Inside the Moon
Seashore Happenings A2
Issue 654
The
Island Moon The voice of The Island since 1996
October 27, 2016
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com Tides are up and so is the collective pulse rate as we spiral down towards the November 8 maelstrom wishing little more than to curl up in a little old ball on the south jetty in a warm sleeping bag and go to sleep until November 9. But alas what used to be called the Shoulder Season on our little sandbar, the weeks surrounding the 100-day Tourist Season, has now responded to the call of gravity (Newton's First Law - an object in motion tends to stay in motion) and has now stretched itself fully into Hippydom. Sag is the new slack. Our Tourist Season now has only a few weeks out of the year off and those weeks are scattered around and about the calendar. It used to be that our Island calmed way down after Labor Day. No more. In recent weeks we have also seen more visitors coming from down Mexico way. Bienvenidos amigos, Dile a tus amigos!
Free
Weekly
FREE
2016 Taste of the Island a Huge Success
Edwin Myers serves up some delicious Gumbo at this year’s Taste of the Island. You can taste it for yourself at his restaurant and bar Giggity’s in Port Aransas.
La Posada Kickoff Less Than Two Weeks Away
Kleberg Beach We want to compliment Precinct 4 County Constable Bobby Sherwood and his officers for their work patrolling the six miles of beach in Kleberg County which came under the control of Nueces County last year. The presence of the constables there has cut back on many of the nefarious activities previously practiced in that formerly lawless stretch. Last weekend an officer was parked at The Bowl, a blowout in the dunes about two miles south of Bob Hall Pier, where keeping fourwheelers out of the dunes has been an ongoing struggle.
JFK Causeway and Island traffic study We’ve had a steady stream of calls here at the Word Factory in the past several weeks from people caught in traffic jams on the JFK Causeway. The increase in wrecks is evident in the weekly traffic count we run. A recurring question is how/if the activation of the new traffic light at the SPID/Aquarius intersection will effect traffic flow. With only one exception the recent JFK jam-ups have not been due to construction on the project. But in answer to the questions concerning what effect, if any, the light may have on traffic flow from the JFK and along SPID there is good news; we don’t have to speculate. Within a few weeks the light is scheduled to be operational and all we have to do is observe. For those concerned about Island traffic there will be a briefing on the Traffic Flow Study currently underway on The Island at the next Island Strategic Action Committee meeting at 5:30, Tuesday, November 1 at the Veranda. The meetings are always open to the public.
News of the Weird Here’s one we haven’t heard of before. We had a report this week that wood chips in a flower bed at a condo unit on Bonasse spontaneously combusted and had the residents not been home could have caused a bad fire. As it turned out the only damage was a burned palm tree and some shaky nerves on the part of residents who put it out before it spread. Self-combustible wood chips – now that’s just odd. Maybe we should spread woodchips around our parks and they could burn out the stickers! That sounds almost organic.
Cold Front Augustus
The first cold front of the season blew through last week; we’re going to name him Augustus after Augustus Mcray in Lonesome Dove. Let’s hope Cold Front Beatrice isn’t any more 4 powerful than Augustus was. In the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Live Music A18
Football A8
Lip Sync A9
By Brent Rourk Before you know it, it will be time to La Posada! Once again the event is sponsored by the Padre Island Yacht Club Las Posada Foundation. The original event this year’s parades and La Posada Kick-off Party will delight Islanders of all ages.
La Posada Dates
auctions of terrific gifts. Donations, toys, and auction proceeds from the La Posada Kick-off Party are donated by the Padre Island Yacht Club’s La Posada Foundation to the “Toys for Tots” program. The PIYC La Posada Foundation is seeking Toy Collector Boats to help pick-up the thousands of toys donated during both parades. This is
November 5th – Huge Garage Sale at the PIYC raising funds for La Posada Event operating costs
Nearly 1,000 people attended the 29th Annual Taste of the Island held on Wednesday, October 19th at Sclitterbahn Padre Island. Dozens of restaurants participated providing mountains of delicious food along with more than 6 bars serving thirsty guests. Doc’s Seafood and Steaks and Island Time Sushi Bar tied for the first place prize in the People's Choice Award. Angry Marlin Restaurant took the second place prize and Laguna Reef Restaurant in Flour Bluff won 3rd place. Congratulations to all of the participating restaurants for doing a superior job at representing the Island. Photos by Debbi Noble
Early Voter Turnout Heavy on The Island As the polls closed on Tuesday night after the first two days of Early Voting in the November 8 election 719 people had voted at the Island polling location. Across the city 11,921 votes had been cast after two days of brisk voter turnout with the highest totals coming from Early Voting locations at the Nueces County Courthouse (1295), Corpus Christian Fellowship (641), the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center (1060), Veterans Memorial High School (960), and two locations in Flour Bluff totaling (1032). In Port Aransas 539 voters had cast ballots. Long lines have been steady at the only Early Voting site on Padre
Island at the Schlitterbahn waterpark, often due to delays caused by technical difficulties which forced poll workers to enter data by hand. Due to a system put in place by Nueces County Clerk Kara Sands voters in this General Election can vote at any polling place in the county, regardless of where they are registered, both in Early Voting and on Election Day. There are currently 7332 registered voters on Padre and Mustang islands within the Corpus Christi City Limits. In the last Presidential Election more than 85% of them cast ballots. For more voting information and a sample ballot see the Voters Guide in this issue.
December 3rd – La Posada Golf Tournament at Schlitterbahn – 9:00 AM - 18 holes includes lunch December 6th – The fabulous La Posada Kick-off Party at Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant December 7th – Toy Collector Boat meeting at PIYC (7:00-8:00 PM) December 8th – Parade Captain’s Meeting at PIYC (7:00-8:00 PM) December 9th – La Posada Parade North side of the Island – begins at 7:00 PM December 10th – La Posada Parade South side of the Island – begins at 6:00 PM All golfers should plan on attending a fun day of golf at Schlitterbahn on December 3rd. Duffers, pros, and recreational golfers alike are invited to play 18 holes and enjoy an included lunch. Total cost for 18 holes and lunch is $35 for members and $45 for non-members. Additionally, if golfers bring a new toy for Toys for Tots, then they will receive a $10 discount. One of the finest Island Parties is the La Posada Kick-off party at Scuttlebutt’s where Islanders enjoy fabulous food, super spirits, and
La Posada cont. on A4
Sunday, November 6th
Annual Padre Island Art Walk
Last year the Padre Island Art Walk had 98 artists show their work and this this looks to be even better. The Annual Padre Island Art Walk will take place on Sunday, November 6 from noon to 5 p.m. at Billish Park on Gypsy Street. This is free and open to all of Corpus Christi. This event is designed to improve all aspects of the Art Community. All works are created by these arts. No commercial items or resale items permitted. The event will foster community unity and provide an opportunity for the public to meet our local Artists and Craftsmen. Come out and be a part of the biggest Art Walk on the Island.
A little Island history
What the Bones Tell Us About Ancient Local Residents
Editor’s Note: The following is the third and final story based in a study done by the Environmental Affairs Division Texas Department of Transportation Studies Program about a burial ground along Oso Creek that dates back to 800 B.C.
marine resources supplemented with carbohydrate-rich foods, such as prickly pear, acorns, pecans, and tubers. Munoz observed that their teeth had high degrees of wear and periodontal disease—a condition that leads to tooth loss, making it difficult to chew many kinds of food.
By A.T. Jackson and Steve A. Tomka, Richard B. Mahoney, and Based on their bones, Joan E. Baker determined that the people buried at Barbara A. Meissner Cayo del Oso led generally healthy Recently, several different lives. They showed little signs of researchers have analyzed the having suffered nutritional stress as skeletal remains from Cayo del Oso children or of chronic anemia later in hope of learning more about the in life. Most of the broken bones lives of the hunters and gatherers of she observed among the skeletal the Texas coast. By analyzing the population represented old injuries teeth of the people buried at Cayo del that had healed. Rather than the Oso, Cynthia M. Munoz determined results of accidents, most of the that their diet was based largely on
broken bones appear to have been caused by fist fights or hand-to-hand combat with blunt weapons. Baker suggests that these methods may have been used by the people of Cayo del Oso to settle disputes. During his 16th-century visit to the Texas Coast, Cabeza de Vaca observed this practice among several coastal groups he encountered.
Barbara E. Jackson, James L. Boone, and Maciej Henneberg discovered that some of the people buried at Cayo del Oso suffered from bejel (endemic treponematosis). Bejel is a bacterial infection of the bones, skin, and joints. Though rarely fatal, it is a chronic, progressive disease that causes sores in the mouth and throat
Remains of a 40 year old female buried around 800 B.C. were uncovered by TxDOT excavations in 1996. The oldest dated burial at the site, it is almost identical in age to an interment at another large cemetery in the Oso drainage History continued on A4