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Inside the Moon

Enchanted Auction A2

Santa Visits Island A2 Issue 660

The

Island Moon The voice of The Island since 1996

December 8 2016

Around The Island

By Dale Rankin The Island is a coiled spring as of this writing, waiting with what passes for anticipation on our little sandbar for Cold Front Christmas (the third of the year) to come busting in over the Laguna and blow the north side of our palm trees flat for a couple of days. But if the Weather Wonks get it right the 42nd version of the La Posada Lighted Boat Parades will go off Friday and Saturday under cloudy skies with ten mile per hour winds, moderate temperatures and less than a ten percent chance of rain. That passes for Chamber of Commerce Weather this time of year.

By Friday Island weather should regress to the Island Weather Mean and by Saturday the wind will lay down and temperatures will fluctuate between 50 and 70 degrees. That sounds about like last year with maybe a bit less wind.

The number of boats in the Saturday parade, traditionally the larger of the two, has been down the last few years as more people have opted for deck parties rather than making the rounds in lighted boats. When the weather threatens it’s much safer to stick close to the fireplace and the bar than venture out on the water. But alas, it is a boat parade we are after so get out there and light it up if you can.

Aquarius Dragway It has been but a few years since the opening of the Aquarius Extension made the final connection between Commodores and Whitecap as imagined by the original Island planners. They elected to make a tradeoff that we are now paying for. They had the choice of either including sidewalks in their plans or adding more park land and they chose the latter. The tradeoff for not building sidewalks was additional park land to be maintained by the city.

The original designers also incorporated three thoroughfares running north to south with Aquarius being one. Then the decision was made to eliminate an Aquarius bridge that left a bifurcated road with the final piece of the puzzle being the Aquarius Extension. The result of all that is that Aquarius from Commodores to Whitecap has become a main Island traffic artery without sidewalks.

At the Island Strategic Action Committee meeting Tuesday night a lady who owns a home on Aquarius said drivers have been passing stopped school buses on the right-hand side and high-speed traffic has become a daily problem as walking lanes are separated from traffic by nothing but a white line on the roadway. So far the only casualty has been a dog but as things now stand the interaction between vehicles and carbon units is headed for trouble. It’s an issue that is only going to become more profound and will not solve itself.

Then there’s this As we all know we live on an Island that is smack dab in the middle of active smuggling lanes between the producers of illicit products south of the Rio Bravo and consumers of same said products north of it. We hear stores but generally don’t address them in these pages; it is what it is.

A few weeks ago we reported that a bundle of those products washed up on the beach at the Michael J. Ellis Seawall and was duly turned over to police. But as the story goes, and confirmed by those hired to catch the smugglers, there was more than one bundle that found its way to local beaches but didn’t end up in the hands of law enforcement. Put it this way, if your friend who for years has struggled to pay his mortgage drives up next week in a new Bentley he may have been the person who found one of the bundles on the beach.

And that’s about enough about that.

It’s time to La Posada everybody.

Say hello if you see us Around The Island

Fishing A18

Surfrider Benefit A13

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It's Time to La Posada!

Hats off at La Posada Kick-off

By Brent Rourk

Where else but our Island can you find such a large group of generous people dedicated to giving and making Christmas a little brighter for others? Judging from last night’s success at the La Posada Kick-Off Party many less fortunate children in the Coastal Bend will have a nicer Christmas.

The La Posada Foundation’s annual La Posada Kick-Off Party raised over $14,000 on Tuesday evening at Scuttlebutts through silent and live auctions. Dozens of local businesses donated incredible gift items including BBQs, massages, gift baskets, vacations, art items, and more. Proceeds from the auctions will

go to the United States Marine’s Toys for Tots program. Within a couple of weeks, Marines will dispense toys to hundreds of children in the Coastal Bend.

The Kick-Off Party was marked by an enthusiastic crowd, fine food and drink, terrific music, and an efficient group of volunteers from the La Posada Committee and the Padre Island Yacht Club. The Scuttlebutts crew as usual helped make the evening a huge success.

La Posada Foundation President Doug Seefeldt commented, “What a great and night we had at the La

Kick-off cont. on A4

Island Chef's Con-Quest

The Origin of the Lighted Boat Parade Editor’s Note: The 42nd version of the La Posada Lighted Boat Parade will take to Island canals Friday and Saturday nights, December 9-10. For a complete rundown of events and parade routes see the information in this issue.

But how did the parade begin?

What was the origin of this Island tradition? For an answer we went to longtime Islander Mary Spolans.

Here is her story.

By Mary Spolans Way back in the foggy ruins of history in the 1970s the stars were out on a windless night when a group of friends including Bob and Cherie Holiday were gathered at Jack and Marian Lavers house on Dorsal. Nan and John Paramore came cruising by on their 32-foot boat lit up with Christmas spirit with lights on the

Origins cont. on A4

Tortuga Dunes Plans

By Dale Rankin As the likely new owner of the long stalled Tortuga Dunes development bordering Zahn Road and the Gulf Beach north of Packery Channel Developer Jeff Lamkin says he could have the mixed-use residential and retail site up and running as early as Summer 2017.

“Right now our plan is to keep it as Planned Use Development (PUD),” Lampkin said, “which would include retail space along Zahn Road, single-

“It just depends on how things work out,” Lamkin said at the Tortuga Dunes office last week. “If everything falls into place we could have at least part of the development up and going by this summer, or it could be the summer of 2018. We won’t know for certain until we take possession of the property.

Island Moon Columnist Wins on Food Network!

Island Moon food columnist and owner of A La Mode gelateria Chef Vita Jarrin went national last week when she competed on the Cooks vs. Cons show on the Food Network and beat three other contestants by cooking her lasagna and making bread pudding out of donuts.

Way to go Vita!

A little Island History Although Spaniards had visited Padre Island before 1766, Diego Ortíz Parrilla's inspection of The Island in that year was one of the first detailed reconnaissances. His report is one of the first accounts, if not the first, of The Island that has survived. A transcript of the document is located in the University of Texas Archives among the Dunn Transcripts. Mr. Ricardo Torres-Reyes of the Office of History and Historic Architecture, National Park Service, provided the following translation.

Year of 1767 Deposition of the writs and inquiries made by Col. Don Diego Ortíz Parrilla about the conditions of

Lamkin said he has the 137-acre tract under contract from the previous owners, the Forestar Group, and if things move as expected he will take full possession of the property by the end of 2016. About 70 acres of the site was deeded over to the Mollie Beattie Coastal Habitat Community by the previous owner to be preserved in perpetuity as wetlands. The remainder of the site, an L-shaped tract of about 66 acres, runs from State Highway 361, along the north side of Zahn Road, then parallel to and including the dune line along the Gulf Beach, a possible location for a beach bar/restaurant operation.

Jeff Lamkin family residence along the dunes, and retail space behind the dunes on the Gulf Beach in the center of the property.”

Development at the site stalled in 2010 when the cost of flood insurance soared to an estimated $5000 per month due to the property being located in a Coastal Barrier Resources Act (COBRA) zone which

Tortuga cont. on A4

Padre Island in the Year 1766 the Malaquittas Island, commonly known as Isla Blanca.

Decree: Real de Santa Petronila, September twenty two of the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty six.

The ensigns Don Joseph Antonio de la Garza and Don Eugenio Fernández and the Padro Matheo Martínez certify as follows everything performed and observed from the thirteenth of the present month when they began the reconnaissance of the Island of San Carlos of the Malaquittas until last night when they arrived in this camp, carrying out with clarity and precision all the instructions and advice issued in the written orders they received.

Don Diego Ortíz Parrilla

Carrying out the above mentioned orders, we the ensigns Don Joseph Antonio de la Garza, Don Eugenio Fernández, and the Patro Matheo Martínez certify, and if necessary swear, that having departed the thirteenth of this month to reconnoiter the Island of San Carlos de los Malaquittas, with twenty four soldiers and nine Indians from the Don Diego Ortíz Parrill missions of Rio Grande, and with instructions Report: dated the same date, declare: that Colonel and Commandant of this having gone to the said Island of expedition:

1766 cont. on A4

A2

Santa Visited the Island

By Brent Rourk

Leaving the cold toy factory known as the North Pole, Santa and Mrs. Claus paid a quick visit to North Padre Island on Saturday, listening to children talk about Christmas wishes and spreading their infectious happiness that is a cornerstone of Christmas.

Island Moon

December 8 2016

Enchanted Forest Auction Raises 6.5K for Timon's Ministries

For two hours Santa appeared at the North Padre Island Kiwanis sponsored Breakfast with Santa where parents and children enjoyed a delicious free breakfast of sausage and pancakes, coffee, juice, and milk. Entering the large room bellowing his characteristic ‘HoHo-Ho’ while waving, young children became fixed on Santa and followed his footsteps to his large, comfortable chair next to the smartly decorated tree.

Santa and Mrs. Claus listened to children and then gave them a small toy and candy cane as they left. Some of the children’s eyes grew wide with excitement and anticipation as they waited in line for a turn to talk with the jolly, red-clad, and white-bearded fellow.

Santa dashed back to the North Pole to check on his vast factory and hundreds of tireless, toy-making elves. The time crunch continues and Santa promised to visit every home on the planet. If children miss Santa on Christmas Eve, then remember to come back next year on the 1st Saturday of December to meet Santa here on the Island.

Timon's Ministries would like to thank the attendees and donors for their contributions which will help fund Timon's charitable programs.

Santa's Got a Brand New Bag

Bag Hero of the Month…Santa Claus!Skip the Plastic is pleased to announce our very special December Bag Hero, Santa Claus. In his travels from the North Pole to the South Pole, Santa has seen way too much plastic trash. He says “I'm making a list, checking it twice. Gonna find out who's naughty or nice. Be nice and use your reusable shopping bags.

Waterfront!

Enviable location!

Perfect for La Posada!

15646 Three Fathoms Bank

$449,000

Call 361-949-7281

Mary Melick Real Estate

December 8 2016

A3

Island Moon

Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder

Letters to the Editor

Distribution Pete Alsop Island Delivery

Aquarius Signal

Coldwell Banker Advertising

Mr. Todd Hunter, State Representative district 23

Jan Park Rankin Classifieds

Mr. Michael Hunter, Corpus Christi City Councilman at Large

Arlene Ritley Production Manager Abigail Bair Contributing Writers Joey Farah

I’m writing about the signal light situation on SR 22 at Aquarius on the island.

Mary Craft Christiansen

An argument is underway about warning lights and where they should be and how much they are going to cost. Safety seems to be the ultimate goal of the decision. I would like to make a suggestion that I think is going to be the eventual solution in any case as the island increases in growth and population.

Jay Gardner Todd Hunter Dotson Lewis Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk Photographers Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan Mary Craft Ronnie Narmour Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus) Riley P. Dog

Publisher

The Island Moon is published every Thursday, Dale Rankin, Editor / Publisher.

Total circulation is 10,000 copies. Distribution includes delivery to 4,000 Island homes, free distribution of 3,000 copies in over 50 Padre Island businesses and condos, as well as 600 copies distributed in Flour Bluff, 1,400 copies on Mustang Island and Port Aransas businesses.

News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office.

The Island Moon Newspaper 14646 Compass, Suite 3 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

Where to Find The Island Moon

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Wash Board Laundry Mat

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Texas Star (Shell)

Public Library

Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant

Chamber of Commerce Duckworth Antiques Back Porch Woody’s Sports Center

The biggest fear is about drivers being surprised by a stoplight as they top the bridge and having to drastically slow down and/or stop. The speed limit over the bridge is 55 mph with many if not most drivers doing 65 to 70 mph in the area.

The causeway approaching the bridge is a 65 mph zone where many drivers push the speed to about 72 mph, which is usually acceptable to law enforcement, being about 10% over the limit. Folks don’t want to slow down as they get to the bridge.

I think the speed limit should be reduced to 45 mph on the causeway just before the last entrance ramp from the access road along the Laguna. As it is, drivers must get up to 65 miles an hour as they merge with traffic. Even worse is the entrance from the turn around which is an uphill struggle to get up to speed many times pulling a trailer. This situation is the same in both directions approaching the bridge.

Dale Rankin About the Island Moon

Lisabella’s Restaurant

cc: editor, Island Moon Gentlemen,

Andy Purvis

Port Aransas

Mr. Brent Chesney, Nueces County Commissioner precinct 4

Jesse’s Liquor

Subway Island Tire And all Moon retail advertisers WB Liquor

Eventually the speed limit will have to be reduced from 55 mph along SR 22 on the island simply due to the growth of traffic. Already there are residential and commercial drives and side streets along the road with more planned in the near future. There may be other streets inside city limits in this or other cities that have speed limits over 45 mph in these type zones but I cannot think of any.

I think a speed reduction warning sign and then a 45 mph sign on the causeway as stated and a 45 mph speed zone on the island along SR 22 to the end past the four lane, and into Kleberg county is the ultimate solution. On the north side of the bridge the speed limit should be increased to 65 mph (as it is now,) after the entrance to the causeway heading away from the island allowing safe ingress from that area.

I hope it’s also noted that this is not a two hundred thousand dollar solution like the one being discussed for a warning system approaching the bridge. I think the eventual reduced speed limit should be considered and implemented now to solve this problem.

Thanks for your consideration, Rick Self Captain Kidd Dr.

Destination Marketing Dear Dale: As someone who has been in the destination marketing business for nearly two decades I agree with your “Lack of Island Marketing” article – our Island is seriously lacking in destination marketing support. I have enjoyed living on the Island for the last 15yrs and have witnessed the escalating living cost because of the lack of destination marketing support.

Fact is – Tourism is Economic Development!

There is a positive correlation between destination marketing and resulting visitation.

Visitors spend money on goods and services which generate city taxes to fund city services.

This revenue stream should reduce the tax burden on residents and stimulate the economy.

There is good research and case studies that demonstrate the multiplier effect of tourism spending.

My recommendation is the formation of a public/private destination marketing organization focused on the main attraction – Padre Island Beaches. Island HOT money is there and would be combined with private marketing and advertising dollars.

Our company has put together similar programs of work for numerous municipalities with strong returns on marketing dollars invested.

Destination Marketing is a competitive business that can pay huge dividends over the long term.

The time is right for our Island community to take advantage of this fantastic economic development opportunity. I’m looking forward to sharing my ideas and helping to ensure our community receives the benefits we deserve.

Warm Regards,

mortgage. I should tell you that I didn't do that until I was 55 years old.

I built a house during the late summer and early fall of 2005. If you live along the Gulf Coast, you remember that as THE year in which many peoples' lives were upended. I was lucky; no hurricanes hit my beach. But having so many strike so close to home had me thinking that I was in the early stages of dementia or just plain stupid for wanting to live on the Gulf Coast... on an island!

Life continued in its hectic way for the next few years. But in 2009, I experienced a life changing event. I have had lots of nuisance illnesses over the years, but this one was the biggie. Remember the late actor John Ritter?

Yep, I got what he had. And, apparently I had for quite a long time without knowing about it. An aneurysm between your heart and lungs, in your aorta, gives you an awful lot to think about. I survived it with more than a little help from my friends, but I realized my heart, no pun intended, just wasn't into working anymore. So, I retired a year earlier than anticipated, and tried to figure out what to do next.

I ended up writing a book, called I'll Be There...

Then dreaming about all the money I was going to make, I realized that I was not ready to be seen in public! I must lose weight, and fast.

Since I had been trying on my own for many years with no success, I have decided to get lapband surgery. And that is what has prompted this blog.

So, as my journey begins, I am going to share it with all. Successes, Failures, Doubts, Joys.

And as I change my physical side perhaps my emotional side will also change.

A few years ago, I thought I was having a heart attack. Turns out it was my gall bladder. The nurse looked at me and said, "Oh yeah, it's gall bladder. You're 4-F." I wanted to cry when she explained it to me: Fair (okay, I am blond by bottle) Fat (she could have been a little more diplomatic) Fifty (not only fat but getting old??) and wait for it....

Flatulent (OMG I GOT GAS!!)

No wonder I am still a SWF...

What? I’m Fat? Duh! It took numerous trips to the doctor over a period of two years to finally find the real problem. I had found a personal physician that actually listened to what I said and didn't just act the superior and brush me off as a hypochondriac. He calls me his "problem child" even though I probably should be his "problem grandmother". Maybe that's a little harsh.

"Problem mother" sounds better.

I knew he was concerned with my weight, but since I had bigger issues that was a subject that he did not bring up every single time I went to see him. He is an avid sportsman, so I joked and commented that I had paid for his latest bow. His response was to tell me it was a fly rod. I can't tell you how glad I was to have accommodated him....

Once I got over two major heart surgeries (one to fix the aneurysm, the other an inflammation as a result of the first surgery), he waited about six months before he broached the subject again. It started off as a “you might wanna consider lap band if you can't do it yourself” to “you know, almost all of your problems go away if you would just lose the weight.” I knew he was right but nothing I did helped me lose more than a few pounds, which I would gain back with the first dessert I ate.

When you are fat, it is a vicious circle. People think that you are a slob, pig, don't care, ugly, yadda yadda yadda. They pretend that we can't read their minds, but we both know we can. So you diet, try every single one out there, buy books, join groups. But when you are 4-F, hey nuthin' works! Then, since you were active in your younger days, your knees give you so much trouble that you have to have a real good motivator to make you get out and exercise them. And, you realize that you may need to be on the Biggest Loser, but hey, I know I would personally ram my fist in Jillian's perfect little tummy the first time she got in my face. So then, you think, ok, when your book takes off, you can 1) go to a health spa for 6 weeks or 2) hire Oprah's personal trainer/chef. But wait, didn't I say in my last posting that I needed to lose weight before my book gets popular so I won't look like a fat cow on tv? Therein, folks, lies the vicious circle. Circle up, fat cells! I am a 4-F SWF. I have issues!

So because Doc, my conservative one, says you ought to look at lap band, you begin to think that since he saved your life twice in a month that perhaps he knows what he is talking about, and maybe I should listen. Besides, seeing morbidly obese as your diagnosis...well I could live with the obese, but the morbidly part?

Gives you pause.

I talked to a couple of friends who had been through it. And I got brave and made the call.

Did Ya Hear?

By Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com

New Advertisers

A Charity Estate Sale will be held at 15966 Cabo Blanco on Friday, December 9th 9 am – 3 pm and Saturday 7 am – 3 pm. All sales benefits New Life Refuge Home of Hope for under age victims of sex trafficking.

Man Cave Garage Sale in Port A at 220 Brundrett starting at 9 am Saturday, December 10th with tools, light & plumbing fixtures/supplies, kayaks and more.

Palms-R-Us specializes in palm trees for both commercial and residential properties. No job is too big or small.

They will also put up Christmas tree lights. Call 765-5987 for free estimate.

Port Commission Chair Charlie Zahn delivered the Feel the Energy state of the Port to roughly 800 attendees on November 2nd. To view a timeline of the Port’s 90 years, and some great historical photos, visit portofcc.com/community/ education/presentations/.

The Candlelight service Christmas Eve at Lord of Life Lutheran Church will be held at 7:00 pm. Regular services are 8:00 am and 10:45 am on Sundays.

The church is located at 1317 Flour Bluff Drive.

Business Briefs The Flour Bluff Fire Department Parade will start at 5:45 pm at Briscoe Pavilion on Sunday, December 11th. They welcome golf carts to join in. Check out parade route on page A13.

Farmers Market will be held indoors at the Briscoe Pavilion on Thursday, December 8th 4 – 8 pm.

Island Italian Restaurant welcomes the return of the South Texas Grassroots Band on Sunday nights 6:30 – 9 pm. Call 949-7737 for reservations for this popular event. The restaurant party/meeting room is available for your holiday event.

The Enchanted Forest Christmas Auction raised $6500 for Timon’s Ministries. They thank the attendees and donors for their contributions to help the needy they serve.

Ray Wylie Hubbard will be at Third Coast Theater in Port A December 9th and 10th The 3rd Annual Rocket & Drone Fest in Port A will be held noon – 2 pm Saturday, December 10th at the Community Park inline skating at 700 Clark Pkwy.

Home for the Holidays Concert will be presented by the Corpus Christi Symphony at the Texas A&M Performing Arts Center on Saturday, December 10th at 7:30 pm.

Parrot Heads of Port Aransas is a local chapter of the Parrot Heads in Paradise Inc. The organization was founded in 2009 and the club motto is “Partying with a Purpose’’. To join or ask questions go to portaransasparrotheads.com or contact Deno “Moon Dog” Fabrie, President at 361 749 0256 or dfabrie@yahoo.com.

The La Posada Boat Parades this weekend will be held on Friday at the canals near the bridge and on Saturday at the Main Canal and surrounding canals. Check page A14 for the parade routes.

Mikel May’s Beachside Grill has their party room available for your special event. They will customize their menu from appetizers to a casual buffet to a formal dinner. Contact Julie at 446-2156 or Mikel_Mays@yahoo. com.

Padre Island Teen

By Elizabeth Clark On Sunday, I ice skated for the first time! Not a large percent of kids in Corpus Christi have ever seen snow-- much less been on a pair of blades--but after every Ice Rays game at the American Bank Center, dozens of people are allowed out on the ice to enjoy the gliding around. Everyone falls flat once or twice, as it definitely takes a while to get used to, but that's all part of the learning process. For a small charge, children and adults alike are rented a pair of skates and allowed to play around for 45 minutes with the hockey players. It was quite the experience, and I would recommend it to anyone of any age. Even though the temperature is dropping, I don't think we'll be getting iced-over in Corpus any time soon.

When I got to the office, two skinny people were just leaving. OK, that's me in a year or so.

While I was waiting two HUGE people walked in. I thought hey, I am not nearly that bad, so maybe I won't qualify. Their clothes could barely fit, they could barely breathe, and wore flip flops because their feet were swollen and fat. I know I don't look like that. I accessorize my flip flops. I don't look like that.

Or do I? Name withheld by request

Shorty’s Place

Flour Bluff

Giggity’s

H.E.B.

Stripes @ Cotter & Station

Liquid Town

Confessions of a 4-F SWF

Whataburger on Waldron

When Your Life Turns Upside Down, New Thoughts Turn Up

I peronally would suggest govenment.

They never go to jail.

Ethyl Everly Senior Center

I have been single all of my life. Not from lack of trying, but lots of bad luck. Some of it was not my fault, but much of it was of my own making, and now as I am older, my own choice.

It was a normal life, with good times and bad ones, until I moved from a paid for house at the lake to take up island living with my first ever

Send letters and photos to editor@islandmoon.com Facebook:

Gratitude Gift Shop Keepers Pier House Port A Glass Studio The Gaff

Fire Station Police Station Stripes on Flour Bluff & SPID

Donovan Shia

The Island Moon Newspaper

A4

1766 cont. from A1

Map from 1601 San Carlos we found that the water of the Island on the western part is one vara deep in some places, and half a vara in others, with places as shallow as the length of four fingers more or less, on the east the water has in some places a depth of from one fourth of a vara to a vara and a half at a distance of fifty steps towards the sea.

We saw clearly that at one fourth of a league distant from the center of the Island the water is somewhat deeper since the sea beats the sand banks along the whole front of the Island. The port located at the northeast of the said Island some days has enough water, but most of the time it has so little water that only very small boats could enter; sand banks are formed in the center of the port and the water moves them from one part of the mouth of the port to another. The same thing happens to the port located at the southeast of the said Island, and which is formed by the end of the Island and some dunes; although it has no sand banks, it has much less water at its entrance than at the other port. We found out that the width of the said island is one league more or less in most of it, in other parts three fourths of a league, and where it ends it is a little less than one fourth of a league wide.

December 8 2016

Island Moon and Jacabo to show us the place where the vessels anchored, the first one said that vessels passed by along the whole front of the Island and anchored and some of them sent persons in boats and canoes to speak with the Indians, the second Indian said the same, but these waters could not be sounded because the boats we found were useless. We came back to this camp the same way we went out because we did not find on the mainland a passage for horses and due to the obstructions of the lagoons. No vessels were found grounded, nor anchored.

From the shore of Corpus Christi to the point where the said Island begins there must be more or less a distance of two leagues. Having answered all the questions, and not having any other information to offer, we feel we have complied with what was ordered, and therefore we sign it on the Camp of Santo Petronila on September twenty four of one thousand seven hundred and sixty six.

Eugenio Fernández, Joseph Antonio de la Garza Falcon Matheo Martínez Advise: Most Excellent Master: Though I have informed Your Excellency on April twenty four of this year, about all the affairs of the Island of the Malaquittas, commonly known as Isla Blanca, following instructions and commission from the most Excellent Master Viceroy Marques de Craillas, enclosing exact maps of the said Island, and that of the Culebras, and coast of the mainland from the mouth of the Rio Grande, situated at

Origins cont. from A1 outriggers glistening across the calm water.

The folks at the Lavers’ house, including Father Patricio, jumped on board and began making their way around Island canals spreading and consuming good cheer.

This group of singers and revelers went from residence to residence toasting all they could find, which in those days on a mostly barren Island weren’t that many. As the boat passed residents came out and wished the singers good tidings and good cheer. Father Patricio made an announcement that every year from then on the Islanders would have a boat parade and the event was to be called “La Posada” – The Journey. The next year three boats joined the “La Posada” parade. After the third year the event became an official event starting at the Padre Isles Country Club boat docks with Father Patricio blessing the fleet.

The original La Posada event grew to a fourday event, Thursday night was for the teenagers and Friday night was the boat parade. Saturday night had the large party at the Country Club and then on Sunday, open houses in each sub division. The event has grown every year after and now has even gone to the other side the Padre Isles.

foot condominiums which would be sold individually.

So that is how the La Posada Lighted Boat Parade was born; a bunch of Island friends getting out on the water and enjoying their Island. And that is what it continues to be today.

“Our price point will be very competitive,” he said. “If we can market beachside overnight stay condos at a completive rate I believe we will find ready buyers.”

Tortuga cont. from A1 precludes the availability of federally-backed flood insurance. Lamkin said he is working on a plan which would include affordable flood

The property became available early this year when Forestar directors expressed a willingness to get the property off their books. The company reportedly spent in excess of $25 million purchasing the property and building fully functional streets, drainage systems, lighting,

We found out that the said Island has no permanent running spring, but only some small ponds formed when it rains and they do not last long; in the old hamlets that were found the Indians obtained the water from some small holes that they make, and that is what we did the first day we arrived on the Island. The said Island has no palisade timbers of its own other than two small patches of laurel and elders, but to the eastern beach the sea waters bring all kinds of timbers, and among them some topmasts, yards, blocks, and others belonging to the masts of all sizes of ships.

We saw that on the beach of the said Island were some broken canoes, one broken down Bongo, part of a ship that had a capacity for ten or sixteen canons, and which we set on fire, but from the whole Island we did not see any ship sailing out, nor anchored. We found out that the only pasture grown in the Island were red grass, and three-spined stickleback, that only by necessity was eaten by the horses. The said Island has no quarry nor loose stone. We cannot tell the number of huts that exist nor the number of persons who live in them because the huts found were depopulated. Land cannot be seen from the eastern part of the Island, nor sand banks but those found on border of the Island.

This Island is fifty five leagues long more or less, and from its end to the Rio Grande, J. Mathes Martínez certifies that there are two leagues more or less. From this end of the said island of San Carlos of the Malaquitta to the port of Vera Cruz there is found only the so called Island of Lobos, and the Blanzuilla; the others are some bars or sand banks which appear and disappear some times, according to the seasons.

I have practical knowledge of these waters because I have sailed them for a long time in the schooner of Col. Joseph Escandon. Following his orders I left the Port of Santander in the year of sixty four to reconnoiter the mouth of the Rio Grande. By that reconnaissance and the one now completed I assure that from the mouth of the Nueces River to the Rio Grande, which are more or less seventy leagues distant from each other, there is no other Island than that of Lobos and the other that your Lordship has seen and that is situated in the same direction and with which the port is formed.

Having requested the Indians Miguel el Nuso,

The beach crowd along the Tortuga Dunes property has begun to thin out in recent years as a narrower beach, often under water, and an increased police presence pushed the previously rowdy crowd to other places. These photos were taken July 4, 2014. The Tortuga Dunes development can be seen at the top of the frame. and sewer which remain. Lamkin said the water lines have been tested and water service to the site is expected to be restored within the next two weeks.

“Everything is ready to go,” he said. “The rusty fire hydrants are being replaced this week.”

Lamkin’s development history on The Island is impressive. He launched the Cinnamon Shore development in 2007 to little fanfare as the first wholly master-planned New Urbanism development on Texas’s Coastal Bend. Phase I of the project included 64 acres and 1,200 feet of beachfront on Mustang Island four miles south of Port Aransas calling the area “the last frontier” in affordable waterfront property.

Now as the first phase of the project is nearly complete site work has begun on large tracts on both sides of State Highway 361 on the far south side of Port Aransas and the cost of the freestanding townhomes lining residential streets there has reached the $500 per squarefoot range as upscale buyers, about 80% from Texas, have purchased the inventory in Phase I. Cinnamon Shore officials said recently they expect construction to begin on the outlying tracts by the end of 2017.

twenty four degrees, and forty minutes, to the Bay of San Bernardo that is situated twenty nine degrees and twenty minutes I also put in the hands of Your Excellency a memorandum book with the legal papers that I received about the Island of Culebra. It has seemed to be proper for the certification of my stated information about Isla Blanca, or of the Malaquittas, to accompany this with a paper signed by two officers, and an experienced sailor who went with me to reconnoiter the said territories; these documents, and my special intelligence included in the account prepared the said April four, can supersede all other news that have reached the Courts of Spain and France. June twenty one, one thousand seven hundred and sixty seven.

When complete, the community will comprise

Diego Ortíz Parrilla Most Excellent Master Maques de Croix

Kick-off cont. from A1 Posada Kickoff Party. We really appreciate everyone who came and supported us in our goal of giving back to our community through Toy for Tots. A huge thanks to our business sponsors that donated items for the auction, because without them none of this would've been possible.”

insurance as part of the homeowner’s dues.

The Marines looked sharp as usual and helped in any way they could, just as they will help collect toys during the La Posada Lighted Boar Parades this Friday and Saturday evening.

Seefeldt continued, “A special thank you to our United States Marines and all their hard work in making Toys for Tots in the Coastal Bend a big success. Also a big thank you to Scuttlebutt's Seafood Bar & Grill for all the work and passion they put into hosting the La Posada Kickoff Party. Money is still coming in, but you helped raise over $14,000 for the Marines Toys for Tots in the Coastal bend. Again the La Posada Foundation and the Padre Island Yacht Club thanks you for your generous support.

Islanders are invited to watch the Saturday La Posada Lighted Boat Parade from the Padre Island Yacht Club where they will enjoy the best view along with cookies and punch. Just bring a toy and enjoy the parade.”

“We believe we can provide flood insurance at an acceptable rate and the homeowners will not have to go out into the market and seek insurance on their own,” Lampkin said. “We don’t have all the details worked out but we have an outline of a plan we believe will work.”

The original Forestar plans called for 39 single-family lots, along with 48 townhomes and condominiums, and 37,000 square-feet of commercial space at the corner of Zahn Road and State Highway 361. Sources said Lampkin was able to buy the property for under $3 million.

Lamkin said his current plan is to sell the waterfront lots along the dune line at a premium and behind them build small, 350-450 square-

approximately 250 homes and condominiums; a town center with shops, restaurants and office space; numerous parks and recreational amenities; and a traditional grid of pedestrianfriendly streets that interconnect the entire community. The entire development has already been zoned and platted for Mix Use Development by the City of Port Aransas.

However plans described by Lamkin last week for Tortuga Dunes envision a much more affordable model with large single-family tracts along the dune line and adjacent condominium development.

Lamkin, a native Texan, is CEO of the Atlantabased Sea Oats Group, once the purchase is complete the Tortuga Dunes venture will be owned and operated under a separate corporation formed specifically for the property.

Send letters and photos to editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

December 8 2016

A5

Island Moon

Stuff I Heard on the Island

By Dale Rankin It was Paul Simon who wrote, “One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor” and a press release pumped out by the Texas Municipal League this week put that in perspective.

As the Texas Legislature convenes in January, for you new Texans the state legislature meets from January to May in odd-numbered years, one of the hot items up for consideration is property tax relief. In the late 1970s and early 1980s when a lawsuit forced a complete overhaul of the state’s property tax system inflation was running at a pretty good clip and in order for the budgets of local governments to keep pace lawmakers allowed for them to pass annual tax increases of 8% to stay ahead of the inflationary curve. But, as the natural order of these things goes, when inflation dropped precipitously – the current rate is 1.5% - property tax hikes didn’t follow suit. So since the legislative session in 1981 local governments from city councils to water districts and everything in between have been allowed to take up to an 8% bite out of taxpayers’ hide without taxpayers having any recourse except to show up at required public hearings and make noise before they write a check for property taxes that is 8% larger than the previous year.

Tides of the Week Tides for Bob Hall Pier December 8 - December 15

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Moon Visible

85 92 97 99 99

Some local governments, like the City of Port Aransas and for the past two years the Nueces County Commissioners Court, have held the line and adopted the Effective Tax Rate. Others like the City of Corpus Christi have given their property tax payers a regular dose of the 8% elixir; in fact, they went for a 10% whack four years ago before they figured out that if they go over the 8% barrier taxpayers have the option of a petition and rollback election which means – horror of horrors – they would have to live on the previous year’s budget. So in four years the previous city council raised your property taxes over 30%.

If each of us got an 8% raise every year we would be pretty happy tax and spenders and such is the case with local governments. They hide behind the straw-man argument that holding the Tax Rate steady in the face of escalating property values wasn’t really a tax increase which lawmakers had anticipated and tried to head off by creating the Effective Tax Rate which is the only one that matters for this discussion. The fact is that under the current system city and other local governments can increase their tax levy by 8% each year with no consequence except public whining.

So some legislators to their credit have decided to do something about it. Senate Bill 2, prefiled by Republican Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, would require cities and counties to ask for voter approval for any annual property tax hike of 4% or greater. The bill would not affect school district taxes which carry heavy spending mandates under state law.

Limiting tax hikes to 4% when inflation is 1.5% seems like a pretty good idea right? Well, not according to the self-serving Texas Municipal League which this week called the taxlimiting bill, “a direct assault on public safety, economic development and transportation that will produce no noticeable tax reduction for homeowners.”

One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor Anytime any politician or public entity drops the “Public Safety” bromide be afraid, be very afraid. It is the plaintive cry of the wounded cur invoked by those in the marketplace of ideas whose position is morally bankrupt. When in doubt wave the bloody shirt of “it will decimate public safety” and work in the “future of the children” if you can. I once busted out laughing at a press conference on the House floor when

some guy from West Texas was pushing a bill to force all counties to go wet.

“Currently some of our citizens have to drive more than twenty miles to the county line to Pinky’s Liquor stores,” he said. “Endangering the lives of our school children and posing a threat to public safety.”

“You’re assuming they are drunk in the drive home,” I said.

“Well it’s a long way back,” he said.

More spurious emissions from the Texas Municipal League brain trust Listen to this convoluted piece of twisted logic pumped out by the propaganda machine at the Municipal League this week.

“Their statewide cap on city budgets would not produce meaningful tax relief. Hypothetically, under their proposal, some average homeowners in some cities in some future year might possibly have the increase in their property tax bill reduced by $2 or $3 per month. What’s more, elderly and disabled homeowners would have the smallest hypothetical tax savings because of the exemptions they currently receive. Any legislator who tries to convince Texans that is real tax relief will look foolish.”

It seems the Texas Municipal League in its infinite wisdom is trying to save the elderly and disabled from the horrors that would result from a mere 4% tax hike every year and protect lawmakers from looking foolish.

Oh the humanity! Hypothetically speaking for myself I think a 50% cut in annual property tax hikes constitutes “meaningful tax relief.” Why don’t we cut the budget of the Texas Municipal League by 4% every year and see if they find that a “meaningful” cut – here’s betting they would find that a threat to the public safety of the children, the elderly, and the disabled.

But the Brain Trust at the Texas Municipal League didn’t stop there – oh no; their concern for the elderly and disabled knows no bounds!

“Politicians can’t proclaim their support for first responders and then turn around and vote to restrict the funding that pays for the salaries, equipment, vehicles, health insurance and pensions of the men and women who protect our communities.” said Bennett Sandlin, Executive Director of the Texas Municipal League.

I don’t even know what that means and I bet Mr. Sandlin doesn’t either. But it seems a veiled threat that if annual tax hikes are kept to a measly 4% we are all going to have our television sets stolen by the thieves who are just waiting for the cuts in budget increases that will decimate local law enforcement and our houses will all burn down because fire departments won’t be able to afford water for their trucks.

Since this is a family newspaper I won’t call that what it is, I’ll just say it is gibberish, hogwash, balderdash, good for a belly laugh and a spurious emission from a numbskull bureaucrat protecting his own budget by invoking the “public safety of the elderly and disabled” clause in the numbskull constitution.

To land his argument Mr. Sandlin goes on to say “city property tax collections increased at less than half the rate of state taxes from 2009 to 2014.” By that reasoning instead of trying to curb state spending we should allow our cities to raise taxes at a 16% annual rate so as to keep up with the state.

I invite Mr. Sandlin to come to The Island and tell us all about his effort to save us from ourselves. We can all walk out halfway through his talk and see if he finds that “meaningful.

Or better yet, let’s all go out to the nearest cow pasture and cut a 4% slice off a newly minted cowpie and mail it to Mr. Sandlin’s office. Now that, friends, would be meaningful.

Send letters and photos to editor@islandmoon.com One Bite and You’re Hooked!

All You Can Eat Fried Shrimp Wednesdays 5 - Close Prime Rib Thursdays 5 - Until They're Gone Mini Golf Great Food Seafood, Steaks, Salads, Burgers & Full Bar Open 11am - 2am • Kitchen Closes at 1am 2034 State Hwy 361

361-749-TACO (8226)

Mrs. Bonnie Ciardelli's 3rd graders get a chance to 'shop' and fill out their 'wish list' at the annual Seashore Book Fair! Photo by Teri Beck

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14493 S. Padre Island Dr., Unit B Next to Padre Pizzeria

A6

December 8 2016

Island Moon

Senior Moments

Of Mice and Men

By Kelly Trevino

By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon Dotson’s Note: How about today in history: which would become the general design of just “A mouse that doesn’t eat cheese makes its about all mice until the rise of things like optical debut?” Thanks to Karl Smallwood, writer for mice.

“Today I Found Out,” for his contributions to Beyond receiving little credit, because this article.

Engelbart and English were working for Stanford

Research Institute when they developed the first mouse, the eventual patent that was granted for it in 1970 didn’t belong to them. Thus, the pair got no money for their invention other than their normal paychecks. Stanford Research Institute reportedly did make some money off the patent before it expired in 1984, for instance reportedly profiting $40,000 ($130,000 today) when they licensed it to Apple.

Douglas C. Engelbart thought up the idea for this device in 1961. The first prototype was created by English in 1964. In 1966, Engelbart and Bill English (Engelbart’s Chief Engineer) approached NASA asking them to fund a study to determine which input device was the most intuitive and efficient for controlling a cursor.

According to Engelbart, the devices proposed to be tested, besides the mouse, were the “light pen… tracking ball and slider on a pivot”. The space agency agreed and a series of tests were carried out.

Engelbart noted of the tests, “We set up our experiments and the mouse won in every category, even though it had never been used before [by the test subjects]. It was faster, and with it people made fewer mistakes. Five or six of us were involved in these tests, but no one can remember who started calling it a mouse. I’m surprised the name stuck.” (Engelbart later explained it was called a mouse due to the fact that initially they had the wire come out of the bottom like a little tail. They switched it to the top to get around one’s arm getting tangled in the cord all the time.)

At the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco on December 9, 1968, Engelbart presented this mouse to over a thousand computer engineers in one of the most influential computing presentations of all time, later dubbed the The Mother of All Demos. Besides the mouse, Engelbart and his colleagues also demonstrated in one system a number of revolutionary concepts that are now a staple of modern computing, including hypertext, video conferencing via a high speed modem, shared screens via a network (where control could be passed back and forth), a form of windowed computing, word processing, real time digital text editing with multiple people able to edit files at the same time (with revision control), and several other forms of networked collaboration. Further, at a time when the idea of a personal computer was a little outlandish, he also demoed how such a system could be used for various personal computing needs, like maintaining a grocery list with robust organizational features built into the word processor to manage such lists.

Before the presentation, some who’d heard of what Engelbart was working on had dubbed him a “crackpot”. After the presentation, Engelbart received a standing ovation and was described by later Xerox PARC employee, Chuck Thacker, as “dealing lightning in both hands”.

However, demonstrating a system amazingly far ahead of its time left some skeptical that his team’s “oNLine System” (NLS, developed with funding from DARPA) could actually do

Speaking of Apple, the mouse as we know it today rose from obscurity thanks to Steve Jobs being Steve Jobs- i.e. finding an existing technology, hiring someone to copy it but with very subtle usability tweaks, generously marketing it, and then later getting much of the public credit for it.

In this case, in 1979, Jobs agreed to give Xerox a certain number of Apple shares in exchange for allowing him to come see what Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) was working on.

When Jobs went on a tour of the research center, he encountered a prototype version of the mouse (the ball-mechanical mouse invented

by Bill English, who was now working for Xerox PARC). Jobs recognized the potential of the device immediately, and, according to Larry Tesler, the engineer who demonstrated the mouse to Jobs, “He [Jobs] was very excited.

Despite very publicly debuting the mouse to the best minds of the computing world in 1968, Engelbart’s part in its invention, and even the monumental presentation itself that greatly influenced so much of the coming decades of computer development, were largely forgotten.

And so it was that, like so many other inventors before him, Engelbart did not receive the credit for his invention (initially), and Bill English even still receives little credit to this day. This, despite the fact that several years later English would go on to invent the mechanical mouse that featured a ball to control the X/Y wheels,

Regional Director, Corpus Christi Better Business Bureau or a gift receipt, you will not be able to get The first few weeks after the holiday season cash when you return unwanted gifts. You often consists of using gift cards, exchanging may, however, be able to get store credit items and returning unwanted gifts. Before or be able to exchange the item for other you stand in a long line to return holiday gifts, merchandise.

Better Business Bureau advises you to read and understand the policy on gift returns and Mind the time. Many retailers may only exchanges. allow returns within a certain time frame In most states, stores are not legally required to accept items for refunds, credits or exchanges unless the merchandise is defective or was misrepresented. However, stores must comply with their own stated return policy, which should be sufficiently conveyed to the customer before purchase. Many retailers have their return and exchange policies posted on their website or displayed in the store.

According to a recent survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, “an overwhelming majority” of consumers considered stores’ return policies to be fair. On average, consumers only returned 4 percent of their gifts, and twothirds said they didn’t return any gifts. Even so, your BBB offers these consumer tips to ensure a hassle-free return or exchange experience: Read and understand return/exchange policies. Return policies for clearance or holiday merchandise may be different than merchandise sold at full price. Every store has its own policy and consumers should understand it before expecting a full refund.

Remember to do the same for returns on merchandise purchased online.

Bring receipts. Retailers may sometimes require you to bring a receipt in order to receive a return. Without the original receipt

Then, when he began seeing the things I could do onscreen, he watched for about a minute and started jumping around the room, shouting, ‘Why aren’t you doing anything with this? This is the greatest thing. This is revolutionary!’”

As it turns out, Xerox was doing something with the device and had been selling the Xerox Alto along with a trackball mouse since 1973 and would later package it with the Xerox 8010, released in 1981. However, higher ups in the company didn’t seem to properly appreciate how innovative their system was. As Jobs would later note, “If Xerox had known what it had and had taken advantage of its real opportunities, it could have been as big as I.B.M. plus Microsoft plus Xerox combined—and the largest hightechnology company in the world.”

Jobs, stunned at this lack of vision, rushed back to Apple and had his team developing the next iteration of the company’s personal computer line completely revamp their plans, demanding a window-based system with the mouse as a key component. According to Dean Hovey, Jobs explained to him later that week, [The Xerox mouse] is a mouse that cost three hundred dollars to build and it breaks within two weeks. Here’s your design spec: Our mouse needs to be manufacturable for less than fifteen bucks (about $50 today). It needs to not fail for a couple of years, and I want to be able to use it on Formica and my blue jeans.

which usually begins when the item is purchased, not when you receive it. If you have gifts to return, do it as soon as possible.

Be aware of restocking fees. Some merchants charge a restocking fee for returns of electronics products or large-ticket items.

If you are returning electronics, you should keep the original packaging.

Online retailers may not refund shipping fees. If your gift was purchased online, you may have to pay a return shipping fee, or may not be refunded for your initial shipping payment. Sometimes merchandise can be returned to a store instead, but you still may not be refunded for the cost of shipping.

If all else fails, re-gift. If you get a gift that cannot be returned, you can recycle it by giving it to someone else, listing it on an online classified site or donating it to a good cause.

Kelly Trevino is the regional director for the Corpus Christi/Victoria area of Better Business Bureau serving Central, Coastal, Southwest Texas and the Permian Basin.

Kelly is available for media interviews and speaking engagements. You can reach her by phone: (361) 945-7352 or email: ktrevino@ corpuschristi.bbb.org.

Help for First Time Homebuyers Favorable loan terms offer enhanced financing options statewide Prospective, lower-income first time homebuyers in Texas now have an additional resource to help with down payment and closing costs. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (“TDHCA”), Texas’ only State housing finance agency, recently entered into a $10 million loan agreement with Woodforest National Bank to address the need for low-cost homebuyer assistance funds.

Hovey then explained, “From that meeting, I went to Walgreens… and I wandered around and bought all the underarm deodorants that I could find, because they had that ball in them. I bought a butter dish [for the body of the mouse]. That was the beginnings of the [Apple] mouse.”

what they’d demonstrated. One such individual was famed computer scientist Andries van Dam, who furiously berated Engelbart after the presentation, stating, “It’s irresponsible and unethical for you to show something you put together for a demo and pretend it actually works!” To which Engelbart stated, “No, I told him, it’s real. He just wouldn’t believe it until he got to SRI and saw it for himself.”

BBB offers advice for returning and exchanging gifts after the holidays

“The favorable terms of this note allow TDHCA to leverage existing funds and to expand financing options available to lower income homebuyers in Texas,” said TDHCA Executive Director Tim Irvine. “This loan agreement was a key factor in reducing TDHCA’s first mortgage loan rate by approximately .375 percent. This is a tremendous savings to those who have steady incomes but, due to the challenges of rising rents and student loan payments, could use a little help in achieving the dream of homeownership.”

The loan agreement will fund down payment and closing cost assistance in conjunction with approximately $250 million in first lien mortgage loans and $10 million in 30-year, zero interest, second lien mortgage loans that are due on the earlier of sale, refinance,

or maturity of the first lien mortgage loan.

This loan agreement demonstrates TDHCA’s and Woodforest National Bank’s commitment to give back to the community. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Since Oct. 1, 2016, TDHCA has seen twice the amount of average daily reservations for homebuyer assistance funds compared to the most recent 12 months of activity.

The Department’s need for a source of lowcost down payment assistance funds, combined with Texas based Woodforest National Bank’s goal of being a catalyst of change in the communities it serves, has resulted in this ground-breaking public-private partnerships in the area of single-family housing finance.

“Down payment assistance is one of the biggest needs for very low, low, and moderate income homebuyers,” said Woodforest National Bank Executive Vice President Doug Schaeffer.

“Woodforest National Bank is thrilled to partner with TDHCA on this innovative opportunity to directly increase home ownership in our Texas communities.”

Lion King at Port A. Community Theatre The students of PAISD will present Disney’s The Lion King JR December 7, 9, 10, 14, 16 and 17 . The 60-minute musical, designed for middle-school aged performers, is based on the Broadway production directed

by Julie Taymor and the 1994 Disney film.

The 70- plus students in the cast and crew have studied under the direction of Ken Yarbrough, Amanda Tipps and Morgan Milligan.

The Lion King JR. tells the story of the epic adventures of a curious cub named Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destiny as king. Along the way, the young lion encounters a colorful cast of characters, including spunky lioness Nala, charismatic meerkat Timon, and loveable warthog Pumbaa. To claim his rightful place on the throne and save his beloved Pridelands, Simba must find his inner strength and confront his wicked Uncle Scar. The Lion King JR. features classic songs from the 1994 film, such as “Hakuna Matata” and the Academy Award®-winning “Can You

Feel the Love Tonight,” as well as additional songs penned for the Broadway production.

General admission tickets for Disney’s The Lion King JR. are available for the following performances: December 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and available at www.brownpapertickets.com, by calling the theater box office at 361-749-6036 and by visiting the Port Aransas Business Center at 1023 State Highway 361 in Port Aransas.

Admission is $10 and all seats are reserved The Lion King JR. will be the 7th musical production for PAISD directed by Ken Yarbrough and the 15th Broadway Junior title Yarbrough has directed over the last 12 years.

All students are in 3rd – 9th grade and are not only encouraged to participate in the cast of these productions, but also to work on various aspects of the stage crew including light and sound, stage and prop management, as well as set and costume design.

Dotson’s Other Note: Some of you Moon Monkeys may remember an article I wrote for the moon “The Bread Slicer”’ The foregoing article speaks to the possibility of a new land mark, or perhaps an unforgettable watermark: “The greatest thing since the computer mouse,” which was December 9, 1968. Do you think you could work your way through today’s computer without a mouse or a touchpad?

Your thoughts regarding this or any articles appearing in The Island Moon are greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading and commenting on Senior Moments. I can be reached at: dlewis1@stx.rr.com and/or Land Line: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530-748-8475.

Please Note: The next Veterans Roundtable Meeting will be Tuesday, December 13th, 9-11 AM, 3209 S. Staples. All Veterans, their families and anyone interested in Veterans affairs, are invited. Coffee & doughnuts are provided. Hope to see you there.

Also our Veterans Radio Round Table is on the air on KEYS AM 1440, 8 – 9 AM, Saturdays.

Please listen and call in. The listener/text line is: 361-560-5397…It’s your show.

Hang in there/Have fun!

Sylvia caught this 22”-plus flounder on the ICW near marker 47 on Saturday.

December 8 2016

A7

Island Moon

Island Moon on a Spoon

WHO LOVES TATERS IN TEXAS??? EVERYONE!!!

Voted Best Veterinarian 2006-2016

Dr. Christi Kresser

Thank You For Supporting & Voting Us #1 in the Corpus Christi & Coastal Bend Area

By Chef Vita Jarrin

CHRISTI KRESSER VETERINARIAN

Bring A Toy For Get $10 Credit

Planning a Christmas dinner can be exciting as well exhausting. Some of us stress over what to cook or bake and some of us stress over how long it takes to prepare and the mess involved.

Whether you’re hosting or are a guest, I’m sure you’re thinking about food for Christmas.

As a Chef, I’m no different. I typically stress over (in a good way) what to make that isn’t boring. So this year, having made them for Thanksgiving, I decided to push the traditional mashed potatoes off to the side and make this amazing potato casserole that Julia Childs made famous many years ago. However, as usual…I like to add my twist.

Therefore if you’re like me and want to make something different, here is a recipe that will make you stand out! Potatoes Dauphinoise. This is a casserole of potatoes layered like a lasagna with a cheesy, cream sauce, topped with cheese, then browned. YUMMMM! Does it have a few extra calories? Well considering mashed potatoes have cream and butter also, it’s about the same. At Christmas…no one’s counting calories any way right? So Cook Away!

Potatoes Dauphinoise with a Twist Serves 4-6

Salt & pepper for sprinkling on layers of potatoes 2 1/2 cups heavy cream 1 1/2 cups whole milk

Padrevet.com

Dr. Christi Kresser

Send letters and photos to editor@islandmoon.com Facebook:The Island Moon Newspaper

Ladle some of the milk mixture over the potatoes. Start another layer of potatoes and repeat as you would making a lasagna. Add the shredded gruyere over the top and a few leaves of thyme and cover with aluminum foil and bake for an hour. Remove foil and bake until bubbly and golden brown on top another 10 minutes or so. If you’re comfortable with your broiler, place under broiler watching it brown for about 5 minutes, spin dish around for even coloring. Remove from oven and let sit for about fifteen minutes before cutting into the potatoes.

Tip of the Week:

2 tablespoon butter, room temperature for pan

2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

361-949-8200

Start your first layer of potatoes in baking dish in a spiral so that it resembles a flower.

These layers form a base for the warm cream.

Sprinkle each layer of potato with just a little salt and pepper to season each layer as you go. Add a few pieces of the sliced butter on top of potatoes.

Ingredients: 1 Stick of butter sliced to add pieces on potato layers

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Heat the heavy cream, milk, Boursin cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne and the sprigs of thyme until it comes to a simmer. Turn off burner and remove from heat and let cool. Be careful to not scorch the milk. Once cooled, beat the egg and add a little of the cream mixture in order to temper it and then add the egg back into the milk and cream mixture.

This helps the potatoes set.

1 Small tub Boursin garlic & herb cheese (Avail at HEB) 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper Couple dashes cayenne 1/2 Tsp. freshly grated nutmeg 2-3 Sprigs of thyme

The twist to this recipe is adding the Boursin.

I love using this cheese in multiple recipes because it has garlic and herbs. I find it also thickens sauces as it melts. This is a great cheese to add to heavy cream and make a quick pasta Alfredo. The best shredded cheese for this dish is the traditional gruyere. However, you can use Swiss, which is what gruyere is, except it’s made and imported from France. It’s aged longer, therefore, has a stronger taste. If you like to add your own twist, you can use shredded pepper jack, for spice or sharp cheddar. You can have a little more fun by adding chopped ham in between the layers, or chorizo or??? You decide what you want to try.

The ideas are endless. Most importantly…

Enjoy yourself, get creative, try new things have fun!!! Happy Eats!

1 egg 1 C shredded Gruyere cheese Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in middle position. Spread butter across bottom and sides of a 2-quart baking dish.

Peel potatoes and slice 1/8 inch thick. If you have a mandolin or food processor that slices, this is where it would come in handy. Even slices calls for even cooking.

Place slices in a large bowl of cold water to rinse and drain thoroughly on paper towels, when ready to assemble.

Potatoes Dauphinois

JOBS • INFRASTRUCTURE • INVESTMENT • ENVIRONMENT • LEADERSHIP

FEEL THE ENERGY STATE OF THE PORT On November 2, 2016, Charlie Zahn, Port Commission Chair, delivered the State of the Port to roughly 800 attendees.

The Port would like to thank everyone who supported and attended the event.

The future is bright at Port Corpus Christi, due to the great companies and communities we are fortunate to work among.

Charlie Zahn

To view a timeline of the Port's 90 years, and some great historical photos, visit portofcc.com/community/education/presentations/

connect with us: portofcc.com

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December 8 2016

Island Moon

SPORTS Sports Talk Special to The Island Moon

NCAA Football Play-off Selection Committee FAQs

By Dotson Lewis

By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon

Special to the Island Moon Dotson’s Note: Here we are a year later, cussing and discussing the selection committee’s four choices for the NCAA Football Play-Offs.

It appears to me that about 50% agree with the choices. Again I have fielded all kinds of questions regarding the committee and its selections. Hopefully the following will assist you Moon Monkeys who are college fanatics in having a better understanding of what’s going on.

What Is The Mission Of The Selection Committee?

The committee’s task is to select the best teams, rank the teams for inclusion in the playoff and selected other bowl games and then assign the teams to bowl sites.

What Is The Voting Procedure?

The committee identifies small groups of teams and then will evaluate those teams against each other in a detailed and deliberative manner. The committee members then vote the teams into the rankings.

What Criteria Does The Selection Committee Use To Rank The Teams?

The committee selects the teams using a process that distinguishes among otherwise comparable teams by considering conference championships won, strength of schedule, headto-head competition, comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory) and other relevant factors that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.

Selection committee members have flexibility to examine whatever data they believe is relevant to inform their decisions. The playoff group has retained SportSource Analytics to provide the data platform for the committee’s use. This platform allows the committee members to compare and contrast teams on every level possible. Each member evaluates the data at hand, and then the individuals will vote to produce a group decision.

Are There Ballot Votes To Determine The Rankings?

The voting process includes a series of ballots through which the committee members first select a pool of teams to be considered, then rank those teams. Individual ballots will be compiled into a composite ranking. Each committee member independently evaluates an immense amount of information during the process. This evaluation brings about individual qualitative and quantitative opinions that lead to each member’s vote.

What Are The Terms Of The Recusal Policy?

A recused member shall not participate in any votes, nor be present during deliberations involving the team’s selection or seeding, but may answer factual questions about the institution from which the member is recused.

The recusal policy is virtually identical to the NCAA men’s basketball committee policy.

All conferences negotiated individual bowl contracts for their champions. Five conferences have arranged contracts for their champions to play in New Year’s bowl games; Atlantic Coast (Orange), Big Ten (Rose), Big 12 (Sugar), Pac12 (Rose), and Southeastern (Sugar).

If not playing in a Playoff Semifinal, the highest ranked champion of the other five Football Bowl Subdivision conferences (the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt), as determined by the selection committee, will play in one of the other New Year’s bowls. Other available berths are awarded to the teams ranked highest by the committee. The committee assigns teams to bowls.

When the Cotton, Fiesta and Peach bowls are not hosting semifinal games, their participants will come from three pools: (1) The highest ranked champion among the five conferences listed in the paragraph above, (2) conference champions that are displaced when their contracted bowls host semifinals and (3) the remaining teams ranked highest in the committee’s rankings.

The committee will assign teams to the nonplayoff bowls to create the most compelling matchups, while considering other factors such as geographic proximity, avoiding rematches of regular-season games and avoiding rematches of recent years’ bowl games.

Can Selection Committee Members Serve More Than One Term?

Members serve one three-year term. Terms of the first group of committee members were staggered to allow for an eventual rotation.

Until the rotation has been achieved, certain members’ terms are shorter or longer.

Can A Committee Member Be Removed? If So, By Whom And For What Reasons?

In the unlikely scenario where a committee member is unable to meet the obligations that come with serving on the committee, the management committee would appoint a replacement.

Are The Selection Committee Members Compensated?

The selection committee’s process and procedures are available on the CollegeFootballPlayoff.com website. The committee has created an arrangement that allows for maximum disclosure, while also allowing the committee to deliberate among themselves in a thoughtful and effective manner, with the appropriate candor. Also, the committee conducts “mock” selection exercises to allow reporters to become familiar with the process.

No, there is no compensation for committee members. Expenses are reimbursed.

The committee ranks 25 teams.

Does The Selection Committee Publicize Its Rankings Throughout The Season?

Yes, after each meeting. The committee members meet weekly, in person, on Mondays and Tuesdays to produce rankings. The committee then meets again during selection weekend to conduct a final evaluation and determine the pairings for the Playoff Semifinals and New Year’s bowls.

Why Are There 12 Members Of The Selection Committee?

The number was chosen to allow for good representation, active discussion and diversity of viewpoints.

What Criteria Were Used To Choose Members Of The Selection Committee?

The top-priority criterion is integrity. There are five categories of individuals: People with experience as (1) coaches, (2) student-athletes, (3) administrators, (4) journalists and also (5) sitting directors of athletics. The management committee gives careful consideration to the standards for membership and to identifying high integrity individuals who matched the criteria. Among the other valued attributes are football expertise, objectivity, ability to carefully evaluate and discern information and experience in making decisions under scrutiny.

Members are asked to commit significant time to the endeavor.

Why Are Athletics Directors On The Committee?

The directors of athletics (ADs) have some of the best institutional knowledge of college football, and the selection committee is much stronger with their participation. Many ADs have careers spanning more than one conference and many have worked at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as well.

The goal is to make the selection committee the best and strongest it can be, which is why ADs are included. Like all selection committee members, ADs act in the best interest of the game.

Is There A Recusal Policy In Place For Committee Members?

Yes. Committee members will be recused from participating in votes involving a school’s team if they or an immediate family member receives compensation from the school or has a professional relationship with that school. The committee has the option to add other recusals if special circumstances arise.

I have always wanted to write this story but be as it may, it always became a bit too emotional for me. You see, sometimes we can be too close to something. So close that it feels wonderful and hurts all at the same time. Oh, I tried and then all the memories rose up, my mind reeling, I would move on to something else, always intending to return. It’s been 33 years. Now

How Are The Non-Playoff Teams Selected For The Other Bowls That Make Up This Arrangement?

Are The Committee’s Deliberations Made Public?

How Many Teams Does The Selection Committee Rank?

Love Each Other

Do The Committee Members Travel To Games To Watch In Person?

The members are not expected to attend games in person. They are expected to watch video extensively.

What Is The Role Of The Chair?

The chair of the selection committee is responsible for the leadership of the committee and ensures an environment under which the committee members work together to evaluate teams and create rankings. The chair leads meetings, helps set the committee’s agenda, and shares spokesperson duties with the executive director of the College Football Playoff. The chair, and the selection committee itself, are not involved in the operation of the playoff; its sole responsibility is ranking the teams and making the pairings.

What Is The Role Of The College Football Playoff Executive Director And Staff As It Pertains To The Selection Committee Operations? Is The Executive Director A Voting Member?

The executive director does not have a vote, and the staff’s role is to provide support to the committee. The executive director and staff direct the day-to-day business and administrative operations of the College Football Playoff itself, in keeping with the objectives established by the board of managers and management committee.

The selection committee is an independent body that operates according to the objectives established by the board of managers and management committee.

Here Is The College Football Play-Off Schedule Dec. 31: College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl No. 4 Washington Huskies vs. No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide 3 p.m., ESPN; Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga. College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Clemson 7 p.m., ESPN; University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.

Jan. 9: College Football Playoff National Championship 8 p.m., ESPN; Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla. Dotson’s Other Note: I still believe that it won’t be long until the football final four playoff, becomes the elite eight football play-off. In the meantime, we will continue our lobbying efforts. What do you think of this year’s selections and how many teams should be in the College Football Play-Offs?

Have fun -30-

Jim Valvano coaching that another season of NCAA basketball has started, I will try again to express my feelings.

I will never forget the following article that was written in the Albuquerque Journal on the morning of April 3, 1983. “Trees will tap dance, elephants will drive at Indy and Orson Welles will skip lunch before North Carolina State finds a way to beat Houston in the NCAA College Championship Game, Monday night.”

Sometimes we wish that time would stand still.

Life unlike a snapshot is a gathering of fleeting moments in time. That was such a happy time for me, my brother Cliff, my family and millions of N.C. State fans.

I was born and raised in Raleigh, N.C. and my Mother, Edith Purvis, worked at N.C. State in the bookstore and athletic department for over 25 years. She knew Jim Valvano well and made sure we did too. My first love was college basketball not baseball, and my favorite athlete was N.C. State point guard, Eddie Biedenbach.

I saw Eddie years later at the 2011 Final Four tournament with my pal, Coach Ronnie Arrow.

I shook his hand and told Eddie he was my favorite player growing up and he turned to several others coaches and said, “See, I told you I could play.” He was also the first to give me an autograph.

Home of the Wolfpack I can’t count how many games my brother and I attended at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum, the home court of the N.C. State Wolfpack.

The ACC was a great basketball conference and N.C. State had some history. In 1973, we were privileged to see Norm Sloan and the Wolfpack beat Tom McMillian and John Lucas of the Maryland Terrapins, in a nationally televised game on Super Bowl Sunday. The Wolfpack became the first team in the ACC to go undefeated in conference play, two years in a row. With great players like David Thompson, Monte Towe, Tom Burleson, “Mo” Rivers, Phil Spence and Tim Stoddard, N.C. State won the 1974 NCAA National Championship. The Wolfpack took down Bill Walton and the UCLA Bruins 80-77 in the semi-finals, and then ran by Marquette 76-64 for the championship.

Start guarding them when they get off the bus When N.C. State coach Jim Valvano was asked how he planned to slow down the Houston Cougars at the 1983 Final Four, he responded, “We’re going to start guarding them when they get off their bus.” Jim Valvano was a one-man parade. He was an over-doer, an overachiever and an over-the-top kind of guy, but he was at his best as a basketball coach. Whatever he attempted, he was all in and in most cases successful. It’s hard to describe Jimmy V. He had that flash; that ability to light up a place.

His hands were small; it was like shaking hands with a nine-year old. Jim spoke fast like an AK47 and his voice sounded like a distant artillery barrage. When excited, he kept coming at you like sheets of rain in a windstorm. He looked like a guy with a lance going after a machinegun nest. Jim once said, “Sometimes the only difference between being a college basketball coach and General George Armstrong Custer is that the coach has to watch the game film the next day.” Talking with Valvano gave you

ammunition to go out and do whatever you set your mind on doing. Everybody who ever met Jim had a story about him. This one is mine.

He was the kind of guy you wouldn’t mind getting stuck with in a submarine. Jim was always an education to talk to. The gym just felt better with him in it. It’s true that Valvano never shied away from a camera. That was just not part of his DNA. I’m pretty sure Jack the Ripper could have played for Jim Valvano. “Don’t let anyone steal your dreams,” he once said. I remember him with his head back, knee-slapping with laughter. Until his bout with cancer, the only thing Jim had ever hurt was his stomach from laughing.

Jim always talked about love. Love for the game, for his players, and his family. “Love means you can depend on me,” said Valvano. He just might have been what basketball is all about.

With a record of 25-10 and a coach who refused to give up, the Wolfpack prepared to play against the 31-2, Houston Cougars. It was April 4, 1983, in “The Pit” at the University of New Mexico. Valvano had threatened to hold the ball, but instead went right at Houston. Valvano’s secret was to not let them dunk the ball, because that’s when they really got going. This strategy worked at first.

At halftime, N. C. State was up 3325 with 50 million viewers tuned in.

The world of college basketball was upside down. Surely Houston would respond. Derek Whittenburg, Sidney Lowe, Thurl Bailey, Ernie Myers, Terry Gannon, Cozell McQueen, and Lorenzo Charles had played most of the minutes for Valvano during the season. It would be the same in the national championship game. With the score 52-52 with 1:42 minutes left to play, Valvano called a timeout and instructed his team to foul freshman Alvin Franklin of the Cougars. Who fouls in a tie game? Whittenburg committed the foul and Franklin went to the line with a one-and-one opportunity and 44 seconds left in the game. Franklin missed and N. C. State rebounded the basketball and called another timeout. Houston had played man to man the entire night but switched to zone and started trapping the ball handler. The Wolfpack was not prepared. With 4 seconds left and Derek Whittenburg, wearing #25 and 30 feet away from the basket, put up a desperation shot.

There’s an old saying in basketball, “A shot is never too far away if it goes in.” Whether Whittenburg actually shot the ball or attempted a pass to Lorenzo Charles standing underneath the basket, it will be debated until the end of time. Everyone held their breath. The only guy who moved in the building was Lorenzo Charles who grabbed the ball out of midair and dunked it as time ran out. Madness, upset city, it’s a miracle, Cinderella was for real, team of destiny, it may never happen again, every sports page and magazine in the nation led with the impossible: N.C. State 54-Houston 52. Remarkably, neither Lowe, Gannon, nor Whittenburg had turned the ball over the entire game.

If you have not watched the ESPN 30-For30 Special about this amazing run by Jim Valvano and his Wolfpack of N.C. State, please do. Valvano taught his kids to dream. He told them at the beginning of the season that they were going to win the national championship and had them practice cutting down the nets once a week during practice. Valvano’s March 4, 1993 ESPY speech, “Don’t Give Up. Don’t Ever Give Up,” will live forever. God truly gave him words that night to give to us. Since 1993, nearly 200 million dollars has been raised to help fight cancer through the Jimmy V. Foundation.

It has been said that death may end a life, but it does not end a relationship. How true! A lot of laughter left the game when Jim Valvano died.

Cancer had been getting to the foul line on him for years trying to score. Cancer finally dunked on Jimmy V. with no time remaining, on April, 28, 1993. It had been a little over ten years after Jim had cut down the nets in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’m positive he died laughing or eating or both. My dad, Gordon Purvis died of cancer one year after Jimmy in July of 1984. My mother and brother have also left me behind.

Valvano’s real message had always been the same as my parents, about love. Love each other. I miss them all, terribly.

Andy Purvis is a local author and radio personality. Please visit www.purvisbooks. com for all the latest info on his books or to listen to the new radio podcast. Andy’s books are available online and can be found in the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. Andy can be contacted at purvis.andy@mygrande.net. Also listen to sports talk radio on Dennis & Andy’s Q & A Session from 6-8 PM on Sportsradiocc.com 1230 AM, 96.1 FM and 103.3 FM. The home of the Houston Astros.

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December 8 2016

A9

Island Moon

The Traveling Moon Gets Around

The Cullinans visited their twin sons in Oregon this week and were treated to a tasting at Archery Summit Winery in the North Willamette Valley. She's posed here between Paul and Mark and many barrels in the wine cave.

This is a group of about 20 Parrot Heads of Port Aransas who took the Moon with us to the MOTM (Meeting of the Minds) Parrot Head annual event in Key West Florida. This was very close to the most southern point in the USA. Jimmy Buffett did not come but Toby Keith filled in. A great time was had by all and we left the Island Moon for them to read.

Looking to purchase ISLAND property?

Give me a call!

I KNOW THE ISLAND! I KNOW THE MARKET!

Deno Fabrie the Big Chief of the Parrot Heads in Port Aransas who was mostly famous for organizing beach cleanups and slingin’ bull around town, is now known far and wide for his Turkey Slingin’ prowess as the 2016 Turkey Bowling Champion at the Back Porch Bar. Deno proudly returns the crown to The Island after several years of OTB interlopers had borrowed it. This year saw more than 100 contestants in the decade-old contest which consists of knocking down bowling pins with a turkey in a pillow sack.

It’s an Island thing.

A10

December 8 2016

Island Moon

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