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Beach to Bay A8
Election Predictions A9 The Island Moon Published by Island Moon Publishing, LLC 15201 S. Padre Island Drive Ste. 250 Corpus Christi, TX. 78418 editor@islandmoon.com (361) 949-7700
Schlitterbahn Map A10
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The
Island Moon The Island Newspaper since 1996
Island Area News ● Events ● Entertainment
May 17, 2012
Photo by Miles Merwin
The Island Where Stray Dogs Always Find a Home Next Publication Date: 5/24/2012
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com
Our bar ditches are full of water these days, it looks like all that standing water is going to bring in a bumper crop of skeeters pretty soon. The rough weather on Tuesday brought rain to both Padre and Mustang Islands with Mustang getting the brunt of the storm, including a little tornado that ripped a dune walkover out of the ground near mile marker 80 and pea-sized hail for a while. It is the second time in a week that Port Aransas got hit with heavy weather while North Padre for the most part dodged the bullet. The Padre rain has mostly come in short bursts as it falls in torrents then stops abruptly; like a little mini hurricanes only without the buildings falling down.
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Year 15, Issue 423
New Aquarius is Open
Crucial Vote on Schlitterbahn Plan Set for Tuesday Approval could mean construction start in June By Dale Rankin The crucial vote for the proposed Schlitterbahn Waterpark and Resort is set for Tuesday, May 22 at Corpus Christi City Hall. The City Council is scheduled to vote on a performance-based deal which calls for $117 million in tax incentives over the course of 25 years in order to put construction on the $552 million, 574-acre plan into action in June when construction on the Waterpark would begin. There was little discussion of the plan in the council’s May 15 meeting after the tax incentive plan and masterplan for the development were revealed to the public for the first time in the group’s May 8 meeting. So far the council members who have spoken publicly about the project indicate they will vote in favor of the plan. A five-vote majority of the nine-member council is needed for approval.
The ribbon is cut and the barriers are down on the new section of Aquarius between Commodores and Dasmarinas. The road has been open since Saturday and has been busy and so has the hike and bike trail.
Schlitterbahn Continued on A10
Time to reason with hurricane season
It gives the Weather Wonks on the local television stations a chance to work their chops though. Every time a couple of drops hit the ground those guys break into Wheel of Fortune or Jerry Springer to tell us to run for our very lives. They do cry Wolf a lot but then the Weather Wonk’s life has so few rewards.
High tides The lunar cycle that brought the moon close to the earth last week put high tides on our beaches that have helped driving conditions greatly. The lack of rain and high winds had made beach driving dicey due to soft deep sand but for the most part driving is good in most places. The Sargasso weed is out there and comes in sporadically but the shifting winds have kept it from making a full-on invasion so far. It’s interesting to see the different approaches used by the various agencies who fight the Sargasso Wars. In Port Aransas the crews pile it up in giant piles then use the maintenance dune approach to get it off the beach. On the Padre end crews have begun using coffer dams, a small pile of sand about two feet high that runs parallel to the water along the high tide line, to keep it from piling up on the beach. That approach works fine until there is a break in the dam and the water comes through and turns the driving lanes into flowing rivers, you can’t drive in them when that happens but the kids seem to enjoy splashing around in there. It’s a reminder that Mother Nature is ultimately in charge and we mere humans trying to hold back the tide with a broom. Sooner or later she’s going to shower the earth with whatever blessings she chooses to impose.
No showers Speaking of showers…don’t count on using the outdoor ones at the Windward Parking lot on the seawall because they don’t work. According to the city worker down there last weekend they have been out of order for over a month. There’s four of them and they are only a couple of years old but the harsh environment along the beach has rendered them null and void; dry as a prospector’s mouth in the Mojave. We have to say the fellow was most helpful though. He offered to let us use his water hose to rinse off. From what we can tell he’s mostly there on weekends just after lunch so if you need a shower while you are at the beach we suggest you go around lunchtime on the weekends and you can use his water hose. Otherwise you are pretty much out of luck showerwise because those showers are locked up tighter than Cooder Brown’s checkbook before payday. The parking lot is working fine though so we got that going for us.
Don’t forget… Two things to remember…first, early voting is underway so get over to Padre Isles Country Club if you want to vote before Election Day. Second, the Island Moon Market is going to hit the seawall on Saturday, May 26. See the ad in this issue for details. In the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Forecasters Predict Below-Average Hurricane Season for 2012
The storm blew down this boardwalk near Beach Marker 80 this week. Photo by Ronnie Narmour
Girl Scouts Take on Monofilament Fishing Line Installing disposal bins around The Island
Editor’s note: There are several organizations which issue hurricane predictions each spring for the upcoming hurricane season but Moon founder Mike Ellis, who was a career FEMA employee and hurricane buff put out an annual Hurricane Almanac for many years, always swore by the predictions from Colorado State University. We won’t get into the question of why a university in the Rocky Mountains puts so much energy into studying hurricanes, suffice to say they have been doing it for a long time and are very good a it. Of course for us here on The Island a Mild Hurricane Season is one where all the storms hit the east coast, no matter how many or how big, and a Major Hurricane Season is one in which one hurricane hits us. The hurricane season starts on June 1 and runs through November 30; however, our season effectively ends in early September. Historically each year the Gulf Coast from Florida to Brownsville has a 30% chance, this year that is only 24%. And as Mike liked to point out, most of the time when a hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico it heads straight for the South Coast of Texas in a giant game of Texas Chicken until, more often that not, it veers off and heads for points north. So with that said, here is what the experts are predicting for this year. The Colorado State University forecast team predicts a below-average 2012 Atlantic basin hurricane season due to a cooling of the tropical Atlantic and the potential development of El Nino conditions. Hurricane Continued on A10
Early Voting is Underway Early voting has begun for the May 29 primary elections. The early voting Sub-Station is open at Padre Isles Country Club. In Port Aransas early voting is at the Community Center, 408 Alister Street, and in Flour Bluff at the Ethel Eyerly Senior Center, 654 Graham Road. Hours are Friday, May 18 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Saturday, May 19 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Sunday May 20 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., and Monday May 21- Friday May 25 from 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. In the last round of elections in 2010 a total of 1483 voters on North Padre Island cast ballots out of about 6200 registered voters; 144 in the Democratic primary, 1339 in the Republican. In Port Aransas in the same election 569 votes were cast; 84 in the Democratic primary, 485 in the Republican. In the largest precinct in Flour Bluff 357 votes Hurricane Continued on A 3
By Karlie Wilkinson Cadette Girl Scout Troop 9665 is working on their Silver Award Project. The troop is made up of Padre Island and Flour Bluff scouts, Sarah Gilliam, Karlie Wilkinson, Melany Escamilla, and Amanda Moore. The girls realized there was a need for disposing of monofilament fishing line responsibly on the Island. While doing research, they found the Texas Sea Grant Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program. The scouts, with help
from their mentors Country Commissioner Joe McComb, John White, Scott Cross, and Robert Aguilar, will be installing ten monofilament recovery and recycling bins around the Island.
The bins will be located at Packery Channel Park, Bob Hall Pier, and six POA boat ramps. The scouts have been working very hard to earn their Silver Award. They would like to invite the community out to a dedication ceremony on May 30 at 2 p.m. at Packery Channel Park.
Island in the Son UMC To Begin Beach Cleanup Program at Padre Balli Park
Do you enjoy walking the beach? Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity that doesn’t require attending meetings or adhering to a set schedule? If so, Island in the Son United Methodist Church (IITS) has a program that offers BOTH! In an effort to keep the beaches and dunes of Padre Balli Park pristine, IITS is organizing teams of volunteers from other churches, businesses and organizations to “adopt” portions of the Park. Nueces County Parks Department is supporting the plan.
Churches, businesses and organizations are asked to form teams and join the beach cleaning efforts. Volunteer members of IITS, wearing their church T-shirts, are already at work picking up trash on an ongoing basis at the Park. In addition to the ongoing trash pickup by the beach walkers, volunteers are needed to hand out new trash bags to beachgoers, especially on holiday weekends.
The first date for this event is the Memorial Day weekend. The third part of the program is to help at large scale cleanups, which are tentatively planned for two to four times per year. Teams will need to provide members to cover each of the activities in their adopted area. Contact Diane Gierhan at 361-949-5048 to get additional information, sign up your team and receive your adopted area assignment. You may also pick up information at the Island in The Son United Methodist Church office between 9 AM and 2 PM, Monday through Thursday. There is no charge for the program and all trash bags will be provided. Island in the Son United Methodist Church is located at 10650 Highway 361 on Mustang Island, between Newport Pass Road and Beach Access Road #3 (on the west/Laguna Madre side of the highway). As always, we invite you to visit us and “Come as you are!”