Aug. 11--During a commissioners court meeting Monday, Orange County Judge Carl Thibodeaux reiterated he would not be forcing people out of their residences in the event of a hurricane hits Southeast Texas.

"I have said if before and I will say it again, I will not do that nor will I be involved with anything like that," Thibodeaux said.

During a May 4 meeting, commissioners signed a resolution opposing Senate Bill 12. The Texas Senate had recently passed the bill and was sent it to the Texas House of Representatives.

The bill states residents could be liable to repay costs if a rescue is needed for someone who stayed behind.

According to the resolution, "a county judge or mayor who orders the evacuation of an area strickened or threatened by a disaster by order may compel persons who remain in the evacuated area to leave and may authorize the use of reasonable force to remove that person."

"It says 'may' authorize the use of force, but I just don't want any part of it," Thibodeaux emphasized.

During a mandatory evacuation, it is recommended people leave the area, but Thibodeaux said he will absolutely not be involved with pulling people from their houses and putting them on buses.

The resolution from commissioners opposing the SB 12 reads, "In many situations the individual cannot evacuate due to lack of funds and the government does not reimburse cost for evacuations from an area that is not impacted by the hurricane as was seen for Hurricane Gustav."

In addition, the resolution also states, "as the Orange County Judge I would not use force to remove someone from their home, but would work with those individuals and address their needs to allow them to evacuate. The manpower is not available to force someone to evacuate since it is being used to allow safe passage for those who chose to evacuate."

"If someone decides to stay, then they are on their own," Thibodeaux said. However, he added, after the storm has passed, first responders would do what they could to rescue a person if needed.

"There isn't a first responder in Orange County that would turn their back on anyone in need," he said.

In conclusion, the resolution states, "The Orange County Commissioner's Court does not support Senate Bill 12 and request that other means be used to work with those who chose not to evacuate to convince them to leave. Force is not an option."

"I see problems with the bill and I cannot see forcing someone from their home," Thibodeaux said.

However, Thibodeaux expressed his concerns since the bill has passed at the senate level. He said he hopes citizens learned from their experiences during Hurricane Ike.

"Our goal is to make the citizens safe," he added. "But I will not be calling the sheriff's office to pull people from their homes."

In other county business, commissioners voted to move forward with repairs on buildings damaged by Hurricane Ike after being informed the insurance company agreed to pay the money necessary. In addition, the insurance company will pay policy limits on some buildings which were heavily damaged. County officials plan to meet with KBR to discuss redoing their quotes for the repairable buildings since some of the work was done by county personnel while waiting for approval.

Debby Schamber is a reporter for the Orange Leader. She can be reached at 409-883-3571 ext. 2609 or at dschamber@orangeleader.com.

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