section A 248

Inside the Moon...

Seashore students glow A2

Island Trivia A6

The Island Moon Published by Island Moon Publishing, LLC 15201 S. Padre Island Drive Ste. 250 Corpus Christi, TX. 78418 editor@islandmoon.com (361) 949-7700

Pirate Attacks in Port Aransas A10

Community Garden A9

Fishin’ With Farah A11

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Island Moon The Island Newspaper since 1996

Island Area News ● Events ● Entertainment

April 12, 2012

Photo by Miles Merwin

The Only Island in Texas with 37 houses currently under construction

Around The Island

By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com If you’ve been out to the beach of late you’ve no doubt seen the Sargasso weed rolling in.

Things are shaping up to be a long, hot, windy, and weedy summer folks. That said, our beaches have been in great shape lately with drivable sand and nice blue water and it seems the tourists have caught on.

We can judge the number of tourists on The Island from week to week by the number of newspapers we have to print in order to keep up. It’s been kind of guesswork so far this season since it’s our first tourist season to be a weekly publication. When we went to a weekly we upped our monthly print run considerably but quickly figured out that just because we came out twice as often didn’t mean we could print only half as many copies each week. We quickly discovered that to keep up we had to print more copies as a weekly than we did as a Fortnightly.

Then about the time we got that figured out along came Spring Break and we printed several thousand more copies during that period figuring we would slack off once we hit late March and April. But the surprise has come in the Spring Break Aftermath as demand hasn’t slacked off much due to the fact that while the numbers are not Spring Breakish there are still a lot of visitors on our Island. We suspect that the 1.3 million people who moved into the Austin/ San Antonio corridor between 2000 and 2010 are altering our seasonal tourist patterns.

Island turnaround People who study such things tell us that about 26,000 cars per day come over the JFK Causeway onto The Island. They also say about 60% of those don’t go past the SPID/ Commodores intersection. By our challenged math skills that means that as many as 10,000 cars per day make it past that point. That number sounds a bit high but it seems safe to say that a “whole bunch” of cars each day make their way to the SPID/Whitecap light and a good portion of those turn left to head down toward the beach.

That means that anyone who has business on the west side of SPID from a point where the strip center with Surfside Sandwich Shop is located on south to Whitecap must sit in the turn lane at Whitecap if they want to turn back north on SPID toward Commodores. Once you pass the last turnaround on SPID there is no other route back north.

The Moon Traffic Count Department did an unofficial count of the percentage of cars which make the U-turn at the SPID/Whitecap light versus the cars which turn left toward the beach. By our count as many as one-third of the cars make the U-turn but before they can do so must sit through the light. It is amazing that a path has not been worn through the grass by Around Continued on A8

Swap meet for boats, RV’s, fishing gear added

1st Annual Island Showcase Coming April 28-29 More than thirty homes have signed up to take part in the 1st Annual Island Showcase set for Saturday April 28 and Sunday April 29. The homes will be open for public viewing from 1-5 on both days.

The event is a celebration of the Island lifestyle and will feature tours of homes, both by land and water, and will also be a showcase for companies who work on Island homes, decks, and landscaping.

There will be a showcase for Island home improvement companies at the Seashore Learning Center gym on Encantada.

To take part in the Swap Meet for boats, recreational vehicles, and fishing gear show up at the parking lot at Brisco King Pavilion by 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 28 and check in. The event is free and the idea is to trade and sell with other Islanders who have unused gear setting around.

The idea is to showcase the Island lifestyle in every form. The event is the first annual and all Islander are encouraged to participate by contacting Mary Lou White at 960-9460 or by e-mail at marylou. white@coldwellbanker.com. Boat tours of the homes can be arranged by calling ahead.

Just head to the Island and follow the signs. It’s a chance to get an inside look at the Island and the beautiful homes along the canals.

Next Publication Date: 4/19/2012

Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

Year 15, Issue 418

Spoil Island Cleanup Set for April 28

First Look at the Park Road 22 Water Exchange Bridge

It’s a time to give something back

Construction would take about one year

By Fred Edler The Spoil Island cleanup is just around the corner and is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, 2012.

We enjoy a wonderful island paradise.

Unfortunately due to careless individuals and strong winds our beautiful waterways and undeveloped “islands” become littered with debris. The Padre Island POA Beautification Trust in conjunction with the Padre Island Yacht Club, Sponsor and Host the “Spoil Island Clean Up” each year.

Volunteers are needed to patrol and clean the waterways and shores of the canal system that gives us so much beauty and enjoyment. If you’ve ever boated down the canals, fished the shore line or swam in the canal system, it’s time to give back a half day of your time to keep our island beautiful.

City planners have been working on a design for the proposed Park Road 22 Water Exchange Bridge for about three months. On Tuesday Islanders got their first look at the detailed plans during a public presentation. The bridge would connect the proposed Schlitterbahn and Islandwalk resort developments on the west side of Park Road 22 (SPID) to the marina, boat storage facility, and residential developments planned on the east side of the road.

The bridge was approved by voters in a 2004 bond election but since that time its cost has escalated from $1.4 million to $8.5 million. City Council has said they plan to pay for the project with money from the 2008 bond package which was left over after several projects came in under budget.

The current design would allow for water passage through a six-foot deep channel and would include walking and cart paths on each side along with about a 14-foot clearance from water level to the bridge for boat passage.

It would take about one year to complete and during most of that time traffic on SPID would be reduced to one lane each way. However, Islanders would have the option of using the Aquarius Extension which should be finished by the time construction of the bridge would begin.

The bridge would most likely not be finished by the time construction on the Schlitterbahn would be done.

Here are the current plans for the bridge.

If you have a boat, we need you and your boat.

If you don’t have a boat we will find a skipper that needs a crew; but we really need you to come out and help.

Boats will begin loading up and forming crews at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 28 at the Padre Island Yacht club. Water and trash bags will be provided. Dumpsters will be present at designated boat launch parks to dispose of the debris. The entire community is invited to participate.

A hamburger lunch will be provided at the Padre Island Yacht Club, for all volunteers, around noon.

Please complete the Spoil Island Cleanup Volunteer form and email to: 3rdcoastfred@att. net Let’s keep our Canal System clean and beautiful.

Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup set for April 28 10,000 Texans to tackle trash in nation’s biggest coastal cleanup

SandFest Saturday & Sunday April 21 & 22, 2012

Thousands of volunteers across the state are making plans now to take part in the AdoptA-Beach Spring Cleanup Saturday, April 28.

In the Coastal Bend, volunteers will hit 11 beaches..

The 26th GLO Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup will run from 9 a.m. until noon. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at eleven sites in the Coastal Bend area.

Texas — home to the nation’s first all-volunteer beach cleanup in 1986 — boasts one of the biggest all-volunteer beach cleanups in the world. More than 10,000 Texans are expected to participate in the Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup coastwide.

Volunteers may register on-line for the Spring Cleanup at www.TexasAdoptABeach.org or at 29 of the 30 check-in sites (advanced registration required for St. Jo Island) beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 28th . Each volunteer will be given data cards, gloves, pencils and trash bags. All volunteers are advised to wear closed-toe shoes, bring sunscreen and plenty of drinking water.

The Texas General Land Office Adopt-ABeach Cleanups are held rain or shine!

Texans who are not able to attend the cleanup can help keep their beaches clean by making a tax-deductible donation online at www.

TexasAdoptABeach.org. There are several different Adopt-A-Beach sponsorship levels ranging from $25 to $25,000, allowing both individuals and corporations to contribute to this major cleanup effort. Statewide coastal cleanups are held every spring and fall.

To learn how you can participate, or for additional information on the AdoptA-Beach Program, please visit www.

TexasAdoptABeach.org or contact the GLO at 1-877-TX COAST. Those interested may also become a fan of the program at www.facebook. com/texasadoptabeach where event details and results will also be posted.

Coastal Bend Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup sites North Padre Island, Corpus Christi—Kleberg County Check-in: Padre Balli Park Office, 15820 Park Cleanup Continued on A7

One Man’s Saga through the Tax Wilderness How the Nueces Appraisal District sounded the death knell for an Island charter business

By Dale Rankin One of the last boat charters on The Island has closed down after a long and bitter fight with the Nueces Appraisal District which alternately and arbitrarily swung the value of the 60-foot Trula B. from $92,700 all the way up to $750,000 in the course of ten years, even as the boat aged and dropped in value.

charters. Then after two years of use primarily as a personnel craft one day in 2001 Norm got a letter from the appraisal district.

The boat in question is the blue and white catamaran you see moored at the Boathouse located directly between Docs’ and Snoopy’s Restaurants adjacent to the JFK Bridge.

It is owned by the Estoy Pronto Corp. documented in Illinois for tax purposes. There had never been a local property tax due on the boat since it qualified as rolling stock. Norm Baker is the sole stock holder in Estoy Pronto.

Baker first got into the charter business on The Island in 1999 when he bought the 45-foot Samuel D. Most of the time the Samuel D. was out to sea traveling and was seldom used for

The letter from the appraisal district put the value of the boat at $92,700 – a number which was in the ballpark for the boat’s actual market value but put the tax bill well out of reach for a boat only being used for charters part time.

Tax Continued on A2

A 2

Tax Continued from A1

“The problem was that you can’t pay that kind of tax and do a charter business on a part time basis,” Baker said. “At that time I was doing maybe $2000 per year in charters.”

Baker was also giving away 12-14 charters per year to local non-profit groups who used the charters as fundraisers.

Baker went to the appraisal office and spoke to a commercial appraiser before any kind of formal appeals process. The appraiser on his own volition dropped the value from $92,700 to $14,680 – a $78,020 drop based on nothing but his own authority.

“That’s a big drop for one guy,” Baker said.

“He didn’t ask anyone, he just dropped the value right there.”

That put Baker’s tax bill at $1200 and that was paid. He also paid a tax on the Boathouse and its fixtures separate and apart from the tax on the boat. Things stayed that way until 2011 when one day he opened a letter from the appraisal district and got a $16,000 surprise; he owed $17,109.14 in taxes. A hefty increase from the $1200 he had been paying in spite of the fact that he had run only $1700 in total revenue from charters in the previous year.

“I told them there was no way to stay in the charter business with a tax bill like that,” Baker said.

He went back to the appraisal district where a clerk asked him if he was doing charters. He said yes and she told him he must go before an appeals board for a hearing.

An appeal before an appeals board was scheduled and in late 2011 a hearing was held.

Things looked pretty good on the first vote.

Baker won his appeal by one vote after two members of the board abstained; one because he was Norm’s friend, the other because as she said, “I don’t know what we’re voting on.”

Easter at the park

Island Moon

That vote would have opened the door for a negotiated settlement satisfactory to both sides.

But instead of a settlement the board chairman called for another vote, trying to force the lady who said she didn’t understand what she was voting on to vote anyway. He also asked for some comps – the tax value on similar boats.

That’s when trouble started. In fifteen minutes in walked a man with the verdict; the staff had found one comp and it was a whopper. It was the value of the The Flagship which at the time did charters from the downtown T-Heads and carried more than 150 people – 146 more people than the Trula B was licensed to carry.

“That’s a big difference in terms of cash flow,” Baker said. “They might was well have picked the Lexington as far as finding a real comparison for fair market value.”

That put the value of the Trula B at $700,000 and the tax bill for 2011 at $17,109.14; nearly $16,00 more than in previous years in spite of the fact that the Trula B had done far less charters in 2011 than in previous years – about $1700.

“You just put me out of business,” Baker told them.

“You owe the tax,” was the reply.

“You leave me no choice but to file suit,” Baker told them on his way out, to which one of the appraisers present replied, “I don’t blame you.”

The suit wound its way through negotiations for three months while Baker waited to see if he was still to be in the charter business. Then in February the appraisal district sent word that they would settle for half the tax bill if the Trula B was taken out of the charter business. Baker agreed and paid $18,306.77, which included some penalties and interest, but not his legal fees. According to his agreement with the appraisal district about half of that amount may be refunded once the settlement agreement is signed and sealed.

In the meantime The Island has one less charter and Island non-profits have one less way to raise money.

Also in the meantime the Trula B is on the market for $700,000 and has been for six months but so far with no takers.

“If you think the real estate market is down,” Baker said. “Take a look at the market for big boats in this economy.”

So an Island business that began in 1999 and was saved by a lone bureaucrat in an isolated cubicle in 2001 was sent to Davy Jones Locker by one vote in 2011 cast by a lady who said on the record she didn’t know what she was voting on.

So what can we learn from Mr. Baker’s experience? Well, there is great truth in the old adage that the power to tax is the power to destroy.

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April 12, 2012

Lighthouse Rick Makes Texas Monthly

Editor’s note: The following story appeared in the April issue of Texas Monthly Magazine. It is about our friend Rick Reichenbach who is the lighthouse keeper at the Aransas Pass Light Station. It once marked the entrance to the channel however, over time the channel moved and the lighthouse is now a distance from the location of the current channel.

We tell Rick he should have business cards made that on one side say, “Daytime, turn light off. And on the other, “Nighttime, turn light on.”

Reichenbach is the caretaker for the Aransas Pass Light Station. Built in 1855 to mark entry into Corpus Christi Bay, the now privately maintained lighthouse—which is on the National Register of Historic Places and is owned today by H-E-B CEO Charles Butt—is the only manned lighthouse in operation on the Texas coast. After hurricane damage and a period of disuse, it was restored and began functioning again in 1988.

I moved to Port Aransas with a girlfriend twelve years ago. We bought a big sailboat, but in time we split up and sold the boat. I’d known the previous keeper of the lighthouse for many years before he took the job, and around this time I reestablished a friendship with him. When he started losing his vision, I house-sat for him and helped him with the lighthouse. I did a good bit of carpentry work out here, and when he finally came to the realization that he could no longer do the job, he asked me if I was interested. That was ten years ago this June.

I had no reservations about being the keeper. I like to joke with people that I write on the palm of my hand, “Daytime: light off. Nighttime: light on.” Actually, the lighthouse has a photocell, so it goes on automatically each night. Even so, the job is more complicated than it sounds.

The lighthouse sits on 25 acres on a huge island called Harbor Island. These acres are privately owned; the rest of the island is Texas land. There are three actual dwellings out here, including mine, as well as my workshop. The houses were built mainly for function rather than comfort, so when it’s cold, it’s extremely cold. All the houses are ten to twelve feet off the ground on pilings. So the wind goes around the structures. They aren’t insulated. Right now, the weather is miserable—cold, wet, and windy—but that’s part of what you have to put up with. A typical storm is just weather to me, no different from how people in Houston see bad traffic. If we get a serious storm threat like a hurricane, I have a routine: I put shutters up and go inland to a friend’s house. The light stays on by itself, since it’s automatic. A friend of mine who is in the merchant marines told me that on a clear night, on one of the big ships, you can see the lighthouse from about fifteen miles away.

The only way to get to the island is by boat. I have two seaworthy vessels I can go back and forth with. Everything has to come by boat: refrigerators, building materials, food. But I don’t get lonely.

Aransas Pass is only a fifteen-minute ride away, so I can get all the social life I want.

Then when I go home, there’s no traffic, no dogs barking.

Nobody is slamming a dumpster lid down at four o’clock in the morning.

a triangular lighthouse service flag. I put on a pot of coffee. I feed my two cats, Kitty and Gooberhead. I go out on the porch and watch the sun come up over the island. You see the wildlife, the birds, the barges going by, the ships coming in. It’s very relaxing. To the untrained eye, this area appears bland: marsh and water But there is beauty. You see something differen every day: the clouds or the sunset or the sunrise or a dolphin.

Later in the morning, I walk around the property and make sure the plumbing is al right. I’m in a constant battle with the elements Everything rusts or molds out here, and because the place is historic, it needs constant upkeep Sometimes a sewer line will break; other times the power will go out, and you have to run of a generator while you get the power people ou to fix it. If a pump goes out, you won’t have any water. I try to stay ahead of the problems.

Sometimes I’ll have visitors—lots and lots of them. Large groups. Historical societies Science classes. Friends and acquaintances o the lighthouse owner. The main house has al the accommodations, including a kitchen, so they fend for themselves. I see they get there safely. I bring them out to the island, and when they leave, I have windows to wash and floors to mop. There’s a lot of cleaning to be done, a lo of air conditioners that need to be taken care o because of the salt. The structures are all wood and so rotted boards need to be replaced. I keep everything in pretty good shape.

I do have an Internet connection, but there’s no television. So when visitors come, they’re forced to do this thing—it’s so retro—called conversation. Where you sit around and actually talk to one another.

In retrospect, I wonder why I ever did anything else. I’ve always been on the water, so my

I get up in the morning and put up the Texas flag, the American flag, and

boating skills are there. Apparently I have the social skills to deal with the guests. I’m a carpenter. I’ve built boats, I’ve run boats, I’ve done construction, I have the minimal skills in electrical and plumbing that are required—because you can’t just call somebody and say, “Send a plumber.” You can’t get a plumber who happens to have a boat ready to go on a Sunday night.

Everything takes about twice as long to accomplish here as it would in, say, the suburbs, because the lighthouse is thirty miles from Corpus Christi. You have to plan a lot more.

Mainly, truth be known, there has to be somebody here at all times because it is such a curiosity. People like to go out and look at it, but they need permission to access the property. Lighthouses are like tall ships and steam locomotives. They are an important part of our history, and even though they’re now obsolete, people like to have them around.

This is a little embarrassing: even though I’ve been to lighthouses throughout the country, I’m not a “lighthouse person” per se. I’m just fortunate to live in one.

News From Your

By Maybeth Christensen About 150 residents attended the Park Road 22 bridge and canal presentation this week.

Various engineers, structural, design and environmental, were available to show the plans and answer questions. It was an informal session, not the usual “town meeting” type. If you were not able to attend and would like information on the project, we have the handouts from the meeting at the POA office.

The mood of the group was very upbeat and anxious to see something move forward. If all goes according to the current plans, dirt should start moving in January 2013.

Home and lot sales on the Island have definitely been improving.

We are seeing builders who have not been building out here since 2007. There is definitely excitement in the air.

The POA is exploring options of what we can do for our Island parks. The City just barely “maintains” what we have. If you are interested in being part of the “Adopt-A-Park” activity, give me a call - 949-7025, or email me at maybeth@pipoa.net.

The garden project was an “Adopt-A-Park” project which was done by contributions and volunteers. It will take that type of effort for the other parks if we are going to see improvements.

We have some concept plans for a dog park and walking path at Aquarius. But, we will need to raise money and will need volunteers for the project.

The Easter Egg Hunt at Billish Park was a terrific event. There were lots of kids and parents and tons of eggs. It would be even better, if we can figure out how to get rid of the stickerburrs!

April 12, 2012

Island Moon

Port A Happenings

Sunset Sounds concert

Tropical Punch, a blues, country, classic rock band, will perform familiar and original music in a free concert at 7 pm, Friday, April 13.

The series is held the second Friday of each month from April through October in the Patsy Jones Amphitheater in Roberts Point Park in Port Aransas.

Bring a chair, food, drinks, friends and family to enjoy open air music overlooking the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Beautiful sunsets, warm breezes, dolphins jumping and birds flying by add to the ambience as the music fills the air.

Kids and (leashed) dogs are welcome. The playground is at a safe distance for children to play.

Perry Wing has gathered some of the best musicians on the island to form a smooth sounding yet entertaining band called Tropical Punch. The band members are L. Leon Sands on lead guitar and vocals, Woodie Lawson on bass guitar and vocals, Andrew Blankenship on drums and percussion, and Perry Wing on rhythm guitar and vocals. Their island blend of music will hit you like a tropical drink on a hot day. Smooth and cool.

Band Members include Perry Wing: Originally from Kansas City, Perry moved to Austin, Texas in 1986 where he played rhythm guitar and wrote songs for the last 25 years. His original band, Wingspann, played Austin’s 6th Street clubs and toured Canada in the 80’s and 90’s.

He has played three tours in Netherlands and Belgium with The Perry Wing Band, promoting the band’s three CD’s: Walking on Backstreets, Austin Bound, and Weather the Storm. After moving to Rockport last year, Perry brought together some of the islands best musicians and singers to form Tropical Punch.

Andrew Blankenship: A native of Aransas Pass, Texas, Andrew started playing drums at the age of 14 on his brothers drum kit. He soon joined on with his church’s Praise and Worship Band for several years. This helped him expand his dynamic rhythms and back beat on the drums.

He moved on to The Del Mar Jazz Band for several semesters. Currently, Andrew is playing drums for Aqua Vox and Tropical Punch.

Did Ya Hear?

A3

By Mary Craft

email your business news to Mary Craft at mkay512@aol.com

The 2012 schedule includes: May 11 - Alma & Luis June 8 - Aqua Vox - surf music July 13 - Latin Gypsy Combo - Latin Jazz August 10 - Samantha Aiken & the Rodeo Drive band - country and popular September 14 - David & Barbara Brown - Hill Country serenade October 12 - Rosewood

Yoga on the beach Into yoga or want to try it out? You are invited to a free lesson held on the beach on Saturday, April 14.

Meet instructor Nancy Myers at 8 a.m. near Horace Caldwell Pier at the end of Beach Street in Port A. Bring an old towel or yoga mat suitable for use on the beach.

Open to everyone, this tutorial is offered the second Saturday of each month courtesy of the Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department.

Dunk your junk Avoid dump fees at the annual spring Dunk Your Junk held for Port Aransas residents on Saturday, April 14.

L. Leon Sands: A native of San Antonio, L. Leon started playing guitar at the age of seven.

He has won several awards for writing and performing music jingles. His gigs in the 80’s and 90’s include playing clubs on the River Walk and touring the U.S for the Job Corps.

He also has played the music scene in Chicago before moving to Port Aransas last year. From his new studio on the island, L. Leon enjoys recording music and painting. He is currently playing lead guitar and singing vocals in two bands: Aqua Vox and Tropical Punch.

From 9 a.m. to noon, residents may take their trash to the city transfer station to dispose of at no charge.

Woodie Ray Lawson: Raised in Stephenville, Texas, Woodie started playing bass on his dad’s electric guitar as a teenager. He co-founded his first band, Resurrection, in Stephenville and moved to Austin in the early 70’s. He played bass guitar in several bands in the 80’s. The most popular of those bands were Doak Snead Band, Dogs at Play, The Octave Doctors, Wingspann, and Old Number Seven. He moved to Port Aransas in 1990 and co-founded The Dynamics and Triggerfish, which released two CD’S. As an accomplished bass player and vocalist, Woodie is still active in the music scene on Port-A playing in three bands, The Ones, Aqua Vox and Tropical Punch.

KPAB schedules the event to participate as a part of the Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup, a program in which affiliates across the country hold cleanup and beautification projects from March to May each year. Another free dump is held in October in conjunction with Make A Difference Day.

Keep Port Aransas Beautiful (KPAB), the City of Port Aransas and Republic Services (Allied Waste) will partner for the event.

No construction materials, tires or hazardous waste will be accepted at the event. No sheet rock, drywall or roofing shingles will be accepted. Paint, freon, anti-freeze and other dangerous fluids also are excluded.

KPAB is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote public interest to create a cleaner, more beautiful Port Aransas through volunteerism and education.

The organization focuses on litter reduction, beautification and community improvement, to reduce/reuse/ recycle/rebuy and provides environmental education.

Game Warden Association Fishing Tournament Set for June 15 -16 For families looking for a weekend on the water and a great music event look no further than the 3rd Annual Texas Game Warden Association Fishing Tournament on Fathers Day Weekend (June 15th and 16th) in Port Aransas.

The Game Warden Association uses the tournament to raise money to put on fishing and outdoor events for kids throughout the year.

There are cash payouts for 1st,2nd, and 3rd place for Speckled Trout, Redfish, and Black Drum.

There will be divisions for Youth, Individuals, and Guided.

Entry fees are $60 per person and all tournament events will be held at Roberts Point Park in Port Aransas. There are several fishing spots and piers around the area where anglers can try their luck.

Live music will begin at 4 p.m. with Bri Bagwell, followed by Cody Johnson, Turnpike Troubadours, and at 10:30 headliner Pat Green will take the stage.

For more information see their website at http://tgwa.justgofishin.com/.

A 4

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April 12, 2012

Real Estate Roundup

By Mary Lou White This article will be all about the Pain of Change!

Most residents in Corpus Christi are not aware that the Multiple Listing Service that all the Real Estate agents use to search, locate, show and sell property changed on 2 April, 2012. One of my common comments goes something like this: Real Estate I understand, technology….. not so much! We operate in a world where instant information is now the norm. A majority of our meetings now revolve around the use of electronic devices that are necessary to be able to compete in the real estate market of today.

We have even reached the point where electronic signatures are being used on legal documents. The last bastion of needing a personally signed document has been attacked and apparently hurdled. You can physically be in China and still buy a home in Corpus Christi. We are all trying to ride the wave of faster and breaking technology. However, there are days when you feel like a drowning victim. That brings me back to this past week.

Suddenly, such a simple task of searching for houses for sale, becomes a monumental problem. All the skills of the past system, no longer apply. We are all desperately trying to learn the new system and still look like we know what we are doing. Even the system itself has suffered a meltdown, because when I tried to log in just a few minutes ago to check my facts for the Real Estate Ticker, all I got was a white screen. Therefore, the numbers at the end of this article will represent the best search I can generate using the new MLS system. As time passes, I am sure it will become more accurate and I will become more proficient.

have a “reserved area” set aside, where these “toys” can be exhibited and admired. Charge the battery, air up the tires, challenge your cleaning skills and polish your sales technique.

This could be a “win/win” for everyone. If you have an antique car lurking in your garage, we would love to put that on display as well.

If you even suspect that you might be interested in this opportunity, please call me at 960-9460, so we can get a handle on the space requirements that might be needed, to make this effort a success. My final plea is to boat owners who would be willing to give “canal tours” to Island visitors. As we all know, the homes look entirely different from the “water side”.

Details can be set, if I know we have boats available to provide this service. To borrow a quote from: The Wind in the Willows…..There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.

That pretty much covers my philosophy as well. Needless to say, the days leading up to the 28/29 April week-end will become more hectic with each passing hour. My most sincere desire is to pass on the pleasure that I derive each day by being a Padre Island Resident.

Now, if I can just navigate the MLS system, to allow others to experience this lifestyle, all will be right with the world, in the near term.

Island Real Estate Ticker 6 Commercial Properties For Sale From $640,000 to $4,557,465 1 Multi-Family Complex For Sale For $2,500,000 111 Island Lots and Land For Sale: 42 Parcels on a canal or water from $99,000 to $399,900

The Most Constant Fact in Life is Change Besides the MLS system, our Island is changing as well. I dare to say, most of us know about the proposed Schlitterbahn project, the proposed bridge on Park Road 22 and the extension of Aquarius. As I drive through the subdivisions everyday, I see more new homes going up than my recent memory recalls. My email from the city today, shows 10 new single family residences were issued building permits in March. It FEELS like we are headed for better times. For the future home buyers and sellers, on The Island, I hope that feeling becomes a reality.

Island Showcase To promote that idea of “Island Living”, I have been working to help co-ordinate the upcoming Padre Island Showcase. So far, I have 33 homes that will be on tour, sponsored

by Island Realtors. The Vendor Show, at the SLC Gym on Encantada will feature 24 booths that showcase Island businesses that service the needs of those of us who live on the Island. I suspect that most of us need what these vendors provide, on a regular basis; especially, if you own a home here. The third venue will be at Balli Park. I like to think of it as Trade Days for Your Toys! If you have a boat and trailer or an RV that you are thinking of selling, we will

69 Parcels not on the water from $19,000 to $199,900 193 Island Residences For Sale 70 Attached homes for sale from $84,000 to $489,000 74 Detached homes on a canal or water from $184,900 to $2,200,000 49 Detached homes not on the water from $139,900 to $389,000

Art Center for The Islands Extends Deadline for ArtFest Due to the larger venue we still have room for more Artists Booths, so the old deadline was April 1 -the new deadline is April 25.

May 19 & 20 -Port Aransas, 7th Annual ArtFest.

A fine array of Artists Fine Arts & Crafts for Sale will be held Saturday & Sunday includes live music, food available.Artist’s application deadline Extended toApril 25th. Robert’s Point Park 10am-5pm www.portaransasartcenter.org (361)-749-7334 Gulf Coast Region

Johnny D’s

15605Johnny SPID nD’s 949-2500 15605 SPIDHours: n 949-2500 Hours:

Open TuesSat4:30 4:30 - 10 PM Open Tues- Sat - 10 PM Sunday 4:30 9 PM Sunday 4:30 - 9 PM Closed Monday Closed Monday

Happy Hour Happy Hour 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

$2.00 Pints 4:30 Full to 6:30 p.m.

Service Bar 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 operation are Tuesday-Saturday 4:30 to 10pm and Sunday 4:30 to 9pm

$2.00 Pints 15600 SPID On the Island 949-2500

Featuring 7 Draft Beers HOURS-Closed SUNDAYS & MONDAYS Located on Padre Island, Johnny D's offers Island dining at its best. Serving Corpus Christi with the Check our website forfreshest daily local specials seafood and culinary masterpieces, order the rack of lamb and you'll be calling your friends from the table! Hours of and more information TUES-SAT 4:30 till 10:00 on 4:30 Tap operation are Tuesday-Saturday 4:30 to 10pm and Sunday to 9pm www.letseat.at/johnnydsrestaurant Daily Features.15600 Fresh Fish.

SPID On the Island 949-2500 Great Daily Dinner Specials We will cook your catch.

Full Service Bar

April 12, 2012

Island Moon

Letters to the Editor Joey Farah

Texas Shipwreck Locations

A5

Thank you

Dale,

Hey thanks guys for the art show picture.

Joey Farah’s Gone Fishing article on brown tide and his experiences down the Laguna was an absolute pleasure. Those few short paragraphs describing his encounter with “The Sisters” had the slightest lingering feel of something from Corey Ford or Robert Ruark. The fact his writing brought those names to mind more than justifies the expenditure of the paper and ink. The cult that worships far places and wild things has a hunger and they were fed.

Regards Larry Edwards Thanks for the letter Larry. There are some of us here at the paper who don’t fish a lick but we read Joey to keep up with what is going on in the fishing community. We admit we had to Google Corey Ford and Robert Ruark but after we did we now have some new reading material. When it comes to knowledge of the local water and how to fish it Joey’s the guy.

Antiques Roadshow Editor’s note: We continue to get many inquires about taking part in the Antique Roadshow coming town through KEDT television. We contacted the station and got this response for those interested. We have forwarded the messages we got from readers but we suggest if you are interested in either taking an item there or volunteering that you contact them directly.

Island Moon, They can send their request in to me, ludielitz@kedt.org; or you can send me the list with their email addresses & phone numbers; we are looking to fill 120 spots and the list is filling up pretty quickly. And the list will still have to be contingent on approval from the Antiques Roadshow group. So right now, we are acknowledging requests and later on, we are sending a link to an online signup form.

Truth or Consequences, NM (not really new, and not really Mexico) is fairly fun and has hot springs, soaking under the stars....but gee, Port A is a parallel magical universe.

XO to all, Betsy

Editor’s note: Several readers have forwarded chain e-mails to us on this subject. What follows is the response from the AARP of Texas.

AARP Texas to voters: homestead tax cap is not at risk AUSTIN, TEXAS -- There’s some misinformation circulating about what will be on the ballot in the upcoming May election. A spam email has been making its way across the state, warning voters that the homestead tax cap for people 65 and older is up for a vote.

This simply isn’t true. Here are the facts: In 2006, The Texas Legislature passed a law reducing property taxes for all homeowners.

However, the legislation left out senior and disabled citizens whose property taxes were already “frozen.” As a result, seniors and people with disabilities didn’t receive the same reduction.

AARP Texas tackled this issue during the 2007 Session, and the Texas Legislature passed a bill calling for seniors and disabled citizens to receive the same benefits from the tax reduction as other Texans. In May of that year, Texas voters passed the amendment extending property tax relief to seniors and disabled Texans.

This problem was solved over four years ago.

There is no constitutional amendment election scheduled in Texas in May 2012. Seniors and disabled Texans can rest easy, knowing their homestead tax cap is not at risk.

Let me know if I answer your questions.

Happy Easter Everybunny!

Ludie Lutz Web Administrator/Volunteer Coordinator

Services

South Texas Public Broadcasting System (your community-owned station) KEDT-TV/FM & KVRT-FM Ph: 361.855.2213 Fax: 361.855.3877 “Volunteers are not paid not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.” Anonymous

No Wake You people made me sit down and write this and I have better things to do.

If you’re reading this I know you must be able to read the No Wake signs. Saturday many of you drove your big boats (and small, and jet skis) with blatant disregard to those on the bank fishing at Packery Channel.(near boat ramp and entrance to Lake Padre) Your two-plus foot wake in the no wake area knocked my girlfriend down and she really banged up her shoulder. You are responsible for your wake, so please think about my girl next time. It would not kill you to be courteous but your wake just might kill someone. I waved and even whistled at several others but just got strange looks. Even going slow some of your boats make a big wake and I am sure you can tell when your making one. It’s not funny. My girl is a great friendly, helpful person who would never have done this to you. And when you see someone fishing, give a little space, stay near the center of the channel and slow down before you get to the no wake sign so you don’t push a huge wake into the no wake area. Please.

Paul Slobojan Who Are the Moon Monkeys

Mike Ellis, Founder Distribution Pete Alsop Island Delivery Coldwell Banker Advertising

AARP

Just wanted to let you all know that I’ll be playing this Friday the 13th, at the Kick-Off for the Sunset Sounds Summer Series! (No, I’m not Superstitious). And, Yes, it’s Tropical PUNCH, featuring former Wingspann bandmate, Perry Wing! He’ll be joined by the current line up of me, on bass and vocals, L.Leon Sands on sizzlin’ lead guitar & vocals, with Andrew Blankenship on the skins! That will be at Robert’s Point Park, at the Patsy Jones Memorial Amphitheater, (near the Ferry Landing), here in beautiful Port Aransas! We start at 7, and it’s over at 9. No Cover! Everyone’s encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, and ice chests with your favorite snacks or frosty beverages.

ION, I apologize for the Happy Birthday and Anniversary wishes that I missed since the last infoletter, and hope you all had Happy ONES! Today’s Happy 6th Anniversary wishes to John & Kim McDonough! Triggerfish played for their wedding rehearsal dinner, up in Dallas at the Dallas World Aquarium! Hope to see y’all again in early May! Happy B’Day wishes on Tuesday to internet radio station owner and DJ, Don Cudd, aka Hosstheboss.com! Thanks for playing my songs! Happy B’Day wishes on Wednesday to daughter of co-worker, Dan Griffin’s daughter Shannon! It’s also the 42nd Anniversary of The Beatles’ breakup! And, the 5th anniversary of the passing of my Austin ladyfriend, Armadillo World Kitchen Chef, and booking manager/agent, Jan Beeman! I wrote several songs for, and about her, during our time together in Austin. Happy B’Day Wishes on Thursday, to my new artist, musician, singer, songwriter buddy, Tropical PUNCH & Aqua Vox bandmate, L.Leon Sands! I’m sure your B’Day celebration shall be carried over to our Sunset Sounds gig on Friday! Happy B’Day wishes on Saturday, to longtime local resident and music fan, Lori Benning! And, Happy 34th Anniversary on Sunday, to my former supervisors and Lydia Ann Channel Lighthouse Keepers, Rick & Cameron Pratt!

IOON, Just had to mention that the price of Unleaded Regular gasoline has gone up 20 cents a gallon, to $3.79 a gallon since my last infoletter, a month ago. Hopefully it won’t go up much more! Take care & come see, and hear Tropical PUNCH this Friday, in Port Aransas, for Sunset Sounds! All for now!

Woodie

Jan Park Rankin Office Lisa Towns Classifieds Arlene Ritley Design/Layout Jeff Craft Contributing Writers (In no particular order) Devorah Fox Mary Craft Maybeth Christiansen Dr. Tom Dorrell Jay Gardner Todd Hunter Danniece Bobeché Ronnie Narmour Dr. Donna Shaver Photographers Miles Merwin Office Security/Spillage Control Riley P. Dog Editor/Publisher/Spillage Control Supervisor Dale Rankin About the Island Moon The Island Moon is published every Wednesday, Dale Rankin, Editor.

Total circulation is 10,000 copies. Distribution includes delivery to 4,000 Island homes, free distribution of 3,000 copies in over 50 Padre Island businesses and condos, as well as 600 copies distributed in Flour Bluff, 1,400 copies on Mustang Island and Port Aransas businesses.

News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office 15201 S P I D. Suite 250. For more information call 361-949-7700 or contact the Moon at 15201 S Padre Island Dr., Suite 250, Corpus Christi, TX 78418 or by e-mail to editor@islandmoon.com.

Patty brings a bright new smile to Michelle’s Salon. Patty, formerly of Sport Clips next to Lowes. Mention this ad and receive 25% off any chemical service and guys, you will receive a complimentary scalp massage on your first visit. If you are looking for a military cut or a super fade, Patty is your girl. As always, Walk-ins welcome

A 6 Island Police Blotter

Island Moon

Deadly Weekend on Area Beaches

Two brothers drowned in Port Aransas. Two men drowned while swimming near the Port Aransas jetties The body of Herman “Raymond” Schmitt, 18, was found on Sunday and the body of his 20 year-old brother Peter Schmitt was found on Tuesday morning. Both men were from the Texas town of Lamesa and were visiting for the holiday.

The men were swimming about three miles south of the jetties just before 3 p.m. on Sunday when witnesses said Herman Schmitt was out near the second sandbar when he began having difficulties. Peter Schmitt swam out to help him, and the two disappeared witnesses said.

Shortly after calling 911 bystanders saw Herman Schmitt and pulled him from the water near beach marker 32. He received CPR and medical treatment but died.

The Coast Guard began searches via boat, helicopter a Falcon jet about 3 p.m. Sunday, and also received help form the Port Aransas police and fire departments, as well as the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Port of Corpus Christi police.

The National Weather Service had issued a “low” probablility for rip currents over the weekend and it is unknown at this time if the current contributed to the deaths.

Drowning near Bob Hall Pier. A 52-year-old Boerne man drowned Saturday while swimming with family members north of Bob Hall Pier.

Michael Gimblet was swimming with his daughter just north of Bob Hall Pier about 4 p.m. when he was swept under by a large wave. When the first officers arrived at the scene Gimblet was floating unconscious past the second sandbar. The officer and bystanders pulled the man ashore and began CPR, but Gimblet never regained consciousness. He was taken to Corpus Christi Medical Center's Bay Area Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Saturday, April 07, 2012, 12:06pm, Intoxication Assault A 22-year-old man was arrested Saturday for Intoxication Assault after a crash on the 16100 block of Park Road 22 on Padre Island sent several people including a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old child to the hospital.

The 22-year-old man, Eric Cordell (9/5/1989), drove a silver 2002 Nissan pickup on the 16100 block of Park Road 22 and turned into a white Sport Utility Vehicle causing a head on collision. The occupants of the white sport utility vehicle were trapped until they were freed by the Corpus Christi and the Flour Bluff Fire Departments.

Two HALO helicopters were employed to transport patients with critical injuries from the white sport utility vehicle to the hospital.

Beach Marker 206 11:25 April 6 Officer flagged down Beach Marker 206 (north of Packery) 11:26 p.m. April 6 Public intoxication Zahn Road & Gulf Beach 4:32 p.m. April 8 Traffic stop Hwy 361 & Zahn Road 5:34 p.m. April 7 Officer flagged down

10600 block Hwy 361 1:05 p.m. April 8 Traffic stop Beach north of Packery Channel 5:53 p.m.

April 7 Fight

Full Service Catering Available For Private Parties

Recipient of the People’s Choice Award 2011 Taste of the Island

ALBRITTON CONSTRUCTION 361-480-3001 TOTAL REMODEL, RENOVATION, ADDITIONS, DECKS AND DOCKS Fully insured with W/C and General Liability On Padre Island Homeowner Association General Contractors List

REFERENCES IN PADRE ISLAND, PORT ARANSAS AND CORPUS CHRISTI ACTIVE JOBS CAN BE VIEWED REFERENCE LIST UPON REQUESTA

• Firebush-Hamelia patens • Firecracker Bush-Russelia equisetiformis

Art Requirements Plants/Hummingbirds for 2012 HummerBird Celebration Artwork

• Autumn Sage-

The following are the preferred plants and hummingbirds we would like to see in any 2012 HummerBird Celebration artwork. These are the plants most likely to be found in our area and the ones most likely to be visited as a nectar source for the hummingbirds. The list of hummingbirds is also a list of hummingbirds normally found in our migration. The size of the artwork should be 10 inches wide by 8 inches tall so that it will fit on a t-shirt. Art with a full painted background will not be selected.

• Pride of Barbados-Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Hummer Species for 2011 H/B T-shirt

Salvia greggii

• Trumpet Creeper-Campsis radicans • Flame Acanthus-Anisacanthus wrightii • Texas Lantana-Lantana urticoides • Esperanza-Tecoma stans • Desert Willow-Chilopsis linearis • Coral Honeysuckle-Lonicera sempervirens • Cypress Vine-

Ipomoea quamoclit

• Red Yucca-Hesperaloe parviflora • Bottlebrush-Calllistemon rigidus

• (preferably red) • Indigo Spires Salvia-Salvia farinaceae

• Allen’s Hummingbird

• Cigar Plant-Cuphea ignea ‘David Verity’

15000 block Leeward 5:47 p.m. April 4 Disturbance 15300 block Leeward 10:27 a.m. April 9 Suspicious person Beach Marker 230 (near Bob Hall Pier) 4 p.m. April 7 Dead on Arrival

Trivia Question of the Week

15800 block SPID 2:57 p.m. April 7 Animal control event 16100 block SPID 12:06 p.m. April 7 Traffic accident/crash 16100 block Broomsedge 10:00 p.m. April 4 Burglary of vehicle 16100 block Jessamine 12:46 p.m. April 5 Noise ordinance violation 14200 block Allamanda 6:04 p.m.. April 8 Criminal Trespass 14100 block Coquina Bay 10:02 a.m.

April 6 Suspicious person 14200 block Almeria 7:35 p.m.

Suspicious person 15500 Cuttysark 3:19 p.m. April 8 Alarm 15400 block Seamount Cay 3:59 p.m. April 9 Assault with threats 15400 block Gun Cay 10:03 a.m. April 5 Unauthorized use of motor vehicle 15300 block Key Largo 2:17 p.m. April 8 Destruction/criminal mischief 15300 block Bonasse Court 6:51 p.m. April 8 Burglary of habitation 13600 block Catamaran 3:50 p.m. April 9 Unauthorized use motor vehicle

15200 block SPID 10:39 p.m. April 4 Disturbance

Doubloon & Aquarius 2:14 p.m. April 5 Traffic stop Cobo de Bara & Carlos Fifth 6:34 p.m.

April 7 Suspicious person 15000 SPID 12:44 p.m. April 4 Alarm 14800 block SPID 7:30 a.m. April 6 Theft 14400 block Hwy 361 7:25 p.m. April 6 Disturbance SPID & HWY 361 2:22 p.m. April 7 DWI 14500 block SPID 4:53 p.m. April 5 Theft of property or services

13300 block SPID 11:05 p.m. April 7 Traffic hazard 13500 block SPID 9:35 p.m. April 9 Traffic stop 11800 block SPID 12:15 a.m. April 8 Traffic hazard

Padre Island Business Association April Calendar Thursday, April 17 5:30pm Padre Island Business Assoc. Monthly Mixer Hosted by Bay Area Title Services and Star Advantage Insurance - 15201 SPID Door Prizes! Refreshments! Food! Networking!

Don’t forget your business cards.

Padre Island Showcase

www.albrittonconstruction.com

Salvia coccinea

• Rufous Hummingbird

Saturday & Sunday, April 28 & 29, 1 - 5pm Preferred Contractor Texas Veterans Home Improvement Association

Justicia brandegeana

• Scarlet Sage-

Leeward & Granada 10:25 p.m. April 9 Alarm

(If you would like to donate a door prize, call Stan at 949-9498)

Member of Padre Island Business Association

• Shrimp Plant-

• Egyptian Star Penta-Penta lanceolata

14300 block Indigo 11:12 p.m. April 5 Suspicious person

Offering Gourmet Take-Out Meals Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Hours: 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Visit our website at www.AuntSissysKitchen.com For weekly menus

• Turk’s Cap-Malaviscus arboreus var. drummondii

• Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Aquarius & Commodores 7:21 p.m. April 6 Traffic hazard

Located in the Loma Alta Plaza 14254 SPID, Suite 109 949-4848

• Cape Honeysuckle-Tecomaria capensis

• Powder Puff-Calliandra emarginata

14300 block Cruiser 11:05 April 5 Noise ordinance violation

8800 block Hwy 361 (Fish Pass) 9:17 p.m.

April 7 Traffic/public hazard

Plant Species for 2011 H/B T-Shirt

• Black-chinned Hummingbird

Police Calls

100 block Frontside Dr. 9:00 p.m. April 8 Burglary of habitation

This is a chance to have your artwork seen by thousands. Enter your artwork for the 2012 HummerBird Celebration T-Shirt Design.

Requirements for T-Shirt design are listed.

For more information contact: Sandy at the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce: 7296445 or email tourism@1rockport.org. The deadline for getting your entry to the Chamber office is May 1, 2012. For More information on the HummerBird Celebration visit www. rockport-fulton.org

• Ruby-throated Hummingbird

13800 block Captain Kidd 6:35 p.m. April 6 Traffic hazard

7400 block Hwy 361 7:42 a.m. April 7 Assist the public

Submit your HummerBird T-Shirt Design

14800 block Granada 7:53 p.m. April 7 Noise ordinance violation

Corpus Christi Police discovered evidence that Cordell was intoxicated, and Cordell was arrested for Intoxication Assault, a 3rd degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Cordell was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation and then delivered to the city detention center.

Hwy. 361 & Mariners Dr 1:36 p.m. April 8 Traffic accident/crash

April 12, 2012

Seashore Learning Center Gym on Encantada Come celebrate the Island lifetsyle, a parade of homes, and vendors for home improvement and services For more info, Call Mary Lou White @ 9609460

Trivia Question of the Week from last issue Who was the last of the old time Texas Rangers who lived on the King Ranch?

The answer to this one comes to us from the book “Life on the King Ranch” written in 1951 by Frank Goodwyn whose father Francis Eppse Godwyn was a foreman of the King Ranch’s Norias division where he was known for this “quick brush eye and fine roping arm.” Norias covered 238,000 acres of hardscrabble brush country teeming with impenetrable thickets and miles of oak groves and carpeted with native grasses.

Goodwyn’s uncle Grover Cleveland Latham worked on the Suaz Ranch, a part of the King Ranch. During the height of the Great War Goodwyn as a young boy would visit his uncle to play with his cousin. The Suaz was a lousy place to be a kid because the land was as flat as the sea on a calm day and the houses were in the midst of the brush country providing no view. The loneliness was punctuated by the coo of the turtledoves who called through the thickets to be answered only by the retort of quavering howl of the lonesome coyote’s call.

The main house at the Suaz was a whitewashed affair with plenty of chipping and cracking. It was a long square-topped building running north and south and it was called The Store but no one really knew why. Since no one came there to buy and if they had there was nothing to sell. The only thing connecting The Store to the real world was a delivery wagon that drove between it and Raymondville twenty-one miles away.

In one of the smaller houses surrounding The Store lived Old Man Durham. This is the same George Durham who we wrote about in our series about the Nueces Strip recently. Durham had ridden with Texas Ranger Capt. L.H. McNelly when he and his Rangers cleaned the bandits and outlaws out of the strip in the years after the Civil War. Goodwyn’s best recollection of Durham was when Durham would run out of Durham tobacco and would scream into the new telephone on the ranch, “Hello, Raymondville. This is Mister Durham.

When the wagon leaves, send me some Durham tobacco.” It was the only time Durham would use the phone as he didn’t really trust it but he seemed to take pleasure in the fact that his name and the name of his Bull Durham tobacco were one in the same.

But there was another ex-Ranger who also lived in one of the houses on the Suaz. His name was Old Man Tally and he lived alone but did not chew tobacco. But according to Goodwyn he smoked and cursed in equally copious amounts. “He called himself a ‘wicked old cuss’ and rightly so,” writes Goodwyn said.

Tally had joined McNelly’s Rangers about halfway through their work in the Nueces Strip and was a few years younger than Durham. Both men in Ranger tradition wore high-heeled boots that came nearly to their knees and pants and jackets of khaki that had once been brown but were now faded to a pale, washed-out cream. Their big hats were blackened in the seams by dust and use and their brims were crumbled and limber.

Neither man worked any longer having

earned their peace through years of violence when violence was the order of the day.

Old Man Tally loved his pistol and cleaned and oiled it daily as at any moment he might ride off into the South Texas brush in search of rustlers or revolutionaries. His selfassigned task was to take care of the gate of a small pasture about fifty yards down the dusty road from The Store. The gate was a sturdy one and nothing was likely to ever happen to it but if it did Old Man Tally was ready to ride to its defense six-gun ablaze.

Every morning Tally limped down the road in his high-heeled riding boots and made sure it was property closed and latched.

Durham’s sons ran the ranch but Tally’s only task was to guard the sanctity of the blessed gate. The ex-Rangers would visit each other daily and spoke in clipped tones of their day and their past. When Durham visited Tally’s home he would spit his tobacco on the toe of his boots rather than soil the wooden floors. It was his sole bow to civilization as it evolved in the modern world that was then South Texas.

The conversation always started the same way with Durham asking, “Been down the gate today?”

“H--- yes, Saw a d--- skunk. Didn’t shoot him though. Too d--- close.” ”I was over at the pins today,” Durham replied. “Shot a snake. Fourteen.” From his pocket he pulled a snake’s rattle with fourteen points and handed it to Tally.

“Hmmm. D--- good. How far?”

“Twenty feet.”

“Gonna send it to Norias?”

“H--- no gonna keep it.”

At Norias they paid a five cent bounty for every rattle brought in but Durham would hear none of it. Killing rattlers was his duty and to take money for doing his duty was an abomination.

“Gonna rain?”

“H--- no. Rained last month.”

That was the life of the Ranger living out of his time on the King Ranch in the years of World War I. There was only mesquite, starved grass, with no lakes or streams for relief. Nothing but fine-grained, crusty black sand loam packed down hard by years of trampling by livestock. It was a hard land even for the tough mesquite trees.

The peace was interrupted only when either Durham or Tally came across a rattler which produced a short rattle coming through the brush punctuated by a single loud shot.

Durham died in the early 1930s and Tally decided to move but not far. He moved forty miles northwest of the Suaz but stayed on the King Ranch moving into an abandoned ranch house on Huisaches Altos near Highway 281. For the next twenty years he cleaned his pistol and guarded his gate in silence as he watched fruit trucks and carloads of tourists blasting up and down the highway going to and from the Rio Grande.

He was a man out of time with nothing to keep him company but his memories.

At the age of eighty he bought a Ford to drive to town to get a haircut. But he must have liked the city life because at ninety he moved to town, well, Falfurrias saying he was bored living alone. It was there he died in his hotel bed, complaining of no pain but admitted he was “kind of tired.”

Neither Tally nor Durham have had any idea that in the latter part of the 20th century they would achieve immortality as the inspiration for Woodrow F. Call and Augustus McRae in Larry McMurtry’s book Lonesome Dove; two hard riding Texas Rangers who lived to the age of the Model T. and the flying machine.

April 12, 2012

Island Moon

Cleanup Continued from A1

Legislative Update

Todd Hunter, District 32

Despite Recent Rain, Coastal Bend Still Under Drought Conditions 2011 marked one of the worst droughts in Texas’ recorded history. Over the past three months the State of Texas has been fortunate to receive significant amounts of rainfall throughout much of the state; however a large percentage of the state is still between dry and exceptional drought conditions including the coastal bend which ranges from severe to exceptional. Since the start of the 2011 drought, the coastal bend has only received 25-50% of the normal rainfall totals.

As a result of the drought conditions still being faced by the State of Texas, Agricultural Commissioner Todd Staples along with state and local leaders have joined with private business to launch the Texas Water Smart conservation campaign. In a recent press release, Commissioner Staples said “We have a choice to make: conserve water now or risk more job losses in the future, … Our recent historical drought and booming population point to an unavoidable conclusion; it’s time all Texans take a serious look at individual wateruse habits and find common-sense ways to conserve. The recent realities are both alarming and painful as drinking water was jeopardized and businesses and households were faced with scarce water resources. With the launch of Texas Water Smart, I’m reminding all Texans that a few drops saved, when multiplied by 25 million citizens, will go a long way.”

The Texas Water Smart campaign encourages all Texans on their website www. texaswatersmart.com to Get Water Smart by adopting more frugal water-use habits such as: • Watering only when plants look like they need it, keeping in mind most plants die from over-watering, not under-watering; • Water in the morning or evening when the temperatures outside are cooler and evaporation loss is less; • Adjust your lawn mower up at least one notch. A taller lawn holds moisture better; • Keep weeds out of your green spaces. Weeds are notorious for stealing water from other plants, so if you’ll keep their population in check, you won’t have to water as often;

• Use a layer of mulch on the surface of your planting beds to minimize evaporation of moisture and suppress weed growth that competes with water; • Checking outdoor faucets, hoses and sprinklers for water-wasting leaks, and making sure to repair them quickly; • Next time you add or replace a flower or shrub, choose water conscious plants adapted to your area; • Recognize signs of dry grass. Avoid watering until you can see footprints left in the lawn as you walk across it; • Adjusting sprinklers so only lawns and gardens are watered – not houses, sidewalks or streets; • Keep a bucket in the shower to catch water as it warms up or runs. Use this water to water plants; • Cleaning driveways, patios and sidewalks with a broom or leaf blower instead of a hose.

Inside the home, Texas Water Smart suggests shorter bath times, washing only full loads of dishes and clothes, and fixing leaky faucets and toilets.

By implementing some of these and other water saving ideas, you can not only help save water, but you can also save money. If you have questions regarding any of these water saving techniques or any other information mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-9494603).

Rep. Hunter represents Aransas, Calhoun, Nueces (Part) and San Patricio Counties. He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house. state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.

Register Now for Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off

If you Mess With Texas on April 14 you will be in for trouble. That’s the day of the great Texas Trash-Off.

The Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off is the states’ largest one-day litter cleanup event. It is a partnership between Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

In 2011, 75,872 volunteers participated in 848 Trash-Off events across the state, and more than 6,000 miles of highway were cleared of litter and debris, totaling nearly six million pounds of trash.

New Litter-Fighting Tool

Trash-Off volunteers are ambassadors for the Don’t Mess with Texas campaign. These volunteers, and many other Texans, will have a new tool to fight litter — a mobile app.

For years, the “Report A Litterer” program has allowed Texans to notify TxDOT via www. dontmesswithtexas.org when they witness trash being tossed out of vehicles. Now, there’s a new, free mobile app. For instance, with the single press of a button, the littering incident and type of trash are recorded via GPS.

Great Seafood and Burgers Libations Amusements 18 Holes of Minature Golf

Wednesdays Prime Rib with Twice Baked Open 11 am - 2 am Potato Kitchen Closes @ 1 am

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Road 22

*Limited access – reservations required

Contact: Jim Needham—Surfrider Foundation, 361-825-2708, james.needham@ texasadoptabeach.org; Todd Dwyer, 361853-9877, todd.dwyer@texasadoptabeach. org; Ilene Jantz, 361-563-4119, ilene.jantz@ texasadoptabeach.org

Rockport—Aransas County

Padre Island National Seashore—Kleberg County Check-in: Malaquite Visitor Center, 20420 Park Road 22 Contact: William “Buzz” Botts, 361-9498068, buzz.botts@texasadoptabeach.org Mustang Island State Park, Corpus Christi— Nueces County Check-in: 17047 State Highway 361 Baffin Bay, Rivera—Kleberg County Check-in: Kaufer-Hubert Park, FM 628 Contact: Susan Ivy, 361-595-8591, susan.ivy@ texasadoptabeach.org

Check-in: Rockport Beach Park beachfront pavilion

Contact: Tom Staley, 361-729-2213, ext. 226, tom.staley@texasadoptabeach.org Aransas Pass/Redfish Bay—Nueces County Check-in: Lighthouse Lakes Park, 4 miles east of Aransas Pass on Highway 361

Contact: Richard Gonzales, 361-779-7351, richard.gonzales@texasadoptabeach.org Portland-San Patricio County Check-in: Sunset Lake Park, 201 Sunset Drive, adjacent to Highway 181

Contact: Aneita Ortiz-Cedano, 361-779-7351, aneita.cedano@texasadoptabeach.org

Contact: Mike Mullenweg, 361-749-5246, mike.mullenweg@texasadoptabeach.org Corpus Christi Beach—Nueces County

Port Aransas—Nueces County

Check-in: Texas State Aquarium

Check-in: Avenue G at the beach

2710 North Shoreline Boulevard

Contact: Deno Fabrie, 361-749-0256, deno. fabrie@texasadoptabeach.org St. Jo Island/Port Aransas - Nueces County Check-in: 8:00 a.m. – Fisherman’s Wharf, 900 Tarpon Street Contact: Deno Fabrie, 361-749-0256, deno. fabrie@texasadoptabeach.org

A7

Contact: Kara Hahn, 361-881-1259, kara. hahn@texasadoptabeach.org Cole Park (Kid’s Place), Corpus Christi— Nueces County Check-in: 1526 Ocean Drive Contact: Angela Gonzalez, 361-826-3673, angela.gonzalez@texasadoptabeach.org

Round Eyes: An American Nurse in Vietnam

New Book by Island Author Chronicles an Army Nurse’s Experience in the Vietnam War When Islander Diane Klutz signed on to be a pediatric nurse in Southwestern Pennsylvania the last thing she figured on was living in a hooch in South Vietnam in the middle of a war, but that’s what happened.

In 1970 she found herself going through basic training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio and not long after driving through the Vietnam countryside in a bus with wire mesh on the windows and armed guards on top.

It wasn’t that military service was a stranger to her. At least one member of her family has served in every American war since the French and Indian War right up through Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the age of 22 she found herself billeted in a hooch with four other women tending to patients who were there primarily for three reasons: about one third for war wounds, one third for mental problems, and one third for drug related problems.

She has written her experiences in her new book Round Eyes, An American Nurse in Vietnam published by Tri-Star Books. She survived mortar attacks, primitive living conditions, threats to send her to the Demilitarized Zone, advances by soldiers a long way from home, singing in a dance band, and attending a dinner at a general’s mess at his command.

It is an inside look at the experiences and daily lives of the nurses who served in Vietnam and their fears and frustrations. Think of it as M*A*S*H* from a nurse’s perspective; a sort of Nursing in Combat Boots. It is a poignant, personal, and often painfully honest story about her time “in country” and how the slightest everyday items sent from home became cherished luxuries during wartime.

It is a quick read but with many details and twists and turns that only someone who has been there could write.

To purchase a copy contact us here at the Moon office, or better yet, go visit with Diane in person at her first book signing from 2-4 on Saturday, April 14, at Isle Mail & More.

Dale Rankin

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A 8

Island Moon

Stuff I Heard on the Island

by Dale Rankin The release of plans for the Park Road Water Exchange Bridge have brought back an old discussion on our Island; is the road called Park Road 22 or is it SPID. The road is also sometimes referred to as State Highway 358 but technically SH 358 ends in Flour Bluff where PR 22 begins.

A little history PR 22 really came into being when the JFK causeway was opened in June 1950 as the Laguna Madre Causeway. It was originally a toll road built by Nueces County and was officially added to the state highway system in 1967 as PR 22. The causeway had to be rebuilt in 1961 after suffering damage from Hurricane Carla, it was rebuilt between 2002-05 to raise the roadway level to 9’ above mean tide to keep the road from flooding, especially as Gulf hurricanes approached.

So from 1967 on the road was known only as Park Road 22 and it has been the lifeline to Padre Island National Seashore since the park’s founding.

Things started getting more complicated in 1961 when Flour Bluff was annexed by the City of Corpus Christi. Flour Bluff passed its 50th anniversary of annexation last year even as about 70% of residents there are still without city sewer lines. A challenge to the annexation vote by Flour Bluff residents at the time went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and in what can only be described as a convoluted decision the court ruled that Flour Bluffians were Corpus Christians whether they liked it or not – a story for another day.

But what the decision meant for Park Road 22 was that it began where the city limits left off – at the Laguna Madre- and from there on south was in fact Park Road 22. Life was simpler in those days and roads only had one name.

Clear as mud But then when the City of Corpus Christi at the behest of developers on The Island decided to annex The Island things started to get complicated. The vernacular problem arose primarily because The Island was not annexed in one fell swoop which would have made it a simple matter to just drop the Park Road 22 moniker and officially change the name to South Padre Island Drive. The Island was annexed in a series of annexation votes which stretched on through the 1970s and 1980s and it was this Island Creep that apparently allowed the re-naming of the Park Road to slip through the cracks.

There are actually rules for the naming of streets but only a few city planner wonks pay any real attention. You know, like when you are driving cross country and you see a sign that says, “Bugtussle 100 miles.” Did you ever wonder if that means 100 miles to Bugtussle City Hall, or Bugtussle International Airport, or the Bugtussle Firefly Museum? Well, I did so some years ago I spent an afternoon walking around office buildings at the state complex in Austin trying to find someone who knew the answer. It took me a while but I found a guy and the answer is that the mile markers denote the distance to the town’s city hall unless it is a county seat and then it is the distance to the courthouse; a little tidbit of fun but fairly useless information.

Well, the same thing goes for streets but the rule is that if once a county road is annexed into the confines of the city limits then the city designation becomes the official name.

Therein begins the confusion. For years maps of The Island would still show the road from Flour Bluff south as Park Road 22, even after annexation. But somewhere along the way the U.S. Postal Service dropped the Park Road and went exclusively with the SPID name. The Moon offices have always been located along the road and our address has always been on SPID, so for all intents and purposes the road is SPID – South Padre Island Drive.

A bridge too far So why is it that we are now trying to build the Park Road 22 Water Exchange Bridge? I can’t honestly say I have a definitive explanation. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that the road is a state maintained right of way and on a map buried somewhere deep in the archives of a state office building in Austin is a fading map which calls the road Park Road 22. So when any official document is kicked out by the city or county it has to be referred to as Park Road 22.

The fact that the annexation of The Island was done by Island Creep rather than all at once meant that no one ever put an item on the council agenda to officially rename the road so the Park Road designation survived on state documents. Google Maps, the semi-official namer of roads in the digital age – shows it as SPID several times then once as Park Road 22. If that weren’t enough to toss fuel on the confusion fire add in the fact that SOUTH Padre Island Drive is in fact on NORTH Padre Island and you got yourself a real head scratcher.

Department of Redundancy Department

April 12, 2012

USTA Smashzone Mobile comes to Kingsville

U.S. Open’s Premier Fan Interactive Attraction Stops at “Wings Over South Texas” Air Show to Introduce Tennis to Youth and Families

Children will have the opportunity to play tennis games and allows participants to get a racquet in their hand from the start.

Next stop Kingsville, Texas. As part of the USTA SmashZone Mobile Tour, the premiere fan interactive attraction at the US Open has hit the road for a 23-city mobile tour and will next stop in Kingsville, Texas as part of the “Wings Over South Texas” Air Show, April 14-15.

The 2012 Air Show at the Naval Air Station Kingsville is headlined by the U.S. Navy “Blue Angels” flight demonstration team along with “Fat Albert Airlines” C-130, the “Leap Frogs” parachute team and a host of other military and civilian acts. The SmashZone will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day of the Air Show.

The mobile tour includes a 53-foot trailer, which anchors four kid-sized tennis courts for youth play. Courts which will feature games such as Rally Courts and a Target Challenge.

The trailer itself, which is handicap accessible, will feature interactive activities for visitors that will include a Tennis Magazine Green Screen Cover Shoot, Wii Tennis and Touch Screen Kiosks.

SmashZone Mobile is a complement to the USTA’s ongoing youth participation initiative, 10 and Under Tennis to introduce youth tennis to kids and parents across the country. The SmashZone engages audiences by introducing them to the game in a fun and interactive way by making stops at fairs, festivals, and air shows.

10 and Under Tennis is part of an effort to encourage young people across the country to get moving and start playing tennis. The initiative is geared towards getting more kids to participate in tennis using modified equipment and courts tailored to a child’s size. By featuring shorter and lighter racquets, slower-bouncing balls, smaller courts and simplified scoring, children learn to play more quickly and easily while having more fun in the process.

To find more information about the SmashZone mobile tour and to find a facility or organizer near you, check out www.10andundertennis. com or email us at 10andundertennis@texas. usta.com.

Pirate’s Funky Country Music Festival Port Aransas The Gaff’s Pirate’s Funky Country Music Festival, is scheduled to take place Saturday, April 7, 2012. This familyfriendly Silly, Texas Country Music event, fit for pirates and Spring Breakers alike will offer plenty of fun and activities.

Transistordale (San Antonio), HOBO (Corpus Christi), and The Newton Gang (Brooklyn NYC) are tentatively included in the lineup. The live music and fun games will begin at 2 p.m. and continue until 10 p.m. The Gaff is known for delicious pizza, cold beer, and unique events, such as Pirate Pub Crawls and Beltsander Races.

Free booth spaces for non-profit organizations will be available at this event. Vendor spaces and sponsorships are also available for the festival.

Rae of Light, a business consulting and event planning company, is producing the event.

More information about The Gaff is available at www.gotothegaff.com. Non-profit organizations, and other potential sponsors and vendors should email raeddrady@gmail.com or go to www.ewmediagroup.com or www.rae-oflight.com. Names of the primary sponsors, and more details will be released around March 23, 2012.

So now when we refer to the Park Road 22 Water Exchange Bridge we often add in (SPID) for those who call it by its correct name. It makes the Moon Monkeys over in our Department of Redundancy Department happy but it mostly just drives the rest of us a little more crazy than we started out.

It seems every downtown in America has a Martin Luther King Boulevard or a Cesar Chavez Parkway and we’re pretty sure those streets were there long before either of those guys ever walked the earth so we’re pretty sure it’s possible to change the name of a street.

We thought of just calling the new bridge The Bridge but we already have two Bridges on The Island. Then we thought we’ll just call it the Water Exchange Bridge which greatly pleased the wonks in the Department of Redundancy Department who pointed out all the bridges on The Island have water moving under them. Oh the humanity.

So here we sit contemplating the matter at our Moon Monkey Offices on Park Road 22 South Padre Island Drive on North Padre Island next to the site of the proposed Park Road 22 Water Exchange Bridge.

We can’t help but wonder if there are indeed 21 other roads that lead to parks that were there before the National Park on The Island was founded and led to us having the 22nd road that led to a park. I say from here on out we just go with SPID and let it be.

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Around Continued from A1 impatient drivers cutting through.

and the developers a public vote will be taken Here’s wondering if it isn’t time to ask the during a City Council meeting to approve or Powers That Be if we can have a turnaround reject the plan. installed there.

We are told that vote could come as early as the next council meeting on Tuesday, April 17 but Schlitterbahn update as of this writing that is not official. When/if an Negotiations between the City of Corpus Christi agreement is reached it will take an estimated and the developers of the Schlitterbahn Resort two weeks for the paperwork to be finalized and and the surrounding development are ongoing. the agreement signed by all parties.

The City Council in its last two meetings has Schlitterbahn developers have said they would discussed the tax incentive package for the like to have construction on the project underway project but so far has made no public comment, by the first of June at the latest in order to have it had any public discussion, or taken a public vote. open by the spring/summer season of 2013.

All discussions, as allowed by the Texas Open Meetings Act, have been behind closed doors. Until then say hello if you see us Around The Once an agreement is reached between the city Island.

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Day And Night Boardwalk Shopping Center off Kenedy Bridge to the first right.

Pee Wee’s Animal Shelter

South Texas Grassroots Band Sundays 6:30-9:30

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 361888-4141 but they do not have staff to answer phones so please leave a message.

April 12, 2012

Island Moon

Another Egg-Sighting Island Event

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By Brent Rourk

B

illish Park was once again the home of the Kiwanis Club of Padre Island sponsored Easter Egg Hunt last Saturday and according to all reports it was a tremendous success. Estimates of between 600

and 700 parents and “egg gatherers” came out to enjoy all of the festivities; officially beginning at 11:00 and ending at 12:30 but unofficially from 10:00 until 1:00. The entertainment was delightful, the food free and plentiful, the weather divine, the face painters steady-handed, and the much sought after Easter Egg treasures (over 18,000 of them) expertly “hidden” by a few experienced elders along with the Seashore Middle Academy Builders’ Club and The Muses of Padre Island.

Prosperity Bank, Flour Bluff Key Club, and the Seashore Middle Academy Builders’ Club.

The lines were relatively few and short as families sought to capture an Easter Holiday memory with a photo of their child next to a larger than life (and good natured) bunny.

Cameras clicked as children either smiled or sniffled as they stood next to the long-eared rabbit. Rumors are its name was Bob the Rabbit. Mark Pugh, taking the photographs at that booth, generously donated his time and a website access so that families could have a photograph or two.

Thanks to several volunteer bakers and buyers, the Kiwanis Club offered a cornucopia of delicious baked goods for sale. Kiwanian Sally Smith mentioned that the sale was a success and that the baked goods were very popular and indeed it appeared to me that they sold out just as the event came to a close. Many festival goers were observed downing the brownies on the spot or licking the striking-colored frostings that topped the irresistible cupcakes.

The entertainment and food were inarguably a valuable hit with the children who were seen taking turns on “the two inflatable bouncy houses”, a face painting station, a toddler carrousel, and a merry-go-round. Children also received free balloons, snow cones, and cotton candy in addition to the free hotdogs, chips, juices, and water. Volunteers enthusiastically set-up and staffed these booths and games.

Of course, the main event was the egg hunt where hundreds of children patiently waited to

This was the 15th annual Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Kiwanis Club. In addition to the Kiwanis Club, Keller Williams Coastal Bend, Padre Island Baptist Church, Starkey Mortgage, Farmer’s Insurance Agents Stephanie Waterman and May Nardone, Padre Island Business Association, Padre Island POA, Wells

collect numerous eggs, toys, and games. Five eggs in each age category were “special award” eggs that gave the bearer the opportunity to receive a valuable prize (tricycles, coaster wagon, skate board, scooters, stuffed animals, blankets and more). Over one hundred eggs contained a dollar coin. As the sun stretched to its mid day point and the clock closed in on noon, families found their age group egg hunt area and their preferred spot behind the starting ribbon. As I stood on the “field of eggs” taking photographs and waiting for the megaphone siren to announce the hunt, I noticed that the starting ribbon was stretching and that the excited faces on the children were becoming even more animated. From their position it was very easy for children to spot an egg or toy on

Fargo Mortgage, Butler’s Signature Rental, First American Home Warranty, San Jacinto Title, Security Title, Ace Hardware, Flour Bluff HEB Plus, Nueces Title, Old Republic Homes Warranty, Holiday Inn Padre Island, Papa Murphy’s Pizza Flour Bluff, Beverly Rogers CPA, Grove and Davis Insurance Agency, and Todd Hunter (apologies if I missed any) either co-sponsored or generously donated to make this event possible. Special thanks also to Signa Pappas-Prather (truly a dedicated and well-organized event coordinator), Kim Irwin (supporter and ace fundraiser), American Bank,

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the open field, which wetted their appetites even more. It seemed to me from the looks on their faces that some of the children were devising their collecting strategy; this egg first, then that toy, then those eggs out there. Most had an idea of where they were going, especially the older ones who mentally plotted their course in advance. As I continued to take photos and to Parents and children seemed to immensely carefully avoid crushing any eggs, I looked away enjoy the event. Volunteers worked tirelessly from the stretched ribbons, missing the starting to make this event a tremendous success. Padre Island Kiwanis Club President Ilene Jantz said of the event “This was a record setting year

siren. A wave of noise quickly enveloped me and I turned in time to see a children’s Easter Egg Stampede. The hunt was on and indeed those egg collectors who had formulated a strategy scurried from predetermined spot to spot. I avoided being trampled and made my way back to the starting ribbon, turning a few times to capture photographs of the mammoth maze. The more composed toddlers were gently guided by moms and dads. Some of the youngsters became so excited about an egg or toy that they stopped to open it, shake it, or share their find with their parents, forgetting that there were more eggs to collect. Once the annual hunt ended (and it only took a couple of minutes) children and families looked for a spot to sit and methodically inspect their treasures.

Children, some with bunny, tiger, or cat faces, dug into their Easter baskets and carefully

in the 15 year history of the event in terms of participants and sponsorships - thanks to everyone.” Kiwanian Gladys Choyke who also actively worked the event added, “The two youth service clubs that The Kiwanis Club of Padre Island sponsors, The Key Club of Flour Bluff High School and The Builders’ Club at Seashore Middle Academy, provided invaluable assistance in making this event the success that it was. We really appreciate all of the volunteers in all of the organizations and sponsors, adult and youth, who contributed to this annual event”. Event coordinator Signa shared that, “It went really well. It gets larger every year and everybody has a great time….It’s great how the whole island comes together to put on this event.”

This hunt, like so many before it, will no doubt be positively remembered by hundreds of children as they go about creating their lifetime of wonderful memories. As an adult it inspected each egg before opening it. A few is so enriching and meaningful to have fantastic memories of our childhood; of our families, our school, our athletics, our activities, our traditions, and our holidays. This annual event helps our Easter Holiday become even more special. It is another of those events that makes me glad I live on the island and am surrounded by so many terrific families and generous businesses.

It is definitely a festive activity that also brings people together much like several other island events; the Barefoot Mardi Gras Parade, the Taste of the Island, Breakfast With Santa, La Posada, the PIBA Wine Tasting, the Friday Fish Frys, and the two Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach clean-ups. excited screams could be heard from those children who had found a “special award” egg. Thanks to the children, the parents, and all of The hunt was over and it was time for everybody the volunteers who made this Easter Holiday even more special. to relax and unwind for a few minutes.

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Island Moon

A 10

Beach Babes

Island Dogs

Good Times

Islander Sylvia with her Yorkie Honey who is the typical terrier who loves people and kids but dogs not so much. She was reading the Moon at the seawall when this picture was taken. Photo by Mary Craft.

Magan is a junior at Texas A&M Corpus Christi majoring in Engineering. She is from San Antonio and will be joining the Air Force after graduation where her dream is to fly. Photo by Mary Craft.

Islander Carina walking her Chesapeake Bay retriever Chubs and weiner dog Badger. They are both three years old and born the same week. Photo by Mary Craft.

Remodeling

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Landscaping

960-0327

The Flour Bluff ISD Foundation for Educational Excellence awarded $9,800 to FBISD teachers in grants.

Congratulations to Inez Matthijetz, Natasha Ross, Elizabeth McWilliams, Joy Talley and Dr. Nokol Youngberg.

Flotsam

this gaggle of golf carts was spotted on the beach lastThursday evening near the end of Whitecap. Even though the number of these sightings have increased over the past few weeks, this is the first time these harbingers of spring have been spotted in such a large grouping. According to the renown expert (Bob-O), once the word is out, even more golf carts could gather. So, plan on Thursdays around 5 pm on the beach at the south end of Sea Wall at end of Whitecap. BYOB and appetizer as golf carts get hungry and thirsty.

It’s Game Time! South Texas Area Athletes are Ready for the Spring Games Competition Annual Special Olympics Texas Event is April 21

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Big Checks

Andrea and Carol enjoy the Bo Porter show at the Back Porch on April 7th Photo

by Ronnie Narmour

Sarah is a pilates instructor in San Antonio. She was a systems analyst until she became a mom and wanted to do something with a more flexible schedule.

Her sons are 6 and 9 and when asked where her husband is replied “With his girlfriend.” Photo by Mary Craft

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April 12, 2012

Doing Everything a Home or Business Needs

Get the attention you deserve.

On your mark, get set, go for the gold! Special Olympics Texas (SOTX) – South Texas area athletes are getting ready for the Spring Games competition on April 21. The Games will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. with Opening Ceremonies, immediately followed by athletics (track and field) events at 9:45 a.m. The Games will end with a Victory Dance and Closing Ceremonies in the gymnasium around 2:30 p.m.

The day-long competition will take place at Flour Bluff High School, located at 2505 Waldron Road. All events are free to attend and open to the public.

Volunteers are needed to cheer on our athletes and be fans in the stands at the Games. Help is also needed to set-up and breakdown the facility, assist with judging, scoring, results and awards. For more information on volunteer opportunities, contact Alice Fulton-Garza

(agarza@sotx.org) in the South Texas area office at 361.857.5679.

About Special Olympics Texas

Special Olympics Texas (SOTX) is a privately funded non-profit organization that changes lives through the power of sport by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities, promoting acceptance for all, and fostering communities of understanding and respect.

SOTX provides continuing opportunities for more than 44,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities throughout the Lone Star State to realize their potential, develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy and friendship. To learn more, visit www.specialolympicstexas.org or call 800.876.5646. Engage with us on: Twitter @SOTexas; fb.com/SpecialOlympicsTX; youtube.com/specialolympicstexas.

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

Pending

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Scuttlebutts Caters Scuttlebutt’s great food is now available for catering. It’s also a great place to have your office party. Check out our website for special deals on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Scuttlebutt’s - where the locals go to eat.

14254 SPID 361-949-6769 www.scuttlebuttsbarandgrill.com