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361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com The Island Newspaper since 1996 Facebook : The Island Moon Newspaper
April 18, 2013
Photo by Dale Rankin
The only Island in Texas with more Wind Turbans than Wind Turbines
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com
Oh ye Island of hackers, coughers, sneezers, and lo the watery eyes. As Mexico burns The Island smokes. Smokers who stepped outside for a drag the last few days needn’t bother lighting up; just suck in a lung full of the smoky Mexican air making its way north from Campeche.
Next Publication Date: 4/25/2013
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Year 16, Issue 470
Island Moon ArtWalk is This Weekend!
KIII Television and The Shark 106.5 Radio Join as Sponsors The first Island Moon Newspaper ArtWalk and Beach Market will hit the ground running on Saturday-Sunday, April 20th and 21st at the Michael J. Ellis Seawall on Windward Drive. KIII Television and The Shark 106.5 radio have joined as sponsors guaranteeing plenty of exposure for the event across the city.
Smoke on the Water The Weather Service has issued statements saying the smoke is from “agricultural” fires.” We’re not sure exactly what that means but given the events in Mexico of the last few years it conjures up images of the massive clearing or forest for the growing of ill-defined produce. Where’s Al Sleet the Hippy Dippy Weatherman when you need him; “This week we had a Canadian Low…not to be confused with a Mexican High.” So far the Weather service is not saying how long the smoke will last, probably depends on how much land the Mexicans need to clear. This happens every three or four years but usually the smoke blows to the east of us, which is actually happening this time as well. What we are getting is just the edge of the noxious cloud, but it’s enough to make us think the fog is rolling in.
Water restrictions As we head down toward summer the Water Wonks are starting to make noise about water restrictions. Here on The Island we mostly don’t care. We learned back in the 1970s that if you fill your yard with rocks you don’t have to water those. The folks over at the 60 plots at the Community Garden may have to make a Plan B, but for most Islanders if rationing hits, we’ll just look at our rocks and laugh.
Killer Bees Islander David Pierce got a surprise last week when he went to open a gate on land just down Park Road 22 where he is the caretaker. When he swung the gate open he was attacked by a swarm of killer bees living inside the post. He got a few bee stings but when he called the city for help in removing the colony a dispute arose over exactly where the Corpus Christi City Limits end. The offshoot – now at David’s urging, a City Limits sign will be placed along the road. See, something good can come even from something as bad as a Killer Bee Attack…
Kat-Dog Mixer The Kat-Dog Mixer over at the Animal Hospital of Padre Island has become an Island tradition but it has always been in the dead of summer when it is hot for our furry friends. So this year Dr. Christi and Ray have decided to move it to May 3 from 4:30-7:30. They will still have barbeque, and many kinds of Margaritas but this year it just won’t be as hot. Dogs, cats, and Well-Behaved Owners are welcome.
“Let my people drill” Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson went to Washington D.C. this week to speak to the Full Committee Oversight Hearing of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee. That’s a lot of “committees” but his message was direct and to the point, “Let my people drill,” he said. You got to love that.
Recipe for summer We’re heading into the outdoor cooking part of the Island calendar so in that vein here at the Island Moon we’re going to try something new; we’re going to add a recipe in each edition for favorite Island dishes. So if you have a sure fire recipe that you think others would enjoy trying, please send it along. Whether it’s that special tartar sauce or the best way to cook a Redfish, let us know. Let’s get cooking! In the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.
The event is free both to vendors and the public. Vendors wishing to participate should email editor@islandmoon.com or call 361-9497700 to confirm and have items approved for sale. On Saturday setup will begin at 7 a.m. and the market will open to the public at 9 a.m.; on Sunday setup will start at 11 a.m. and the market will open at Noon. We’ve had several calls from vendors asking for the location so this time we’re including a map in the ad.
The smoke from fires in Mexico and the spring Sargassum weed invasion have made for odd scenes along our beaches of late. Crews pile up the ubiquitous weed until it can be removed.
A Full-Tim Mechanic
New Book Captures Tales of Port Aransas
Several local musicians will be on hand for live music throughout both days. We’ll see you there!
Parking The Dog Meeting Set for Thursday, April 25 There will be a public forum regarding the proposed Island Dog Park on Thursday, April 25 at 6 PM at the Seashore Learning Center Gym located on Encantada. Michael Morris, Director of Corpus Christi Parks and Recreation will lead the meeting. Come, learn and ask questions. A group of volunteers have been working on the design and best practices for a dog park. They are now at the point of location and fund raising. Due to our climate – salty and very dry – those conditions were taken into account in the design as well as types of materials which should be used. It will be a beautiful park when it is completed. For more information, visit the website at padreislanddogpark.com
This Saturday!
Nation’s Biggest Coastal Cleanup Is This Weekend
When it comes to tall tales, sagas, and fish stories the town or Port Aransas is in a league of its own. Due to its location on the Aransas Pass it has been the site for all sorts of adventurers, explorers, and characters since the time it was part of the Spanish Main.
Half Gales – Tales from Tarpon, Texas. Tarpon was of course the name of Port Aransas after it was changed from the original Ropesville. The collection is edited by Cameron Pratt and illustrated by Ivan McDougal and is available at the museum.
The annual Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup is Saturday, April 20. The cleanup will take place at seven sites in and around The Island.
Jim Wiggins was a collector of those stories and now a book has been published through the Port Aransas Museum called Hard Heads and
Wiggins worked in radio in San Antonio who
Texas — home to the nation’s first allvolunteer beach cleanup in 1986 — boasts one of the biggest all-volunteer beach cleanups in the world. And on April 20, more than 10,000 Texans are expected to participate in the AdoptA-Beach Spring Cleanup at 28 sites along the Texas Coast. Volunteers may register on-line for the Spring Cleanup at www.TexasAdoptABeach.org or at 27 of the 28 check-in sites (advanced registration required for St. Jo Island) beginning Adopt-A-Beach continued on A4
Top Ten Reasons Dogs Like Living on The Island By Riley P. Dog I’m now going into my sixth week of my diet and I’m down to begging from tourists. Last week at the Back Porch I scored a French fry and a shrimp tail before my humans caught me. I don’t understand why humans throw away the shrimp tails because those are the best part. I wrote a long story last week and my nose is still sore from hitting the space bar – I don’t have any thumbs – so this week I’m writing a little shorter and trying to be positive in spite of slowly starving do death; did I mention I’m on a diet. Riley continued on A6
Book continued on A7
A little Island history
Fall of The Alamo By Dale Rankin For all of the attention the battle and fall of the Alamo has garnered over the last 177 years the battle itself, after a siege of twelve days, was but a brief affair over in less than 90 minutes.
fall, and my orders must be obeyed at all hazards. If our soldiers are driven back, the next line in their rear must force those before them forward, and compel them to scale the walls, cost what it may.”
So many chickens…
So it was that at midnight on March 6, 1836 his men silently began advancing to within 300 feet of the walls of the Alamo. Their orders were to attack at 4 a.m. but it wasn’t
Mexican General Santa Anna’s advisors attempted to persuade him to leave a small force behind to starve the Alamo defenders out while the Mexican army marched against the main Texan force further east. Santa Anna, often styling himself as the Napoleon of the West, would have none of it. One night while planning the assault one of his officers begged him to forgo the assault and spare the lives of his soldiers. Santa Anna was holding in his hand the leg of a chicken which he was eating, and holding it up, he said, `What are the lives of soldiers than of so many chickens? I tell you, the Alamo must
until 5:30, an hour and a half before sunup that they rose from their trenches with shouts of Viva Santa Anna and streamed toward the walls. History continued on A7