Holding its own against cities; county plays big part in nation, world
Published 9:33 am Monday, January 22, 2018
- Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick was the keynote speaker at the Port Neches Chamber of Commerce 77th Annual Banquet on Thursday. Mary Meaux/The News
PORT NECHES — Jefferson County holds its own against the big cities when it comes to waterways, economy, heavy industry and nature.
County judge Jeff Branick enlightened attendees at the Port Neches Chamber of Commerce 77th Annual Banquet of this importance Thursday night at Benton’s with statistics to back it up.
Branick has been a champion for coastal restoration in Jefferson County which has 138,000 acres of marsh- marsh which is vital to protecting the shoreline and delicate ecosystem.
“I have no doubt if not for the marsh system then the surge from hurricane Ike would have made it all the way to Beaumont,” Branick said, adding that this would have severely damaged refineries and heavy industry along the way.
A number of projects are in the works to protect the marsh and dune system.
Branick also elaborated on Tropical Storm Harvey and how, in the weeks leading up to Harvey, the county was told by the National Weather Service-Lake Charles that the area would see 10 to 20 inches of rain over a seven day period, something the area could easily handle.
“We never expected we would break the U.S. rainfall record,” he said of the 64 inches of rain. “Southeast Texas saw 19 trillion gallons of rain fell. It takes 1 trillion to cover the state of Arizona to one-foot, so this would be 19 feet of water over Arizona. That’s a testament for the drainage district.”
The rainfall also led to shoaling of the ship channel and, according to some economists, the loss of $6 billion in discretionary spending revenue. Legislation for deepening of the Sabine-Neches Waterway has been passed and now its to the appropriation stage where about $750 million is needed- a small price when looking at the big picture.
The event also held the changing of the guard, where Olin Clotiaux handed over presidency to Lance Bradley.
Bradley gave a nod to the city council and Port Neches-Groves school district, calling them forward thinking and being open to new ideas and suggestions.
The 2018 board of directors officers include: president Lance Bradley, president elect Andrea Johnson, vice president/treasurer Shane Reedy, past president Olin Clotiaux and executive director/treasurer.
Directors include: Jason Landry, Morris McCall, Kathy Levingston, Brad Burnett, Mike Gonzales, Shana Burt, Matt Lumpkin, Andre Wimer, Randy Kimler, Terry Schwertner, Eric Sullivan, Greg Hunt, Stefanie Wolfford, Paul Lemoine, David LeJeune, and Ray Thompson.
