Inside the Moon
Moon on a Spoon A4
Shipwrecks Gardens A5
Fishing A11
Sports A8
The
Issue 625
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
April 7, 2016
Around The Island By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com If this week was any indication we are in for some beautiful water on our beaches this summer. The clear blue water that we usually don’t see until mid-summer, if at all, arrived this week in between the churn of big waves and high winds that had surfers and windsurfers out in numbers around Bob Hall Pier.
Live Music A16
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Island Moon Celebrates Twenty Years!
First New Development on the Seawall Since 1983 is Underway
High tides pushed up the base of the dunes for several days and left behind good driving conditions on most area beaches, with the going a bit more challenging on the beaches in Kleberg County.
Farmer’s market
By Dale Rankin
Island Moon founder Mike Ellis 1952-2011 Photo by Mary Craft By Dale Rankin
Islanders must have set some kind of record for most produce bought in an hour last Thursday when the first edition of the Padre Island Farmer’s Market kicked off to a full house at the Presbyterian Church. If there ever was a doubt that Islanders are hungry for a place to buy produce Thursday’s turnout should put it to rest. While the kids headed for the bouncy house the adults lined up for fresh produce. Plans call for the market to be held every two weeks. If you want fresh produce get there early.
Turtle deaths
It was early April, 1996, when Islander Michael J. Ellis grew tired of the constant traveling required as a field agent for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “I didn’t want to die in a hotel room,” he said. “And I was bored.”
So being of a fertile mind Mike decided to start a newspaper and on April 4, 1996 the Island Moon Newspaper was born. At first it was a black and white tabloid that Mike pasted down in his condominium and shipped it to Kingsville for printing.
inquiries from buyers all across the country.”
Crews have been at the site for several weeks on the 36-unit development which will include 16 townhomes and 20 condominium units, the first new condominiums to be built on The Island in more than thirty years.
a three-phase plan that will eventually include residential units directly on the south end of the seawall and the footprint also includes a 58-foot wide easement on the end of the seawall to provide a pathway to the beach.
“We are finding that there is a very active market for condominiums,” said Coldwell Banker Realtor Guy Davis who is handling sales for the development. “We are getting
Work on the first/current phase is expected to be complete by the end of 2016. Prices range from $219,000-
The condo units will be two bedroom and two baths. The townhome units will be four bedrooms with a two-car garage. The work is the first phase of
Island Moon Continued on A5
Spring Break 2016 Traffic Count The weather for Spring Break 2016 was the best in three years, The following is the number of vehicles which crossed the JFK Causeway each day, both directions. Inside this edition (Page A15) you will find the same numbers for the entire year of 2015. Notice that the numbers for the summer season are about the same as those for Spring Break but continues over a much longer duration. It turns out that summer on The Island is just one long Spring Break. 3/15/2016 46,155 3/11/2016 38,195 3/12/2016 3/13/2016 3/14/2016
42,053 no data 45,707
3/16/2016
44,045
3/17/2016
46,097
3/18/2016
50,076
3/19/2016
43,237
SMA 6th Grade Outdoor Trip This loggerhead turtle was found washed up on the beach south of Bob Hall Pier Tuesday night. Turtle patrollers say when there are no obvious signs of death the cause is often balloons released from offshore cruise ships which cause a celebration when they fly skyward but are deadly to turtles who eat them. Dead loggerheads are also often found when shrimpers are working the shallow water near shore for white shrimp.
The first new construction since 1983 has begun along the Michael J. Ellis Seawall as site and foundations work has begun on the Pathway at Barefoot Dunes condominium and townhome project at Windward Drive and Whitecap.
Outdoor Experiences Also Bond the Class
Seawall continued on A6
Public Hearing for Park Road 22 Bridge Thursday evening
Rip Currents We had a tragic incident on The Island last week when a sixteen yearold boy drowned after he was caught in a rip current while swimming. The water was especially treacherous due to a north wind which was blowing obliquely across the beach sweeping water along the shoreline. We saw school buses from all over the state on our beaches as kids who were in town for an event downtown took a day to come to the beach. When they got here they found dangerous water conditions but little in the way of warning about the deadly currents. We spoke with some of the kids who were in the same group as the drowning victim and, being from upstate, for many it was their first look at the ocean. Without warning about the unusually strong currents they thought the turbulent water was the norm for our beaches and gave no thought to the danger of swimming. There are a few signs scattered here and there but nothing that address daily conditions and there were no lifeguards on duty.
Around continued on A3
Morgan Long tackling the joys and challenges of kayaking. Photo by Shannon Trial By Brent Rourk ‘Team, outdoors, and new activities’ were the words of the week as the 6th grade students at Seashore Middle Academy enjoyed 3 fun-filled days at The Outdoor School in Burton, Texas last week. A yearly opportunity for the SMA 6th grade, students return to SMA more confident and with a better appreciation of the outdoors. Rock climbing? Tackling a Ropes Course? Kayaking? Archery? Campfires? Is this school as most remember it? Probably not, but it was that way for the class of 56 sixth grade students who attended the experience. The Mission, according to The Outdoor School, is to strive to use the outdoors to awaken students to the potential within and around them.
They accomplish their mission by promoting an appreciation of outdoors, creating environmental stewardship, employing experiential learning, and developing skills and self-confidence. Working and playing closely together, the SMA 6th graders enjoyed a full range of activities. The objectives were to use the outdoors to promote team building, heighten social skills, refine outdoor skills, reinforce classroom learning, and develop confidence; all skills and talents that young people need to cultivate to be successful in and out of the classroom.
Seashore continued on A4
By Dale Rankin Twelve years after it was approved by voters construction of the Park Road 22 Water Exchange Bridge is moving forward as officials from the City of Corpus Christi and Texas Department of Transportation scheduled a public hearing Thursday, April 7, to unveil the latest drawings and to discuss an Environmental Assessment on the project. The estimated cost of the bridge is $10.5 million and while the Corpus Christi City Council has approved the project in principle but has not yet voted on the final funding sources. City officials told ISAC members in December that $8.5 million was
available, unspent, bond money. City officials have indicated funds are available to bridge the gap. According to information from the city: “This Bond 2004 project includes constructing two bridges for the north and southbound lanes. Each of the proposed bridges will consist of two 12-foot lanes with 10-foot inside and outside shoulders and one-foot railings for an overall bridge width of 46 feet. The total length of the proposed bridges will be approximately 128 feet. The proposed canal would connect Lake
Bridge continued on A6