Section a for web

Inside the Moon

Travel A5

Moon on a Spoon A5

Fishing A11

Sports A8

The

Issue 620

Island Moon

The voice of The Island since 1996

March 3, 2016

Around The Island

By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com We Islanders are holding our breath as the first wave of Spring Breakers will begin to descend on our little sandbar this weekend in a warmup for the two following weekends when traffic will back up onto the JFK Causeway as visitors from Kalamazoo to Swinney Switch celebrate their rites of spring.

If the Weather Wonks are correct and the good weather holds it will be the first favorable Spring Break weather in three years and should produce a record number of visitors on area beaches. Unknown is the effect that news of the 6 p.m. alcohol curfew on Port Aransas beaches may have on beachgoers coming OTB and whether it may lead to more crowding on beaches in Corpus Christi City Limits.

One thing we know for sure is that we Islanders need to get our grocery shopping done by Thursday night because going OTB for the next three weekends will be a dicey proposition.

The other thing we know for sure is when the rooms along the beach fill up the Cruiser Stink Factor along Whitecap will be in full bloom. The lines that run from the beach to the Whitecap Wastewater Treatment Plant fill up along with the hotels and when both are full the sewer pump station lets fly with an odiferous assault that has staying power long after we make the turn onto SPID. So as you make your way down Whitecap in the next three weeks you’ll want to roll up your windows and hold your nose.

Giant jellyfish at PINS

Free

Weekly

FREE

Site Work Begins Around Lake Padre

By Dale Rankin Even as plans for the proposed Water Exchange Bridge along SPID stalled this week work began on the 230-acre site on the northeast side of Lake Padre that will become a marina and include a 300-unit dry stack boat storage building, and new construction that will see the addition of more than five hundred residential units around the lake.

Crews on Wednesday began staking out the route for 1000 liner feet of a new canal which will eventually connect the water gate at the intersection of Lake Padre and Packery Channel to the site of the proposed SPID/Park Road 22 Water Exchange Bridge.

The staking of the route is anticipation of excavation crews arriving within the next three weeks to begin removing 400,000 cubic yards of sand which will include the removal of a peninsula which currently extends into the center of Lake Padre. That work is expected to take about one hundred

Live Music A18

Update on Island Projects

SPID Water Exchange Bridge Project Stalled Timetable for permitting “Indeterminate”

By Dale Rankin The push to build a $10.5 million water exchange bridge on between Commodores and Whitecap on SPID took a hit Tuesday night when it was announced by officials from the Texas Department of Transportation that it will take a minimum of one hundred and thirty days to complete the permitting process on the project before the project can be put out to bids.

Photo by Steve Coons

Island Election Results Preliminary vote totals for the three precincts on Mustang and Padre islands are in.

On Padre Island a total of 2643 voters cast ballots, 451 Democrats with Hillary Clinton beating Bernie Sanders 271-177 and 2192 Republicans with Donald Trump beating Ted Cruz 806 to 716.

In Port Aransas a total of 1130 voters cast ballots, 290 Democrats and 840 Republicans. Port Aransas Democrat voters narrowly favored Clinton over Sanders 153-135. On the Republican side Port Aransas voters favored Trump over Cruz 324-224.

Complete precinct results will not be available until votes are officially canvassed next week.

State Record Spottail Pinfish Caught Off Mustang Island When they pulled it from the water near the Gulf Oil platform in fortyfive feet of water halfway between Port Aransas and Packery Channel they last week they weren’t sure what it was.

and weighed it – 1.51 pounds – and measured it – about one foot – and checked the state record; the fish was so rare there wasn’t one so they applied and expect to have their catch certified in the next few weeks.

“I’ve been fishing here for a long time and I had never seen one,” said Jeff Kiser from the University of Texas Marine Science Center. “So we called Jay Gardner and he told us it was a Spot Tail Pinfish, Diplodus Holbrookii.”

In the meantime the fish now resides in a tank for public viewing at the Marine Science Center where it will remain for the rest of its life.

The crew knew they had something special so they kept the fish alive

And Jeff and his crew now have a new fish story, and come to think of it – so does the fish!

Dale Rankin

Work has begun on the first new construction along the Michael J. Ellis Seawall since 1986. Crews have begun elevation work on a new townhome/condominium project on property at the end of Whitecap which are part of the Barefoot Dunes development which will also include beachfront property on the south side of Whitecap.

Katherine and David Pierce came across this giant jellyfish on PINS over the weekend about the size of an extra-large pizza. It would take a big old piece of toast to handle that much jelly!

Coyotes in Aquarius Park

Three coyotes, who apparently decided that since Island kids can’t use the Aquarius Park sticker patch they will, took up temporary residence there last weekend. They are barely visible in this photo but they hung around all day Sunday and homeowners report they were not shy about making their way down adjoining streets. Eyewitnesses report that the coyotes, while not aggressive, didn’t seem to be at all afraid of humans. If you are walking your dog around the park be careful.

Fourth of July fireworks Islander Jerry Watkins is already at work putting together the fourth annual Island Blast fireworks show.

Jerry reports that most of the funds for the event have been raised but some money is still needed. The event has very quickly become an Island favorite and anyone wishing to contribute can makes checks payable to Island Blast and drop them off at the POA office.

That’s all for now everybody. Watch out for the annual Whitecap Speed Trap that springs up each Thursday during Spring Break. Remember when Spring Breaks we fix it! We’ll see you at the Ski Basin and in the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.

Wooden stakes show the location of where digging will begin on a new canal on the east side of SPID. days, according to Developer Paul Schexnailder whose company owns the land.

“We will dig the canal in the next three months but we will leave it plugged at both ends,” Schexnailder said. “We will not connect the canals to salt water until we are sure there is going to be a water exchange bridge. The movement of this sand will provide the fill dirt for a 200unit apartment complex on the south side of the channel, and for a 300unit dry stack boat storage unit also on the south side of the channel,” Schexnailder said.

The work is the beginning of a years-long build out process which is designed to take advantage of the connection of the new construction on the east side of SPID to the existing Island canal system by way of the waterway under the proposed bridge.

“We have broken ground on the pathways and in the next two weeks will turn over the drawings to the engineers for platting and permitting for a 250-unit beachfront community on par with Palmilla Resort and Cinnamon Shore in Port Aransas,” Schexnailder said.

A little island history

Chasing Wild Horses On the Nueces River in the 1850s

Editor’s note: The information for this story is taken primarily from the book “The Mustangs” by author and historian J. Frank Dobie published in 1934.

In the middle of the nineteenth century wild mustangs and cattle roamed freely in the Nueces Strip between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. The men who worked to capture them called themselves mesteneros and came from mostly along the Rio Grande, primarily from the Mexican side, but some came from as far east as the settlements at Goliad. They fought with Comanche Indians over livestock and were mostly a wild and illiterate bunch. With the exception of one man who left a record of the struggles of the men who harvested the Wild Horse Prairie; his name was J.W. Moses.

The mesteneros were tough men who made a living in a tough environment. Few were well-armed ammunition was hard to come by. They worked

in companies, usually about one hundred men, under captains and due to lack of ammunition fed on wild cattle and javelinas which they roped.

Coffee and piloncillos (cones made from brown sugar) were luxuries and their lariats were made by hand of rawhide and wove their tack - girths, bridle reins – from the manes of wild mustangs. They carried Saltillo blankets which would turn water but were scarce comfort against the blue northerns.

No season for horses nor beeves Ownership of the Nueces Strip was supposedly settled in the U.S.-Mexican War but in the 1850s neither U.S. nor Mexican authority showed itself the Wild Horse Prairie was wide open to all comers with no season and no rules for harvesting horses nor beeves. But even among the rough men of the prairie certain rules

History continued on A4

A2

First Friday Reception March 4th 5:30-7:30

March 3, 2016

Island Moon

Blue Crab Boutique Grand Opening

Port Aransas Art Center 323 N. Alister 361-749-7334

Annual Tiddle Caylor all member show 3/4-3/25 Member artists compete for 1st 2nd 3rd Places which are awarded by a judge. The public votes march 4th through the 25th and then the voting slips are counted and that winning artist will be the 2016 People’s Choice.

Dual Book Signing Devorah Fox-The Redoubt Ruth Asher- Entitled to Fall

Blue Crab Boutique hosted a grand opening celebration last Thursday

12 Dogs Rescued

Norma Gafford Ukelele

Barb Robinson Acrylic

Just Listed!

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Twelve dogs were found shut up in a shed on Padre Island last week. There were two males and a female along with nine puppies. There was no food or water inside the unventilated storage shed. A man staying at the La Quinta nearby was walking his dog when he heard barking coming from the shed and discovered the dogs. He called animal control but they did not take the dogs. Island Dog Groomer Amy

Koch heard about the dogs and she and her son went and rescued them. Gulf Coast Humane Society has since taken the mother and the nine puppies. Amy is looking for fosters or homes for the two males she still has. A big Thank You to Amy for her kindness, generosity and compassion. The property owner was unaware that the animals had been left there.

Call 361-949-7281

Mary Melick Real Estate

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March 3, 2016

Island Moon

Letters to the Editor

Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder

POA Elections March 12 Editor’s note: With the elections for the Board of Directors at the Padre Isles Property Owners Association schedule for March 12 in the next issue we are offering all candidates a free forum for their ideas and will print any statements from them here. Please address your thoughts to editor@islandmoon.com and all letters will be printed in full as they are received. The deadline is Tuesday.

PINS

Distribution Pete Alsop

POA Island Moon,

Island Delivery

The PIPOA’s primary responsibility, as stated in the Bylaws and The Island Moon Newspaper, is to maintain the common areas, assess and collect the annual fees and provide information and assistance to property owners.

Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin Classifieds Arlene Ritley Production Manager Jeff Craft Contributing Writers Joey Farah Andy Purvis Devorah Fox Mary Craft

Why does Padre Island national seashore insist on making things difficult? At the entrance to the north beach there used to be an opening in the hard sand not anymore - if you're not 4 wheel drive you're not getting through.

Darryl Harris

Maybeth Christiansen Jay Gardner

Beach Driving

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) Riley P. Dog

To the beach walkers who like the sand piles that the city of Corpus Christi has put up that is effectively preventing vehicle access to the waterline, I want to remind them that they are in the State of Texas. In the State of Texas our beaches are public roadways. It is no different than walking down Whitecap or Leeward. If you want vehicle free beaches there are other options in this area and in other states. Example of these are the Seawall, the pedestrian beach at south end of seawall, Packery jetties, and the vehicle free beach adjacent to Bob Hall pier. Please keep in mind our beaches are public roadways and you must take the same precautions as you would walking on a paved road.

Steven Thomas Island Resident

Seapines Sewer Dale Rankin About the Island Moon

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

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

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

The Island Moon Newspaper 14646 Compass, Suite 3 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

Where to Find The Island Moon

Lisabella’s Restaurant Pioneer RV Park

Coffee Waves

Whataburger

Moby Dicks

Doc’s Restaurant

Spanky’sLiquor

Snoopy’s Pier

IGA Grocery Store

Isle Mail N More

Carter Pharmacy

Brooklyn Pie Co.

San Juan’s Taqueria

Ace Hardware

Wash Board Laundry Mat

Texas Star (Shell)

Holiday Inn Jesse’s Liquor

Public Library Chamber of Commerce

Island Tire

Duckworth Antiques

And all Moon retail advertisers

Back Porch

WB Liquor

Subway

Shorty’s Place

Flour Bluff

Giggity’s

H.E.B.

Port A Glass Studio The Gaff

We lived on Finistere near Encantada and had the house flood fromm the sewer backing up.

The city said it was the plumbing inn the yard, but the tore out an oleander and put in a new clean out. It hasn't made a fountain of feces since, but we moved.

The PIPOA is a non-profit corporation, and must abide by the law to maintain non-profit standing.

We hope all property owners send their objections to the PIPOA and the PIPOA remove these new standards/restrictions/regulations, and the threat of fines and court action effectively immediately.

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

Water We're interested in using groundwater on our lot for landscaping and car washing. I've made a few inquiries and learned that some water well drilling companies listed in the local directory simply don't drill on the island.

One told me that there was a company (now out of business) that did "water points" apparently meaning a pointy tube pushed into the ground and presumably attached to a pump. Do any of our neighbors have a source to offer?

Tom Cullinan

Lucky Rubber Duck Race

Carrol Michael

Human Peace Sign Save the date! March 12th, Horace Caldwell Pier, between mile marks E & F. 5pm. Family Friendly Flash Mob Peace Sign. This event will send a message to our Spring Breakers & The World that Port A is a place of Peace! Please invite any and all photographers, musicians, your neighbors and your friends

by Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com or @padreeyelander on twitter

New Advertisers New Advertisers Mac Daddy’s Family Kitchen in Port A serves barbeque, chicken, fish and shrimp.

This week specials are a two piece fried chicken basket for $7.99 on Monday and Tuesday and a fish & shrimp basket on Thursday and Friday for $8.99. They have BBQ sandwich specials every day. Check out their ad in this issue for a free family size side per table. They are located at 118 Beach Street in the former Beaches Restaurant.

GT Wulf Dog Waste Removal Service available for weekly, twice weekly, every other week and one time service starting at just $12/week. They also sell commercial grade stations, dog waste bags and dog park equipment. Call 331-7223 or visit gtwulf. com.

Free House on Waterfront at 14410 Cabana on a 9000 sq ft lot with a 75 foot dock. The price for the lot is $350,000. Contact Billie at 361-765-9102.

Business Briefs Behringer’s Landing & Rockin’ B Bar in Port A is opening Friday, March 4th in the former Marcel’s/Neptune’s building. They will be serving their signature 26 ounce Ribeye steak along with their Cowboy Macaroni & Cheese. They have done a great remodel of the bar and outdoor patio area with a stage and outdoor bar. Kicking off the upcoming live music will be the Bluewater Highway Band on Saturday, March 12th at 9 pm with a $5 cover.

The Dolphin Watch Nature Tours on the Mustang II in Port A offers cruises on a 65 passenger vessel with sunny upper deck and shady lower deck. Coolers are welcome and it is wheelchair accessible. For reservations call 749-6969 or visit their website.

The Port Aransas Preservation and Historical Association is having a dinner and auction at the Community Center on Saturday, March 5th at 6 pm. Individual tickets are $150 each and there are tables for eight available. For more information contact Nancy Donley at 215-3498 or nancydonley1@gmail.com.

The Seashore Charter Schools have open registration for grades K – 8 until March 31st with the lottery to determine admission on April 1st. To register for Seashore Learning Center K – 4 call 949-1222 and for the Seashore Middle Academy call 654-1134.

The Spring Fling Craft Fair will be held at the Boathouse Bar & Grill on Saturday, March 5th 10 am – 3 pm. Admission is free and there will be door prizes. Free family entertainment on the patio.

The Back Porch in Port A is now open and will feature Davin James on Friday night and the Scarecrow People on Saturday.

The last Thursday night Bingo at the Beach is March 3rd at the Holiday Inn 7 – 9 pm.

By Linda Walsh Have you been wondering why you are seeing a giant rubber duck on the Island? That’s because The Padre Island Rotary Club is again holding the Lucky Rubber Duck Race on Saturday, March 26 following the Community Easter Egg Hunt in Billish Park. The race will be held at the Boat Ramp at the West end of Billish Park. It usually starts around noon.

Life's a Beach Moon Basket

Don’t miss out on the excitement and fun as 3000 rubber ducks race down the canal. There are many prizes including a large flat screen TV, a gift package from Schlitterbahn totaling $650 which includes a season pass for 4, a 3 day 2 night stay at a Gulf front condo in South Padre Island and so much more!

Tickets are available at Island Architects (Behind Mail and More) and from all Rotarians.

Tickets $5 – per duck $20 – five ducks $100 – thirty ducks The more ducks you buy the more chances of winning prizes. Proceeds benefit Rotary Community and International Service Projects.

If you see our large yellow rubber duck anywhere on the Island, be the first to send me an email and where you saw it and you will win 5 duck tickets. Email Linda at lawalshva@ yahoo.com. Good luck, be on the lookout for the Duck!

Island Italian

Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant

Keepers Pier House

Patti Rall Stoldorf

North Padre

A Mano

Gratitude Gift Shop

Yes. We live on Allamanda and the city comes once a year to suck out the clean out drains because they get silted in. But I have to call when my sewer starts backing up.

Port A Arts

CVS

Stripes @ Cotter & Station

Shannon Sheriff

WB Liquors

All Stripes Stores

Woody’s Sports Center

In the Coquina Bay CCRs, it is stated “At any time the owner of the legal titles to 51% of the lots in such subdivision may amend the restrictions, covenants, conditions, and matter set forth…” The PIPOA does not have the authority to set forth new standards unilaterally.

Property Owners in Coquina Bay

Sandpiper Condos

Stripes @ Beach Access Rd. 1A

Port A Parks and Rec

These new standards are not reasonable, equitable and violate the CCRs. The Island is not one big subdivision. There are 17-plus different subdivisions and CCRs. It was developed to include condos, townhouses, duplexes as well as single-family homes.

Has anyone in the Sea Pines area have issues with the city sewer backing up into their home?

Publisher

Port Aransas

The PIPOA’s letter to property owners dated January 2016 and articles in the Island Moon Newspaper, stated new standards/restrictions/ regulations, and made a threat of fines and court action. These could be discriminating, create economic hardships, and reflects (their) personal preferences and interpretation. The addition of PIPOA new standards, particularly a time element regarding garbage containers, regular trimming of palm trees, no children’s item to be in yards, etc., are not in the CCRs and/or PIPOA Bylaws.

Did Ya Hear?

A3

A Sandball Garnish

The BACK PORCH Davin James

Mar. 4

Scarecrow People

Mar. 5

The Mar.11 Statesboro Revue Mar. 12 BACK PORCH Alvin & the Slickpunks Mar. 15 Bar Mar. 16 Matt Parker Cody Wayne

Chris Saucedo

The

Mar. 17

ON THE WATERFRONT

BACK

PortA 132 W. Cotter St. PORCH

The 25th Starlight Gala was held on Saturday, February 20, 2016. It was the most successful on record with almost 600 in attendance and raised nearly $200,000 for our district classrooms! Our "basket" was a great success, raising $725! Thanks to each of you, we continue to raise the bar each year and touch even more students. Your donations are truly appreciated and someone will be enjoying a fantastic weekend on the island!

Thank you! N.E.I.S.D.

Follow us on Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper Send photos and letters to editor@islandmoon.com

A4

March 3, 2016

Island Moon

History continued from A1 were inviolate. No corral was finished until it had been dedicated to a saint and a cross – usually of mesquite – at the entrance. When the first mustangs were herded in a ceremony known as the lazo de las animas where a horse was lassoed for the benefit of the souls of mesteneros who had been killed. The money raised from these horses was used to pay priests to say mass over their souls. If the mustang catch numbered one hundred animals or more a whole lazo (two horses) was dedicated, if less than one-hundred hope for the departed rested with the value of a single horse. It was part of the captain’s jobs to make sure this ceremony, and the funds, were properly done and it was said the rite took on more solemnity when Indian signs had been spotted. Moses writes of a man from Laredo named Roque who had been a captive among the Comanches who was more effective with a bow and arrow than most of his fellow mesteneros were with firearms.

The guard rushed to warn the others and the Indians, who did not know of the pen, walked into a trap inside the corral where they had to jump the fence to escape death, leaving ten Indians horses behind.

Fight at Los Patricios

A thousand thorns

While Moses and ten other men were out on the prairie they came across signs of Indians (and no, the sign did not say Casino One Mile Ahead). For safety they combined forces with another group under Don Clemente Zapata and this combined force of twenty-five men, with only about a dozen serviceable rifles among them, and saw a large herd of wild horses heading in the direction of the V- shaped Los Patricios corrals which consisted of brush and trees not far from a waterhole. The next morning they set out with the aventadores, or starters, in the van and began driving the herd in the direction of Los Patricios. But the dust cloud kicked up by the herd prevented the mesteneros from seeing the fifty Comanches driving the herd from the rear. The Comanches left the horse herd and turned on the mesteneros killing two before they could concentrate and penned the rest in the timber around the camp. After trying for a full day to dislodge them, the Indians left but not before killing four and wounding three men and either taking or killing half the mesteneros’ saddle horses. Some of the men returned to Mexico while others combined with another group and captured a large caballada or horses.

But the rounding up and selling of wild horses was not for the faint of heart. Moses tells of a surveyor named Captain John J. Dix who was on his way home with a fine mustang stallion he had captured. The captain had the lead rope tied to his saddle horn as his horse and the mustang began to contest to see who was the leader of the two-horse herd. While riding down a narrow trail the newly captured stallion reared and broke the girth on Dix’s saddle and began running through the brush dragging the saddle with Dix still on it in a South Texas version of a sleigh ride. By the time two vaqueros roped the runaway Dix had a thousand thorns in his body.

But a pair of tweezers was part of the common equipment for mesteneros and by sundown Dix was unthroned and back in possession of his prized stallion.

In the same area a few years later in a dry season a guard at a newly constructed catch pen near the same waterhole saw ten Comanches riding down the trail toward him who had scared off the Mustangs coming in for water.

Stampede at Agua Dulce In March of 1850 Moses and his outfit found large droves of horses west of Agua Dulce Creek and filled their trap with Mustangs. But the herd was so large that when the encerrado (encloser) whose job it was to bar the gap, tried to stem the tide of horse flesh into the corral he could not and the oncoming flood became a panic. The horses ignored his waving blanket and rushed into the open gate, trampling those in front of them and broke the pickets as the entire herd regained its freedom leaving only the dead and injured horses behind. The carcasses raised such a stench that the place was thereafter known as Hediondo – Stinking.

In general mesteneros got the tidy sum of five dollars per head for the captured mustangs, releasing any that were unsellable. In some seasons the price would drop to a dollar but Moses always drew top dollar for his horses because he didn’t sell them until they were broken to the saddle. He refused fifty dollars for a dark bay named Dormidor (Sleeper) because of its drowsy looks when at rest but it was said that no horse could outlast him on the chase; which could mean the difference between life and death on the Wild Horse Prairie.

Call (361) 826-2330

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Wii Bowling 12:30 PM Tuesday Zumba Gold (Co-Ed) 10:3011:30 AM ($20/month or $4/session) Table Tennis & Table Games - 12 PM Wednesday Silver Haired Fitness 10-11 AM ($8/month-Ladies Only) Chair Volleyball 12:30 PM-??? (about 3:30 PM) AARP Chapter 4181 Meeting @ 1 PM (2nd & 4th Wednesdays) Painting Class 1:30-4:30 PM $5 per class 1st & 3rd Wednesdays

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• Don’t give out your credit card number.

Many websites like Mint.com and CreditKarma.com offer access to your free credit score for free and you don’t have to enter your credit card number at any time.

However, if a site does require your credit card information before sharing your credit score, it could be a sign that it plans to charge you or enroll you in a monthly service, so you might want to consider going elsewhere.

Your credit report has information about your finances, bill payments and bankruptcy history.

Employers, insurers and other businesses use your credit report to evaluate your applications for a credit card, loan, insurance or renting. In Texas, employers have the right to do credit checks using government-maintained databases; however, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that employers give written notice that a credit check will be done.

• Pull your children’s credit report. As child identity theft remains a national problem, it can be just as imperative to pull your child’s report as it is to pull your own. While the credit reporting agencies do not knowingly maintain credit files on minor children, you can contact the credit reporting agencies directly to see what information, if any, they have about your child to avoid a financial mess for them in the future.

The FCRA requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. To pull your free and government-authorized credit report, visit AnnualCreditReport.com.

The importance of pulling your credit report is to ensure the information being reported is accurate, complete and up-to-date. According to the Federal Trade Commission, having a copy of your credit report helps guard against identity theft. When looking at your credit report, look for these red flags of identity theft: 1. Any inquiries not initiated by you; 2. Any debts reported that are not yours; or 3. Contact information such as your address, that is changed without your approval When pulling your annual credit report, BBB advises: • Be wary of unsolicited emails and popups. Beware of “imposter” websites that

• Dispute inaccuracies. If you find inaccurate information on your credit report, immediately contact the reporting agency you pulled the report from and file a dispute.

Inaccurate, derogatory information can lower your credit score, and in some cases, may indicate fraudulent activity.

For more consumer information, BBB Business Reviews or to file a complaint, visit your local Better Business Bureau online at bbb.org/central-texas.

Kelly Trevino is the Regional Director for the Corpus Christi office of Better Business Bureau serving Central, Coastal, Southwest Texas and the Permian Basin. Kelly is available for media interviews and speaking engagements. You can reach her by phone: (361) 945-7352 or email: ktrevino@corpuschristi.bbb.org.

Projects continued from A1

The Ethel Eyerly Community Center in Flour Bluff is open with a full activities schedule which is shown below. All are welcome.

Computer Interest Group 12:302 PM

By Kelly Trevino, Regional Director, Coastal Bend Better Business Bureau

Dale Rankin

Ethel Eyerly Community Center

654 Graham Road

BBB offers advice during National Credit Education Month

Wii Bowling & Chair Volleyball 12:30-4:45 PM Quilting 2nd Thursday of the Month Friday Silver Haired Fitness 10-11 AM ($8/month – Ladies Only) Table Tennis – 11 AM Bingo -12:30 PM ($.50 Cards)

The announcement comes five months after city staff told the Island Strategic Action Committee in October that a hearing on the environmental impact of the bridge would be scheduled by the end of 2015 and twelve years after voters approved the bridge project. The city is in charge of pushing the project through the state-mandated process since the bridge is a city-funded project located on a state right of way.

In describing the process that the city must navigate TxDot spokesman Rickey Dailey told ISAC members and the fifty-eight Islanders gathered at the ISAC meeting Tuesday that at the end of the required 130-day permitting process during which the city must respond to questions from the public that the city then has an “indeterminate” amount of time to respond to a final round of questions, meaning that even at the end of the 130 comment period there is no firm timetable for when the final hearing on the project would be held and the 130-day permitting process has yet to begin.

The newly announced delay in the process comes as the project has stalled at the Corpus Christi City Council level, which last year approved using money from 2012 and 2014 bond elections to fund the project, but has failed to vote to actually fund it and efforts by the city to produce a Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the developer of the land adjacent to the bridge site, Paul Schexnailder, have been at a standstill since Schexnailder obtained his permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last October clearing the way for him to construct canals leading to the bridge from both sides. The canal leading to the proposed bridge site from the west, the Schlitterbahn side, has been in place for more than two years and work began this week on the canal leading from the site into Lake Padre on the east.

The hearing concerns an Environmental Assessment of connecting Lake Padre to the existing Island canal system and a document presented to the ISAC in mid-2015 said the hearing would be scheduled on “January 16, 2016.” That date passed without action and ISAC members were informed Tuesday that the latest round of responses from the city to TxDot had only been filed at 4 p.m. on Tuesday which led to questions about the scheduling of the hearing and the TxDot announcement of the 130-day/opened-ended timetable meaning that earliest possible date for a hearing is July and even after that date the project is stalled pending funding approval by the city and an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Schexnailder that would guarantee progress on the bridge and the canals would proceed simultaneously.

City staff present at the Tuesday meeting appeared unaware of the 130-day TxDot process and gave no projected date for when the project could be put out to bids.

Design plans for the bridge call for a threearch structure two hundred feet in length which would include three separate pathways; two pedestrian/cart passages of forty feet each bordering on each side of a forty-foot wide waterway with fourteen feet of clearance under the bridge for boat passage. Schexnailder’s permit requires him to install water exchange culverts but does not require him to build a bridge.

323 N.Alister 361-749-7334 First Friday ~March 4th 5:30-7:30 March Sponsors ~ Family Center IGA & Karen Winship Show Judge- Laura Griffith Annual –Tiddle Caylor -All Member Show

Site Council Monthly Dinner/ Dance Third Friday of the Month 4:30-7:30 PM Tickets sold by Site Council members or phone reservation: 361-826-2330

Schexnailder’s obtaining of the permit placed progress on the bridge project squarely in the hands of the city and since mid-2014 when pushed by ISAC members on a timetable for the hearings which the city staff says are required to move the project forward have said the hearing would be scheduled “within the next few months.”

Samples of some Member Show Art >> Come for Refreshments Live Music Great Art & Artists!

Dragonfly Restaurant Curacao Blues Barb Robinson

Check out Dragonfly's new pastry case!!

Norma Gafford

Artists Compete for –1st, 2nd & 3rd Place, which will be awarded by the Judge. Then you- the public Vote through-March 25th for your favorite, that winner will be the “People’s Choice” award. All winners are awarded a “Merit” show of their own in the month of August 2016.

We have truffles galore!

Easter is coming up, grab your chocolate bunnies and eggs while they last!

Now hiring all positions to please come in and apply between 10:30 am and 2 pm or 4 and 5 pm Tuesday through Friday

Ask about our Banquet Room!!!

Catering Available!!!

14701 South Padre Island Drive • 361-949-2224 • www.dragonflycuracaoblues.com

Dianne Berman

Ida Pauken

Nancy Thyre

March 3, 2016

A5

Island Moon

24 Hours in Boerne

Island Moon on a Spoon

Where’s the Chef?

One of my favorite things about Boerne is how easy it is. At 30 miles west of San Antonio, it’s conveniently located in the Texas Hill County along I-10 and at the end of Highway 46, plus the city’s walkability is ideal for out-of-town visitors. So when I made plans for an overnight trip to the city, I also made a simple itinerary: eat, shop, and see what Boerne has to offer.

By Chef Vita Jarrin For those of you who read my article and try my recipes, thank you!

I apologize for missing last week’s paper but I was a little consumed in trying to open our new gelato and snack shop, A La Mode Gelateria, on SPID. We did open last Wednesday, and I met a lot of you who read the announcement in Mary Craft’s column in the Moon and some of you shared that you’ve tried my recipes. That makes me very happy; I appreciate that very much. Thank you!

History shows that the frozen treats we enjoy today originated back in 3000 BC when Asians discovered a new dessert by topping ice with flavorings. Five hundred years later, Egyptian Pharaohs served ice with fruit juices. Today this dessert is known as Sorbet or in Italian, Sorbetto. Soon after the Italians joined in this ritual by eating the ice of the volcanoes Etna and Vesuvius and covering it with honey.

In the 1500s, the Medici family commissioned famous artist and architect Bernardo Buontalenti to prepare a beautiful feast for the visiting King of Spain. Using his culinary skills to present an elaborate and visually pleasing display, Buontalenti presented the King of Spain with a creamy frozen dessert that we now call gelato.

Buontalenti is considered the inventor of gelato.

Now that you know a little interesting history on ice cream, sorbets and gelato, I’ll explain the difference between our American version and

Tip of the week:

Life is short…. So Eat More Gelato & Desserts!!! Come in and see me and “cone” and taste it for yourself. Whether you’ve tried it before or not…Our gelato is made daily with real fresh fruit & ingredients. It is unlike any dessert you’ve tasted before.

Mention this article and you get a free small cup! Our menu is filled with delicious treats to spoil you all!!! See you Soon !

A La Mode Gelateria 14254 South Padre Island Drive Sweet 101 Have Fun! Try New Things! Happy Eats…

Enjoy!

restaurant owners frequently post their latest finds—and discounts—on Facebook. And the city’s unique name makes it easy to search Twitter for posts about #Boerne.

Down the block, we open the door to Carousel Antiques and Fickle Pickles, where we savor the sweet, garlicky smell of homemade pickles.

I met my guide—a friend from college who grew up in Boerne—on a Thursday morning, and we park in a central location along the downtown stretch of Main Street known as the Hill Country Mile. The strip is actually 1.1 miles, so think of it as a Texas-sized mile.

After months of studying gelato—its history, its various production methods and what makes it unique—I realized that many dessert lovers may not know what gelato really is. So I figured I’d take some time to share what Gelato is and how it differs from Ice Cream.

So let’s start with the word Gelato. Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream. Although the literal translation of the word Gelato means frozen. I understand why they would use that word to describe this frozen treat.

by Jaime Lee

the artisan hand crafted Italian version of gelato that everyone is talking about.

In order for a frozen treat to be legally labeled as ice cream, it is required to have at least 10% milkfat. Most medium- to high-end ice cream brands actually contain 14 - 17% milkfat. Ice cream is churned at a high speed to incorporate air into the mixture (over-run), creating a smooth and relatively fluffy texture. Ice cream generally contains more than 50% air after the churning process.

In contrast, gelato only contains 3 - 8% milkfat and 25- 30% air. Therefore with less air whipped into the gelato, you don’t need to compensate the liquid which is now diluted by using more sugar, milk, and cream for taste, which in contrast would increase the fat and calories. By keeping the gelato dense, you capitalize on the flavor and your palette is coated with more intense flavor rather than air.

Most everyone who has tried gelato this week has asked about the decadence of the gelato.

“How many calories did I just consume?” “If eat this whole pint this week, how many calories do I need to cut out of the rest of my meals?”

What I can say is this, each flavor will have a slightly different calorie count because of the ingredients that go in to make it taste as it tastes… for instance, birthday cake will have more calories than banana. But you many use this as a general guide:

We start at Boerne City Center, a sort of luxury minimall that’s home to several specialty shops, including The Art of Eloquence, a writer’s dream store with designer stationary, writing implements, and gift options, and Baby Love Boutique. I leave with a few additions to my desk and a mental list of must-haves for a future nursery or baby shower.

For lunch, we meet two friends at the Cypress Grille, where we take advantage of their daily special. (Homemade chicken pot pie? Yes, please!) We decide that the full meal experience can’t happen without dessert, so we try the warm bittersweet chocolate cake—with four spoons, of course. Luckily we snapped a photo before diving into the decadent plate of warm, powdered-sugar-covered cake with fresh fruit trimmings.

After lunch, we return to contributing to the local economy. We stop into several boutiques along Main Street, including Alley on Main and Ella Blue. Boerne’s downtown hosts the kind of stores where your purchases are tenderly wrapped in colorful tissue and packaged in paper bags customized for the stores—no generic plastic bags here.

My guide makes it a point to take me into a shop called Celeste because she saw on Facebook they were having a 50% jewelry sale. Speaking of social media, Boerne is an ideal subject for avid users like myself. Its iconic Texas scenes make for great Instagram photos. The shop and

• On average, a 3.5-ounce serving of vanilla gelato contains 90 calories, 3 grams of fat and 10 grams of sugar.

• A typical 3.5-ounce serving of vanilla ice cream contains 125 calories, 7 grams of fat and 14 grams of sugar.

• The same size vanilla frozen yogurt contains 96 calories, 4 grams of fat and 16 grams of sugar.

The “help yourself” bowl near the door invites shoppers to taste their original recipe, and I take a jar home for my husband. He’ll use them to top burgers made on his new grill.

By now it’s time to check in to my accommodations for the evening. I’m lucky to be one of the first guests to enjoy The William, a recently renovated boutique hotel with second-floor rooms overlooking Main Street in the heart of downtown. The hotel is a sister property to the historic Ye Kendall Inn located a block over and owned by the same family, but the two have polar opposite vibes. Where The William has crisp white linens, marble floors, and modern, sleek furnishings, Ye Kendall Inn maintains its 19th-century ambiance with dark wood, lush window treatments, and periodappropriate decor.

After a restful night’s sleep on a king-size bed that’s more cloud than mattress, I meet my friend for breakfast the next morning at The Dienger Trading Company. This place is a combination of bakery, bistro, bookstore, and boutique. An illustrated timeline along one wall tells visitors the story of the historic building and its name-sake Dienger family as fixtures in the Boerne community since the 1880s.

With no itinerary for the day beyond breakfast, we decide to check out one of the city’s naturemade attractions, the Cibolo Nature Center, located on former ranchland along the Cibolo Creek. (A word of advice to visitors: bring appropriate shoes. Pointy flats aren’t ideal for tip-toeing across stones near the creek’s banks.)

We take a few hours to leisurely enjoy the center’s walking trails, watch for wildlife hiding among the reeds on the wetlands boardwalk, and lounge in hammocks swung among groves of oak trees. We also take (and post) photos and videos of the babbling creek.

Then it’s time for my last meal of the trip, and 259 Brantley’s Bistro sends me home on a high note for lunch—and with leftovers after I ordered their muffaletta, a notoriously large sandwich packed with meats, cheese, and house-made olive spread. Of course we saved room for dessert. I’d never heard of fried pecan pie. Can’t picture it? Trust me, it makes perfect sense.

$20 Million for Efficiency in Commerce and Trade for Texas Ports

My final stop before heading home is Epicure, a high-end shop known for unique culinary finds. Before I even leave the city limits, I’m hoping to return soon to fill my stomach with homemade goodies, my shopping bags with treasures, and my lungs with fresh Texas Hill Country air.

Planned road improvements along Fulton Corridor Citing the continued contribution to the vitality of the state’s economy by Texas ports, the Texas Transportation Commission approved $20 million in funding for road improvements at Texas ports. Program funds will directly benefit road improvement projects at Port Corpus Christi.

The Port’s construction project includes widening a portion of the Joe Fulton International Trade Corridor where it connects with Mike Carrell Road. Mike Carrell Road construction will improve the safety and access of traffic traveling to the new M&G Chemicals facility, and the new Port Corpus Christi Public Oil Dock 14. Approximately half of the cost

for these road improvements are covered under the Texas Transportation Commission approved funding.

Nine Texas port projects will receive a share of the $20 million to use in combination with local and other funding sources. These projects are included in the Unified Transportation Program recently approved by the commission and funded from Rider 48 of the General Appropriations Bill of the 84th Legislative Session, which provides $20 million for port capital improvement projects recommended by the Port Authority Advisory Committee. Port Corpus Christi Executive Director, John LaRue is Chairman of the Port Authority Advisory Committee.

THEMinor MEDICAL CENTER + Emergency Family Healthcare Minor Surgery Lab X-Ray

Occupational

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The superior Quadrivalent Vaccine has a broader coverage than the Trivalent vaccine which is more readily available

Open 6 Days a Week

No Appointments Necessary Mon-Thurs, Appointments available Fri-Sat Mon. - Sat. 8am - 6pm 14433 SPID “On the Island” Corpus Christi, TX 78418 www.tmcpadre.com

Water Access Laguna Madre

Under the Bridge Open Daily 11:00 - 9:00 Lunch Specials Monday-Friday 11 am - 2 pm AlsoScoopy’s Veranda With Sweet Treats, Soups, Salads & Sandwiches Now Accepting Visa Mastercard & Discover

361-949-1900

Snoopy’s Scoopy’s

(361) 949-8815 (361) 949-7810

13313 S. Padre Island Drive Corpus Christi, TX 78418

A6

March 3, 2016

Island Moon

Moon Phases

Stuff I Heard on the Island

March Mon

Tue

Thu

Wed

By Dale Rankin

Sun

Fri

Sat

It has been six years now since the establishment of the Island Strategic Action Committee which is the conduit that allows Islanders a link to the Corpus Christi City Council. The ISAC is an advisory committee to the council and is backed by the 6200 registered voters on The Island who unite behind city candidates through the Island United Political Action Committee.

Over the years the ISAC has become an effective voice for all things Island and through their efforts projects that were hanging fire for years were seen through to completion – including the Aquarius extension. The last of the original ISAC members exited the state Tuesday night as they were termed out to be replaced by a vote of the city council in the next few weeks. But the occasion of their leaving was particularly auspicious due to an announcement made by an Interim Assistant

seawall and how to maintain it as well as how to maintain the beach in front of it. The ISAC also is charged with advising the city council on the management of Packery Channel to decide, among other things, when dredging is necessary and how to manage the millions of dollars which accrue each year in the Island Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone which includes the channel and the beach on both sides.

Answers delayed are answers denied I could go on here but you get the point. Before we had the IUPAC and the ISAC Island projects often drifted along for years with no action – the Aquarius Extension built only three years ago was first approved by voters in 2004 and was only completed after insistence from the ISAC – and the move by the city to deprive the committee of staff support appears to have things headed back in that direction. If Islanders have to wait a month to have their questions

Tides of the Week

Tides for Bob Hall Pier February 25 - March 3, 2016

Day

High /Low

Tide Time

Height in Feet

Sunrise Moon Time Sunset

Moon Visible

W

Th

F

Sa

Su

M

Tu

W

3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10

Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low

4:44 AM 2:42 PM 5:29 AM 3:05 PM 6:14 AM 3:28 PM 6:59 AM 3:52 PM 7:44 AM 4:15 PM 8:29 AM 4:38 PM 10:22 PM 1:23 AM 9:16 AM 4:59 PM 10:33 PM 2:41 AM 10:04 AM 5:19 PM 10:57 PM

-0.4 1.1 -0.5 1.2 -0.6 1.3 -0.7 1.3 -0.7 1.3 -0.7 1.2 0.9 1.0 -0.6 1.2 0.8 1.0 -0.4 1.0 0.6

7:14 AM Rise 2:45 AM 6:11 PM Set 1:52 PM 7:14 AM Rise 3:38 AM 6:12 PM Set 2:41 PM 7:13 AM Rise 4:32 AM 6:13 PM Set 3:35 PM 7:13 AM Rise 5:24 AM 6:13 PM Set 4:34 PM 7:12 AM Rise 6:15 AM 6:14 PM Set 5:35 PM 7:11 AM Rise 7:04 AM 6:15 PM Set 6:38 PM

34

7:11 AM Rise 7:50 AM 6:16 PM Set 7:42 PM

0

7:10 AM Rise 8:34 AM 6:16 PM Set 8:46 PM

2

25 16 9 4 0

ISAC members (from left) John White, Jyoti Patel and Greg Smith, the last of the original ISAC members, were termed out this month.

City Manager at the meeting. Up until now the meetings, which are held on the first Tuesday of each month because there is no council meeting that day, have been attended by an array of city officials from the legal, engineering, traffic, and beach maintenance/parks departments; usually department heads and an Assistant City Manager. This gave the public and committee members the chance to ask direct questions of city staff members who were directly involved in various projects and therefore had first-hand knowledge of them.

I’ll get back to you next month

One Bite and You’re Hooked!

All You Can Eat Shrimp Wednesdays 5pm Prime Rib Thursdays Mini Golf Great Food Family Fun Seafood, Steaks, Salads, Burgers & a Full Bar Open 11am - 2am • Kitchen Closes at 1am 2034 State Hwy 361

361-749-TACO (8226)

But that all came to an end on Tuesday when an Assistant City Manager announced to the committee and the fifty-eight citizens who had come to participate that from now on he will be the sole city staff member who will attend and all questions must be directed to him and judging from his answers Tuesday night those answers won’t contain much in the way of definitive information. The process as it now stands will essentially consist of questions from Islanders and answers along the lines of “I’ll have to get back to you on that next month.”

The decision by City Manager Ron Olson, comes as the city cuts the number of Assistant City Managers from four to three and as staff time is more in demand than ever. But the cuts come at a crucial time for our Island as we are now in the process of planning for the next two decades.

The ISAC is currently working on an Island Area Development Plan which is the blueprint for development for the foreseeable future (the last one was done in 2004). And a study is underway which will lead to an Island Comprehensive Traffic Plan which will need the final approval of the ISAC and will include, among many others, decisions on whether to add traffic lights along the SPID corridor, how to redesign the Commodores/SPID intersection, how to deal with the increased traffic flow expected on The Island, and over the long term where to locate a second proposed bridge to The island.

The ISAC is also considering the future of the

answered it is going to take a long time to gather the pertinent facts on any given subject and make it very difficult to get results or give the council any useful advice on Island issues.

Islanders have come to understand that addressing the ISAC is the best way to get their voice heard and on Tuesday 58 of them turned out to address everything from beach maintenance to a new traffic light at Verdemere and SPID, to the Island’s land use map. The committee has been effective because it can get answers and effect results which will be much harder without city staffers with first-hand knowledge of things there to answer questions.

Maybe it’s just me but I got the distinct impression that we Islanders have become a thorn in the side of our city who, while paying lip service to citizen participation would really just as soon that we shut up and a good way to shut us up is to choke off the flow of information; we can’t ask a lot of annoying questions if we don’t have anyone to address them to and an Assistant City Manager who is one click removed from day to day changes in projects can always just say, “I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

We are entering the city’s election cycle and typically in a Presidential race about 100,000 voters will cast ballots in Corpus Christi and about 3500 of them are Islanders who vote as a block behind the candidates they select through the IUPAC nominating process (in which registered voters decide who to endorse) and 3.5% of the vote is enough to swing most of the five city races Islanders can vote in.

At the end of the day the bureaucrats don’t run City Hall, the elected officials do and they are the ones who ultimately must answer for the action of the staff. The staff may not care about that and not having to come to The Island to answer a lot of questions might make their lives a bit easier. But being ignored by our city council won’t make things any easier come November when the 6200 registered Island voters take stock of who their friends are – and who stood by while their main source for information on Island issues was choked off.

Classic Rock 104.5 & JAKE 107.3 present the “Spring Parrot Head Party” Sponsored by Sames Ford Saturday, March 19 5-10pm Admission is FREE, all ages welcome On the Freedom Stage at Schlitterbahn Featuring: Jerry Diaz & Hanna’s Reef, The country’s top Jimmy Buffet Tribute Also: Antone & The All Stars featuring Reno Perez Lyrical Bynge Ruben Limas & the Rolling Jays Wildest Hawaiian Shirt Contest sponsored by Flex Fit The “Parrot Perch” VIP seating contest. 1 winner and 3 guests will sit on the stage in living room furniture from Knot 2 Shabby

Supporting Sponsors: $6.00

off any oil change!

Island Moon Gatsby Bay Cruises CCRV Competition Sound Benjamin’s Gary Insurance Group

March 3, 2016

A7

Island Moon

Sandcastle Run to Benefit Kids with Diabetes Set for North Padre Island

By Brent Chesney, Nueces County Commissioner, District 4

The Corpus Christi Vet Center will host an Open House

The Corpus Christi Vet Center will host an open house on Monday, March 7 at 4646 Corona Drive, Suite 250 from 10:00 AM – 2:00 p.m. The event is being held to celebrate over 35 years of providing readjustment counseling services to Veterans and their families.

Services offered by the Laredo Vet Center include: • Individual, group, and family readjustment counseling to Veterans and their families in making a successful transition from combat to civilian life.

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment and help with other related problems that affect functioning within the family, work, school or other areas of everyday life.

• Military sexual trauma counseling for Veterans of both genders, regardless of combat

Camp Sandcastle is an exciting week long day camp for children with type 1 diabetes.

Children attending camp will experience outdoor fun while learning valuable lessons on positive diabetes management. Camp Sandcastle promotes self-confidence, independence, peer support and fun. - See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/in-mycommunity/diabetes-camp/camps/sandcastle.html?referrer=https://www.google. com/#sthash.nRFYnnRu.dpuf I am pleased to announce the Sandcastle Run for Kids with Diabetes is set!! On Saturday May 7th, starting at Bob Hall Pier, the first ever Sandcastle Run/Walk will occur. The run will include a wonderful course around our beautiful beach. What better way to start your day than this? This great event will benefit the Sandcastle Camp for Children with Diabetes.

I need your help. I am very pleased that great island businesses like Mikel Mays, First Title Company, Animal Hospital of Padre Island, Holiday Inn on the Island and Farmers Insurance and May Nardone have already stepped up to be sponsors. Others like Sports Fitness Solutions, Valero, Absolute Waste Systems, The Granado Group, the Nueces County Young Republicans, Commissioner Mike Pusley, Teal Construction, Gomez Properties, and Rock Engineering have also stepped up to sponsor this great event that benefits children with Diabetes.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Saturday, May 7, 2016 @ Bob Hall Pier

• The Corpus Christi Vet Center is located at 4646 Corona Drive, Suite 250, Corpus Christi, Texas 78411.

Spring Break Schedule 2016 Week beginning February 20 University of Chicago

Week beginning February 27

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Missouri Western State College Washington University University of Nebraska at Kearney Cleveland State University

Rice University

Denison University

University of Michigan Flint

The College of Wooster

Premier signage at event

Ohio Northern University

The Ohio State University

Recognition as the presenting sponsor in all pre event, post event, and day of event promotion opportunities

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Oklahoma State University-Stillwater

Ohio University

University of Oklahoma

Platinum Presenting Sponsor $2,000 (Two total, two available)

Recognition on all marketing materials for the event Recognition on all marketing materials for the event Logo on event t-shirt Opportunity to have a table at the event Company banner or sign allowed to be hung at event

Week beginning March 5 Loyola University Chicago Monmouth College Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Ball State University Butler University

Four Complimentary entry fees for race

Indiana University-Purdue University

Gold T-Shirt Sponsor $1,500 (Two total) (one sold, one available)

University of Evansville

Recognition in all pre event, post event, and day of event promotion opportunities

University of Southern Indiana

Recognition on all marketing materials for the event

Central Michigan University

Opportunity to have a table at the event

Brent Chesney’s Sandcastle 5k Run and Walk Benefiting the American Diabetes Association Sandcastle Camp for Kids

• Veterans and families needing more information should call the Corpus Christi Vet Center at (361) 854-9961.

University of Florida

Logo on event t-shirt The Padre Island Business Association is also joining me in putting on this great event as the co-lead sponsor with me. We need Island and area businesses and individuals to step up.

We have a great committee made up of your friends and neighbors. Below you will see the different level of sponsorships still available. To make this a great event I need your help. The Sandcastle Camp is conducted every summer and it gives kids with Diabetes a chance to go to a special summer camp equipped especially for them. Every single dollar that you donate will go to the camp because the costs to put on the event are covered. So please look into your hearts and wallets and say yes to be a sponsor for this great event. Then tell all your friends to sign up and run or walk. I have attached below the form needed for you to be a sponsor. I need your help. Please consider sponsoring this event that I hope will be a yearly event to benefit kids with Diabetes. THANK YOU!!

service.

Company banner or sign allowed to be hung at event Three Complimentary entry fees for race

Silver Route Sponsor $1,000 (Four available)(Sold out)

University of Notre Dame Albion College Ferris State University Grand Valley State University Lansing C.C. Michigan State University Northwood University Saginaw Valley State University Siena Heights University

Recognition on all marketing materials for the event

Western Michigan University

Logo on event t-shirt

Minnesota State University-Mankato

Opportunity to have a table at the event

St. Cloud State University

Company banner or sign allowed to be hung at event

Winona State University

Two Complimentary entry fees for race Bronze Partner Sponsor $500 (Ten available) (eight sold, only two available)

Minnesota State University Moorhead

Missouri State University Saint Louis University Bowling Green State University

Name on event t-shirt

Case Western Reserve University

Recognition on all marketing materials for the event

Kenyon College

Company banner or sign allowed to be hung at event

Ohio Wesleyan University

One Complimentary entry fee for race

Muskingum College Shawnee State University Wittenberg University Xavier University Youngstown State University Baylor University

Sponsorship Agreement Company/Organization: __________________________________________________________ Contact Person: ________________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________ City, State, Zip: _____________________________ Phone(s): ______________________________________________________________________

Southern Methodist University Sam Houston State University

Week beginning March 12

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March 3, 2016

Island Moon

SPORTS Surviving the Pit

Sports Talk

2016 New Baseball Rules Take On ‘Neighborhood Plays’ and Rolling Slides

By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon Dotson’s Note: Since last Major League Baseball season (2015), there has been much discussion about Instant Reply and Player Safety. Below you can read the result of these discussions. Sports columnist Benjamin Hoffman contributed to this article.

When Chase Utley’s slide broke Ruben Tejada’s right leg in Game 2 of a National League division series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Mets, the relatively common tactic of trying to break up a double play was

said the play had been a source of frustration because of a perceived inconsistency about how it was applied by umpires.

Baseball Commissioner, Rob Manfred said, “It’s one of the most controversial plays we have,” he said. “It’s a product of history, rather than a product of the rule book.”

Regarding Collins’s safety concerns, Marinak said the sentiment among those behind the rule changes: members of the commissioner’s office, the playing rules committee and the players’ union--was that the new rules on takeout slides

By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon At 6’2” tall and weighing about 250 pounds, he wasn’t the biggest of his kind, but boy was he quick. He was also tough, mean spirited, boisterous, and loved playing defense. “I loved playing defense,” he once said. “When I missed a field goal, I wanted to rush the passer harder to make up for it.” He played at a time when players went both ways. In fact, this guy also punted and place-kicked when he wasn’t lining up as a defensive end in “The Pit.” What, you ask, is The Pit? That’s the 12 inches of turf where offensive and defensive linemen play.

They call it the line of scrimmage. If you are an average fan you probably don’t pay much attention to The Pit. You’re more than likely watching the football. You need to know that games are decided in The Pit. These men are the biggest, strongest players in the world.

They collide on every play. Football is a violent game; you really don’t play in The Pit as much as you survive it. You get stepped on, jumped on, bent, twisted and kicked. Sometimes it even becomes difficult to breathe. Everything is done face to face, eye to eye, and you never have to look for your opponent. Lou Michaels was 12 inches from your face every Sunday.

Origin in Swoyersville Louis Andrew “Lou” Michaels was born on September 28, 1935, in Swoyersville, Pennsylvania.

Lou excelled in several sports at Swoyersville High School and later transferred to Staunton Military Academy in Virginia, where he graduated in 1954. Lou was recruited to play football by the University of Kentucky. Michaels played for head coach, Blanton Collier, at Kentucky (1955-1957) and was chosen consensus All-American in 1956 and 1957. Michaels joined an elite group of players as a 1956 All-American with the likes of Jim Brown, Bill Glass, Jim Parker, Jerry Tubbs, John Brodie and Johnny Majors. Lou finished fourth in the1957 Heisman Trophy

goals, one from 27 yards and one from 46 yards. It also didn’t help that the Colts’ quarterbacks threw four interceptions.

“I am disgusted with myself,” said Michaels. “I started kicking in the seventh grade. I get all the way to the Super Bowl and I goof.” Lou’s older brother, Walt Michaels, was an assistant coach with the Jets. Lou was released by the Colts at the end of the 1970 season. He would play one season for the Green Bay Packers, before retiring in 1972. Cornerback Bobby Boyd was Lou’s holder. “Michaels would draw an X in the dirt where he wanted the ball placed,” said Boyd. “That’s where I put it.” During his career, Lou Michaels intercepted four passes, one was returned for a touchdown in 1958; and he recovered six fumbles. He made 187 field goals and completed 54.8% of the field goals he attempted. Michaels was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992. His jersey #79 has been retired by the University of Kentucky. I have often wondered if his two missed field goals in Super Bowl III has kept him out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I met many of my childhood football heroes in the summer of 1968. Every year, John Unitas and several of his fellow teammates held an annual Johnny Unitas All-American Sports Camp from June 23 through June 28, at Wingate College located in Wingate, North Carolina. I was a junior in high school and was hoping to attract some attention from the college ranks.

Many college coaches would be in attendance, and what could be better than learning the finer points of the game of football from the pros?

There were about 75 high-school players in camp. There was also a professional football player on hand from every facet of the game.

Lou Michaels worked with the offensive line and place-kickers; Jimmy Orr worked with the receivers; Chris Hamburger worked with the

The Dodgers’ Chase Utley broke Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada’s leg while trying to break up a double play in last year’s playoffs.

put under a microscope, with many assuming that a change in baseball’s rules would result.

On Thursday (February 25, 2016), that change happened when Major League Baseball and the players’ union agreed to a reworking of the rules regarding slides, while potentially complicating matters by making “neighborhood plays” at second base reviewable.

“Our goal in amending the slide rule was to enhance player safety, reduce incidents of injury and to do it in a way that respects and preserves the bona fide hustle plays that are integral to our game,” Tony Clark, the executive director of the players’ union, said in a statement. “I am

more than compensated for whatever safety was lost in making the neighborhood play reviewable.

“When it comes to safety for the middle infielders, we feel like the net result between the two rule changes is a positive,” Marinak said.

Asked about the changes, Yankees third baseman Chase Headley said he felt that even with the rules defined, there was room for debate as to what would qualify as a bona fide slide.

“It’s always interpretation of how things will be called,” Headley said. “I’d like to send them 50 slides of mine and let them tell me which

Lou Michaels vote, behind running back, John David Crow, of Texas A&M University. Michaels was also chosen the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 1957.

As I was growing up in fifties and sixties, there were two dominant place-kickers and both of them were named Lou, Lou Groza and Lou Michaels. They were also known as straight ahead kickers, meaning they kicked with their toe and not the side of their foot like soccerstyle kickers. Groza wore #76 and played offensive tackle, and Michaels wore #79 and played defensive end. Groza played 21 seasons in the NFL, all with the Cleveland Browns.

Michaels played 13 seasons and is remembered most as a Baltimore Colt.

Rob Manfred-MLB Commissioner optimistic that this new rule will accomplish those goals.”

Under the new policy, designated Rule 6.01(j), a slide to break up a double play will have to include a bona fide attempt to reach and remain on the base. Contact with the fielder is permissible, but the runner cannot change his path to initiate contact or engage in a “roll block.”

The plays will be subject to video review, and if it is determined that the runner did not engage in a bona fide slide attempt, interference will be called, and both the runner and the batter can be called out.

As stated in the rule, a player performs a bona fide slide when he: • Begins his slide (makes contact with the ground) before reaching the base.

• Is able and tries to reach the base with his hand or foot.

• Is able and tries to remain on the base (except home plate) after completion of the slide.

• Slides within reach of the base without changing his pathway for the purpose of initiating contact with a fielder.

Mets Manager Terry Collins said the combination of the new slide rule and the ability to review neighborhood plays, in which fielders are often given credit for simply being near the bag when they receive the ball during a double-play attempt, could have dangerous consequences.

“We’re making a slide rule that keeps you on the bag,” Collins said. “You’ve got to be near the bag. And now we’re making a decision on the neighborhood play that you’ve got to stay on the bag. You know what that’s going to mean?

Someone is going to get their clocks cleaned.”

When asked why the decision had been made to make the neighborhood play subject to instant replay, which essentially eliminates it as a concept, Chris Marinak, M.L.B.’s senior vice president for league economics and strategy,

ones are legal and which ones aren’t. I’m not sure you’re going to be able to tell what is O.K. is just by reading the rule.”

For many in baseball, any rule change is met with skepticism, but the dispute over Utley’s slide and a Chris Coghlan slide that ended the season of Jung Ho Kang of the Pittsburgh Pirates seemed to result from ambiguity over whether the intent was to break up the play or harm the opponent. Many people close to the game reacted strongly, with even a hard-nosed competitor like the Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez seemingly accusing Utley of a dirty play.

“If you tell Utley to teach kids to slide on second base? Would he teach them the way he slide tonight?” Martinez said on Twitter.

Michaels was initially taken with the fourth pick of the 1st round by the Los Angeles Rams, in the 1958 NFL Draft. Michaels played 13 seasons in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Colts and Green Bay Packers. Lou spent three seasons with the Rams before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, in 1961. In 1962, Lou led the league in field goals made, with 26, and scored a career high 110 points for the season. Lou was named All-Pro in 1962 and 1963. In 1964, Michaels joined the Baltimore Colts. By 1967, he had quit lining up at defensive end and concentrated solely on place kicking. In 1968, the Colts won 15 of 16 games played and beat the Cleveland Browns 34-0, to earn the right to play the New York Jets in Super Bowl III.

Got the Super Bowl and goofed Lou Michaels and his Colts’ squad lost Super Bowl III, 16-7, to Joe Namath and the New York Jets. In this game, Lou missed two critical field

It remains to be seen how often slides and neighborhood plays will end up under review, which could hamper the effect of pace-of-game changes that M.L.B. also announced Thursday, including limiting coaching visits to the mound to 30 seconds and shortening the breaks between innings by 20 seconds. To some, the nature of the game is at stake based on how the new rules are applied.

“The most important thing is taking an unnecessary injury out of the game,” Headley said. “But hopefully it still allows for a good, hard slide to break up a double play. It’s called hardball for a reason.”

Dotson’s Other Note: One of the things that I attempt to do is to keep you Moon Monkeys up to date on sports; and whenever possible, to let you know what is going on behind the headlines. My objectives in this exercise are to inform and educate. Please keep in mind that these are only games and should not affect your life other than having fun. Your comments, suggestions, questions and concerns regarding Sports Talk articles are greatly appreciated, please call the Benchwarmers at 361-560-5397 weekdays, Mondays thru Fridays, 5-7 PM. or contact me. Phone: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530748-8475 Email: dlewis1@stx.rr.com

linebackers and defensive backs; and Lenny Moore worked with the running backs. Ed Emory from Wake Forest University worked with the defensive line; and the man himself (Johnny U) worked with the quarterbacks. We worked out three times a day, rested, talked football in between, and watched game film at night after supper. It was incredible. Can you imagine being in these guys’ company, three times a day for six days? I still treasure the memories and all the guys’ autographs, especially Johnny Unitas. Of course being an offensive center, I spent most of my time with Michaels.

Lou Michaels, #79, passed away on Tuesday, January 19, 2016. He had suffered from pancreatic cancer for some time. He was 80.

Lou is survived by his wife, Judith. They were married in 1966. He also leaves behind two sons, Edward and Matthew, and one daughter, Michele. Lou was a grandfather to five; and his brother Walt is still with us.

Andy Purvis is a local author and radio personality. Please visit www.purvisbooks. com for all the latest info on his books or to listen to the new radio podcast. Andy’s books are available online and can be found in the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. Andy can be contacted at purvis.andy@mygrande.net. Also listen to sports talk radio on Dennis & Andy’s Q & A Session from 6-8 PM on Sportsradiocc.com 1230 AM, 96.1 FM and 103.3 FM. The home of the Houston Astros.

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