By Bobby Tingle

 

Harvey left his mark on Orange County. He imposed his will on many counties, cities and communities spread along the Texas Gulf coast. His impact will be remembered and recounted in the years to come.

In 2016, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service was uncertain about the impact of the historic Sabine River flooding.

He had a good idea how high the floodwaters would rise based on readings at various locations downstream, but he was uncertain. He had no data to go by. All the data he had available was recorded during events that were less severe.

He opined he would be able to answer the question for future events, as long as the flood levels did not exceed those of the historic flood of 2016.

Harvey was historic also. Data was recorded for this event as well. Meteorologists will use the new data to make predictions for future events.

The destruction by both events will have an impact. We can now see, after nearly a decade, the positive and negative impact of the destruction from Hurricane Ike. As the years pass, we will be able to assess from these latest events.

Initially, we can affirm a mark has been left in history.

Demolition precedes progress in the aftermath of these events. To be sure, the demolition brought on by these events was unwanted and unplanned.

But, in other cases, demolition can point to progress.

As we were reeling from the impact of Harvey, dealing with the sheer volume of water, the breadth and depth of the destruction, wondering what to do next, a demolition of another variety commenced.

The Orange Leader operates from the Dal Sasso building, behind and just east of the rear of the old Sears building.

If you stood on the front sidewalk of the Dal Sasso building, you could see the heavy equipment operators beginning the demolition within a few days of the storm. According to a report published in the September 9 edition of The Orange Leader, the demolition began Thursday, September 7.

The demolition brought mixed emotions.

Shirley Dupuis works in the office for Dal Sasso Realty. She stood looking at the demolition from the front walk of their office in those first few days.

“A lot of memories are being hauled away in that rubble,” said Dupuis.

Shirley saw the demolition of this landmark and remembered the hustle and bustle of days gone by at the location.

For some time the buildings at this MacArthur Drive location have been empty and lifeless. The expectation is for new construction ushering in renewed activity, commerce and prosperity.

Demolition can bring progress. It should the goal for each and every instance where we see demolition.

Let’s make some new fond memories!

Bobby Tingle is publisher of The Orange Leader. You can reach him at bobby.tingle@orangeleader.com.