The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 35, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 29, 2007 Page: 3 of 22
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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
THE SILSBEE BEE • www.silsbeebee.com
Section 1, Page 3
Silsbee, LIT head together into future
LIT President Dr. Paul Szuch
sees a new building in the future
for Lamar Institute of
Technology, as well as the reno-
vation of five vocational facili-
ties.
Szuch shared his vision with
LIT faculty and staff this week,
as students continued to register
for classes. The Texas State
University System approved
LIT’s request in 2006 to construct
a new building and renovate the
technical labs/buildings.
LIT is in need of a student
learning support center, which
would be built adjacent to the
Technology Center along East
Lavaca. That new building would
include a one-stop student servic-
es center; an open lab with 75 to
100 new computer stations for
students; corporate training; and
other learning support facilities.
Although it is difficult to increase
classroom space because of LIT’s
limited campus space, partner-
ships with business and industry
have helped the institute find
alternative locations to teach stu-
dents.
Szuch said partnerships within
the community are invaluable for
the success of LIT. The institute
has partnered with Associated
General Contractors and other
businesses and industries to help
meet the employment gap in
Southeast Texas. With dual-
enrollment offered off-site in
Silsbee, Dayton and Tarkington,
Szuch sees satellite campuses
as key in school’s successes
he said, LIT is making courses
and programs available and con-
venient for high school students
and adults throughout Southeast
Texas. Day and night classes are
offered on campus and around
the region to meet the needs of
students.
Szuch always thinks students
should come first. “We are here
to serve our community and we
need to provide appropriate
schedules for our students,” he
said.
“We must keep up with the
advances in business and indus-
try,” Szuch said. “We also need to
meet the short-term working
needs (of industry).” LIT has
worked closely with industry to
get employees trained so they can
get to work as soon as possible,
he said. Partnerships have paid
off because employers allow stu-
dents to continue their studies
and in many cases help them pay
for classes.
Currently, industry is looking
to fill about 23,000 jobs due to
announced growth, expansion
and relocation of major corpora-
tions. It is LIT’s goal to get stu-
dents trained so they can get to
work. “Job placement is a top pri-
ority for LIT,” Szuch said. Job
placement for graduates is cur-
rently 99.8 percent.
In addition to meeting the
needs of industry, Szuch is com-
mitted to meeting the needs of
LIT faculty and staff.
LIT will be conducting its first
“All College Day” for faculty
and staff development in
October. This will give faculty
and staff the opportunity to
receive professional development
in areas of their choice and need.
“This will give them a day to
learn and grow,” Szuch said.
“This is a fun place to work and
a great place to learn,” Szuch
said. LIT is a learning centered
college focusing upon teaching
excellence, student success and
community engagement.
The first day of class was Aug.
23. Late registration continues
through Wednesday, Aug. 29. All
students participating in late reg-
istration will be assessed a $10
late fee.
Current students may register
online at www.lit.edu. Students
must have been accepted and
completed all entrance require-
ments before being allowed to
register. Prospective students
should be certain that LIT has
their testing scores. For more
information, call the Office of
Student Services at (409) 880-
8321.
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Silsbee students earn degrees
Two area students recently
received degrees from Sam
Houston State University in
Huntsville.
Donna Lynn Watson Neely of
Wildwood and Debra Watson
Reynolds were awarded their
masters of education in instruc-
tional leadership.
They received their degrees in
August 2007.
Winners of the annual Piney Woods Artist Competition held this
month at the Ice House Museum include, from left, Shelley
Plunckett with second place, Joyce Philen with first place, and
Ruth Martin with third place. The show was judged by
Beaumont artist Shirley Peel. Philen will prepare for a one-
woman show in 2008 as a result of winning the top prize.
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Our city is known for many
things. One of those things is
something that as a child, I
enjoyed at least once a week
along with my sister.
My uncle, Dewey Odom,
would take my sister and I out to
the movies at our beloved Pines
Theatre!
We loved spending time with
our uncle every moment that we
could - and Movie Night was so
exciting! We couldn’t wait to get
there - and honestly, we were
more excited about seeing some-
one than we were about watching
the movies on most nights.
We would stand in line, get our
ticket, and were greeted at the
door by a really tall man with
white hair, a mustache, and
always dressed in what we called,
“his Sunday best!” He always
had a smile, shaking our hands or
patting us on the heads. He was
even known to pull money out of
his wallet and buy our popcorn,
wipe another child’s nose or pick
up a crying baby.
I’ll never forget the visits to
what we called, “the poster
room.” This is where he kept all
of the previous advertising
posters of movies that had once
shown at the theatre. We got to
take a few home and line our
rooms with them! And you know
what? There is never a time that I
have been to the theatre that this
wonderful man wasn’t there - and
I don’t mind telling you that this
year would make 37 years for me!
This wonderful, dedicated and
loyal man walked to work every
day. He ran the Pines Theatre
from morning to night. Holiday?
Not for him! He was there open-
ing the doors for anyone and
everyone to be entertained.
Nothing was impossible for
this man - he did it all! From sell-
ing tickets, shining that flashlight
on kids who were misbehaving,
repairing odds and ends ... I even
saw him sweeping, serving
snacks and guarding the front
door making sure that no under
age child walked out of there
without a parent present.
I am not even sure that I need
to tell anyone who lives in
Silsbee for at least five genera-
tions back from myself who this
man is. But just in case there are
people out there that are new to
Silsbee or simply might have for-
gotten, this great man was Mr. W.
S. Rosser.
W.S was known to many of us
as “Unkie” - and he is sorely
missed at the Pines Theatre by
the many children and adults who
he practically raised.
Without his dedication and per-
severance, I believe that the the-
atre, a trademark of Silsbee,
Texas, would have been shut
down many, many years ago.
I’ve just recently been told that
the celebration of the Pines
Theatre on Saturday does not
include a celebration of the life of
W.S. Rosser and the commitment
that he made to not only that
establishment for more than five
generations, but to our city. I am
ashamed of today’s owners of the
theatre (I have no idea who they
are or who runs it), the City of
Silsbee, the Chamber of
Commerce and anyone else who
has anything to do with this cele-
bration.
I cannot imagine the sadness
and hurt that this man feels
because a city that he devoted his
entire life to has forgotten the
contribution that he has made. He
is too proud to say anything - to
humble to expect anything - but
today, I honor W.S. Rosser and I
say thank you for creating the
happy memories for so many of
us that had no idea that this
Saturday was not about you.
When we hear the words, Pines
Theater, we see you. I hope that
the theatre reads this before
Saturday - and I think that some-
one needs to call or even pay a
visit to W.S. and apologize per-
sonally for this oversight.
May God bless you abundant-
ly W.S. for the contribution that
you have made to not only our
city, but to the surrounding areas.
You made a difference ... a
tremendous difference in many
lives.
And you will never be forgot-
ten.
Christi Pickering Crain
Silsbee
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Dickert, Gerry. The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 35, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 29, 2007, newspaper, August 29, 2007; Silsbee, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1244868/m1/3/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Silsbee Public Library.