 1901, and our Beaumont refinery opened just two years later. One hundred and twenty years later, look at us now,” said Dendy of the world-class facility, which is now in the Top 10 in the world with a capacity of producing over 630,000 barrels a day.
Officially up and running since March 16, the BLADE unit allows ExxonMobil to produce four million gallons of diesel daily, increasing the refinery’s capacity by 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Equivalent to adding a medium-sized refinery, the $2 billion project maintained its pace on time and on budget through the lows of the pandemic, and without a single injury requiring more than first aid.
“Our people imagined the possibilities and demonstrated resilience throughout this project, knowing that we were doing our part to provide the fuel that society relies on every day,” Dendy added.
Throughout the construction phase, ExxonMobil hired nearly 1,700 contractors and put more than $500 million into the Southeast Texas economy.
With a spirit of gratitude, Dendy expressed that the success of the BLADE project is shared, “we appreciate the overwhelming support we have had from Jefferson County, the city of Beaumont, the port, the school district, and all of the municipal leaders that are celebrating with us here today.”
“Beaumont is a special place, and we could not have delivered this project without the vision, support, and collaboration of many of you that have joined us today. We were able to deliver this project safely and efficiently by working closely with this community, community leadership, local and state government, industry partners, and a really talented workforce,” said ExxonMobil Product Solutions President Karen McKee. The event concluded as ExxonMobil and community leaders gathered onstage for a celebratory Texas-sized cheer.
— Barbara Davis, Staff Writer
TJ receives Toshiba grant
Port Arthur ISD’s Thomas Jefferson Middle School received a $4,689 STEM grant from the Toshiba America Foundation (TAF) to support the TJMS Environmental Stewards Challenge Project for all incoming 8th grade students. This project aims to ignite students’ curiosity in studying the effects of human activities on the environment through inquiry learning, scientific research, and firsthand exploration.
According to Asther Reyes, grant writer and project director of the TJMS Environmental Stewards Challenge, the project covers three stages: EcoChallenge Exploration, EcoChallenge Immersion, and EcoChallenge Solution. Participants in the project will receive an Eco Challenge Map with targeted areas for exploratory study. An environmental science exhibit culminates at the end of the three-week challenge, with the presence of parents, students and community members.
Dr. Kristi Lewis, TJMS principal, said that the project will be implemented by the next academic year 2023-2024, and will involve the implementation of STEM engineering design coursework into one or more classes at Thomas Jefferson Middle School.
“Our school is ready for the challenge of implementing 21st-century learning skills, and I applaud the effort of teachers who have positioned themselves as change agents at our school,” Lewis said.
Hear ye, hear ye
The Neches River Festival (NRF) LXXV announced the 2023 Citizen of the Year is Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick.
NRF 2023 President Fuller McSpadden, Social Chair Ashley Bryan and NRF Executive Director Molly Moore surprised Branick at Commissioner’s Court on April 4.
Branick will be honored at the NRF King’s Arrival on Wednesday, April 12, at 5:30 p.m. at the Downtown Event Centre.
SLT sets eight dates for spring play
The Silsbee Little Theater (SLT) will present its COVID-delayed 50th Anniversary production of its spring dinner theater, “Love Rides the Rails, or Will the Mail Train Run Tonight?”
The SLT’s original production of this play was 50 years ago.
Production dates are April 14, 15, 28, 29, and May 5, 6, 12, and 13. Tickets are on sale to the general public and the theater is located at 106 North 6th St.
For more information, visit www.silsbeelittletheater.com.
Teens taking it to the Top
Mr. and Miss Top Teen of the Beaumont Chapter of Top Teens of America Andre Carter and Angela Williams, both 11th graders at West Brook High School, are celebrated as two of many young adults to watch from the chapter as the year’s progress.
Top Teens of America Beaumont Chapter Advisor Dr. Alicia Doss shared announcement of the honor following bestowment.