her northbound journey.
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The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald A7
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Bagfish Invade Bay A2
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The Island Newspaper since 1996 Island Area News ● Events ● Entertainment
November 8, 2012
Photo by Debbie Logan Martz
The Island With its own City Councilperson
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com
The Early Voting Season ended with a bang on Saturday when a quick but violent storm blew through overturning a boat in a slip on Cartagena and knocking down power lines and poles on the westbound lanes of the JFK piling up traffic heading OTB for over an hour. It marked the second weekend in a row that we’ve had storms blow in and while the latest didn’t last nearly as long as the first it did more damage. But as is often the case this time of year the harsh weather didn’t last long and within a few hours things were back to normal and Island life goes on. But the downed power lines and quick cutoff of Island access reminds us how vulnerable we are out here on our sandbar to hard weather.
Art Walk Such was the case with the Third Annual Island Art Walk which had a record 75 vendors this year. A little rain storm blew through just before 2 p.m. it didn’t put a damper on another successful Island event. This year there were several vendors who came in from Rockport and Port Aransas and a large crowd turned out. We’re looking forward to next year.
Be careful out there We’re getting many reports about coyote sightings hereabouts of late, so if you are out walking your dogs take care. We even had one report from Port Aransas about large birds circling a lady with her small dog. We’ve also had several calls from people who have found dogs they are looking to return to their owners. The easy way to solve this problem is to get your pet a collar with your cell number on it. It avoids a lot of anxious moments.
Pomps We hear the pompano are biting out at the third cut so you either have to wade out to get them or get a long-casting rod from Nick over at Breakaway and fling that baby way out there. We got to go get our beltsander ready for the races up at the Gaff on Saturday. So in the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Next Publication Date: 11/15/2012
First Ever Islander Elected to Corpus Christi City Council By Dale Rankin Islander Colleen McIntyre became the first Island resident ever elected to the Corpus Christi City Council Tuesday by taking 76% of the votes in Council District 4. She was backed by a large Island turnout which cast 50% of the total votes she received Districtwide to win the race. According to the Nueces County Clerk’s Office, countywide 97,493 voters out of 192,541 registered voters cast ballots in the election, a rate of about 50%. In The Island’s two precincts, 40 and 81, a total of 4457 voters out of 6913 registered cast ballots, a rate of 64%. In Precinct 40, located south of Whitecap Blvd., 2208 out of 3445 registered voters cast ballots. In Precinct 81, north of Whitecap, the total was 2249 out of 3468. Island voters, as is the custom, voted heavily Republican, at a rate of about 3/1. They largely backed the winners with the exception of the race for Mayor of Corpus Christi, the contested race for a seat on the Flour Bluff School Board, and State Senate District 20. The total Island votes and the final votes in each of the races according to numbers from the Nueces County Clerk are as follows:
City Races
City Council District 4 3222 Island votes Colleen McIntyre 85.5%
2758
Jano Andrasik
202
6.5%
Election Continued on A5
Thunderstorm Thrashes Island
Year 15, Issue 448
Flip The Ridley Comes Back to the Gulf of Mexico Attend Flip’s release at Padre Island National Seashore at 11:00 a.m. Friday, November 9
By Donna J. Shaver, Ph.D. Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery National Park Service Padre Island National Seashore e-mail: Donna_Shaver@nps.gov
The last week has been exciting for local sea turtle enthusiasts. Flip, a juvenile Kemp’s ridley turtle was transported to the ARK in Port Aransas, Texas from a far-away stranding location, so that this endangered sea turtle could be returned to the Gulf of Mexico. Kemp’s ridleys nest almost exclusively on Gulf of Mexico beaches in Mexico and Texas. Hatchlings swim from shore and drift with the currents for their first months of life. Most individuals remain in the Gulf of Mexico for their entire lives. However, some juveniles are shunted out of the Gulf of Mexico through the Gulf Stream and travel up the Atlantic coast of the U.S. to forage in nearshore waters and bays as far north as Massachusetts. They travel south and to deeper waters along the eastern seaboard seasonally as waters cool, back north and closer to shore as waters warm, and return to the Gulf of Mexico at adulthood. However, some juvenile Kemp’s ridleys make a clockwise circuit of the Atlantic, eventually ending back in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, a few of those veer or are pushed off course by currents and become trapped in European waters that are
too cold for them to survive. Flip is an example of this rare event. On December 10, 2011, a concerned citizen found Flip washed ashore, emaciated and cold stunned in the Netherlands, near the city of The Flip Continued on A6
Coastal Bend artists soon will have a new showplace to exhibit paintings, photographs and sculptures. By David Stone The Art Center of Port Aransas has announced plans to build a new $1.2 million, single-level facility about two blocks south of its current location on Alister Street. The new center will be located on property that has been the home to Sportsman’s Lodge for more than 60 years. “We have a contract on the property, but it’s still going to take several months of fundraising to make this a reality,” said Dan Winship, chairman of the center’s fundraising committee. “We have several fundraising projects in the works, including a byinvitation-only event on Dec. 5.” Winship said his committee also has mailed about 1,700 letters seeking contributions from area residents and businesses. “We have about $70,000 in our building fund, and we are trying to raise our part of a $50,000 challenge grant,” he said. Winship said he would announce details of the grant at a later time.
The building project has been in the works for about three years, he said. Center officials had tried to work land deals for two other Port Aransas locations, including the historic Spanish Village cottages, but those negotiations didn’t work out. He said the Sportsman’s Lodge location was ideal because of the size of the property. Winship said the current location on Alister Street has been a good home over the years, but the Center has outgrown the 2,400-square-foot Art Center Continued on A6
A little Island history
Surfside Sandwich Shoppe had their outdoor furniture rearranged courtesy of the high winds from Saturday night’s storm.
County Coastal Parks Board Sets $2 Million in Improvements in Motion By Dale Rankin The Nueces County Coastal Parks Board has set out an aggressive plan for about $2 million in improvements to the areas around both Bob Hall and Horace Caldwell piers. The area around Bob Hall Pier will see $920,000 in improvements paid for with ready cash. The first priority is $270,000 in remodeling to the older structure on the pier, the building to the right as you face the water. Currently, the kitchen in the building is located on the water side blocking the view of the pier and the water from the building’s interior. Proposed improvements near Horace Caldwell Pier The improvements call for moving Another $100,000 will be used for remodeling the kitchen to the beach side in order to open up Briscoe King Pavilion with improvements to the view, and to make the older building a more the restrooms, air conditioning of the entire contiguous space with the new section which was more recently added. Park Continued on A8
51,300 Pounds of Silver from the Spanish Ship Santa Maria de Yciar Has Never Been Found Editor’s note: In recent issues we have been running the memoirs of longtime Islander Louis Rawalt. In the 1960s Rawalt told his friend Eugene French about the location of Spanish ships sunk near the Mansfield Channel in 1554 and French, known as “Frenchy” to his fellow Islanders, went in search of it. His search set off a string of events which led to the passing of the Texas Antiquities Law but in the end, an estimated $20 million worth of silver is still in the sand somewhere off the coast of Padre Island. By Dale Rankin Most longtime Islanders at one point or another got to know the man known as Frenchy. Over the years he owned several businesses around The Island and in the mid1960s caused a stir by holding the nation’s first topless wedding at his business located at the site that is now the American Bank. But in 1966 a tip from Louis Rawalt sent Frenchy and two friends in search of three Spanish ships that were washed up on the shores of what is now Padre Island National Seashore in April of 1554 with their holds full of silver bullion and some gold mined in Mexico. Spanish records indicate that, among
The deck of the Santa Maria de Yciar in better days other items, the ships were carrying more than 85,000 pounds of silver coins stored in wooded barrels. In all about twenty ships set out each carrying 100 passengers and about 200 tons of precious metals. The ships were each about 100 feet long, with large sails made of a natural, uncolored fabric, with one sail on each ship bearing a red cross – the symbol of 16th-century Spain. The 6,000-mile, one-way trip between Mexico and Spain usually took eight to 12 weeks, depending on the weather. The ships left Veracruz bound for Havana and eventually Spain when a storm caught them. History Continued on A7
Island Moon
A 2
Ban the Bag
City hunting ordinance
November 8, 2012
The Ordinance and State Law That Are Causing the Controversy
Editor’s note: In the last issue we printed a letter from City Attorney Carlos Valdez in which he instructed the Corpus Christi Police Department not to enforce a city ordinance which prohibits duck hunting within 1000 feet of a residence in the city limits.
U.S. Highway 181 causeway between Corpus Christi and Portland; the Laguna Shores shoreline; or the corporate limits of another municipality that prohibits the discharge of firearms within its city limits. (Code 1958, § 39-8; Ord. No. 10015, § 1, 1125-1970; Ord. No. 13471, § 1, 11-10-1976; Ord. No. 24286, § 1, 11-21-2000; Ord. No. 028098, § 1, 3-24-2009)
Here are (first) the city ordinance, and (second) the state law which Valdez ruled overrides it.
City Ordinance
Cross reference— As to use of firearms within harbor limits, see § 12-22.
Sec. 33-75. - Discharging firearms; waterfowl hunting.
State Statute
(a)
§ 229.002. REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON. A municipality may not apply a regulation relating to the discharge of firearms or other weapons in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality or in an area annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981, if the firearm or other weapon is:
It shall be unlawful for any unauthorized person to fire or discharge any gun, pistol, rifle or other firearm of any description within the city, or from without the corporate limits of the city and permit any shot, projectile, B-B’s, slugs or ammunition to fall within the city. The unauthorized discharge of firearms of any description outside of the city and within four hundred (400) feet of the city limits or the firing outside of the city and permitting the projectile to fall within the city is hereby declared a nuisance and is prohibited.
(1) a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun, or bow and arrow discharged: (A) on a tract of land of 10 acres or more and more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and
(b) However, except as restricted by subsection (c) of this section, waterfowl hunting within the lawful seasons and during the times prescribed by any federal and state agencies with jurisdiction over the taking of waterfowl, subject to the rules and regulations of federal and state agencies of appropriate jurisdiction, and the discharge of firearms, subject to such state law, rules, and regulations, shall be permitted within the city in the following described areas: Corpus Christi Bay, Nueces Bay, and the Upper Laguna Madre within the corporate limits. (For the purposes of this section, anyone on the waterside of the vegetation line is considered to be within Corpus Christi Bay or Upper Laguna Madre.
(B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or (2) a center fire or rim fire rifle or pistol of any caliber discharged: (A) on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and (B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract. Editor’s note: The map below showing when various sections of The Island were annexed is from the City of Corpus Christi’s website.
(c)
CITY OF CORPUS CHRSITI, TEXAS Annexation History
U.S.
77
No waterfowl hunting is permitted within one thousand (1,000) feet of a residence; business establishment; industrial facility, school; institution of higher education; other structure designed for residential or commercial occupation (but not including storage sheds, hunting/ fishing camps, pump facilities); dock appurtenant to a residential or commercial structure (other than those associated with a hunting/ fishing camp or oil/gas field production installation); trailer or recreational vehicle park; military installation; any public beach; any city, county, state, or federal park; the JFK causeway between Flour Bluff and North Padre Island; the I37
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Bags in the Bay. This is where plastic bags end up when it rains. This shot was taken from a second story window in Corpus Christi Bay right after a rain. The bags were picked up off the street by the current and swept through the storm drains straight into the bay.
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The North Padre Island Community Garden in Doudin Park continues to grow. If you’re interested in a plot contact the POA.
November 8, 2012
Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder
Island Moon
Letters to the Editor Coyote
Sandy Moon,
Dear self-appointed editor of Moon: Dale Rankin, Since the Moon website does not appear to be functioning under “Contact Us” at this time, I will send a traditional e-mail. This is intended as a “Letter to the Editor,” whether you choose to publish it as such or just note as an “FYI” is entirely up to you of course.
Distribution Pete Alsop Island Delivery Coldwell Banker Advertising Raeanne Reed Office Lisa Towns
I am referring to your pathetic article on Hurricane Sandy: “Stuff I Heard on the Island” in last weeks’ issue.
Classifieds Arlene Ritley Design/Layout
How dare you inflict your biased redneck Texas mentality on intelligent readers! To minimize and write such sarcastic remarks about a horrible tragedy is sickening. You are the poorest excuse for a “journalist” I have ever encountered.
Jeff Craft Contributing Writers Joey Farah Devorah Fox Mary Craft Maybeth Christiansen Jay Gardner Todd Hunter Danniece Bobeché Ronnie Narmour Daphne Fine Dr. Donna Shaver Photographers Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan Mary Craft Office Security/Spillage Control
Do you have ANY idea (I doubt it) how many people native to the Northeast live here now? Your downplaying of such a traumatic event our families went through one week ago today, and continue to suffer the effects of, is truly appalling and unprofessional on your part. A few of your “quotes” particularly offensive were: “Frankenstorm” “for your lives!”, “Everything is more important when it happens in New York”, “When it comes to storms this was not a big one” (and then having the nerve to compare it to storms we get here!) you are truly CLUELESS!! Let us not also forget your trademark inaccurate reporting: (Quote): “West Virginia got 3 inches of snow: OMG can they endure?” Hmmmm....wonder how FEET of snow magically turned into your version of INCHES?? I suggest you watch TheWeatherChannel’s accurate account : “Hurricane Sandy-Anatomy of a Superstorm.” I doubt however it will improve your sense of empathy, or better YET, why not make a donation to the American Red Cross as restitution for your insensitivity and ignorance? Kathy Hirt,
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.
The Island Moon Newspaper 15201 S. Padre Island Drive, Suite 250 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper
Where to Find The Island Moon
All Stripes Stores (Except the one next to the VFW where they throw them away) Sandpiper Condos Port Royal Condos
Gratitude Boutique The Gaff Bar Port A Glass Studio The Wild Horse Bar & Grill
Pioneer RV Park
CVS
Snappy’s Convenient Store
Whataburger Doc’s Restaurant
Kody’s Restaurant
Snoopy’s Pier
Beach Lodge
Isle Mail N More
Amano’s
Island Italian
Miss K’s Catering & Bistro
Ace Hardware
Neptune’s Retreat Stripes (361 & IA) Moby Dick’s Restaurant IGA Food Store Carter Pharmacy San Juan’s Restaurant Wash Board Washateria Port A Parks and Rec Port Chamber of Commerce Duckworth’s Antiques Woody’s Sports Center
Great article on the Eagle Ford. Thanks for including this and bringing attention to this world class shale play right in our backyard. The Eagle Ford is truly a blessing to south Texas! Keep up the great work!! Garrett Frazier Island
Puppy I am currently fostering a mini-pin mix through PAAC. He is 6 months old and doing very well being housebroken. He gets along with other dogs. He will be neutered, micro-chipped and UTD on shots. He is sponsored. I will send you pictures if you are interested. An accepted application will be required and possible home check. Please give this little boy a chance. Please send me message through Facebook. Thanks Karen Fuimara Cowan
Whoopers Dear Island Moon, As part of an ongoing research project, examining whooping crane feeding behavior on blue crabs, we would like to announce the 1st annual Whooping Crane and Blue Crab Photo Contest. This contest is designed to highlight the relationship between Whooping Cranes and blue crabs, their preferred food source. All photos entered in the contest must depict a Whooping Crane capturing or eating a blue crab, and must be taken between October 15, 2012 and April 1, 2013. All contest submissions are due by April 1, 2013. We are offering the following prizes: 1st place photo: $100 2nd place photo: $50 Prize for most photos submitted: $25 Photos may be submitted via email to CranesAndCrabs@gmail.com, or can be submitted by mail to Zack Darnell, UT Marine Science Institute, 750 Channel View Dr., Port Aransas, TX 78373. Entries should include the date and location of the photograph and the name and contact info (telephone and/or email address) of the photographer. Winners will be notified by May 1, 2013 by phone or email. Sincerely, Zack Darnell Post Doctoral Researcher Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve
Jean Garland
many the sound of gunfire may be threatening, and can break the peace and tranquility of the back porch. For the most part, most of the hunting that caused the controversy in the last few years has been on private property without permission. Ethical hunters and real sportsmen will not invade so close to residences to take advantage of roosting birds. Every hunter has a responsibility to consider others that are not hunters and project the shooting sports as a positive pursuit. New laws and regulations concerning our area have been established this year and hunters should ask Texas Parks and Wildlife about areas before they hunt. Residents should also remember that in calm still conditions shots can and will sound much closer than they are. Shotguns are not like rifles and will not carry over more than 150yds. Our local area is a blessing in that we enjoy the best hunting and fishing opportunities in the country. I introduce many kids young and old to duck hunting every year. It is a hunting opportunity that is great for teaching gun safety, hunting ethics, and more. The hunt is more than the pull of the trigger on one animal, we teach lessons about the variety of different duck species and their habits. We practice calling and decoy strategies. The actual harvest of the ducks is much easier than a large game animal and is a wonderful way to introduce first time hunters. The meat can be awesome on the grill and they make outstanding commemorative mounts. Getting your feet wet in hunting can be the start of a lifetime bond between you and your kids, or friends. For those who are not hunters, thank you for our opportunity to pursue our passion and pass down a tradition to our children as old as mankind itself. Please practice good neighbor policies when hunting and fishing this season. Fishermen, watch out for hunters with decoys out, and hunters must always respect the safety and rights of others.
Editor’s Note: Here at the Moon everybody gets their say and in this case I plead guilty as charged. I could make some excuses but what’s the point? I didn’t recognize the magnitude of the problem when I wrote the column and that’s my fault. I apologize for any grief I caused and hope to do better next time.
Capt. Joey Farah
Dale Rankin
Andy Stansel, Manager
Member Padre Island Business Association
Member Padre Island Rotary Club
Texas Star (Shell) Jesse’s Liquor Padre Isles Country Club Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant Subway
GIFTS CERTIFICATES AVALIABLE
Island Tire And all Moon retail advertisers
Flour Bluff H.E.B. Liquid Town Whataburger on Waldron
Michelle Matthews
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..........
Ethyl Everly Senior Center Fire Station
Port A Outfitters Back Porch Bar
Stripes on Flour Bluff & SPID
Stripes (Cotter & Station)
Sincerely
Eagle Ford Moon,
Holiday Inn
Police Station
The Flats Lounge
I usually enjoy your columns. They are lighthearted, witty, well-written, informative and usually interesting. I was very disappointed with your article about Hurricane Sandy. Your point was well-taken: Reporters tend to exaggerate news of natural disasters in order to enhance their own importance and attract viewers. Nevertheless, this was not the time for flippancy. I spent half my life on the East coast, and have numerous friends and family still living there. Major flooding, property destruction and power outages occurred to my loved ones in North Carolina, Maryland and New York. While your cousins in Manhattan were partying, a dear friend’s home and car in Long Beach were being destroyed. She is now homeless. Your conclusion was heartless: “Other than that a storm hit lower Manhattan and knocked out some power and then receded and that’s about it.” This has to be the low point in your career as a journalist.
North Padre All Stripes Stores
Island Woman Boutique
Dear Dale:
Hunting is so much more than a sport, it is a family past time, a piece of the American culture, and even a way to bring family and friends together. Hunting teaches the value of life and morals to our youth. Respect for wildlife and nature are the foundation of Hunter’s ethics and virtue. This weekend starts the beginning of Duck Season and as last year’s season came to a close there was much dispute over hunting close to the housing areas on the Island. For
The Tarpon Ice House
Lisabellas Restaurant
Felder Gallery
Island Resident and New Jersey native.
Duck Hunting
Michele McMillan Roels
I have read with satisfaction many “Letters to the Editor” in the Moon that have called you out on your inaccurate and/or opinionated reporting but never have I felt compelled to write one myself, until now that is.
Jan Park Rankin
Port Aransas
For anyone who lives off of Sea Pines, there has been a coyote running around consistently for a few weeks. He is pretty brazen, and I have seen him trotting down El Soccorro Loop on three occasions. Yesterday I saw him in the middle of the afternoon. If you have small pets, you might want to keep them inside unless supervised.
A3
Floyd’s
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.
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14813 S.P.I.D. Corpus Christi, TX 78418 (Next Door to Island Wash) Salon: 361‐949‐4890 www.michellessalon.com
Island Moon
A 4
Mystery Person of The Week
Last issue’s mystery person was long time Island resident Rick Sowash. The clue given about his ability to appraise a situation stems from his occupation as a real estate appraiser. Rick’s wife Joan is the owner of the popular Aunt Sissy’s Kitchen. Give Rick a shout out if you see him at the beach doing cartwheels in his groovy short shorts.
November 8, 2012
3rd Annual Billish Park Art Walk
The winner of our first “Guess the Mystery Person Contest” was Monte Hall who was the first with the correct answer. The prize was a $25 gift certificate to Scuttlebutt’s. Last issue’s mystery person was long time Island resident Rick Sowash. The clue given about his ability to appraise a situation stems from his occupation as a real estate appraiser. Give Rick a shout out if you see him at the beach doing cartwheels in his groovy short shorts. The winner of our first “Guess the Mystery Person Contest” was Monte Hall who was the first with the correct answer. The prize was a $25 gift certificate to Scuttlebutt’s.
Johnny D’s
15605 SPID n 949-2500 Hours:
Open Tues- Sat 4:30 - 10 PM Sunday 4:30 - 9 PM Closed Monday
Happy Hour 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. $2.00 Pints
Located on Padre Island, Johnny D's offers Island dining at its best. Serving Corpus Christi with the freshest local seafood and culinary masterpieces, order the rack of lamb and you'll be calling your friends from the table! Hours of
Full Service Bar Featuring 7 Draft Beers Serving Sunday on Tap Brunch
operation are Tuesday-Saturday 4:30 to 10pm and Sunday 4:30 to 9pm
15600 SPID On the Island 949-2500
Now
11-2
Great Daily Dinner Specials
We can cook your catch! The Islands friendliest Mailbox
Susan and Gentry Powell can spend some time at the ranch now that the Back Porch is closed for the season.
This shipwreck lives on St. Jo Island and has become a habitat for all kinds of creatures
November 8, 2012
Island Moon
Election continued from A1
A Fine life
More Than My Zip Code
Webster Pell
For almost two weeks we watch her coming, watch her wreak havoc moving from the Atlantic into the Gulf, watch the spaghetti noodles turn and take aim at our coastline. We waver back and forth. Do we spend money on lumber to board up? What if they run out of supplies while we second-guess? It takes everything I’ve got just to keep up with the twoyear-old boy trying to kill himself all the time plus the two sisters in kindergarten and third
because the house is at least seventy miles inland from Galveston Bay. At 7:00 am the morning of September 13, we are in bed and my husband’s mobile phone rings - our tenants. They are still in the closet under the stairs, where they have spent the night. Wearily she says, “Don, this is Anne. The house is pretty much completely destroyed. We’re in the closet. It hasn’t stopped raining. The house is falling in around us.” One house, two mamas, two families impacted. No time to process and we’re all on the phone in our pajamas with insurance companies “What do we do?” For us, it began as a flurry of activity (meet the insurance guy, clean it up, tear it out, build it back, new tenants), and it stretched into a two-year-long epic before we were finally reimbursed for everything we lost and everything it cost. We are still living with some of the consequences of that storm and we didn’t even live in the house when it was hit. I will never watch the weather the same again. Most of the time all I need is the weather in my zip code please. And really I don’t care if it rains unless it will cancel the outdoor event I’ve worked on for six months.
Hurricane Ike grade. Do I pack? Do I not pack? Is it a foolish waste of precious time? What do I pack? When do I pack? What is the moment we reach critical mass and move? We are new at this. We learn when the Weather Channel has updates and we watch her like a boiling pot on the burner, and we can’t turn the heat down. We are calm and we are flustered. We know she will probably pass, and we wonder if she will change our life. I imagine coming back home to a disaster and starting over again. I imagine coming together with others to help. Then, I try to stop imagining. I am calm at bedrock because we will not lose what is most important. In the end, we board up, pack up and leave. We get to San Antonio and discover she will pass us by and hit Galveston and Houston. We own a home there, but we are naive and don’t worry,
County Races
Sheriff
262
District 4 total 14,732 votes cast
by Daphne Fine It is September 12, 2008 and we are hiding out at a hotel in San Antonio with our three children, waiting for Hurricane Ike to pass by. Coastal newbies, we aren’t taking any chances staying on the Island. Only our second hurricane season living in Corpus and what will be the third costliest Atlantic hurricane in history is barreling toward our home (surpassed only by Katrina in 2005 and Sandy last week).
7.5%
But last week, as I watched Sandy approaching strangers on the East coast, everything was different. I saw all those mamas in emergency mode, trying to decide what to do. Not strangers, but friends in the distance. Up before dark, breakfast, try to pack, change a diaper, find important files, morning snack, find precious pictures, find the outfit they wore home from the hospital, where are our social security cards, fix lunch, clean up a spill, how can I not have room for all of this childhood artwork....... all the while hoping it doesn’t matter because surely we’ll be right back and nothing will have changed. And for me, when the weather changed everything, everything changed. When you weather destruction, you rebuild and you are rebuilt. You become alert and prayerful. You are compassionate. You are generous. And you care about more than your zip code. “...we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received...” ~ Paul the Apostle
McIntyre
76%
11,132 votes
Andrasik
10%
1446 votes
Pell
15%
2154 votes
Island vote
At Large City Council 6977 Island votes cast (each voter could choose up to three) Mark Scott
32%
2227
David Loeb
28%
1929
A5
Jim Kaelin
80.5% 3406 votes
Valencia
19.5%
825 votes
Kaelin
54%
50,607 votes
Valencia
46%
42,797 votes
Countywide
Tax Assessor-Collector Island vote
Lillian Riojas
22%
1547
Kevin Kieschnick 79.5% 1670 votes
John Sendejar
9%
625
Garcia
Alicia Benavidez 4.8% John Garcia
20.5% 868 votes Countywide
337
4.47% 312
533 people who voted in Dist. 4 Race didn’t vote in all three At-Large races
Citywide At-Large races 125,821votes cast
Keischnick
53%
49,094 votes
Garcia
47%
44,048 votes
State Races
State Senator Dist. 20 Island vote
Scott
26%
32,077 votes
Raul Torres (R) 74.5% 3162
Loeb
20%
25,077 votes
Juan Hinojosa
Riojas
20.4% 25,668 votes
Sendejar
14%
17,937 votes
Torres
47%
43,326
Garcia
9%
11,833 votes
Hinojosa
53%
48,124
Benavidez
11%
13,229 votes
President
Mayor
Island vote
Island votes 3710 total 61%
2661 votes
Nelda Martinez 32.5% 1210 votes Josey Wales
4.5%
167 votes
Ray Madriga
l 2%
72 votes
53%
38,040 votes
Adler
37%
26,796 votes
Madrigal
6%
4,094 votes
Josey Wales
5%
3226 votes
Romney
76%
3347
Obama
22%
974
Gary Johnson Lib. 1.5%
68
Countywide
Citywide 72,156 votes cast Martinez
960
Federal Races
Votes cast citywide in At-Large races
Chris Adler
24%
Districtwide
Romney
51%
48,779
Obama
48%
45,666
Republican Straight Party vote Island vote
Bond Proposals
Republican
Island voters approved 5 of 8 proposed bond packages, voting against:
Democrat
80.5% 1568 votes 18.5% 354 votes Countywide
Prop. 2 City Hall Improvements
Republican
46%
Prop 3. Service Center Complex Improvements
Democrat
53%
Prop. 7 Public Safety improvements Citywide the totals for each of those propositions were…
Dist. 27 U.S. Rep. Island
Prop. 2 45% for, 54% against
Blake Farenthold 76%
3288
Prop. 3 55% for, 45% against
Rose Harrison
911
Districtwide
Prop. 7 52% for, 48% against
Flour Bluff School Board Contested Seat
Farenthold
49.4% 46,743
Harrison
47.6% 45,021
U.S. Senate
3422 Island votes cast Richard Pittman 49.5%
21%
Island vote
1137 votes
William Prather 50.5% 2285 votes Total of 5944 votes cast in the race Pittman
51%
3046 total votes
Prather
49% 2
898 total votes
Ted Cruz
75%
3236 votes
Paul Sadler
22%
951 votes
Countywide Cruz
51%
47,854 votes
Sadler
46%
43,428 votes
The Island Moon Newspaper T-Shirts are here! Get yours for only $19.95 plus $5.05 shipping and handling. Or you can purchase them at The Island Moon Markets held the fourth Saturday of every month. Shirts come in grey or white short sleeve T-Shirts sizes L. XL and XXL. Tank Tops come in Aqua and White in sizes Med and Large. To order by mail please send your checks made payable to J. Park to The Island Moon, 14493 S.P.I.D., PMB 220, C.C., Tx 78418.
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A 6
Island Moon
Surviving the Storm in Chesapeake Bay Editor’s note: Last issue we ran a story from Islanders Meredith and Justin, two intrepid sailors who set out from The Island about a year ago in a 26-foot sailboat bound for points east. When we left them they were anchored in Chesapeake Bay awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. By Meredith Dunning Our little hurricane hole proved worthy, and we experienced very little wind relative to the rest of the area. The most irritating thing that happened a few times was when the wind direction would change and back the hickory smoke down the chimney pipe into the cabin - cognitive dissonance between hurricane on the Chesapeake Bay and an interior like a log cabin in the Rockies. Cognitive dissonance is one of my favorite terms because as many folks say, “the older I get, the less I know,” and the more life just seems amusingly ridiculous. Annapolis experienced some flooding, and some boats broke lose, or rammed against rotting, poorly maintained pilings. No damage was sustained to these particular boats, and our friend who saved many of them, now has a galley full of sailors’ “thank you notes,” rum and cookies. Now the marina is making the boat owners’ insurances pay for the rotted pilings they failed to maintain. Again, maritime law really is silly and antiquated. You do know that if you accept a tow by taking a line from another vessel, they can claim salvage and keep your boat?
Head this boat south pretty soon We are trying to head south soon. Doing well otherwise. Excited to have our new-tous boat, and pretty much in good spirits except when the boatyard came after us threatening to
Flip continued from A1
Hague. The rescuer named the turtle Flip and brought it to Sea Life Scheveningen in Holland to receive care. There, Flip was nursed back to health and gained strength. Flip grew and is now about 15 inches long. There was extensive media interest in Flip while held in Holland. For more information on Flip’s time there, visit the SEA LIFE Scheveningen web site at http:// www.visitsealife.com/Scheveningen/en/. Sea Life in Scheveningen, Sea Life in Grapevine, and several international partners have worked together to return Flip to the Gulf of Mexico. On November 1, 2012, Flip was transported nonstop from Amsterdam to Houston on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. After arriving in the U.S., Flip was taken to a bonded area for permit clearance. All of us waiting at
bring out the US Marshals to seize our boat if we didn’t pay them cash. Yep, lovely welcome back to town a mere hour after dropping anchor. There is a little matter of a contested bill, and they have us by the short and curlies unless we choose to spend more money on a lawyer than what they claim we actually owe. I’m so mad at the *#83(&(! I’m actually considering it. We could write an article about how to protect yourself from boatyard scams, but I don’t think there’s an audience for it. Boy are we experts now. This has been an all-summer long battle with this yard, and if you’d like to do us a favor, it would be wonderful to have an opportunity to warn other boaters about this yard. We have a list of examples of professional incompetence, and they overcharged us more than double what we should have had to pay. Annapolis is lovely indeed and full of sailboats, as well as expensive boatyards, the Naval Academy, the state government, and a hefty stream of summer tourism. No beach and the summer is a real sauna, but there are quaint brick streets, a handful of restaurants, a boardwalk, a few boat tours, pirate boat for kids, and Ego Alley we have aptly renamed “Small Member Tender,” “Overcompensation Station,” and “Little Weewee Junction” for fancy vessels, mostly powerboats, to park and preen. The most amazing aspect of this place, aside from the fact that it has a serious groupie fixation for antiquated anything from England, is that Maryland is the highest educated populace in the U.S. but the margaritas taste about as exciting as Quaker oatmeal, and we’re surprised the strong Puritanical influence couldn’t keep up Prohibition.
Upon arrival at the ARK, Flip received a health assessment. Tony reports that Flip has adapted well and mastered catching blue crabs, a favorite food item of Kemp’s ridleys in this region. Flip will be released on the beach in front of the Malaquite Beach Visitor Center at Padre Island National Seashore at 11:00 am on November 9, after park staff members attach a satellite transmitter. We invite the public to attend the release, free of charge. We will also announce the date, time, and location of the release on our Hatchling Hotline at 361-949-7163, and on our Facebook page titled Padre Island NS Division of Sea Turtle Science & Recovery.
85 attend cold stunning training
On Saturday November 3, we held a training session to inform people how to help locate green turtles if cold stunning occurs this winter. It is vital to prepare for cold stunning events. During the largest event recorded in Texas during recent years, more than 1,600 green turtles were found cold stunned, in February 2011. Volunteers and citizens play a vital role in finding and rescuing cold stunned sea turtles in our area. And, Flip is an example of a cold stunned sea turtle that Cold-stunned turtle rescue training session was saved thanks to the Houston airport were relieved to see that the help of a citizen in Europe. Flip was active and feisty after the long journey. We thank the Seashore Learning Center for The turtle was moved from the small transport allowing us to use their gymnasium at 15801 box used for the flight to a larger transport tub that was loaded into a vehicle. Flip was then South Padre Island Drive for this training. The driven to south Texas by a team of people from training was attended by 85 people, including Sea Life, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish people that will volunteer with the Padre Island National Seashore Sea Turtle Program, and the and Wildlife Service. general public. Flip was transported to the ARK in Port In March 2013, we will hold other training Aransas to have time to acclimate to the climate sessions to help prepare volunteers and others and the day/night light cycle in Texas before to aid with our sea turtle nest detection and being released into the Gulf. The ARK was protection efforts that will begin in April 2013. the ideal location for this. ARK Director Tony In a few weeks we will provide the dates, times, Amos has rehabilitated hundreds of Kemp’s and locations for nesting training. We are still ridleys over the years, including another working out some details. If you have questions juvenile Kemp’s ridley that was repatriated to about our volunteer program, please call 361the Gulf after stranding in Europe. This earlier 949-8173, ext. 266 or send us an e-mail at pais_ turtle had stranded in Ireland during the 1990s. seaturtlevolunteer@nps.gov.
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November 8, 2012
Stuff I Heard on the Island
by Dale Rankin By Dale Rankin
The election season is finally over and I for one am happy to see it go. It seems that otherwise rational people go a little crazy during the run up to a vote and this one was particularly cantankerous because we got the races for President and Mayor on the same ballot. It still seems incongruous to me to be talking about foreign policy and potholes in the same conversation. The last time we had a city election it was in the spring and 24,000 people voted, this time in the fall cycle 72,000 voted in city races and in talking to some poll workers many of the people who came through the door at the polls weren’t aware there was a city election on the ballot until they got there. 92,000 locals voted in the Presidential race at the top of the ballot but somewhere between there and city elections at the bottom, 20,000 voters had their eyes roll back in their heads and they just decided to call it quits and voted with their feet. It still seems to be a haphazard way to pick city leaders to me, but that’s what we got.
A few small problems Everything went smoothly for the most part. About half of Islanders now vote early so that takes some of the sting out of Election Day, but there was still a fairly long line outside both Island polling stations late Tuesday as procrastinators paid the price of waiting. Early in the day at the Presbyterian Church location where one of the Island precincts votes things got off to a rocky start when the voting machines broke down. “Those things are like Christmas lights,” Steve said. “If one doesn’t work none of them work.” The problem was that one of the plugs was a little bent and wouldn’t plug into the machine properly. But fortunately Steve was on the job and in true can-do American voting day style broke out the paper ballots for a couple of hours until new machines could be brought in and things went fine from there. It did make for a bit of a lengthy vote counting process but by about 9:15 Tuesday night all the local races were called and except for some very minor problems with mail and absentee ballots everything went smoothly.
Landmark vote Aside from the change of timing this election also marked another landmark for we Islanders; first Islander Colleen McIntyre went and got herself elected to the City Council. That may not seem like such a big deal on the surface but it marks the first time that we’ve had an Islander elected to that august body ever and it is the culmination of four years of hard work and organization for us. Five years ago we never saw office seekers out here because we always split our vote right down the middle and so
anyone running at the city level simply ignored us and worried about getting votes in the rest of town if they were running At-Large and in the remainder of District 4 if they were running there. In the 2007 race – if memory serves – we ended up with two Islanders running against each other and not surprisingly a non-Islander ended up winning the seat. At that point we wised up and formed the Island United Political Action Committee and in the next round of elections all the candidates showed up to court Island votes and it has pretty much continued that way since. We began voting as a block and in the last two rounds of city voting Islanders turned out in numbers much higher than the rest of the city and lo and behold we started to get some things done. The Island Strategic Action Committee was formed to channel our voice to City Council and things were looking up. With 24,000 people voting in each spring city election our 4000plus votes became deciders even in not-so-close races. But alas, as is the case with many good things this came to an end this time out when the city races were moved to the November cycle and our split of the total vote was cut from 4000 of 24,000 to 4000 of 72,000. Turns out those folks OTB can change the rules faster than we can multiply. But so it goes.
All over now Now after what seems like one of the most polarizing election cycles I can remember maybe things can settle back to some degree of civility and to channel the words of that great American ethicist Rodney King, maybe we can all just get along. My old friend Richard Tillery who for years operated a news service in our nation’s capitol and who keeps a keen eye on such things said this year’s election cycle was the meanest he has seen since the primary between Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy way back in 1980. “Everybody in D.C. just seems to stand on opposite sides of the room and throw rocks at each other,” he said. “If you are in the middle you better have a helmet.” In that vein he sent along this verse, which I share with you here: Things fall apart; the center cannot hold Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. W.B. Yeats “The Second Coming” Happy Post Election Day ya’ll.
Port A Happenings New Fall Pool schedule A new schedule has been set for the Port Aransas Community Park Pool, located at 700 Clark Pkwy, off Ross Avenue. The pool is now closed on Sundays and Mondays. Pool is heated and covered at night. All times are weather permitting – call 7492416 if weather is questionable. Open Swim: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday … 1 to 2 p.m., Friday … 1 to 4 p.m., and Saturday … 1 to 5 p.m. Lap Swim (lap swim only): Saturday … 12 noon to 1 p.m., (shared time): Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday … 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday … 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday … 1 to 5 p.m. Water exercise: Tuesday through Friday … 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and noon. The exercise classes cost $1.50. Deep Water Aerobics classes also cost $1.50 and are held at 1 p.m., Tuesday through Fridays. Regular pool fees apply: under 2 years of age are free, 2-18 years of age are $1, 19-59 years of age are $2, 60 and older are $1.
Yoga on the beach Free instruction by Nancy Myers will be held at 8 a.m., on Saturday, Nov. 10. Bring a blanket or mat suitable for use on the beach and join others for the class. Meet at Horace Caldwell Pier at the end of Beach Street. The yoga teaching is held the second Saturday of each month courtesy of the City of Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department.
ARC babysitting class Space is still available to take a certification class, to get certified and start working! Parks and Recreation Department will hold another babysitting class for kids ages 11 and older, on Saturday, Nov. 10. From 9am to 5pm, with a break for lunch [bring one], it will be in the Girl Scout Hut, 739 W Ave. A. The cost is $15. Completion of the class covering all aspects will earn them certification by American Red Cross. The class will be taught by Bonney Maurer. Call Parks and Recreation Department Community Program Coordinator Pam Greene 749-4158, or e-mail her at pamg@cityofportaransas.org for more information.
Peddling in the Preserve The weather is right to hop on your bike and take a ride, so join in for Peddling in the Preserve. The ride is held every other Monday, with the next set for Nov. 12. Meet at the pavilion in the Port Aransas Nature Preserve at Charlie’s Pasture, at the end of Port Street. It will start at 10 a.m., and is open to everyone. It is not a race, more of a leisure ride, getting exercise in the natural setting. The free activity is provided by the Parks and Recreation Department.
Lab tour You can hear about shrimp farming, food development for shrimp, sea urchin research
and starfish research at the Texas A&M AgriLife Mariculture lab. This free tour will be on Friday, Nov. 16, at 2 pm. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. Contact Pam at pamg@cityofportaransas.org or 749-4158 to reserve space. Those who can go will meet in the Civic Center parking lot at 1:50 pm, to carpool to the facility on Port Street. This working lab develops and commercializes shrimp and sea urchin farming industries for Texas and the US; develops sea urchin feed and production technology for biomedical and ecotoxicological research; develops starfish feed and production for regeneration and stem cell production; and evaluates fishery processing, biofuel/biodiesel, and grain crops as nutritional replacements in shrimp feeds. This tour is part of the H.E.L.P series by the Parks and Recreation Department on health, ecology, lifestyle and preparation.
America Recycles Day Swap & Collection Another item has been added to the list of things to recycle on this day that you can swap, donate, recycle or come get something you need! Rechargeable batteries also will be accepted. This includes Ni-MH and Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries from cordless power tools, digital cameras, cordless phones and twoway radios. It also includes SSLA/Pb batteries from mobility scooters, emergency exit lights, emergency devices, security systems and UPS back-ups. Li-Ion batteries from cell phones, laptops, cordless power tools and two-way radios also will be accepted, as well as NiZn batteries from digital cameras, wireless keyboards and other small electronics. Keep Port Aransas Beautiful and the City of Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department are partnering to celebrate America Recycles Day. The event, Saturday, Nov. 17, will feature E-Recycling, Plant & Book Swap, Eye Glass and Cell Phone Recycling. It is FREE to the public and will be from 9am – noon in the Roberts Point Park Pavilion. You can recycle unwanted computers, computer accessories, monitors, game consoles, printers, scanners, fax machines, small electronics. All working donations will be set aside for public to retrieve until the event is over. Not accepting TVs or microwaves. Bring plants, trees, cuttings, rootings, seeds and books to share! If you don’t have any extra, come see what is there you need! Come take plant life to beautify the area even if you don‛t have anything to swap! We will accept eye glasses to be given to the Lion’s Club. Cell phone will be taken to be re-used. Ink cartridges will be accepted for recycling along with bottle corks to be recycled to fund cancer research. America Recycles Day is program of Keep America Beautiful. For more information, visit www.americarecyclesday.org.
November 8, 2012
Island Moon
History continued from A1 $20 million of Spanish silver Soon after the shipwrecks the Spanish government sent six ships with 11 free divers to the site and removed the silver and gold from the San Esteban and the Espiritu Santo. But the cargo from the third ship, the Santa Maria de Yciar was for some reason left behind. In the early 1960s Frenchy had requested copies of the archives from the government of Spain which indicated 51,300 pounds of silver from the Santa Maria de Yciar was still unaccounted for. He estimated the unaccounted for silver alone would be worth about $4 million at market value, but with the bullion with the seal of the King of Spain would be worth around $20 million.
team were put on display at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science & History, where more than a million visitors passed through to view them. How much of the treasure may have washed ashore and been picked up by tourists over the years is unknown. The case remained in litigation until 1984, when a settlement was reached, awarding the salvage firm $313,000 while Texas kept the artifacts.
Oldest shipwrecks in the U.S. But the tale of Island treasure set in motion by a tip from Louis Rawalt and acted on by Frenchy led in 1969 to the passing of the Texas Antiquities Code which prohibits any excavation of shipwrecks that occurred before 1900. Anything that was sunk after the turn of the century is open to salvagers but the state still keeps a wary eye on any operations.
The 1554 wrecks on Padre Island are the oldest shipwrecks ever found in the US. The site where the Santa Maria de Yciar went down is about 75 miles due south of the JFK Causeway and the Mansfield Channel was the site of a dredging operation within the last few years. How much of her silver, gold, and other items – including cannons – may The photo of the Nicaragua that led Frenchy to the still be found there is unknown. The sites remain on of the state’s most wreck sites significant underwater archaeological The location of these historic ships had been sites but the location of the silver from the Santa lost to time until the late 1950s when a dredge Maria de Yciar remains a mystery – at least for working on the Mansfield Channel passed over now – 458 years after it washed up on the shores the Santa Maria de Yciar, destroying it. Only of Padre Island. the anchor and a few other items from the ship were ever recovered. Word of the discovery of the Santa Maria de Yciar’s location soon spread among treasure hunters and soon the Espritu Santo was found about three miles further north and the San Esteban another two-and-a-half miles north of that. But in spite of the finds no one had ever really explored the wreck sites and collection of the artifacts had been haphazard. There was still a lot of loot down there.
A tip starts the search All of this was known to Louis Rawalt who was one of the few people who had inhabited The Island over the years and in 1966 Rawalt told his friend Frenchy of the location. Frenchy later told reporters that his first attempts at finding the sites were unsuccessful. “I was looking right along the beach,” he told and interviewer. “Then I saw an old picture that showed some old cars next to the wreck of the Nicaragua and it was right on the beach. The Nicaragua was by then 100 feet offshore. I realized the beach had moved about 100 feet in the past few decades.” At that point Frenchy flew overhead in an airplane and sighted a dark spot in the water and he and two friends rented a boat and scuba gear and returned to the site. Diving in about 20 feet of water, they found the both the Espiritu Santo and the San Esteban. “I found (the ships), and in 1966 went diving on the sites of two of the wrecks,” Frenchy told the Houston Chronicle some years later. “At the time we didn’t know the identity or whereabouts of the third one. Then a professional salvage team of divers from Indiana heard about my activity and offered me money to show them around. I refused, but they went on anyway, and in 1967 found the two wrecks and were looking for the third one.” The Indiana team of divers from a company called Platoro Inc. excavated the site of the Espritu Santo for several weeks before the Texas Legislature and several Texas officials stopped the activity by making it illegal. Frenchy told the Chronicle that some of the loot was carried out by airplane and the state wound up getting most of it back. The Texas Antiquities Committee conducted scientific excavation and recovery of the San Esteban site in 1972 and recovered more than 25,000 pounds of encrusted artifacts, which, along with many of the items found by Frenchy and that salvage
Art Center cont. from A1 building. He credited building owner Ronnie Ward of San Antonio with being “an ideal landlord.” Art Center Executive Director Mary Rose said the current location has served the Art Center well over the years, but the facility lacks needed space. “A larger building will allow us to offer more exhibit space for our artists, more classroom space for our programs and more parking spaces for our visitors,” she said. Once the purchase of the Sportsman’s Lodge property is finalized, Winship said most of the cottages – the first of which was built in 1949 – and other structures on the property will be torn down and replaced with the new 4,000-squarefoot Art Center. Three cottages on the back side of the property will remain and converted to a pottery barn and storage buildings. The new structure will include more exhibit space for artwork, room for more rotating exhibits and additional classroom space. Parking also will be greatly expanded. Rose said most of the artists having their work on display at the Art Center are from the Coastal Bend area. There are some displays from artists living elsewhere in Texas and some from Winter Texans. Winship said the effort to build a larger facility has been a team effort. “The board of directors and our fund-raising committee have worked hard to make this a reality,” he said. “We still have work to do, but the project is coming together so the Center will be able to meet the needs of the community for years to come.” The Art Center, which formed in 1996, has about 400 members, including 250 artist members, Rose said. The next big event will be December’s First Friday Reception and Christmas party. The event will be 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 9. “This will be our student art show,” Rose said, “and it will feature the work of young artists from Port Aransas, Flour Bluff and Seashore Academy. “The show will provide an excellent opportunity for some good food, fun, fellowship and shopping.”
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Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald
Editor’s note: The Edmund Fitzgerald sank 37 years ago this week. By Sheryl Wegmann Perry N. Padre Island and Whitefish Point, Michigan Many of my Island friends wonder why I’m so eager to depart our tropical paradise for summers in Upper Michigan on the shores of Lake Superior. Well, I seem to have inherited this trait from my father. My great grandparents settled in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula at Whitefish Point on the shore of Lake Superior in the mid-1800’s. My father spent summers at the ancestral home and fell in
A7
conditions. Winds and seas continued to rise throughout the day. Mid-afternoon, Captain McSorley reported to Captain Cooper that his vessel “was rolling some.” The Anderson could see the Fitzgerald and she was about 17 miles ahead and winds were at 5 knots. As the afternoon wore on, the northwest winds swelled to a blistering 42 knots and a heavy snow began to fall. The Anderson lost sight of the Fitzgerald. The Edmund Fitzgerald was never seen again. At 3:30pm, Captain McSorley called Captain Cooper and reported that his ship had a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged and he had a bad list. McSorley said the Fitz was slowing down so the Anderson could catch up and keep track of her. The Fitz was 16 miles ahead at this time.
An epic storm
love with the rugged wilderness. When he was a young man, he joined the Army Air Corps the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed becoming a B-17 pilot. On his 12th bombing mission over Germany, his plane was shot down. He and his crew bailed out over the German farmland where they were captured and imprisoned in Stalagluft I. For 18 long, cold, hungry, miserable months, the dream that kept him going was that someday he would return to Whitefish Point. Well, the war ended, Dad came home, and in 1957 built a little cabin on Whitefish Bay where the family could spend summer vacations. I grew up and moved away from Michigan, but I always returned to Whitefish Bay for summer vacations. In the mid-90’s I was fortunate enough to purchase the lot to the north of the cabin and my sister acquired the lot to the south. We have built summer homes on either side of the cabin. The folks have passed away and our brother inherited the cabin. Today we have a family compound where our kids, grandkids, friends and family come to visit. The Whitefish Point area is known as the graveyard of the Great Lakes. After devastating storms on the big lake, my great grandparents recovered bodies of shipwreck victims as they washed ashore and buried them in unnamed graves in the family cemetery.
When the Gales of November come early November 10th is the anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald off Whitefish Point. In 1975 the Fitz was a majestic 729 foot long ore carrier—the queen of the inland seas. She sank in a gale of epic proportions while crossing Lake Superior.
Minutes later, the Anderson received an emergency broadcast from the Coast Guard: All ships on Lake Superior were directed to find safe anchorage. The locks at Sault Ste. Marie had been closed with 90 miles per hour gusts sweeping water over the lock gates. Even the Mighty Mackinac Bridge was forced to close down in 85 mph winds. They also received word from a ship in the vicinity of Whitefish Point that the radio beacon and lighthouse light were out. Lake Superior is 400 miles across from east to west and 160 miles across from north to south. The great ore carriers crossing Superior seek the beacon atop the lighthouse at Whitefish Point at the southern end of the big lake. Once they round the point, they are in the sheltered waters of Whitefish Bay. At 4:10pm, the Fitz radioed the Anderson reporting both her radars were out. She was in need of navigational help and the Anderson agreed to provide it. At this time, the Fitz was 14 miles ahead and the Anderson was clocking 58 knot winds--the highest winds thus far. An hour later, McSorley radioed the Anderson again asking for a position and was told Whitefish Point was 35 miles away. At 6 pm, the Anderson contacted the Fitz and gave her their current position. Winds were at a constant 60 knots and waves were crashing over the ship at record 30 feet in height. McSorley, a veteran of 44 years on the Great Lakes, admitted to Cooper that he’d never seen anything like this before. At 7 pm, the Anderson contacted the Fitz and reported her position as 10 miles ahead of the Anderson. When asked how they were doing, McSorley replied, “We are holding our own.” Those were the last words ever heard from the Edmund Fitzgerald. It happened without warning and without mercy. The big steel ship, burdened beyond buoyancy by water in her belly and water on her back, pitched forward into the trough of Lake
A storm, generated over the Oklahoma/ Texas panhandle on November 8, took shape and proceeded northward. It gathered forces rapidly as it roared to the north and east over the Midwest. Early on the morning of November 9, 1975, the Fitz was docked peacefully at the dock in Superior, Wisconsin, awaiting a routine trip to Detroit, Michigan. Captain McSorley and his crew of 28 were looking forward to this last voyage of the season as the Fitz was loaded with 26,116 tons of taconite pellets and was fueled for Photo of the writer taken at the Soo Locks as the voyage. It was a beautiful, sunny, the Arthur M. Anderson locks through on her warm afternoon as they steamed out of port that afternoon. About two northbound journey. hours later, the Fitz caught sight of the Arthur M. Anderson also carrying a cargo Superior and never recovered. The cargo of of taconite downbound for Gary, Indiana. The taconite in her hatches helped to pull her down. Anderson was separated from the Fitzgerald Her stern landed upside down. Her bow came by approximately 15 miles as the two steamers to rest on its keel. On the surface where the ship preceded eastward out into Lake Superior along once had been was pitch black with hurricanesimilar routes. force winds and mountainous waves. In the early hours of November 10, gale The snow stopped abruptly and the Anderson warnings were issued for Lake Superior and should have been able to see the Fitz. She was Captain Cooper of the Anderson radioed nowhere to be seen. Captain Cooper felt a Captain McSorley of the Fitz to discuss the deepening sense of alarm and tried to reach the threatening weather. Both captains agreed Fitz by radio. The radio remained silent. He to take the longer, safer northern route which then called the Coast Guard at Sault Ste. Marie. was popular in the fall because it offered more For three days, the Coast Guard conducted an protection from prevailing northerly gales traveling in the lee of the Canadian shore. The extensive search. On November 13, 1975, the south route was much shorter, but was more official search for survivors was called off. exposed and dangerous in a gale. The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Both vessels proceeded along smoothly for about six hours following similar courses. Both Gumee………. Superior they said never gives vessels began to run into worsening weather up her dead when the gales of November come early. (1976 ballad, Gordon Lightfoot)
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Island Moon
Park continued from A1 building, adding a prep/catering kitchen, and configuring the building so that the three current pods which make up the building can be used simultaneously by different groups for different activities. $10,000 has been committed for the lighting of the under side of Bob Hall Pier, and other $40,000 will be used to hire Naismith Engineering to draw up a Master Plan for the entire area around the county park which will include restrooms and a community center for meetings, as well as an outdoor amphitheatre. The remainder of the $920,000, about $500,000, will be used to fund the construction of those amenities. “We are committed to these projects and we are not waiting to move forward,” said board Chairman Charlie Zahn. “We have the money and we are putting this plan into action.” An expanded RV park at the site is also part of the Master Plan. The current 54 RV sites will expand to add another 150. The current 54 sites will remain open during new construction and estimates by the staff are that the new sites amenities will pay back the investment within two years after opening.
In Port Aransas The approved expenditures also include $330,000 in improvements at I.B. Magee Park in Port Aransas. Those projects include $10,000 in improvements to the building on Horace Caldwell Pier, which call for air conditioning of the building, and another $10,000 for lighting the underside of the pier structure. There will also be $300,000 in improvements to the campground at the park and a restroom near the south jetty.
November 8, 2012
Dee-Scoveries As part of the campground improvements, wooden bollards will be extended north from the current line of bollards to the south jetty making it a pedestrian-only area.
Funding The park board has been gathering funds for the projects for several years; $727,000 of the money was recently reimbursed through grants from the Coastal Impact Assistance Program; another $327,000 comes from Nueces County Road District No. 4; $300,000 is being transferred from the department’s fund balance; and another $79,000 is from the Regional Transportation Authority. In addition $600,000 from a grant from the Coastal Impact Assistance Program will be spent on the Packery Channel nature preserve located along Packery Channel. Phase I of that work saw the installation of walkways just over one year ago. The new work will include additional walkways, irrigation, an educational kiosk, and butterfly and bird gardens. Another $250,000 in grant money will be spent at PJ’s Marina, located on State Highway 361 between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. Plans there include a new pier and upgraded boat ramp and the park board is currently looking for a private partner for that project.
Proofreading
Editor’s note; Last time we read right over a typo on the front page that we didn’t catch until the paper was already at the printer. To make us feel better – we think – reader Robert Nash sent us this list of gaffs from papers around the country. We have to admit we kind of wish we had thought of a few of these ourselves.
Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over Miners Refuse to Work after Death Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant War Dims Hope for Peace If Strike Isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft Kids Make Nutritious Snacks Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead Editor’s note: The Murdoch newspaper in San Antonio once ran a similar headline. When an old Indian graveyard was found in Atascosa County the headline read: “300 Indians found dead in Atascosa.” They had to fire up the press to print an additional 12,000 copies.
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. 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 361-888-4141 but they do not have staff to answer phones so please leave a message.
Sun - Sat 11am - 10pm
Scoopy’s Veranda Sun - 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
Taking Care of Business by Devorah Fox You’re in Port Aransas. You’re on Island Time. Life is good. However, now and again the need arises to make a living, get the job done. Not to worry. The Port Aransas Business Center is here to help. Owned by Scott and Andrea Ford, this compact spot is chock full of useful and essential business goods and services, all conveniently located right here in Port A. Have a package to ship? The Business Center is an authorized shipping center for UPS and FedEx. If you don’t have quite the right box for your package, you can choose from many container sizes and shapes. Need packing tape or bubble wrap? Buy the supplies for preparing your package or have the Center prepare the package for you. The Business Center can even pack and ship perishables, including fish. Perishables travel by next-day or second day air. The Business Center provides complete, easy-tofollow instructions for preparing the fish or perishable package for shipping. Have to send or receive a fax or make a copy? You can do that at the Business Center. The Center offers WiFi and notary services. Have a photo or document that you’d like to email to someone, but you need it scanned? The Business Center can do that and either email it for you or give you the electronic file. Ran out of paper or ink? The Business Center has lined tablets, reams of copy paper, ink jet cartridges in various makes and models. Maybe you need envelopes, sticky notes, pens, tape or staples. They have all the usual office supplies and some not so usual ones as well. Despite all my high tech gadgets and software, I found myself in need of an old-fashioned receipt book for a book signing event, and I needed it in a hurry. The Business Center had just the thing. Want an official address from which to send your mail, or a secure place at which to receive it? Take advantage of the Business Center’s mail box services where you can receive USPS, FedEx and UPS shipments that might not be deliverable to a standard P. O. Box address because the sender requires a street address. Many pack-and-mail type operations offer similar services, but the Business Center offers even more. They do quite a bit of printing, from restaurant menus to condominium contracts, as well as binding and laminating. The Center can assist with advertising and promotional efforts. They can help with flyers, business cards, letterhead, invoices and other personalized items. Need logo tee-shirts, coffee cups, Koozies, tote bags or other advertising specialties? They can help with that too, as well as full color banners, window “clings,” decals and yard signs. Don’t even have a logo or artwork for your project? You can get graphic design help at the Business Center as well. Sample tee-shirts hanging in the store offer some examples of owner Andrea Scott’s award-winning design work. There’s even some non-business related items available. Check out the calendars, post cards and other Island gifts and souvenirs. “Leaning Tree” greeting cards and gifts are very popular and the Business Center has a wide selection. There’s also “flipflop”-themed office supplies and tropical stationary so that even at work, you can stay in Island mode. Be sure to check out the exclusive “Livin’ the Life” tee-shirt. The illustration portraying all the fun things to do in Port A was dreamed up by Scott and Andrea’s young son, and Andrea did the artwork. Started by Elleece Calvert, The Business Center has been a valuable Port Aransas resource since about 1993. She sold it to Pam Schmidt, who then sold it to Christine Aronson. Scott and Andrea Ford have operated the Business Center since 2008 when they moved from Austin. An operations manager for a large corporation, Scott had been looking for something different to do. He had been coming to Port Aransas for years on vacation and to fish. As a young man, he always thought that he’d like to own a small business in a resort town.
Andrea understands that in a small city like Port Aransas, customers need a business center to be quite a bit more than just the sum of its parts. “People see this as a community resource,” she says. Many of the Business Center’s customers are visitors to Port Aransas and didn’t arrive with a trailer full of technology and telecom devices. So Scott and Andrea go somewhat above and beyond what’s expected of a business center. Andrea adds with affection that some of their customers regard her as their personal secretary. “Can you cut this for me, dear?” she’ll be asked. Andrea’s been known to refill pens, sharpen pencils and even give instruction in how to send an email. In the small city of Port Aransas, the Business Center’s reputation for giving friendly helpful service is passed by word of mouth. One of their best spokespersons is their son who is in elementary school. That results in the Business Center doing a lot of school-related print and publicity projects. There’s also a bit of a mystery at the Business Center. Apparently at one point the Center provided a voicemail answering service. (Calls to mind comedian Lily Tomlin’s character Ernestine!) Although not in operation, the legacy equipment is still mounted on the wall. Neither Scott nor Andrea knows anything about the service or when it was offered (but some savvy reader of The Island Moon probably does!) For more information about the Port Aransas Business Center, contact Scott or Andrea. Send an email to businesscenter1@centurytel.net, call 361-749-6291, fax 361-749-5909 or just come by Suite 1 at 600 Cut Off Road, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. I’ll see you there. —http://devorahfox.com
November 8, 2012
Real Estate Roundup
Island Moon
Elections
A9
News From Your By Maybeth Christensen
By Mary Lou White I have waited to write this article until the election has passed. By the time this goes to press, the Presidential question should be decided. Regardless of your political persuasion, it is a fact that a new tax will take effect on 1 January 2013. To research this article, I used the National Association of Realtors website. I assumed that their information would be about the best resource for a tax that involves real estate. Two bills are involved. They are HR 3590 “The
accountant before making a decision to sell any of your “investment” assets.
Medicaid Changes Coming As Well
As part of our real estate license renewal, we must attend Continuing Education Classses. Recently, I participated in a CE class that dealt with new laws regarding Medicaid. Medicaid has always been administered through State agencies. However, apparently, the states have been mandated to try and re-coup as much money as possible from their Medicaid claims that have been paid out. On a personal let me say that I cared for my Our country has always found a way note, mother, in my home, for fourteen to meet the challenges and hardships months, before she passed away. I know how hard the decisions on in an honest and creative way. elder care can be. However, if you or your parents are thinking of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”and applying for Medicaid, PLEASE consult an HR 4872 “The Reconciliation Act of 2010”. HR attorney who is familiar with the new laws that 3590 passed in the Senate 24 December 2009, are being passed in each state, to stem the tide passed in the House on 21 March 2010 and was of Medicaid spending. For many people, their signed by President Obama on 23 March 2010. home represents the major asset in their estate. HR 4872 was approved in both the House and Previously, the family home was protected, but the Senate on 25 March 2010 and was signed by that may no longer be the case. President Obama on 30 March 2010. The intent No Free Lunch is to generate an estimated $210 Billion to help fund the Health Care and Medicare overhaul Our country has faced several difficult years plans. According to the Office of Management and we are still suffering on many levels. and Budget, the government spent $386 Billion However, when faced with the staggering on Medicare and $201 Billion on Medicaid numbers being predicted over the next thirty in Fiscal Year 2008. The projected costs for years, for the care of our aging population, it FY2010 are: $452 Billion and $290 Billion, can leave a person feeling hopeless. Regardless respectively. The costs for reform will be shared of the outcome this week, I have complete faith by changes to current health care programs and in the American people; the millions of hard the collection of new revenues. That is where working and dedicated people, like the ones I the new taxes will be applied. This is a new meet everyday. Our country has always found Medicare Tax and proceeds wil be allocated to a way to meet the challenges and hardships in shoring up the Medicare fund. an honest and creative way. The purpose of this article is to remember…..Being informed is a The 3.8% Tax good thing. The multi-page document I read, started with this statement,”It’s a complicated tax, so you (real estate agents) won’t be able to predict how it will affect every buyer and seller”. The facts are: It applies to Individual tax payers with adjusted gross income(AGI) over $200,000. 3 Multi Family Units For Sale From Couples filing a Joint return will be taxed above $385,000 to $2,500,000 $250,000(AGI). These are considered “High Income” taxpayers. However, there is not a 10 Commercial Properties For Sale provision for these thresholds to be indexed for From $150,000 to $4,557,465 inflation. Therefore, over time more individuals 167 Lots and Land For Sale may fall into this category and become subject to this tax. The tax applies to “unearned” net 60 Parcels on a canal or water From investment income. This means income that $98,900 to $1,850,250 is derived from investing your “capital”. To 107 Parcels not on the water From be specific, that includes interest, dividends, $17,500 to $975,000 rents(less expenses) and capital gains (less capital losses). The 3.8% tax applies to the 230 Island Residences For Sale LESSER of either the Investment Income 115 Attached Homes For Sale From amount OR the excess over the AGI limits. $59,000 to $529,000 For a vast number of Americans this tax will 66 Detached Homes on the water not apply to them. People will still have their From $232,900 to $2,200,000 exemption on the sale of their personal home ($250,000/$500,000) and any NET capital gains 49 Detached Homes not on the water will only be taxable in the year of sale. Even From $149,900 to $389,000 so, the 3.8% will not come into play UNLESS 6 Island Lots were Closed in the AGI is over the allowable limits. One of October 2012 the main factors will be to determine what part of your income is “earned”(wages, salaries, 30 Island Residences were Closed in commissions, or compensation from your October 2012 “labor”) and what part is “ investment”. For the 1 Multi-Family Unit was Closed in self-employed who manage their investments as October 2012 the sole source of their income…it can be much more complicated. If all your annual income is from “earned” sources and you are still over the AGI limits, then a new tax of 0.9% will be applied to the excess over $200,000/$250,000 AGI. When you sell your second home or vacation home, the rental status will determine how that income is handled. The new statutes provide no guidance on whether the new tax can be deferred in a like-kind exchange. The best advice at this point would be to talk to your
The elections are over and whether your candidate won or lost, life goes on and all those yard signs should be taken down. Seashore Middle School offered all the candidates the assistance of taking them down and bringing them to the school for the candidates to pick them up at one location. The students were out bright and early Wednesday morning picking them up. Thank you to all who were involved in the project!
With the passage of Proposition 4 of the bond election, we should see an improved Billish Park. The bond package included funds to install a new irrigation system and new turf. I’m told the turf is supposed to “choke out” the stickerburrs! Time will tell, but it sure would be nice to be able to walk on grass and not have your shoes covered in stickerburrs. We had a bit of excitement around the Cartegena boat ramp after last Saturday’s storm. A boat sunk and it took some very hard work by SeaTow to get it back up and out of the area.
The Third Annual Island Art Walk was a huge success. Over 70 vendors lined the sidewalk at Billish Park. The event has grown each year and plans are under way for the Fourth Annual.
Now it’s time to start working on decorating our houses for the LaPosada house decorating contest. There are awards for best decorated house street side and canal side. Judging is done the Monday and Tuesday of the first week of December.
The Rotary Rubber Duck Race held at the same was also a very successful fund raiser for the Rotary. They are also planning for the event next year to be held in conjunction with the Art Walk.
Island Real Estate Ticker
Mary Ann McShane, Realtor, GRI, SRES e-mail: malm335@sbcglobal.net Corpus Christi Realty Group Considering a move to the Island? Let me help you find your piece of Paradise - waterfront or interior homes, condos, townhouses, lots Considering selling your Island Property? 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
Island Office (361) 215-8629 Get the attention you deserve.
Quiet, many views of water and birds! 14981 Canadian Mist $315,000
361-332-1021
ason’s Greetings Happy Holidays On The Island
Call 361-949-7281
Mary Melick Real Estate
Beach House Realty
High Quality Work at Competitive Pricing!
27 Years Experience ● Commercial & Residential Member
Selling a home? Want results?
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
On Padre Island Duane Ebert 361-658-2459 | 361-949-0661 decksanddocksnorthpadre.com Member Padre Island Business Association
Padre Island Business Assoc.
Remodeling and More... Cell: (361) 658-2459 Bus: (361) 949-0661
Experience l Commercial & Residential
Trusted Agents...with the Right Tools...For Smarter Decisions...
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
I’m not the kind of realtor who will just stick a sign in your yard and hope for the best. I know how to market your property to get it in front of the right buyers and with the experience, expertise and state-of-the-art technology Coldwell Banker offers I’m sure we can get the most out of your property. Contact Jeremy Clayton at: Phone 361-960-7873 or 361-949-7077 jeremy.clayton@coldwellbanker.com
Season’ Jeremy Clayton Realtor
Island Moon
A 10
November 8, 2012
COLDWELL BANKER ISLAND, REALTORS 14945 S. Padre Island Dr., Corpus Chris�, TX 78418
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. $499,900.
(361) 949‐7077 or (800) 580‐7077 www.cbir.com
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.
Sale Pending!
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!
Entire Inventory
SOLD
I Need New Listings to
SELL
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.
Call Cindy Molnar 549-5557
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.
Beautiful waterfront lot on very wide canal w/open views. Short distance to IC Waterway. 15341 Bowsprit Ct. $157,500. Call Ana 361-443-7771.
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 $284,000 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.
Open Sunday Nov 11th 2‐5
Open Sunday Nov 11th 2‐5
Sale Pending!
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.
Open Sunday Nov 11th 2‐5
Sale Pending!
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.
Sale Pending!
Great interior lot home. Exterior freshly painted. 3-2-2. Split bedroom. Open airy floor plan. Covered patio. Grass backyard with sprinkler system. Call Cheryl.
18000+sq.ft. feet int. lot in Coquina Bay. Two story with 4 bdrms-2207 sq. feet- $209,000. Call Dorothy @ 563-8486.
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 CollecƟons of Rents CoordinaƟng Repairs & Maintenance Professional Itemized Monthly Statements MarkeƟng/AdverƟsing
Sale Pending!
Looking for Long Term Rental Property? Below are some of our available rentals:
13850 Longboat 3/2/2 $1600
Portono #705 2/2 $1800 furnished
Leeward Isles #5204 2/2 $1200
13625 Catamaran 3/3/1 $1800
13913 Sea Anchor 3/2/2 $1400
3834 Priscilla 4/3/2 $2500
Lakeshore Villas #24 2/2 $1150
15702 Finistere 3/2/2 $1350
13765 Eaglesnest 3/2/2 $2300 pool
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.
Waterfront Lots for Sale!! Bounty $109,900 Palo Seco $154,900 San Felipe $200,000 Mystic Harbor one bedroom corner unit on water. Canal access. Tropical pool. Hot tub. Security entrance. Sold furnished. Call Cheryl 563-0444.
3918 Gulfton 3/2/2 $124,900. 1369 sq.ft. well maintained house with a nice location. New countertops & backsplash. Call Charlie 443-2499 or Jeremy 960-7873.
Cuttysark $189,000 For More Info Call: Terry Cox 549-7703
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