Walkway donated by BASF TotalEnergies Petrochemicals
Feb. 10, the Wheatley School of Early Childhood Programs officially opened a covered walkway BASF TotalEnergies Petrochemicals (BTP) LLC funded to provide comfort and protection for the school’s parents and students.
“BASF TotalEnergies Petrochemicals employees and contractors live and work in this community so as members of the community, we are grateful for the opportunity to meet a community need — like a covered walkway that will protect the Wheatley School’s parents and students from the elements,” said Allison Ruffing, senior operations manager of the C4 Unit. “This is a special school in our community, and one we’ve been proud to support for many years now. ”
Parents, Port Arthur ISD Board of Trustee Diane Brown, Membership Director and Wheatley School Council Community Representative Jacoby Edwards, as well as Washington spoke and thanked BTP for the donation.
Plaques were placed on either side of the walkway entrance commemorating BASF’s contribution for the construction of the structure.
Waffle House heading to Silsbee; second in Hardin Co.
Work is being done for a new Waffle House restaurant in Hardin County.
Roger Martin, director of Public Works for the city of Silsbee, reported the restaurant will be located next to the Jack in the Box, 150 State Highway 327 East. This will be the second location in Hardin County and the 11th in Southeast Texas. There are three in Beaumont, two each in Port Arthur and Orange, and one each in Lumberton, Vidor and Winnie.
In 1955, two Georgia neighbors, Joe Rogers Sr. and Tom Forkner, opened up the first restaurant 24-hour, sit-down restaurant. Today, there are more than 1,900 locations in 25 states.
BISD educators awarded grants for innovation
Four Beaumont ISD educators were recipients of the Beaumont Children’s Museum and Indorama Ventures STEAM Teacher Grants, securing nearly $20,000 in funding to enhance science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education in their classrooms.
The grants, which aim to support innovative projects and provide teachers with valuable resources, will be awarded to educators at the Career and Technical Education Center, Fletcher Elementary, Jones-Clark Elementary, and West Brook High School. Each winning teacher will receive up to $5,000 to implement their creative STEAM initiatives.
The 2024 BISD STEAM Grant recipients were Dr. Lori Threats, Career and Technical Education Center – Maritime Marvels ($4,500); Wendy Richard, Fletcher Elementary – Keeping S.T.E.A.M. Alive in 2025 ($4,212.03); Shadye Nolan-Vaughns, Third-Future Schools Jones-Clark Elementary – Breaking Barriers: Enhancing STEM Education with Translation Technology ($5,000) and Stephanie Alcantara, West Brook High School – Percussion in the Digital Age: Bridging Music Education and Technology with MIDI Instruments and Digital Audio Workstations ($4,660)
Nonprofit presents $125,000 in grants to 53 organizations
Feb. 5, Brookshire Brothers Charitable Foundation (BBCF) celebrated its grant recipients at a check presentation ceremony where 53 organizations received a combined total of $125,000.
The Brookshire Brothers Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) of Brookshire Brothers Inc., distributed the funds to nonprofit organizations and educational foundations across the states of Texas and Louisiana. Ten were first-time recipients of the BBCF grant that has been in existence for more than 100 years.
The nonprofit organizations and educational foundations receiving grants from the BBCF this year from Southeast Texas include: Boys & Girls Clubs of Deep East Texas (including Silsbee), Caring Christians Sharing Mission (Sour Lake), Kirbyville Christian Outreach (Kirbyville) and La Iglesia Apostolica of Beaumont, Inc. (Beaumont).
LCSO to christen new training vessel
March 6, Lamar State College Orange will host a special ceremony to christen a new training vessel added to the fleet of mobile training units in the Maritime program. The christening will be at the Allied Health Parking Lot, 410 W. Front St., Orange.
The 39-foot vessel was made possible through Texas Reskilling and Upskilling Through Education (TRUE) Grant funds and includes a barge to train students on the water in safe maritime operating procedures.
The 4 p.m. ceremony will include a traditional blessing, bottle-breaking, and official naming of the T.V. Margie after President Thomas Johnson’s mother.
Motiva largest refinery in U.S., according to report
The Saudi Aramco-owned refinery in Port Arthur has quietly expanded its capacity, now processing a record 654,000 barrels per day — officially making it the largest refinery in the United States above Exxon’s Beaumont and Marathon’s Galveston Bay, reported Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com.
According to Motiva, the refinery was originally built to process crude oil from the Spindletop discovery, which ignited an oil boom centered in Beaumont. The refinery began in 1903 on 25 acres of land and produced 850 barrels per day. Today, the Port Arthur Refinery has grown to encompass 1,400 acres.
MBDR Loan Program open and accepting applications
The Texas Micro-Business Disaster Recovery (MBDR) Loan Program is now open and accepting applications from Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) interested in participating. Eligible micro-businesses should reach out to a lender on our approved CDFI participant list to inquire about loan details. Micro-businesses may also reach out to a preferred CDFI to encourage participation.
Micro-businessthat has been affected by a local, state or federal declared disaster in Texas, are encouraged to explore this program and see how it may benefit your business. Check the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s disaster webpage to find updates on state disaster declarations. You should also check local disaster declarations (e.g. a declaration by a county judge or mayor) and federal disaster declarations in your area.
Persons who are a CDFI interested in applying to participate in the program, are encourage to do so now to be prepared before a potential disaster strikes.
The Texas MBDR Loan Program has available funding of up to $5,000,000 through Aug. 31.
