Inside the Moon
Ban Ban A5
Fishing A7
Sports A8
Save the Bowl A7
The
Issue 615
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
January 28, 2016
Around The Island By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com In New York they got 25 inches of snow the third-largest snowfall on record. In Washington D.C. they got more than 28 inches of snow, the second-largest snowfall ever recorded there bringing a new and different kind of gridlock to our nation’s capital.
Winter Texan Roundup A13
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Photo by Tracie Rich
Schlitterbahn to Open All Water Rides for Summer Season Hotel rooms scheduled for June 1 opening
The fish are taking some time off from biting, surfing has been soso at best, duck season is winding down, and so far our Winter Texan friends have failed to kick up much of a ruckus. All the action has been up Aransas Pass way where this week the police department issued the following warning…
Avoid Harrison Blvd and W. Wheeler Ave until further notice We have received numerous reports of a female demonstrator who has chosen to bare her breasts during her demonstration. The female has not committed any criminal or traffic law violations and is not otherwise prohibited from law in demonstrating the way she is doing, currently. We understand many have concerns about this behavior and we will continue to monitor it. If you are sensitive to such a display or would like to protect your children from this female’s demonstration, please avoid Harrison Blvd and W. Wheeler Ave until further notice. Aransas Pass Police Department The police department is “monitoring” the bare-breasted lady down on Harrison and W. Wheeler but telling everyone else to stay the heck away because there’s a halfnaked lady running around down there. You can’t make this stuff up folks.
Moon Mike This week marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Island Moon founder Mike Ellis. We miss our friend and his sense of humor. We think of him each Christmas as we carry on his tradition of giving people gifts “that are just barely too good to throw away.” That’s how we got a tin suit of armor and a flying pig so he’s still with us in spirit. We wonder what he would have thought about the changes that look to be coming to his Island. We can’t put our finger on it exactly, but there seems to be something in the air Around The Island these days; like this is the proverbial pregnant pause before the spring and summer bring big doings our way. Then again maybe we’ve just had too much coffee. As they say on television news, only time will tell. In the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Mardi Gras Parade Route A15
It’s Time to Mardi Gras! It is almost time to smell the gumbo. The seventh annual Barefoot Mardi Gras celebration is now only one week away on Saturday, February, 6. This year an afternoon festival has been added to the schedule which will be held at Briscoe King Pavilion during and after the parade, which has a new starting point this year at Whitecap Beach. The route was extended north to Whitecap in order to relieve overcrowding along the route, which now stretches from Whitecap south along the beach to the county park at Bob Hall Pier.
Here on our little sandbar we got a Big North Wind that blew drift sand and plastic bags all over the place and a brush fire of Biblical Proportions that turned out to be not much more than a controlled burn thanks to the fast action of firefighters. Winter beach conditions have set in with deep wind-blown sand making beach driving treacherous in most areas except at low tide when vehicles can hug the waterline. The northern that the Winter Texans brought OTB with them blew the palm trees flat on one side Tuesday but had largely spent itself by Wednesday evening and everything was back to what passes for normal around our Island.
Live Music A16
The final event of the day will be the King and Queen’s Ball at Veranda at the Schlitterbahn waterpark which will begin at 7 p.m. For more information on the event see the entry forms and schedule on Page A15.
By Dale Rankin The Schlitterbahn waterpark is gearing up for its first summer season with all water rides and hotel rooms ready for business. “We will have the full park up and running by June 1,” said park spokesperson Amy Gazin. “What we need now are life guards, we need 107 of them to work at all the water rides.” She said the hotel rooms will be ready on June 1 when the first ever convention is scheduled for the park. The third summer season of the park
City of Port Aransas Adds Flexibility to Spring Break Drinking Ban Rules
kicks off on April 30 when it opens each Saturday and Sunday through May. Then beginning Memorial Day weekend it will be open seven days a week until the third weekend in September. The Shoot to Chute ride, the large vertical ride which can be seen on the south end of the park, will be open for the first time this summer season along with the park’s two Master Blasters. All of the second floor of the main building, which includes the hotel rooms and a large meeting area/ bar on the west end are scheduled to be open by the June 1 date.
Port Aransas Home Tour January 30
When the Port Aransas City Council voted last week to alter the rules for controlling alcohol consumption on city beaches during Spring Break things got confusing quickly. As the word spread that the council had voted to ban drinking on the beach during Spring Break personal media sites lit up with responses to the erroneous news.
The 28th Annual Port Aransas Home Tour will be January 30, featuring 9 beautiful homes. To start the tour come to the Community Center 408 N. Allister and purchase your tickets or turn in already purchased tickets for your wrist band. Before starting the tour, during the tour or after you are through stop by the Community center for a cup of coffee and one of our homemade sweet treats. While there don’t forget to look over our exquisite raffle baskets and silent auctions items. There is something for everyone.
To be clear, the council did not change the times nor the rules on the ban on alcohol during the month of March. Currently regulations
The first raffle item everyone will want to take a look at is a night at the Spurs Saturday March 5 game against the Sacramento Kings in
Drinking continued on A3
Home Tour continued on A6
Kiwanis Supports Another Local Cause $500 Helps Finance SMA Math Team Competitions By Brent Rourk Funding youth causes is at the core of the Kiwanis International Organization and the local Kiwanis of Padre Island continued to support local causes when last week when they donate $500 to the Seashore Middle Academy Math Team. SMA Math Team Sponsor and incoming SMA Director Colleen McIntyre, pleased with the donation, commented, “My students and I are very grateful for the Kiwanis $500 donation. We travel to San Antonio or Austin 5-7 times a year for
Kiwanis continued on A4
A little Island history Editor’s note: Last week we ran a background story on Seashore Charter School on The Island. This week we take a look at the Flour Bluff Independent School District. By Dale Rankin North Padre Island lies inside the Flour Bluff Independent School District which was established in 1892 and encompasses a 156 square mile area which includes the Naval Air Station, the Corpus Christi Army Depot, Flour Bluff, and North Padre Island. It is divided into six campuses and includes athletic facilities which are all located on a single 170 acre site. Average Daily Attendance is 5450 students with a current total enrollment of 5746; down by 40 students from last year. The district has 360 teachers and 750 total employees. The current student/ teacher ratio is 16 to 1. The exact number of Island students who
Veterans Muster
For the first year Barefoot Mardi Gras has added the Island Foundation Schools to the list of non-profit organizations it will benefit, along with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Corpus Christi.
Dealing with the VA
By JD Kennedy Editor’s note: This is the first of an ongoing series of columns to help us address the concerns and answer the questions of military veterans. We have asked retired Marine veteran JD Kennedy to write the column for us. Address questions to him at the contact information provided at the end of this column. We thank him for his help.
Veterans Benefit Seminar Saturday, February 6 There will be a Nueces County Veterans Services Officer event on February 6, at Del Mar College. Come out and hear what Nueces County Veterans Services can offer you and other information on where to go for assistance on veterans benefits. The event will be at the Center for Economic Development on the Del Mar College campus at 3209 S. Staples Street, Room 106, Saturday, February 6, from 9:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m.
In the past year as I have devoted full time to helping our veterans I have found that many of the problems involve our Department of Veteran’s Affairs healthcare system. About 70 % of the complaints which come to me are about the health care system. One of the many challenges facing the VA in southeast Texas, and across the nation, is a shortage of primary care physicians and specialty care providers. In order to address this and expand local services for veterans, Congress passed the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act in 2014. From this came the VA Choice program. VA Choice offers an opportunity for local, private healthcare providers to provide services to veterans and assist the VA to provide veterans with appointments in a shorter timeframe and at facilities located closer to home. As is the case with any program, VA Choice isn’t without its flaws. The largest being a shortage of healthcare providers enrolled in the network. The VA contracted this program out to Tri-West, but with the short timeframe given to build a network of providers before making this program available to veterans, the network of participating doctors was nearly non-
Veterans continued on A8
Flour Bluff ISD attend FBISD schools is not known, however, approximately 376 students ride the bus to The Island after school each day. The University Prepatory Program began in 2006 with a Gates Foundation grant aimed at students who are at-risk and first time college students in families. It was refocused on kids at risk and now accepts 110 kids per year. This year there were 84 students who met the criteria and the remaining 26 slots were filled by a lottery system. The district and the City of Corpus Christi have developed a partnership in 2000 with the opening of the Janet F. Harte Public Library located on school property which serves as both the high school library and the city public library.
Budget The total budget for the current school year, including food service and debt service, is $51,328,130.
Salaries make up 82% of the budget the Management and Operations Budget is $1 per $100 of appraised property value in the district. Current Debt Service is .11 cents per $100 of appraised value, and the tax rate is two cents less than Effective Tax Rate, making it the lowest in area behind Port Aransas ISD which must pay about ¾ of its tax revenue to outside districts as
History continued on A6