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Paddle for Parkinsons

Issue 542

The voice of The Island since 1996

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The Island Moon

September 4, 2014 Around The Island By Dale Rankin

editor@islandmoon.com Tampico and Veracruz took the brunt of Tropical Storm Dolly on Wednesday but Island beaches got their share of surge tides – pushing water and Sargassum weed to the base of the seawall and the dune line. The storm only produced thirty mileper-hour winds but did bring 5-10 inches of rain which we could have used.

Thirty mile-per-hour winds barely qualify as a windy day around here. We don’t even bring the plants inside cling · Directions until somewhere north of 60 mph. We Islanders can pitch a tent in a 30 mph blow. The 2014 Hurricane Season looks like it will pass us by this year but a rain-dropping tropical storm like Dolly would have been a welcome visitor.

Weekly

Paddle for Parkinson’s Plows Through Weather 191 Paddlers Race Through the Canals By Brent Rourk Persistent lightning and the ominous sounds of rolling thunder accompanied the early morning hours last Saturday. Mist and gentle rain moistened the streets of this sandbar. Paddle for Parkinson’s was scheduled for Saturday morning at 9:00 A.M. and a few heavy overtures of thunder had many prospective paddlers wondering if the event would still be held. Fortunately, the weather simmered and kayakers and paddlers slowly started showing up at the boat launch adjacent to Don and Sandy Billish Park.

By Dale Rankin

Projects continued on A11

Work at Port Aransas Airport Takes Off Longer runway, more hangers, retail space Wetlands

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A little weather challenge didn’t deter Islanders from turning out in numbers for Paddle for Parkinson’s last weekend. The canals filled up under cloudy skies; after all if you’re in a kayak or on a Stand Up Paddle Board what’s a little rain? Everyone had fun for a good cause. Congratulations to Mona and the people who put it on. As a sidenote, our friend and fellow Islander Robbie Felder who won his division in the SUP competition pioneered a new type of training for the event which was very effective. Ask him about it if you see him.

Election Season

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Paddle for Parkinson’s

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Also this week, word came from the Texas Department of Transportation that a project to widen SH 361 on the Southside of Port Aransas schedule for this fall will be put off until early next year. It was originally slated for a start time prior to Spring Break 2014 but complications arose, all should be fine as long as it is ready for Spring Break 2015.

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Island Moorings

Work at Mustang Airport will include an expanded runway, new hangers and retail space.

By Dale Rankin Of all the things that are unique about Port Aransas there is one that is often overlooked. There are less than half a dozen airports on barrier islands in the United States and Mustang Beach Airport is one of them.

That uniqueness is one of the reasons that Texas Department of Transportation issued a 90/10 grant to the City of Port Aransas – the state pays 90% with a city match of 10% - for airport improvements that began this week. When work funded by the $5 million grant is finished in the next few years the 250-acre site on the southside of Port Aransas will be a transformed place. It will include an additional 675 feet of runway – the current runway is 3465 feet, 26 acres of retail and commercial development fronting State Highway 361, a taxiway running parallel to the existing runway, enough hanger space to “accommodate all comers,” and several additional safety features including lighting, new asphalt, fencing, and landscaping. “When everything is finished it will be something very special,” said Port Aransas Mayor Keith McMullin. “This project is a winwin for everyone involved.”

Candidate Airport continued on A5 Endorsement Evenings on the Marine Science Graduate Students Island Dive Flower Garden Banks September 18th and 25th

Why is a Sand Bar Forming in Packery Channel? Richard L. Watson, Ph.D. Coastal Geologist The mouth of Packery Channel often has breaking waves in the entrance near the seaward end of the jetties. A recent article in the Island Moon newspaper stated that Diedre Williams of the Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science at TAMUCC described the bar formation as “unusual.” She postulated that the rapid bar formation at the present time and in 2011 may be due to heavy influxes of Sargassum weed in those years and sand blowing into the channel from the beach. I don't believe this to be true. We will see that current flowing into the pass greatly exceeds outflow. The primary source of sand to the entrance is the longshore sediment

Packery continued on A5

Say It Ain’t So Judge Judy! Experts say south county windfarm could wipe out television reception on The Island

Researchers and students of the Harte Research Institute (HRI) at Texas A&M By Brent Rourk University Corpus Imagery ©2014 DigitalGlobe, Texas General Land Ofce, Texas Orthoimagery Program, USDA Farm Service Agency, Map data ©2014 Google 500 ft Christi took a closeTwo things are true when it comes to up look at the Flower elections. If you don’t vote, then you Garden Banks National can’t complain, and if you are not 9/3/2014 1:33 PM Marine Sanctuary By Dale Rankin part of the solution then you are part during the annual coral Imagine if you will – afternoons of the problem. spawning event August without hair-pulling fights between Your chance to become part of the 15 through August 19. women who just found out they are solution is on September 18th and The mass coral spawn married to the same man, or without 25th at the Holiday Inn, The Island is triggered every year, dispute resolution and pearls of United Political Action Committee nine days after the first wisdom from American’s favorite (IUPAC) is holding two meet the full moon of August. HRI masters and jurist Judge Judy. candidate nights in the run up to the doctoral level students experienced That is the prospect for Island November 4th election. On Thursday, the amazing mass spawning event television viewers if a proposed September 18th candidates for Mayor and aided researchers in an attempt forest of 412-feet tall wind turbines and City Council from District 4 will to understand how corals, sponges, are built on a 30,000-acre site on offer a brief biography and then and even sea stars know when it Chapman Ranch in south Nueces answer common questions. is the right time to reproduce. The County, according to the head of The on Thursday, September 25th sanctuary, which lies approximately a local group of television stations City Council At-Large candidates 130 miles off the Texas coast, is a opposing the windfarm. will get their turn. Both Candidate Flower Garden continued on A2

Candidates continued on A15

Hello Dolly!

A little Island history

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the book Islands at the Edge of Time by Gunner Hansen who visited The Island in 1992 and met Gene French, who we all knew as Frenchy. Here is the first part of his story.

This important organization is our best way to make our united voice heard OTB. We’ll see you there. In the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.

The big emptiness. That is what I thought when I stood on Padre Island. I see the big emptiness. My feeling was one of exposure, like what had overwhelmed me the first time I drove onto the Outer Banks. It had been late in a winter day when I had crossed Oregon Inlet, dusk when I reached Cape Hatteras Light. The wind had been blowing hard, the seas roaring across Diamond Shoals, just offshore. The houses had been

By Gunnar Hansen

Dolly pushed a surge tide to the bottom of the seawall

Windfarm continued on A5

Island at the Edge of Time

The Island United Political Action Committee is holding two Meet the Candidate nights in September for people running in the Corpus Christ City Council races. Everybody get registered and go vote your interest when the IUPAC does its endorsements on those nights.

Full NFL Schedule Inside! Page A13

New Island Traffic Light, Water Exchange Bridge, Packery Channel Dredging Cost of restrooms along Packery set at $330,000 per stall

Monday afternoon marked the last of the seasonal Island Diasporas as southbound traffic backed up as uplanders all headed home at the same time, causing a snake of traffic northward from the SPID/ Commodores intersection.

Island Projects

A new traffic light on Park Road 22/SPID at Aquarius near the foot of the JFK Causeway, an update Soon the launch was inundated with on the Park Road 22/SPID Water https://www.google.com/maps/preview?safe=off&ie=UTF-8&fb=1&gl=us&sll=27.8339158,-97... colorful kayaks, much like a nursery Exchange Bridge, and shoaling in brimming with blossoming flowers. Packery Channel highlighted the There was excitement in the air. first meeting of the Island Strategic Those who braved the gentle rain Action Committee in seven weeks were determined to have fun. Over at Tuesday night. Photo by Brent Rourk Paddle continued on A7

So long Tourist Season

The first sign of Autumn has arrived as the lifeguard stations are now off the beach and neatly parked behind the dunes. Next will be the Flying Birds followed closely by the twolegged Snow Birds as both migrate our way from the frozen north.

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empty, the island narrow and far out to sea – an uncomfortable feeling of vulnerability, of lack of shelter. The feeling was similar here; this place was open. Yet on the face of it, Padre was different. It was wider than the Outer Banks and relatively close to the mainland. And I was here in broad daylight, in good weather. The wind was hot and steady, an astringent ninety-five degrees blowing in off the ocean, small waves breaking, no great crashing from the offshore shoals. Even so, I was edgy. When I stood on a dune and looked out to sea or down the beach, I was in the middle of the big emptiness. There were no hills, no buildings,

History continued on A6

September 4, 2014

Island Moon

Fishing Line Can be Deadly for Birds

By Dianna Aston

Photos by Donald Hatch A pelican, tangled in the hooks of fishermen, was found floundering last week by beachcombers near the jetty in Port Aransas. They immediately called Tony Amos, Director of Friends of the ARK, a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating injured animals and birds. The beachcombers tried many times to reach Amos by phone before deciding to wrap the pelican in a towel and take it to the ARK. Amos is on call day and night, but the four people who brought it to the ARK said the eight minutes that passed before they talked with Amos felt like a long time.

The lovely ladies from the Back Porch Bar in Port Aransas enjoyed their annual End of the Summer outing this week with a trip to the spa and some fun at Scuttlebutt’s.

“It’s just so hard to see any creature in pain,” said Leland Sledge, who helped rescue the bird. Amos met them at the ARK and examined the bird, a baby. Its tendons were so damaged it had to be euthanized. “He never would have flown again,” said Amos. Amos advises people who find injured animals not to try to help them.

Surfers took advantage of storm seas Photos by Ronnie Narmour & Miles Merwin

Port Aransans Chelsea and Edye enjoy a post-labor day stoll down Caldwell Pier

Flower Garden continued from A1 series of coral-topped submerged banks that are the northern most coral reefs in North America. They are also some of the healthiest, with a higher percentage of living coral coverage than any other reefs in the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean Sea. “The expedition to the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary allows students to experience the healthiest coral reef in the Atlantic Ocean and be part of one of the most unique events that occur in our oceans – the mass spawning event of an entire coral reef,” said Dr. Larry McKinney, HRI Executive Director and Chief Scientist for the cruise. “Nothing else could better inspire our students to study hard to make a difference and help assure healthy and productive oceans for the future.”

“Generally, trying to un-snare them makes them more ensnared,” Amos said. He also said not to feed them. For instance, some people will give pelicans hardhead catfish, which aren’t in a wild pelican’s diet. If you find an injured animal, call Tony Amos at (361) 442-7638. If you can’t reach him, a rarity, he said to call the Texas Sea Life Center at (361) 589-4023. The ARK specializes in sea turtles and aquatic birds and handles about 600 animals a year. Donations are gratefully accepted. To find out more, visit the website: www. friendsoftheark.org.

Student Diving the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary break away from their books and experience one of the Gulf’s natural wonders before they move on to their future careers. Experts from the National Marine Sanctuary Program, the Gulf of Mexico Foundation and several nongovernmental conservation organizations were aboard to share their knowledge during the cruise. Dr. David Hicks, Chair and Associate Professor of Marine and Estuarine Ecology from the University of Texas at Brownsville joined this year’s cruise.

The purpose of the annual expedition is to remind graduate students why they are working on their master’s and doctoral degrees. The expedition gives students the opportunity to

“One of our objectives is to provide our students the opportunity to interact with leading scientists from around the world,” stated McKinney. “This is our third expedition, and to date, we have taken more than 70 scientists, journalists, and students on this singular cruise.”

BAY AREA FELLOWSHIP IS NOW

THIS MONTH AT...

JOIN US SEPT. 7TH - 24TH!

BAY AREA FELLOWSHIP HAS A NEW NAME! Bay Area Fellowship is now CHURCH UNLIMITED! Pastor Bil and Jessica Cornelius invite you to join us at one of our weekend services to see how we’re taking the limits off church and changing lives like never before!

JOIN US SUNDAYS AT 8:30 AM, 10:00 AM & 11:30 AM

(LIVE SATELLITE FEED AT 10:00 AM & 11:30 AM)

CHURCH UNLIMITED • Padre Island Campus 15205 SPID • Corpus Christi, TX 78418 WEARECHURCHUNLIMITED.COM

September 4, 2014

Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder

Letters to the Editor

Rick Beekman

Distribution

Packery Channel Warning

Pete Alsop Island Delivery

Editor’s note: Our story last time on the warning from Deidre Williams at the Conrad Blucher Institute which monitors Packery Channel for the City of Corpus Christi that water depths in the Packery are getting shallow engendered several comments. Here is the warning in its entirety.

Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin Classifieds Arlene Ritley Design/Layout

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MSL = + 0.48 NAVD88

Jeff Craft

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Contributing Writers

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Joey Farah Andy Purvis Devorah Fox Mary Craft

Chad Peters Todd Hunter Dotson Lewis Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk Dr. Donna Shaver Photographers Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan Mary Craft Ronnie Narmour Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus)

Riley P. Dog Editor/Publisher/Spillage Control Supervisor 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 15201 S. Padre Island Drive, Suite 250 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

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And all Moon retail advertisers

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During the July, 2014 monitoring survey, a region of concern was identified in the Entrance Channel along the south jetty at Packery Channel. Elevations of -4.5 ft. (NAVD88) were measured nearest the jetty and elevations of between -5.0 and -5.5 ft. (NAVD88) were measured near the channel centerline (See figure below). The region from the centerline to the north jetty was at -6 to -7 ft. (NAVD88). Mean sea level measured at Bob Hall Pier is estimated at +0.48 ft (NAVD88). Although not depicted in the image due to an abbreviated data set, this shallow region extends up to the south jetty. This elevated region could limit navigation, particularly during periods of lowwater level combined with larger waves entering the channel mouth. The rapid increase in shoaling observed over several weeks is likely due to strong onshore forcing that occurred during the preceding weeks of high seas and could possibly moderate over time as the seas subside. In contrast, shoaling has historically increased in the Entrance Channel during the summer season. Therefore, the process to issue a Local Notice to Mariners was initiated by the City of Corpus Christi with the USCG during July 2014. Although the request is still under review by the USGC, the City of Corpus Christi is notifying the public to exercise caution when navigating the channel until the next survey is conducted during September 2014. Some local reports from users indicate shoaling may have increased, thereby further reducing water depth, since the July 2014 survey.

Taxes

Colleen Backer Dear Dale, It may be a bit early to begin praising candidates for the upcoming November election, but why not lead the pack. As President of the PIPOA Board of Directors for the past four years, I have had an interesting vantage point to see how our City Council deals with the Island and our POA. I believe that Colleen McIntyre has been an outstanding advocate for the Property Owners and the Island Community since Day One of her term in office as District 4 Representative. In this day and age, when voters rail against uninformed, uncaring, self-centered politicians, from Washington to their own hometowns, Colleen has been a refreshingly different type of representative. She has become a student of the inner workings of the City Departments while also meticulously educating herself on long-standing issues, like our aging wastewater treatment system. She has worked tirelessly to find meaningful, cost-effective solutions for our pressing problems and fund current items properly so they won’t become issues in the future. She has built coalitions with other city representatives so solutions can be approved vice delayed and she has had the courage to ask the hard questions, bringing to light longdormant issues which now will be addressed for the betterment of the Island and the City, such as her initiative to increase the size of the Police Force. Additionally, Colleen recognizes the large financial boon the Island brings to City coffers and the lack of comparable services Island residents receive. She is diligently fighting every day to bring more equality to what we receive for what we contribute. I had the opportunity to sit down with Colleen, oneon-one, a few weeks ago to discuss some areas the POA was concerned with. I came away extremely impressed by her knowledge of a variety of subjects, her proposed solutions, and her vision for improving City services on the Island. When looking over the list of candidates for City Council this fall, I do not believe you will find anyone who will work harder on behalf of the Island than Colleen McIntyre. I encourage all Islanders to support her reelection and keeping our Island moving forward. NOTE: This endorsement is mine alone and does not reflect an endorsement by the PIPOA Board of Directors or the POA, in general. Jeffrey F. Carlson

3rd Annual Heroes Cup in RockportFulton A Salute to wounded Soldiers

Warrior’s Weekend Heroes Cup is a fishing expedition for war-injured soldiers. The I really want to discuss the budget increase vs. Event will be held September 3-6, 2014 in tax payer income increase. Rockport-Fulton. On September 5, Twentythree teams will compete for a chance to win City employee rate increase police 4% the Heroes Cup Tournament. The Tournament is City manager pay raise?????? 12+%? organized by Veterans organizations, Chambers Lawn care $515,000 of Commerce, Car Clubs and interested community members are coordinating a special Street sweeping....where is that machine? event for the active duty soldiers. $288,000 Moon,

Head count increase? Overall city Public safety $60,000 MIS budget in general Program specialist $56,000 Strike team code enforement $515 Solid waste department $$$$$ out of control

Animal control head count adding 4 fte and 5pt?????

Heroes Cup is an annual fishing tournament put together by the Warriors Weekend organization. It is a special event for soldiers who have been injured in the line of duty. All medically retired due to injury. From 15 to 30 soldiers are chosen for this competition. They are brought into town, paired with a volunteer professional angler, and taken into the bay for a five- hour competitive fishing trip. While the soldiers do get a shot at winning the competition, more importantly they also get a chance to relax, have fun, and enjoy the companionship of an appreciative citizen. They can leave the battlefield and take pleasure in the bay.

Economy development head count? It really seems that the council has zero regard for the tax payer. Tom Turner

Paddle for Parkinsons Moon, There is not enough space in an edition of the Island Moon to list all of the sponsors, volunteers, participants and media to whom we are extremely thankful for making this another successful year for Paddle For Parkinson’s. Thank you to each and every one, including the Moon Monkeys, for helping us get one step closer to finding that cure! Mona Singleterry

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

Member Padre Island Business Association

by Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com

New Advertisers Island Jewelers can make custom jewelry from any gold you have. They also do ring sizing, Slater jewelry repair“Dugie” and linkMartin adjustments, Nelson Jr watch repair and they carry watch batteries. They are open Tuesday – Saturday at 11 am and are located next door to Scuttlebutt’s. Call 867-8028 for more info. The Original Brooklyn Pie Company is expanding to the Island next to La Palma Mexican Restaurant. They are shooting for an October opening. Their other five locations are located in and around Austin. The Island Car Wash has added a third location on Rodd Field Road near Holly. This location also offers a beach rinse for $4 up to a supreme car wash for $12. The car wash uses 100% of the water reclaimed.

Business Briefs Kinky Friedman will be at the Gaff in Port A on Friday, September 5th at 8 pm as part of the Misunderstood Genius Tour. Tickets are $30 to spend some time with this Texas treasure at a small venue. Boathouse Bar & Grill had quite a crowd for the Ohio State/Navy game and were caught off guard when fans started showing up last Saturday before 11 am. Rest assured manager James, who pitched in to make sure everyone was taken care of, will be well prepared for the Navy games the rest of the season. The next game is with Temple this Saturday at noon. CVS has changed their name to CVS Health and has stopped selling cigarettes before the October 1st target date. The cigarette area now has products that help in the effort to quit smoking and the store has coupons for these products. Scuttlebutt’s Bar & Grill has the entire NFL football schedule with all the game times in their full page ad this issue. You can check the schedule to enjoy your meal there while watching your favorite team. Drop Anchor Bar & Grill has great food, full bar, live music, a view of the ship channel and is pet friendly. They are located on Cut Off Road in Port A. The First Friday Reception at the Port Aransas Art Center will be held 5:30 – 7:30 pm on September 5th and will feature four local artists. It is located at 323 Alister. Skydive South Texas will be flying out of the Aransas Pass Airport for the next month while the airport runway in Port A is being widened and extended. The price per jump is $225. Call 945-JUMP. Dallas prosecutor Sarah Saldana was appointed by President Obama this week to run the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agency's mission is to track down people living in this country illegally. She is Judge Marisela Saldana's sister. The judge has been an Island resident for a number of years.

Schlitterbriefs The Schlitterbahn Pro Shop opened this week and rates currently are $25/18 holes with cart on weekdays and $30 on weekends with tax included. Members play for free and just pay for the cart. The Veranda Restaurant at Schlitterbahn is open for lunch and dinner daily and features only locally caught seafood. The Executive Chef Vee, she was formerly with Venetian Hot Plate, provided the recipes for the menu entrees. The restaurant will soon be open for brunch. Schlitterbahn Water Park general admission is $17.99 and $14.99 for age 3-11 and 55 and over. The resort here will have the longest river ride of all their parks. The tri-organization mixer consisting of the Young Business Professionals, Padre Island Business Association and Greater Corpus Christi Hospitality Association was the first event held at Schlitterbahn.

Military liaison ...ready?

Subway

Chamber of Commerce

Keepers Pier House

Two construction inspectors $106,000

Coffee Waves

Gratitude Gift Shop

Port A Arts

All Stripes Stores

Woody’s Sports Center

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Waste employment head count?

A Mano

Public Library

-16

WB Liquors

North Padre

Port A Parks and Rec

Oslo park $340,000

Sandpiper Condos

Stripes @ Beach Access Rd. 1A

Pioneer RV Park

Potential for Depth-Limited Navigation in Packery Channel

Jay Gardner

Lisabella’s Restaurant

Legend Depth, ft (NAVD88) Elevation, ft (NAVD88) - 32

Maybeth Christiansen

Did Ya Hear?

Packery Shoaling

Read with interest the article on shoaling on the south side of Packery Channel. Those of us who use the channel on a regular basis have found on the south side of the entrance the swells run at a lower level making the outbound transit much safer than the north side. This condition is usually indicative of deeper water in such an area. I'll be interested in hearing Ms Williams explanation for this condition.

Port Aransas

Island Moon

Member Padre Island Rotary Club

September 4, 2014

Island Moon

The Travelling Moon Gets Around

The first picture was taken at Ski Portillo, Chile, on Monday, Aug. 25 - a beautiful winter day with fresh snow. The lake in the background is the Laguna del Inca; the mountains are Los Tres Hermanos - the shortest is just over 14,000 feet and the tallest is nearly 15,600. Denis and Debi Quintero

In August, the Island Moon traveled with Bill and Sharon Brower to the Wall of Ten Thousand Li (the Great Wall) outside of Beijing, China

This girl was rescued this morning at Stripes on HWY 361 and Commadore. She has no collar. She's very sweet and has a lot of puppy in her. She's a mix between chocolate lab and something else, maybe pit bull. My phone number is (361)749-1828. Deb

Island Jewelers Don’t Sell Your Gold! We Make New Custom Jewelry From Your Gold

The Island Uke Club just keeps growing.

On-Site Repair Watch Batteries Link Adjustment

The tri-organization mixer consisting of the Young Business Professionals, Padre Island Business Association and Greater Corpus Christi Hospitality Association was the first event held at Schlitterbahn.

Watch Repair Ring Sizing Starting at $15

Loma Alta Plaza • Next to Scuttlebutts Open Tuesday - Friday 11-6, Saturday 11-5 361-867-8028 • www.islandjewlerssouthtexas.com

Billy Farmer The Island Car Wash#3 President

Following the overwhelming success of the first two THE ISLAND CAR WASH installations, AUTEC Car Wash Systems is happy to announce the opening of THE ISLAND CARWASH’s third location in Corpus Christi, Texas. Adhering to the highly successful formats of the first North Padre Island location the second Port Aransas site, this new fully-automated car wash features AUTEC’s state-of-the-art system and showcases AUTEC’s INBAY EXPRESS concept of around-the-clock 24/7 operation with no employees or attendants.

Triple Foam Bath. With the environment in mind, The Island Car Wash#3 is very eco-friendly as most of the water is recycled, cleaned, and reused by their state-of-the-art water reclamation system. At all three The Island Car Wash locations, the main objective is to provide the best wash available while keeping our environment clean and safe for future generations. Billy Farmer, President of all three The Island Car Wash locations is ecstatic with the public’s response to his newest installation and invites all discerning vehicle owners to visit this new The Island#3 car wash facility.

The Island Car Wash#3 offers a Soft Touch, Touch Free, or an awesome combination of both washes featuring a full array of wash opportunities with such exclusive THE ISLAND CARWASH #3is located at 2043 Rodd Field offerings as Bug Buster, Tire Shine, Rain Shield, and Road, Corpus Christi, TX 78412.

September 4, 2014

Island Moon

Stuff I Heard on the Island

Packery continued from A1 transport along the bars in the surf just as it is along all other sandy shorelines. Packery channel was built with Jetties that are too short.

Sand movement along the sand bars There has been a breaking bar in the entrance of Packery Channel when waves are high most of the time since it was built. This can be easily confirmed by the aerial photos and surface photos shown at the following web page.

Data from the Conrad Blucher Institute, which should have been examined by Ms. Williams plainly shows the flood tide domination of Packery Channel. Measurements were taken every 30 minutes, so this graph represents over 17,000 measurements. Current measurements with a negative (-) number indicate currents flowing out toward the Gulf (ebb tide). Positive measurements show current flowing from the Gulf through Packery into the bay (flood tide). The channel is highly flood dominated. It is only ebb dominated during November, December, January, and February, the months with the most northers, and two of those months, January and February are barely ebb dominated. It is unlikely that northers will clear the channel of sand.

by Dale Rankin Last summer a boat running wide open smashed headlong into the bulkhead on Dasmarinas sending a lady to the hospital. Earlier this summer a young boy was seriously injured when he was being pulled on a tube behind a jet ski and swung wide around a turn slamming into a boat. Last week a woman bow riding on a boat fell under the propeller and her leg was severed; those are just the hits. That doesn’t count the near misses we’ve all heard about; stories of wake-makers, rookie boat captains with no training, and garden variety morons who shouldn’t be allowed to ride in boats much less pilot them. I have personally seen at least a few boats with dogs riding in them when it would have been safer for the public at large if the dog had been driving.

More money than sense http://texascoastgeology.com/passes/packery.. html The following photograph under heavy surf conditions clearly shows that the third (outer) sand bar curves out past the end of the jetties and can flow sand directly into the mouth of the channel. Think of these sand bars as conveyor belts of sand. The total sand movement in the surf along this part of the coast can be as high as 700,000 cubic yards per year or about 115,000 dump trucks full. Photo taken October 7, 2011. The underwater bars are clearly shown on the photo taken under very calm conditions on September 18, 2012. As the beach built out, the bars moved outward as well and sand is carried along the bar into the entrance by waves generated by SE winds. The distance inward from the ends of the jetties to the beach is about 1100 ft.. The sand bars are in the 600 ft nearest the jetties and far from a source of wind blown sand coming into the channel from the beach.

The following graph is all of the current data for the same year showing measured velocity and direction. Note that even during the norther months, nearly as much current flow into the channel as outward and remember that when that is happening waves can suspend sand to help it flow into the channel.

How do we keep the channel from shoaling?

Tidal Currents in Packery Channel Ms. Williams mistakenly postulated the sand bar in the channel will be washed out by the ebb tides during northers in the winter. While that may seem to be a logical conclusion, even a cursory examination of the tidal current data for Packery Channel shows that to be very unlikely. While it may remove some sand, we will see that the inlet is HIGHLY flood dominated through most of the year. This means more water flows into Packery from the Gulf than flows out. This is primarily because of the way that wind affects water levels in Corpus Christi Bay. During the onshore SE winds most of the year, the wind blows water from the south end of Corpus Christi Bay to the north side. During northers the tilt of the water in the bay is the opposite. This causes Packery channel to be flood dominated during the SE winds and ebb dominated during northers. Let’s look at the current data for Packery Channel measured by the Conrad Blucher Institute where Ms. Williams is employed. We shall see, the duration of flood domination greatly exceeds that of ebb domination. This causes sand to flow into Packery from the bars most of the time. The volume of incoming sand is increased during brisk SE winds, when the waves are high because wave action suspends sand allowing it to be easily carried into the pass on the flood current. During northers there is little wave action to help suspend sand for it to be carried out into the Gulf.

Since the source of most of the sand coming into the channel is surely from the longshore bars dumping sand right into the entrance, the only effective solution is to make the jetties longer, much longer, as I recommended before Packery was built. Sand blowing into the channel is surely minor by comparison and since the pass is highly flood dominated, that sand will move inward and not out to form a bar at the mouth. Remember that sand is blowing into the channel on the SE winds when the pass is very flood dominated. Proper design of jetties means that they must be long enough to reach water sufficiently deep that waves do not break in that depth except during major storms such as tropical storms and hurricanes. When one of the shore parallel sand bars reaches beyond the entrance jetties, this unequivocally proves that the jetties are not nearly long enough. In the first photograph above, you can clearly see waves breaking far beyond the entrance to the jetties. Those waves are suspending a lot of sand which is being swept into the entrance on the flood tide. I warned about this problem before the pass was built and that maintenance would cost far more than was estimated. This has all come to be true. If you look back through the history of the pass in the aerial photos that I have provided, you can see that this has been explained and demonstrated with photos many times. http://texascoastgeology.com/passes/packery.. html The only solution to have a safe for navigation pass is to extend the jetties 500 to 1000 ft. further into the Gulf and/or dredge very frequently. The last time the pass was dredged, I believe that part of the bar at the mouth was left in place, yet that was the most important part to be dredged.

You have to take a test to get a driver’s license but all you have to do to drive a boat is be able to write a check; there is no check on whether the check writer has a lick of sense or more money than sense. The result is something we have all seen; stupid people doing stupid things on the water that put themselves and those around them in danger – sometimes potentially mortal danger. Seldom a summer week goes by without someone calling the Island Moon office with a story that starts with, “I know there isn’t anything you can do about this but I just think someone ought to know…” and then they tell a tale of someone – they come in all shapes and sizes – who caused a near miss on the water by simply not paying attention, being too far down the inebriation trail, or just being naturally stupid and they missed seriously hurting someone by nothing but the grace of God. This of course doesn’t count the countless boaters who zoom past the No Wake signs sending a tsunami under decks and docks that over time will rattle planks loose and cause expensive damage. Nor does it count the music blasters who cruise down the canals before dawn or after sundown introducing anyone within earshot to Free Bird (play some Skynyrd man!), David Allen Coe (will somebody please call that #$%$%! by his name!), or the profanitylaced musings of whatever gangsta rapper is the flavor of the month.

“Someone” should do something It’s all part of the behavior that we’ve all said “someone” should do something about. Well, a couple of guys tried. About a year ago two beat cops from CCPD approached the Island Strategic Action Committee with a plan to launch a patrol boat in the canals. They asked Islanders to raise $70,000 to pay for the boat with the expectation that the PD would staff it during peak summer months and provide the policing of Island canals that was promised by the city when The Island was annexed more than thirty years ago. Islanders began raising money and within a few weeks raised about $30,000 before the then-new police chief announced he would not staff the boat and instead wanted a police station on The Island. The boat plan was sunk, the $30,000 was returned to the donors, and a “police station” was opened in the management office of the moribund Tortuga Dunes development on Zahn Road. I stopped in the “police station” at least half a dozen times and not once did I ever see an actual police officer there; only a lonely police car that apparently drove itself there and decided to stay.

We need more crime I won’t go into the lack of police presence on The Island. There are hours upon hours when there is literally not a single police officer on our Island; response times are measured by how long it takes to drive OTB from Flour Bluff. The beat officers know this; the brass may or may not know it but if they do they chose to fall back on the worn-out excuse “the officers are assigned to where the calls are.” Translation: If we want more police officers we need more crime. The fact is that except when we are overrun with visitors on our beaches we don’t need a lot of officers hereabouts; the locals are peaceful souls. There are two exceptions; empirical evidence has taught us that if there are no officers on The Island for a long enough period of time burglars will get busy. This point has been driven home twice in recent years when Island Garage Sales got so bad something had to be done, and in 2007 when we had more than forty burglaries – some were home invasions committed when residents didn’t answer the doorbell fast enough – and, well, we had enough crime that we got some police help – after forty burglaries. The second exception is on the water. Not every minute of every day; but at peak hours when most of the trouble happens and police presence is less than zero. Not only are there no police officers on the water; when Islanders see something that needs attention the PD often will not respond for a very simple reason – they don’t even have a boat. The chief didn’t want the one we were going to give him. We currently, by my count, have seven law enforcement agencies with boats running around in our canals. We’ve all seen the one with their .50-caliber machine guns, Kevlar gunwales, and giant spotlights out there looking for smugglers with boats full of loot they can confiscate to buy more boats. But they don’t give a tinker’s dam about wakes, loud music, idiots, or any trivial stuff like that; they got bigger fish to fry. To their credit Texas Game Wardens do what they can but the fact is that there are seven of them to cover the entire county and they are stretched too thin to stay in the canals; and there are jurisdictional issues involved.

Let’s get to squeaking This is the job of the Corpus Christi Police Department and they aren’t doing it. Never have. The best I can tell the brass down there thinks there are about a dozen residents on The Island and all twelve of them are whiners. Our city is more than happy to take our Hotel/Motel taxes, beach sticker fees, and whatever else we send OTB but won’t even let us buy our own boat to do the one police function we really need. By their reasoning what we need is more crime on the water. If we just had more wrecks, wakes, loud music, and morons behind the wheel, well, then we might get them to live up the promise the city made when they welcomed us into the city limits thirty years ago. If what they need is more calls, I say let’s give it to them. The next time you see a boat leaving a wake, call the cops; the next time you hear Free Bird at 110 decibels, call the cops. The next time a seagull leaves a dropping on your deck, call the cops. If the squeaky wheel gets the grease let’s get squeaking. The alternative is what we have; to wait until something really bad happens so the police brass will pay attention; a heck of a way to run a railroad.

Windfarm continued from A1 “Wind turbines may look like they are not turning very fast,” said Don Dunlap, President and General Manager of South Texas Public Broadcasting System. “But the tips of those blades are going 250 miles per hour and that creates an electromagnetic field which interferes with everything from military radar to television reception.” Dunlap was appearing before the Island Strategic Action Committee Tuesday night to ask for their help in stopping the windfarm. ISAC joined the Corpus Christi City Council, Nueces County Commissioners, and Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce in opposing the development. The city council has threatened to annex the proposed site to prevent the turbines from going in, however, an attorney for the developer told the council that because the construction application was filed before the area was part of the city the windfarm is grandfathered and the developers will move forward even if the area is annexed. The problem would not affect Island viewers with satellite or cable television, but those relying on terrestrial antennas or rabbit ears would see “ghosting” or frozen images due to the turbines which are located directly between The Island and the area near Petronella where the 1000-plus foot towers of local television affiliates are located.

Dunlap said turbines cause three kinds of interference: radiation due to static electricity caused by the whirling blades, a reflection of a signal off the large blades which would cause Island viewers to lose their signal, and the blades would make it “difficult if not impossible” for television live truck to bounce a signal emitting from The Island toward the Petronella towers and back to the television stations, making live reports from The Island impossible. Dunlap also said the turbines would create a 45-degree blind spot for the weather radar station at Corpus Christi International Airport which all of the local television weather departments rely on. He said it could also cause interference for military radar. “Each turbine creates a radar image that is equal to a 727 jet,” Dunlap told the ISAC. “Other than blocking 45-degress of the local weather radar, interfering with the radar of the $4 billion local military industry, and wiping out television reception on The Island there are other problems too.” So if you rely on rabbit ears for your television reception you might want to start recording Dr. Phil, the Simpsons, or Judge Judy. But that won’t help you with watching Cowboys’ games which are usually on broadcast station. Now that’s serious business.

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September 4, 2014

Island Moon

First Friday Reception at Port Aransas Art Center

On the Rocks By Jay Gardner The tourists made it out just in time, as the water from Dolly is up to the dunes at the beach. The NOAA buoy about 60 miles southeast of us here is reading 9-10 foot seas at around 10 second periods. This has been making some surfers happy, as the waves have been bigger than they typically are at this time of year. And no wetsuit needed at a balmy 84 degrees. Maybe as it drops and cleans up towards the weekend I may be able to get out there and enjoy it myself, if I get my chores done this short work week.

Three weeks of Sargassum Ripcharts is showing a drop in chlorophyll, although you wouldn’t know it from the fresh Sargassum that is washing up. This is a result from the last disturbance that came through the area (sparing us measurable rain, unfortunately) and changed the winds from southeast to northeast for several days. I’ve surmised that the Sargassum condition is on an exponential sliding scale; basically one day of north wind in the summer brings about a week of fresh Sargassum. So, the three days of north wind we had the past week may bring three weeks of Sargassum before it trains out of the system. I hope it doesn’t last that long, and I also hope that we don’t get any more north winds for the rest of this month. Makes everything act wonky.

Sharkathon! One of the main reasons we don’t want Sargassum is because the annual Sharkathon fishing tournament is scheduled to occur towards the end of the month from the 26th to the 28th. This has turned into a good deal for local businesses as over 500 people descend down the beach, spending a lot of money on the way in and on the way out. I’ll be down there with the rest of the crew trying our luck when the time comes.

New rules for trout Speaking of licenses and regulations, there are some new regulations that went silently into effect this past Monday. Number one is the reduction of the trout bag (and consequently possession) limits. The new limits are 5 fish per day, with a 10 fish possession limit for those that are on multiple-day trips. This is now in effect for the entire middle and southern coast (south of FM 457 in Matagorda). The trout deal is kind of big for people coming in from other parts who are expecting to load up on trout, although there are plenty of other fish they can target (such as black drum) that fry up great despite the freezer burn that most fillets that wind up out-of-county experience anyway.

Four local artists will be featured at the First Friday Reception at the Port Aransas Art Center on Friday, September 5, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The center, located at 323 N. Alister in Port Aransas will feature works by Adam Johnson, from Ingleside, Jeffrey McDaniel and Nick Meyer are from Corpus Christi, and Cliff Welty from Aransas Pass. The event is sponsored by Woody’s Sports Center and Urban Engineering. The works will remain up through the end of September. For more information call the center 361-749-7334.

Adam Johnson September Show

TPWD also extended the flounder reduced season of two fish into the first two weeks of December in order to keep bolstering the flatfish numbers. Other than that, I think they reduced the bag limit of squirrels in East Texas from 15 to 10, but then again, not sure that affects us much down here. I can’t remember the last time I shot a full limit of squirrels, lol. Well I hope this finds all you loyal readers in fine shape from the long weekend. There were lots of people recreating on the Island, and the Pee Canals were loaded to the hilt with people squeezing in the last bit of summer. We enjoyed our first (and likely last for the season) visit out there, and it actually seemed pretty tame from what I’ve seen in the past. Guess most folks are getting the memo that it’s dangerous and they need to exercise caution. It’s that time of year to get out and enjoy the water and beaches again as we have been. After the recent storms subside in the gulf and school gets back under-way full speed, I’ll see you out after work On the Rocks.

no large trees, no obstructions, no last object on the horizon. The prospect kept going till it petered out. The far horizon was a shimmering dark line, more refracted light than a real image, looming right at the edge of the earth’s curve. The great emptiness. The archaeologist Herman Smith had warned me about Padre. But about other things – about the danger if I were to travel too far down the beach. Once past the shrimpers’ shacks, past the clusters of fancy-named condos, convenience stores, and gas stations at the north end of the island, down the thirteen miles of uninhabited road to the beginning of the National Seashore, things changed. After the visitor center the road ended, spilling you onto the beach. From there on, it was legal to travel only on the beach – no climbing the dunes, no walking down the interior flats, no crossing to the back dunes at the lagoon. Only the first four miles of beach were passable to ordinary vehicles. After that you were on your own. And you’d better have four-wheel drive, towrope, winch, plenty of water, fuel, and time, and some degree of selfsufficiency. From there to the Port Mansfield ship channel, at the sixty-mile mark, there was nothing – not gas, no buildings, no people, no help. Rangers patrolled infrequently.

Dove season is just around the corner, and hope you have your lease picked out already. TPWD numbers were just out the other day, and it appears to be a bumper crop of the love-birds this year. Hopefully by now you’ve already purchased your new license, because they (typically) expire after Labor Day weekend.

Islanders Abroad

This is Andy Reid, rider for the motorcycle racing team sponsored by islander Mark Middleton, going over the mountain at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire,, England last week. The team won a Superbike race as well. That’s Mark on the podium with the giant hat. Reid was presented a guitar by members of the Statesboro Review Band – former Islanders.

Bag Hero of the Month

Jeffrey Neel McDaniel

History continued from A1

Past the shrimpers’ shacks

Bumper crop of Love Birds

Skip the Plastic is pleased to announce our September Bag Heroes, Joan and Scott Holt. The Holts are retired marine scientists and mainstays in the Port Aransas birding community. Like many other residents, the Holts will support action by the Port Aransas City Council when they hold the first reading of a plastic bag ban ordinance in their September 18th meeting.

Cliff Welty tree Cliff Welty tree

I had planned to stop somewhere down the beach where the island narrowed to about a mile and then, ignoring the law, hike across the Laguna Madre. Maybe I would even wade out a mile or two into the lagoon, since it averages less than three feet deep. I canceled that plan when a friend told me I would not make it across the island. Walking through the sand was almost impossible, and the heat would finish me quickly; I could not carry the weight of water I would need to keep myself going. If that did not stop me, the snakes would. Padre, like most Texas islands, was infested with rattlesnakes and I was sure to get bitten. He exaggerated, but these were reasons enough for me.

Two-legged coyotes It had not been these conditions that Smith warned me about; he was concerned about people. Coyotes from Mexico brought illegal

aliens north by boat and dropped them on the southern end of the island, he said, to be picked up later. And so-called fishermen set up on the isolated beaches, threw baitless hooks into the surf, and waited till dark to begin their real (and illegal) fishing –searching for shipwreck treasure with magnetometers. Drug runners came by boat and dropped cargoes to be carried north later. Smith wanted to excavate a site near the Mansfield jetties, but did not dare. For that, he said, he would need accordion wire and security to protect his crews. These people, he claimed, carried machine guns, and the outgunned rangers weren’t about to get in their way. Travel down the beach, but come back. Don’t camp too far out. So I was warned. A sign stood at the end of the conventional vehicle zone: “You are on your own for the next 60 miles.” Ten miles down the beach, though, I did meet a man. He was walking north, striding urgently, shirtless, tanned dark from years in the sun, shiny with sweat. He had been fishing down the beach with his wife, and now they were having engine trouble. We drove south two miles, where his wife and their red jeep waited. It started easily with a jump from my battery. As I got ready to leave, the man told me to be careful going down the beach. Two hundred aliens, his wife said, were recently caught right around here – hiding in the dunes, waiting to be picked up. “The travel is rough between the ten and twenty posts,” he added. “My brother has been to the twenty. But this is as far as I’ve gone.” He had been coming here for eighteen years. I commented on the large amount of Debris on the beach – from where I stood I could see oranges and a coconut. He said there was not much here now, just seaweed. At times all kinds of interesting things, including hard hats, floated ashore. He motioned toward a large offshore drilling platform in the distance. I moved on less than a mile before stopping to set up camp. The dunes here formed a small amphitheater, and someone had left a bucket and a table made of plywood and driftwood. Next issue: On to Baffin

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Please see the attached press release and photograph of the Holts. We hope your media outlet will help to spread this positive message to your viewers, listeners and readers in your broadcasts, publications and websites. If you have any questions about Skip the Plastic or our Bag Hero program, please reply to this email or call me at the phone number below, Neil McQueen / www.skiptheplastic.org / 361-765-4445 Skip the Plastic is a project of the Coastal Bend Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

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September 4, 2014

Island Moon

Backwater Adventures

Riding the Tide

By Joey Farah Farah’s Fishing Adventures Well the long stretches of unchanging summer weather are behind us and so are the weekday crowds on the water. The interruption of normal conditions lately is due to the first tropical disturbance in the Gulf. The tides have risen and the dark clouds of scattered showers loom occasionally over the water. These are the days that the fish start to take back the water. The lack of roaring boat motors across the flats and with the beckoning of the ocean with these fresh high tides, BULL REDS are starting to school up and make their way towards the beach front. The last week has been great for many anglers fishing in our back waters with the start of the annual redfish run. Trout fishing has been good as well, fishing funnel areas, shorelines, and shallow shoals are best with a high tide. The fish are scattered in the big flats so drifting is working well with artificial for anglers that are covering water. The fishing in the canals is on fire with the higher tides and there are lots of fish and bait in the lights in the canals. The weather pattern is changing and before you know it we will be in cloaked in fall and winter again. So I will be paying attention to the details before me every day and making a decision to “ride the tide” to good fishing.

tide actually slows then switches. Many times fish will be waiting for the tide to turn to move, hunt, and feed or whatever. This is many times the start of the bite. If you are fishing along the ICW and see this occur then fish for awhile and then when it slows one can pick up and move down to intercept the change in flow and the bite triggered by the flux. On a large scale these high tides will reach far back into the back lakes and hidden parts of the back bays, pulling small baitfish out and on the move as the tides drop over the next few days. This next week as the water falls out follow the recession along with southeast winds to find great fishing as fish go nuts on the masses of bait moving towards the passes in Port Mansfield, Packery, and Port A. The ICW is the best place to catch some of these schools of fish, its easy access and the main highway for tide and fish on the move.

the side of the edge of the channel. Live piggy perch and finger mullet are the best right now as well as fresh shad if you can catch them. Out in the flats drifting with live pin perch will guarantee your rod to bend over in a circle. These pin perch are much harder than most any other baitfish and can be used under a popping cork. ANGLERS SHOULD CONSIDER THIS TO BE THE ABSOLUTE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO FISH WITH LURES FOR BIG REDFISH AND SOME GOOD TROUT ACTION. The trips I’ve had with lures in the last few weeks are amazing. Top water bite is great with anglers catching ten to 25 trout on top waters a morning and uncountable numbers of trout of all sizes on plastics. The reds out in the flats and along the channels are on the hunt. It is very relaxing to cast lures compared to sitting on live bait. The large gold spoon is a favorite of the ages. I have also been doing well on large paddle tailed plastics like the DOA AIRHEAD. The shad- like body is perfect and they feel the big paddle tail when their noses are in the grass. In the next few weeks I have a few dates open that I would like to fill so if you are interested in learning how to enjoy a redfish hammer time, give me a call. Dove season opens soon and I will be starting on the blast and cast schedule with fishing in the morning and dove and duck hunting in the afternoon. That is an all-day adventure. I will be posting a few open dates and all are “on the water adventures” on Facebook at Farah’s Backwater Fishing. Thanks and always keep those lines tight and your hooks sharp.

The BIG REDS ARE ON THE MOVE the boat up wind. As he passed I could see the orange flanks and his head shaking NO to my thoughts of bringing him to hand. He was a muscular shouldered redfish just over 29inches. He looked like he could do a rematch if I let him go all over again. I lifted him up by the stomach and tossed him back, in a flash he was gone. I wished him a good journey ahead, please don’t tell your brothers. Look for schools of redfish this week all over the place. The channels, the ICW, the flats, and anywhere you may think that fish will be congregating with the flow of current. Some of the small clues that you should look for is brown pelicans, they are feeding on shad and small mullet, same as the redfish. The channels that look like the current is moving and birds are working the area is a good start. Then move in on small spots that are corners or changes in

Paddle continued from A1 Cassie Willis with a giant trout she recently caught wade fishing down south in her boat. Tide Movements The daily tide and the mean tide level are two different things here in our area. The daily tide will affect the bay more when there are two tides in a 24hr period, than when there are 4. The area within 5miles of the passes will see the biggest changes in water transfer; this can turn fish on or off. When the tide and the winds are moving in opposite directions fishing is normally poor. When they are moving in the same direction it’s on, fish will be hunting. When I pull out in the morning this is the first thing I look at, if it is a strong incoming tide against a southern flow I go south, or move to the flats away from the flow. If it is a match then fishing close to home can be some of the best. There is also a time that is called the “flux” of the tide. This is when the

The first tropical high tide has awoken the redfish and started the RED RUN

the pavilion 191 of the registered 204 paddlers quickly filed through the registration line and then picked up a race number and a Paddle for Parkinson T-shirt.

Reds Everywhere The flats were swept by scattered clouds rolling across the sky marking shadows like monster waves over the Laguna Madre’. I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the line and wind whistling, then cast as far as I could. The spoon flew so far I couldn’t hear it land and when I opened them up I just brought the line tight and started to reel without knowing the true location of the bait. I ripped the spoon through the water at a fast pace and stared up into the clouds trying to find the answers to lead my heart to where it may rest. My peaceful moment was stoned by the rocking of my arm as the pole bent double and then drag screamed off in a panic. Thank God for that fish I think I might have just jumped in the water in deep meditation! The fish boiled as he realized that the crab he thought he had eaten just fought back. I could see the mud boil under his tail thrusts as he made a run around

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The dedicated volunteer group is extremely pleased when they can assist people who have Parkinson’s as Mona continued, “To Paddle for Parkinson's and our Coastal Bend Support Group if one single patient feels less alone or frightful of the disease as a result, then we've succeeded. Everything else is the silver lining to the Parkinson's storm cloud.”

Canvasing the crowd I saw many familiar faces milling about, some in shorts and a t-shirt and others in layers and ponchos. There was an abundance of smiles, giggles, and grins as the kayak captains prepared for a fun day. As the launch became packed with kayaks and cars, I hopped onto volunteer Brian Capistrant’s large and smooth running pontoon. I continued to take photos of all of the feverish action on the launch prior to the start and then we followed the paddlers to the Padre Island Yacht Club (PIYC) and back.

For the third consecutive year Freddy Ramirez and his group of volunteers from Pendgo Timing assisted with the event and performed the actual timing of each paddler, producing the times for the awards. They added an energetic spirit and dynamic sense of encouragement to the event. Mona was enthusiastically grateful for all of the volunteers as well as paddlers when she acknowledged, “We'd also like to thank The Jose Bustamante Legacy that raised nearly $7K in memory of Jose this year. We earmark the funds they directly raise every year for local endeavors to help the Parkinson's community including the scholarships. Also, a huge thanks to Team Coach K. His students have paddled for 4 years now and they have grown to 4 teams consisting of 32 paddlers.”

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Parkinson’s paddler Linda Walsh, still appearing energetic after completing two laps, stated, “Karen, Trish, Millie, and I completed each lap in about 20 minutes. We were stroking and none of us stopped. It was a really good day. The rain and overcast skies made for a perfect day. It is great to see how our community continuously gets together and raises money for a good cause. We keep doing it.” Prior to the scrumptious lunch being served, City Councilwoman Colleen McIntyre read to the crowd a Proclamation by the City of Corpus Christi stating that August 30th, 2014 was officially ‘Paddle for Parkinson’s Day’. The appreciative crowd then applauded and supported the winners of the medals that were awarded to women, men and children paddlers in different age groups. Two $1500 scholarships were awarded by the Jose Bustamante Legacy to two deserving Texas A&M second year graduate students; Maritza Garza and Nancy Davis. The real fact was that everybody won. Socializing, exercise, music, lunch, medals, paddles, splashing, fun, and about $20,000 cleared for Parkinson’s.

For those not completely aware of Parkinson’s disease, it is a progressive and degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that significantly impairs movement. Many people associate the disease with tremors or shaking, but the disease has far more severe impact. Current research is providing some success in treating many of the symptoms, yet there is much more to learn about the causes and cures for Parkinson’s Disease. See http://www. apdaparkinson.org/ for additional information. See http://action.apdaparkinson.org/p/salsa/ web/common/public/signup?signup_page_ KEY=8124 to download a free Parkinson’s Disease Handbook. According to the American Parkinson Disease Association, 1 million Americans have the disease, with 60,000 people being diagnosed each year. It typically strikes people over 50 (90% of cases). The disease has many symptoms associated with it.

Mona Singleterry, who worked diligently with 35 other volunteers on and off site, was pleased with the day, commenting, “We're thrilled with the turn out and results, considering the stormy weather. I thought it was ironic considering the storms Parkinson's patients experience through their bodies 24/7!”

Hats off to Paddle for Parkinson’s ~ see you on the canals next year.

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3033 S. Padre Island Drive Corpus Christi, Texas

W W W. W A Y P O I N T M A R I N E . C O M (Between Kostoryz & Ayers)

Insured Member, Padre Island Business Association Member, Builders Association, Corpus Christi

960-0327

Design work, Yard Maintenance, Decks, Pergolas, Installation of Rock, Grass, Plants, Trees, Walkways, Paths, Tree Trimming, Container Planting, Vacant Lot Mowing & Shade Covers. All Kinds of Fencing, Pressure Washing & Deck Staining & Sealing

Concrete

Driveways, Patios, Sidewalks, Patio Overlays, Decorative Stamping & Staining, Decks, Bulkheads, Grouted Stone Walls & Patios, Decorative Stone Paver Driveways & Patios

Owned & Operated by Island Residents David & Katherine Pierce References Available Upon Request Commercial & Residential

Doing Everything a Home or Business Needs

September 4, 2014

Island Moon

SPORTS SMU Football-1935 By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon Dotson’s Note: I was 5 ½ years old when a tragic event happened in my life. SMU and my hero Bobby Wilson lost the 1936 Rose Bowl football game! The final score was SMU 0, Stanford 7. I thought SMU was unbeatable. My Dad could not convince me that it was possible for SMU to lose! I knew that Bobby Wilson was the greatest football player that ever lived. For hours every day in our front yard in Ralls, Texas, I had pretended to be Bobby Wilson (AllAmerican Halfback), running with my pretend football (a tin can), I simulated long runs, being tackled and scoring touchdowns. I had listened to every game on the radio. I had not missed a play as the Mustangs won all 12 games. How could they lose? Here is the rest of the story.

beat Texas Christian and thereby carved a clearcut highway right into the middle of the Rose Bowl beyond any argument.” The following week, the Mustangs traveled to College Station to put the finishing touches on their championship season. SMU confidently handled the Aggies, 24-0. They had done it. SMU was unbeaten, untied, conference champions, and finally, national champions. They were crowned national champions by virtue of accepting both the Knute Rockne and Deke Houlgate trophies, emblematic of the No. 1 ranking. It marked the first time that a team from the Southwest Conference was named national champions.

In 1935, SMU had a magnificent season: 12-00 record, scoring 288 points while only giving up 39. The Mustangs completely dominated their opponents. They shut out eight of their 12 regular season opponents, including conference rivals Texas, Rice, Baylor, and Texas A&M. They were one of the most talented teams in school history. The 1935 Mustangs secured their place in football immortality by being crowned National Champions.

The season was the first for Matty Bell as head coach since Ray Morrison had decided to return to Vanderbilt. Shuford recalled, “We were disappointed, of course, when Ray left. Ray is a grand gentleman and a great football coach. But Bell had more fire and discipline than Morrison did. He really knew how to deal with men. Nobody hesitated to see Coach Bell about any problem. We all felt pretty close to him.” Matty Bell always looked upon his first team with great admiration. “It was a conscientious, ambitious, veteran team of seniors. All but one were Texans, three were due to be AllAmericas. There was “the eel” Wilson, the best running back I have ever seen; Bo McMillian, the giant tackle; Truman Spain; and Iron Man Wetsel at guard.” Midway through the season, traveling by train to Los Angeles, the Ponies awakened the nation’s interest as they played an almost flawless game against UCLA. They destroyed the Bruins, 21-0, on Armistice Day. Matty Bell later would say, “The exhibition SMU put on in that game, the finest handling of the football in forward and lateral play that I have ever seen, was the principal factor in bringing the Rose Bowl offer.” Once the Mustangs returned to Dallas, they realized that the rest of the country was starting to know that they were the best team in the land.

SMU vs TCU-1935 The biggest obstacle between SMU and the Rose Bowl was a showdown with rival TCU in Fort Worth. TCU was undefeated and led by quarterback Slingin’ Sammy Baugh. SMU was ranked No. 1 and TCU No. 2, with the winner having the inside track to a Rose Bowl berth. No game in conference history was more deserving of the title “Game of the Century.” In the end, Wilson caught a Bob Finley 45-yard pass for the winning score for SMU. Famed sportswriter, Grantland Rice wrote, “It was one of the greatest football games ever played in the 60-year history of the nation’s finest college sport. In the most desperate game this season known from coast to coast, Southern Methodist

Oscar Robertson never won five. Neither did Robert Parrish, Shaquille O’Neal, Paul Silas, James Worthy or Kevin McHale. Heck, Wilt won only two and Larry Bird only has three. What am I talking about? Rings, NBA championship rings. This guy has won five rings, just like Magic, Kobe and Tim Duncan, and I bet you’ve never even heard of him.

in helping Jefferson Davis High School win consecutive Texas State Championships in basketball. Martin’s size made him difficult to recruit.

This guy was as quick as a cat, a bulldog, country tough, a bundle of energy, and a tremendous competitor. He owned a great personality, was one of the first athletes to wear contact lenses, and could sell a blind man a newspaper. This fellow played like he had a one-year contract and in fact he did. He was a catch-and-shoot guy when flying onehanded push shots dominated the league. One sports writer wrote, “He’s the Eddie Stanky of basketball. He’s too small to play, he can’t shoot, he’s not a fast runner and he doesn’t do tricks with the ball; yet he’s one of the greatest clutch players and defensive stars the game has ever seen.” Slater Martin could play the stars of the game to a standstill.

The story goes that Slater hitchhiked to Austin for a tryout at the University of Texas and made the team. Longhorn Head Coach H. C. Gilstrap was impressed with Martin’s desire and determination. Slater enrolled at Texas in the fall of 1943 and played in several varsity games as a freshman. In 1944, Martin’s college career was interrupted by World War II. Slater joined the Navy and grew to 5’ 10” tall while he was away. He returned to school in 1946 and helped the Longhorns, now coached by Jack Gray, to reach the 1947 NCAA Final Four. In a tournament that included eight teams, the “Mighty Mice” of Texas would beat Wyoming before losing to Oklahoma by one point, 5554. This placed them in the consultation game where they beat City College of New York (CCNY) 54-50, to claim third place. Holy Cross, with a freshman guard by the name of Bob Cousy, would beat Oklahoma for the title. Slater would remember watching Cousy play. These two would make some history together. On February 26, 1949, Slater Martin scored 49 points in an 81-60 victory over Texas Christian University (TCU) and set the Southwest Conference single-game scoring record that stood for years. He was also selected an AllAmerican that year, while finishing his career with 1,140 points, to become the highest scorer in Texas team history at that time.

A defensive wizard, he wasn’t considered a great scorer, yet he ranked 11th in post-season scoring and finished on the top 25 All-Time scoring list, when he retired. One of the last of the truly great little men, Martin once slugged it out with 7-foot Wally Dukes of the Detroit Pistons. It took several players to separate them. Slater Martin was a modern day “David” who spent eleven years in professional basketball cutting down Goliath.

Bobby Wilson They were led by AllAmerica running back Bobby Wilson. Wilson was not only the best player on the Mustangs, but in the entire Southwest Conference as well. He was joined by Bob Finley, Truman “Big Dog” Spain, Maurice “King Kong” Orr, and Doak Walker’s childhood hero, Harry Shuford. “We really looked forward to that senior year,” Shuford said. “Our eyes were set on winning the conference. As juniors, we did well but not as well as we could have or should have. We had played together so long that we felt pretty good about ourselves as a team. We would not come unglued.”

Little Big Man

By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon

Dugie Martin

Only three Texas Longhorn players have had their numbers retired: Slater Martin #15, T.J. Ford #11, and Kevin Durant #35. Of these three, only Slater is apart of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was inducted on May 3, 1982.

1936 ROSE BOWL - Pasadena, California-January 1, 1936 The Mustangs were matched against a strong Stanford team which took a 7-1 record into the game. Due to a traffic jam, the SMU team bus did not arrive at the Rose Bowl until 20 minutes prior to kickoff. Stanford quarterback Bill Paulman scored on a one-yard sneak in the first quarter to give the Indians the early lead. It proved to be the only score of the game as SMU lost its best scoring opportunity with a fumble on the Stanford 5-yard line. The loss was SMU's only blemish in its first national championship season. Another Dotson’s note: In 1979 while I was SWC Supervisor of Officials, I decided it would be a great idea to have a reunion of all SWC Football Officials, past and present. As I recall, all active Officials were present and about 50 former Officials, the oldest being 95. A few minutes after all had arrived, each had been to the bar and received the adult beverage of choice, so that Clif (Clifton) Speegle-SWC Commissioner and I could meet and greet all who were present. As I was shaking the hand with the second person in line, who had a glass of wine in his left hand, he said, “I officiated in the conference for ten years, before that I played football for Matty Bell at SMC in the ’36 Rose Bowl, my name is Bobby Wilson.” I don’t what happened, I guess I still had a grip on his hand, because he lurched forward and dumped the wine all over me. What a way to meet your childhood idol! The evening was spent telling stories and Bobby was the star of the evening. I will never forget that evening. May 15, 1999; Bobby Wilson-Age: 85--Texas football star who helped SMU win a national championship in 1935; All-SWC twice and twotime All-American running back; played pro football with Brooklyn Dodgers 1936-37; set SWC long jump record that was on the books for more than 30 years; member of the Texas High School Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. He died of a heart attack in Brenham, Texas. Dotson’s note: Did you ever meet one of your childhood idols? If so, or if you have comments/ questions regarding “Sports Talk” articles, please call the Benchwarmers 560-5397 Weekdays, Mondays thru Fridays, 4-6 PM or contact me. Phone: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530748-8475 Email: dlewis1@stx.rr.com

University of Texas

Sit on the ball

Slater Nelson “Dugie” Martin Jr. was born on October 22, 1925, in Elmina, Texas. Don’t bother to look it up, it isn’t there anymore. You see, Slater’s father operated a railroad station and general store in Elmina, until the entire family decided to pack up and move 70 miles to Houston. Dugie was two years old at the time. When the Martin family left, the town ceased to exist. Folks called him Dugie, a nickname his grandfather had given him, after Dugan’s Tavern, a bar featured in the “Mutt and Jeff” comic strip. Martin attended Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, Texas, and starred for the baseball, football, and of course basketball teams. He also enjoyed slipping on a pair of boxing gloves on occasion. At 5’ 7” tall and weighing about 130 pounds, Slater ate, drank, slept, dreamed and lived basketball. He would play a big part during his junior and senior years (1942-1943)

“I saw Slater sit on a basketball during a game for ten minutes,” said my pal, Dotson Lewis. “Texas was playing the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and the Razorbacks loved to runand-gun under Head Coach Eugene Lambert.” This game was played in the early forties during the days of no shot clock, no five-second call, and when goal tending was allowed. “Arkansas had a big kid in the middle named George Kok who was 6’10” tall, so Texas slowed the game down by stalling the ball,” continued Dotson. “Slater brought the ball over the center court line uncontested, and then sat down on top of it like he was sitting on a pumpkin. It was the darnedest thing I’ve ever seen. No one from Arkansas came out to confront him. I think the final score ended up in Texas’ favor,” exclaimed Dotson. Dotson Lewis became a Hall-of-Fame Supervisor of Officials and officiated college football, basketball, baseball and volleyball in many conferences. Next time: Part II.

September 4, 2014

Island Moon

Sailing into the Sunset

Will Permit 10 Commercial Lit Boats in Parade

By Sail Offcourse Owning a sailing craft leads one to dream of faraway exotic places on the charts that the boat could take you. I have found that almost everyone who owns their own yacht tends to dream of the places that they someday would like to sail to. Most never take that biggest step which is casting off lines and just going over the horizon. The captain’s excuses are always that they need this or that, and need to save money for the trip. With a sailing boat the expense is not as great as you might imagine. I once took off with only 37 dollars in my pocket and managed to stay gone for three years, yes I had to do what my father calls beach combing, that is pulling into ports and getting work from the local sailors. There is always someone at every port willing to pay you to fix things on their yacht. With a small budget you have to be able to fix everything on your own and have the spares to do it. I was lucky that I learned a lot growing up with a Navy Flight Engineer as a father and learned to do many things at a very young age. My knowledge came from taking everything apart that I could get my hands on. Yes, it used to drive my parents crazy that I would take apart everything I had as a young child, but it gave me a firm foundation on how things worked. I now apply all that knowledge into maintaining my boat and navigating unfamiliar waters.

Eyeball navigation In the waters away from the mainland you find that you pick up a trait of eyeball navigation, which is being able to look at the water and tell exactly how deep it is. You will be able to spot channels through shoals, and navigational hazards such as rocks and reefs well before you are on them. I have sailed many miles of shoal waters with this principle and find it is easier to learn than one might expect. The eye is very quick at being able to pick up slight color variances that lead to channels to deeper water. The only way to learn it is to go where the water is clear and practice while watching your depth sounder. Now I have ended up in tricky spots as there was enough water at high tide for me to get to certain locations such as the Scrub Cays west of the Exuma Islands where the scene of Walt Disney’s movie Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead man’s Chest, where they were meeting on the sandbar and trading Will for Jack Sparrow, yet left me bouncing on the sandy bottom at low tide. Johnny Depp when they were filming here liked this area so much he bought the Island Green Cay just to the west of the Scrub Cays. This Island has an extremely high hill on the east side of it for the Bahamas. The west side drops off into the Tongue of the Ocean from 12 feet close to shore to 4500 feet in the width of the island. Good fishing is right

La Posada Boat Parade Expanding

there and almost no need for a boat! There are wild goats that run the island that are descendants of a long forgotten plantation that was once on the island, and the local Bahamians from Andros go there to hunt them. Behind the reef on the south side you can see where the Indians used to keep their boats. Up on the rocks is a depression carved out so that it worked as a water catcher when it rains.

Dodging the sand bores Another spot that one needs Eyeball navigation is the Sand bores of the Berry island group. All the cruising guides I have read say not to go there as the sand is always moving and hard to read. With the right eyeball skills and sticking to the marked water on the charts it is possible to traverse this remote desolate spot. When I crossed it from Great Harbor Cay to Chub Cay to the south I had a pod of seven dolphins that stayed with me the whole time. No there isn’t much to see except some of the purest water on earth and sand and no other boats around. The only boat I saw the whole time there was a Bone Fishing Charter boat navigating the channels between the sand bores. Then there is the inside cut that has a channel for shoal draft sailboats through the Brigantine Bank and Normans pond. There is a Land and Sea park there maintained by NOAA and you are not allowed to take anything and so the area is pristine and has few visitors. The anchorage at Rat cut is a rare treat as it is a north and south cut that is protected from the Southwest Trade Winds by the eastern Cay with plenty of room inside for several yachts! When I visited there were four yachts inside and all had plenty of swing room. If you want to be off the beaten path then I highly recommend these areas for sailing as they have nice breezes and no waves. These types of shallow waters are the best for practicing your eyeball navigation skills. You too can get to remote spots that are like paradise! Remember you can’t practice these skills unless you get off the dock and take a nautical adventure that will make memories for a lifetime, remember I would rather be Sailing!

By Brent Rourk The La Posada Lighted Boat Parade has been a highlight of the Island holiday season for 39 years, collecting thousands of toys every year for children in South Texas. It has also become a time when islanders gather to celebrate the year, Christmas, and friendships and the boat parade is perhaps the single event that ties it all together. This year the Padre Island Yacht Club La Posada Committee has decided to permit 10 additional lit boats in a commercial division that will be judged separately. The commercial lit boats will follow the regular lit boats in the parade, making the parade longer, more colorful and more spectacular. Commercial boats will pay an entry fee of $500.00 with the funds going to Toys for Tots. Commercial lit boats will be judged in a separate commercial division (Best Overall Commercial) and non-commercial lit boats will be judged as they have for years, striving for the coveted custom made La Posada pottery mugs for the Fleet Award (Best Overall), Most Traditional, Most Patriotic, Island Spirit, and Most Joyful.

Businesses are encouraged to enter their lit boats in the commercial division. You can obtain a commercial application packet by calling Brent Rourk at 361-244-7603. The La Posada Committee is still looking for additional ‘collector boats’ for Friday and Saturday evening as well as a parade command boat. It is important to have sufficient collector boats to collect the vast quantity of toys donated to Toys for Tots during the La Posada Parades. Please call Nick Colosi at 618-889-9160 if you would like to volunteer collector boat services for the La Posada parades on Friday or Saturday night or both nights.

Airport continued from A1 Phase I of the project - $550,000 – began this week and will take about one month to complete. It includes landscaping, gates and fencing. Next will be improvements that will include the taxiway to avoid and eliminate the current practice of planes having to taxi down the active runway in preparation for takeoff – a potentially dangerous practice. Phase II – expected to begin in 2015 – will lengthen the runway to allow a taxiway to connect the runway with the land which fronts SH 361. The footprint of the GLO land which includes the airport runs from the current airport towards town to the nature preserve. It extends 600 feet back from the highway allowing for retail space on the roadway and hangers for private and aviation-related commercial use behind the frontage space.

McMullin, a real estate professional, realized that while that may have been the cheapest way out in the short term, it wasn’t the best thing for the city in the long run.

“When we get finished we will have enough space to accommodate all comers who want to build a hanger,” said Port Aransas City Manager David Parsons. “We already have a waiting list of people who want hangers and there is no question there is a demand for more hangers.”

“We know that 5000 feet is the magic number,” McMullin said, “but we can’t get there. There just isn’t enough room.”

The project began in 2008 when the city had plans to turn the airport site over to a private contractor who would have developed it at their own expense but would have kept the revenue generated when the project was finished. But

Johnny Depp House

“I started pushing to put a stick in the spokes of that deal,” he said. The city and TxDot began discussions which lead to the state grant. “TxDot looks primarily at safety issues,” Parsons said. “And we had a few, like planes having to taxi on the active runway.” The length of the runway at the site is constricted due to wetlands on two sides, private property on one side, and the highway. The new runway will be a total of 4140 feet, not the 5000 feet needed for large private jets.

So in the next three years the unique little airport in Port Aransas will become even more unique with space for rental cars, commercial aviation, and retail. “We think this is going to be a great thing for the city,” McMullin said. “It will give us the best airport we can have and the retail space will make money for the city.”

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

HAPPY

HOUR

Lunch 11 – 3 pm Daily

MON–WED 3–6 PM

•

$3 PINTS & $4 WELLS $5 WINES & COCKTAILS

$6 APPETIZERS

Dinner 5 – 9 pm Wednesday – Saturday

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Elevated Bar Open Daily

258 SNAPDRAGON • PORT ARANSAS, TEXAS 78373 • 3 61.74 9. 4 6 5 3 • BLACKMARLINPORTA.COM

A10

Island Moon

September 4, 2014