Section a 515 pm

On the Rocks A6

Farah's Fishing A7

Love the Locals A11

First Friday A12

Free

Gardening with Wasps A18

Coordinates for the Packery Nearshore Reef are: Latitude: 27o 38.812 N Longitude: -97o 0.0424 W Drift NW Material placed is in the NW Quadrant from the center.

Live Music A20

FREE

The Island Moon

Issue 537

July 31, 2014 Around The Island

By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com

We were sitting at the Back Porch last weekend when we ran into Bill the Bandylegged Boy with a lobster tan. He was in from Pleasanton, or as we say in South Texas Pleganton, looking to spend some Eagle Ford money. So far he’s bought a boat big enough for most everyone in Pleganton to live on, and now he’s looking for a beachhouse. All in all Bill the Bandlegged Boy is exactly the kind of fellow we want to come down and get his lobster tan on The Island; leases a boat slip, spends money in local businesses, and now will pay property tax on a non-homestead house. But Bill has a complaint.

Weekly

The voice of The Island since 1996

A Little Island History

Little Chapel on the Hill Angels, Serpents and Frescoes

$5 million in Island projects; $13 million in cost

Photo by Steven Pituch

By Dale Rankin

The Corpus Christi City Council on Tuesday tentatively approved the three bond proposals to be put before voters in November. They total $166 million with $99 million in bond (borrowed) money, and an additional $67 million in fees and other funds to pay for utilities.

The Island’s share of the $99 million in bonds would be about $13 million with about $5 ($4.7) million in Island projects including repair of two beach access roads and the construction of an city maintenance building on The Island. The Island’s total share of the $166 million would be about $22 million.

“Almost three hours in the ferry line,” he said. “A three- hour wait after a two –hour drive.” It’s a complaint that’s getting more common. We told him from Pleganton it is quicker to go to Padre Island and drive up the runway.

“Don’t like driving through Corpus,” Bill said. “Too much traffic, Pleganton is getting bad enough without having to drive through Corpus, I go through Taft.”

The ferry system can only move about 650 cars per hour

By Brent Rourk Bill’s directional skills aside his complaint is a valid one but not an easy problem to solve. The ferry system can only move about 650 cars per hour, and that’s without having to allow for dodging the busy barge and ship traffic through the port. There were three miles of cars backed up on the Harbor Island side of the ferry last weekend. We’re not sure how many cars in a mile but when you divide the number by 650 it equals about three hours. As the number of Island visitors increases each year it means more cars over the JFK Causeway.

Get ready because here they come.

Beach driving Beach driving is getting dicey as the dry summer drags on. About the only piece of beach readily drivable right now is in front of the seawall. City crews have not been keeping up with the incoming supply of Sargassum weed on the beach south of the Packery so that beach has remained mostly empty through the height of the summer season.

Ubiquitous Weed Offshore boaters report that from 5080 miles out they are seeing a lot of seaweed. There are miles of Spaghetti Lines where the weed has not formed mats, but there are also many areas where the mats stretch out for miles, attracting bait fish and then Dorado and other game fish. The stuff may be a nuisance when it hits the beach but it is part of Mother Nature’s way of fertilizing the ocean.

The Texas A&M branch in Galveston flew offshore last Sunday and reports that most of the offshore weed is moving north toward the upper coast, but so far small amounts of the stuff is still finding its way to area beaches.

Put a lid on it Starting last Monday, July 28th, the City of Corpus Christi kicked in Moderate Drought Stage 2 Response measure which is a high-sounding way to say people can’t water between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. daily. First time violators will receive a notice of violation by a posted door hanger. Future violation notices will result in the issuance of a citation subject to penalty provisions of up to $500 per violation, per day.

Should the combined capacity of the Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir system continue to decline below 30%, Severe Drought Stage 3 Response measures will be implemented; and thirsty friends, you don’t even want to know what that means.

So everybody look out for scofflaws and scofflaws look out for everybody else. In the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.

City Moves on Bond Package for November

brentrourk@yahoo.com The little chapel on the hill sits on the highest spot in old Port Aransas at a dizzying 26’ above the sea. It was conceived by and built for the sitting Poet Laureate of Texas, Aline Carter, in the 1930s.

Originally constructed in 1938 by the Carter Family, this chapel has a storied history, beautifully painted frescoes, and a peace that transcends its location. Built at a time when

there was no ferry service to Mustang Island nor causeway connecting Corpus Christi to North Padre Island or Mustang Island, this astounding chapel beckons a visit from you, just as it was intended to attract locals when its chief designer and builder Aline Badger Carter envisioned a small chapel on the island in the 1930s.

It remains the oldest consecrated church on the island. If you carefully climb the 22 sand and rock steps from the street to the top of the dune you

will have the opportunity to explore this splendid chapel.

The Carter Family and the Chapel Henry Champe Carter (1861-1948) was a well-known attorney, judge and former president of the State Bar Association of Texas and he earned a very good living. In 1888 Henry married Ella Goodwyn Carter (18681914) and they had two sons and two daughters by that marriage: Champe

Chapel continued on A4

Where Texans Live Corpus Christi is State’s 8th Largest City, 129th in U.S. As our state grows at an unprecedented rate it’s good to take stock of where the Coastal Bend fits into the big picture. Here are the best numbers available for where Texans lived as of the beginning of 2014.

In spite of the stereotype of Texans around the country of Texans as ranchers and rural-dwellers most Texans live in metropolitan areas with the highest population density in the Houston/San Antonio, Dallas triangle which is home to 18 million people.

So the next time you visit New York or California and someone ask how big your spread is tell them “about ¼ of an acre, I’m all hat and no cattle.”

Corpus Christi is the 8th largest metropolitan area in the state just behind Tyler/Longview and just before Killeen/Temple.

There are a total of 210 media markets in the United States with Victoria being 206 and Corpus Christi being 129, one market bigger than Amarillo, and 21 markets smaller than Tyler/Longview at 108. In the 2000 census the population of Texas grew by 14% and in the 2010 census by about 20% while in both counts Corpus Christi grew by under 4%, with 3% being natural growth.

San Antonio

2,285,163

Austin

1,880,794

Rio Grande Valley

1,271,195

That sort perspective.

of

puts

things

in

Metropolitan Texans 23,564,434 NonMetropolitan Texans 3,100,140

Cities by Population

El Paso Tyler/Longview

442,602

Corpus Christi

439,608

Killeen/Temple

435,141

Galveston

304,276

Lubbock

301,214

Midland/Odessa

292,133

Laredo

269,106

Amarillo

262,276

Waco

258,713

Bryan/College Station

242,512 152,060

Dallas-Fort Worth

6,838,498

Wichita Falls

Houston

6,338,026

Victoria

Island from the Air!

847,599

96,177

The council is scheduled to formalize the bond package in their next meeting on Tuesday, August 12.

The package is the latest in regular two-year bond votes put before voters aimed at repairing city streets after decades of neglect. Discussion on the bonds at this week’s council meeting drew caution from Darryl Haas from Haas-Anderson Construction, a private contractor who does many city projects, who recommended

Bonds continued on A9

Port of Corpus Christi Sets Record for Traffic The Port of Corpus Christi set a record in June for the amount of oil going in and out of the port.

Numbers released this week by the port show outbound crude and condensate shipped out of the port in June climbed to 551,934 barrels per day; Up 61.5 percent from 341,824 daily in June 2013.

The jump in volume is a result of increased production from the Eagle Ford Shale play just 70 miles away where an estimated 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 3 billion barrels of oil are waiting to find their way out of the port.

Port industries are beefing as Flint Hills Resources recently retooled equipment at its West Refinery in Corpus Christi to process more domestic crude and Valero Energy Corp. announced in January it would spend $340 million to upgrade and expand its Corpus Christi refinery. Earlier this year the pipeline company NuStar Energy added three marine loading docks at its North Beach Terminal.

Refinery inputs across the country hit a record-high 16.8 million barrels per day in each of the past two weeks, breaking the previous record set in the summer 2005, according to the latest data by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The increase in oil production has been mirrored in the number of ships passing through the port.

Between January and June of this years a total of 3,937 vessels passed through the port compared to 3,200 for the same period in 2013 and 6,870 for all of last year, according to port activity reports.

A total of 6,082 vessels sailed through the port during 2012.

Here is a roster of port traffic from the last four years taken from number supplied by the Port of Corpus Christi.

Ship Traffic Year Number of vessels 2014 3,937 – January to June 2013 6,870 2012 6,082 2011 5,413

A2

July 31, 2014

Island Moon

Travelling Moon

The Moon went to Siem Reap, Cambodia for what was the first - what they called Circus -ever in Cambodia, by troubled youth going to school for the Arts. It was akin to a Cirque du Soleil and it was the neatest thing ever!! Keb and Laura

Galveston Parrot Head party on July 25 & 26. Diana and Deno Fabrie( Diana has an angry bird eyebrow on)

Above: A picture of us and the Moon from Ketchikan, AK. Just got back home this week after 2 weeks.

Islanders Mark & Libby Middleton took the Island Moon along to Brands Hatch where her son and Corpus Christi native Stewart Mann and his band Stateboro Revue performed at the races.

Steve Moody Senior Vice President

500 North Water Street, Suite 100 | Corpus Christi, TX NMLS# 613901 | 361-887-8771 | ProsperityBankUSA.com Member FDIC

Thanks, Kevin Kelley and Carrie Downs

July 31, 2014

Letters to the Editor

A3

Island Moon

Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder

Beach Driving

Moon Apes,

Line

Distribution Pete Alsop

Dear Island Moon Editor,

Island Delivery

My husband had I had an encounter we would like to share with you and our fellow islanders.

On July 29, 2014, we had taken the jet-skis out to the little sand island down the sea basin near the Yacht Club. A group of about thirteen young people were already there partying as we docked. They came and introduced themselves to us, which surprised us since we were old enough to be their grandparents.

Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin Classifieds Arlene Ritley Design/Layout Jeff Craft Contributing Writers Joey Farah Andy Purvis Devorah Fox Mary Craft Maybeth Christiansen Jay Gardner Chad Peters Todd Hunter Dotson Lewis Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk Dr. Donna Shaver Photographers Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan Mary Craft Ronnie Narmour Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus)

My husband soon realized that a huge ball of fishing line was wrapped tightly around the drive shaft of one of the jet-skis. As he tugged on the wire, I went to ask if one of the young men might have a pocketknife. They all gathered around the jet-ski and lifted it out of the water and onto its side. They took the effort over from my husband and worked as a team until they removed the entire wad of fishing wire. Then they put it back into the water for us. They were mostly college kids from A&M and Texas Tech.

A few were high-school seniors.

They were so friendly, polite and helpful that my husband and I could not stop talking about them all evening. We were so impressed with their good manners that we wanted to commend them publicly. We see so many unruly and surly young people these days that we have almost come to expect it. Well, this group was refreshing. I wish we could remember all their names but we do remember Mike Ruggles, Austin and a delightful young lady named Julia.

The important thing is that they know who they are and each of them should be very proud of themselves. Their parents should also be very proud.

We would like to thank each of them because we are grateful for their help. They were a wonderful group of young people and we are very glad to have met them.

Sincerely, Betsy and Rodney Leifeste

Riley P. Dog Dale Rankin About the Island Moon

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

Where to Find The Island Moon Port Aransas

Dear Council Members: My wife and I have been home owners on the Island for many years. During this time I have written a number of letters promoting a bridge on Encantada much like the one on Whitecap.

I appeal to you that now is the time with the advent of the improvements that are being put in place by Schlitterbahn and the upcoming Bond Election to construct the Encantada Bridge for the following reasons: 1. Road Improvement: This should be considered as a road improvement that should have been built with the original construction like the bridge on Whitecap. The home owners on the south side of Encantada should have similar access under a bridge.

2. Environmental: Our canals are virtually dead. New water exchange and a bridge on Encantada will bring new marine life to the canal system that has never been there before.

Port A Arts

3. Health Reasons: New water exchange will diminish the effects of brown & red tides which will diminish its negative effects on the nearby residents.

Stripes @ Beach Access Rd. 1A

North Padre

4. Economic: With a bridge over the canal at Encantada, hundreds of home/boat owners may be more willing to patronize the restaurants and retail that will be accessible by boat more easily than by car which would also take some of the pressure off parking.

A Mano

All Stripes Stores

Coffee Waves

CVS

Moby Dicks

Whataburger

Spanky’sLiquor

Doc’s Restaurant

IGA Grocery Store

Snoopy’s Pier Isle Mail N More

Carter Pharmacy

Island Italian

San Juan’s Taqueria

Ace Hardware

Wash Board Laundry Mat

Texas Star (Shell)

Lisabella’s Restaurant Pioneer RV Park

Port A Parks and Rec Public Library

Sandpiper Condos WB Liquors

Holiday Inn Jesse’s Liquor Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant Subway

Chamber of Commerce

Island Tire

Duckworth Antiques

And all Moon retail advertisers

Back Porch

WB Liquor

Woody’s Sports Center Shorty’s Place

Flour Bluff

Giggity’s

H.E.B.

Stripes @ Cotter & Station

Liquid Town

Gratitude Gift Shop Keepers Pier House Port A Glass Studio The Gaff

Whataburger on Waldron Ethyl Everly Senior Center Fire Station Police Station Stripes on Flour Bluff & SPID

I purchased a beach driving permit for my auto which I am more than happy to do for the privilege. This sticker also included driving along the seawall. If my car becomes banned from driving along the seawall then I overpaid.

I will demand a refund corresponding to the reduction of linear feet from the total linear feet I was allowed to drive at time of sticker purchase. The same applies to the 2015 beach driving sticker. The 2015 distance allowed to drive will be less than the 2014 distance hence the price of the sticker will need to be reduced.

Bridge

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

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

Then there is the cost. Ramp $70K, Bollards $100K, Equipment $350K which totals $520K and for what, a private beach. If the residents along the seawall want this so bad they should pay for the ramp, bollards, equipment purchase, operation, fuel, maintenance because otherwise it is not needed, and more taxes. Maybe the $520K should just be spent widening the beach which is not really necessary in the first place.

Yosheki Takeda

Editor/Publisher/Spillage Control Supervisor

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.

I have read this weeks article concerning the Seawall Driving Ban and to say the least I am furious. Councilwoman Colleen McIntyre seems intent on pushing the seawall driving ban. I am curious to know if she has ever been to the portion of beach in question on any given weekend? People(ie voters) are enjoying the beach with their families and friends. This is no college fraternity party and all-in-all is well behaved. Danger is no higher than on any other portion of the beach. In their vehicles people bring their dining flies, tables & chairs, BBQ grills, radios, surf boards & kayaks, coolers with food & drink, firewood and yes, their children.

To expect the people to cart this stuff from the parking lot to the beach is utterly ridiculous.

Therefore, de-facto, the people are banned from the beach. The same people will then be crowded onto the remaining driving part of the beach which already has it's share of people.

This stance by the councilwoman represents backing a special interest group and not the majority of the people, the beach goers. May I remind the councilwoman that the number of residents along the seawall is far outnumbered by the number of beachgoers. Remember this in the next election for the council seat. I and many others will back the candidate supporting beach driving along the seawall. Oh, and also, The Island Strategic Action Committee is also supporting this special interest group and not the majority of people that enjoy the beach along the seawall. They also need ousting.

Again, I appeal to you as a home owner and tax payer of both residential and commercial property, but mostly as a lover of our magnificent Island, to allow this bridge on Encantada to move forward.

Thank you.

Respectfully, Mitchell Davis Kalogridis Mitchell To save you and city staff the exercise I can advise you that the original plans are in the POA office for your review. I gave them the plans several years ago.

I can also advise that the culverts were the original design. However, even it was not the original development went thru a bankruptcy years ago.

I do agree that it is best for the community to have a bridge at that location and not just a benefit to a few lot owners.

In the interest of clarity and limit cry's of self dealing let me state that I do not own any land impacted by that canal crossing.

Having built two similar bridges for Commodores Pointe, one bridge serves six lots and the other twenty six lots. The bridges are precast arches that come in various lengths from 20-42'. My cost if the two bridges including utilities was substantially below half of the estimate for this one bridge.

I favor the bridge over the sorely needed access roads because it improves the water quality. Both should be offered.

As the land owner where the access roads are located I will have to agree with this location.

This is true because the legislation that approved the Seawall mandates an access at each end if the Seawall. This same legislation give the land owner the right to move that easement up to 1,000'.

Hope we can find an accommodation for both the bridge at a reasonable cost and the access roads at a final location.

Paul Thank you and I do appreciate the fact that the POA is having the culvert cleaned . However do to the depth of the existing culvert and the lack of air flow from " surface wind " the benefit will be minimal and the maintenance will be significantly higher .

I do appreciate the HOA'S efforts .

Thank you for you efforts and for taking the time to respond.

Mitchell Kalogridis Mitchell and Paul, Thank you for the discussion, and the reference to the original design. Water quality is a concern in the pat area that I have been working on with staff, residents, and the POA for two years. We continue to search for a solution. In the meantime, the POA is having the culvert cleaned.

Thank you, Colleen McIntyre Dear Council Members: I was very disappointed to read that our City Manager, Ron Olson, has advised that you eliminate the Encantada project from the upcoming bond proposal! I believe, as many of the Islanders do, that the Encantada bridge would not only benefit the community, as previously stated in my email of 6/30/14 below, but may also have been on the original construction plans.

I would appreciate your advice as to how I might go about placing a formal request (FOIA, if necessary) to get a copy of the plans, to see if a bridge was originally intended. I find it curious that Whitecap has a bridge and Encantada does not. It seems to me that if there was a bridge on the original plans, and it was not built for one reason or another, it may be of concern.

In addition, I am also curious as to whether or not the City is willing to accept the responsibility for not facilitating the obvious benefit to the ecosystem/marine life in the remaining canal system, if it is left in a virtually 'dead' condition, when they have the opportunity to so easily revive the canal system with a bridge.

Lastly, I am curious as to whether or not the City is willing to accept the responsibility (i.e., the "blame/liability") for not improving the health conditions of the residents who live along the canal system who suffer from the exacerbated effects of the 'red' or 'brown' tides; conditions that would otherwise be greatly lessened with increased water flow.

Once again, I appeal to the Council and to the City Manager, to place this road improvement on the upcoming Bond proposal. Please know that I will be your biggest advocate should this road improvement/bridge demonstrate positive benefits; and I will be VERY VOCAL about the negative effects of the stagnant water on the other side of Encantada, as opposed to the positive effects on the Whitecap side, if this bridge is not built.

Sincerely, Mitchell Davis Kalogridis

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Dudley Prewett Island

Did Ya Hear?

by Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com

New Advertisers Hearing Loss Association of America Coastal Bend Chapter meeting is Tuesday, August 5th 5:30 – 7:30 pm at 5151 McArdle next to Palmera Mall. For more info contact sanpaul1949@yahoo.com.

Accelerated Beginner Tai Chi Class will be held the weekend of August 23rd and 24th. Call Mark at 366-944-9230 for details.

Business Briefs Island Time Sushi & Seafood near Subway has completed construction and owner Romeo is waiting on the final permit.

It will open at 5 pm daily and closed Sundays and possibly Mondays. An open house is planned for locals and information will be given out at that time on the discount for locals card.

Schlitterbahn Water Park still plans on opening this summer and currently the swim up bar and kiddie pool is open to the public for $10/person according to their Facebook page.

Island Italian Restaurant has dinner specials daily and some of the dinners they have had are blackened mahi-mahi with fettuccine tossed with green onions and spicy alfredo and spicy Italian bay shrimp, Italian sausage, sautéed mushrooms and black olives over penne pasta tossed in a spicy marinara sauce. Enjoy dinner with live music Thursday – Saturday. They also have daily lunch specials for $6ish.

The Back Porch in Port A will feature Larry Joe Taylor Saturday, August 2nd.

Cinnamon Shores in Port A is entering a new phase and adding 150 new lots for development on their north end. The new amenities are now in place and building is underway.

The Coastal Bend Bloodmobile will be in the Island Presbyterian Church parking lot on Sunday, August 3 from 8 AM to Noon.

The church is located near Billish Park at the corner of Gypsy and Ports o’ Call.

First Friday at the Port Aransas Art Center will be a 2014 Merit Show-Winners Exhibiton August 1st at 5:30 pm. Featured artists will be Sally Mitchell, Amy Sullvan, Jan Edmonson, Sheri Hargrove whose works will remain on exhibit through August 30th. The art center is located at 323 N. Alister Port Aransas 361-749-7334, the public is invited.

Texas Sales Tax Holiday is August 8 -10 so plan your back to school shopping for that weekend.

Port A Arts has all you need to create your next masterpiece. They stock canvas, paints, brushes, sketchbooks, charcoals and pastels.

They even rent out metal detectors. They are located at 722 Tarpon Street Suite G.

Jumping Dolphin!

A4

Island Moon

Chapel continued from A1 Goodwyn Carter (1888-1982), Randolf Lee Carter (1891-1987), Mary Louise Carter (1893-[ ]), and Ella Carter ([ ]).

Ella Goodwyn Carter died on July 26, 1914.

Turtle Release at PINS

July 31, 2014

Aline Badger ([1892]-1972), born in San Antonio to a wealthy, popular and talented society woman named Florence C. Eager Roberts, was privately tutored and attended Wellsley for one year in 1913. Additionally, she studied harp at Boston Conservatory.

Carters Purchase Land in Port Aransas The Carter family still lived in San Antonio in the 1930s in their large, family mansion and began to vacation and retreat in Port Aransas, Texas. The family would travel to Port Aransas for one month during the summer and rented a house on 619 E. Avenue B owned by the Fair Family of Dallas, Texas. That house had been moved from the flats by Bill Ellis.

Goodwyn Carter, son of Henry Champe Carter purchased the acre of land in Port Aransas on which the Little Chapel and the Carter House (620 E. Avenue B) now stand for about $3,800 in 1938, and quickly the Carters built a humble home there. The current address of the Chapel is 207 11th Street in Port Aransas, however, the Chapel has not moved. At that time according to son Frank Carter, “There weren’t many homes on the island”.

Build a Chapel Aline had the idea of building a chapel on the island (the Carters already had a chapel in their San Antonio mansion), so not long after they built a house they began construction on a modest chapel perched on a high dune on the adjacent lot. Frank states that there was no other church on the island at that time and that Aline, “built the church for the children of Port Aransas.” From that high dune a person had an impeccable and unobstructed view, embracing the Gulf along the eastern shore of the island.

So it was the perfect place for the Chapel.

Under the watchful eye of Aline and Ethel Wilson Harris, custodian of San Antonio Missions, they began construction of the 230 square foot chapel. Without a local nursery, rock quarry, and Home Depot to purchase wood, hardware and stone, the construction process had to be well-planned. With hard work, persistence and Aline’s determination the chapel quickly took form.

‘The White Angel’ - Aline Carter The chapel floor was constructed out of flagstone that Frank remembers “was taken from

Adam and Eve fresco in the Chapel a quarry in the Hill Country in Texas”. Before long Aline began having regular Bible studies for the children of Port Aransas. She thought that it was important for the local children to learn about religion and the Bible so she shared different stories from the Bible. Aline would let locals know that she was in Port Aransas and those folks would let their children know that the “White Angel” was going to have Bible studies. The children would climb the dune and enter the modest Chapel, at that time painted a stark white inside and outside. Children would patiently sit on the flagstone floor or mats and attentively listen to the White Angel’s engaging and interesting Bible stories. After Bible study the children would all walk to the Carter residence for ice cream and cake, incredible treats for isolated island children back in the 1930s and 1940s. Aline’s Bible study continued for almost 10 years in The Little Chapel on the Dunes until hard times hit the island. In the meantime, Frank had joined the Navy in 1942 and had gone off to war in the Pacific.

Aline died in 1972 at the age of 80. She did not live long enough to see the addition of the frescoes in the Chapel, however, she would no doubt be pleased that the Chapel has been maintained by the family and shared with the world. She left a legacy of love, generosity, kindness and an exceptional Little Chapel on the Dunes.

Serpents Frank’s son Vinton James fancied himself as an amateur herpetologist and loaned his snake collection to the Chapel after Frank had the Chapel and grounds cleaned. “Word leaked out” that there were poisonous and dangerous snakes and serpents in the Chapel. In fact, purposely included in the resident collection were an 11 foot python, named Marathon, a couple of copperheads, and a couple of rattlesnakes.

Frank’s idea to place snakes in the Chapel worked to perfection and once he put word out about what types of serpents were residing in the Chapel, then the eager vandals immediately halted their Chapel visits.

One-stop financial services.

Lot | Construction | Mortgage (Conventional, FHA, VA, Jumbo) | Refinance | Home Equity Business | Personal Banking Business | Personal Loans Cash Management Products Dan Suckley Branch Executive Officer 361-949-8070

14602 S. Padre Island Dr.

www.AmericanBank.com • Member FDIC

Tours

Stained glass over door

Pepper Pendzinski built the idea of museumled Chapel Tours into a great reality. They are given the first and third weekend of each month, Friday and Saturday, at 9:15 a.m. They are fun, informative, and quite popular and are always booked well in advance. Visit the Museum or call and make a reservation, 361-749-3800.

After 27 Years Prudential Changes to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Photos by David Olds Fotografie After a trip OTB in 1977 Hank Svoboda came home to The Island one day and told Jackie, “This morning when I was driving into town I saw a car driving onto The Island, then just now I saw another one driving off The Island.”

Seeing cars on The Island in 1977 was noteworthy enough to merit mention. Now after twenty-seven years in the same location, with 26,000 cars per day zipping by on SPID, the Prudential Real Estate Center on The Island this week the Svobodas changed the business’ affiliation to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a network with more than 31,000 agents in 919 offices in 46 states.

“Our affiliation ushers in a whole new era for our company – one in which the possibilities are endless,” Jackie said at the ribbon cutting for the new name this week.

While Jackie attends to the real estate end of the business Hank is busy building docks and boat lifts.

“For only the second time since I’ve been doing this in twentyfive years,” Hank says, “I’m having to tell people I can’t get to them for three to four months. The growth on The Island is the most I’ve ever seen.”

And for folks who have been on The Island for as long as Jackie and Hank that is saying something. Jackie and Hank are among the nicest people on The Island, we wish them the best under their new name and if you want to hear some stories of The Island “back in the day” stop by and talk to Jackie and Hank, they got stories folks.

Non-Banking Financial Services: Trust | Investment | Insurance Not FDIC insured • No Bank Guarantees • May Lose Value

July 31, 2014

Island Moon

News from your POA

By Maybeth Christensen

Stuff I Heard on the Island

A5

by Dale Rankin Last week thru the efforts of our Island CC Police, a burglar was apprehended. He had taken items from several Island homes. When the policeman asked how he entered the properties, his response was “thru open garage doors!”

The message – DO NOT LEAVE YOUR GARAGE DOORS OPEN! Don’t make it easy for the thieves.

Another “easy” target is unlocked car doors.

Do not leave valuables in your car, especially in plain sight.

Pay attention to your surroundings. Thieves are looking for quick and easy access. They don’t want to have to work for their booty and they want to be able to make a quick getaway.

Hide the cans We’ve noticed lately that folks are leaving their trash and recycle bins out long after pickup.

These cans are supposed to be stored behind a fence or in the garage. They are not to be visible from the street. They really can make a street very unsightly when they are left setting in front of the garage.

Light pollution Lights left on all night and flood lights which light up the whole canal continue to be an issue.

The City Ordinance requires lights to only light your own yard or dock. Folks new to the Island do not realize how far light reflects off the water. Please take notice of where the lights are shining. Install shields to make sure they are only shining on your property. Look at possibly using lower wattage bulbs. Install motion detectors so that the lights only come on when there is movement on the dock.

In my middle age I have come to believe that the path we choose in life is a random walk. Sure some of our more organized peers knew at an early age what walk of life they wished to pursue. Being a professional basketball player, astronaut, President of the United States, or rock star gave way to something a bit less ethereal, and some of us had a career thrust upon them; thus my thirty-plus years of writing for newspapers and broadcast.

Jet speeders

From a whim to a wham

There seem to be a number of new jet ski owners who can’t wait to go full throttle. That would be fine except you should wait until you are out of our canals. The speed limit, by City Ordinance, in all of our canals is 5 miles per hour. That speed does not create a wake which is why we have “No Wake” signs all over the place. The wake damages other boats, docks and, of course, our bulkheads. Enjoy your new jet ski, but wait until you are out of our canals until you open up the throttle.

Entering my third year of college in San Marcos - where I was on the five-year plan - I thought I wanted to go to law school and needed an easy A to pad out my grade point average. I had already taken the intro writing course at Del Mar and so enrolled for Reporting II and the first assignment from Dr. Shaun McClanaghan, who always added ten points to a paper if you spelled his name right, was to go out into the world and find a story. He told me later this first assignment generally wiped out about half the class in drops and adds and there was no point in wasting time trying to teach the drop outs journalism.

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I was determined to be wheat and not chaff but I had no idea where to find a news story.

I was driving down the street one day when I noticed a broken window at an elementary school and out of desperation stopped in to find out if there might be a story there. I hit paydirt when the principal turned out to be the head of a task force charged with finding out who was responsible for breaking more than three hundred school windows in the past two weeks and handed me the entire story, quotes and all, in about thirty minutes. I quickly learned that curiosity and dumb luck played a big role in the journalism dodge.

They’re actually going to pay me for this?

I turned in my story and after class Dr. Shaun took me down the hall to the newsroom of the University Star and my window story, the first one I had every written, was the headline in the next edition. I wasn’t hooked but I was puzzled.

I became a little more hooked when the next semester they actually started paying me and the following semester I was the editor and was paid the staggering sum of $125 per week to oversee two issues per week and a staff of sixty people who worked overnight each Monday and Wednesday cranking out thirty pages of whatever we could get typeset by our deadlines.

My college experience got me a paid summer internship with the San Angelo Standard Times where I lived in an apartment complex with the

Houston Oilers who trained there and I found out through my girlfriend that a professor at Angelo State had been kicked out of the University of Pennsylvania for using his students as guinea pigs in learned helplessness experiments by hooking them up to electric charges which caused some of them to go screaming into the night. My publisher was also the Chairman of the Board of Regents at the school so the story never saw the light of day but the professor got the heave ho and somehow Associated Press got wind of it – it could have been because I mailed them a copy – and when I got back to San Marcos I had calls from the Austin-American Statesman and the San Antonio Light to string daily stories for them. Each paid $50 per day for each story. Not only was I getting more money than any college writer should ever be trusted with, I could get into any concert I wanted by showing them my press card and I could get a date in by having her hold a camera and look like a photographer. Now I was hooked.

Tree climbing dogs and Terror in Death Hole!

I covered a smattering of city politics, university happenings, fires, killings, festivals named after truck crops and farm animals, and the occasional tree-climbing dog. Then four guys decided to scuba their way to the bottom of Jacob’s Well in Wimberley. They got to the deepest chamber and had to take their tanks off to squeeze through and when their fins stirred up the fine dust at the bottom they couldn’t see their bubbles and in their panic to get out all four drowned. The unsuccessful attempt to retrieve their bodies went on for over a week and the story was the daily lead in both Austin and San Antonio.

I turned in my first story to both: “Efforts to retrieve the bodies of four men who drowned in a limestone sinkhole near Wimberley continued today” etcetera and so forth. The next morning the headline in the Statesman read: “Recovery of Bodies in Wimberley Drownings Continues.”

Then I got my first taste of San Antonio journalism when the Light ran the same story under the headline: “Terror in Death Hole!”

The notoriety that came with being on the front page of two metro dailies landed me job offers in both cities and my plans for a direct matriculation into graduate school were put on hold for ten years as I chased bar shootings, plane crashes, political shenanigans, and tree climbing dogs from Nashville to Mexico City in print and broadcasting. It’s a bit staggering to think it all began with a broken window in a San Marcos elementary school and Terror in a Death Hole.

A random walk indeed.

Club News

The Island Moon provides this space for Island organizations. If you are a member of a club and want to get the word out about your events and/or projects send them along and we will get them in.

Be sure to include a brief description of what your organization does and a contact person for those interested in joining.

Send the info to editor@islandmoon.com and we will include it. Or call us at 949-7700.

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Island Yacht Club - Padre Island Yacht Club (PIYC) is a private club whose membership enjoys boating and extended cruising, as well as numerous social events.

The membership hosts nearly 100 social events each year, including Happy Hour every Friday night from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. PIYC is accepting new membership applications, and prospective members are invited to attend any Friday Happy Hour event. Contact Mr. John Diggins (Rear Commodore in charge of memberships, jdiggins@flash.net) to receive information about attending Happy Hour and PIYC. PIYC also maintains a marina with 26 boat slips (40’ X 14’ with 30 amp service) and courtesy docks.

Contact Mr. Barratt Sturtevant (PIYC Dock Master, bcsturtevant59@gmail.com) for any interest in the marina. PIYC also hosts the annual La Posada Lighted Boat Parades and several related events whose mission is to gather toys and other donations for the U. S. Marines “Toys for Tots” campaign. For additional information about PIYC and its mission, go to our website, PIYC.org.

Padre Island Uke Club – Here’s your chance to learn to play the ukulele! Tuesday, July 15th Island Joe’s Coffee and Gallery is hosting this month’s ukulele club meeting. Island Joe’s is located at 13919 SPID right here on the island. The meeting begins promptly at 6:00 PM and ends at 7:30. Plan on arriving 10-15 minutes early to get settled in and tuned up. Everyone is welcome. A $3/person donation is requested. Loaner ukuleles available. More information also available at PadreIslandUkeClub.com and on the club’s MeetUp. com site. RSVP online or call Joe Sexton at 361-5008955. PadreIslandUkeClub@gmail.com PI Dog Group (PI Dog). Saturday, July 19, 2014: 9:00 a.m. Beach Walk. Meet at the Bristol Pavilion at Padre Bali Park. Bring leash, water for your dog & you, poop bags, etc. Meets monthly for dog and owner activities, training and education. Free to join!

To join visit padreislanddogpark.com or contact Bev (bevhoffman@aol.com) or Lyn (lyn.edler@gmail. com).

Rotary Club of Padre Island Corpus Christi – The Rotary Club of Padre Island is always looking for new members seeking to put "service above self". If you are interested, please come join us and see what we are all about.

The Padre Island Rotary usually meets every Tuesday at noon at the Boathouse Bar and Grill (upstairs), 15241 Leeward Dr, Corpus Christi, TX 78418. For more information contact Jacqueline Carlson at 361331-8618 or jcarlson@jmcarchitecture.com.

P.I.E. Padre Island Enrichment Club, Inc,P.I.E. strives to enrich the lives of Padre Island women through social activities and community involvement. Full membership luncheon meetings are held the second Friday of each month at the Holiday Inn. Members may also participant in special interest clubs (bunco, bridge, spades, books, etc) that meet throughout the month. For more information about PIE, please contact Katherine Pierce, President, at 361 960-0327 or Sandy Leber, Membership Chair, at 361 949-7145.

KIWANIS Club of Padre Island. The Kiwanis meet at noon each Wednesday at MikelMays at Bob Hall Pier. For more information contact Karen Wilson at 361-446-4626. e-mail at karenwilson61@gmail.com.

IUPAC (Island United Political Action Committee): Maximize representation of Corpus Christi residents on Padre and Mustang Islands in area government by promoting and supporting, by the endorsement process, proactive and unified voting in non-partisan races and other issues and referendums put to public vote.

Contact Persons: President – Linda A Walsh lawalshva@yahoo.com 361-445-7999. Secondary Contact Person: Member – Brent Hess, bhess0604@ gmail.com. 361-774-0089. Meetings: Open to the public, meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month.

Parrot Heads of Port Aransas – Parrot Heads of Port A will celebrate 5th Thursday with a happy hour at the Drop Anchor Bar and Grill at 6:30 pm on July Parrot Heads of Port Aransas is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to assist in community and environmental concerns and provide a variety of social activities for people who wish to volunteer.

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A6

July 31, 2014

Island Moon

Island from the Air

On the Rocks

By Jay Gardner The phone rang by my head this morning about 15 minutes before I got into my typical back-and-forth struggle with the snooze button. Bizzy heard me pick up and before I could say hello he immediately yelled “Where’s all the Water?!” Well, and a good morning to you sir! Ha! He was referring to the astronomically low tides that we’ve been having lately. The water is indeed low, running about 14” inches below what we consider “normal”.

Being over a foot low is something to take extreme note of; with the shallow running boats everyone is running, over a foot low is the difference between running a flat and being completely stuck in the mud with no water at all.

There are other dangers with the shallow water as well. Someone lost a lower unit in Baffin this past week and the pictures are all over the interwebs. Heck, actually I think they lost their entire motor! Everyone needs to be careful out there, and it’s that time of year to seriously stick to the channels. The paths and run lanes in Baffin are a very serious hazard, as there are serpulid reefs that typically have that 14” of water over them that are within an inch or two of the surface. I expect more lower units to be damaged over the next week or two before the water edges slowly back up.

Another reason to stick to the channels is that here in the Back Yard you can see all the prop scars that have occurred over the past seasons out in the flats and especially along the edge of the ICWW. It’s this time of year that we all need to be extra careful, as this is the time when a large majority of prop scars occur because of the low water. It only takes seconds to cut a corner or blow across a shallow flat but it takes years and years for some of those scars to grow back. Please take it easy on the resource, the water will be back up here with the coming lunar cycles. In addition, purposely staying in deeper water will extend the life of your water pump, lower unit, and outboard. Literally.

When we were out on our little after work fishing adventure the other day (where we lost an axle on the trailer on the way to the

ramp: - I don’t want to talk about it), I actually remembered a piece of PVC and we re-marked Skinny Pass. It’s not an official channel, and actually it’s only about 3 feet wide, which is just wide enough for your tunnel and lower unit to get through! Skinny Pass is what the Commercials and old locals use to go back and forth from the marinas at Little Wigglers and Bluff’s Landing to the ICWW towards JFK when we’re heading north of the causeway, so you don’t have to go all the way around the Pita Island channels out to the big ditch. Please note that we marked the channel on the SOUTH side of Skinny Pass; it had always been marked on the north side. And we put it right on the edge; I’ll recommend that you buzz within a foot or so of the stick off on your port side when going from the ICWW into the flats (reverse when heading the other way). It’s only a ¾ inch piece of PVC sticking up about 3 feet, so it’s kind of hard to find, but at least it’s there. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before someone mows it over as well. Hopefully it’s not me cutting it too close. Heh. We managed to get south this past weekend and get serious On the Rocks. I jumped 3 tarpon and Kevin jumped one, which was easily the largest tarpon of the trip somewhere in the barely sub 5’ range and around 70 lbs. He got two jumps before the obligatory hook-spit. It had been quite some time since Kevin and I had been on Tarpon Tour, and we both giggled like school children every time we got a bite and corresponding leap out of the water. Of course we were having too much fun and neglected to adjust our drags after the bite, so there were none landed. It was really nice to get south, and the beach has changed dramatically! There is a pinch at the 58MM that can ONLY be passed at low tide. There is absolutely no way through for ¾ of the day or night, with the window currently about mid-afternoon. Time your trips south very carefully, and be prepared to be stuck in there if you really head south. However there is SO MUCH structure in the 40’s and 50’s that there’s no real reason to head that far south. You loyal readers drop me a note at jaygardner@ scientist.com and I’ll see you On the Rocks at Packery this weekend!

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July 31, 2014

A7

Island Moon

Backwater Adventures Last Call For Summer!!

By Joey Farah Farah’s Fishing Adventures

Two life long friends shared the battle on this nice redfish. As tides continue to be at very low levels lots of reds are grouped up along the edges of the intracoastal canal. Live finger mullet and pig perch are the best

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Logan came with her grandmother to hunt star tournament fish and got hooked up into a redfish frenzy along the ditch north of the bridge. Live pigs.

We have two good points of concentration of flounder the land cut and the first mike of lagoon south of the JFK. Use small pin perch, finger mullet, mud minnows, or soft plastics around any change In the side of the channel. When you catch one count on there being more, they are a schooling fish. They love small drainages along the change from shallow flats to deeper water.z

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Tides of the Week

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Tides for Corpus Christi (Bob Hall Pier) July 31 - August 6, 2014

Day

High /Low

Tide Time

Height in Feet

Sunrise Moon Time Sunset

Th

31

High

6:43 AM

1.2

6:52 AM Rise 10:53 AM

31

Low

1:23 PM

0.6

8:19 PM Set 11:02 PM

31

High

6:30 PM

0.9

31

Low

11:53 PM

0.5

F

1

High

6:56 AM

1.1

6:52 AM Rise 11:45 AM

1

Low

1:49 PM

0.5

8:18 PM Set 11:38 PM

1

High

7:58 PM

0.9

Sa

2

Low

12:19 AM

0.7

6:53 AM Rise 12:38 PM

2

High

7:07 AM

1.1

8:17 PM

2

Low

2:24 PM

0.3

2

High

9:44 PM

1.0

Su

3

Low

12:44 AM

0.9

6:53 AM Set 12:16 AM

3

High

7:09 AM

1.1

8:17 PM Rise 1:34 PM

3

Low

3:09 PM

0.1

M

4

High

6:09 AM

1.2

6:54 AM Set 12:57 AM

4

Low

4:01 PM

-0.1

8:16 PM Rise 2:31 PM

Tu

5

High

2:56 AM

1.4

6:54 AM Set 1:43 AM

5

Low

4:57 PM

-0.2

8:15 PM Rise 3:29 PM

W

6

High

3:04 AM

1.5

6:55 AM Set 2:34 AM

6

Low

5:54 PM

-0.4

8:14 PM Rise 4:29 PM

Moon Visible

13

20

28

38

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A8

July 31, 2014

Island Moon

SPORTS Sports Talk-Special to The Island Moon

Joey Crawford and NASO Dotson’s note: I am on the road attending the annual meeting of the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO). During the meeting, my friend Joey Crawford will receive the world’s most prestigious officials’ award. In officiating circles this award is equal to an MVP award to a professional athlete. Many Spurs fans are not fans of Joey’s. I want them, as well as all NBA fans and the Moon Monkeys to meet the real Joe Crawford. Also, I wanted all to get an inside look at the history of NASO and what the organization stands for. I was a member of the first board of directors who formed the association in 1980.

levels. At the same time, NASO members have realized meaningful membership benefits found nowhere else in the officiating community.

Editor’s note: For non-Spurs fans, and we feel truly sorry for you, the rift between Crawford and the Spurs Nation began when Crawford threw Tim Duncan out of a game while Duncan was sitting on the bench.

Referee Enterprises, Inc., (Referee) heard the outcry, recognized the need, and called upon several prominent officiating leaders to assist in creating an organization and establishing the groundwork upon which to build NASO. That was 1980. Over the years, literally hundreds of officials and officiating leaders have had a hand in building and defining NASO. not

NASO Gold Whistle Award The NASO (National Association of Sports Officials) Gold Whistle Award is given to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the betterment of sports officials and the officiating industry. This year’s honoree will be the 26th to receive the award, joining an elite group of past recipients.

Joe Crawford is the 2014 recipient of the NASO Gold Whistle Award Joe was hired by the NBA in 1977 at the age of 26. He is among the most senior NBA referees.

He is one of six referees to work 2,000 NBA games, a milestone he passed in November 2005. Joey has worked more than 275 Playoff games and more than 45 Finals games, both NBA records.

Before joining the NBA, Crawford officiated high school games in Pennsylvania and the Eastern Basketball Association (later the Continental Basketball Association).

In addition to being one of the NBA’s most high profile and competent referees, Crawford assists others in a number of ways. He participates in a reading program sponsored by the NBA Referee Association. He and several other current and former NBA referees are clinicians at a camp for burgeoning referees, but all of the officials donate their fees from the event.

Crawford’s share of the money is earmarked for Sister Rose Marie, a cloistered nun from his hometown of Philadelphia. Also, Crawford and his wife organized and operated a girls’ AAU basketball program before turning it over to others to manage.

Other officials on the league staff look to him for leadership, which he provides without hesitation. He is considered a “rules Guru” and prepares weekly tests for fellow officials. In his constant drive for self-improvement, he will review video of his own work and send it out to other officials so they might learn from him. He regularly sends out messages of congratulations, support, and helpful instruction to NBA, collegiate, and WNBA officials-- all with the idea of providing moral support or sharing his wealth of knowledge.

Joe is considered the ultimate “big game” official, as evidenced by his record of playoff games. In recent years he has become one of the most ardent supporters of NASO and the annual “Summit” meetings. He has excelled as a volunteer speaker, panelist, and clinician at the “Summit.”

The National Association of Sports Officials For more than 30 years, the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) has faithfully served all officials in all sports at all

NASO’s history mirrors that of Referee Magazine. After Referee publisher Barry Mano successfully launched the magazine in 1976, subscribers began discussing the need to create a national organization that could provide benefits to sports officials. Local needs were being met with local associations, but nowhere did a national body focusing only on sports officials exist. Subscribers were speaking out to create a national organization that would improve officiating.

Davis said the July 18 meeting was set up by former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros with then-Mayor Julian Castro, City Manager Sheryl Sculley and the President of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

Davis was tight-lipped about his plans but may have only been looking for leverage with the city of Oakland. The Raiders are in the final season of their lease in Oakland where Davis has said that his preference is to build a new stadium on the current Coliseum site but talks have been complicated by a recent 10year lease agreement by the Athletics to remain in Oakland. The A's agreement includes a provision to allow the Raiders to knock down the Coliseum for a new football stadium.

Davis obfuscated by telling the Bay Area News Group by phone Tuesday night that he was in San Antonio with close friend and former Raiders wide receiver Cliff Branch, who was being inducted into a local hall of fame.

But Scully issued a memo to the City Council this week discussing the meeting.

NASO is governed by a board of directors culled from the best and brightest officiating minds in the nation. Many sports and all levels of officiating have been represented in that time.

More importantly the men and women who have served represent the forward –thinking professionalism that governs NASO today and beyond.

NASO is focused on three main areas in its efforts to enhance the image of officials and officiating. These areas are: Advocacy for Sports Officials-A primary focus of NASO is to dispel unfair and malicious portrayals of referees and umpires and to shine a light on the strong character and positive accomplishments of the men and women who officiate sports. Additionally, NASO fights for officials’ protection within the legal system and state legislatures throughout the country, and NASO brings together leaders and organizations throughout the world of athletics to discuss and analyze how to improve working conditions for officials.

Education to Improve Sports Officiating-A core belief at NASO is that to improve officiating, you must improve officials. Toward that end, NASO provides members with a variety of educational resources, information, publications and advice.

Legal and Insurance Protection for Sports Officials- One of NASO’s primary functions is to protect sports officials from lawsuits arising from their officiating actions. With NASO everything you do as an official, umpire or referee--from assigning games, to working as a clinic trainer, to good old fashioned on-field or on-court officiating--is covered by NASO’s Sports Officials Security (S.O.S.) Program, which covers officials working every game, every sport and every level. Nobody else does this.

Dotson’s Note: For those of you (mostly Spurs fans) who do not believe Joey Crawford is not a great official, or that he doesn’t like the Spurs. What do you think now? Please call the Benchwarmers 560-5397 Weekdays, Mondays thru Fridays, 4-6 PM or contact me Phone: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530-748-8475 Email: dlewis1@stx.rr.com.

"I was asked to meet two weeks ago with the owner of the Oakland Raiders, Mark Davis, and members of his staff. Mr. Davis has expressed interest in a possible relocation of his NFL team to San Antonio and we are engaged in preliminary due diligence," she wrote, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

"The agenda for this visit included a tour of the Alamodome and meetings with local business leaders."

The newspaper reported that the Alamodome could serve as a temporary home until a new stadium is built for the Raiders. In previous attempts to located a team in San Antonio the league has been emphatic that it will not expand indoors. Previous plans for an NFL team there have revolved around an stadium with a retractable roof to compensate for the South Texas heat.

Any move now would require approval from 24 of the 32 NFL owners and in the past Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has quietly opposed previous attempts at securing an NFL team for San Antonio. Jones told reporters at the team's training camp in Oxnard, California this week that he "didn't make much" of the meeting.

"What I will say," Jones said, "is San Antonio is very important to the Dallas Cowboys.

Translation: “Over my dead body.” But the seed has been planted.

Fall 2014 High School Varsity Basketball League Registration starts July 28 The Corpus Christi Parks & Recreation Department is now accepting registration for its Fall 2014 High School Varsity Basketball League. This league is team concept with a boys division and a girls division (Varsity), 8 teams per division. Each team is limited to 12 players.

The season will begin the week of September 8 and run through the week of October 11, 2014.

REGISTRATION will be offered as follows: A) WEEKDAYS Monday–Friday, July 28– August 15, 2014 from 10am–4pm at Heritage Park in the second floor of the Sidbury House

Tall and talented with an infectious smile, he was a kooky character that no one could figure out. There is an old saying that goes like this; men in the game are blind to what men looking on see clearly.

He was not good looking; in fact his face most often resembled a guy who had just witnessed a murder. As a young man, his ears were so big, he could get cablevision, and you could stare at him and watch him grow. He was not the kind of pitcher that you used to make clinic films. To him it was just a game and you were supposed to have fun. Pinball machines and comic books stole away his time during days off, while he celebrated his potential in bars across the country at night. “Let the good times roll,” was his motto and he once answered a friend’s question, “Do you drink Canada Dry?” with “I already have.”

The staff of Referee serves as NASO’s management company, providing the day-today operations of the association. While the two organizations are often viewed as one and the same in the eyes of the officiating public, Referee and NASO are separate entities.

Referee is a for-profit business while NASO is a not-for-profit educational organization.

Oakland Raiders Owner Meets with San Antonio Officials about Potential Move The Hang Up and Listen crowd in San Antonio has been abuzz this week with the news that Mark Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, confirmed that he has met with San Antonio officials about the possibility of moving his team to the Alamo City.

Throwing Zeroes

By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon

(1609 N. Chaparral St.); $350.00 per team; B) LATE REGISTRATION August 18–22, 2014 from 10am–4pm at Heritage Park in the second floor of the Sidbury House (1609 N. Chaparral St.); $375.00 per team.

Participants will obtain a full understanding and importance of the rules and the concept of teamwork. While this program provides structure and knowledge of the sport of basketball, it also promotes positive attitudes and the importance of adapting a lifestyle with recreational activities.

Larsen & Yogi This night owl with huge feet liked the ladies, but loved baseball and booze even more; he could get as drunk as Dean Martin. He once blew into a breathalyzer and the machine said, whoa, whoa, one at a time please. His fellow teammates called him “Gooney” and the bartender referred to him as “Last call Larsen.”

He believed that a hangover is just your body’s way of saying that you should not have stopped drinking. His accomplishment in the game of baseball remains unique and one-of-a-kind.

Potential to be the greatest There was another side of Don Larsen which would become perfect. This professional nightfighter, who also became a mediocre Major League pitcher, was born on August 7, 1929, in Michigan City, Indiana. His father was an American Legion baseball player who took his son to see “Babe” Ruth and the New York Yankees. Growing up in the West Coast Mecca of baseball talent in the forties, San Diego, Larsen would combine good control and a quirky personality into a Minor League contract with the St. Louis Browns. He would turn down several college basketball scholarships offers in order to pitch for a living. It would be one of the best decisions he ever made. Five Minor League teams in four years would be enough to land him in St. Louis for the 1953 season. One day after watching Larsen throw, the immortal pitcher “Satchel” Paige once said, “This kid has potential to be the greatest.” Larsen didn’t turn out to be the greatest, but he did prove to be perfect for one day.

In 1953, Larsen hit .284 as a rookie with three home runs and won seven out of nineteen games on a Browns team that lost 100 games. He was really just another pitcher whose face looked like an old catcher’s mitt after an “all-nighter” at the local bar. Regardless of what he felt like, he continued to show up and throw. His stamina was amazing.

From Baltimore to Toot Shore’s In 1954, the Browns moved to their new home, in Baltimore, Maryland. Larsen continued to show signs of brilliance even though he became the first pitcher to lose twenty games in a season, with the Orioles. He would finish the 1954 season with three wins and twenty-one losses. As luck would have it, Larsen always pitched well against the Yankees, and this did not go unnoticed by “The Old Perfessor,” Casey Stengel. Casey just knew that Larsen would get better with age and worked a trade with Baltimore that would send Don Larsen along with pitcher Bob Turley to the 1955 Yanks.

Larsen, who wore #18, won nine out of eleven games the first year in New York and became one of Toots Shore’s best customers.

Spring Training, 1956, would begin with a car wreck for Gooney. Although Larsen escaped unhurt, it was Casey who had the last laugh.

Casey told a reporter, “Larsen should get a medal. He’s the only guy I know who could find something to do in St. Petersburg, Florida at three in the morning.” It would be the beginning of a memorable season. Don would make 38 appearances and post an 11-5 winloss record for the World Series bound Yankees.

In an effort to improve for the relentless

Casey Stengel, Larsen experimented with a nowind-up pitching motion.

It would yield perfect results in Game Five of the 1956 World Series.

It started with a baseball in his shoe The Yankees would face their cross-town rivals and current World Series Champion, Brooklyn Dodgers. Larsen had been roughed up in Game One, as the Dodgers held serve in Brooklyn with back-to-back wins. In those days, the starting pitcher was sometimes not known until game time. Third base coach and long-time Yankee, Frank Crosetti, would place a new baseball in the starting pitcher’s shoe, before the game.

Crosetti had no problem finding Larsen’s size 13 shoes before Game Five. The Series was now tied two games apiece as the six foot, four inch Larsen warmed up in front of the Yankee dugout.

In the second inning, Dodger great, Jackie Robinson, hit a sharp liner that ricocheted off the knee of Yankee third baseman Andy Carey and in the direction of shortstop Gil McDougald. Gil’s throw beat Robinson to the bag. A home run by Mickey Mantle, off Brooklyn pitcher Sal Maglie, and a great catch

by Mantle in centerfield, while running flatout to his right, would give Larsen a two-run cushion by the sixth inning. It always seems that one or two outstanding defensive plays in the field become the common denominator for throwing a no-hitter or better yet, a perfect game. These omens were not to be ignored.

Larsen smoked a cigarette in the dugout to relax before going out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Yankee teammate Mickey McDermott said, “It was then that we noticed he had a zero going.” Larsen’s ball just seemed to know how to run away from the barrel of the Dodgers bats. The eighth inning came and went as little Yogi Berra and big Don Larsen continued to work their magic. Dodger Dale Mitchell would pinch-hit for pitcher Sal Maglie with two outs in the top of the ninth inning.

Never before and never since…perfection If I asked you to make a list of all the pitchers who had the goods to throw a perfect game in the World Series, I’d bet the farm that Larsen’s name would never come up. The air was filled with electricity as teammates behind Larsen moved in different directions, each trying to guess where Mitchell would put the ball in play.

It was not to be. Umpire “Babe” Pinelli raised his right arm for a called third strike on Mitchell, and history had been made. “Never before and never since,” is how New York Yankee publicaddress announcer Bob Sheppard described the scene. It was October 8, 1956, and Larsen had done the impossible. He had thrown 97 pitches, while hurling a perfect game for the first World Series no-hitter.

Larsen would celebrate that night as sports writers scrambled to write the story of the year.

The Series would go seven games with the Yankees finishing as World Champs. Larsen would be voted Series Most Valuable Player and receive a new Corvette and a guest spot on the Ed Sullivan television show.

The day wasn’t exactly perfect Unfortunately, it was all downhill for Larsen after the perfect game. Not only had his wife filed for divorce on the day of his perfect game, but he didn’t even get a raise from the Yankees brass for the following season. It was no fun watching him fall apart. In 1959, he was traded, along with Hank Bauer and a couple of other teammates, to Kansas City for Roger Maris and a little-known pitcher. In 1961, he helped the San Francisco Giants win a pennant, but later found himself in Texas, pitching for the Houston Astros, by 1965. He was finally released in 1967 by the Cubs, after only four innings pitched. Larsen had been the victim of greatness for just a moment, kind of like yesterday’s news.

You get what you negotiate I had a chance to sit down and talk with Don Larsen. He was a guest at the National Sports Card Convention in Dallas, Texas. Don was quieter than I thought he would be. He was just sitting there looking around like he was on a butterfly hunt. His nose and cheeks was cherryred, as if he had been drinking. He spoke in a raspy voice and wore the look of a grizzled veteran. He was serious, never smiled, and gave short answers. There was something about his eyes. It must have been a day like this that Al Capone was born. Maybe he was just tired of being asked about the events of 1956. I think in some ways, he felt left out of the baseball history books, or maybe he just expected more.

Life can be fleeting at times; you get what you negotiate, not what you’re worth.

I remember an interview with Yogi Berra that was done by a sportswriter on the day of the last game ever to be played at old Yankee Stadium. Everybody that was somebody was there, including all the old and young Yankees.

Berra was asked what he would remember most about his time in the “House that Ruth built.”

Even after three Most Valuable Player Awards, 13 World Series Championships as a player and coach, having his #8 retired or being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, all as a Yankee, he thought for a minute and said, “The perfect game with Larsen in the 56’ World Series.

That’s only happened once and I caught it.” I have often wondered how Don Larsen would have answered that question. The perfect game was Don Larsen.

Andy Purvis is a local author and radio personality. His newest book “Greatness Continued” is now available to order online at bn.com, Amazon.com, Google Books, Booksamillion, etc. You may also purchase all three books at Beamer’s Sports Grill 5922 S Staples or the local Barnes & Noble store.

Please visit www.purvisbooks.com for more info or contact him at purvis.andy@mygrande. net. Listen to Dennis Quinn & Andy Purvis Q & A Session each Thursday 6-8 PM on ESPN 1440 KEYS.

July 31, 2014

Island Moon

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Bonds continued from A1

against Proposition II on the grounds that there are still $87 million in unfinished projects from previous bond issues.

The following is a list of projects currently headed for the November ballot.

“Concrete costs alone have gone up 55% percent just due to market demands,” Haas said, “if you put all of these projects in play right now you will not get a good value for your money.”

If approved by voters the street projects in Proposition I could be accomplished with no increase in taxes due to the retirement of existing city bonds this year, city staff said design work on 33% of the projects in Proposition I is already finished or underway. Proposition II, which includes all Island projects, would require a tax hike. Proposition III, also scheduled to be on the ballot, would approve the sale of 19 city parks, none on The Island, due to the city’s inability to maintain them.

Catch the view from Port A’s only elevated bar.

Black Marlin Bar & Grill is the ONLY destination on the island that marries chef-driven cuisine, an elevated bar and weekly live music.

Stop by and get hooked.

LIVE MUSIC EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT! Join us every Saturday night this Summer for great food, cold drinks and live music overlooking the gulf. Featuring ADAM HOOD this Saturday, August 2.

Visit blackmarlinporta.com for details.

Lunch 11 – 3 pm Daily

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Dinner 5 – 9 pm Wednesday – Saturday

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A9

Elevated Bar Open Daily

2 5 8 S N A P D R A G O N • P O R T A R A N S A S , T E X A S 7 8 3 7 3 • 3 61 . 7 4 9 . 4 6 5 3

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Island Moon

July 31, 2014