Island moon 7 25 2013 section a by Mary Craft

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361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com The Island Newspaper since 1996 Facebook : The Island Moon Newspaper

July 25, 2013

Photo by Mark Middleton

Stock up on Flashlight Batteries, Tropical Storm Dorian is on the loose

Around The Island

By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com Last week a stranger was seen standing outside an Island home smoking a cigarette. When the homeowner went to investigate the smoker said he was waiting on someone to bring him keys to the house which he had rented for the weekend for his family to stay at while they scattered the ashes of a loved one on the beach. This was startling news to the man who lived in the house. Once he pieced the story together he found that a person yet unknown but residing in Nigeria, upon discovering that the house was listed for sale had placed an advertisement on Craig’s List offering it for lease by the day. The smoker called and paid an $1100 deposit and his family flew in for the occasion. On his arrival at the house he called the “leaser” who told him to stay put and he would deliver the house key and collect the remainder of the rental fee. Of course it was a scam. The homeowner, being an Islander, helped the unfortunate victim and his family find accommodations for the weekend but the scam on top of the death in the family was compounded misery. This is just a Buyer and Seller Beware so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

City Tax hike By the way, the Corpus Christi City Council took steps to begin the process of raising your taxes. As a result state law requires them to hold hearings to explain why. They have potentially scheduled three hearings, one on August 20, the second on August 27, and the third before a vote for the final adoption of the tax rate which will be held at the City Council meeting on September 10.

Next Publication Date: 8/1/2013

Police Patrol Boat for The Island The possibilities and the problems

Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

A Day in the Life of a Beach Lifeguard Quick thinking, good training, bold action save the lives of two swimmers

By Dale Rankin The move to raise $75,000 to fund a police boat to patrol Island canals for scofflaws and wakemakers is making progress and finding obstacles. The effort was launched at the July meeting of the Island Strategic Action Committee (ISAC) by Island CCPD officers who recognize the need for an enforcement arm on the water. CCPD currently has no in-house means of stopping or ticketing boaters since the department has no boat immediately available for enforcement. Two patrol boats are funded at $330,000 from the Tax Increment Finance Zone funding formed to fund development around Packery Channel. The boats are manned by non-sworn officers with limited enforcement power and do not enter the canals. The proposed boat for the canal would be manned by uniformed CCPD officers and would spend at least 80% of its time in the canals. The proposed boat is a 25-foot Majek, specially equipped for police work, on regular patrol in Island canals to enforce boating safety and show a police presence as a deterrent to would-be burglars accessing homes from the water side. The cost of the boat is $75,000 and Islander Bryan Gulley has pledged to raise $15,000 for the project and also agreed to provide a slip for PD use at Market 37. The Property Owners Association has also agreed to chip in, with the remainder of the one-time purchase cost coming from donations.

Lifeguards, from left to right, Chris Lewis, Daniel Krause, Kevin Bardwell and Robbie Krause. By Bob Algeo. It started on a beautiful, warm Sunday afternoon at Michael J. Ellis Beach, in front of the seawall of the same name. The blue sky had few clouds and the water seemed very calm near the shore.

If you think this is a good idea you might want to attend and tell them so.

It was the last day of June but could have been the last day of life for two happy, fun-loving sisters, enjoying their family’s vacation on North Padre Island, if it wasn’t for the quick teamwork of Lifeguards on the beach.

Cruiser odor and sewer line work

Unusual summer day

The sewer pump station over by the Cruiser Bridge on Whitecap has been in full bloom in the summer heat. It’s become part of the routine to suck in a lungful of air as we drive down Whitecap and approach the spot where the Odoriferous Zone kicks in.

There was an unusually dry summer wind that day. It was unusual, because it was not coming from over the water of the Gulf, like it seems to do about ninety percent of the summertime. Instead, it was coming from the west/northwest, from over the warm land. But still it didn’t seem very windy down on the beach in front of the seawall, especially not so windy where the wind was being blocked by the condos and the tall motel. It was just nice and comfortable.

To fix the problem crews have spent the last several months cleaning forty years worth of sand out of the sewer line along Whitecap, which at some points was 75% clogged. They finished the last of that work this week and the next step is to run a camera down the line and if it is clear and check for leaks. Then a sounding device is run through to check the line for wear and tear. Once that is done repairs and replacement can begin to fix the line and eliminate the smell emanating from the pump station. In the meantime roll up your windows and hold your nose.

Way to go Bums… Congratulations and a big thank you to the Beach Bums who pulled off a very successful fundraiser at the Island Moon ArtWalk last weekend for our friend Tara Truett who was attacked on the beach a few weeks ago. Tara is doing better but still hospitalized. So far there has been no arrest in the For more pictures case.

Moon Daredevil of the Week

of the benefit for Tara see page A11

Our Moon Daredevil of the Week Award goes out this time to our friend Jason over at Skydive South Texas who accompanied the giant Olympus oil rig as it made its way out the pass at Port A to a rousing send off by the gathered crowd. Jason flew his single-engine plane over the rig well out into the Gulf taking photos for the tug boat company doing the towing. Flying a single-engine plane over open water without pontoons is a leap of faith and Jason took along a life raft and a few days worth of food just in case. We can only imagine bobbing around out there in the open Gulf in a life raft eating Beanie-Weenies and scanning the skies for a rescue plane; at least Amelia Earhart was able to find an island… Jason capped it off by parachuting into Whataburger Field to open a Hooks game with the baseball for the opening pitch in his pocket. It all makes life around the Word Factory seem kind of dull. Say Hello if you see us Around The Island.

Year 16, Issue 484

The rules and signs Aside from the cost of the boat is the issue of the ability to enforce No Wake and other violations. After the ISAC presentation Islander Fred Edler asked the CCPD Patrol Division what enforcement ordinances would apply if/ when the boat is on the water. It took the division several days to respond because, according to their e-mail, “It took a little bit to locate the answer because no one has been able to enforce this.” According to the CCPD response a No Wake Zone is punishable by a $1-$1500 fine and is a Class C Misdemeanor handled through the Corpus Christi Municipal Court. According to CCPD Slow, No Wake is defined as the “operation of a watercraft in a Slow, No Wake Zone at the slowest possible forward speed necessary to maintain steerage and so as to create no breaking wave.” The ordinance cited by CCPD states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a watercraft in a Slow, No Wake zone at any speed in excess of the slowest possible forward speed which creates a breaking wave. Any property owners association or group of property owners associated with the residential developments adjacent to and through the man-made canals may purchase, install, and must maintain land based “Slow, No Wake signs on each side of the man-made canal where the Slow, No Wake zone begins. The location, size, and wording of the land based signs must be coordinated with the City’s Park and Recreation Department.” It further states: “Any property owners association or group of property owners residing beside the “Slow, No Wake” zone in Packery Channel may purchase, install, and must maintain “Slow, No Wake” signs on land at each of the four corners of the Slow, No Wake zone. The location, size, and wording of the land based signs must be coordinated with the City’s Park and Recreation Department and any other local governmental authorities.” “No one may be cited for a violation of (this ordinance) unless the land based Slow, No Wake signs are installed in accordance with… Police continued on A5

For the two sisters, age 12 and 19, it must have seemed like a great day to go out in the water and do a little paddling around near the shore in a small two person inflatable raft. And indeed, it must have been fun - at the beginning, that is. So the two girls joyously launched their raft in the calm water in front of their family’s condo on the beach. The raft was just one of those little six-foot, oval shaped, inflatable two-person

rafts that you sit inside facing each other, and it comes with a couple of small paddles. They paddled around innocently in the beautiful water that day, and they were enjoying themselves very much, when they were just a little bit off the beach; it was when they got just a little farther out that their trouble started. They were about 60 feet from shore, and that’s about where the last groups of people were standing or swimming around on a sandbar and that’s when the offshore wind began to affect them. It started as just a little push out farther from shore. Certainly, they must have thought it wasn’t really going to take them out to sea!

Wind gets stronger It must have seemed manageable to them, at first, and they tried to paddle the simple raft back toward shore. But that kind of raft doesn’t really handle very well. With wind blowing them, paddling from either side just kind of makes them turn around, without much directional ability. And then, as they got just a little bit farther out, just barely past where the last people were standing in groups on the sandbars, they noticed the wind seemed to be getting stronger. The wind moved them to the Southeast, past the tall Holiday Inn, and then the unblocked wind pushed them harder. They tried in vain to paddle the cheap raft back to shore. But with small paddles in a small raft with no pointed ends, no keel, no rudder and Lifeguards continued on A12

A little Island History

Civil War Battle Fought at the End of Whitecap Boulevard

Rebels try to use Corpus Christi Pass to run Union blockade By Greg Smith By December of 1862 Corpus Christi had been cut off from shipping by the Union blockade for almost a year. The town’s business and commerce had ground to a halt and the citizens were running out of all the basic necessities of living.

Pass at Whitecap The Federal ship Arthur guarded the pass at Port Aransas and the Union steam gunboats Sachem and Corypheus controlled the bays. The Confederate commanders looking for a way to bring in supplies and ship out cotton decided to investigate the possibility of using the unguarded Corpus Christi Pass to run the Union blockade. The first thing was to chart the current depths of the pass. The plan was for the Confederate schooner Queen of the Bay manned by forty seven year- old Jack Sands of Indianola, two sailors and to be augmented by seven men plus Captain Ireland of Hobby’s Texas regiment.

Captain Ireland was a resourceful and fearless officer who had captured the reviled Yankee commander Lt. John W. Kitterege in Flour Bluff three months earlier. Today’s folks think of Corpus Christi Pass as the ditch that was cut back in 1933, a couple of miles north on the way to Port Aransas. In 1862 the Corpus Christi Pass’s mouth was where Whitecap Boulevard ends at the

beach, it the went through what is now Lake Padre behind the seawall Condo’s, going along where SH 361 currently is for a couple of miles and then angled to Corpus Christi Bay. The pass was about 1,000 feet wide and History continued on A5

Island Moon

A 2

July

25,

2013

The Travelling Moon Gets Around

The Island Moon went to Central Asia in the Walkan Valley. This is looking across the Panj River into the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. Tracy Watson (Center Holding Island Moon) Tim Anderson (Right) Jim Wright (Center) Mark Povlick (Left).

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Island residents Pat & John Diggins,son Jeff, Niece Patti Drew, grandnephew Mathew aboard ‘PUMPKIN II’ lobstering near Freeport, Maine July20, 2013.

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No loNG leaseCALL aGreemeNt! FOR RESERVATIONS AT 361-949-2500 Toni Cheryl, Tara Treutt’s sister, took the Island Moon to the Michael J. Ellis seawall parking lot for the medical fund benefit held for Tara there on Saturday July 20th as part of the Island Moon’s Artwalk & Beach Market. Tara was the young woman who was severely beaten and left on the beach on July 5th. She is still hospitalized in stable condition. No one has been arrested yet for the brutal attack. Photo by Miles Merwin.

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Royce and Debbie Wells took the Island Moon to the Grand Sirenis Resort in Akumal, Maya Riviera, Mexico.

Shrek the Musical Coming to Port Aransas

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The Big Bad Wolf and the Three Pigs all dance and sing in Shrek the Musical By Brent Rourk A large, talented, and local troupe of actors will be performing Shrek the Musical at the Port Aransas Community Theatre (PACT) in August. This well-known musical features your favorite characters from the most popular stories and fables, dressed as you remember. Singing all of the popular songs of the touring musical, these delightful characters energetically dance through-out the story of Shrek. This is a fabulously fun musical to see for both adults and children. Performances will be held on August 1,2,3,4 and 8,9,10,11 and finally 15,16,17,18. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening performances begin at 7:30 P.M. and the Sunday performances begin at 2:30 P.M. Tickets are only $15.00 each. Order your tickets in advance by calling PACT at 361-749-6036.

July 25, 2013

Island Moon

Letters to Riley

How a Cow Dog became an Obese By Riley P. Dog Dear Riley P Dog, My name is Rambeaux Salinas Perez. I am new to the island..however my two legged parents aren’t. I too am on a diet and I would like to stage a revolt. See. My problem is ..my mother person will only let me eat dog food. She says I’m chunky and have a big booty..I strongly disagree. ..I’m fluffy!! I love running on the beach and rolling in anything that doesn’t smell like dog food. I even rolled on a fish Friday and mom figured it out on the way home. I need help to get my point across. Any

ideas? I’m not even allowed treats. Oh and I have questions... are you a mustard or mayo guy?? Do you like soft dog food? I do. But it doesn’t like me. I love seagulls, they sing to me. Do you talk in your sleep?? How about TV? I like it in between naps. Talk to you soon. Rambeaux gonna do, call a cop? You may be on a diet for the rest of your life cause you won’t ever lose any weight but, hey, your getting Skittles so who cares right?

Hey Rambeaux Salinas Perez, I like dogs that have three names like me. We deserve three names. Cat’s have nine lives and we only get one and so we should at least get more names. Stoopid cats. I’m a mustard and a mayo guy – I didn’t know you had to choose. Who knew!? When it comes to diets Rambeaux I’ve got more experience than I would really like. The way I see it there are two ways to look at diets if you are a dog. My humans put me on a dog food only diet after Dr. Christi told them I was overweight. See they got these charts they use to decide how much we should weigh based on what kind of dog we are. My chart said that I was an “Obese.” I don’t know what that is. I always thought I was a Cow Dog but apparently I’m an Obese. That sounds like one of those little yappy dogs with a bow in her hair. I think maybe you change breeds when you hit 65 pounds because according to that chart any dog like me who is over 65 pounds is an Obese and I was 93 so I got put on a diet. I tried to tell Dr. Christi I was big boned but that didn’t work. I didn’t think of fluffy. I think I’m more of a stinky than a fluffy. I don’t really mind being on a diet it’s just that the Good Book says you are supposed to use your talents and now my talent for begging for treats from tourists and humans alike is hidden under a bushel. Just doesn’t seem Biblical – even for a dog. Maybe a Unitarian or a Nihilist – but not a dog! I got mad begging skills just going to waste. No; doesn’t seem right at all. But now that I’ve lost some weight I can jump right up in the car and I can walk around the block all the way without stopping and when I roll over for belly scratches I can roll right back over without any trouble. I’m quick enough that I snatched the tail feathers out of a giant bird that lives on my deck and I almost caught the stray cat that lives under my deck but instead of catching him I splashed in the canal. Stoopid cats. Being on a diet does have some advantages but if you ask me Rambeaux I would rather work the tourist crowd and stay an Obese but apparently we dogs don’t get a say and I’m headed back down to Cow Dog. Oh well.

Human biscuits The second way to look at a diet is to try and work around it. Humans have a short attention span and since we dogs don’t have any sense of time we can wait them out. We’re in for the long haul Rambeaux. They get weak and distracted and before too long one of them, usually the male human, will start sneaking you food. He’ll start with green beans, “these aren’t bad for him,” he’ll say. But pretty soon here comes biscuits – the human kind not the dog kind, and then you can go dig into the bowl of Skittles he keeps hidden under the couch. What’s he

A whimper a yelp and a hat Try a little whimpering and maybe a yelp here and there but don’t overdo it or the female human will put you outside and yell at the male human. Just use your judgment Rambeaux because some humans are different than other humans. But your best bet for begging is to work the tourist crowd. They’re just in town for the weekend and they don’t know you are on a diet and they don’t care anyway. They’re not used to seeing dogs in public places so they’re a soft touch. Get your humans to put a bandana around your neck, it works like a charm. I don’t know why. If you can wear a hat that’s even better. I don’t like hats because we Obeses have small heads. I like soft dog food but I never get any and besides I like pizza better. I like old hamburger bits I dive out of the garbage. I really like those because you get to taste them twice. I like TV especially the part where they talk about hotdogs. Do you have any hotdogs Rambeaux, could you send me some? In a box. Put a donut in there Rambeaux. Well, I know your’e not gonna do that because if you have a donut and a hotdog you would eat the hotdog and bury the donut. So would I so that’s okay. I don’t know if I talk in my sleep Rambeaux, I’m asleep. But I don’t think so because I don’t even talk when I’m awake. I’m a dog. I don’t even type very well because I don’t have any thumbs and I have to hit the space bar with my nose and it gets sore after about 600 words. I think that is why there have never been any great Dog Writers. Their noses got sore and they just went to full-time begging. I understand, I really do. I like seagulls. I have some that use my pool for a bird bath and they seem like friendly enough people. Sometimes they sing to me but mostly they cackle and my cats try to chase them but the birds can fly and the cats can’t but the cats can’t figure that out. Stoopid cats. But boy if you think we dogs are beggars Rambeaux get your humans to throw some dog food up in the air. Those seagulls will kill each other for that dog food. Bird food must really taste bad. I wouldn’t fight for dog food, cat food maybe and hotdogs definitely, but not dog food. But those seagulls they go crazy for dog food. It just goes to show you Rambeaux that one seagull’s ceiling is another dog’s floor. And cats, well, they should just live in the basement and give their food to us dogs. Stoopid cats.

Texas Records More Job Growth in June with 5,800 Jobs Added Unemployment rate unchanged in June The Texas economy added 5,800 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs in June for a total of 303,000 jobs added since June 2012. Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady in June at 6.5 percent. Texas’ unemployment rate remained below the nation’s June unemployment rate of 7.6 percent. “Economic growth in Texas has proven to be diverse, consistent, and long-term,” said Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Chairman Andres Alcantar. “The annual job growth across all industries continues to provide opportunity for Texas job seekers.” Over the month, seven of the 11 major industries in Texas saw positive growth. Leading the way was Leisure and Hospitality, which posted over-the-month growth for the fifth time in six months and added 4,600 jobs. That industry has added 55,600 jobs over the last year for a 5.1 percent annual growth rate. “Our economy continues to offer numerous opportunities to job seekers,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Ronny Congleton. “We encourage those looking for work in Texas to visit a local Workforce Solutions office for help finding the right job

for them.” Professional and Business Services employment expanded for a fifth consecutive month with the addition of 3,100 jobs in June. The industry has had an annual growth rate at or above 4.0 percent for five straight months. Additionally, Financial Activities, Information, Manufacturing, and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities all saw positive job growth in June.

Stuff I Heard on the Island

by Dale Rankin

The year was 1981 and with the ink on my degree from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State) still wet I found myself in Austin writing press releases for then State Representative Gib Lewis. I got the job because a friend of mine knew somebody who knew somebody who was leaving town in a hurry; seems everybody in Austin was in a hurry to get to L.A. in those days – I’m gonna buy me a vest and head out West. The job didn’t pay much but it got me entrance into the Friday evening poker games at the Texas Chili Parlor and Wednesday night outings at the Broken Spoke and through those connections I landed a job writing for the daily Austin Citizen newspaper. That was how Austin worked in those days and still does now; just hang around long enough and something will fall into your lap.

Crime in the morning politics in the afternoon What fell into mine was the morning shift on a daily afternoon paper which had me go each morning at six o’clock to the #1 Fire Station on 5th Street and find out from the Chief if anything had burned to the ground overnight. If so I was to go to the scene and find a story; preferably one involving a veteran of a foreign war or a three-legged dog and both if possible. Then I proceeded on foot to the Austin Police Headquarters on 8th Street where I had an “office” in the bottom of the bottom of the basement, my office was literally a broom closet and consisted of a desk with a telephone that when it worked, had a constant buzzing on the line in what I estimated to be an F-sharp. Every time I used the thing I walked around for an hour with that F-sharp buzzing in my ear like a modern day Robert Schumann trying to shake off a head cold. I went through the overnight police reports and then upstairs where I tried to talk my way past the secretary at the Homicide and Robbery office where the morning detectives sat around and drank coffee. I would take their abuse about my long hair, my cowboy boots, and my politics for a while then eventually pry whatever information I could get out of them and go back to the broom closet and write my stories on the rolls of paper which I purloined from the hand towel dispensers in the police station men’s rooms and fed through my Royal manual typewriter. I left them on my desk to be picked up and taken to the newsroom by a means I never discovered. It was the first of many News Miracles I witnessed over the years.

To the Capitol Once that was done I walked the six blocks over to the State Capitol where I covered the State Legislature which was in session that year. In hindsight I couldn’t have asked for a more educational first job as a daily reporter. From burned down buildings, to crime, to politics all in the same day; it was a Hunter S. Thompson view of the polyglot of the Social Compact between governments and governed; or maybe in hindsight it was more like a Fellini film with an F-sharp buzzing in its ear. Could be both. Texas was a one-party state in those days and the State Capitol was not the free fire zone it is today. It was more of a Good Ole Boys Club where who you socialized with after hours was what defined your place in the pecking order. My place in the pecking order was split between my fellow struggling writers hacking out press releases in the bowels of the Capitol and the staff at the Citizen. And what a staff it was.

Never teach a pig to sing The Austin Citizen was the sort of successor to the legendary Austin Sun which had died in 1978. The Sun was home to a group of groundbreaking Austin writers such as Chet Flippo who went on to become a star for Rolling Stone, and Big Boy Medlin who by day wrote for the Sun under the nom de plume Travis Redfish and by night drove a beer truck. He later became an icon among Austin writers by moving to L.A where he led a group who launched L.A. Weekly and wrote the screenplay for the film Roadie which starred a guy by the memorable name of Meat Loaf. The Sun’s editor had a sign over his desk which read: “Never Try to Teach a Pig to Sing. It Wastes Your Time and Annoys the Pig.”

When the Sun launched Richard Nixon was President and the Vietnam War was still fresh in the public consciousness and the Sun’s editorial meetings took place at the Split Rail, Antone’s or Soap Creek Saloon. The Sun and its forbearer The Rag launched the Austin counterculture that has made Austin what it is today – whatever that is. The paper introduced readers to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Ely, Marcia Ball and Butch Hancock, and chronicled the first American performances of Elvis Costello, at the Armadillo World Headquarters, and the Sex Pistols, at Randy’s Rodeo in San Antonio; an event I happened to attend and witnessed the melee that resulted after an audience member hurled a cheeseburger at the head of bass player Sid Vicious who responded by “hitting some poor bloke over the head with his base.” I later learned it was my attendance at this event that got me hired at the Citizen.

The Citizen also rises When the Sun closed many of its writers ended up at the Citizen which prior to that had been an ultra-conservative daily featuring the crossed flags of the United States and Texas on its masthead. It was rumored that early in the paper’s existence the U.S. flag had been preceded by the Confederate Battle Flag – the Stars and Bars – but I doubt it. It was, after all, Austin. So into this mix of ex-Sun radicals and Citizen Reactionaries walked a boot-wearing kid from Corpus with long hair and a backpack full of Nietzsche, Kerouac, Zane Grey, Hemmingway, and Abby Hoffman. I fit right in.

A bohemian dream I had the world by the tail. I was writing for a living in a two-newspaper town and by three o’clock I was off work and headed over to 6th Street where there were exactly three watering holes; a sports bar, Steamboat Springs and a conjunto bar called the Green Spot where the habitually open door spewed button accordion music flooding the street with flavor and verve. About four o’clock on most days Vaughan and his band would show up at Steamboat to rehearse. In late afternoon the Moveable Feast shifted to the pawn shop down the block where we retrieved as many of our belongings as penury allowed, or dropped off a few as penury required. Then it was on to the Continental Club on South Congress where Vaughan and company were the de facto house band and which was, and is, located across the street from the Austin Motel which displays its phallic red neon sign and where many of us then resided in the Writer’s Ghetto. We all knew it was too good to last and the change in the Austin vibe in those days was palpable.

Paradise Lost I lost my broom closet office and my Royal manual when one day a frantic fellow from the Fire Department came running in yelling, “Everyone out. There’s a flood.” There had been heavy rain and water had backed up behind Mansfield Dam and the order went out for someone, we never found out who, to go out there and let some water out under the dam. The intent was to relieve pressure upstream to prevent flooding above the dam. But the misguided fellow dispatched for the job literally opened the floodgates sending a wall of water crashing down Waller Creek inundating everything in its path; including my Police Station broom closet. A few weeks later at a concert called the Tornado Jam at Manor Downs Vaughan unveiled his song “It’s Flooding Down in Texas” and indeed all the telephone lines were down. A few weeks after that the Citizen’s Editor assembled the staff and announced cutbacks due to “a problem with the printing contract.” We pointed out that we were typing on rolls of hand towels; “what is there to cut back, typewriter ribbons!?” By the end of the year the Austin Citizen was no more, the Armadillo World Headquarters was long gone, and the West Coast-Austin transplants had become disillusioned with LA. and were coming back. When a museum in South Austin put up an exhibit about the Austin Sun one of the writers said, “Well, we all expected to hang, just not in a museum.” It was time to move on.

Moon Hero of the week

“With an annual growth rate at or above three percent since April 2011, Texas’ private employers continue to play an important role in our state’s expanding job market,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Hope Andrade. The Midland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had the lowest June unemployment rate in the state at 3.7 percent. The Odessa MSA came in second at 4.5 percent and the Amarillo MSA third at 5.3 percent (not seasonally adjusted). Audio downloads from TWC Chairman Andres Alcantar on the latest labor market data are available at: www.texasworkforce. org/news/press/2013/press-releases-2013. html#pressReleaseAudio.

Organizing Meeting for Paddle for Parkinson’s this Saturday By Mona Singleterry Now is the time for all good men, women, and children to make a plan for participation in one or more of the many opportunities of the fundraiser, Paddle For Parkinson’s. Please join us for an organizational meeting on Saturday, July 27th, 12:00 noon at Billish Park (location of the fundraiser) 15601 Gypsy, on the Island. Will update everyone on what plans are firm

and what is still needed. You can also pick up raffle tickets, sign up to volunteer, be a sponsor, donate door prizes and/or participate in the relay itself. Will have pizza and water available until it runs out. The 4th Annual Paddle For Parkinson’s fundraiser event, which is a five mile relay through the canals of Padre Island is August 31st at Billish Park. The relay begins at 9:00 am. Thanks

This jeep was hit and flipped over in front of Wind and Wave Surf Shop in Flour Bluff on Tuesday. Wind and Wave owners and Island residents Frank and Nathan Floyd, and Moon writer Joey Farah, cut the driver out of the flaming jeep with gasoline pouring out all over the cab. The trio never hesitated in their assistance and truly saved the man’s life, solid surfers and men. You guys get the Moon Hero of the Week Award!

A 4

Schlitterbahn Progress

Island Moon

July 25, 2013

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July 25, 2013

Island Moon

Police Blotter

Two men robbed at gunpoint at Anchor Resort July 18, 12:47 p.m. Anchor Resort 14401 S. Padre Island Drive Aggravated Robbery

Man Crashes Into Oso Bay And Does Not Survive

Police responded to the Anchor Resort Condominiums where two men reported being robbed at gunpoint. The men were sitting inside the enclosed foyer area using their computer laptop when the two suspects walked in and demanded the laptop. The men took the victims laptop and wallet. Both men received minor injuries during the robbery, but refused medical treatment.

A 57-year-old man did not survive a single vehicle crash into Oso Bay Sunday morning.

The two suspects are only described as a Hispanic man and a Black man and last seen wearing bandanas over their faces. Both men fled in a small red vehicle. At 12:57 the same day officers were dispatched to Bay Point Resort Apartments at 1802 Ennis Joslin Road for another armed robbery. The 17-year-old woman reported her red Mustang being stolen at gunpoint as she entered the gate code. The victim had stepped out of her car to enter the gate code when a small red vehicle pulled into the entrance. Two men exited the car and approached her, taking her Mustang at gunpoint. The woman was uninjured. Both suspects are described as Hispanic men, 30 to 40 years of age, and standing 5’6″ feet tall. Both men fled in the Mustang, followed by the small red car. Both vehicles were last seen northbound on Ennis Joslin Road. The Mustang was recovered and a 15-year-old juvenile was detained after an Officer observed the stolen Mustang being gassed up at the convenience store at Yorktown and Cimarron. The suspects observed the Officer and fled. During the pursuit, the driver of the Mustang made a U-turn, hit a police car, and kept going. The pursuit ended in Crossgate Park where the Mustang and a police unit became stuck in the mud. Two suspects fled on foot, while a 15-year-old remained in the car. Officers detained the juvenile, while Officers searched for the other two suspects. The K9 Unit was called to assist and “Kimbo” and his partner were able to locate a firearm as well as track the suspects to the 5500 block of Crossvalley. The two suspects were not located. It is unknown at this time if both robberies are related. The investigation is ongoing and being conducted by the Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Bureau. The 15-year-old was booked at the Nueces County Juvenile Justice Center and charged with Aggravated Robbery and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.

DWI Statistics – By The Numbers DWI & DUI Arrest July 15, 2013 618 Same time 2012 512 up 20% Total in 2012 1036 DWI Arrests Last 3 Months July (thru 7/15) 46 June 2013 111 May 2013 88 April 2013 90 Note: The 111 DWI arrest made in June 2013 is an all time high for the month of June. Previous June high was 100 DWI arrest made in 1993. 2013 DWI Stats 609 DWI Arrest as of July 15, 2013 9 DUI Arrest as of July 15, 2013 130 Suspects consented to give a sample of their breath 269 Suspects consented to give a sample of their blood 192 Suspects refused to give a sample of breath or blood and a search warrant was obtained 15 Suspects refused to give consent of breath or blood and a mandatory blood draw was required 3 Suspects refused both blood and breath request, and no evidence was obtained. 609 cases filed and in 606 cases a sample of breath or blood was obtained.

Corpus Christi Police responded to a single vehicle crash at 2:31am Sunday morning at the 8800 block of South Padre Island Drive in which the vehicle drove into the water. Several Corpus Christi Police Officers entered the water to recover the 57-year-old man from inside the vehicle. No other person was in the vehicle and the 57-year-old man was taken to the hospital by ambulance where the man later died. The Corpus Christi Police Dive Team responded to the scene to get the vehicle out of the water and have it taken to the city impound lot.

Corpus Christi Animal Care Services Has New Program Manager Mrs. Hedrick completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s of Business Administration. She holds a Heather Hedrick, Master Peace license Program Manager for Officer Corpus Christi Animal from the Texas Commission on Care Services Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education and is a certified High School Teacher from the State Board of Education. Mrs. Hedrick taught Criminal Justice and Firefighting in public schools for the past four years. Mrs. Hedrick was the Animal Services Director for the city of Coppell in Dallas County prior to her teaching. Mrs. Hedrick chose to move to Corpus Christi after her husband retired from firefighting. Mrs. Hedrick said she couldn’t sit still and she felt compelled to do something constructive. Mrs. Hedrick was attentive to the Animal Care Services because of her passion for animals and applied to be the program manager once the position became available. Mrs. Hedrick brings her experience to accomplish several goals for the Animal Care Services in Corpus Christi. Mrs. Hedrick said she wants the Animal Care Facility to be a pleasant place for the public. “I want everyone to see this place, not as a pound or someplace negative,” Hedrick explained, “this is a positive place to rescue animals.” Mrs. Hedrick provided a list of goals for the Animal Care Services staff, for volunteers, and for the building maintenance. Mrs. Hedrick shows her passion for animals and invites the community to visit the Corpus Christi Animal Care Services at 2626 Holly Road in Corpus Christi. Please visit the Animal Care Services Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ corpuschristianimalcareservices. Corpus Christi Animal Care Services is proud to announce their current standing in the Rachael Ray Challenge. The Rachael Ray Challenge started June 1, 2013 and will continue through August 31. The totals have been posted on the ASPCA Rachael Ray Challenge leader board. They are ranked 9th overall, and 2nd in division 4. The ranking is based on increase in live release of animals compared to June – Aug of 2012.

.18 Average Breath /Blood results from suspects

For more information visit http://challenge. aspcapro.org/contestants

Starting School? Need a Car? Stop by our Monthly Auction On Saturday, August 3, a total of 83 cars, trucks, and motorcycles will be auctioned at the Corpus Christi Police Department Vehicle Impound Lot located at 5485 Greenwood Drive during our monthly auction. The site has four paved acres for an auction lot. Approximately 30 of these vehicles are “No Insurance” impounds. On Friday, August 2, 2013, the general public will be allowed to register and view the vehicles to be auctioned from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There is no registration fee. On the day of the auction, the general public can continue to register and view the vehicles from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The auction will commence promptly at 10:00 a.m. on August 3, 2013. The vehicles to be auctioned can be viewed at www.siskauction.com. An auction list may also be downloaded from the same website. The department’s strong stand and enforcement of this “Zero Tolerance No Insurance Initiative” will continue and all vehicles involved in accidents will be impounded and the driver cited if they are unable to provide financial proof of insurance. Driver’s license and proof of financial responsibility checkpoints will continue to be conducted at the Shift Captains’ authorization. During June and July of 2013, Officers issued 625 citations for Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility and impounded 118 vehicles for the same charge.

the depth of the channel ranged from 10 to 15 feet deep for the most part. The problem with the pass was it usually ran only four feet deep at the bar in the Gulf and three feet deep seven miles up channel where the pass emptied into Corpus Christi Bay. On December 5 the Confederates embarked on the Queen for two days of sounding. Riding a north wind they spent a day and half measuring the depths of the seven mile long pass. Even

and great anticipation boarded the Cutters at 6:00 a.m. on a cold December morning for the twenty-eight mile trip through Corpus Christi Bayou and across the Bay to Corpus Christi Pass.

Yanks and Rebs find each other As the sun rose that morning at the pass the Confederates spotted the Arthur in the Gulf. Trapped by the contrary wind they anxiously

Type of boats used in Island battle though they had completed their work on the 6th the north wind left them stuck in the pass, forcing the group to stay another night.

Rebel turncoat Unknown to the men in Gray the Union gunboat Sachem had captured a rebel schooner loaded with salt. One of the schooners crew, a unionist sympathizer told the bluecoats about the reb’s activities. Plans were quickly made to capture the Queen and twenty sailors detailed for the task. In command would be the battle tested twenty seven year- old Ensign Alfred Reynolds from New York. A local civilian Peter Baxter, a Scottish immigrant came along to help guide the party through to the Island. In those days if the Navy captured an enemy ship it was declared a prize and the capturing crew all earned a portion of its value. The plan was for the sailing bark Arthur to block the Gulf entrance of the pass. The Arthur with a hundred sailors and mounting six cannons would make quick work of the Queen if it tried to escape into the Gulf. But the Author drew fourteen feet of water and could not get any closer than a half a mile to the pass without running the risk of grounding.

Woman arrersted after doing donut on the beach Officers patrolling Zahn Road at Gulf Beach at 9:13 p.m. on July 11 observed a silver Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck driving at a high rate of speed, do a donut, and almost strike another vehicle. Tammy Tyson, 47, was arrested and charged with Reckless Driving and Driving While License Suspended/Invalid.

Police Calls 13300 block SPID 6:30 a.m. July 20 Burglary of a vehicle 14000 block SPID Midnight July 22 Burglary from a vehicle

watched the Arthur. Much to their relief the Arthur left for Port Aransas without sending an attacking party. By eleven o’clock an east wind came up finally enabling the Queen to strike home for Corpus. As the Queen was about halfway up the pass they spotted the sails of the Yankee cutters. Not knowing if the Sachem or other Union vessels were close by they made the decision to turn around and run back to Padre Island where they would be protected from the larger Union vessels by shallow waters and could also escape on foot across the Laguna to Flour Bluff. About the same time the Queen was sighted by the crew of the two Union cutters about two miles distant. The Union sailors seeing the chase was on grabbed their oars. With the cutters under both sail and oars they were closing the gap between them and the Queen. As the Queen reached Padre the Cutters were less than a mile behind, the Confederates beached the Queen and ran for cover in the Sand Hills that were on the edge of the pass. Seeing the running Rebels and prize in sight the Union boys redoubled their efforts and were on top of the Queen in ten short minutes. Next Week; The battle begins, shots ring out.

The Yanks set out For the actual capture the Federals needed shallow draft boats to navigate the three-foot depth at the Bay entrance. They decided to use two cutters, one made of iron and one of wood for the job. One cutter would be manned by ten men and the other cutter eleven men. The crews were armed with rifles, shotguns, pistols and cutlasses. This would make quick work of a three or four man crew of a schooner like the Queen of the Bay. With the stir of excitement from the capture of the Reb’s ship and the prospect of sharing in extra cash for its prize value the twenty sailors with little sleep

Animal Care Services In The Running

(46 for DWI with two or more prior convictions; 18 for intoxicated assault; 9 DWI Child; 2 intoxicated manslaughter)

225 DWI arrest were involved in Traffic Crashes

History continued from A1

The Corpus Christi Police Traffic Safety Section is investigating the crash in which a tan 1999 Saturn 2 door car drove east on the access road toward Flour Bluff, drove over traffic warning signs, then went into the water. The cause of death will be investigated and determined by the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office. Investigators have spoken to at least one witness to the crash but would like anyone who has any additional information about the crash to contact the Corpus Christi Police Traffic Safety Section at 886-2600

You can support their efforts by adopting an animal at Corpus Christi Animal Care Services, volunteering within their facility, animal sponsorship through their P.A.A.C.-People Assisting Animal Control partners, and/or liking them Facebook. Please help them be #1.

75 Felony DWI cases:

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Police boat continued from A1 (these rules).” The ordinance says buoys may also be installed according to Coast Guard rules. The proposed boat would presumable allow police officers to enforce these rules, provided the Slow, No Wake signs are properly installed.

Staffing The next question to be addressed before the boat could be put into service is that of staffing. For the last year a total of eight uniformed officers have been assigned to duty at any given time in the police department’s Bravo District which includes, The Island, Flour Bluff, and the portion of Corpus Christi south of Airline. However, in a recent shift of personnel inside the department, sources say, one of those officers was removed from service in the district for at least the next six months until a routine review of staffing is conducted. As officers are needed in other parts of the Bravo District they are called from The Island and deployed elsewhere in the district increasing the response time for backup officers responding to Island calls. This cutback in staffing would likely cause problems in providing uniform officers to man the patrol boat in the canal. So if/when the boat is purchased this staffing issue would need to be addressed to put the boat in regular service. In response to an increased number of police calls on Island beaches CCPD has assigned two additional patrol officers to the beach in the evening hours through the summer season; however, they respond to cases away from the beach only in cases of dire emergency.

Taz Meet Taz he was found at a house on the Island on the 4th of July, scared out of his mind. He took shelter in their side yard and stayed in the neighborhood for 5 days. Many people have been praying for this baby and trying to rescue him, but he was just too scared to trust anyone. A trap was the only way to go. Within minutes, he was showing his sweet disposition...kissing us and wanting to play. He was scanned for a microchip. The vet tech guessed his age to be 6-9 months. Without the benefit of looking in his mouth, that’s the closest age we know until he is seen by our vet. If you would like to adopt or foster Taz or would like more information on Taz, please email us at info@guardiansrescue.org. Additional photos of Taz can be seen on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/guardiansrescue.

14300 block SPID 12:47 a.m. July 18 Aggravated Robbery 14500 block Compass 8 a.m. July 19 Theft of vehicles parts under $500/Criminal mischief 14800 block Windward 8 p.m. July 19 Theft from vehicle/public intoxication 14700 block Whitecap 6 p.m. July 18 Credit card abuse 15800 block SPID 7:40 p.m. July 20 Harassment 15800 block Vincent 10:36 p.m. July 19 Public intoxication 15000 block Aruba 7:55 a.m. July 16 DOA

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Island Moon

A 6

Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder

Letters to the Editor Old Time Aviation

Every so often, usually in the vast deserts of the American Southwest, a hiker or a backpacker will run across something puzzling: a ginormous concrete arrow, as much as seventy feet in length, just sitting in the middle of scrubcovered nowhere. What are these giant arrows? Some kind of surveying mark? Landing beacons for flying saucers? Earth’s turn signals? No, it’s…

Distribution

The Transcontinental Air Mail Route

Pete Alsop Island Delivery Coldwell Banker

Arrow

Advertising

Now mail could get from the Atlantic to the Pacific not in a matter of weeks, but in just 30 hours or so.

Jan Park Rankin Patrick Kelliher

• Even the dumbest of air mail pilots, it seems, could follow a series of bright yellow arrows straight out of a Tex Avery cartoon.

Office Lisa Towns Classifieds Arlene Ritley Design/Layout Jeff Craft

A re-creation of a 1920s map showing the route of airmail planes; the dots are intermediate stops along the course.

Contributing Writers Joey Farah Devorah Fox

• On August 20, 1920, the United States opened its first coast-to-coast airmail delivery route, just 60 years after the Pony Express closed up shop.

Mary Craft Maybeth Christiansen Jay Gardner

There were no good aviation charts in those days, so pilots had to eyeball their way across the country using landmarks. This meant that flying in bad weather was difficult, and night flying was just about impossible.

Todd Hunter Danniece Bobeché Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk Dr. Donna Shaver

• The Postal Service solved the problem with the world’s first ground-based civilian navigation system: a series of lit beacons that would extend from New York to San Francisco. Every ten miles, pilots would pass a bright yellow concrete arrow. Each arrow would be surmounted by a 51-foot steel tower and lit by a million-candlepower rotating beacon. (A generator shed at the tail of each arrow powered the beacon).

Photographers Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan Mary Craft

By 1924, just a year after Congress funded it, the line of giant concrete markers stretched from Rock Springs, Wyoming to Cleveland, Ohio. The next summer, it reached all the way to New York, and by 1929 it spanned the continent uninterrupted, the envy of postal systems worldwide. • Radio and radar are, of course, infinitely less cool than a concrete “Yellow Brick Road” from sea to shining sea, but I think we all know how this story ends. New advances in communication and navigation technology made the big arrows obsolete, and the Commerce Department decommissioned the beacons in the 1940s. The steel towers were torn down and went to the war effort. But the hundreds of arrows remain. Their yellow paint is gone, their concrete cracks a little more with every winter frost, and no one crosses their path much, except coyotes and tumbleweeds. But they’re still out there! Charlie Mader

Beach Access

Dale Rankin About the Island Moon

The Coastal Access Forum will be held on Tuesday, August 13th and Wednesday August 14th from 9:00 A.M. to 3:30P.M. at the Estuarine Research Center, University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, TX.

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.

This forum is open to the public. Registration for this workshop is free. To RSVP, please visit our online registration form here.

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

For more information about the Coastal Access Forum, directions to the UT-Marine Science Institute, and event registration information, please visit this link: Coastal Access Forum Save the Date.

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

The Island Moon Newspaper 15201 S. Padre Island Drive, Suite 250 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

Where to Find The Island Moon Port Aransas Lisabella’s Restaurant Pioneer RV Park Stripes @ Beach Access Rd. 1A

Doc’s Restaurant

Island Woman Boutique

Snoopy’s Pier

Moby Dicks IGA Grocery Store Port A Business Center Carter Pharmacy

Back Porch Woody’s Sports Center Shorty’s Place The Flat’s Lounge Giggity’s Stripes @ Cotter & Station

This tragedy occurred, essentially, in our backyard and the people of Corpus Christi and North Padre Island came together to help Tara Truett. This is an example of the honor and generosity in all the people of the Coastal Bend in times of need and reinforces my pride to be able to live in this area. Tara continues to be in stable condition with a very long recovery ahead of her. There is still no apparent motive or suspect... Thank You All, Kelly Byrom, North Padre Island SoPac Beach Bum Forever

Barefoot Sale and King’s Ransom The Port Aransas Art Center is holding it’s Bi-Annual Barefoot Sale all month long! Art Center member artists clean out their “Art Closets” and it is always a fun exhibit full of great deals! Description of The King’s Ransom-When those you have loved and lived for betray you, how do you go on? Book Two of The Bewildering Adventures of King Bewilliam literary fantasy series finds Robin, the hero of The Lost King, at sea both literally and figuratively. At first directionless and purposeless, he determines to reunite with his sons and with them restore his shattered kingdom. Fate has different plans for the lost king. Driven far from his home in the Chalklands, Robin pits his will against a dragon, a fortress’s duplicitous and deadly guards, high winds on the open water, and a horrifying sea monster only to meet his most formidable opponent.

Island Italian Holiday Inn Texas Star (Shell) Jesse’s Liquor Padre Isles Country Club

Subway

Duckworth Antiques

On July 20th a benefit was held for Tara Truett at The Island Moon Artwalk & Beach Market on Padre Island to help cover her expenses after the brutal attack she suffered on the beach at mile marker 210 on July 5th. The overwhelming response by the general public to this benefit was astounding. We want to thank all the friends & strangers who showed up and participated for this cause. Special Thanks to the Island Moon Newspaper for getting the word out and Special Thanks to all The SoPac Beach Bums for all their hard work in putting this benefit together.

Ace Hardware

Wash Board Laundry Mat

Chamber of Commerce

We host the Island Moon Newspaper ArtWalk there the third weekend of each month, at no charge to our vendors and on a not-for-profit basis. We have already begun discussions to move our event to another location to avoid the current congestion problems at the parking lot. We hope to have something worked out by the end of summer. Meanwhile, we’re sorry for the inconvenience.

Isle Mail N More

Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant

Public Library

Mackenzie Hoskins, age 14

CVS

San Juan’s Taqueria

Port A Parks and Rec

Mission- Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve

North Padre Whataburger

The property owners along the seawall bought the land for the parking lot and donated it to the city with the promise it would be used for a parking lot, not an event site. It doesn’t seem fair that those same property owners must now negotiate their way through cars parked along Windward Drive because of congestion caused by events on land they donated for use as a parking lot. This seems especially unfair if the event is a for-profit business.

Coastal Training Program Coordinator

Tarpon Ice House

Felder Gallery

Editor’s note: We agree Carol. The idea of having a market on The Island has shown itself to be a good one, but it has become clear that the parking lot on the seawall, or any publiclyowned parking lot on The Island, is not a satisfactory permanent location.

Kristin Hicks

Wild Horse Saloon

Amano

Spanky’sLiquor

Rylie Hoskins, age 7

Carol Buitenhuis

Sincerely,

The Gaff

All Stripes Stores

Coffee Waves

My sister and I had such a fun summer at our Grandmommy’s house. We went to Texas Surf Camp at Bob Hall Pier for surfing lessons. We want to thank Morgan, Brittany, Coral, Christian, Ty and Riley for making surfing so much fun and for their help. We will see them again next summer. We are sending photos.

If you have any questions about this event, contact Heather Wade at 361.749.3049, Kristin Hicks at 361.749.3048, or via email at txcoastalplanningandtraining@gmail.com.

Port A Glass Studio

Miss K’s Catering & Bistro

Coast Club

Dear Mr. Moon Editor

Having a market is a great idea, however, I think a better location could be found. There is so much traffic around on market days that I think it is dangerous for those wanting to walk to the beach from the condos, etc. I also have difficulty finding a parking space close to the sea wall and end up having to lug all my beach stuff for quite a way - not easy in this heat. I believe the parking lot was built for people to park, who wanted to go to the beach and not for shopping. Maybe move the market to the top corner of the parking lot - closer to the road, if another location cannot be found. Just a suggestion! After 30 years of living here, I’ve started avoiding the beach on market days, as I do not drive my car on the beach and it is too much trouble to find parking. Disappointing.

Open Letter to the Public

The Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve is partnering with Texas Sea Grant to host the Coastal Access Forum: Exploring Beach and Bay Access in the Coastal Bend.

Riley P. Dog

Island Moon,

Tara’s Benefit

Dear Island Moon,

Editor/Publisher/Spillage Control Supervisor

July 25, 2013

Island Markets creating parking problem

Island

Surf Camp Office Security/Spillage Control

Island Tire And all Moon retail advertisers

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Flour Bluff H.E.B.

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July 25, 2013

Island Moon

Angler’s Alley

Tides for Corpus Christi (Bob Hall Pier) July 25-31 2013

Day

High /Low

Tide Time

High

Low

Height Feet

Sunrise Sunset

6:40 AM

1.2

6:49 AM

Set 9:56 AM

12:28 PM

0.8

8:22 PM

Rise 10:30 PM

High

5:06 PM

1.1

Low

12:13 AM

0.1

6:49 AM

Set 10:57 AM

High

6:52 AM

1.1

8:21 PM

Rise 11:09 PM

Low

1:09 PM

0.5

High

6:36 PM

1.1

Low

1:07 AM

0.4

6:50 AM

Set 11:56 AM

High

7:04 AM

1.1

8:21 PM

Rise 11:47 PM

Low

1:57 PM

0.3

High

8:18 PM

1.0

Low

2:08 AM

0.7

6:50 AM

Set 12:53 PM

High

7:14 AM

1.1

8:20 PM

Low

2:49 PM

0.1

High

10:37 PM

1.1

Low

3:39 AM

1.0

6:51 AM

Rise 12:26 AM

High

7:20 AM

1.1

8:20 PM

Set 1:48 PM

Low

3:44 PM

0.0

High

1:32 AM

1.2

6:51 AM

Rise 1:06 AM

Low

4:40 PM

-0.1

8:19 PM

Set 2:42 PM

High

2:43 AM

1.4

6:52 AM

Rise 1:48 AM

Low

5:33 PM

-0.2

8:18 PM

Set 3:34 PM

On the Rocks

Tides of the Week

Moon Time

By Jay Gardner % Moon Visible 93

Last weekend was Danny Gohlke’s birthday, and his buddy Clay came down from Houston to help him celebrate. They were wanting to do some fishing, and well, I figured I would help him celebrate too. Our buddy Trevor had called and asked if I wanted to go out with him on his Blackfin to do some offshore trolling on Saturday, and I asked if there was extra room. There was, and we got the plan together to go hit it.

48 39

Wait for Topdog Friday found the boys running around in the boat in the Laguna, and they didn’t have much luck. They should have waited for me to get off work, as Topdog and I went out to the sight casting spot and combined for ten reds and ten drum in short time (all released). It was a pretty good kick off though. Saturday morning Trevor wanted to meet at 5:54 a.m. to shove off (ugh! I hate getting up early on Saturday!) but we made it out on time and cleared the jetty to surprisingly calmer seas than we had expected. We got out to the Promised Ground after a short run, set the spread and got on the troll. Trolling has been extremely slow lately, and a few hours went by without a knock down. We eventually trickled into shore and caught a few fish on the way back in, giving the boys the action they had been waiting for. She’s a nice ride Trevor, good fishing with you.

Too windy to dive and running on jump charge Sunday found us wanting to get back out to the bay fish, as the winds had come up and made us scrap our planned dive trip out to Ant Hills on the Donzi. We walked back through the marsh, and despite the clouds were able to get into a few redfish that were milling around up high with these higher tides we had been having. Zep had the hot hand this day, and he landed a nice keeper stringer of reds with the rest of us with little to show. It was a nice day though, and got to show the boys some great territory and a little

about what we had experienced on Friday. Danny had to be back at the house in the evening so he could cook for his own birthday party, lol. We thought we had left in plenty of time when things get a little interesting. Clay and I were riding with Danny in his big F-350, and when Danny went to hit the key, the motor barely turned. Uh oh. A call to Zep (who was still back in the marsh) to let him know we needed a jump. He walked out and got us kicked off and began following us back to civilization. We got about six miles down the road, and the truck died again. During this jump-episode, we realized that the alternator belt was done for. We would be running on jump-charges alone. As we drove towards the JFK Causeway, we began to joke about stalling right at the top of the bridge and having to coast back down backwards into traffic. Right as we pull over the Packery Channel Bridge, the truck backfires and we start laughing about not even making it that far! Between running late for his own party and having to get the truck jumped about every six miles, we had quite the adventure.

What? No peaches! Zep gets us kicked off again at the Emergency Care Clinic (I had wanted him to pull over by the peach stand!) and we head off. As we got closer and closer to Danny’s house in the Bluff, the truck showed signs of stalling, we lost the gauges, and people drove very slow in front of us. We were laughing and worried at the same time we’d have to push it, but we made it down the last street and actually coasted into the driveway! You’d have thought we just won the Firecracker 200 or something from us cheering about making it back to the driveway. Well, hope you had a good birthday Danny, and I’m still recovering from all the fishing. Hopefully these crazy winds will let up in the next week so we can get back out there and hit it again. I’m more than ready to get back out there On the Rocks.

Fishing Tournaments Blue Wave Owners Tournament — July 26th - 27th, 2013 TIFT — August 1st - 4th, 2013 - South Padre Island, TX Texas Legends Billfish Tournament — August 7th - 11th, 2013 Majek Owners Tournament — August 9th - 10th, 2013 HT-3 Qualifying Tournament — August 16th - 17th, 2013 Texas Women Angler’s Tournament — August 23rd - 25th, 2013

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Island Obituary

Island Moon

CITY

Howard Odom Our island lost a true treasure last week when Howard Odom departed this world. Howard, the son of Jimmy and Mayo and stepmother Peggy, the father of Levi and brother of Jennifer, Mike and Kirk, was a dear friend to many, many islanders. Known to all as the “Love Monkey” who rode a big yellow Harley, Howard could often be seen on his favorite beach at Packery Channel or riding the streets of Port Aransas. He loved the ocean and he loved the beach. Howard moved to Port A in 1979 at the age of 19 from Orange, Texas and made a living from fishing and working on boats, eventually piloting crew boats. There are many stories of how Howard would brave angry seas to rescue crew members off of Jack Up Rigs caught in peril, often putting his personal safety aside. Howard lived life large and had no enemies. He was truly adored by all. Howard was laid to rest on Saturday, his casket pulled by a motorcycle, his friends and family still in shock. On Sunday, Howard’s loved ones gave him an island sendoff at Charlie’s Pasture and his favorite band, Triggerfish, played.

Business Briefs by Mary Craft

New Advertisers Sharkey’s presents Port Aransas Summer Fest Concert Series with The Fabulous Thunderbirds on Saturday, August 3rd, Joe Ely August 10th, Cory Morrow August 24th, Jack Ingram August 31st and Los Lonely Boys September 1st. You can get $20 pre-sale tickets and more info at pasumfest.com. Tickets are $25 at the door. R&D Construction custom builds wood, vinyl, composite or chainlink fences and gates. They are locally owned and operated. Call 2050473.

Business Briefs Scoopy’s offers so much more than just ice cream. Enjoy a guilt-free lunch with their assorted fresh salads and soup du jour. The sandwiches each have different types of bread best suited for it. For guilty pleasures enjoy of the many prepared in their kitchen desserts. You can enjoy the same Snoopy’s view but with air conditioning!b Lyco’s Nails 2 does more than just fingers and toes. They also apply permanent cosmetics including eyeliner and lip liner. Enjoy a relaxing European facial for just $40.b Island Moon Ads can help promote your business to both locals and tourists. Bundles of papers are dropped off each week at all hotels and rental condos. Every other week they are delivered to all Island homes and can also be picked up at CVS, all the Stripes on the Island and in Port A, IGA and many local businesses. A business card size ad is $45, a 2 ½ x 5” is $100,

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July 25, 2013

5”x5” is $150 on up. The cost is more on a color page. There is a 10% discount for six prepaid ads. Each issue is also posted on Facebook where we have almost 3000 followers. Call 949-7700 or email editor@islandmoon.com and watch your business grow. Beamer’s Sports Grill has a $5 coupon in their ad this issue. It is a kid friendly sports bar with special arrangements available for birthday parties. On Wednesdays kids 12 & under get a free meal with every adult meal purchased. They are located on Staples between Holly & Saratoga and street construction in this area is now done. Hammon’s Produce Market has fresh fruits and vegetables brought up from the Valley each weekend on Saturday and Sunday at their location on SPID next to Hampton Inn. Island Italian now has a sno cone stand inside the restaurant. Mazzy convinced her dad Tony to buy her a sno cone machine and is following a family tradition. Her grandfather “Tag” started the business with a hot dog stand he would work down the beach. Way to go Mazzy! The market on the seawall this weekend is in no way affiliated with the Island Moon Newspaper despite the name. The operators are using the name against our wishes and continue to do so after several requests to stop. So don’t be fooled it’s not us. The Island Moon Newspaper Artwalk and Beach Market is the one we run every third weekend of the month and is free to vendors and the public alike.

July 25, 2013

Island Moon

Backwater Adventures

Sponsored by Waypoint Marine Shrimp – A Gulf Favorite

By Brent Rourk Which seafood represents 25% of seafood consumption in the United States (indicating that each person in the United States eats 4 pounds per year)? Which seafood contains about 100 calories per 85 grams (3 ounces)? Which seafood is harvested in both warm and cold waters, nationally and internationally and is caught wild and farmed? Which seafood is sometimes sprinkled with sulfites to prevent discoloration? Which seafood is typically sold in sizes (i.e. 10-15 or 25-30)? Which seafood is low in fat and high in protein but higher in cholesterol and sodium than most other seafood products? Which seafood is the most popular in the United States? Which seafood tends to be the favorite of most of us living in the Gulf? Which seafood has all of the above attributes? You have all figured it out by now even if you did not read the title – shrimp, also known as prawns (larger varieties of shrimp) or in Spanish ‘camarones’.

Shrimp in Our Backyard We live in an area where shrimp are relatively plentiful and where shrimpers get out into the Gulf and fish for shrimp, bring them back and sell them to enthusiastic and waiting lines

of shrimp lovers. You have all probably seen sensory attributes of the shrimp. shrimp boats here on North Padre Island and Most imported shrimp are farm raised shrimp in Port Aransas. What a marvelous benefit to grown in Thailand, China, and live in an area where you can other Asian countries; however, purchase these fresh and tasty imported shrimp also come crustaceans right from the boat, from the Gulf of Mexico and the take them home, and cook ‘em Pacific Coasts of both Central up anyway you like ‘em. This and South America. Shrimp are wild, warm water, domestic a large part of the coastal diets shrimp that we purchase right in Mexico, Central America, from the boat is the favorite of and South America. China is many local shrimp consumers currently the largest exporter The ideal ending to a and connoisseurs. of seafood in the world and the

shrimp’s life cycle

So why are we blessed by having such an abundance of shrimp here in the Gulf? Because we have the perfect habitat for shrimp to survive throughout its life cycle, from the estuarine marsh waters where larval stages and young shrimp thrive to the deeper Gulf waters (60-500 feet) where after maturing, they lay eggs hopefully before they are caught by shrimpers or gobbled up by a large variety and number of fish that have shrimp on their diet. Shrimp are both predator and prey both in estuaries and in deep waters. Shrimp are also a favorite bait used by many who fish our waters. There are several excellent articles about the life cycle of shrimp that shed light on each stage and the environments where they thrive; http://www.seagrantfish.lsu.edu/pdfs/ shrimpcycle_info.pdf

Imported Shrimp While we have the opportunity to dine on fresh, wild shrimp, the fact is that 90% of shrimp eaten in the United States comes from farmed shrimp grown in other parts of the world (over 75% of the seafood consumed in the United States is imported). Techniques for shrimp farming have been refined and improved over the years to produce higher yields of better tasting shrimp. Farmed shrimp are typically warm water varieties of shrimp grown in ponds in Asia. Of course, the water quality and the formulated diets fed to farmed shrimp impact the taste of shrimp as well as the production rates and

Mary Ann McShane, Realtor, GRI, SRES e-mail: malm335@sbcglobal.net Corpus Christi Realty Group

United State and Canada are currently the largest importers of seafood in the world. In 2010 Thailand was the leading U.S. supplier of shrimp followed by Ecuador, Indonesia, China, Vietnam and Mexico. In 2010 the United States imported over 1.2 billion pounds of shrimp.

How Shrimp are Packaged Shrimp color varies from white to grey, blue, pink, or red. The color of the shrimp depends on the size, time in life span harvested, diet, and farm size. All shrimp end up a hue of pink after cooking. Shell colors vary also, including the famous tiger shrimp that has a shell with black stripes. Shrimp also come in a variety of species and sizes.

10 to a pound or 10 to 15 to a pound (called colossal). These are terrific for grilling but please do not overcook them or you will have a dry shrimp that stick to the shell (if you left the shell on). If you do not want colossal, then the next size down is jumbo shrimp (either 1620 or 21-25 per pound), great grilled, baked, broiled, or sautéed. The next size down is called large and is packaged 26-30, 31-35, or 36-40 per pound. This size is great for pan frying, breading or adding to vegetable, rice, or pasta dishes. Next is medium at 41-50, then small at 51-60, and then extra small (gumbo) at 61-70. Medium and large size shrimp are also terrific and tasty salad additions. Of course you can use any size that you want for whatever recipe you cook. The above suggestions are based on the size of shrimp that are generally used for certain types of dishes. When it comes to shrimp, you cannot make too many mistakes, except to undercook them or overcook them. How do you handle and prepare shrimp? Do shrimp pose any kind of health threat? Some favorite shrimp recipes. Interview with a local commercial shrimper. On the shrimp boat. All coming up in follow-up articles.

Some people get a little confused about the numbers printed on packages of shrimp at the store where the shrimp fan can purchase them raw, cooked, deveined, shelled, or whole. Shrimp are sold by weight. The numbers on the package refer to how many frozen shrimp without the head normally constitute a pound. So if you purchase 20-25, then that means that the package contains shrimp of a size that 20 to 25 of them would weigh one pound. Please understand that the package might not weigh a pound (might be less or more), but that if there were 20 to 25 shrimp in the package it would probably weigh a pound.

Khloe Harmon Farah with her first snapper at 4yrs old. Shrimp is the best bait for state water snapper right now.

If you want larger shrimp for dinner, then you probably want to purchase shrimp that come

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Island Moon

July 25, 2013