Island Moon 9-27-2012 A by Mary Craft

Inside the Moon...

Angler’s Alley A7

Island / Flour Bluff Cotillion A2

Adopt-A-Beach A11

FREE

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

Local Music A16

Free

The

Island Moon The Island Newspaper since 1996

Island Area News ● Events ● Entertainment

September 27, 2012

Photo by Rick Reichenbach

The Island where we like low humidity and high humility.

Around The Island

By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com

We’ve hit that patch of the season when we have Chamber of Commerce Weather and the fishing is starting to kick in. We’ve been hearing reports of large schools of baitfish in the channel in Port A and the Big Reds are running as they make their way to open water and the fisherpersons are shoulder to shoulder along the beach and Packery Channel. A little more north wind and things will get busy.

Effort to Build Artificial Offshore Reef Takes a Giant Step Forward Destination for anglers and divers 10 miles from Packery Channel The move to create an artificial reef offshore from Packery Channel took a giant leap forward on Tuesday as the Corpus Christi City Council approved on first reading, a contract to allow material to build the reef to be stored at the Port of Corpus Christi.

Speaking of Packery, the water has been moving through the channel of late with a seldom seen ferocity. Last weekend the current with the outgoing tide was moving so fast it left a sandy trail over a hundred yards seaward as it hauled sand from the channel out to open water. The swells coming in made it tricky for boaters entering and leaving the channel but the calm water along the North Jetty made for rather easy passage.

Sign Police The Sign Police are still out in force writing tickets and The Island has been fertile hunting for them. In one day last week a total of 45 illegal signs were removed from around the city and 20 of them were political signs on The Island. Islanders vote and the politicians know it. Last week alone the Sign Police handed out 70 citations citywide, gave 29 warnings, and removed 137 illegal signs. A good many of those were also on The Island which were found to be violation of the sign rules in the Island Overlay Zone which pretty much prevents businesses from putting up any freestanding signs.

Year 15, Issue 442

Next Publication Date: 10/4/2012 Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

Permitting for the reef has already been obtained by Texas Parks and Wildlife Division (TPWD) from the U.S. Corp of Engineers for a 160-acre reef site located approximately 10.4 miles east/northeast of the Packery Channel jetties, between North Padre Island and Port Aransas. Concrete material is now readily available and more will soon be available from the future demolition of the Copano Bay Bridge. A site to gather the material for the reef was needed before the collection process could begin.

Island PAC Backs Scott, Loeb, Riojas for At-Large Council Seats By Dale Rankin

Services, Loeb is running for his A crowd of about 150 second term on registered Island voters the council and turned out Wednesday is a commercial night at the Comfort Suites property and meeting room to endorse management three candidates in the Atcompany, and both Large races for the Corpus were endorsed by Christi City Council in the the PAC in the David Loeb November balloting. Lillian Riojas last city elections. Members of the Island Riojas is the United Political Action Committee voted to Senior Manager of Public Affairs for Valero back current At-Large members Mark Scott, Refinery. David Loeb, and newcomer Lillian Riojas for The three join current District 4 Council the posts. The three Member Chris Adler as the PAC nominee in the top vote getters in the Mayor’s race, and Islander Colleen McIntyre as November vote will the nominee for District 4 to replace Adler. become members of the new council. The PAC was organized just over five years Scott is a former ago to unite the 6200 registered voters in the District 4 Council two Island precincts who vote in the highest Member which numbers of any two precincts in Nueces represents The Island County. In the previous two city election cycles and is President of nine of ten candidates backed by the PAC have Mark Scott San Jacinto Title won their races.

Date Set for La Posada Lighted Boat Parade

The approval of the lease enables TPWD to begin stockpiling the material on three acres of land owned by the Texas General Land Office at the north end of Rincon Road on the Rincon Channel near the port.

Reefs Continued on A4

Recipes wanted

It’s Tunas Time in Texas!

Naked Kleberg We are unhappy to report that the Naked Men of Kleberg Beach have returned. There were several sightings last week as these guys run around with their reverse lobster tans and squishy parts a floppin’ on the eight miles of beach in Kleberg County where the Kleberg lawdogs deign to trod. The problem is that the beach is a sixty mile drive from the Kleberg County seat in Kingsville and the Naked Men of Kleberg know this. So if you go down there keep your Buck Knife handy in case you need to poke out your one good eye.

Boat salvage We were on the Kleberg Beach watching the salvage operation of the Stock Picker which had a bad week no matter how you slice it. First, she sank by the bow in her slip in the canals, then after a tow out through the Packery ended up floundering on the beach in Kleberg. It took a large crane to get her out of the surf. Where she is now only the Boat Fairy knows.

Oh man! Well Green Bay Packer fans what can we say? The ball comes down, the players go up, Packer fans hearts drop. We have a fair number of Packer fans here on our Island and there was no joy in Packerville after Monday night’s Replacement Ref Smorgasbord. But the Bear fans and the Cowboy fans will head up to Dallas this weekend happy, but only half of them will be happy on the return trip. Packer fans we feel your pain.

Manatee sighting We had our first manatee sighting of the season last week when one of the big fellows was seen checking out the T-Heads. He hasn’t been seen on The Island yet but it’s just a matter of time. All of the visitors to the Coastal Bend sooner of later get burned out on downtown and find their way to The Island. Keep looking for him and in the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.

We see them everywhere and so often that we don’t really even notice they are there. They begin showing up cactus green on Prickly Pear cactus in mid-summer and by the beginning of September they are beginning to turn red. They ride on the Island wind like so many rojo parasites but 500 years ago this fruit was the main reason the Karankawa Indians were able to make The Island their home.

The Padre Island Yacht Club has announced the date for this year’s La Posada Lighted Boat Parade. The two-night event will kick off on the north side canals on Friday, December 7. The parade through the south canals will be the next night, Saturday, December 8. The Friday event will start at 7 p.m. while the Saturday event will kick off at 6 p.m. The U.S. Marines will collect for Toys for Tots on both nights. The loading of the toys will begin at 9 a.m., December 9 at the Yacht Club with brunch

They go by various names, cactus apple, Indian fig, or Barbary, and they grow on the nopales of the ubiquitous Prickly Pear cactus found pretty much everywhere in South Texas.

A little Island History

The Karankawas called them tunas and since they got here before anyone else we’ll go with that. Each September the various bands of the Karankawas gathered in the area south of the Nueces River for their annual gorging on the tunas and it was said to be the only time of year when they had enough to eat. The rest of the year they hung around the backdoor at Snoopy’s and asked for leftovers.

By Dale Rankin In the late summer of 1840 a band of 1000 Comanche Indians had raided and plundered the South Texas town of Victoria and the port town of Linnville which at the time was the second largest port in Texas. The Indians were now headed back up the Guadalupe Valley with about 3000 head of horses and mules plundered from the settlements, along with about a dozen white captives, and $300,000 worth of goods that included top hats and umbrellas that had been bound for the stores of San Antonio but now decorated and shaded the heads of Comanche warriors.

It was at this festival in 1534 that Cabeza de Vaca and his fellow Spanish wanders were Cactus Continued on A4

Port Aransas Considers War on Coyotes

“I shouldn’t have to pull my gun to walk my Chihuahua” By Sara Hendricks When Marcy Matthews Ward Thomas was a little girl in Port Aransas in the 1930s, the coyotes would stay on their side of the pond and the town dogs on theirs. There’s little doubt which ones crossed the pond first considering the extensive development in Port Aransas, particularly during the last decade. Coyotes Continued on A4

to follow. There will also be a kickoff party at Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant, no date has yet been set for that event. Jim Witherill who has been the Parade Marshal for the past ten years is hanging up his radio after this year and is looking for someone who is interested in taking over that role. If you are interested contact the Yacht Club or call us here at the Moon and we will pass it along.

The Battle of Plum Creek

They were led by Chief Buffalo Hump War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians. His Tekwapu (Comanche) name, properly transliterated was Po-cha-naquar-hip which meant “erection that won’t go down.” He was in his mid-40s and his appearance was described as, “The pure unadulterated picture of a North American Indian, who, unlike the rest of his tribe, scorned every form of European dress. His body naked, a buffalo robe around his loins, brass rings on his arms, a string of beads around his neck, and with his long, coarse black hair hanging down…with the serious facial expression of the North American

Indian which seems to be apathetic to the European.”

We want to fight them before they get to the mountains Even before the Comanches had raided the towns signs of their presence had been detected by a the Rev. Z.N. Morrel, a Baptist Minister traveling by ox cart just outside Bastrop. While passing between the Guadalupe and Lavaca rivers he crossed the trail made by the Indians on their way south toward Victoria and managed to push his oxen thirty miles in twelve hours to deliver the news to Colonel Ed Burleson in LaGrange. As he delivered the news a rider came in waving a piece of paper. It read: “General: The Indians have sacked and burned the town of Linnville; carried off several prisoners. We made draw fight with them at Casa Blanca. Could not stop them. We want to fight them before they get to the mountains. We have sent expressman up the Guadalupe. Ben McCulloch.” By the time the message reached LaGrange McCulloch had already joined Captain Mathew (Old Paint) Caldwell and the two men were riding north with eighty men headed for the Guadalupe crossing at Plum Creek, just outside the town of Lockhart History Continued on A6

A 2

First Friday at Port Aransas Art Center

Island Moon

Exhibit includes Moon photographer Miles Merwin

September 27, 2012

A Fine life

Babes With Boys at the Beach by Daphne Fine One of the best parts about being a stay-athome mama on The Island is happening right now. This is my favorite time of year – empty beaches, warm water, perfect temperatures. Before my youngest started school, I spent many a fall morning at Bali Park with his buddies and mine. I am missing those mornings and those friends, so I’m going to reminisce a little, if you don’t mind.

Dawn Gault Meade

Miles Merwin

The First Friday Reception at the Port Aransas Art Center will be October 5th 5:30-7:30. The event is open to the Public with Great art, artists, live music & refreshments. Port Aransas Art Center is located at 323 N. Alister, 361-749-7334 www.portaransasartcenter.org. The exhibits will remain up through October 27.

We serve only

real dairy frozen yogurt Often imitated, never duplicated

Home of the $2.49 Kidz Cup! Open 7 Days Monday - Saturday 11 am- 11 pm Sunday 11 am - 10 pm

14254 S.P.I.D. # 101

949-COOL (2665)

next to Grounded & Scuttlebutts The New Wave in the Island’s Shipping & Mailing We will proudly meet your mailing need from private mail boxes to unique shipments! -using all major shipping companies ground and air

15037 South Padre Island Drive

Stop in to check out our premium cigars, island artists’ work, and Navy flight training guides. Open Monday to Friday 9:00-6:00 Saturday 9:00-12:00 Call Our Store: (361)949-7471

High Quality Work at Competitive Pricing!

eason’s Greetings Happy Holidays 27 Years Experience ● Commercial & Residential Member On The Island

On Padre Island Padre Island Duane Ebert Business Assoc. 361-658-2459 | 361-949-0661 decksanddocksnorthpadre.com Member Padre Island Business Association

Remodeling and More...

I loved our spontaneous beach play dates. As my kids have gotten older, their schedules are increasingly difficult to juggle. So, as spontaneity has mostly vanished from my life, I crave a last-minute beach party. One of us would send a quick text invite, and in just a few minutes, we were off. Throw some snacks and juice boxes in a cooler, pile the chairs and toys in the back of the hot red minivan, pack the towels, spray the sunscreen… well maybe it wasn’t as quick as I remember. But I never worried about forgetting anything. At our parties, all snacks, shovels and pails were community property, and we always brought more than enough. The boys were usually starving in ten minutes, so we broke open the Tupperware and Ziploc bags. We shared fresh fruit, the juice dripping from our fingers making a sticky mess, homemade granola (inevitably mixed with sand), left-over brownies from dessert the night before and of course, the obligatory Goldfish crackers. Those had to be eaten last, as a seagull can spot an orange Pepperidge Farm Goldfish from 5 miles away with pinpoint accuracy. Then, snack time was over and seagull chasing began, a favorite pastime of preschool boys. Anyway, I dubbed our spontaneous beach parties: “Babes with Boys at the Beach.” Babe of course, is a relative term. Make-up? Ha! Shower and shave? Ha! Perfect 10s? Ha ha ha! No dressing to impress, no sucking in what’s falling out (Okay maybe a little sucking in, let’s be reasonable.) and most important, no pretending. While the boys played, us mamas shared more than snacks. We shared our lives. If Bob Hall

Pier could talk, he could let you in on our deepest desires. We didn’t waste our time gossiping about other people. Instead we invested our time and our hearts in one another. We helped one another, loved one another, prayed for one another, learned from one another. We grew up together, becoming better women, better friends, better wives and mothers because of one another. Giving your heart away is always a risky thing for a woman, but I choose not to do life any other way. I have moved three times in the last nine years. I haven’t had time to wait five years to make close friends. I may be spontaneous about beach parties, but what I will not fail to schedule is time to forge deep friendships – for myself and for my family. And I will not wait for someone else to extend an invitation. I have learned to reach out and say those five little words that mark the beginning of every friendship: “Hi…my…name…is…Daphne.” Friendship is too precious a gift to be afraid to open. I believe that we were created to live our lives in community – not to waste away alone. The risk of betrayal and disappointment is real, but there is no question in my mind that the blessings of friendship far exceed any possibility of loss. My beach buddies have moved away, and I am missing them today. So it’s time to reach out again. The beach awaits.

Flour Bluff / Padre Island Coastal Cotillion

The Flour Bluff/Padre Island Coastal Cotillion held their first event, Afternoon Delight, on Sunday, September 16th at the lovely home of Dr. and Mrs. Steve Almond. Mrs. Elaine Boughton greeted every debutante and mother as they entered. Mrs. Susan Lawson was in charge of registering each young lady, giving them their name tag and informational packet. Mrs. Connie Garrison prepared the buffet table which included delicious chicken salad croissant sandwiches, pasta salad, vegetables and dips, cheese and crackers, and a fabulous fruit bowl. Mrs. Trudy Luce served a mixed berry punch and various desserts of pumpkin bread and beautifully decorated cupcakes.

or grandmother. After the introductions were completed, the business part of the meeting began. This included the upcoming events: Etiquette and Resumes Workshop, Fall Luncheon and Christmas Ornament Exchange. Next, the ball gowns and all accessories that are needed to complete the outfit were reviewed. Then the dress attire for the presenters, escorts, mothers and guests were explained. Finally the table decorations were discussed. Many creative ideas were exchanged. The presentation ball will be held on January 25, 2013, at the Holiday Inn Emerald Beach Hotel. The 2012-2013 Coastal Cotillion Board members are: Elaine Boughton, Connie Garrison, Susan Lawson, Trudy Luce, Dr. Elly Soler, and Flo East, senior advisor.

Mrs. Flo East, senior advisor, began the meeting by introducing the board members. Then she asked each debutante to introduce herself and her lovely mother,

Cell: (361) 658-2459 Bus: (361) 949-0661

s Experience l Commercial & Residential Here are the Debutants for the Coastal Cotillion’s Afternoon Delight. They are listed from the bottom of the stairs to the top, starting with the girls next to the wall. At the bottom: Hannah Gray, Skyler Stewart, Sarah Hanna, Haley Elam, Alex Hanna, Alexandra Soles, Virginia Nichols, Olivia Martin, Kathleen Johnstone, in the center: Damaris Georgiadis, Stephanie Mundahl, Amanda Almond, Melissa Pfluger, Abigail Phelps, Taylor Stephens, Abigail Legamaro, on the rail: Avery Valls, Sarah Lankford, Katlynn McNew, Sierra Fabela, Marcela Montemayor, Chandlar Squires, Kylie Petty. Thank you again for your support and please let me know if you have any questions. Elaine Boughton - 361-937-4087 or 361-765-2782 or esbcats@yahoo.com

Season’s & Happy

Home Remode

Duane Ebert Cell: (361) 658 28 Years Experience l

Sep

September 27, 2012

Island Moon

Todd Hunter Says Windstorm, Gaming Likely to Dominate Next Legislative Session One gaming operator has already purchased land in the area State Representative Todd Hunter spoke to the September PIBA luncheon on Thursday, September 13 concerning issues likely to be considered in the next session of the State Legislature which convenes in January.

Here is a summation of his remarks. Voting. The two voting precincts on North Padre Island have the highest turnout of any precincts in Nueces County. Combined with the precinct in Port Aransas the three have a turnout of 78% in each election. Windstorm. There was a meeting in Austin last week of the State Insurance Board after which the State Insurance Commissioner was quoted as saying the risk pool for Windstorm Insurance needs to be expanded beyond the 14 Coastal counties. This is an about face from her previous position. “The first question I asked them,” Hunter said, “is whether the Texas Windstorm Insurance xxx is actually sound? They said no. The next question I asked them of the members on your TWIA board (which sets insurance rates) how many are consumers (rather than working in the insurance industry). They said ‘I don’t know.’ So I asked again how many of you who have raised our rates along the coast by 5% in each of the last three years work in the insurance industry? They finally said, eight.” (Which is the total number of people on the board, not including the commissioner. The vote to raise rates on Windstorm insurance on coastal property owners each year has been 7-1 with the lone vote against being from Georgia Nebblett who lives in Port Aransas. “If all their function is to raise our rates why do we need them?” Hunter asked the group. “We are paying the higher rates but we are represented on any of the boards who set rates, they are made up entirely of people in the insurance industry. This is a not a Coastal issue,” he said, “This is a statewide issue.” Texas is the only state in the United States where the actuarial pool for Windstorm rates includes only the Coastal counties. For instance, when tornados swept through the Dallas area recently the damage was about $2 billion. That cost is spread among all rates payers in the state, including those in the Coastal region. Hunter said that the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce is drafting a Windstorm plan that will be presented to the legislature next January. “We are safe today,” Hunter said. “But I don’t trust them. It’s time for us to take the lead and let them respond.” Initiative and Referendum. This is a system by which citizens through petitions can put items on a state ballot for approval. While Hunter said he is not in favor of a California type system which often puts dozens of such items on a ballot, he is in favor of some type of system which allows for ballot items to be generated by citizens. “If the legislature stops you, you can go around them,” he said. Under an I&R system, an Initiative if approved would force the legislature to adopt a law, a Referendum would force the legislature to reverse a decision it has already taken. Gaming. “It is ridiculous that we are not doing gaming,” Hunter said. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association says they want the Coastal counties to pay their own way for insurance with a state Hotel/Motel Tax. If they want us to pay for it then they should let us decide how; let’s ask voters if they would rather have gaming instead of another tax.”

Hunter says he favors a local option for gaming. “Let the rest of the state do what they want to, but let us vote.” Hunter said, “In the last thirty days there have been five groups of investors who have come to the Coastal Bend looking at potential sites for casinos.” He said one group is local, two are from out of town, and two are from out of state. Two of the groups are looking at sites between North Padre and Port Aransas, two groups are looking at San Patricio County and downtown, one of the groups has purchased 80 acres in anticipation of gaming eventually being approved. “Some of the people who don’t like us because of gaming are going to come after us and try to keep us from voting on gaming,” Hunter said. “But in the next session gaming is on the board.” Education. Hunter said the added tax revenue that will come in as a result of the Eagle Ford oil play has not yet made its way into state coffers. “I predict a shortfall in tax revenue for education, but no new taxes.” Sales tax on internet sales. “Why should local businesses pay a state tax on sales when a company in Ohio who sells to someone in Texas does not?” Hunter asked. This is an issue that he expects to be addressed in the next legislature. Water. The question of who owns the water in this state will have to be addressed. “If Nueces or San Patricio counties sell some of their water rights, those must be replaced.” Cruise ships in the Coastal Bend. A meeting is set for October 15 at the Ortiz Center at the Port to begin the process of bringing cruise ships here, Hunter said. “This will cause a lot of focus on our area.”

Islan da

nd P

On Padre Island Since 1994. Locally Owned by Island Resident

Bill Schroeder 15481 SPID Just past Whitecap on Right

ort

A ra

2012 Corpus Christi Paddle Prix & Rally Twenty mile long kayak race

The 2012 Corpus Christi Paddle Prix & Rally event is designed to encourage everyone to stay fit while enjoying the vast natural resources the Coastal Bend has to offer residents and visitors. It serves as one of the Mayor’s Fitness Council’s signature events. It will be held on Saturday, October 27, 2012. This year, the event will feature a 20-Mile Race for the serious and experience paddlers starting at Labonte Park, winding down the Nueces River to the mouth of the Nueces Bay, then doubling back to the finish line at Labonte Park. As usual, the Rally will begin at the Port of Corpus Christi Boat Launch and wind up the river to Labonte Park. Paddlers may use a wide range of vessels including kayaks, stand up paddle boards and canoes. “Our community is rich with natural resources that give each of us opportunities to get outdoors and be active. This is the third year that we host this event with the purpose of inviting more people in Corpus Christi to the sport as a way to enjoy our natural resources, and live healthy and active lives,” said Stacie Talbert, Assistant Director of the Parks & Recreation Department.

s’ O ldes t

REGISTRATION: Registration Packages will be available online at www.ccpaddleprix.com or at the Corpus Christi Parks & Recreation Department on the Third Floor of City Hall (1201 Leopard Street, Corpus Christi, TX 78401). Online Registration will close at 5:30pm on October 24, 2012. Paddlers who register early will receive a Corpus Christi Paddle Prix & Rally t-shirt. For their entry fee, participants will also receive a goody bag containing various free items from the race sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring a portion of this event, please contact Stacie Talbert at 361826-3460. For more information about the event, call 361826-3460 or visit www.ccpaddleprix.com

FEES: Rally Fee is $15.00 per paddler. Race Fee is $25.00 per paddler. $5 discount for all

Located in the Alta Plaza FullLoma Service 14254 SPID, Suite 109 Catering and 949-4848

Gourmet Take Out

Redistricting. He said he believes that after the November elections another round of redistricting will begin. He said he believes Northwest Texas will try to take a seat in the U.S. House from the Coastal Bend.

AuntSissysKitchen@stx.rr.com www.AuntSissysKitchen.com

Located in the Loma Alta Plaza Hours: 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. 14254 SPID, Suite 109 He said with 2/3 of the seats in the state Visit Senate our website at www.AuntSissysKitchen.com and House the representatives from West Texas 949-4848 For weekly menus can block any resolution of the Windstorm debate that favors the Coastal counties.

Full Service Catering Available For Private Parties

Dale Rankin

Offering Gourmet Take-Out Meals Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Hours:Recipient 4:00 – of 7:00 p.m. Choice Award Member the People’s Padre Island Business Visit our at www.AuntSissysKitchen.com Shellac Swebsite p eSpecial! 2011 Taste of the Island cial Association B i k i Real Makes n i W aNails x For weekly menus $ Stronger,2Lasts 5 . 0 0 Longer

Full Service Catering Available s Pedicure...$20.00 s Manicure...$10.00 For Private Parties s Full Set from...$22.00 - $30.00 s Fill...$15.00 - $20.00 s European Facial...$40.00 In Big Shell Plaza on the Island NEW Around corner fromLOCATION! Subway Sandwich Shop

14457S.S.P.I.D. 14225 P. I. D.,Suite Suite109 7 Corpus Christi, TX 78418of Recipient

the People’s Choice Award

2011 Taste of the Island

nsa

American Canoe Association members (must list ACA membership # on form).

Joan (361) 949-4848 Offering Gourmet Take-Out Meals Sowash Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Trust Pad re

The Pest Control Professionals Islan OVER 30 YEAR EXPERIENCE dB ase dP est Con trol Com pan y.

949-0208

Residential and Commercial Services Termite * Ants * Rodent * Critter * Roaches * Spiders * Fleas

W illiam a. T hau iii, P.C. “F ormer U.S. N avy L awyer ”

l Divorce and Separation l Child Custody and Support l Adoption/Guardianship l Paternity Cases l Wills and Probate

l Auto Accidents l Personal Injury l DWI l Criminal Justice l Military Law

ConvenienT Flour BluFF loCaTion 9708 S.P.I.D., Suite A-101 s C orPus C hrisTi (361) 937-5513 s T oll F ree 1-877-888-1369 Licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas Former President of the Corpus Christi Family Law Association (1999-2000) Selected as a Texas “Super Lawyer” in November 2003, October 2004 and October 2005 Issues of Texas Monthly

Member Padre Island Rotary Club

A 4

Coyotes cont. from A1 But two recent killings of pet dogs on the island and six human bites last year and the year before have made it the talk of the town and prompted Port Aransas City Council member Charles Bujan to put coyotes on last week’s agenda. The presence of coyotes in developed areas on the island isn’t anything new. David Parsons, Assistant City Manager, said one of the largest dens is on the outskirts of the old part of town – right off Station Street between Lantana and Beach streets - on the University of Texas campus near the high school track, and the den may be getting even larger or the coyotes more aggressive. “My wife used to run the track every morning. She’d carry our son’s wrist rocket (a type of slingshot) with steel balls in her pocket,” Parsons said. She’d see a few coyotes. Not long ago, though, Mrs. Parsons spotted 10 of them. “She’s done,” Parsons said. Still, Parsons said, the biggest threat to humans on the island – the one that put most people in the hospital -- are stingrays. “And we just live with them,” he said. Bujan doesn’t mind living with coyotes, just not so many and not in the middle of town. And he wants to send hunters out to thin the coyotes’ ranks. Research in the 1970s in California claimed coyotes will actually increase their breeding to make up for the losses. Not so, said Mike Bodenchuk, state director of Texas Wildlife Services. That research, he said, indicated that if you remove 70 percent of the coyotes’ population, the remaining 30 percent would have more resources and could have larger litters. On the one hand, he said, we’ve never removed 70 percent, so that can’t be documented. On the other, in Yellowstone Park, where wolves have wiped out 50 percent of the coyotes, they aren’t producing more pups. Killing coyotes isn’t the answer, Bodenchuk said, because other coyotes will just come in to take over the territory. Then you are just rolling the dice because, he said, not all coyotes are created equal. Some – to put it in human terms – are nervous around people. Others have become accustomed to being around people. The nervous coyote could eventually become habituated, while the bolder coyote could revert if he has a negative experience with a human. What the island may be seeing right now, Bodenchuk said, are the yearlings. Coyotes don’t breed until after their second birthday and they aren’t welcome in the den of an alpha male. So, these yearlings are looking for new territory and may be finding it in town if pets are allowed to roam free and garbage is left out. Dogs, he said, are seen by the coyotes as threats to their territory, while cats are a food source.Although we need to learn to coexist with coyotes, Bodenchuk said, there are some that need to be removed. “In my mind, if a coyote is walking down the middle of the street in the daylight, it needs to be removed. We need to get rid of the bad actors.” Only one council member present at last Monday’s meeting appeared in support of Bujan’s move to start shooting coyotes. Edwin Myers said when he first came to The Island there were one or two incidents involving coyotes. “Now there are one or two a week,” he said. “We need to alter their behavior, to take steps beyond trapping them. I fully believe they will become more aggressive. Nature has been thrown out of balance. … I don’t want them eradicated, but we need to put some pressure on the coyote.” Myers wasn’t short on drama when he began to describe the screams of pet dogs as they are dragged to the lair of a wild critter. Mayor Keith McMullen interrupted Myers’ impassioned speech to reiterate that City Manager Robert Bradshaw had been asked to look at increased trapping and relocation of the coyotes, education of the public, expert advice and trash collection on the beach.

Island Moon

Reefs cont. from A1

Parsons said the police department has recently increased its traps from four to six – euthanizing the skinny, mangy ones and relocating the pups to Harbor Island or Charlie’s Pasture; they are working with the Chamber of Commerce to include precautions in the visitors guide and will continue to publicize information in local newspapers; and they will be contacting the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for advice. Trash collection is another matter, Parsons said. Trash collectors aren’t reporting tipped over cans, so he doesn’t believe the coyotes are feeding there. Further, he said, if you put a lid on the cans as some have suggested, you are actually adding to the problem because they are set up so people can drive up to the cans to deposit trash. “If you put a lid on them, people will just say they aren’t going to get out of their car to remove the lid. You’ll just have a lot more trash stacked around the base on the cans.” Bujan, at last Wednesday’s council meeting, said he’s witnessed the killing of a small kitten by a coyote and was driven back into his house by a pack of five coyotes one morning when he went out for his morning newspaper. “I believe coyotes have become less afraid of humans,” he said. “The best we can hope for is to minimize coyote’s intrusion into town.” He said one person suggested the town reintroduce jackrabbits as a food source for the coyotes.Because it has been said that drought conditions have decreased their food source, Bujan said coyotes have had to modify their behavior. “Another choice,” he said, “is to have a professional hunter and the police shoot as many as they can.” Bujan’s plea included what he perceives as a danger to people, including high school kids who use the track near the large den off Station Street. “They watch the kids on the track behind UT, they watch the children and think of them as prey. “I want to take this seriously. I want something done,” Bujan said. Among the four residents who pleaded before the council to respect the coyotes’ place in the islands’ environment was Greg Villasana, owner of LaPlaya restaurant, who said he has sympathy for anyone who has lost a pet to the coyotes, but wants everyone to remember they were here first. Michelle Parker, photographer and teacher, lives near the University of Texas Marine Science Center, where she and her husband watch the migratory birds and the jackrabbits, and, yes, the snakes and coyotes, too. The couple has four cats that all live indoors, as much to protect the migratory birds as the cats.

The tour, “Gardens Around the Bay” is a fundraiser to benefit the Corpus Christi Area Garden Council, helping fund its many projects. Tickets for the tour are $10 and can be purchased at Gill Landscape Nursery, Turner’s Gardenland, Green’s and Thing’s,the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center, or from garden club members. The tour will

The reef will be in about eighty feet of water and will be a destination for both fishermen and divers.

Cactus cont. from A1 able to make their break from their Karankawa captors and fled into the South Texas prairie and eventually make their way back to Mexico City. They met at a tunas patch where they stuffed their pockets and set out, then survived on the tunas until they could make their way to the next tribe and keep going. So here’s the challenge to Moon readers. Does anyone have any good recipes for these things? About all we know is that you have to peel off the outer skin to get rid of the bitterness and get at the sweet core. We learned this by hard experience when we tried to make a Cactus Apple Margarita by throwing a bunch of them in a blender and liquefying them and then pouring in a most of a bottle of Cheap Border Town Tequila. Turns out that was a waste of good Cheap Border Town Tequila. But we must say that deep maroon color sure looked impressive in the glass. So if anyone has a good drink or food recipe for these things please let us know because hey baby, it’s Tunas Time in Texas! Dale Rankin

Whooping Crane Aerial Surveys 63 Years and Counting

“I am stupefied we are considering any action against the coyote,” he told council members. “We live on the frontier, the interface between the ocean and land … Nobody is saying we should get rid of golf carts because of all the squirrels they kill.” Only one citizen came forward to complain that police don’t respond quickly enough to calls of coyotes sightings.

Paws and Taws Convention Center is located at 402 North Fulton Beach Road, Fulton, TX 78358.

“We are encroaching on their habitat,” Parker said of the coyotes. “I do think there is a way we can co-exist.” Des Kidd said he’s made a point of trying to engage nature on its own terms.

“I shouldn’t have to pull my gun to walk my Chihuahua,” Craig Quinn said.

Did Ya Hear?

By Mary Craft Send your business news to: mkay512@aol.com

New Advertisers Tim Burdick Photography & Gallery in Port A is now open. Some of the services Tim will be offering are weddings, portraits, video shooting, fine art photography and more. Check out timburdickphotography.com or visit the gallery at 722 Tarpon St. Kiwanis Club of Padre Island presents Bingo at the Beach Thursday, October 11th 7 pm – 10 – pm at the Briscoe King Pavillion. You are welcome to bring coolers with drinks but no glass containers. Admission is $5.

Business Briefs Isle Mail N More now has a new line of jewelry and scarves by About Color. They also now have a new line of candles. You can also pick up a copy of Islander John Goins new book “An unforgettable Salute.” Snoopy’s and Scoopy’s have daily lunch specials 11 am – 2 pm. Soup du jour is available all day. For carry-out call Snoopy’s at 949-8815 and Scoopy’s 949-7810. My Coastal Home Furniture Store is shooting for a mid-October opening for their newest Island location. It is located in the Pelican Lounge strip mall. They have stores in the Tower Center in Port A and in Rockport. The POA is hosting a Town Meeting on the bond questions that will be on the November ballot. City staff will be on hand to answer questions Wednesday, October 3rd at 6 pm in the Seashore Learning Center Gym. Sweet Swirl Frozen Yogurt is now serving smoothies. This self serve shop has a wide variety of toppings to choose from. Look for their 10% off coupon in this issue of the Moon. They are located next to Lyco Nails 2. Underwater Fishing Lights has sold over 3,200 lights and they are all still working. Gary Lunt has over 13 years of proven quality and service. Standard 50’ models start at $375 and come with a one year limited warranty. Call 537-8333. The Back Porch in Port A on the waterfront is open 7 days a week noon – 2 am. Friday, September 28th Another Level will perform and Davin James on Saturday. Coffee Waves in Port A has live music on weekends. They serve panini sandwiches, baked goods and Italian gelato. Look for their 10% coupon in this issue of the Moon. Kody’s in Port A has their all-you-can-eat shrimp special back. The shrimp is served 5 pm – 1 am for $12.99. Enjoy a round of 18 holes of miniature golf while there. The Island Yogurt Shoppe serves only real dairy frozen yogurt and are the home of the $2.49 kidz cup. They are located near Scuttlebutt’s. The Litter Critter will be in the POA parking lot Saturday, September 29th at 9 am. The Island Art Walk will be held November 4th at Billish Park noon – 4 pm. Artists who wish to participate should contact JoAnn or Butch Smith at 949-7114.

If you have business news, please email Mary Craft at mkay512@aol.com

Ward recalled a time when she and other children played all over The Island without concern. Later in life, she erected feeders under the trees for the coyotes and would fill them with dog food. Then she’d step back to watch. “They would send in the nursing females and the pups, then the big dogs would come up. I realized how good they were about taking care of their families.” “I feel like an old coyote, so I am here on their behalf,” she said.

Marcy Mathews addresses the Port Aransas City Council in behalf of the coyotes

Tour of Gardens Around the Bay October 21 This fall the Corpus Christi Area Garden Council, Inc., is proud to be presenting a Tour of Local Gardens on Sunday, October 21, 2012, from 12:00-6:00 p.m.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the contract for the storage site on first reading; a second reading is expected next Tuesday to make the vote official. The lease will become effective on November 1, and will run through 2013 by which time it is expected the necessary material will be available and will be moved by barge to the reef site.

A r a n s a s N a t i o n a l Wi l d l i f e Refuge will hold a Public Presentation on October 4, 2012 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Paws and Taws Convention Center in Fulton, Texas. Join Brad Strobel, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Biologist for an insightful presentation. Presentation will investigate and define the aerial survey methods used historically and currently to count the Aransas-Wood Buffalo flock of whooping cranes. This presentation will be followed by questions and answers for those in attendance.

Corpus Christi Garden Council By Betty Whitt

The reef is a joint Artificial Reefing Project between the City of Corpus Christi, TPWD, and Saltwater Fisheries Enhancement Association (SEA). The plan calls for TPWD to obtain the concrete material obtained from donations, the City will then be responsible for providing the storage site for these materials, and SEA would match the City’s funding up to $50,000 to help pay for finding additional reef materials, transportation, and other available storage sites. The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) has also joined in and has pledged $100,000 in support of the project.

September 27, 2012

feature five local gardens. Three are in Corpus Christi and two are in Portland. A free admission to the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center is also on the tour. The main Objectives of the Corpus Christi Area Garden Council are to conserve native plants and all natural resources, encourage civic planting, and educate members and the general public in the growing and artistic use of plant material. For more information: Linda Lamprecht, 9923184 , aragonmill@yahoo.com.

Read the Moon online - Facebook.com/TheIslandMoonNewspaper

Island Foundation

The 28th Annual Island Foundation’s Golf Tournament Set for Friday, October 5 The 28th Annual Island Foundation Golf Tournament will tee off at Newport Dunes on Friday October 5. The event is a four-person scramble at $150 per person or $500 for a team of four, tee off is at 8 a.m. The fee includes green fee, cart, and lunch. Sponsorships are still available. For more information go to www. islandfoundation.com.

Isle Mail N More Now inside Mail N More...

All your Packaging needs FedEx, UPS, USPS P.O. Boxes Local Artistry Gelato & Coffees Cards & Gifts (361) 949-9325 14493 S.P.I.D, Ste A Corpus Christi TX 78418

Costa Sur Cevicheria & Cafe

Try the Leche del Tigre Hangover Shot $2 Chef Nicolas Mackrizz 361-949-1989

September 27, 2012

Island Moon

Letters to the Editor Bags

Frigate Bird

Moon,

Editor, I came across a Frigate bird on Whitecap near the beach Sunday 9-16-12. The bird apparently was ill or extremely tired. It did not appear to have been run over. I called the Ark and Tony Amos came and picked it up. Tony Amos said it was rare to see this species of bird here. He also warned of the bird’s beak as it is a hooked beak about 4” long. It was a very cool experience for me. Thanks, Bruce Netek

Where to Find The Island Moon Port Aransas

Port A Outfitters

All Stripes Stores

Back Porch Bar

(Except the one next to the VFW where they throw them away)

The Flats Lounge

Woody’s Sports Center

Sandpiper Condos Port Royal Condos Lisabellas Restaurant

Stripes (Cotter & Station) Gratitude Boutique The Gaff Bar Port A Glass Studio The Wild Horse Bar & Grill

Pioneer RV Park

The Tarpon Ice House

Snappy’s Convenient Store

North Padre

Kody’s Restaurant Beach Lodge Amano’s

All Stripes Stores

Miss K’s Catering & Bistro

CVS

Felder Gallery

Whataburger

Island Woman Boutique

Doc’s Restaurant

Neptune’s Retreat

Isle Mail N More

Stripes (361 & IA)

Island Italian

Moby Dick’s Restaurant

Ace Hardware

Snoopy’s Pier

Holiday Inn

IGA Food Store

Texas Star (Shell)

Carter Pharmacy San Juan’s Restaurant

Jesse’s Liquor Padre Isles Country Club

Wash Board Washateria

Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant

Port A Parks and Rec Port Chamber of Commerce Duckworth’s Antiques

Subway Island Tire And all Moon retail advertisers

Who Are the Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder

Concerning beach trash. I just spoke to a gentleman who runs a river rafting business in New Braunfels. B u d w e i s e r sponsors a program to supply these mesh trash bags for all businesses along the river. Every person that goes to the river gets a bag for their trash. And it works! My question, if we can find a sponsor(s) why aren’t these bags available in every grocery store, convenience store, liquor store, etc. on the coastal bend? Perrie Marrs

Birds

Moon We want to share with you our latest effort to enhance Causeway Island, a bird nesting island just under Highway 181. Crews began placing dredge materials on the 3-acre island Sunday, in an effort to raise its elevation and improve bird nesting habitat. The area is located just west of the causeway between downtown Corpus Christi and Portland. It’s a partnership effort of the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, Cheniere Energy, the Port of Corpus Christi, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Islands are critical for successful nesting of these water birds,” said CBBEP Executive Director Ray Allen. “So protecting and enhancing islands is a critical management action to help maintain and restore bird populations.”

Dan I loved your story about Dan “Old Dad” Cook. Like many in San Antonio in those days I was a big fan. Old Dad would occasionally impart his wise guy words of wisdom. My favorite was: “I pray every day I don’t get what’s coming to me”. He was like San Antonio’s version of Damon Runyan or Jimmy Breslin. We’ll never see his like again.

Island Delivery Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin Raeanne Reed Office Lisa Towns Classifieds

Water bird nesting islands, or rookeries, are decreasing in Coastal Bend bays, due to erosion and other factors. Most of the 25 species of colonial water birds that nest in the areas are in decline, and loss of nesting habitat is one of the main causes.

U Turn

I am not sure how to submit a letter to the editor for publication so here goes.

CBBEP continues planning for additional rookery island creation or enhancement throughout the Coastal Bend.

Robert Danesi Hi Editor

I have lived on the Island for a little over a year. To go OTB I need to make a u-turn on SPID at Whitecap. The problem is that people turn right onto SPID from Whitecap do not seem to think they have to yield to people making u-turns. I have even seen people turning while east bound traffic has the green arrow to turn north on SPID. I don’t know what can be done about this but it is getting worse. I drive a pickup so I cannot make a real sharp u-turn and yesterday a car almost turned into me without even slowing down when it came up to the intersection. I saw a sign a while back in Corpus warning traffic that they had to yield to traffic making u-turns. I cannot remember where it was. I am not so sure it would help at Whitecap and SPID because the traffic doesn’t even come to a stop when the light is red for them. Just venting. We love living on the Island but find this frustrating and dangerous. I do not believe the offenders are just visitors or tourists either. Respectfully Mark Wojnarowski Editor’s note: The Moon office is just north of the Whitecap/SPID intersection and we get to get to spend our fair share of time sitting at that light waiting to make a U-turn and dodging traffic making a right turn onto SPID from the beach side of SPID. What is probably needed there is a U-turn lane that allows people to turn to head north without having to wait for the light and far enough away from the intersection to be free of northbound SPID cars. Making changes on the roadway along SPID is a challenge because requests must be made through the city while the final approval must come from TxDot since that road is a state right of way. There are two signs on SPID that the city has tried, so far unsuccessfully, to get removed for over a year; one is the No U Turn sign north of Commodores and the other is the sign which inexplicably urges drivers on SPID to turn right to get to the beach which leads them down Commodores into the neighborhoods. Both signs are still there and will probably still be there when the first U-turn wreck happens at SPID and Whitecap.

Dredge spoils will be used to build the island About 40,000 cubic yards of dredge material will be piped onto the island in a 5 day period. A higher section of the island will be untouched as it is already preferred habitat for birds that nest in higher brush. The dredge material will be placed in the center, raising the existing elevation and spreading out as it settles.

Humans, too can play a part in bird population figures. CBBEP is working to raise awareness of that, and remind people to ‘fish, swim or play from 50 yards away’ to avoid disturbance that causes birds to fly off the nests or abandon rookeries, which can severely hamper population numbers. Please spread the word and share this information with anyone you think might be interested. The CBBEP Team

Golf Carts

Moon, As an Island resident I was happy to see that the city decided to allow Golf Carts on most of the streets located on North Padre Island. After the law was enacted my wife and I started looking at golf carts suitable for Island use. When shopping for them we were told by a dealer in town that the Kawasaki Mule would be covered under the law. However, after reading the law Mules are strictly prohibited and the law covers “gold carts” only. Calls were made to the City Attorney and to the police department and they confirmed that Mules were not allowed only golf carts. One of the reasons was that Mules have a top speed well over the limited allowed by the law (25 mph I believe). I believe they have a top speed well over the limit allowed by the law. (25 mph). I believe they also possess too much horsepower. They are considered a Utility vehicle. (UTV) not a golf cart. The reason for the letter is that several UTV’s including Mules have been seen on the streets of The Island. As they are strictly prohibited they should be kept off the roads. My concern is that is something unfortunate happens with a Mule, accident or ticket, all golf carts will come under scrutiny.

Please make it know to the residents that golf carts only are allowed on the streets of North Padre Island. Editor’s note: This question came up soon after the golf cart ordinance was passed and the consistent answer was that state law prohibits Mules unless they are registered as on-road vehicles. The reason, they say, is both horsepower and speed. Your average golf cart tops in at around 19 mph while your average Mule can and does go much faster which causes it to be categorized differently than a golf cart under state law. The city of Port Aransas which has allowed golf carts on the street much longer than North Padre deals with the problem by requiring a Golf Cart Tag on each golf cart which costs, around $12 per year. This solves the problem of what is legal and what is not. But of course, that comes with more rules, etc. from government and that is seldom a good thing. What we can say for sure is that Mules are not allowed under the current city code; what constitutes a Mule rather a Golf Cart is a fine line that will have to be addressed by the City Attorney after a review of the applicable state law.

Peewee's Animal Shelter Peewee’s Animal Shelter is located at 1307 Saratoga and has been in operations since May, 1997. Peewee’s presently houses over 300 animals, including dogs, puppies, cats, kittens as well as, pigs, goats, rabbits and other barn animals. Peewee’s relies on donations only for its operation.

Dee-Scovered!

Pete Alsop

A similar process was done in 2007, adding to the size of the island.

In addition to the 2007 dredge placement project, CBBEP has undertaken several projects to protect and enhance Causeway Island. In 2002, geotubes were installed to protect the island from erosion. CBBEP constructed several bird nesting platforms that mimic the tall brush colonial nesting birds prefer. Bird biologists work to ensure the island is free of predators and has the most conducive vegetation for nesting.

We will check into it Mark…in the meantime we’ll both be dodging traffic.

Distribution

Devorah, We wanted to thank you for writing such a nice article. It was fun to read our story. We plan to have it framed and put on the wall. It was also good for business. People came in and told us they read it. It was also nice to visit with you. We are going to be participating in the ArtAbout next month. We will be making a day of it. Having a BBQ with beer and wine and music. We hope you will stop by and join us.

Shelter operations are accomplished strictly by donations. Peewee’s does not get any government, city or federal funding. Peewee’s helps those animals no one else will - the sick and the stray. The volunteers at Peewee’s work tirelessly to rehabilitate poor orphaned pets in the hopes that they will find new, loving homes. The dogs and cats are spayed/neutered, given regular heartworm preventative, and are on flea & tick prevention and medications as needed. Peewee’s does not discriminate due to age or health conditions of the pet. Please visit Peewee’s Pet Adoption World & Sanctuary at 1307 Saratoga Road. You can call them at 361888-4141 but they do not have staff to answer phones so please leave a message.

Renee and Craig, Marine Canvas/CLK Gallery

Arlene Ritley Design/Layout Jeff Craft Contributing Writers Joey Farah Devorah Fox Mary Craft Maybeth Christiansen Dr. Tom Dorrell Jay Gardner

GIFTS CERTIFICATES AVALIABLE

Todd Hunter Danniece Bobeché Ronnie Narmour Dr. Donna Shaver

Michelle Matthews

Photographers Miles Merwin

Office Security/Spillage Control Riley P. Dog Editor/Publisher/Spillage Control Supervisor Dale Rankin About the Island Moon The Island Moon is published every Thursday, Dale Rankin, Editor / Publisher. Total circulation is 10,000 copies. Distribution includes delivery to 4,000 Island homes, free distribution of 3,000 copies in over 50 Padre Island businesses and condos, as well as 600 copies distributed in Flour Bluff, 1,400 copies on Mustang Island and Port Aransas businesses. News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office 15201 S P I D. Suite 250. For more information call 361-949-7700 or contact the Moon at 15201 S Padre Island Dr., Suite 250, Corpus Christi, TX 78418 or by e-mail to editor@islandmoon.com.

Hair Cuts & Color, Waxing, Hair Extensions, Special Occasion Hair, Airbrush Make Up, Feather Extensions Are you tired of wearing mascara? Do you suffer from black circles of smudged mascara? Do you want to have long beautiful lashes 24/7, even when you swim? Do you want longer fuller eyelashes? If you answered YES to any of these questions, we have the answer..........

XTREME™ EYELASH EXTENSIONS Michelle is a Master Hair Stylist having learned from the best and having trained top stylists herself. She is an expert Colorist and Make Up Artist, and was the former Stylist and Make Up Artist for Miss Oklahoma.

Hours Tuesday‐Friday 10am‐6pm Saturday 9am‐2pm

Walk‐Ins Welcome * Late Appointments Available

14813 S.P.I.D. Corpus Christi, TX 78418 (Next Door to Island Wash) Salon: 361‐949‐4890 www.michellessalon.com

Island Moon

A 6 twenty seven miles below Austin, where they hoped to intercept the Indians. Burleson was also headed there with a militia he met in Bastrop.

by Dale Rankin

Well, the political season is upon us as you can tell by the ubiquitous signs all over The Island; seems like there should be some way to recycle those things into fertilizer.

Early on the morning of August 12 the Comanches were seen approaching the crossing from the south. In all there would be one hundred Texans and thirteen Tonkawa Indians under the direction of the gallant old chief Placido; 113 Texans against about 1000 Comanches, including about 600 braves. Caldwell collected his men as the Indians approached and his speech was captured for posterity and has become part of Texas folklore.

Ben Mculloch

Buffalo Hump white rag around his arm to identify himself and avoid being shot by mistake by the Texans. The rout of the Indians was soon at hand and continued in a running fight for fifteen miles up the banks of the Guadalupe as abandoned mules and horses were scattered about. John Henry Brown –soon to be known as Colonel John Henry Brown – engaged in hand to hand combat with a chief who was second in command who was wearing a buffalo head with polished horns for a hat and slew him.

‘Boys, the Indians number about one thousand. They have our women and children captives. We are only eighty seven strong (this was before the arrival of McCulloch’s men), but I believe we can whip h--out of ‘em. What shall we do boys; shall we fight?”

The Texans killed about 80 Indians and captured several hundred horses while the Texans had none killed and only a few wounded. Texan Doctor Sweitzer had his arm pinned to his body with an arrow and had several Indians in pursuit when McCulloch arrived and killed three of them.

Soon after McCulloch arrived and was given command of the right wing, Caldwell left. Felix Houston, General of the Militia was given overall command. The Indians for their part drew up in line of battle.

Before their retreat the Indians killed Mrs. Crosby who had been captured at Linnville, by shooting her full of arrows. A Mrs. Watts, whose husband had been killed at Linnville, was shot through the breast with an arrow but recovered to keep the San Antonio house in Port Lavaca for many years after. She told her rescuers that the Indians had required her to read to them for their amusement from the books stolen at Linnville.

Indian Chief in a silk top hat

Rev. Morrell wrote: “The enemy was disposed to keep at a distance and delay the fight in order that the packed mules might be driven ahead with the spoils. During this delay several of their chiefs performed some daring feats. According to a previous understanding, our men waited for the Indians, in the retreat to get beyond the timber before the general charge was made. One of the chiefs was riding a very fine horse, When the shooting stopped Chief Placido held in by a fine American bridle, with a red and the Tonkawas, sworn enemies of the ribbon eight or ten feet long, tied to the tail of Comanches, as was their custom busied the horse. He was dressed in elegant style, from themselves in fleecing the flesh and cutting off the goods stolen at Linnville, with a high top the hands and feet of the Comanches, trophies silk hat, fine pair of boots and leather gloves, an they carried home with them to celebrate the elegant broadcloth coast, hind part before, with war dance. brass buttons shining brightly up and down his Thus ended the Battle of Plum Creek fought back. When he made his first appearance he on August 12, 1840, the final battle of the Great was carrying a large Indian Raid that sacked umbrella stretched. This Victoria and wiped out Indian and others would Linnville; the largest charge towards us and Indian attack on a white shoot their arrows, then settlement in American wheel and run away, history. doing no damage. This Buffalo Hump was done several times eventually led his people in range of some of our to the reservation in Fort guns. Soon the discovery Cobb in Indian Territory was made that he wore a in Oklahoma. He farmed shield, and although our Plum Creek Cemetery until his death in 1870 boys took good aim, the and was a minor figure balls glanced. An old Texan living on the Lavaca asked me to hold in history until his resurrection by author his horse, and getting up near the place, where Larry Murtry’s books “Dead Man’s Walk” and they wheeled as was safe, waited patiently till “Comanche Moon,” the first two books in the they came; and as the Indian checked his horse Lonesome Dove series. and the shield flew up, he fired and brought him He is also mentioned in a scene in The Outlaw to the ground. Now, although some of them had Josie Wales when Lone Watie is telling Wales lost their lives in carrying him away, yet they that he and Buffalo did not cease their efforts till Hump were among a he was carried to the rear.” delegation that was sent to Washington, D.C. to meet with government officials during Lincoln’s administration.

This is not the way to fight Indians! The Texans were taking fire from the Indians but General Houston froze when it came time to give the order to attack causing Ben McCulloch to howl, “General, this is not the way to fight Indians!” at which point Houston gave the order and the band of less than 200 Texans charged with wild yells. Chief Placido tied a

As for the Texan leaders at Plum Creek their names are emblazoned forever on maps of Texas as the names of counties scattered across the state, the living remnants of the Battle of Plum Creek.

The Charge

Alles Wil Kommen

This week marked the fourth time forums have been held on The Island for candidates in city races to speak their minds and as you read this members of the Island United Political Action Committee have endorsed candidates in the three At-Large races as well as District 4 and the Mayor’s race. It will be the first round of city elections ever held in conjunction with the November Presidential race – previous city elections have been in the spring. Our inbox has been full of questions from voters and we have devoted a lot of space to their replies in the last two issues.

Mayor for President The most common question I’ve had from Islanders about the city races is one that we did not print. It is not what the candidates might do for The Island if elected but rather, who do they support in the Presidential race? What does that have to do with their suitability for the Mayor’s chair or a seat on the city council? Pretty much nothing from what I can tell but still it seems to be a/the determinate factor in who many Islanders will vote for.

Whether city candidates declare a party or not, Island elections are now partisan The question was put to the candidates in the Mayor’s race and Council District 4 at the Tea Party forum and of the eight or so candidates there all but two said they favor Mitt Romney. While the Tea Party doesn’t endorse I think it’s safe to say from the reaction that if they did neither of those two would have been favored with the endorsement no matter what they had to say about city topics. Right or wrong that’s the way it is. When the current council voted 5-4 to put the item to move the election date on the last city ballot and it was approved by voters the common thought was that it would take about two or three rounds of city elections for the elections to become partisan. It hasn’t even taken one. Island voters tend to vote Republican at a rate just over 80% - sometimes higher – and I see no reason to believe they will want to vote for any city candidate who is a backer of Democratic candidates – whether perceived or actual. So whether the candidates declare a party or not, Island elections are now partisan. I can’t say what will happened in the rest of the city but I have to believe if this question is being asked here it is being ask all over town.

Follow the votes The backers of the move to November cited two reasons for the move; one, when asked if it would save the city any money to move the election the city staff responded that the city spends $40,000 on each city election. Proponents of the move seized on this number and used it to justify their vote. They simply assumed that since the county is already holding elections ever two years in November that there would be no cost to piggyback the county but never asked. This always seemed like a spurious argument to me that no one actually believed. We’ll see. The May elections were held by the city and therefore the city could decide where and how many voting machines to put out. The November elections are held by the county and the county now makes those decisions. How that could end up costing the city less than $40,000 given Government Arithmetic I don’t know. Again, we’ll see.

But let’s assume the $40,000 is a good number. The question then becomes what we are giving oon calendar 2012 http://www.calendar-365.com/moon/moon-calendar.html up in exchange for that $40,000? The answer is The 2nd annual Oktoberfest at very simple, what we are losing is the election of city leaders based on what they will do for the city rather than their political leanings, real or imagined. Wondering who they support for 365 365 365 days days days aaa calendar calendar calendar at at at hand! hand! hand! President – or next time for Governor – comes Tuesday October 2nd starting at 6pm. with the territory when they are on a ballot full of partisan elections. It’s just human nature. When Authentic German Beer and the German Bakery with did anyone ever ask who Mayoral candidates Moon calendar September 2012 supported for President when the city elections Bratwurst & other German Treats. Dress up in your were in May? Never. Ever. Not once. Watch the moon calendar in September 2012 per day.

The Office Lounge Lederhosen or Drindle!

Select a moon calendar See also additional information and a large picture of the Current moon phase . Or see an overview of the sunrise or sunset in the September 2012 Calendar .

Week

September 2012 Moon Phases for September Mo

Harvest Moon

23 39

30 40

Day

But that is just the tip of the iceberg. The numbers tell the story and they are indisputable. In May city elections about 25,000 people vote, in November elections when there is a gubernatorial race about 60,000 people vote, in November elections when there is a Presidential race about 100,000 people vote. Proponents of the November move tout this as a positive; how can anyone be against more people voting? Right? That argument rings true if the 60,000 or 100,000 turnout to vote in only city elections, but when they turnout in November they are not there to vote in city races, they are there to vote in the race that is at the top of the ballot. While those are the sexy races that drive turnout it’s the races at the bottom of the ballot that are much more likely to effect our daily lives in terms of local tax rates and services. The fact is that you are much more likely to find yourself going to City Hall than to the White House and it’s a lot more likely that you will encounter a city inspector than a federal one – if you’re lucky. So what we now have come to in this election is that 75,000 people who didn’t care enough to vote in city elections in the past are now going to pick our city leaders – at a ratio of 3-1. And who are those additional 75,000 voters? A review of the past six November election cycles shows the vast majority will be Democrats. I’ll leave you to decide whether that is a good or a bad thing, but it’s a fact. If history is an indicator about 25,000 of those will be Republican and 50,000 will Democrat. But what is certain is that turnout for the race at the top of the ballot now will, I believe, be the determining factor in who leads our city. This time with the Electoral College votes in Texas clearly going to the Republican nominee there is a disincentive for Democrats to go to the polls. Why go vote for the Democrat when you know your vote in that race will not be counted in the winner-take-all Electoral count? The more Democratic voters “vote with their feet” the better the chance for the “Republican’ candidate in the Mayor’s race –whoever that is. Next time the Mayor’s race will be beholden to whether we have a hot race for Governor or a dud. It’s a heck of a way to pick a Mayor and certain over time to push us to an openly partisan race. Whether that is good or bad is in the eye of the beholder.

Will it change? My guess is that there is slim chance of us going back to a May voting calendar. The same people who thought they would benefit from this change will fight to keep it. I will say this, it is not impossible. If there are five votes on the City Council to put it back before voters and the ballot item is worded in the positive – if you want to change back to May vote yes – then it will pass. Why? Because every single referendum that gets on a city ballot – including the one to move the election date - gets approved by an 80%-20% margin. Why? Because nobody takes the time to read them! And who is going to take the time to read them when they are the last item at the bottom of the city ballot which is already at the bottom of a six page ballot? There is an argument out there that says ballot fatigue will keep disinterested party lever pullers from getting all the way to the end of the ballot. I think that’s a pipe dream. The next question is how long it will take for our city votes to be included in the list of races included in the party lever. My guess is it won’t be long. If moving the election to November benefited those who wanted it moved how much more would they benefit by having city races included in straight line party votes? This will be especially true if the ballot fatigue theory holds true. I think we’ve entered a new era of city politics here where our city elections will be greatly, if not dominantly, influenced by voter turnout which in turn will be driven by the race at the top of the ballot. It is hard for me to see how that can possibly be good. First, city issues get lost in the noise during a November cycle. We need a political season to focus on our city. Further, it seems to me it will serve to divide rather than unite people for the common good. And how does that work out? Ask Washington. I think me may be in store for some surprises in city races come Election Day. What we can say for sure is this won’t be your grandfather’s Mayors race.

Tides for Corpus Christi (Bob Hall Pier) September 20 - October 5, 2012.

The numbers don’t lie

Tides of the Week

In traditional skylore, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. In 2012, the autumnal equinox comes on September 22. The full moon for us in the U.S. will come on the night of September 29. That makes the September 29-30 full moon the Harvest Moon.

September 27, 2012

Stuff I Heard on the Island

History continued from A1

High

Tide

Height

Feet

Sunrise

Moon Time

/Low

Time

High

2:34 AM

1.7

7:20 AM Set 5:00 AM

Sunset

Low

8:20 AM

1.3

7:19 PM Rise 5:45 PM

High

1:30 PM

1.8

Low

8:39 PM

0.9

High

2:38 AM

1.6

7:21 AM Set 5:56 AM

Low

8:44 AM

1.1

7:18 PM Rise 6:20 PM

High

2:46 PM

1.8

Low

9:35 PM

1.1

High

2:42 AM

1.6

7:21 AM Set 6:51 AM

Low

9:10 AM

0.9

7:17 PM Rise 6:54 PM

High

3:52 PM

1.9

Low

10:29 PM

1.3

High

2:48 AM

1.6

7:22 AM Set 7:46 AM

Low

9:36 AM

0.7

7:16 PM Rise 7:30 PM

High

4:51 PM

2.0

Low

11:25 PM

1.4

High

2:53 AM

1.6

7:22 AM Set 8:40 AM

Low

10:03 AM

0.6

7:15 PM Rise 8:07 PM

High

5:47 PM

2.0

Low

12:32 AM

1.5

7:23 AM Set 9:34 AM

High

2:52 AM

1.6

7:13 PM Rise 8:46 PM

Low

10:30 AM

0.5

High

6:43 PM

2.0

% Moon Visible

September 27, 2012

Island Moon

Angler’s Alley Fishing is on Fire!

Gone Fishin’

By Jay Gardener What a great time to be living in South Texas! I know I say this every year, but it really is! If you’re a sportsman, there is all kinds of fishing and hunting going on! The bays have started to cool off, the redfish are schooling and the trout are coming up for topwaters a little more. Flounder and reds are running the channels and passes, and the beach bite is going off! Most everyone is catching at least something when they go out. In addition, dove season has started, and while it’s been hit-andmiss with the birds (literally, for some of us, LOL) there have been some reports of good birds around.

memorable fishing tournament. We recognize that each of these volunteers has many other full time demands, yet they so generously give their gift of time in order to benefit the lady anglers and CCA. A special thanks goes out to these ladies, who are Jo Gardner (my mommie), Adriane Hutchison (sister), Laura Payne, Erin Survant, and Candace Tidmore. If you’re in Port Aransas next weekend, stop by the Pavilion at Roberts Point Park and join in the fun. For more information about the tournament, check out www.babesonbaffin.com. Candace tells me that there are just a few spots still open, so if you really want to get in, contact her ASAP at

Tree top fliers We hit the opener at Ranchito Rivera out by Knolle Farms (Roadkill Willie’s place). The birds were pretty sparce, and the ones that did come through were fast moving tree-top flyers. I heard reports that there were some birds out west (Alice area and beyond) as well as down south in the Valley. Between eight of us, we got a total of 15 birds opening morning. Of course the rest of the crew doesn’t like to admit that I got 11 of the 15, LOL. After that, Roadkill Willie and I headed down the beach to do a little fishing after a delicious sandwich at Island Italian. The beaches were still pretty crowded, even south of the 15MM down PINS. The speed limit is still 15MPH until October 1st, so watch out for the Rangers. We bumped into Nick from Breakaway, and he and Linda had a few redfish. Roadkill managed a nice bluefish, a couple of whiting, and I caught a red to finish our redwhit(ing)-and blue Beach Slam. I topped it off with a Palometa, which is in the Jack family, only they are more closely related to permit and the ever-popular pompano. That season should be cranking up here in a month or so.

candace_tidmore@huntsman.com (and don’t forget that underscore after Candace).

Sharkathon!

Babes on Baffin

Speaking of tournaments, by the time this hits the newsstands, Sharkathon will be underway. That will explain all the crazy shark racks, towers, and kayaks that you saw headed south down the beach. The weather looks like it held through the week, and it should be a good tournament. If you’re adventurous, come on down the Padre Island Seashore and check it out. Or meet at the Briscoe King Pavilion by Bob Hall Sunday afternoon and check out the weigh-in.

As I write this, we are one week away from the 8th Annual Babes on Baffin and Blue Ladies Fishing Tournament, sponsored by the Corpus Christi Chapter of CCA. It looks like it is going to be another great event, with ladies traveling locally and from outside the Coastal Bend to join in. This also means that it’s crunch time for the dedicated planning committee who is working tirelessly to ensure a fun and

Well folks, this is a great time of year to be out fishing and hopefully catching some fish. If you have a good picture of you or your girlfriend or your kids or your girlfriends’ kids or someone holding a fish, send it to me at jaygardner@ scientist.com and we’ll see if we can’t get you in print, as we here at the Moon can make you famous and momma proud. I’ll see you all On the Rocks next week!

A Big Bull Photo courtesy of Extremecoast.com

This is how you do itPhoto courtesy of Extremecoast.com

Fish ON!

Capt. Joey Farah (361)442_8145 Facebook: Farah’s Backwater Fishing Adventures

The Packery Project Years ago before Packery our traveling redfish would group up in the Upper Laguna Madre and filter towards the open waters of Corpus Christi Bay and hug the eastern shoreline as they moved north towards Port Aransas. Many still make this journey and anglers should not forget about the marshes between the JFK and Port Aransas. Now, many of the schools of redfish moving through the area drop in the Packery Area. This can be an easy place to fish but a difficult place to catch fish. With lots of current and a good amount of large pin perch most anglers do not catch much. Using shrimp in the channel is difficult and almost impossible. Live finger mullet, fresh shad, and crab are the best baits for anglers hunting herds of redfish. Round weights will roll on the bottom so try a pyramid style weight to anchor your bait along the edge of the channel. Look for areas with good tidal flow and search out small pockets of protected water, eddies in the current, small sandy washes, entrances to marshes and shallow areas. The best strategy is fish each spot 30 minutes, moving only a small distance looking for redfish holding tight to the bottom.

the Meadows. The Meadows is a great place for anyone that is unsure about their boat and the rocks, located along the eastern side of the Bay the lack of rocks makes it safe. The soft bottom and close proximity to miles of ultra shallow flats makes it very good for redfish. Making their way south towards Port Mansfield redfish have been patrolling the Yarborough Pass Spoil Islands, and the Rocky Slough shoreline. The drifts are short and sweet here, starting out 300 yards from the beach with your motor down. If you drift with your outboard down then you will be pushed up into the rocks and not be able to get out. Stay ready and at the last minute start the boat and lift the shaft up and idle back out to deep water. MANY LARGE ROCKS ALONG THE ROCKY SLOUGH AREA Makes me get excited! Snorkeling this area as a kid put us face to face with all of the fish you could imagine. We would spear flounder and see huge trout and reds hiding in the crevices and caves in the boulder sized rocks. Even Snook hid in the rocks along this deep shoreline. Getting up shallow here is like nowhere in the bay. When the winds pick up look for the larger redfish to come out of deep water and hunt the drop-off closer to the shore. Live shrimp and small pin perch fished on a deep drop under a popping cork will spell FISH ON!!

Recently I put my ULTRA SHALLOW WATER skiff together with the help of my surfing brother CHEYNE POLANSKY. Cheyne is an expert at small engine repair and especially CARBORETORS, this is the illness that infects Reds in the Land all of your outboard engines Cut when you get wrapped up in work and don’t get to use Live shimp catches everything and The Land Cut is full your boat. Then when you keeps you moving. of redfish and black finally gather all your things drum, I’ve been seeing and head out the motor won’t start or dies. Save and sight casting to drum in only 3 to 4 inches yourself the time and expense of dragging the of water right along the channel. Drift along or boat out and on the trailer, don’t spend a small use a trolling motor casting live shrimp and soft fortune and be out of your boat for weeks to get plastics and you will find a mixed bag of trout, a carb. Job, just call him up and ask him to come reds, flounder, and drum. Light winds will be check it out. CHEYNE POLANSKY 361-429- best for drifting, but anchor up on any change 8162. Sometimes I drop people and services in the structure and fish live shrimp on the in our Fishing Stories because they are honest bottom. The GRAVEYARD, OR NINE MILE hardworking people that can really help you HOLE is on Fire. On the windy days we have out, write their numbers down and keep them been drifting the shallow bay for some monster for those times when you need a hand. sized reds, up to 40+inches. This is a place made for the Red fishermen. Sight casting on Down south way foot, drifting in an ultra shallow scooter, or live Hunting Redfish in the Baffin Bay area and baiting the middle of the area all puts anglers in beyond has been unbelievable. Loads of shad the best redfish hunting grounds on the entire have been pouring out of the back creeks and coast. The fish in the HOLE are feeding on bays in the back of Baffin and herds of redfish small minnows, shrimp and crabs, not the large have been following them out and south towards schools of shad that are in the open waters of the Land Cut. Drifting with live shrimp is much Baffin and Rocky. easier here with the lack of pin perch. Drifting Get out and enjoy the cooler weather and the large rock piles in the mouth of Baffin will absolutely yield a box of reds and drum, along remind yourself why we choose to live in with some trout too. Some of the best places Paradise. Follow the bite on Facebook @ Joey have been the Badlands, Peniscal Point, and Farah’s Fishing Adventures.

One of the Big Baffin Reds we hooked up this week.

Babes on Baffin

What do you think of when someone mentions the “CCA”, or the “Coastal Conservation Association”? A bunch of guys fishing, right? Ones that are dedicated to the thrill of catching great redfish, trout, flounder, and all of the other wonderful species of fish right here along the Gulf Coast. Well, think again!

How about a bunch of dedicated, professional, and extremely competent women? Ones that are just as dedicated to keeping our wonderful fishing experiences available to men AND WOMEN for now and for generations to come. That’s right – Women! Fishing with pink everywhere. But don’t let the girly figures and tittering laughter fool you. These women are serious about the fishing and about their tournaments. One of the finest of such tournaments is taking place right here next weekend, at the Roberts Point Park pavilion in Port Aransas. Something new? Not even. This is the eighth annual “Babes on Baffin and Blue Ladies Fishing Tournament” and if its like the ones in the past, it is going to be a fun filled experience for a lot of female anglers. The goals of Baffin and Blue are right in line with the rest of the CCA. Living on the coast, many of you are members of or are familiar with Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), which is a non-profit organization composed of numerous coastal state chapters along the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic seaboard, and the Pacific Northwest. CCA’s membership includes tens of thousands of recreational saltwater anglers who support CCA’s mission of conservation and stewardship. What you may not know is that CCA got its start in 1977 as a grassroots effort to prevent drastic commercial overfishing, right here along our own Texas coast.

Babes on Baffin and Blue fully promote CCA’s theme of conservation, and the tournament offers a live weigh-in and donation bonus. All live fish can be donated to the CCA/CPL Marine Development Center located in Flour Bluff. The Center is operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife and is the first state operated hatchery producing juvenile red drum and spotted seatrout for releasing into Texas bays for stock enhancement. The donations will be placed in the Center’s kid fish pond to be used for educational purposes. Be sure and check out the Center’s website for available tours and other educational programs such as kidfish events. The Center’s website can be accessed through a link on the Babes on Baffin and Blue website at www.babesonbaffin. com. This year’s tournament sponsors are My Pink Marlin, a great woman’s water wear shop located in Port Aransas (Fifteen Carat Diamond Sponsor); Total Oilfield Equipment & Supply, LLC, a second year sponsor, and Jackie’s Brickhouse, a lively restaurant and bar located in Kemah (Ten Carat Diamond Sponsors); John and Laura Holmgreen, the tournament’s founding organizer, and Sea Tow, our favorite rescuer (Five Carat Diamond Sponsors). We invite you to take a moment to get to know these businesses and thank them with your patronage. You can access their websites through their ads on the Babes on Baffin and Blue website. To all of the Lady Anglers and Little Babes who are coming from all corners of the State to take part in the tournament, we say “Welcome to the Island”! We hope you catch the longest stringer, have a wonderful time shopping in our unique shops, enjoy a leisurely meal at one or more of our many restaurants offering a tempting array of menus, and leave us with strengthened friendships and cherished memories that will last a lifetime.

A 8

Senior Moments

By Dotson Lewis dlewis1@stx.rr.com

Senior Of The Moment Rose Schefuo, above showing a medal she was recently awarded for her participation in WHS (Women’s Health Study). Rose says “My life was blessed with many worldwide experiences and Colonel Rose opportunities which led M. Schefuo to a successful Military United States Air Career.”

Force (Retired)

She retired from active duty as an Air Force Nurse in 1973 with the rank of “Full Bird Colonel.” Shortly after she retired, a nurse friend of hers was the first woman in the Air Force to achieve the rank of General (One Star). Ms Schefuo’s life story is one of the most fascinating that I have heard. Following are just a few of the highlights. Her father, Guisepipe Scifo and her mother, Teresa Gatuso, who met and married in Boston, MA, immigrated from mountain villages in Sicily. They had ten children. The first two were twin boys who died in infancy. In the early years of their Rose visiting her marriage, her parents parents birthplace were required to move Sicily 1949 frequently as her father was one of the immigrants hired by a railroad company, as a laborer to use a pick and shovel to lay the rails and ties from Canada to Louisiana and from the East Coast to the Midwest. The family moved to Chicago, where they lived during the Al Capone crime years. While wheeling a baby carriage, Rose’s mother witnessed a drive-by shooting of a member of Capone’s gang. The traumatic event was so unnerving to her mother; she insisted that her father find employment elsewhere Rose’s family moved to Bayonne, New Jersey, where she was born, November 22, 1919. Her father, who was blonde and blue-eyed, got a job working for the Pennsylvania Railroad, but was soon fired (WWI era), because the foreman thought he was German. According to her birth certificate she was named “Rosalia Scifo, but when she enrolled in Public School #3 in Bayonne, NJ, her teacher with a stroke of her pen changed the spelling of her name to Rose Mari Shefuo. This is the name by which she has been known since that day in 1925. Her parents both became United States Citizens when the immigration quotas allowed and their names were spelled correctly. After joining the Army Air Force, Rose signed a notarized affidavit explaining why her name was misspelled. Rose Shefuo, was one of six hundred and twenty members who were the first to graduate from the newly High School built Bayonne High School Graduation in June 1937. Having June 1936 dreamed of being a nurse since she was a little girl, Rose enrolled in the program at the Bayonne Hospital School of Nursing in February 1938. In May, 1941 Rose graduated from nursing school, receiving her “pin” and the Gold Medal Award as the outstanding senior in the Science of Nursing Class (33 nurses graduated). After working as a nurse for almost four years, even though there was a shortage of civilian nurses; Rose felt that she should go on active duty as a military nurse. She was inducted into the Army, commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and reported to Camp Swift (Bastrop), Texas on March 13, 1945. At Camp Swift, Rose underwent “very rigorous” Basic Training.

Island Moon

While in formation on the parade ground, they were notified of the death of President Roosevelt. Dotson’s note: Of the many experiences that Rose related to me, I have selected three for your reading enjoyment. Hopefully Rose will grant “Veterans Voice” an interview so that her storied career can be told in its entirety. “While a member of the 1735th Air Evacuation Wing, I picked up a patient in Louisiana who had polio and was in an iron lung. Just as the pilots began the final thrust to take off, the electrical outlet to the iron lung caught on fire. The flames were shooting across the lung. The “tech” grabbed a fire extinguisher and I ran up to the pilot and told him what had happened. The pilot decided to turn back. The cabin was filled with fumes and smoke, so we opened the hatches. The “tech” and I took turns manually operating the lung. The patient, a female dependent, was to be treated at a civilian hospital in Houston, so the pilot contacted the airport in Houston and the airport notified the hospital. We returned to Louisiana. When the patient was de-planed, our mission was over, but I had to write a detailed report of the incident.” “On another mission we flew into Anniston Air Base in Alabama; just as we were about to land, some cows appeared on the runway. Our quick thinking pilots bounced off the ground, we went straight up in the air and we missed the cows. People watching the planes arrive, thought we surely would hit the cows.” “We were on a flight from Panama to Miami, FL. We were flying a C-54 (Skymaster). During the trip an engine caught on fire. There were litters on one side of the aircraft and seats on the other. I could see the flames, but I kept my cool. The pilots notified the Coast Guard that we were at the point of “no return.” We picked up escorts of the Coast Guard below and the Air Force above. We did not carry parachutes when flying patients. If we had to ditch the aircraft in the water, we were trained to go down with the plane and protect the patients. My commanding officer was the officer flying the plane and I had several psychiatric patients aboard. One ‘small built’ military patient discovered he had a small slit in the stretcher, so he decided to bounce up and down and the slit grew longer and he almost fell through. We were descending form our flight and could not do anything until we landed. We always carried an extra litter. I tried to give him an inoculation to quiet him down, but he would not be still, so I sat on his legs while I proceeded. He kept yelling for me to get off of him, but I said ‘I’m not that heavy,’ I was about 118 bounds. He finally nodded off and we continued with our mission.”

September 27, 2012

Activities at the Ethel Eyerly Senior Center 654 Graham Road (Flour Bluff) Phone: 361-937-3218 Ethel Eyerly Monthly Dinner/Dance

Monday Silver Haired Fitness 10 am ($7 month, Ladies Only)

4:30-7:30 pm

Computer Interest Group 12:30-2 pm

September 28 Country / Western Music

Wii Bowling 12:30 pm

BBQ chicken Dinner

Tuesday

Tickets On Sale Now $5

Bingo 10 am ($.50 Cards) Silver Life Fitness (Co-Ed) 11 am Zumba

Call 361-937-3281 for reservations

Table Tennis & Table Games 12:30 pm

Wednesday Silver Haired Fitness 10 am ($7 month, Ladies Only) AARP Chapter 4181 1 pm 2nd & 4th Wednesdays

Thursday Silver Life Fitness (Co-Ed) 11 am Zumba Wii Bowling 12:30 pm Quilting Guild 2nd Thursdays Starts 10 am

Friday Silver Haired Fitness 10 am ($7 month, Ladies Only) Table Tennis 12-5 pm Bingo 12:30 PM ($.50 Cards) Line Dancing 2 pm If you have questions and/or comments regarding “Senior Moments” please contact Dotson at the Email address shown above, or Phone 361-949-7681; Cell 530-748-8475

Thanks Rose for you service to your country and to humanity.

Moments Tech Talk The Ethel Eyerly Computer Interest Group will be meeting each Monday, 12:30-2 pm. The meetings are held at the Ethel Eyerly Senior Center, 654 Graham Road in Flour Bluff. If you would like more information about this group, please call or Email Dotson. We hope to see you there; it is a fun and informative meeting.

Healthy Moments The new Caregiver SOS by WellMed at the Lindale Senior Center recently had its Grand Opening. This is a unique caregiver resource center ensuring that family caregivers have the help they need to continue caring and living well. It offers an array of educational and support services designed to improve the health and well-being of family caregivers and their loved ones. An enhanced feature of the center will include the complimentary programs and services of the City of Corpus Christi’s Senior Community services Program and the expert advice and support of the Coastal Bend Caregiver Coalition founded by estor H. Praderio, M.D. and Face to Face, Inc. With caregiver SOS, caregivers in the Coastal Bend have the help and support they need to deal with challenges of caring for a loved one. Services are available at no cost to anyone age 60 and older and their primary family caregiver. For more information, call (866) 390-6491

The BACK PORCH Sun - Sat 11am - 10pm

Scoopy’s Veranda Sun - Thurs 11am - 9pm Fri & Sat 11am - 10pm Daily Lunch Specials Snoopy’s & Scoopy’s 11am - 2pm Carry-out Available!

Snoopy’s

(361) 949-8815

Scoopy’s

(361) 949-7810

13313 S. Padre Island Drive Corpus Christi, TX 78418

oPEN 7 dAYS + nOON-2AM Live Music

FRI.

SAT. FRI. The 9/28 9/29 10/05 Davin Another Clay BACK PORCH James Level McClinton Bar SAT. SAT. FRI. 10/06

LARRY JOE TAYLOR

10/12

Ruben V

The

10/13

Thomas Michael Riley

BACK PORCH 10/20 DUST DEVILS COASTAL BENDER

$2 WackyBar Wednesdays! ON THE WATERFRONT

132 W. Cotter St.

PortA

September 27, 2012

Island Moon

Real Estate Roundup

By Mary Lou White There is one phrase that sums up this article: One Man’s Loss is Another Man’s Gain. I have been watching several units at Las Palmas pop up on my MLS system, as new listings, only to see them shortly pop up again as Option or Pending. Since curiosity is a major issue for me, I decided to investigate a bit deeper, into the subject. The first step was an interview with Char Atnip, the listing agent with Keller-Williams Coastal Bend, who had the good fortune to garner this listing. The Owner of Record is First National Bank, which was founded in 1934, by community leaders in Edinburg Texas, near McAllen. Now, 78 years later, they have 57 branches, in Texas, reaching as far north as Dallas. It is difficult to determine the exact route that led to a large investment, by this bank, on our Island. However, the final result is property that is being marketed at substantially less than its original investment.

Las Palmas This is the “up-scale” townhome complex that runs along Leeward Drive and exemplifies what careful maintenance can accomplish, in terms of improving our Island Image. The fact that a quality project had the misfortune to hit the market, at precisely the wrong time in history, I find very sad. Not only was the project never completed, but it makes future developers think twice about what kind of projects to build. In other words, we may all end up paying the price, just not in actual dollars and cents. A total of 34 units, in eight buildings, were actually completed. The earliest listing information, I could find, mentions a Grand Opening on November 2, 2007, about six months before the financing industry implosion of 2008. Prices are shown as $476,900 per unit. Today, the units owned by First National Bank are being listed, for $269,000. Nine units have been listed recently. Three are sold, two are pending sale and four are still active. In addition, the vacant land that remains from the units, that were never built, is listed for $1,529,000 and is currently under option. This complex represents millions of dollars, in investment and resources that will never reach the intended potential. I am hoping we are facing a future that might help us to become “The Best that we can Be”.

are being listed by First National Bank, as the leases end. This condominium complex contains units ranging in size from 1260 to 1602 square feet. Prices of the two active units, now for sale, range from $151K to $162K and just hit the market. A third unit was only on the market for one day before pending under a contract. Again, each unit has an attached two car garage. According to the listing, all three bedrooms are upstairs and have access to second floor balconies that provide views over the canal system. An additional two units are located at 15438 Seamount Cay with 1488 square feet each. We all pass by this complex on a daily basis and yet I never realized that they were bank owned property that had succumbed to the economic downturn. Having already mentioned the large parcel next to Las Palmas, First National Bank also holds title to two lots on Running Light, three lots on Aruba and two on Leeward Drive. These are large parcels within walking distance of the beach, that were platted for multi-family units. All seven lots combined total an asking price close to two million dollars. There are few places in America that have “beach” property priced as competitively with all infrastructure (streets and utilities) in place and ready to build. When we pass by and perceive little or no change, we become immune to the fact that this is truly an ideal opportunity waiting for factors to combine that will allow steady and attractive development. This has always been a “resort” planned community from its earliest inception and we can only hope that we acquire “quality” housing units that attract “quality” guests and residents to our “get-away”, by the Gulf.

Gallery Grand Opening

The local Real Estate agent that represents First National Bank, on these properties is Char Atnip with Keller Williams Coastal Bend located at 4518 Everhart, Suite 101. Char is the 2012 Chairman of the Board for the Corpus Christi Association of Realtors and can be reached by phone at 946-1187 or by email at char@charatnip.com.

Island Real Estate Ticker

Commercial Properties For Sale From $150,000 to $4,557,465

Multi Family Units For Sale From $375,000 to $2,500,000

167

Lots and Land For Sale

Parcels on a canal or water From $95,000 to $1,850,250

104

Parcels not on the water From $17,500 to $975,000

Get the attention you deserve.

Island Office (361) 215-8629 O pt

105 Amberjack, Pelican Cove Aransas Pass, TX

•

O io Fin w n a ne s n r Av ce ai la bl .49 Acres e

• 2 Boat Lifts Call Liz today! Beautiful Canal Lot with decking, 2 boat lifts, Jet Ski docking, shore power and a huge fish cleaning station. All it needs now is a beautiful home built on the lot to go with it.

Realty, LLC 575 E Goodnight • Aransas Pass, TX • 78336

361-758-8777

Left or right, you’re always home.

Mary Melick Real Estate

Island Creations Remodeling

Total Renovation & Remodels, Outdoor Kitchens & Spas, Additions, Kitchen & Bathroom Upgrades, Sunporches, Replacement of Windows and Doors, Roofing, Painting & Stucco

Landscaping Insured Member, Padre Island Business Association Member, Builders Association, Corpus Christi

960-0327

Design work, Yard Maintenance, Decks, Pergolas, Installation of Rock, Grass, Plants, Trees, Walkways, Paths, Tree Trimming, Container Planting, Vacant Lot Mowing & Shade Covers. All Kinds of Fencing, Pressure Washing & Deck Staining & Sealing

Concrete

Driveways, Patios, Sidewalks, Patio Overlays, Decorative Stamping & Staining, Decks, Bulkheads, Grouted Stone Walls & Patios, Decorative Stone Paver Driveways & Patios

Owned & Operated by Island Residents David & Katherine Pierce References Available Upon Request Commercial & Residential

Doing Everything a Home or Business Needs

Beach House Realty

361-332-1021

Let me help you find your piece of Paradise - waterfront or interior homes, condos, townhouses, lots Call me for a free consultation to obtain the current market value along with tips to make your property the one buyers will put on their “must see” list

Call 361-949-7281

14318 Caribe $675,000

Considering a move to the Island?

Considering selling your Island Property?

Selling a home? Want results?

NEW

SRES e-mail: malm335@sbcglobal.net Contact Betheny Bell & Enjoy The Experience Corpus Christi Realty Group

MLS# 162264

Scuttlebutts Bar and Grill is gearing up for football season, adding three new huge big screen televisions in the game room. Make it your place to go for Sunday Football.

Tim Burdick and Celeste Edwards with baby Beckham at their new photograhy gallery in Port A.

Logo Contact Betheny Bell & Enjoy The Experience Mary Ann McShane, Realtor, GRI,

$395,000

Isle Mail N More has a new line of jewelry, scarves and candles. Stop by and take a look.

First National Bank

238 Island Residences For Sale 114 Attached Homes For Sale From $74,900 to $529,000 74 Detached Homes on the water From $239.000 to $2,200,000 La Joya De La Coast Located at 15422 Seamount Cay and backing 50 Detached Homes not on the water From $127,800 to $389,000 up to Gypsy, just past the bridge, 13 units Photo Let’s Talk Real Estate….. Call or Email Me! 361‐658‐1092 Photo Let’s Talk Real Estate….. Photo Let’s Talk Real Estate….. bbell@stx.rr.com Call or Email Me! Call or Email Me! 361‐658‐1092 361‐658‐1092 ∙Over 10 Years on Padre Island bbell@stx.rr.com ∙ Knows the Market inside & out bbell@stx.rr.com ∙ There for you every step of the way ∙ Padre Island • Over 10 years on Padre Island Betheny Bell Over 10 Years on ∙ Knows the Market inside & out inside & out • Knows the Market Listing & Sales Specialist ∙ Over 10 Years on Padre Island ∙ There for you every step of the way • There for you every step of the way Licensed in the State of Texas ∙ Knows the Market inside & out Betheny Bell Coastline Properties ∙ There for you every step of the way Listing & Sales Specialist Logo Betheny Bell Licensed in the State of Texas Listing & Sales Specialist Coastline Properties Licensed in the State of Texas Logo Contact Betheny Bell & Enjoy The Experience Coastline Properties

Vacant Land

El Pescador Del Mar This eleven unit complex has canal exposure at the rear and faces Cruiser. Similar to Las Palmas, these units are three stories tall and have two car garages. Five of the units have elevators and six have elevator shafts, ready for elevator installation. All eleven units are owned by First National Bank and have been rented. The first MLS listing, I could find is dated April 2007 and shows a listing price of $399,000. Today, three units are actively For Sale for $287,900. If position counts and the future includes the bridge on Park Road 22, plus a water park and river walk, then these units will be right in the heart of the action. Great quality, great location and great potential.

What a great state!

BIG REDUCTION!

WATERFRONT--Fortuna Bay’s finest! 3/2 penthouse with high ceilings, completely redone in style with stainless, glass tile, granite, quality fixtures throughout, sumptuous baths, attractive furnishings, storage closet, boat dock, community pool/ hot tub, tile/carpet. Ready to go, just move in or rent out--vacation rentals okay. Bring your boat. $164,900 Beach House Realty, Gail D. Spinn, Agent 2217 State Highway 361, Suite A-1, Port Aransas, Texas 78373

Island Moon

A 10

September 27, 2012

COLDWELL BANKER ISLAND, REALTORS 14945 S. Padre Island Dr., Corpus Chris�, TX 78418

(361) 949‐7077 or (800) 580‐7077 www.cbir.com

ISLAND, REALTORS

Magnificent updates as well as wonderful waterviews! 4/2.5 salt water pool. Master down. Call Beth for more information! 7794943. 13757 Eaglesnest.

Customized house, superb canal location, upscaled kitchen w/granite counters + bamboo flooring, plantation shutters, abundant amenities. Dorothy 563 -8486. $445,000.

Fortuna Bay Waterfront condo 3-2 w/boatslip. Recently updated. Furnished. Just bring your suitcase & enjoy. HOA pool, cabana & spa. Call Cheryl 361-563-0444.

15401 Cruiser 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage $198,000. 1305 sq.ft. Very nice inside and out. Located on a canal. Call Charlie 361-443-2499.

15905 Punta Bonaire $620,100. 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, concrete saltwater pool, boat lift, too many extras to list. Call Charlie Knoll 443-2499.

Sale Pending!

15422 Escapade 3/2/2 $189,900. 1600 sq.ft of living area. Granite countertops throughout. All tile floors, ss appliances, great location. Charlie 443-2499.

Extraordinary canal location and view– highly customized s/s kitchen with granite counters & much more. Surprises abound. Call Dorothy 563-8486.

New construction by Seaquist Homes. 4-2-2 on Punta Espada. Open floor plan, split bedrooms, landscaped front yard, builder’s warranty. Call Cheryl 563-0444.

Waterfront Townhome on Mingo Cay. 3-2.5-2 courtyard entrance. End unit. Tile down & carpet up. 2 covered patios, multi level decking. Cheryl 563-0444.

13969 Mainsail 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath upscale Energy Star compliant home with inground pool, hot tub, outdoor kitchen and much more. $279,900. Call Cindy 549-5557.

Beautifully Updated 3-2-2 w/ multi purpose room. Split bedrooms. Gas stove. Tile & bamboo floors. Plantation shutters. Large backyard. Cheryl 5630444.

15257 Capstan 3/2/2 well maintained stucco home. Large backyard w/mature trees & covered patio. Tile in kitchen & baths. $149,900. Call Jeremy at (361) 960-7873.

This two story home sits on over 1 acre of land. Water well with sprinkler system. Four bedrooms with four baths. 3 car garage. Two living & 2 eating areas. Call Terry Cox 549-7703. $388,500.

Lovely Flour Bluff 1-story home on 1.3 acre corner. Spacious 4/3/2 w/2 living & 2 dining. Circular drive & water well for yard. Call Pam Morgan 2158116. $343,700.

13853 Topsail $289,000 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage, 1756 sq.ft on a nice canal. Tile roof, rock front and back yard. Well maintained. Charlie 4432499.

This Padre Island home offers three bedrooms, 2.5 baths with 2 living areas and is located on 3 lots. Open floor plan with over 3300 sf. Covered patio, pool & more. Terry Cox $399,000.

Exciting 2-story with great interior lot location. It is on a huge lot with unlimited potential & surrounded by PVC fencing. Call Dorothy @ 563-8486.

Reduced Price 15713 Cuttysark 3/2.5/1 lovely Island home. Large yard with room for a pool. Call Laura Wallace (361) 815-2116.

Investment opportunity! 4/2.5/2 waterfront with extra parking. Vaulted ceilings, fireplace and wet bar. $267,500. 13541 Royal Fifth. Call Shonna 510-3445.

722 St. Lucy $154,900 3/2.5/1. 1624 sq.ft of living area. 2 living areas. All bedrooms up. Nice landscaping. Above ground pool. Charlie 361-443-2499.

Sale Pending!

14945 S. Padre Island Dr. Corpus Chris�, TX 78418 (361) 949‐2131 (877) 269‐2131

www.rentpadreisland.com Superior Service, Outstanding Reputa�on since 1999 Looking for Professional Long Term Property Management Services? Our services include:  Tenant Qualifying  Collec�ons of Rents  Coordina�ng Repairs & Maintenance  Professional Itemized Monthly Statements  Marke�ng/Adver�sing

New Construction by TwoSaam. 14126 Coquina Bay. 3/2/2 plus den/office. Granite countertops & tile floors throughout. $219,900. Charlie 443-2499.

13917 Primavera bring your decorating ideas, paint & flooring samples. This 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home is waiting for the right person. $149,900. Cindy 549-5557.

13545 Catamaran stucco and tile waterfront home offers multilevel deck, boat lift, 2 living areas, 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths. $339,900. Call Cindy 549-5557.

3266 Roscher—zoned for horses, near 5 acres. 2 story home 3-2.52. Backs up to the Oso Bay, private beach, fishing pier, pool. Cheryl or Mary Lou.

121 Gulfstream $209,900 Beautiful 1st floor unit, ss appliances/granite countertop. Updated furnishings. Easy pool/beach access. Call Shonna 510-3445.

6th floor side/front unit-long veranda-great gulf viewimmaculate-newer appointments. Call Dorothy Ernst at 563-8486.

Looking for Long Term Rental Property? Below are some of our available rentals:

Beach Club #394 Eﬃciency $750

Portono #705 2/2 $1800 furnished

Beach Club #132 1/1 $895

15505 Palmira #A 3/2.5/2 $1600

Lakeshore Villas #24 2/2 $1150

Palm Bay #904 3/2.5/2 $1400

Leeward Isles #5204 2/2 $1200

Sale Pending!

Mystic Harbor one bedroom corner unit on water. Canal access. Tropical pool. Hot tub. Security entrance. Sold furnished. Call Cheryl 563-0444.

Gorgeous East facing waterfront lot with open views. Very wide intersecting canal + short distance to IC Waterway. 15014 Tesoro. $184,500. Ana 361-443-7771.

13725 Eaglesnest Bay spacious 4 bedroom, 3 bath home w/ wonderful curb appeal, large covered veranda, boat lift & inground pool. $429,900. Cindy 549-5557.