H.R. No. 47R E S O L U T I O N WHEREAS, Citizens of Orange County are gathering in Austin today to celebrate Orange County Day at the State Capitol, and this event affords an ideal opportunity to recognize the county's many fine attributes; and WHEREAS, Contiguous to western Louisiana, from which it is divided by the Sabine River, this East Texas county is also bordered by the Neches River and by Sabine Lake; it took its name from orange groves flourishing along the Sabine River when it was created in 1852 from a portion of Jefferson County; and WHEREAS, Dominant within the county's economically diverse base are the petrochemical, lumber processing, shipbuilding, and tourism industries, while agribusiness is also a major contributor; the beneficial combination of an extended growing season, rich coastal soil, and favorable climate results in abundant crops of cotton, rice, citrus, vegetables, soybeans, peas, Christmas trees, and nursery stock, while horses, cattle, crawfish, and hogs also account for significant income; and WHEREAS, Residents and visitors participate in a multitude of outdoor events, including the Annual International Gumbo Cook-off in May and festivals celebrating crawfish and crabs; Orange County's heavily wooded acreage, along with marshes, grasslands, and various bodies of water, including the nearby Gulf of Mexico, attracts hunters and freshwater and saltwater fishing enthusiasts, while birders delight in the impressive range of exotic avian life; and WHEREAS, Lamar State College--Orange offers opportunities for educational and cultural enrichment in the county seat and is complemented by such assets as the Heritage History Museum of Orange County, Heritage House Museum, Community Playhouse, Lutcher Theater for the Performing Arts, Stark Museum of Art, W. H. Stark House, and Central Fire Station; and WHEREAS, Orange County is one of the Lone Star State's great assets, and even as its citizens reflect with satisfaction on their proud accomplishments, they can also look forward with anticipation to the new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas Legislature hereby recognize January 27, 2003, as Orange County Day at the State Capitol and extend best wishes to all Orange County residents for a bright and prosperous future. Deshotel Hamilton Craddick Giddings Merritt Allen Goodman Miller Alonzo Goolsby Moreno of Harris Bailey Griggs Moreno of El Paso Baxter Grusendorf Morrison Berman Guillen Mowery Bohac Gutierrez Naishtat Bonnen Haggerty Nixon Branch Hamilton Noriega Brown of Kaufman Hamric Oliveira Brown of Brazos Hardcastle Olivo Burnam Harper-Brown Paxton Callegari Hartnett Pena Campbell Heflin Phillips Canales Hegar Pickett Capelo Hilderbran Pitts Casteel Hill Puente Castro Hochberg Quintanilla Chavez Hodge Rangel Chisum Homer Raymond Christian Hope Reyna Coleman Hopson Riddle Cook of Navarro Howard Ritter Cook of Colorado Hughes Rodriguez Corte Hunter Rose Crabb Hupp Seaman Crownover Isett Smith of Tarrant Davis of Harris Jones of Lubbock Smith of Harris Davis of Dallas Jones of Bexar Smithee Dawson Jones of Dallas Solis Delisi Keel Solomons Denny Keffer of Dallas Stick Deshotel Keffer of Eastland Swinford Driver King Talton Dukes Kolkhorst Taylor Dunnam Krusee Telford Dutton Kuempel Thompson Edwards Laney Truitt Eiland Laubenberg Turner Eissler Lewis Uresti Elkins Luna Van Arsdale Ellis Mabry Villarreal Farabee Madden West Farrar Marchant Wilson Flores Martinez Fischer Wise Flynn McCall Wohlgemuth Gallego McClendon Wolens Garza McReynolds Wong Gattis Menendez Woolley Geren Mercer Zedler ______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 47 was adopted by the House on January 27, 2003, by a non-record vote. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House