Inside the Moon
Island Halloween A2
Port A Halloween A4
Dog-Gone Festival A9
SMA Halloween A11
The
Issue 603
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
November 5, 2015
Around The Island
Weekly
FREE
Photo by Kimberly McDonald
Dog-Gone Festival
By Dale Rankin Plans for the proposed SPID/Park Road 22 Water Exchange Bridge are “moving forward, Corpus Christi Assistant City Manager Wes Pierson told the Island Strategic Action Committee Tuesday night. Pierson said design plans are 90% complete and the issue of how to fund the bridge, estimated to cost about $10 million, will go before the Corpus Christi City Council in executive session at their November 10th meeting.
“The Island is under attack! We think Flour Bluff may have invaded! There’s shooting all along the Laguna, right out my back door! “I knew this would happen, I knew it! It’s the Trilateral Commission coming after our guns – I knew this day would come! To the ramparts! Come and take it! My cold dead fingers…!”
There were attempts by the 99.9% of the duck hunters who respected people’s property rights to talk some sense into the few rogue hunters but with little or no success. Things finally came to a head in 2012 when conditions were especially dry and the marshes along the King Ranch shoreline where the ducks could normally find fresh water dried up leaving a prime waterhole, a freshwater lake, over near the Aquarius Extension which was still a work in progress, as one of two hangouts for thirsty Island ducks and the hunters alike. Residents raised more Cain since he was killed by Abel and doing something about it became the city’s course of least resistance. Things got serious when a claim was made that a city ordinance prohibited discharge of a firearm inside the city limits, which includes the waters of the Laguna, and everyone ran to the City Code. The city legal staff hemmed and hawed as they had for years claiming a lack of jurisdiction based on a flimsy legal reading of the City Code which the city’s legal eagles read to say the 1000-foot ordinance only applied to areas annexed before a pertinent state law was enacted in 1981. The law clearly didn’t say that plus it was pointed out to the City Attorney at the time that the maps on city’s website clearly showed the area along the back side of The Island where the hunting was being done was annexed in 1980. Things got to the point where the City Attorney finally threw down the lamest of lame lawyer cards, “Well, I’m an attorney and you’re not.” When you hear a lawyer say that you know he’s full of dicta. Lo and behold when he re-read the statute it said something completely different than the first time and walla – the 1000-foot rule was on the books officially. Truth be told part of the problem was that the city at the time didn’t have a boat to go out and fine the shooters, and the Game Wardens lacked the
Around continued on A3
Plans for Water Exchange Bridge “Moving Forward” No Funding Yet in Place
The calls began early Sunday morning.
The uneasiness between duck hunters and homeowners along the Laguna side of The Island has subsided in the past few years as Corpus Christi Police stepped in to enforce the ordinance which forbids the discharge of a firearm within 1000 feet of a home – actually any permanent structure. When the Island Strategic Action Committee was first formed six years ago one of the first hot potatoes that landed in the committee’s lap was complaints from mostly newly arrived homeowners who were startled to awaken and find hunters blasting away a few feet behind their property line, and in some cases dropping stray shot into their swimming pools – now there’s an Island Problem if ever there was one.
Halloween House A16
Free
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com
Settle down everybody it’s just Duck Season and we awoke to the cacophony of the Shotgun Symphony along the back side of The Island (in F Flat as best we could tell) Sunday morning and it continued off and on through the day as it will until the season in the South Zone closes November 30, then will ignite anew from December 13 through January 25.
Island Artwalk A15
More photos on A9
La Posada Golf Tournament Added By Brent Rourk La Posada events are around the corner, ushering in Christmas and many Holiday festivities on the Island. As Islanders prepare their schedules they are encouraged to view the line-up of La Posada events planned by the La Posada Foundation. La Posada Foundation members are excited about this year’s events and about raising funds and toys for Toys for Tots. As they state, “It is all about the kids!” Added to the La Posada line-up is a golf tournament at Schlitterbahn this year in order to help raise funds and toys for Toys for Tots. The golf tournament will be a fun 18 tournament held on December 5th beginning at 9:00 AM. Golfers and duffers alike need to bring a toy in addition to their round fee of $45 plus tax.. Included in the fee are the golf, a cart, prizes, range balls, and a fried chicken buffet. Dust off the clubs and sign up at the pro shop or call 361949-8006. A current application is on page A5 for those Islanders wishing to enter the La Posada Lighted Boat Parades on December 11th and 12th. Owners of boats from 14 to 60 feet long are encouraged to decorate their boats in fine fashion and enter the parade. Boats are judged on Most Traditional,
needs several more additional toy collector boats. This is also marvelous Christmas Spirit experience, collecting toys during the parades for less fortunate children. Please contact Nick Colosi to join the Collector Boat Team at 618-889-9160. This year the La Posada foundation will not enter jeeps and golf carts in the LAND parade with the fire department, though it might consider some type of jeep and cart parade next year.
La Posada Registration Form & Map Inside Page A5
La Posada Events for 2015 Dec. 1 La Posada Kick-off Party at Scuttlebutt’s Dec. 5 La Posada Foundation Golf Tournament – Schlitterbahn – Shotgun start 9:00 AM Dec. 5 Port Royal Christmas Tree Lighting Party – 6:00 PM at Port Royal Resort Dec. 9 Collector Boat Meeting – 7:00 PM Padre Island Yacht Club Dec. 10 Parade Boat Meeting – 7:00 PM Padre Island Yacht Club Dec. 11 La Posada Lighted Boat Parade – 6:00 PM North Side
Some members of the La Posada Committee show their colors It is all about the kids Photo by Brent Rourk Most Patriotic, Most Spirit, and Most Joyful. Coveted first and second place hand-made tumblers are awarded in each category. All sizes of boats are eligible for the coveted custom made tumbler awards, so do not let your 14 or 16 foot boat size deter you from entering. What a terrific way for families, neighbors and friends to spend La Posada – on your own decorated boat parading around the canals. Those who continue to join the parades state that it is an amazing experience. The La Posada Foundation is reminding Islanders that applications for the La Posada Lighted Boat Parades are available at Padre Island Mail Plus, Ace Hardware, and CVS in addition to on-line at www.piyc. org . As part of the colorful and creative parades, collector boats with a United States Marine on board pull up to decks and docks to collect toys. The Marines are very excited about helping collect toys again. La Posada
Dec. 12 La Posada Lighted Boat Parade – 7:00 PM South Side Dec. 13 La Posada Brunch – presentation of toys and check to the Marines – 8:00 AM (open to PIYC members, Marines, and Parade Boat families).
Pierson said the city council last year placed the funding of the bridge at the top of a list of projects to be funded with bond money left over from voter approved bonds issued in 2012 but would not say how much money is available.
waterway would connect the existing Island canal system to Lake Padre, Packery Channel, and the Gulf of Mexico cutting the travel distance by boat from the main canal to the Gulf from 6.2 miles to 3 miles. Developer Paul Schexnailder who is the managing partner for the companies which own the land on both sides of the roadway told ISAC members that his Army Corps of Engineers permit, which was finalized last week, requires him to dig the canals leading to the roadway from each side “within the next twelve months.” “We will have the canals dug before the bridge is built,” Schexnailder said. “I am required by my permit to bring navigable waterways to each side of the roadway. That requirement is already in place.”
“It is time to have a discussion with the developer,” he said, and when questioned about the available bond The final step in the regulatory money said, “I won’t talk about the process is to present the finalized bonds.” Roadway 14 ft. Pedestrian / Cart path
30 ft.
Pedestrian / Cart path
30 ft.
42 ft. Water Depth 8 ft.
Those discussions would likely concern any requirements the city council might put in place as a condition for funding the project. Council members Lillian Riojas and Chad Magill were in attendance at the ISAC meeting, along with Precinct 4 Nueces County Commissioner Brent Chesney. One possible funding source for any additional money needed for the project is the Island Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone which captures property tax on new construction inside the zone after its establishment in 2003. The zone covers the areas surrounding Packery Channel, around Lake Padre, west of SPID which includes the Schlitterbahn waterpark, and SPID between Whitecap and Commodores where the bridge would be located. There is currently not enough money in the fund to cover the cost of the project and if that funding source is used, bonds would likely be required. The TIRZ board, which includes both city and county officials, would have to approve use of the TIRZ money for the project. Current design plans call for the bridge to consist of three prefabricated concrete spans which would cover three passageways; the center waterway which would allow 14 feet of clearance from the waterline to the bottom of the bridge, and two 30-foot cart/pedestrian paths on either side of the channel. The
design plans to the Texas Department of Transportation for an Environmental Assessment which will require a public hearing and comment period. TxDot spokesman Ricky Dailey who was at the meeting said the forty-five day comment period could begin in the next few weeks with a final decision as early as February, however, he said those dates have not yet been determined and could be altered depending on the outcome of the comment process. City staff said current projections call for construction on the bridge to begin in April, 2016, contingent on funding, but could be delayed by a city council decision to delay construction to avoid traffic congestion on the busy roadway during the peak summer season since traffic would be reduced to one lane in each direction during construction. City engineers said once the canals on each side are complete, the canal on the west side is already in place, the bridge would be built and then the channel under it would be cut through. ISAC members voted unanimously Tuesday to support and move forward with the project. The committee is an advisory body to the Corpus Christi City Council which will have final approval of all aspects of the project. “This bridge is stifling development out here,” ISAC member Carter Tate told the city staff.
Bridge continued on A5
A little Island history
Opening of Corpus Christi Pass Plan from 1967
Editor’s note: Packery Channel has been in the news in the past few weeks as the high tides and rainfall combined with north winds to clean the sand out of the channel and restore it to its designed depth. The Corpus Christi City Council also approved a $380,000 contract to monitor the channel, the beach surrounding it, and the water in the main Island canal in anticipation of the opening of the channel under the proposed Water Exchange Bridge under Park Road 22. So in that vein here is a history of attempts to open a water pass through The Island going back to 1967. When the dredging of Packery Channel was approved in 2000 it was the culmination of years of attempts to make a permanent water pass through The Island. In 1967, the same year Hurricane Beulah cut The Island into more than a dozen pieces and
View west of Corpus Christi Pass a few days after Hurricane Allen in August 1980. History continued on A16
A2
November 5, 2015
Island Moon
Halloween on the Island
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November 5, 2015
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Mike Ellis, Founder
Art Walk A heartfelt thanks to each and every artist, craftsperson and visitor. It is because of everyone that the walk was a huge success. Thanks to the poa for their support and for obtaining all the city permits. Special thanks to the caller times, KIII and KRIS TV for all the news coverage. Now, i do not know how to begin to thank the moon staff for all the advertising. It is because of the moon that we had such a large attendence of artist, craftsman and guest. And then there is my husband. Without him there would be no art walk. He contacts everyone, spending days on the computer. All sinage, set up and take down are done by him. The art walk amy have been my idea but he is the workforce. As always he has all my love and sincere thamks
Distribution Pete Alsop Island Delivery Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin
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Classifieds Arlene Ritley Production Manager Jeff Craft Contributing Writers Joey Farah Andy Purvis Devorah Fox Mary Craft
Old Cars Rule! Padre Island Antique Classic Car Club (PIACCC) is open to all vehicles 25 years and older: Antique, Classic, Roadsters, Hot Rods, etc; who would like to meet to plan meetings, socials, rallies, tours, car shows on and around the Island. Please contact piaccarclub@aol.com for information on the upcoming meeting. Please include your contact information and the type of car owned.
Maybeth Christiansen Jay Gardner Todd Hunter Dotson Lewis
Dunked Junk
Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk
Below are the tally numbers for the KPAB "Dunk Your Junk" day held on Saturday, October 31, 2015.
Dr. Donna Shaver Photographers
Unloaded 50 trucks and other vehicles.
Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan
Approximately 6,900 lbs of junk loaded into 2 1/2 roll-offs provided by Republic Services.
Mary Craft Ronnie Narmour Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus)
We had 11 volunteers from KPAB and the Port A Community. The City of Port A provided 2 front end loaders and 1 tractor with a back hoe, and 5 employees to help out.
Riley P. Dog
We had about 135 residents participate in the event. Submitted by Mike Secich Fall KPAB "Dunk Your Junk" Chairperson
Veterans
Publisher 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
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Letters to the Editor
Moon Monkeys
This Veterans Day, as we honor and thank the brave men and women who served in the United States military, the State Bar of Texas is keenly aware that more must be done to serve our veterans. Texas continues to have one of the nation’s largest veteran populations. Approximately 1.7 million current Texas residents have served in the military, according to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics. We are grateful for their service. While the national veteran population decreased 17 percent between 2000 and 2015, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports Texas’s veteran population has increased. Nationally, more veterans served during the Vietnam War era than other periods of service, while the Lone Star State currently registers more veterans of the Gulf War era than veterans from Vietnam. These facts and statistics present a unique set of challenges for Texas — and a call to action. The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics has observed the poverty rate among veterans is slowly rising, and Gulf War veterans have a higher poverty rate in comparison to other periods of wartime service. About 7.8 percent of the veteran population participated in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 2012, up from 4.8 percent in 2009. These men and women return from service with complicated health and living issues. No doubt many need the assistance of an attorney to help them navigate benefits and pension claims or to assist in civil or family matters.
Padre Island Teen By Elizabeth Clark
Social Media Recently, there have been some issues coming up with children on social media, creating concern among parents on the Island. The dangers and benefits of social media have been discussed since the creation of the internet but it's really not definite whether it's a good or bad thing. Most adults think it's terrible that approximately 60% of children use social media, and this creates conflict between parents and their kids everyday. However, most kids and teens use social media and argue that it's a way to stay connected. Almost every adult I've met has the idea that social media and technology are advancing too quickly, and the unknown is dangerous. One of my English teachers once even made us write a paper on why social media was strictly a danger to us and wouldn't let us include any good things about technology in our essay. She implied that "all social media is bad." Others would beg to differ. It's also sometimes the child that is causing problems for others. Cases of cyber-bullying on sites such as Instagram have cropped up in just the past week and have really caused a stir and some heartache. We need to educate ourselves on social media as the development of these apps and sites will only progress. And even if there are risks, helicopter parents sometimes cause kids to become more sneaky and secretive. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, email me at PadreIslandTeen@ gmail.com.
Cuban Missile Crisis Dear Dotson: Thank you for your excellent summary of the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I remember them well. I was a young housewife living in the Baltimore suburbs, and my friends and family spent many tense days in front of the TV wondering if we would survive or not. I also saw the brilliant movie, Thirteen Days, and was touched by the way it portrayed our anguished President dealing with this crisis. I remember one of the lines in the movie, and have thought of it often since. Kenny O'Donnell is the President's closest advisor, and in a meeting with Kennedy and his brother he expresses his dismay at the eagerness for war of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "They want war, Jack, and they are arranging things to get one." The Chiefs, of course, want to redeem themselves for the fiasco of the Bay of Pigs, which disgraced the young President at the beginning of his term. Paradoxically, it also strengthened him. He thought the military guys knew what they were doing, so he had approved the planned invasion. When it failed, he realized they didn't know what they were doing, so now he has a little more confidence in himself. It was a given that the missiles had to be removed. The big question was how that could be managed. LeMay and the Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted to destroy the missiles with airstrikes, then invade Cuba and remove Castro. Adlai Stevenson advised a blockade, which is the choice Kennedy took.(They had to call it a quarantine, because a blockade is an act of war.) The quarantine worked, the Russians ships turned back, and Kruschev finally agreed to remove the missiles if the United States agreed not to invade Cuba. Kennedy's successors have not always been willing to respond to crises with such restraint. Jean Garland
Skip The Plastic recognizes Philippe and Florence Tissot as ‘Bag Heroes’
In 2010, the State Bar of Texas created Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans, a program that helps guide local bar associations, legal aid organizations, and veterans service providers who hold legal advice clinics throughout the state. Since the project’s launch more than 18,000 veterans and their families have been served by 5,000 or more volunteer attorneys.
So this Veterans Day, as we honor those who have served our country, I have two requests: (1) if you are a lawyer, please volunteer with your local bar or legal aid organization; and (2) if you know a veteran who needs legal help, direct him or her to texaslawhelp.org/veterans, texasbar. com/veterans or call the State Bar of Texas at 800-204-2222 ext. 1514 for more information. Allan K. DuBois President of the State Bar of Texas
Send Letters to editor@islandmoon.com Or Facebook:
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by Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com or @padreeyelander on twitter
Business Briefs Piano Lessons by Arthur. Find out more by calling 774-4477. Berkshire Hathaway Real Estate Center is participating in the operation “Fill A Stocking” for a deserving troop. Every month Coastal Bend Troop Support fills boxes of goodies for troops in the war zones. Any donations can be dropped off here or at the Seashore schools. Berkshire Hathaway is located at 14200 SPID and can be reached at 949-7033.
Business Briefs HGTV "Beachfront Bargain Hunt” show will be filming this weekend on North Padre. The buyers will be touring three canal homes and one on Catamaran. The featured real estate agent will be Shannon Bumstead. The house that the buyers chose on the last HGTV show filmed here was on Punta Espada. Port A Brewing Company has closed. The 52nd Annual Greek Festival this weekend has live music but the main draw is the Greek food. The event starts at 5 pm Friday, November 6th and ends Sunday at 5 pm at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at 502 S. Chaparral. Opa! Michelle from Michelle’s Salon had her Extreme Halloween home featured on a local TV station. They mistakenly reported that she is moving out of town but she assures us she is not leaving the Island. First Friday Reception at the Port A Art Center will be held November 6th 5:30 – 7:30. There will be an exhibit of Earth, Wind and Fire pottery, jewelry and glass up for show and sale. There will be light refreshments and live music. Padre Island Antique Classic Car Club is open to all vehicles 25 years and older. If you would like to join and help plan socials, rallies and car shows on and around the Island contact piaccarclub@aol.com. Padre Island Enrichment Club is looking for Island homes that have that “Holiday Spirit” and want to share it with our community to be part of their Holiday Home Tour. For more info contact Katherine Pierce at 960-0327 or Islandcreations@prodigy.net. Snoopy’s will only be open until 9 pm on Sunday – Thursday during the off season. They will remain open until 10 pm on Friday and Saturday. Larry Joe Taylor and Deryl Dodd will be playing at the Third Coast Theater in Port A on Friday, November 27th and the Larry Joe Taylor Band will play on the following night. Tickets are $30 and show time is at 8 pm. CVS offers MoneyGram services that allows you to send or receive cash in less than ten minutes. It is cheaper than Western Union with a cost of about $10 for $50 - $900 transfer. The Padre Island Rotary and Padre Island Yacht Club are calling all kayakers and boaters to come out on Saturday, November 14th to Clean the Cove. They will be cleaning the ski basin area and the shore in front and towards the Intra-coastal Waterway. They will meet at the Cartegena boat ramp at 9 am where you can pick up trash bags and get your assigned area and collect 1 – 2 hours. Trash will be collected at the Litter Critter and lunch will be provided at the Yacht Club 11:30 am. You can report street light replacement needed by going to the AEP web site. They have begun work on the re-paving of the access road at the north end of the seawall.
Around continued from A1 authority – and the enthusiasm – to enforce a city code. It wasn’t a sexy rule to enforce and it was only a few knuckleheads who were causing the trouble. A few tickets here and there solved the problem and it’s been years since we had complaints of bird shot in Primavera swimming pools; now it’s just alarmed Island newcomers and diehard Bridgedroppers. The arch of duck history bends slowly but it bends toward duck justice – or something like that – and now the shotgun blasts have become part of The Island menagerie that each weekend reminds us that it is time to wake up and get our football picks in before the first kickoff.
I am one of those volunteer attorneys. I served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps (JAGC), and in private practice in San Antonio, I have volunteered at legal clinics serving veterans and their families since their inception. In honor of Veterans Day, free legal clinics and workshops will be held across the state Nov. 9-13 during what is called “Texas Veterans Legal Aid Week,” a coordinated effort by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. For a full schedule of events go to texaslawhelp.org/ veterans.
A3
Slappin’ Season
The Bag Hero Program is a campaign to educate and encourage the use of reusable shopping bags in the Coastal Bend. We recognize community members who set a positive example by bringing reusable bags when shopping for groceries or other goods. We caught up with our November Bag Heroes, Philippe and Florence Tissot, as they loaded their groceries into their car outside Sprouts. They are avid windsurfers and surfers who moved to Corpus Christi years ago to enjoy the bay and Gulf waters. They use reusable bags mainly for 2 reasons: “The first one is convenience. It’s a lot easier to deal with 3 well-made and robust reusable bags to carry groceries than 15 flimsy plastic bags that come apart at the worst possible moment. “ “The other reason is that there is nowhere for the plastic bags to go after you use them once. They are not recyclable. Yes, you can take them to the store to be “recycled” but they end up sitting in big piles in warehouses. No one wants to deal with these things. So most of the time, they end up in the environment, or worse, in the ocean. So we decided to do our part and save the world one bag at a time!”
In Oklahoma they say the wind comes right behind the rain. That might be true north of the Red, but in South Texas it’s the mosquitos and they are here folks; it’s time to invent some new steps to the Skeeter Dance. So stuff your pockets full of dryer sheets and get to slappin’. And remember folks, like the coyotes, they were here first. Say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Padre Island Rotary and co‐sponsor
Padre Island Yacht Club are Calling all Kayakers, Canoers, and Boaters To come out on Saturday, November 14 to Clean the Cove
We will be cleaning the Ski Basin area, the shore in front of, across from, and towards the Intra‐Coastal Waterway of the Yacht club. Help keep our shorelines clean for us and our wildlife Meet at the Cartegena Boat Ramp to pick up your Trash bags and get your assigned area 9:00 am Collect trash for 1 ‐2 hours Trash will be collected and deposited at Litter Critter Lunch will be provided at 11:30 at the Yacht Club
for more info lawalshva@yahoo.com
A4
November 5, 2015
Island Moon
Photos by Ronnie Narmour, Tracey Shores, and Sheila Diegel
Port A Halloween
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November 5, 2015
Island Moon
2015 LA POSADA BOAT PARADE REGISTRATION Sponsored by the La Posada Foundation
Please print legibly ‐ ALL of the following information is required
NAME___________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS________________________________________________________________ PHONE with area code_______________________ CELL_________________________ E MAIL ADDRESS________________________________________________________ POWER________ SAIL________ BOAT NAME_________________________________ BOAT DESCRIPTION______________________________________________________ STATE REGISTRATION #___________________________LENGTH_______________ NAME OF INSURANCE COMPANY_________________________________________ Additional requirements:
CAPTAINS OR A VESSEL REPRESENTATIVE MUST ATTEND THE CAPTAINS' MEETING DECEMBER 10, 2015 AT THE PADRE ISLAND YACHT CLUB AT 7 PM.
ALL VESSELS MUST MEET STATE & FEDERAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. ALL VESSELS MUST HAVE A WORKING VHF RADIO. CAPTAINS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SAFE AND PRUDENT OPERATION OF THEIR VESSELS. ONLY ENGINE-POWERED VESSELS ARE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE. PARTICIPANTS ARE ASKED TO COMPLETE THE ENTIRE PARADE ROUTE FOR WHICH THEY ENTER.
Indicate Parade Area(s)/Dates in which you will participate: ______FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015. GALLEON BAY/COMMODORES COVE Marshalling area at the entrance to Commodores Canal by 6:30 PM. Parade begins at 7 PM. ______SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015. NORTH & SOUTH OF WHITECAP BLVD Marshalling area by the Caravel Drive boat ramp (north of Whitecap) by 5:30 PM. Parade begins at 6 PM. Instructions: Return this completed registration form Electronically to: Brent Rourk at brentrourk@yahoo.com or Brent Rourk 15606 Gypsy St. Corpus Christi TX 78418. Or deliver it to PADRE ISLAND MAIL PLUS, the PHARMACY at CVS or NORTH PADRE ISLAND ACE HARDWARE. You will receive a confirmation call after I receive your registration form.
2015 La Posada Parade Routes
Stuff I Heard on the Island
A5
by Dale Rankin It wasn’t much of an election as elections go. There weren’t any sexy issues to get the plebeians worked up, there weren’t any pork bond issues that needed torpedoing, heck there weren’t even any scoundrels that needed to be removed from office; there were only some housekeeping items and one red herring that sounds like it will project a property tax cut that we all know will never happen.
I VOTED
Y'all!
And while it’s true that figures lie and liars figure when you dig into the numbers in Nueces County there are some real lessons to be learned. What jumps out immediately is the combined voting power of the islands Padre and Mustang.
By the numbers The percentages don’t really tell the tale; voters in the three precincts which include Port Aransas and Padre Island voted at a 14% clip while voters across Nueces County voted at 6%. To say Islanders voted in more than twice the countywide average is accurate, but the story is in the turnout numbers themselves and any local politician with their eye on the prize should be paying attention. Across the county there are 185,436 registered voters and 11,596 voted this time out. Padre Island now has 6777 registered voters in Precincts 40 and 81 which cover Padre Island. Precinct 19 which covers Port Aransas and a few lonely souls who live on Mustang Island, inside Corpus Christi City Limits, but are inside the Precinct 19 lines, has 2982. So collectively Padre and Mustang Islands make up 9759 of the total of 185,436 registered voters in Nueces County. But the key is the turnout; in this election 965 Padre Islanders voted out of 11,596 who voted countywide. In Precinct 19 430 out of 2982 registered voters cast ballots. So out of 11,596 votes cast in Nueces County 965 were cast on Padre Island and 430 were cast in Port Aransas. So collectively 1395 out of 11,596 total votes came from The Islands and the total votes from each of the three Island precincts were by far the three highest all across the county. The next highest total was in Precinct 65 which includes Texas A&M Corpus Christi; which is also in City Council District 4. In Precinct 47 on the west side of downtown not a single soul turned out and the average per precinct countywide was well under 100. It is not new that the Island precincts vote in higher numbers, both total votes and percentages, than any precincts in the county; that has been going on for years. But what is unusual this time is the gap between the turnouts in Island precincts versus the county as a whole.
The next cycle The next big Election Day is March 1 when Republicans will sort through the football-sized Presidential field and then the Big One a year from now when apparently Hillary Clinton and
a Republican player to be named later will, if the last Presidential cycle is any indicator, pack the polling places. In the last Presidential race 97,801 voters showed up, a 50% rate, which is about average for Presidential races in Nueces County, then last November with a Governor’s race at the top of the ballot that number dropped to 31% with 50,000 people voting in that first city election in the fall cycle. But in those same two elections Island voters turned out at 80% and 65%. The number of registered voters countywide has dropped slightly since then even as the number of registered Island voters has increased from 6200 to the current 6777 and with the number of new houses being built on Padre Island that number will likely continue to rise and as it does the endorsement of our Island United Political Action Committee will become more sought after by office seekers at the city level, and in the Flour Bluff ISD elections if the PAC decides to endorse those non-partisan races. The PAC has served the purpose for which it was designed and as our city government goes through the changes and rifts that have already apparently begun there I get the sense that there is a shift in the political weight in our city that is in our favor. In an economy much reliant on tourist dollars for its robustness the new tourist attractions over the next decade look to be on The Island and that means growth. If the lesson from this under-the-radar election teaches us anything it seems to be that when newcomers arrive on The Island they bring good voting habits with them. The PAC, with help from the Island Moon, is going to be pushing voter registration between now and March and on through November and I encourage anyone who is not registered to do so and make yourself heard. Our city is trying to shake off decades of provincialism and start looking through the windshield rather than at the rearview mirror; the numbers from this election show us that we can play a large role in that process and with this election now in the rearview Election Season 2016 has begun.
Bridge continued from A1 The idea for the bridge began in the 1990s with the approval of an initial Corps permit which called for water exchange culverts under SPID to allow for water passage from Lake Padre to the canal system. The cost of the culverts at the time was estimated at about $900,000 to be paid by the developer. Then in 2004 with a city bond election pending that included 42 projects citywide but nothing for The Island then District 4 City Councilman Mark Scott inserted an item for $1.4 million that, in conjunction with the estimated $900,000 for the culverts from the developer, provided a total of $2.3 million to upgrade the culverts to a bridge. Of the 43 projects approved by voters in 2004 the Water Exchange Bridge is the only one not currently completed. ISAC Chairman Greg Smith said the channel under the bridge would help with water circulation in the Island canal system which currently has ten sites where oxygen content
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in the water is so low that aerators are used to replenish it. Smith said once the channel is open that due to tidal fluctuations about two-thirds of the time Gulf water would flow into the channel system, and one-third of the time water from the Laguna Madre would flow toward the Gulf. The next step in the process, Pierson said, is to work out an agreement with Schexnailder to specify obligations from the city and from the developer. The bridge is the lynchpin in Schexnailder’s plan to build a 3600-foot canal that would connect development on each side of the road and would include retail and residential development. Pierson did not say when the city council is expected to make a decision on funding for the bridge nor when he expects an agreement to be in place between the developers and the city.
A6
November 5, 2015
Island Moon
BBB offers advice for military this Veterans Day
Island Chef
By Kelly Trevino, Regional Director, Better Business Bureau serving Central, Coastal, Southwest Texas and the Permian Basin Veterans Day is an annual holiday dedicated to property – in the end they honor those who have served in the U.S. military. will receive nothing. This year, many Americans will observe this day To avoid these and many by attending ceremonies or parades to thank our other scams that target service members, troops and veterans. However, Better Business BBB advises consumers: Bureau serving Central, Coastal, Southwest • Protect finances. Never wire money to Texas and the Permian Basin warns that it can strangers. also be a day for scammers to target veterans, their families and current service members. • Safeguard your identity. Actively deployed military personnel can place an "active duty Military members are a relatively young alert" on their credit reports to help minimize population, with roughly 65% being 30 years or the risk of identity theft. younger. They often live in concentrated areas, where collectively their paychecks become • Report scams. You can find and report an attractive target for fraudsters. Many who scams located near you on BBB’s Scam enter the military receive a steady paycheck Tracker. Also, file a complaint with your BBB for the first time in their lives and sometimes and the Federal Trade Commission. are financially inexperienced. This same group Since 2004, BBB Military Line has provided marries earlier, which leads to accelerated free specialized education and support services family needs and requirements. for active and retired military members and Many times scammers target this group using their families. BBB Military Line aims to common scams, including: educate military personnel and their families on financial literacy and scams through speaking • Misleading car sales – Websites posting engagements and presentations. classified ads will sometimes offer false discounts for Military personnel or claim to For those who have not served but are be from soldiers who need to sell their vehicle interested in supporting a veteran or military fast since they have been deployed. charity, it is important to verify the legitimacy • Expensive life insurance policies – Members of an organization. You can find a list of Veteran Service Organizations at the U.S. Department of the military are often the targets of highpressured sales pitches that offer unnecessary, of Veterans Affairs website and information about Military Service Organizations at the U.S. expensive life insurance policies. Solicitors Military Community Information and Outreach will make false statements regarding the website. You can also find a BBB Accredited benefits of their policies. Charity at give.org. • Fake rental properties - Stolen photos For more consumer information, BBB of legitimate rental properties are used Business Reviews or to file a complaint, visit in advertisements that promise military your local Better Business Bureau online at discounts and other incentives. Service bbb.org/central-texas. members will have to pay a fee via wire transfer for security payments or a key to the
Moon Phases November 2015
Island Moon On A Spoon By Chef Vita Jarrin
Elevate Your Turkey Gobble Gobble! November has arrived and it’s never too early to start planning Thanksgiving dinner. Part of reducing holiday stress, requires planning and preparation. It’s one of my favorite holidays to cook for, because it’s unique, and one of the most traditional yet versatile meals served. America is a melting pot when it comes to diverse cultures, therefore, every culture, sets their table with traditional and non-traditional fare in order to take part of this nationwide celebration. That said… I wanted to kick off November’s column with some “food for thought”. Planning the menu and how to execute it early on, eases the anxiety for those that either dread “cooking from scratch” or for those that are content making their usual, traditional meal because switching it up, is nerve racking and complicated! So let’s talk Turkey! Realistically, whether you’re a pro at cooking turkey or tackling it for the first time…that big ole bird can be intimidating. There are so many tips and tricks these days that for most of us, just picking one up at the grocers and shoving it in the oven is effort enough. However, turkey is the star of the meal. How do we avoid serving a tough, dry bird? Here is a simple solution (pun intended) for a better tasting, juicy turkey. To brine? Or not to brine? Yes… Brining is similar to marinating. You immerse the meat or poultry in a liquid that is infused with herbs and spices as well as salt and sugar in order for the product you are brining to take on additional flavor prior to cooking. The acid from the juice, breaks down the tissue in the muscle, therefore, by adding juice, you are tenderizing your meat. You can leave the protein immersed in the liquid, anywhere from 4 hours to 24 hours. When I brine chicken or turkey, I like to leave in the refrigerator overnight. Place it in a turkey roaster or bin, (use a clean plastic bag inside, before adding liquid; this helps water from splashing) and if turkey isn’t fully immersed, you flip it every 8 hours. If the turkey is too big, you can also use a cooler, filled with ice, and bag the bird in the brine and cover with more
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6:47 AM Rise 6:36 AM
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5:39 PM Set 5:58 PM
***NOTE***Always make sure, that you cool the water by making it in advance and placing it in the refrigerator, for it to cook down, before adding your meat. If you lack the time to do so, you may cool it with ice also, but it may dilute your sugar and salt content, therefore, you may want to add extra, if using this process. Also, always clean your sinks, counters, bins, coolers etc. with bleach in order not to cross contaminate.
Easy brine recipe: 3 gallons cold water 4 C apple cider 4 C orange juice 2 C brown sugar ¾ C kosher salt 2 red onions quartered 6 cloves garlic smashed 4 TBS peppercorns 4 bay leaves 4 Rosemary sprigs Heat above ingredients in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and set aside and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours. Immerse turkey in bin or roaster and cover. Turn turkey over if needed, every 8 hours.
In order to perfect your turkey for Thanksgiving, start experimenting with different brines and spices on chicken. You can brine and season your chicken, until you find the right combination for your Thanksgiving turkey. Not only will you have a delicious chicken for dinner, you will end up cooking, serving and eating a very delicious, flavor packed, memorable turkey for the holidays.
Tides for Corpus Christi (Bob Hall Pier) November 5-11, 2015
Day
In summation, this concept, is similar to using stock or drippings instead of water. If you make a soup, sauce or gravy, the stock or drippings, add much more flavor than just tap water. It’s because you are layering flavors from the beginning. Poultry has a very bland, flavor profile. Therefore, layering flavors enhances your turkey while it’s raw and continues to pick up flavors, through the cooking process. My favorite brines, consist of a simple mix of water, salt, sugar and infusing the liquid with citrus such as lemons, limes and oranges, apple skins, apple juice, and to add savory, I add spices, herbs, garlic, etc.
Tip of the week:
Tides of the Week
ice. Before you are ready to cook it, remove from liquid and rinse it for a few minutes, under cold water, and then pat dry. How you should season it, is in next week’s column. Stay tuned!
Moon Visible
37
Have Fun! Try New Things… Happy Eats! Enjoy!
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7
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November 5, 2015
A7
Island Moon
Backwater Adventures
On the Rocks
Drifting
By Jay Gardner This morning was another one of those mornings where I was driving OTB towards the office, and looking at the water, I think to myself, “I’m going the. Wrong. Way.”….I should have been driving towards the water, and not away from it. This time of year really is great for fishing, as the pressure is off, folks are headed in towards their deer blinds, and the weather is perfect. Maybe one of these days I’ll win the lotto or something. But we DID make it out on the Laguna before the craziness on Saturday, and the fish were biting very well. Emma and Curtis paired up for a nice box of fish, and I might have added one or two. There was more entertaining going on towards the stern, and more actual fishing towards the bow. Depends on the company you keep I suppose, LOL.
By Joey Farah Farah’s Fishing Adventures Many times fishermen tend to hunt the same fishing spots trip after trip. To a degree the advantage of knowledge is of great importance. Learning a spot completely can also bring confidence and success. As we enter the Fall fishing season tides roll in and out moving fish and bait on migrations through our bay system. This is the time to break out of your security zone and tread on new waters.
Drift fishing Drift fishing is a great way to cover lots of water and learn new areas. The most important ingredient is "WIND", steady winds and even high winds make for a great day. Variable wind changes and slack winds are the hardest to be successful in and that's when I run toward deep water areas. With a steady wind plan your drifts across defined changes in the bottom. Study maps and search out the contours and bottom breaks, plan your way in and drift your way out. I suggest that you shut down well before you reach your area and pull out the map or look at the GPS as you idle in to the area. Lift the
The flounder run is kicking in but it's rod and reel only and the limit is two in November! Get out and poke around for the best eating fish we have cork drift fishing. The longer the cast the longer the time the fish have to find the bait.
Lots of monster bull reds still in the flats. Drift with shrimp or gulps under a popping cork. trim and jack plate, so not to disturb the bottom. Use angles to your advantage so that you don't drift and fish over your path in, and stagger your drifts, don't drift over the same line over and over. A drift anchor can slow your boat down in high winds but can also allow fish to see and hear you coming.
Keeping up with the slack
For popping corks a good WATERLOO SALINITY ROD is the absolute advantage. A stiff backbone and soft sinusitis tip is ideal. Spool up with braided line and you will be able to pop the cork with much more ease than with monofilament. One can use a lighter line diameter with 4, 6,or 8 pound diameter, this gives you 20-30lb strength. I personally like 6 pound diameter and you can cast a mile. This is equally important in covering water with soft plastics as well.
Bays staying busy
Our bay system is on fire right now even with the red tides that came and went. The flow of fish out of the back bays is incredible. Plan your drifts by looking at maps in some of these key areas this week and I can promise you some success. The King Ranch Shoreline can be 100 miles long but concentrate on the contour lines out about 300 yards from the bank. Look for scattered sand pockets; this will let you know you are in a transition zone, tidal movement areas.
The most immediate disadvantage one will notice is the need to constantly reel. Keeping up with the slack is the war, but can be easily mastered. I make a long cast and fold the bail or engage the reel as it hits the water. Pick up the slack with the line above the water quickly and gain control of the bait as it falls towards the bottom. With plastics I like to float the bait down and carefully swim the jig back towards me in a natural pattern and with moderate speed. With popping corks tighten the line and work three to four fast and powerful pops to send the noise out as far as possible. Let Duck season is here, give Capt Joey a call to jump in. the cork sit but keep the line fairly tight without moving the cork towards you. After a moment of sitting The Kennedy shoreline along the Rocky Slough give it one or two pops decreasing the amount area is hot right now with trout out deep and as it nears the boat. I pick up and make another reds along the rocks on the bank. The spoil areas cast within 20 feet of the boat when it's calm along the Intracoastal canal south of Bird Island but in high gusts I let the cork come all the way are full trout and that's where many big bull reds in. Long casts are ABSOLUTLY key in popping are traveling keeping close to the channel. The Boat Hole is a close but very productive place to plan drifts with the wind from one channel to the other across the shallow flats. Use drifting to widen your pallet of fishing spots by visually filing in your memory what you see under your feet. Make notes on your map and GPS as well. The relaxing sounds of the winds and the waves rolling you over the bottom will surely be broken by the sound of your drag screaming! Duck season is here as well as some great fall and winter fishing. Find a weekday opportunity on my calendar and let's go on a adventure! GO GET WET! FOLLOW ALL OUR HOOKUPS AND ADVENTURES ON FACEBOOK AT JOEY FARAHS BACKWATER FISHING.
daily bag limit; you can no longer fish or gig for flounder after midnight and possess double daily bag limits. Two fish is two fish. The new camera that the City put up at the end of Whitecap sure is nice having! Despite the lens getting a little dirty with salt spray, you can see a lot going on. Something I’m not sure whether anyone is aware of or not, is that you can move and direct the camera. So, you can zoom out, zoom in, turn it around, look up Whitecap, etc. The funny thing is that anyone can do this! I’ve been on there, and have found the camera pointing in some odd directions. For one, I’ve found it pointing at and zoomed in on the entrance steps for the Boathouse. Ok, thought that was weird. And then yesterday evening, I checked it out, and it was focused on and zoomed in the third floor balcony of an apartment at Beach Club. I “wrestled” the camera control away to look at the surf for a moment, and then whoever was intent on watching that balcony immediately grabbed the camera, and went back to where they were there on the third floor. So, FYI for you folks at the Beach Club, and indeed, at Island House, there is always someone watching.
I always get asked interesting questions by people wanting to know what this or that plant is, what kind of fish/shell/spider, etc that is, and what’s up with the red tide? Sometimes my answer gets to be more interesting than the question. I was stopped by a table of ladies yesterday evening and one asked that she had seen a bunch of mullet in her canal going crazy and there were these spongy masses floating all over the place. Well, that’s what mullet spawning looks like. Mullet are one of the few fish species that breed on top of the water where everyone can see what they’re doing. That’s also why it’s illegal to posses mullet over 12 inches during the months from October to January. Back in the day, folks from another country would come over and catch all the breeding mullet and cut the roe out of them and sell them overseas. We actually had an issue with mullet populations due to this practice, hence the current regulations. So, there ya go, and now ya now! Thanks for the questions and keep them coming.
There are a lot of projects on the Island that are coming to a head around here lately. It’s good
Skiff crew to see the City being much more aggressive in getting projects done around on the Island. It’s amazing how fast the new water line went from being plans on paper to actually being in the ground. Good stuff! It’s a bummer that our compadre at the City Wes Pierson has announced that he is moving on to a bigger chair in a different city. Just when things were getting interesting. Good working with you Wes. Y’all drop me a line at tarponchaser@ mail.com and I’ll see you On the Rocks.
Speaking of fish bag limits, I’ve seen a few people “accidently” possess more flounder than they’re supposed to. Possession limit from November 1-30th is 2 fish per person, and they can only be taken by pole-and-line. NO GIGGING. If you see anyone gigging before Dec 1, they’re breaking the law. In addition, from December 1-14th bag limit is also two fish, but you can take them by pole and also by gigging. And remember, possession limit IS the
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A8
November 5, 2015
Island Moon
SPORTS Sports Talk
Shoeless Joe’s “The Rest of the Story” (In his own words) Special to the Island Moon Dotson’s Note: The following is the rest of Joe Jackson’s story as he told it in 1948. After reading the complete story and having discussed it with many in the past (my dad included) who watched him play, I am more convinced than ever that he was completely innocent. Knowing what he did before the start of the 1919 World Series, do you think he should have just walked away, and not played in the series at all? Reminder from last week’s article: after the baseball scandal broke, Joe was eventually blacklisted from playing this sport for life. What follows below is Joe’s reasoning on why that terrible decision was made.
That fish incident was the cause of it all. When Mr. Johnson got a chance to get even with Mr. Comiskey, he did it. He was the man who ruled us ineligible. He was the man who caused the thing to go into the courts. He did everything he could against Mr. Comiskey. I'll show you how much he had it in for him. I sued Mr. Comiskey for the salary I had coming to me under the five year contract I had with the White Sox. When I won the verdict, I got only a little out of it, the first one I heard from was Mr. Johnson. He wired me congratulations on beating Mr. Comiskey and his son, Louis.
writing about me as an ignorant cotton-mill boy with nothing but lint where my brains ought to be. That was all right with me. I was able to fool a lot of pitchers and managers and club owners I wouldn't have been able to fool if they'd thought I was smarter. Babe Ruth used to say that he copied my batting stance, and I felt right complimented. I was a left-handed hitter, and I did have an unusual stance. I used to draw a line three inches out from the plate every time I went to bat. I drew a right-angle line at the end next to the catcher and put my left foot on it exactly three inches from the plate. I kept both feet together, then took a long stride into the ball.
Joe & Katie-1951 They say I was the greatest natural hitter of all time. Well that's saying a lot with hitters like Wagner, Cobb, Speaker and Ruth around. I had good eyes and I guess that was the reason I hit as well as I did. I still don't use glasses today. I have been pretty lucky since I left the big leagues. No man who has done the things they accuse me of doing could have been as successful. Everything I touched seemed to turn to money, and I've made my share down through the years. I've been blessed with a good banker, too, my wife. Handing the money to her was just like putting it in the bank. We were married in 1908 when I was just 19 and she was 15, and she has stood by me through everything.
I doubt if I'd have gone back into baseball, anyway, even if Judge Landis had reinstated me after the trial. I had a good valet business in Savannah, Georgia with 22 people working for me, and I had to look after it. I was away from it about a year waiting for the trial. They served papers on me which ordered me not to leave Illinois. I finally opened up a little place of business at 55th and Woodlawn, across from the University of Chicago. It was a sort of pool room and sports center and I got a lot of business from the University students. They kept delaying the trial until I personally went to the State Supreme Court judge, after which he ordered that the case be heard. They tried me and Buck Weaver together, and it took seven weeks. They used three weeks trying to get a jury, and I was on the witness stand one day and a half. After it was all over, Katie, my wife, and I went on back to Savannah, settled down there, and lived there until we came back to Greenville to bury my mother in 1935.
Joe & Katie-Wedding 1908 I have read now and then that I am one of the most tragic figures in baseball. Well, maybe that's the way some people look at it, but I don't quite see it that way myself. I guess one of the reasons I never fought my suspension any harder than I did was that I thought I had spent a pretty full life in the big leagues. I was 32 years old at the time, and I had been in the majors 13 years; I had a life time batting average of .356; I held the all-time throwing record for distance; and I had made pretty good salaries for those days. There wasn't much left for me in the big leagues. All the big sportswriters seemed to enjoy
State, Mercer, Tulane, University of New Orleans, and Pan American, Mark has coached more than 46 future professional basketball players along with two NBA players. You may remember Linton Johnson who played with the San Antonio Spurs and the New Jersey Nets. I’m sure Mark will be given the opportunity to be a Division I head coach one day. There have been many fine things said about Mark by some of the best coaches in the country: Roy Williams, “Wimp” Sanderson, Tony Bennett and Bo Ryan, to name a few.
Cobb & Jackson-1913
I have heard the story that Mr. Comiskey went to Mr. Johnson on his deathbed, held out his hand and asked that they let bygones be bygones. They say Mr. Johnson turned his head away and refused to speak to him.
Ban Johnson
By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon There we sat courtside at an Islanders’ men’s basketball game. My new friend’s name was Richard. He had driven from Wisconsin with his wife Mary to watch their oldest son Mark. No, Mark wasn’t playing; he was one of the assistant coaches of the Islanders’ men’s basketball team. They had been making trips south for many years. On this night, Mark Dannhoff, “Coach D,” would help lead the Islanders to another victory, one of twenty that they would win that season. Mark, the first of three boys, was born on September, 7, 1967. His two younger brothers are named Darren and Steve. While in high school, Mark also played shortstop,
By Dotson Lewis
“The trouble was in the front office. Ban Johnson, the president of the American League, had sworn he'd get even with Mr. Comiskey a few years before, and that was how he did it. It was all over some fish Mr. Comiskey had sent to Mr. Johnson from his Wisconsin hunting lodge back about 1917. Mr. Comiskey had caught two big trout and they were such beauties he sent them to Johnson. He packed the fish in ice and expressed them, but by the time they got to Chicago the ice had melted and the fish had spoiled. They smelled awful and Mr. Johnson always thought Mr. Comiskey had deliberately pulled a joke on him. He never would believe it any other way.
Courtside with Coach D
I hadn't been able to do much work for a year until last summer because of liver trouble. A good doctor in Greenville took my case when I thought my time was about here, and he brought me back to good health. I went back to my liquor store last July and I'm running the business now myself, I had leased it out while I was sick. I've been doing about $50,000 to $100,000 a year business. None of the other banned White Sox have had it quite as good as I have, I understand, unless it is Williams. He is a big Christian Science Church worker out on the West Coast. Last I heard Cicotte was working in the automobile industry in Detroit. Felsch was a bartender in Milwaukee. Risberg was working in the fruit business out in California. Buck Weaver was still in Chicago, tinkering with softball, I think. Gandil is down in Louisiana and Fred McMullin is out on the West Coast. I don't know what they're doing. I'm 61 years old now, living quietly and happily out on my little street close to Brandon Mill. I weighed186 and stood six feet, one inch tall in my playing days. I'm still about the same size. Well, that's my story. I repeat what I said when I started out, that I have no axe to grind, that I'm not asking anybody for anything. It's all water over the dam as far as I am concerned. I can say that my conscience is clear and that I'll stand on my record in that World Series. I'm not what you call a good Christian, but I believe in the Good Book, particularly where it says ‘what you sow, so shall you reap.’ I have asked the Lord for guidance before, and I am sure He gave it to me. I'm willing to let the Lord be my judge.” One of the most influential and famous women in the game of Baseball (at least among those that never played) has to be Katie Jackson, wife of Shoeless Joe Jackson. Due to her husband's illiteracy, she performed virtually every task for him besides actually playing on the field. She was instrumental in his early baseball life and the homesickness that made him leave the Philadelphia Athletics and stick around the South. Later in life she would reply to all his fan mail and run his business that made him somewhat successful after Baseball. Dotson’s Other Note: There was no way I could end the Shoeless Joe story without telling you a little about his lovely wife Katie who passed away in 1959. She was born in 1893, the same year as my Dad. Your comments, suggestions, questions and concerns regarding Sports Talk article are greatly appreciated, please call the Benchwarmers at 361-560-5397 weekdays, Mondays thru Fridays, 5-8 p.m. or contact me. Phone: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530-748-8475 Email: dlewis1@stx.rr.com
Mark Dannhoff catcher and second base on the baseball team. “I wanted to play professional baseball until I got hit in the face,” said Mark. His childhood heroes included Walter Payton, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Michael Jordan. “Back then, the game was still all about team,” said Dannhoff. Mark started and starred for La-Crosse Central High School basketball team at the guard position. He was one of the major contributors to leading the team to the state championships, only to lose in the semi-finals. He continued playing basketball at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and lettered as a freshman until an ankle injury ended his career, prior to his sophomore season. Mark was never a big fan of professional basketball and preferred college from the beginning. He is a mild-mannered, smart guy with a Master’s degree, yet he finds himself using phrases like “pick and roll,” “ball screens,” “posting up” and “baseline defense.” Very few of us find the job that we fit in the best. “Coaching basketball for life is all I ever want to do,” said Dannhoff. Mark wants to be a head coach again, and he should be. He became an assistant at his alma mater (Wisconsin-La Crosse) at age 20; and two years later, he was hired as the head coach of Northland Community College. “I took the job as head coach,” said Mark, “because my college coach said to me, ‘One day you’re going to want to be a head coach and they’re going to say, but you’ve never called a timeout.’” His task, rebuild the program. “There were no scholarships available, so I had to give everyone a tryout,” said Mark. “I was learning on the job. I wish I knew then what I know now.” Not only did he turn the program into a winner, but they won their conference championship in his fourth year. The long story, short is that Mark Dannhoff has coached 26 years for many different Division I programs all across the South: from Georgia
Two years ago, Mark Dannhoff, under the leadership of Head Coach Willis Wilson, helped guide the Islanders to their first-ever post-season win against Northern Colorado in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament (CIT). Last year, the team participated in their second consecutive CIT where they beat Florida Gulf Coast, but then lost at home to Kent State. “We should compete for a Southland Conference Championship this year,” said Coach Dannhoff. “I think you will see more balanced scoring and a better example of sharing the basketball.” I asked coach what was his favorite coaching philosophy? “You’re only good if someone else says you’re good,” he said. Coach D is not a collector and has only one autographed item: a picture of Michael Jordan hitting the winning shot against Georgetown in the NCAA Finals. The person Mark would most like to meet, if it were possible, is the departed John Wooden. We spoke a lot about recruiting. “The hardest part is the time spent in doing the job right and how to convince a kid to go to a school where he fits in the best. Everybody can’t play at Duke, Kentucky or Wisconsin,” said Coach Dannhoff. During his down time, you can find Mark hanging out near the ocean. He loves the water, fishing, jogging and playing golf. When he has something heavy on his mind he returns to a safe place, where he feels the most comfortable, shooting baskets in the gym. Mark Dannhoff has been a good friend. Not only do we share our enjoyment for the game of college basketball, but he has always taken his time to honor me with his presence at weekly lunches and during my book-signing events. He recently spoke at a potluck dinner held at my church, Island Presbyterian, here on the Island. To find out more about Coach Mark Dannhoff’s basketball teachings and philosophies, check out his website at coachdallaccess.com. Go Islanders!
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