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The Island Newspaper since 1996 Island Area News ● Events ● Entertainment
November 1, 2012
Photo by Miles Merwin
The Island where the Bars Stay Open an Extra Hour One Night a Year- Don’t forget to Set Your Clocks Back Saturday Next Publication Date: 11/8/2012 Year 15, Issue 447
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com
Out in California 80,000 tons of walnuts have gone missing, in Russia a ship with nine crew members and 700 tons of gold ore has disappeared, and in Moscow police discovered a brothel on the premises of President Vladimir Putin’s spiritual advisor. Here on The Island our walnuts come in small batches from HEB, we don’t have any ore – gold or otherwise, and, well, we’ll leave that last one alone; Mr. Putin is not someone whose fecal list you wish to find your name on. Our concerns hereabouts are of a much simpler nature. The Weather Wonks forecast forty degree temperatures for Friday night and a cold blustery weekend. What we got was a cold front we’ll name Adam since he was the first of the year who blew the north side of our palm trees dead flat for about eight hours then brought dry air down behind it that made for a beautiful weekend.
Time to Decide
Early voting ends Friday, Election Day is Tuesday By Dale Rankin As of Tuesday evening a total of 2,180 voters have cast ballots at the Padre Isles Country Club where early voting continues through November 2. An average of about 250 ballots are being cast each day there with the heaviest day being the first when 313 voters cast ballots. The highest early voting totals have come at the Corpus Christi Council for the Deaf where 6,964 votes had been cast by Tuesday evening, the latest early voting totals that were available at press time. The second highest total was 5156 at the Nueces County Courthouse. In Flour Bluff 1,754 votes had been cast at the Ethel Eyerly Senior Center, and 1,429 at Flour Bluff ISD. In Port Aransas 984 votes had been cast at the Port Aransas Civic Center. This round of balloting marks the first time the City of Corpus Christi elections have been held in conjunction with the Presidential elections Voting Continued on A6
City Attorney Orders PD Not to Envorce Hunting Law
Story on A2
It’s the time of year when Islanders’ collective mind wanders from ghosts and such and begins looking for a way to avoid going OTB for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The beaches are beautiful and for the most part vacant, water temperature is hanging around 74 degrees, beach driving conditions are limited mostly to one traffic lane but still good, and beachcombing is lousy unless you are out for plastic bottles and tree trunks.
Bad weekend to be a duck This Saturday, November 3, marks the first weekend of duck season hereabouts. If you’re a duck you might want to stay home and watch Oregon play USC, the Ducks have a better chance of surviving that one than a flight down the Laguna Madre. There shouldn’t be a need to set your alarm clock Saturday morning as the cacophony rising up from the Laguna should be enough to raise you from your weekend slumber. The Moon Election and Duck Hunting Department hasn’t actually done any research but we’re guessing that if early voting at the Padre Isles Country Club extended until Saturday – it ends Friday at 7 p.m. - this would be the only place around where you could go to the polls and vote within earshot of gunfire except maybe Iraq and Afghanistan. The Island Strategic Action Committee and the city staff launched plans last month to put up signs restricting hunting within 1000 feet of homes but the season launches Saturday and the signs haven’t been made yet. Expect another season of friction between homeowners and hunters with the police caught in the middle. Just remember the police didn’t create the confusion, they just have to deal with it.
Taste of Island shuttles The Taste of The Island event is next Wednesday at Port Royal about half the way up the runway toward Port Aransas. That’s the day after Election Day so maybe we’ll have our collective appetite back by then. There was some fair amount of gnashing of teeth due to the event being moved from its traditional location at the Padre Isles Country Club to Port Royal. But not to worry. As of last Friday shuttles have been engaged to ferry the wary revelers to and fro. The shuttles will depart and return at the Country Club. For details see the ad in this issue.
Schlitterbahn update And speaking of the Country Club; it’s been almost six days since our last Schlitterbahn update so here goes. We hear an agreement is in place for the purchase of the Club by the developers of the Schlitterbahn Waterpark and Resort. No details are available yet but the terms are in place and the contracts with the lawyers. The way this deal works is that all the contracts are prepared and made ready and then they will all be signed at the same time. It’s like a bunch of cogs in a great big wheel that all have Around Continued on A3
Most of any county in the state
Eagle Ford Shale to Provide 18,000 Nueces Jobs by 2021 By Dale Rankin By 2021 the Eagle Ford Shale play will bring 18,699 new jobs to Nueces County, up by 380% from the 3,880 it currently provides, according to a new study of the economic impact of the play by the University of Texas at San Antonio. The study found that Nueces County will see the largest impact from the Eagle Ford of any counties in the state, even though none of the field is actually in Nueces County. Bexar County and San Antonio will see the second Eagle Ford Continued on A8
Flour Bluff Football is On The Air Broadcast goes out on local radio and around the world on the web By Dale Rankin Fans of the 8-0 Flour Bluff football Hornets have a new way to take in the action these days. For the third year the Hustin’ Hornet games are being broadcast on radio 1590 AM and 104.1 FM., KDAE radio.
The Dog-Gone Days BBQ and Music Festival was a big hit on Saturday night with a houseful of dogs and their humans in costume. Congratulations to Ray and Dr. Christi and we’re looking forward to next year.
Pregnant Woman Throws Frozen Turkey at PINS An Island woman who is eight months pregnant reared back on Sunday and threw a 12-pound frozen turkey at a bunch of PINS…not the National Seashore kind, the bowling kind. The annual Turkey Bowling contest that marks the last day of the season at the Back Porch Bar in Port Aransas played to a full house on Sunday, and when the dust settled the very pregnant Lisa Towns finished in the money – if there had been any money – only two places behind the eventual winner Port Aransian Ronnie Narmour. “Winning the Turkey Bowl gives me bragging rights,” Narmour was heard to say, “and I intend to abuse them.” The rules are pretty simple, pin setters place the pins in regular fashion and bowlers grab the frozen turkey inside a burlap sack and let fly. The field was capped at 75 participants but somehow expanded to 80 and took just over two hours to complete. Only one bird threatened to leave the building when it took flight to the roof of the stage but fell back to earth narrowly missing the waiting pins. There are more photos in this issue but for now Turkey Bowlers will have to find a new hangout until March when the Back Porch throws open its doors for a new season.
A little Island history
Mayan Figurine Dated to 4500 B.C. Among Treasures Louis Rawalt Found on The Island Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of stories based on the memoirs of Islander Louis Rawalt who moved to The Island with his wife Viola in 1926 after being given six months to live by doctors. He lived here for more than 50 years.
The announcers are veteran broadcaster Jim Johnston and color man Jeff Felts call the shots each week at home as well as away games. After last weeks 35-25 win over Ray the Hornets find themselves at the top of ranking for local teams and two wins away from an undefeated regular season. It’s the best start for the team since 2005 when they jumped off to a 12-0 start and made it to the third round of the playoffs. Hornets Continued on A2
Third Annual Art Walk This Sunday
Don’t forget the Island Art Walk this Sunday, November 4th, at Billish Park from 12-4 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Padre Island Property Association and is free to the public and is designed to feature the Island’s art community. Billish Park is located on Gypsy Street. Any Artist or Craftsmen who would like to participate at no charge please call JoAnn Smith for more information at 949-7114 or 815-7431.
Louis Rawalt
In the last issue he and his friend Shorty had made their way to their cabins 40 miles down the beach in the face of the oncoming hurricane of 1933 to get belongings before the storm
hit. They didn’t make it back in time. By Louis Rawalt, Fortune was kind to us that night. By following our recently made tracks back up the center of the island, we laboriously made our way to the north end of Padre. There we found the waters of the Laguna Madre lapping over the plank troughs of the causeway. Could we make it? The choice had to be made quickly. We would try. So I nosed the Model-A onto the planks, and we inched our way over the water. Wind tore at us, and rain poured down in torrents. In was daylight by then. A liquid, gray daylight in which everything blended and wavered like the scenes in an underwater film. At the ship channel we found that the swing bridge had been torn partly loose. The ends of it were two feet higher than the planks of the causeway. A barge was anchored nearby with several men aboard. They came to our rescue. Climbing from the barge to the causeway, they lifted the Ford and set it on the bridge; then they set it down at the other end. Thus, we finally reached the comparative safety of History Continued on A4
Island Moon
A 2
City Attorney Orders Police Not to Enforce Current City Hunting Ordinance
November 1, 2012
Editor’s note: This letter was issued on October 31 over the signature of City Attorney Carlos Valdez to City Council member Nelda Martinez who had forwarded a query from Flour Bluff resident Jerry Hartung asking what the police response would be to shooting near houses during the duck hunting season which begins on Saturday. We run the letter verbatim. Ms. Martinez, We have reviewed the existing ordinance and state law that apply to the duck hunting issue and have determined that the state statue trumps the local ordinance and prohibits the enforcement of the local ordinance. We have advised police that prosecution under the local ordinance would be prohibited by the state statute and that they should hold off on enforcement of the local ordinance. It is not the police department’s intentional failure to enforce the ordinance but rather they have acted pursuant to our advice.
What a great weekend! I won the costume contest at The Back Porch on Saturday afternoon and then I won the one at The Dog Days at the Animal Hospital of Padre Island Saturday night and got a $500 dollar cash prize. Thanks to my Mom for making my costume. I want to donate my prize money to less fortunate dog friends! - Riley Rankin
We have suggested on several occasions that we need to address this conflict of laws problem by a two step process: First, the state statue needs to be amended to except Corpus Christi from its purview and application. Secondly, after the statue is amended, the city ordinance needs to be amended, clarified and simplified (without exceptions), in order for it to be enforceable and prosecutable. Without these changes, we will continue to have these problems.
Seashore Writes
During the upcoming legislative session the state statute in question could be addressed if one of our representatives would be willing to sponsor a bill. Mr. Olson and I have discussed the local ordinance and he has requested that we draft an amendment to the ordinance that would comply with the existing statute and could be enforced. We will do so. Thank you. Carlos
Barricades are up along Bello street to keep potential trespassers from entering private property, but it didn’t take long for them to knock down the sand berms to enter from Aquarius, driving past the No Trespassing signs.
Seashore Learning Center student Nikolai Ortiz shows his surprise after learning from KEDT’s Donna Frank that he won the National PBS Go! Writers contest for 3rd grade. Along with the honor, Nikolai received an iPad.
The New Wave We will proudly meet your mailing needs! USPS and UPS Ground & Express In The Island’s Shipping & Mailing Shipping & Mailing Stop in to check out our:
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Seashore students Jesse Vernallis, Dylan Rich, Mia Froehlich, and Sylvanna Rich were also honored for placing at the regional PBS Go! Writers contest.
Hornets continued from A1 “This team has a good balance between the run and the pass,” Johnston said. “a big difference between this year and some previous years is this year the defense is exceptionally good.”
Left to right: Paul Felts, Statistician, Jeff Felts, Producer, Jim Johnston, Play by Play Announcer.
Felts is a full-time producer at KEDT Television and also is the producer of the radio broadcasts. Johnston has been around sports since the mid-1970’s when he began calling games on the radio while at the University of Houston. “I did games on the Diamond Shamrock Network,” he said. “Some college and some high school.” He has done games in the Alamodome and the Astrodome and says he enjoys the Flour Bluff games because there is more going on than just football. “When you get to know these young men you find out that most of them don’t expect to play on Saturday,” he said. “They play in high school and learn from the experience then go on to college or other things, but the lessons they learn on the field stay with them. “But,” he adds, “it is a lot more fun when you have a winning team like we do this year.” The games can also be heard worldwide on the Internet on the Texas Sports Radio Network at TSRN.com. “We have alumni from Flour Bluff all over the world,” Johnston says. “And they listen and call in.
Dec
So if you can’t make the game Friday night you can be there in spirit by listening online, and if you go to the game take along your portable radio and check out Jim and Jeff while you are in the stands.
November 1, 2012
Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder
Island Moon
Letters to the Editor Caution: Exercising on the Island may be hazardous to your health!
Distribution Pete Alsop
Dear Editor/Husband,
Island Delivery
As you know I run, walk or ride my bike from our home near the POA office on North Padre Island to the beach and seawall every morning. My journey each day is daunting to say the least. It begins with what I like to call the Gypsy Doodle. This is where I weave from one side of Gypsy to the other so that I can travel facing the traffic until I reach the bridge where I must crossover to take advantage of about ten feet of sidewalk over the bridge and then cross back over to the other side. Then there’s the Whitecap dash where apparently pedestrians have lost the right of way. Once on the Whitecap sidewalk I reach the Cruiser Bridge where I am smacked in the face by tall sunflower weeds and debris. Good Morning mister weed how are you today?
Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin Raeanne Reed Office Lisa Towns Classifieds Arlene Ritley Design/Layout Jeff Craft Contributing Writers Joey Farah Devorah Fox Mary Craft Maybeth Christiansen Jay Gardner Todd Hunter
Then I reach the safest part of my trip which is the crossover at S.P.I.D. and Whitecap where there is an actual crosswalk with a walk/ don’t walk light. What a concept! The next part of my adventure is when I hit the brick sidewalk at Whitecap and Windward where the brick is for the most part completely overgrown with grass and bricks stick up like landmines.
Danniece Bobeché Ronnie Narmour Daphne Fine Dr. Donna Shaver Photographers Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan Mary Craft Office Security/Spillage Control
Riley P. Dog Editor/Publisher/Spillage Control Supervisor Dale Rankin About the Island Moon
The Island Moon is published every Thursday, Dale Rankin, Editor / Publisher. Total circulation is 10,000 copies. Distribution includes delivery to 4,000 Island homes, free distribution of 3,000 copies in over 50 Padre Island businesses and condos, as well as 600 copies distributed in Flour Bluff, 1,400 copies on Mustang Island and Port Aransas businesses. News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office.
The Island Moon Newspaper 15201 S. Padre Island Drive, Suite 250 Corpus Christi, TX 78418
It is actually safer to travel down the middle of Windward than to navigate that mess. Then I sneak around the south side of Island House and hit the seawall where it is smooth sailing. That is until I hit the giant pile of sand covering the seawall and handicap ramp in front of the public parking lot.
All Stripes Stores (Except the one next to the VFW where they throw them away) Sandpiper Condos Port Royal Condos
The Gaff Bar Port A Glass Studio The Wild Horse Bar & Grill The Tarpon Ice House
I have tried several tactics to maneuver this obstacle without actually getting off of my bicycle but have yet to be successful. There is no way that a handicap person in a wheelchair could ever go down that ramp without toppling
All Stripes Stores
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
Felder Gallery Island Woman Boutique 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
This co-op, whose problems were recounted in a 1977 article in The Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, was an association of about 150 young couples who agreed to help one another by baby-sitting for one another’s children when parents wanted a night out. To ensure that every couple did its fair share of baby-sitting, the coop introduced a form of scrip: coupons made out of heavy pieces of paper, each entitling the bearer to one half-hour of sitting time. Initially, members received 20 coupons on joining and were required to return the same amount on departing the group.
As regular readers of these pages know we’ve made some changes over the past couple of years; going color was a milestone, January will mark the first year as a weekly publication – that one may be more like a millstone (see how much difference one letter can make). Well, next time will mark the first time you will be able to pick up the Island Moon at the HEB in Flour Bluff. That may not seem like a big deal to you guys but to we Moon Monkeys it means printing another 1000 copies and a big jump back OTB. We’ve been circulating again in Flour Bluff for the past few issues but getting into HEB means exposure to a much wider audience. So you can pick up a slab of Mackerel and a Moon to wrap it in. Wish us luck and say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Enjoy Chopstick Cuisine
Unfortunately, it turned out that the co-op’s members, on average, wanted to hold a reserve of more than 20 coupons, perhaps, in case they should want to go out several times in a row. As a result, relatively few people wanted to spend their scrip and go out, while many wanted to baby-sit so they could add to their hoard. But since baby-sitting opportunities arise only when someone goes out for the night, this meant that baby-sitting jobs were hard to find, which made members of the co-op even more reluctant to go out, making baby-sitting jobs even scarcer. In short, the co-op fell into a recession. Paul Krugman
Shark! Moon, Just to clear things up about the tiger shark... There is no question about whether the fisherman doing this for Harte institute. He is and has caught, tagged, and released several sharks for them. Also the fight to bring the shark
Red Hat Members On October 26th, the Island PIPPs Chapter of Red Hats feasted on a delicious Oriental luncheon at the well-managed P.F. Chang’s Chinese Bistro and played the game Left, Right & Center.Pictured left to right back row: Chris Jacob (guest). Jaki Boyd, Tricia Jones, Katie Clark, Nancy Horsley, Sofia Solis, Pat McKeone, Jane White & Judy Marsyla.Front row: Rosanne Milroy, Debbie Adams, Bebe Gale (Vice Queen), Clara Mosley, Lauret Bridgford, Mary Leja (Queen), Carolyn Loe, Trudy Ferguson (hostess) & Alida Jordan (hostess).
in latested about half an hour... Not 4 hours.... Tony Amos was on scene but because he was told it was a stranded Dolphin. As soon as the fisherman heard that the shark had washed back up he rushed over there and went straight out into the surf and spent the next hour trying to get her strength back up. As soon as she died he attempted to get the several shark pups out but they had already been born while he was trying to revive her. Attempts were made to reach people at the Harte institute to pickup the shark but no one answered the phone. The shark was not wasted. The meat was handed out to people and the fins were given to interested children so that they would not find their way into some moron’s soup bowl. Altan Guzeldere
Lukio is one of Russia’s biggest oil companies and we have one of the largest oil reserves in the world, I am a foreign expatriate contractor working on the vessel ships. For the past 8 months, the vessel ship I have been working on has had an excess offshoot of products amounting to thirty million dollars. At the moment I am searching to work with trust worthy partners to help move these funds in bits (little by little) before my company’s financial audit by the second week of December. More details will be giving to you, once you show interest in working with me. Every document and procedures necessary to make this transaction successful and traceless has been carefully plotted. So if you are interested mail me at imanidiot@smacktalk. I hope to hear from you soon, and due to safety reasons, I cannot indicate my name for now.
Your loving wife and future road kill, Jan
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)
I like to explain the essence of Keynesian economics with a true story that also serves as a parable, a small-scale version of the messes that can afflict entire economies. Consider the travails of the Capitol Hill Baby-Sitting Co-op.
Big Day for Moon Monkeys
Holiday Inn
Police Station
The Flats Lounge
over head first. Then I reach the end of the seawall at the El Constante condominiums and turn around to start the whole gauntlet over again. Why are there no bike/pedestrian paths on the Island and what can we do to get rid of all these frustrating obstacles that keep us from enjoying what should be a nice morning trip to the beach. Or if you’re trying to get rid of me let’s just do nothing because sooner or later the odds of an accident are against me.
North Padre
Lisabellas Restaurant
The cogs are spinning fine.
Why was Keynes’s diagnosis of the Great Depression as a “colossal muddle” so compelling at first? And why did economics, circa 1975, divide into opposing camps over the value of Keynes’s views?
Can we work together?
Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper
Gratitude Boutique
to come together at the same time, and to steal a line from Mongo in Blazing Saddles… A Moon Monkey is only pawn in game of life.
What a Deal!
editor@islandmoon.com
Port Aransas
Around cont. from A1
Editor’s note: This is the latest offering to come into the Moon Office of Financial Opportunities. There as so many investment opportunities worldwide, especially it seems from Russia and Nigeria.
361-949-7700
Where to Find The Island Moon
A Colossal Muddle
A3
Floyd’s
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A 4
History continued from A1 the mainland.
Later we found that during the next hour, the causeway was reduced to a total wreck. The planks were torn lose and flung through the air. Some of them were found weeks later in the mesquite forests of the million-acre King Ranch, twenty miles away. That hurricane left devastation everywhere it moved. Much of Corpus Christi was a shambles. Padre Island was cleared of everything for a hundred miles. The contours of the beach were changed and there were thirty channels cut all the way from the Gulf of Mexico to the Laguna Madre. Within a week after the storm, we were back on the island. We got there by loading our car on an improvised raft and poling it across the Laguna Madre. Driving the beach was hazardous. It was stripped with deep ruts and covered with logs and debris. The passes were filling up with sand, and were able to drive through them, although we went through water two feet deep at times. At the site of our former shack there was nothing. Nothing, that is, except an old icebox half sunk in the sand. Shorty’s tent had caught around the ice-box, and on examination showed its only damage to be a small rent. In searching about the campsite, he found all the things he had left with the exception of a small stew kettle. Viola and I found, as I have said, nothing. Out of all the supplies, the equipment, the bedding, the clothing, and what we regarded as our treasures, there absolutely was not a sign of anything. And Shorty had found everything he owned but a thirty-five cent kettle! The ways of the sea are strange. They say that whatever it takes away from you, it brings back. I’m inclined to think that it does. The next few months the tide carried in the lumber and piling for us to build a bigger and stronger house. This time we build sixty-five miles from the north end of Padre. (Editor’s note: The following paragraph was written into the original manuscript but then redacted. We include it here.) That year the “Nicaragua” a Mexican freighter beached on the Gulf at our front door. From her we salvaged doors, windows and portholes which became additions to our shack. The boilers of the Nicaragua still lie in the edge of the surf, and for years have been a landmark to fishermen. The following years my time was divided between fishing and exploring the lower end of the island. When we were in town, I went to the libraries and lost myself in the fascinating history of Padre. The lore of Indians, pirates, and of the early settlers who had tried unsuccessfully to conquer the sands, had long held great interest for me. But the knowledge of Padre is accumulative. Before long, I was delving into geology and ornithology. It was my pleasure in the last several years to work with the National Audubon Society, who appointed me warden; with Dr. Armstrong Price, who, until recently, headed the department of oceanography at Texas A&I College; and
Island Moon
with Dr. H.N. Fisk, research geologist for the Humble Oil Company, and former professor of geology at Louisiana State University. Viola has spent much of these last few years in town. About twenty years ago, we discovered a new species of bird circling the skies above our shack. It was a stork. Since it seemed reluctant to leave its bundle on the wild stretches of Padre, we started paying on a home in Corpus Christi. The bundle came, and we called her Louise. Later the stork paid us another visit, this time it was a boy whom we call Charles. The four of us spend many rich and contented hours of summers and vacations on the island. But the children had to go to school so we have maintained our home in town. Viola is happy being a mother and housekeeper during the seasons when she has to stay at home, but when summer comes we spend the time together on the beach. My work keeps me on the island much of the time, but even when there is no necessity, the pull of the blue distances overcomes me. Now, thirty years after the doctors predicted my imminent death, I roam the wilds of my unsubdued island like an aging Karankawa Indian. Editor’s note: So ends the memoirs of Louis Rawalt. However, in the copy of the manuscript this series was drawn from two pages of typewritten notes which appear to be based on an interview with Viola and/or Louis Rawalt. It is undated. Here is a summation of its contents. Among the things Louis Rawalt found on The Island: An Army camp circa 1849-1850 with a saber and buckets of bullets. He also found a survey chain “down to boggy slough” from the 1819 survey of the Island done by “de la Fuentes, prior to giving the land grant to Padre Balli”. Rawalt also made measurements from St. Augustine Pass (now Yarborough Pass) during which he found many ships which had run aground because they thought they were heading for the mouth of the Rio Grande but were 30 miles off. He also found molars from a mastodon, teeth from a giant ray, bones from a mammoth, bison teeth, pieces of an ivory tusk, bones of a prehistoric camel, copper sheathing from an ancient ship, an oriental gong, a bottle from the French Navy, a calling card of the battleship Joan d’Arc which was sunk on Christmas day 1917 off the coast of Africa during World War I, a Mayan figurine which he figured was thrown overboard by a Spanish ship trying to lighten its load while being chased down the beach by Tonkawa Indians looking for a Spanish meal; it dated to 4500 B.C. He also identified the site of a large Karankawa camp at the mouth of the Oso at the spot that is now the intersection of Ennis Joslin and Shoreline drive, near the entrance to Texas A&M Corpus Christi. . The questioner asked if there were any Indian camps on The Island, “You’re looking at it,” Louis said, and pointed to a condominium “across the way.” “Their dredges dug it all up,” he said, and then expressed his opinion of
development on The Island which is unprintable in these pages. There was one he found in the 1950s which was that of a Tonkawa village at the north end of The Island where shifting sands exposed a clay bank strewn with thousands of perfect arrowheads and other artifacts.
November 1, 2012
Mystery Person of The Week
Rawalt said his treasure hunting was done mostly in times of drought when the sand is dry and blows with the wind and the dunes walk. He said the dry dunes “have preserved wood of the old Spanish ships very well” and he would locate the ships by looking for bronze dowel pins. He said he believed it likely that Amerigo Vespucci (the man for whom the Americas were named) was the first European who saw The Island. The first Englishmen to see The Island, he believed, were from the ship Hawks which put ashore two crews in 1639. During World War II Rawalt talked Port Aransian Bob Flood into flying with patrol planes that watched The Island. When Flood would spot a circle of shells behind the dunes he would throw down a spear with a red flag as a marker. Rawalt had learned these circles marked the spot of old Karankawa Indian camps and would scour them for artifacts. He later worked as a handyman and guide for oil company surveyors and the military, and was the guardian of Bird Island for the Audubon Society for 43 years. It was on the beachfront that he discovered the clay banks containing the teeth and bones of the mastodons, mammoths, camels and bison preserved since the Ice Age when the plains of South Texas stretched to the 100 fathom curve. His prehistoric finds also included a Folsom projectile point from approximately 12,000 B.C. At the wrecks sites of Spanish galleons he found bottles, silver, ballast stones and the pieces of cannon, armor and ship fittings. He later told an interviewer, “Back of the sentinel-like row of dunes, I found the happiest hunting ground of all when I came, one day, upon a flat where the wind had swept away the sand to reveal countless spear points and arrowheads.”
This Islander is good at appraising any situation. Do you know who it is? Be the first to answer and win a $25 gift card to Scuttlebutt’s Bar & Grill. Photo by Mike Ellis
Mystery Person of Last Week
He found many campsites of the cannibalistic Karankawas on The Island, including one strewn with the human skulls and bones of a long-ago massacre or, perhaps, barbecue. Karankawa sites showed them to have been the first treasure hunters because their campsites often revealed Spanish artifacts scavenged from the shipwrecks. Rawalt did at least one taped interview, in 1978 with Robert Whistler, chief naturalist for the Padre Island National Seashore. Rawalt attended the Sorbonne in Paris, and took engineering at the University of Texas but had to quit due to complications from shrapnel in his side and stomach from World War I. Louis eventually opened the Coastway retail business on Packery Channel next to the JFK Causeway. His son Charlie ran it from 1980, when Louis passed away, until 2004. The building still stands – it is the one just east of the JFK and up on pilings. Viola passed away in 2010. Their son Charlie still lives in Flour Bluff.zz
The young intellectual pictured last week reading Hermann Hesse was none other than this year’s Back Porch Turkey Bowling Champion, and Island Moon Contributor, Ronnie Narmour.
November 1, 2012
Island Moon
A Fine life
Ode to the Kindergarten Kiddo by Daphne Fine
New Advertisers South Side Marine does jet ski repairs, indoor and outdoor motor repairs, wheel bearing service and more. They offer free USCG marine safety examinations. Visit them 4514 Corona or call Roy at 854-0875.
Kindergarten is some of the most fabulous mama fun there is. Period. One thing I have learned that helps me squeeze maximum joy out of my job as a mama, is to fully engage in kindergarten conversations and ask lots of questions. The answers are worth their weight in gold.
Bay Area Fellowship is offering a new series on relationships called “It’s Complicated.” It is aimed at dealing with what it means to be in a relationship that is genuine, worthwhile and honors God. The series starts Sunday, November 4th. Sunday morning service times are 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30.
On the second day of school this year, my son, seated next to me at the dinner table commented, “Mom, Mrs. Morgan has a beautiful voice.” “Oh, did she sing you a song today?” “No, she just has a beautiful voice.” “Oh, you mean when she talks?” (Insert lovesick sighing.) “Yeah.” The next week we found out she was also lovely, brilliant and unfortunately already married…to some guy named Mr. Morgan. No worries though because there are plenty of fish in the school. The grandparents visited the second week of school and joined us for afternoon carpool time. After we picked him up, little man was reciting a list of all of his classmates. When he got to one particular little blondeheaded girl we’ll call Suzie, he paused dramatically to add, “And she’s in love with me and I’m in love with her.” Papa asked matterof-factly, “Well how do you know when a girl’s in love with you?” (More sighing.) “She gave me hearts,” (producing Exhibit A from the backpack). “Well, that’s a pretty good indication.” If you can die from sucking in laughter, call me croaked. Presently, our life and conversations are constantly punctuated with all of his kindergarten accomplishments. “I know how to spell______ Mom!” “Go for it, Bubba!” “Mom, guess how many syllables are in _____!” “I couldn’t possibly. How many?” “Mom, ask me ‘What’s two plus seven.’” Kindergarteners love learning and want everybody around them to be as excited as they are. I love that. The sisters, not quite so much, but they giggle when they think I’m not watching. Little-boy joy is contagious – even to big sisters. Unfortunately, there is a downside to good education – the kindergarten know-it-all. In fact, did you know that boys are smarter than girls? Well my son does – and that includes mamas, if you were wondering. We are trying to correct this egregious misconception, but so far without
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By Mary Craft Send your business news to: mkay512@aol.com
Business Briefs
success. There is however, one exception. Recently the boy informed me, “Dad’s the smartest, but you’re the smartest finder.” Call me Super-Mom for finding the long lost video game the first time I looked. Of course it’s not all fun and games in a kindergarten household. Every now and then we have a little trouble with the boy. I grounded him from the computer awhile back and sent him to his room. Picture shoulders slumped, lips curled, feet stomping down the hall, eyes shooting bullets. Momentarily, the man-child emerged from his den carrying Mr. Potato Head, complete with angry eyes and tongue sticking out. I cocked one eyebrow to meet my challenger. “Can I help you, son?” “Mom, this is your arch ‘memesis,’Mr. Frankenwagon. He doesn’t like you.” Again, with the sucking in and the croaking. At least he’s creative. A friend suggested that I require any future complaints and defamation to be delivered in the form of a rap song, just to mix things up. I never know what to expect, and I think that’s my favorite part of being a kindergarten mama. That boy is full of delightful surprises. Between love affairs, learning and laughter, he brings much joy to his mama. Thank you God for this precious kindergarten kiddo! “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127.3
Coffee Waves is opening their third location on Flour Bluff Drive next to Funtrackers and across from Walmart soon. There other locations are on Alameda and in Port A. They offer sandwiches, baked goods, gelato, smoothies and hot and cold coffee. Third Annual Art Walk will be held Sunday, November 4th at Billish Park on Gypsy noon until 4 pm. The 25th Annual Taste of the Island will be held at Port Royal Wednesday November 7th 6 pm – 9 pm. There will be two shuttles running for ticked guest from Padre Isles Country Club to the event 5:30 pm – 10 pm. Tickets are $25 at the Island banks and American Bank in Port A. The Sandbar at the Holiday Inn is still open on weekends. The next two Saturdays DoubleR-Nothing will play 5 pm – 9 pm and The Rockaholics Sundays 3 pm – 7 pm. They serve $2.50 well drinks all weekend and half price appetizers 4 pm – 7 pm. Dr. Mary Craft, Optometrist (that’s me J) is currently taking walk-ins on Monday, Tuesday and Friday 10 am – 4:30 pm with lunch break 1 – 2 pm. Saturday hours are 10 am – 3 pm with no break. The office is located at Sunrise Mall on Airline. Most insurances accepted. Call 9850985 for more info.
Marriage Numbers Off A recent report by Bloomberg News indicated that Births in the US have been falling since 2008, reaching a 12-year low last year. It is also the smallest population gain since World War II. Early this year, a Pew survey found that more than 20% of young adults between 18 and 34 have delayed having a child because of the economic slowdown -- which is approximately the same proportion that postponed marriage. Less and less young adults get married. The share of young adults (18-29) who were married fell from 59% to 20% between 1960 and 2010.
Sports Talk
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Dallas Fans Hate Instant Replay By Dotson Lewis dlewis1@stx.rr.com Dotson’s Note: Can you believe it? Since Sunday’s Giants-Cowboy game I have received more than 399 voice messages and emails from Dallas Cowboy football fans telling me that instant replay should be banned in the NFL. It appears that since Tex (Schramm) the father of instant replay passed away in 2003, I am being blamed for the Cowboys last second loss to the New York Giants Sunday.
Tex Schramm In 1977, Tex called me and asked me to help him work out a system for video replay to assist game officials in making correct calls on the football field. I readily agreed because I had been using videos for about three years in training on-the-field game officials. We set up five cameras in Texas Stadium in Dallas and went to work and the rest, as they say is “history.” On Sunday the video evidence convinced referee Scott Green to reverse a call on the field which cost Dallas the game. Both teams were witness to just how much, during an incredible 29-24 win by the New York Giants over the Dallas Cowboys Sunday during Week 8 of the NFL season. You’ve got to hand it to the referee Scott Green, who ultimately made the right call in replay with input from the replay official Carl Madsen, that took away a potential game-winning 37yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Dez Bryant with just six seconds remaining. The touchdown would have given Dallas a much needed victory. Here was the situation: Dallas had the ball, second-and-5 from the Giants’ 37-yard line with 16 seconds remaining. New York led 2924. Romo threw it up and Bryant split two defenders to make an incredible, leaping catch that was ruled a touchdown on the field. However, when the play went to review, the replay official saw what we all saw, that Bryant’s fingers were the first thing to hit and they were out of bounds, right before his palm hit in bounds. But, and this is a big but, even if his palm had hit in bounds first before his fingers hit out of bounds, it still wouldn’t have a been a catch. In order to complete a catch, “a player must have complete control of the ball and have both feet or any other part of his body, other than his hands, completely on the ground in bounds.” As the legendary John Madden might have said, one hand does not equal two feet. And since a part of that hand hit out of bounds before any other body part, it made the pass incomplete and may have changed the fortunes of both teams.
Tax Breaks, Benefits Available To Military Families
By Jason Alderman
As we honor our armed forces this Veterans Day, let’s also acknowledge the financial challenges they and their families often face, both while in service and after discharge. Fortunately, service members needn’t go it alone: Many tax benefits, social services and financial assistance programs are available to help. Special tax benefits for active duty personnel include: • If you move because of a permanent change of station, you may be able to deduct unreimbursed moving expenses. • If you serve in a combat zone for any part of a month, any military pay you received during that month is not considered taxable income. • You can also include nontaxable combat pay as “earned income” when claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit for low- to moderate-income earners. • Deadlines for filing tax returns, paying taxes, filing refund claims and taking other actions with the IRS are automatically extended for qualifying military members. • Joint tax returns generally must be signed by both spouses. But, when one spouse is unavailable due to military duty, you may use a power of attorney to file a joint return.
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• If you’re an armed forces reserves member, you can deduct unreimbursed travel expenses for travel more than 100 miles from home to perform reserve duties. • As you transition to civilian life, you may be able to deduct certain job-hunting costs. • Most military installations offer free tax-filing and preparation assistance during and/ or after tax filing season. • The IRS’s Armed Forces’ Tax Guide provides an excellent summary of many important military-related tax topics (www.irs. gov). A few suggestions and precautions for military families facing financial challenges:
Happy hour 4-6 pm Tuesday through Friday
• Each base command offers free financial specialists to discuss personal finances and help with budgeting; many banks and credit unions also offer these services. • Each military branch has a relief society and many grant emergency loans. Turn to them first before taking out a payday loan. • Check-cashing outlets, pawn shops and other lenders are prohibited from charging more than 36 percent interest to military families for payday loans. • If you do go off-base for financial assistance, you’re responsible for disclosing your military status in order to receive military rates. • Before signing loan documents, make sure you fully understand all conditions (annual
percentage rate, monthly payment amount, fees, penalties, etc.) Don’t hesitate to take the paperwork home to think it over or consult with a financial advisor. • Avoid pawn shop loans that use your car’s title as collateral. Besides paying a very high rate, missing a payment could cost you ownership of your car. Many governmental and private organizations provide financial information aimed at the special needs of the military, including: • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Servicemember Affairs (www.consumerfinance.gov/servicemembers) features a variety of financial planning tools. • Military OneSource (www. militaryonesource.mil) helps service members and families juggle such concerns as money management, spouse employment, education, parenting, childcare, relocation and deployment. • SaveAndInvest.org, a financial education program created by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to improve military members’ saving and investing knowledge (www.saveandinvest.org/ MilitaryCenter). • The GI Bill provides a broad range of education benefits for veterans (www.gibill. va.gov). • The government provides an intensive, three-day Transition Assistance Program for separating or retiring service members and spouses to ease reentry into the civilian workplace (www.taonline.com/ TAPOffice). It’s vital that our military understand the benefits available to them – as well as the financial pitfalls to which they may be vulnerable. Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education programs. To Follow Jason Alderman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney.
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Skip The Plastic recognizes Tony Amos as ‘Bag Hero’
The Bag Hero Program is a campaign to educate and encourage the use of reusable bags in the Coastal Bend. We recognize exceptional community members who set a positive example by using reusable bags when shopping for groceries or other goods. November’s Bag Hero is Tony Amos, founder and operator of the Animal Rehabilitation Keep at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. Tony is a researcher and oceanographer widely recognized for his efforts to educate the public about the problems increasing human population and encroaching development pose for wildlife in our coastal area. Each month, Bag Heroes are profiled while shopping at stores that make reusable bags available to customers, and asked why reusable
Island Moon
bags are important. Here is what Tony Amos says about reusable bags versus single-use plastic bags: “You have to get rid of a little bit of convenience if you want to preserve the environment.” Partners in the Bag Hero Program include Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation, Skip the Plastic and the Coastal Bend Green Team. The first Bag Hero, chosen in October 2012, was Corpus Christi Mayor Joe Adame. Partners in the Bag Hero Program include: Coastal Bend Surfrider Foundation, Skip the Plastic and the Coastal Bend Green Team. For more information visit http://skiptheplastic. org or call 361-765-4445. Photos and video courtesy of thirdcoastphoto.com
In Loving Memory Daniel Carl Mathews April 20, 1983-October 30, 2011 Danny loved unconditionally. The ocean in all its splendor and beauty, fishing, carpentry, and working with his hands were some of his passions, along with cooking, creating new recipes and working on cars and motorcycles. But most of all, Danny loved to laugh and loved his family. We love you. We miss you. Predeceased: Great grandparents Carl L. Smith and Stella C. Smith, grandfather Donald A. Walper, cousin Kelsey J. Walper Survived by: Grandparents Arthur V. Sullens and Connie R. Sullens, Aunt Bambi L. Hough (John Jordan), Uncle Rusty C. Walper (Debbie Walper) and cousins Teri Olson Shipley and Sarah R. Walper, Uncle Ray A. Walper (Lorene Walper) and cousins Kramer A. Walper and Brianna M. Walper. Sister Amy B. Jureczki (Joshua J. Jureczki) and nephews Arthur R. Jureczki and Cody M. Jureczki and niece Kimber Ann Jureczki. Brother Samuel M. Mathews and biological father Eddie D. Mathews. Mother Teriko G. Sullens-Willhoite (Mike D. Willhoite) and all who knew and love our Danny. Resting forever in our Lord’s tender, loving care.
November 1, 2012
Stuff I Heard on the Island
by Dale Rankin
It is every mischievous television manager’s secret whimsy. It’s one of those things you know you can only do if you are on the way out the television door never to return because it will make you forever unemployable. After years of serving up breathless Weather Alerts to boost ratings and exercise the second rule of television news - to scare the largest number of people possible with the fewest facts allowable - once, just once, I’ve always wanted to break into Judge Judy with...”We interrupt this program for this emergency weather alert,” then cut to the weather guy who shouts at the top of his lungs, “Run for your very lives!” and then tears off his microphone and runs off the set setting off panic among the slow witted as the camera fades to black as the cameraman’s footsteps can be heard as he runs for the door. It’s an old producer’s twisted dream but alas probably never to be.
Frankenstorm! for your very lives! I couldn’t help but think of it as I watched the end of the world coverage from the northeast this week as the networks milked every last drop out of the drama they pumped out of New York City because, as we all know, everything is more important when it happens in New York. Storms in NYC don’t go by the names of real people, oh no, that’s for backwaters like the Gulf Coast. New York storms get names like Frankenstorm! complete with a graphics package and sound effects. 85 mile per hour winds...oh, the humanity! That’s a good coldfront on The Island. Mayor Michael Bloomberg belted out the equivalent of “Run for your very lives” when he closed the subways and all but two of the roads into and out of Manhattan then committed the scariest thing I saw all day when he took the meat ax to the Spanish language. “Buooowaynoes deeeeeozzz meeeezzz eemeeegoes.” Quick get FEMA on the line somebody just murdered Spanish. I understand that people died in this storm and that, of course, is serious business. But when it comes to storms this was not a big one. I watched reporters standing in ankle deep water in Manhattan and declare the heartbreak of seeing water flooding areas that are underground and reminding us that, “We are on an Island!” Who knew!? The ABC reporter informed us that people were trapped in highrise buildings because, “The pumps that pump out the tide run on electricity.” I’m thinking if they got pumps that can pump out the tide that’s a heck of a lot bigger story than any little old storm. Where do they pump the water to? It would have to be somewhere below sea level. Maybe if they put the end of the hose underwater…no wait… hmmm. In the meantime I called my cousin who was in the McAlpin House in Midtown.
“What are you guys doing?” “Just got back from the liquor store, we were afraid of an emergency shortage. We’re on the 14th floor and we can see everything. We’re having a party.” The best I can tell one construction crane blew over and dangled in the air and the front fell off a building someplace, and David Letterman did his show without a studio audience. Other than that a storm surge hit lower Manhattan and knocked out some power and then receded and that’s about it.
Blame Dan Rather It was Dan Rather who began the practice of standing out in the wind like an idiot going, “The wind is blowing so hard I can barely stand up out here,” and we wonder about the sanity of the reporter and the relevance and standing out in it. Most reporters are too young to know the practice started with Rather when he used the new live technology to strap himself to a pole in the Hotel Galvez in Galveston during Hurricane Carla in 1961 and stayed live on KHOU throughout. It was a news coup so resounding that the Sam Houston State graduate leaped ahead of a hoard of Columbia journalism grads to get Correspondent status at CBS News. So now every wet behind the ears reporter wants to be Gunga Dan. We had an anchor at the CBS station in West Palm Beach who insisted on standing outside the back door of the studio to do a stand up during Hurricane Irene in 1999 when along came a gust of wind while he was on live and blew him out of the door frame and he disappeared into the night leaving a live mic on the ground at the end of a cable recording the howling wind. We all ran outside and he was nowhere to be seen. Just gone. It was raining sideways and we were about to call for help when a good ten minutes later we spotted him thrashing around amidst the bowels of a giant oleander bush that had swallowed him whole. It was great accidental television. He was forever thereafter known as Oleander Tim. As a narrative Frankenstorm! has all the elements; enough wind and water to make it seem actually dangerous hitting the nation’s largest city under a full moon and dropping three inches of snow on West Virginia – OMG can West Virginia endure? On the plus side, it put a damper on the overheated rhetoric of the winding down Presidential campaign. But at the end of the day this storm wasn’t much more of a disaster than the Jets season. We humbly borrow from the bard. “Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Blame it on Rather.
Election continued from A1
Dear Neighbor,
and so far the turnout this round looks to be almost identical to the 2008 total – the last Presidential election cycle. As of Tuesday evening a total of 44,000 voters had cast ballots countywide – 22.91% of all registered county voters. That is on pace to match the 2008 countywide totals of 67,096 early voters – 35.5%. In 2008 the last day of early voting was the heaviest with 8,859 ballots cast. There are 192,083 registered voters in Nueces County for this election as compared to 191,456 in 2008. In the 2008 vote a total of 104,000 ballots were cast countywide, at a rate of 52%. If the 2008 numbers hold true for the current election and if all voters cast ballots in elections all the way to the bottom of the ballot, it will mean that over 75,000 voters who have never voted in city elections will cast city ballots this time. Voters who only pull the party lever will not be counted in city elections as those races are non-partisan and not included in the straight party vote. Historically about 24,000 ballots were cast in city elections held in the spring.
Vote William “Bill” Prather for Flour Bluff School Board
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According to the Nueces County Clerk the combined number of voters registered in Precincts 40 and 81, the two precincts that make up North Padre Island is 6516. In the last Presidential cycle 4552 of them voted, a rate of just under 70%. In that election 73% of Island voters who cast ballots did so during early voting, and Island voters favored Republican candidates at an 80% rate. Just over 43% of them voted a straight Republican ticket. In the party primaries last July voters in the two
Island precincts voted at a 19% rate compared to 13% countywide. Countywide 24,447 out of 185,045 registered voters cast ballots in that election. For more than a decade the two Island precincts have had the highest voter turnout of any precincts in Nueces County. In early voting, voters can cast ballots at any early voting location regardless of whether it is their home precinct or not, on Election Day votes must be cast at the polling place in the home precinct. Early voting continues through Friday, November 2, hours at all locations are 7 a.m.7 p.m. On Election Day, Tuesday November 6, voters in Precinct 40 which includes Island voters who live south of Whitecap must vote at the Island Presbyterian Church, 14030 Fortuna Bay Dr.; those in Precinct 81 which includes voters north of Whitecap must vote at the Padre Isles Country Club at 14353 Commodores Dr.
Community Center
In Flour Bluff Election Day polling places are: Precinct 6 Ethel Eyerly
654 Graham Rd.; Precinct 18 at the Ronnie H. Polston County Bldg. 10110 Compton Rd.; Precinct 117 Flour Bluff High School (Auditorium) 2505 Waldron Rd.; Precinct 122 Flour Bluff ISD (Maintenance Dept.) 2510 Waldron Rd. In Port Aransas Precinct 19 at the Port Aransas Civic Center Complex (Council Chambers)710 W. Ave A. All dead voters must cast ballots in Duval County. (Just giving you a reason to read all the way to the bottom.)
W illiam a. T hau iii, P.C. “F ormer U.S. N avy L awyer ”
l Divorce and Separation l Child Custody and Support l Adoption/Guardianship l Paternity Cases l Wills and Probate
l Auto Accidents l Personal Injury l DWI l Criminal Justice l Military Law
ConvenienT Flour BluFF loCaTion 9708 S.P.I.D., Suite A-101 s C orPus C hrisTi (361) 937-5513 s T oll F ree 1-877-888-1369 Licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas Former President of the Corpus Christi Family Law Association (1999-2000) Selected as a Texas “Super Lawyer” in November 2003, October 2004 and October 2005 Issues of Texas Monthly
November 1, 2012
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Chris Adler is small business owner, former public school teacher and a longtime civic and community leader who has lived in Corpus Christi for more than 40 years. She is well known for her work with community organizations and local and national charities.
Chris Adler will help unite Corpus Christi as its mayor. She will:
Develop a plan that will improve our tax base and economy. Help businesses create jobs by supporting strong economic development efforts. Represent all people and all geographic areas of the city to improve our quality of life in the best city in the country. Work to fix our streets and other basic city services. Develop a strong plan to ensure an adequate water supply for the future. t
Plan to improve quality of life issues that will bring new people to Corpus Christi
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by Th eC hr is
Ad ler
Ca mp aig n, R ob er t
Adl er, T re
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5405,
Corpus Chr
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Island Moon
Eagle Ford continued from A1
Imagine if you will…
Islanders Anchored in Chesapeake Bay Waiting to Ride Out the Storm
Editor’s note: A little over a year ago Islanders Meredith Dunning and Justin set off from their condo on Port O Call in a 26-foot sailboat with their fifteen year old cat for a destination unknown. Their travels onboard have taken them to Miami and up the East Coast to New England where they bought a sailboat large enough to set sail for Ecuador. We find them now anchored up in Chesapeake Bay awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, and doing their best to placate Poseidon. By Meredith Dunning
Imagine, if you will, a lovely cove surrounded by hills and trees with a winding creek entrance to the north protected by a small bay and trees to its north, plus a spit spanning much of the creek entrance. In the middle of this little cove, well beyond the sway of any tree, lies the Coconut Woman, amidst her web of silken lines, each one adjustable and all having been spun with much deliberation and care- the marriage of form and function, we humbly hope. I have come to trust Justin as a Master Anchorman, and circumstances such as these are sort of like the World Series for anchoring technique. I am relieved to be a part of his team. In fact, tonight we are performing for the second time, the Renaming Ceremony, so that Poseidon, with freshly offered libations in his belly, may be more inclined to seduce Sandy with a framed commemorative spaghetti weather model of her warmer days gone by, the pasty white men trapped every day behind computers and ridiculous neckties, doting on her every move yet devoid of understanding her needs, possibly convincing her the northeast in November is over-rated for the passionate at heart, certainly with regard to the Upper Chesapeake Western Shore... We are flanked by two unattended boats with and one attended, who just ran right over two of our anchor lines, all the while vapidly waving, as power boaters are wont to do. (And I too, in all matter of general topics) But fear ye not, for we hath the mighty weight of kellets for to hold down the line well below the water surface! We rue not Sandy so much as the clueless wrath of powerboaters who know not their rear ends from their heads, and prehistoric hairball-hacking herons who terrorize the evening silence with their squawking. Praise be to the new anchor chain, and a sleepy redhead for lifting a 90 lb Fisherman’s anchor with her bare arms at 5 a.m. in the morning so that a mighty Monkey may bang down on the thing in order to make available a hole through its shaft through which he drove a cotter pin the size of a celery stalk. Sounds like naughty fun but alas....said anchor has now been deployed due north trailing 200’ of spanky new chain and over 200’ of line. Longer lines allow a more shallow angle of pull on the anchor, thereby allowing it a more horizontal position in which to dig into the bottom substrata and grab a solid hold-- muddy goodness. 60 pound and 45 pound CQR anchors flank us to the left and right, perpendicular to the creek feed. Our bow faces North. Starboard CQR and a line tied to the hunting lease dock protect us from drifting west, south, and north. The owners came down the dock for a look-see and Justin managed to prattle to them enough
November 1, 2012
to keep them from noticing we had tied a line to their dock. Precisely our reason for having carried out our final plans under the cover of darkness, yet odd that most folks do not understand to use their dock is to protect their dock from damage! Port CQR and a line run through an old engine block based mooring with a milk jug “ mooring ball” to a tree supports us from east, south, and north drift. A huge hill supports us from the NW and NE winds, predicted to be the most brutal. And The Fisherman has our lady covered from N to NW, as well as a firm hold against any incoming swells, which are not predicted to be high enough to cross the protective spit. We hold in reserve our Danforth for any potential fan-focused poo-storm. We have forecasts for winds from all directions over the next few days, the worst from the NW. 32 hours of sustained 40-50 mph with 80 mph gusts. Our main challenge will be in keeping an eye on potential chafe. Most boats use two anchors. We have used one super heavy duty anchor, two CQRs- a design of unquestionable trustworthy repute, a dock, a mooring and tree combo, and have at the ready, a quick-setting Danforth. We are beneath hills yet far enough from trees, and at a ten foot depth, we are perfectly situated for a high swell or a blow-out down to 5’, also possibilities. If we do drag, we end up laying slightly to one side in soft mud, a mild ordeal for a full keel boat with at worst, a bent rudder. Not cheap to fix but certainly not life threatening. In ten feet of water as is, she would only sink to just over halfway up the hull. We are an easy 75’ swim to a dock, and have two rather sturdy ancient-looking hunting shacks for emergency shelter If it comes to the worst. Also, we have SSB emergency connection, two cellphones, the Ipad 3G, and our ace in the hole is SPOT, which comes with emergency service alerts. Of course there is always the cat who manages to be heard no matter what the circumstances, so maybe the Coast Guard will find us with no problem, if they listen for a naggy alpha meow and look for the boat with spit up fishing line in the cockpit. We also have our fabulous offshore liferaft, two new offshore auto and manual inflation harness/ life vests, a new lifesling, seacock plugs, expanding foam hull plugs, four working bilge pumps, a dinghy with inflated sleeves, outboard and paddles, our trusty generator, heating, two weeks worth of food and water, projects galore, and a partridge in a pear tree. I hope this puts everyone a bit more at ease. We understand nothing in life is guaranteed, but Poseidon tends to help those who help themselves. He’s also getting chocolate for added incentive. Hope everyone gets through Sandy unscathed. It marks a wonderful opportunity to break out some cuddlin’ and candleglow. Save for regular chafe checks and baking bread that is precisely what we plan on doing. This going to be one wild ride, but we think we’re in a good place, all around. Warmly and with a declarative “meowrr,” Justin, Mer and Nina
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
largest impact. The shale play supported 4,290 jobs there last year with that number expected to increase to 11,627 by 2021. In rural McMullen County, the Eagle Ford already supports 1,932 jobs, in a county where the entire population is less than 700. “This is clearly a once in a lifetime event we are witnessing here,” said Thomas Tunstall of UTSA, who conducted the study and who spoke at the Eagle Ford Shale Stakeholders Summit, held last week at Texas A&M International University in Laredo. In the 14 counties where the play is actively producing, 38,000 Eagle Ford jobs were supported in 2011 and over 80,000 jobs will be supported by 2021. The most significant occupational impacts have been seen in what Tunstall characterizes as construction and extraction, office support, transportation, support services, management, and other professional occupations. Tunstall told the group that more than half of the 20 counties in South Texas are expected to more than double the number of direct and indirect jobs supported by oil and gas production, including Atascosa, DeWitt, Gonzales, Jim Wells and San Patricio by 2021. Some rural communities will add more than 10,000 positions. Karnes County, which had a population of about 15,000 last year, is expected to have nearly 15,000 jobs supported by the Eagle Ford by 2021. Webb County and Karnes County led the region in Eagle Ford workforce with 6,983 and 6,092 jobs supported by the development in 2011. Those numbers are projected to grow to over 10,000 jobs in Webb and almost 15,000 jobs in Karnes by 2012. UTSA estimates the shale play supported 47,000 fulltime jobs last year in a 20-county area with oil and gas production or adjacent to the drilling. By 2021, that should more than double to nearly 117,000.
get to 2021, the construction activities will have shifted to maintenance and repair.” For now, communities are struggling with roads cracking under the weight of of trucks. It takes an average of 1000 truck loads of supplies including water, chemicals, and heavy equipment to complete a single directional drilling well. The shear demand for goods, services, and labor bring in their wake a host of new social issues for communities, businesses, and individuals. The first need is roads and the Texas Legislature which convenes in January is expected to take up the issue as truck traffic around Karnes City and Cotulla in particular has made driving conditions treacherous for cars and small passenger vehicles. In Carrizo Springs ISD, the number of homeless students is on the rise because families that aren’t working in the oil field no longer can afford rent. Superintendent Deborah Dobie said she asks potential new teachers, “How do you feel about living in Eagle Pass?” Eagle Pass is more than 40 miles from Carrizo Springs. “Man camps” have sprung up across the Eagle Ford, but unlike in previous oil booms in the last century these are temporary camps which are designed not to turn into ghost towns once the oil play slackens. Once they are no longer needed the temporary structures can be moved to the next boom town.
Corpus Christi is expected to gain jobs both from proximity to drilling and because of its port and potential to develop terminals for the export of liquefied natural gas. ?The biggest problem in Corpus Christi and other areas is finding enough workers to fill the jobs. More than one-half of all employees hired have only required moderate to short-term on-the-job training as of 2011. Only 10% of jobs require a bachelors degree. In 2021, moderate to short-term on-the-job training will still account for almost half of the workforce and jobs requiring a bachelors degree will rise to 15% of the workforce. Harold “J.R.” Reddish, president and CEO of Houston-based S&B Infrastructure Ltd., told the Laredo group that there currently is a shortage of workers at all levels and not enough Texas students completing high school, college and advanced degree programs. “Honestly, we’re having a hard time finding the workers we need not only on the degreed level but on the workforce level,” Reddish said. Partially due to the fact that the industry is more technically complex and the safety and environmental requirements are greater than they were in the past. Companies must fill jobs for everything from engineers to computer-assisted drawing operators to truck drivers at a time when the influx of large numbers of potential workers is dropping due to the aging of the Baby Boomers. Tunstall said the types of workers needed will change over the life of the play as intense pipeline construction will give way to office, management and support jobs later. “Right now is when most of the construction is occurring,” Tunstall said. “By the time we
In 2011 the Eagle Ford… • Generated over $25 billion in revenue • Supported 47,000 full-time jobs in the area • Provided $257 million in local government revenue • Paid $3.1 billion in salaries and benefits to workers, • Provided more than $12.6 billion in gross regional product, • Added more than $358 million in state revenues including $120.4 million in severance taxes • Spurred a triple-digit sales tax revenue increase in various local counties. • Information provided by Community and Business Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development.
November 1, 2012
Island Moon
The Back Porch Final Weekend Celebrations
A9
Get the attention you deserve.
Beach House Realty
361-332-1021
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
BIG REDUCTION!
Selling a home? Want results?
Waterfront
Call 361-949-7281
14318 Caribe $675,000
Mary Melick Real Estate
Island Creations Remodeling
Total Renovation & Remodels, Outdoor Kitchens & Spas, Additions, Kitchen & Bathroom Upgrades, Sunporches, Replacement of Windows and Doors, Roofing, Painting & Stucco
Landscaping Insured Member, Padre Island Business Association Member, Builders Association, Corpus Christi
960-0327
Design work, Yard Maintenance, Decks, Pergolas, Installation of Rock, Grass, Plants, Trees, Walkways, Paths, Tree Trimming, Container Planting, Vacant Lot Mowing & Shade Covers. All Kinds of Fencing, Pressure Washing & Deck Staining & Sealing
Concrete
Driveways, Patios, Sidewalks, Patio Overlays, Decorative Stamping & Staining, Decks, Bulkheads, Grouted Stone Walls & Patios, Decorative Stone Paver Driveways & Patios
Owned & Operated by Island Residents David & Katherine Pierce References Available Upon Request Commercial & Residential
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1007 SH 361, Port Aransas 361-749-0825
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Bron’s Beach Carts located at 314 East Avenue G. Best cars in Port Aransas. Great service, friendly people.
Call 361-290-7143 for pricing and reservations.
Sonic Drive In Park Rd. 22, Corpus Christi, TX 78418 (361) 949-7886
Island Moon
A 10
November 1, 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
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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.
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.
Sale Pending!
Beautifully Updated 3-2-2 w/ multi purpose room. Split bedrooms. Gas stove. Tile & bamboo floors. Plantation shutters. Large backyard. Cheryl 5630444.
15257 Capstan 3/2/2 well maintained stucco home. Large backyard w/mature trees & covered patio. Tile in kitchen & baths. $149,900. Call Jeremy at (361) 960-7873.
Sale Pending!
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.
Exciting 2-story with great interior lot location. It is on a huge lot with unlimited potential & surrounded by PVC fencing. Call Dorothy @ 563-8486.
Reduced Price 15713 Cuttysark 3/2.5/1 lovely Island home. Large yard with room for a pool. Call Laura Wallace (361) 815-2116.
Investment opportunity! 4/2.5/2 waterfront with extra parking. Vaulted ceilings, fireplace and wet bar. $267,500. 13541 Royal Fifth. Call Shonna 510-3445.
722 St. Lucy $154,900 3/2.5/1. 1624 sq.ft of living area. 2 living areas. All bedrooms up. Nice landscaping. Above ground pool. Charlie 361-443-2499.
Sale Pending!
14945 S. Padre Island Dr. Corpus Chris�, TX 78418 (361) 949‐2131 (877) 269‐2131
www.rentpadreisland.com Superior Service, Outstanding Reputa�on since 1999 Looking for Professional Long Term Property Management Services? Our services include: Tenant Qualifying CollecƟons of Rents CoordinaƟng Repairs & Maintenance Professional Itemized Monthly Statements MarkeƟng/AdverƟsing
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!
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
13625 Catamaran 3/3/1 $1800
13554 Peseta 3/2/2 $2100
Lakeshore Villas #24 2/2 $1150
15702 Finistere 3/2/2 $1400
Leeward Isles #5204 2/2 $1200
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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