Inside the Moon...
Sports A13
Fish Stories A5
Winter Texans of the Week A2
The
Island Moon
FREE PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
Winter Texan Roundup A14
Local Music A16
Free
Weekly
361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com The Island Newspaper since 1996 Facebook : The Island Moon Newspaper
January 16, 2014
A $2.4 Billion Island
The only difference between men and boys is the size of their feet and the price of their toys.
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com
There were two big booms in the night sky near the end of Whitecap on Tuesday. Speculation was they were sonic booms but as of this writing there is no confirmation from the military – and likely never will be. We had similar booms a couple of years back in that area that according to residents were accompanied by blue flashes of light and came from the Whitecap Wastewater Treatment Plant. The city, like the military never confirmed.
Photo by Miles Merwin Next Publication Date: 1/16/2014
Year 17, Issue 509
Property value evenly divided between North Padre and Port Aransas but tax rates are miles apart
If it’s a choice between booms from airplanes or from a sewer plant we’ll go with the airplanes every time. Explosions and sewer plants should be kept as far apart as possible.
Dock of the bay
Schlitterwork An aerial photo of the latest work done at Schlitterbahn taken in the past few days Docks being removed along Commodores The old boat docks across Commodores from the entrance to the country club are no more. After years of fighting the weather they are being torn out by the POA. They will not be replaced.
Island diaspora There is a quiet diaspora going on here on our Island. Quiet but discernable. Slowly but surely a handful of homeowners on the north end of Padre Island are moving south, to the quiet end of The Island in anticipation of growth, and the potential traffic and noise it brings to the north end. From Primavera and Carlos Fifth they come. To El Socorro and Punta Espada Loops they go in search of quietude. Quietly they move. But perceptively. Seeking solace in the portion of The Island where an open window at dusk brings only the sound of the surf. Quietude
Coyote and raccoon carcasses found The carcasses of more than sixty raccoons and coyotes have been dumped on private property south of Sea Pines since late December, the latest being last weekend. The skinned raccoons have been found on three separate occasions by Islander David Pierce who manages the property Around continued on A3
Cold Stunned Turtles Donna J. Shaver, Ph.D. Chief, Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery, National Park
Messages in a Bottle
By Dale Rankin How much is a barrier Island on the middle Texas Coast worth? According to figures from the Nueces County Appraisal District records the answer, including both North Padre Island and Port Aransas is $2.4 billion in fiscal year 2012-2013, the last year complete district figures are available. The numbers were taken from the appraisal district rolls by Islander Chad Feerick, of CAF Landman & GIS Consulting, LLC which Value continued on A7
IUPAC Provides Informational Candidate’s Forum for County Commissioner District 4 Race By Brent Rourk The IUPAC will provide an opportunity for Island residents to learn more about the Republican candidates running for County Commissioner District 4 on Monday, February 10. This will be another in a series of informational candidate forums that IUPAC provides for the islanders. The forum will be held at the Holiday Inn on North Padre Island beginning at 6:30 PM and ending at 8:00 PM. The candidates are Norm Baker, Brent Chesney, and Joe McComb. The IUPAC continued on A3
(left to right) Darcy Trett P.A. resident and owner of Third Coast Inn, Suzanne Piette P.A. resident and Hot Dog Lady, Dianna Aston. Photos by Donald Hatch By Sheri Henneberger Sailor Sheri is the communications manager with the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce/ Tourist Bureau. An SOS bottle, filled with messages of hope from all over the world, sailed along an aqua trail of diamond sun-drops Saturday, January 11, 2014. Led to Federal waters by dolphins and Roseate Spoonbills, the crew of Los Ninos cast the bottle into the strong currents of the Gulf, with wishes for goodwill to everyone everywhere.
frostbitebetty@gmail.com
Last Wednesday as a cold front raked across the Coastal Bend 78 cold stunned green turtles were recorded on the Texas coast. This was the second largest number found cold stunned on a single day since cold stunning began in Texas this winter on November 25, 2013. All were found in the upper Laguna Madre. An estimated 563 cold stunned turtles have been documented in Texas since this event began on November 25. All were green turtles except for one hawksbill and one loggerhead. Of these, 457 were found alive and transported to rehabilitation. Most of those rescued during November and December have already been released into warmer Gulf of Mexico waters. Thank you to the National Park Service, ARK, Sea Turtle, Inc., Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Sea World San Antonio, NOAAFisheries, Texas Sea Life Center, Texas Master Naturalists, Gladys Porter Zoo, University of Texas, other organizations, and private citizens for their help to find, rescue, document, transport, rehabilitate, and release cold stunned turtles on the Texas coast this year.
Two big pieces of news here in Frostbite Falls: first of all, the weather warmed up! Weather is always big news here, don't ya know. Today it was even raining a bit mixed with frozen pellets. Fifty degrees warmer than last week and the rain is still freezing up. The other news here is the new YMCA. Half the town turned out for the Grand Opening, and now we have all those activities that the Winter Texans have in Port A. So Betty tried out the Intro to Zumba class. First big warning sign was that wall of mirrors. You have to see what you really look like, along with all the other blue-hairs, instead of imagining that your dance moves are just as cute as the peppy instructor. After 45 minutes of footwork dyslexia, Betty was darn sure she would rather be in the band. Bert says one of these days he will go walk on a treadmill and then sit in the hot tub.
Frostbite Betty continued on A11
Winter Texan Roundup page A14
The Message in a Bottle Project was born last fall when Dianna Aston, a children’s book author, former journalist and founder of The Oz Project, moved from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico to Port Aransas. Traveling Message in a bottle continued on A8
Yo Tuve Un Hijo (I Had a Child) – Part 1
Frostbite Betty
Greetings From Frostbite Falls, MN
Dianna Aston casting bottle into the Gulf and Jim Johnson popping cork in celebration
By Brent Rourk
Los Desaparecidos
[This is the second in a series about my travels in Brazil and Argentina during Christmas and the New Year Holiday 2013-2014 and the first in a series about ‘Los Desaparecidos’. This revelation tugged at my heart, and though its history is known more widely to Argentinians and available in history books and on the net, I found it to be of special significance. It is about the young people who disappeared in Argentina from 1976-1983 called ‘Los Desaparecidos’ (The Disappeared Ones) and their amazingly strong mothers. Sometimes travel presents beautiful places, engaging cultures and warm people. Sometimes travel forces one to look at some sad chapters in history. Such is the case with this story.] Painfully pacing, many mothers walked the circle around the central statue at the Plaza de Mayo in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. They had demonstrated this way for years. Keeping to tradition, these very old mothers wore a signature white scarf around their heads and necks as they protested, silently at first and then with the courage to speak up. Though different numbers of saddened women appeared, these weekly protests became a regular event week after week and year after year on Thursday afternoons at 3:00 PM. Excruciating sadness darkly painted their faces while their eyes revealed a haunting refrain of torture. They were determined. Desaparecidos continued on A4
Her child rests in the dirt - lost in the Dirty War