Issue 566
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The
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
Free
Weekly
February 19, 2015
Around The Island By Dale Rankin
6th Annual Barefoot Mardi Gras Winners
editor@islandmoon.com
The Chamber of Commerce Weather continues of late, as of this writing, even as the Northeast, Midwest, and the Great Plains dig out of several feet of snow and ice. It reminds us why we live here. Water temps this week hit 70 degrees and the beaches have been full with driving conditions bordering on excellent.
February 19-22 This is the weekend to Whoop It Up in Port Aransas as the 2015 Whooping Crane Festival takes flight. The Coastal Bend is the only spot in the United States where the endangered Whooping Crane can be viewed at close range. The Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce celebrates this astonishing natural wonder this weekend, February 1922 with an annual festival honoring these grand birds.
Barefootin’ Barefoot Mardi Gras has come and gone and this one was without a doubt the biggest ever in the six years of the event with more than sixty floats in the parade and over 900 tickets sold for the King and Queens’ Ball which was held for the first time at the Veranda. This year marked the first time the event was marketed outside of Corpus Christi and the turnout of out-of-towners reflected it. Thanks to crews from the Nueces County Coastal Parks Board for prepping the beach to allow for the increased crowd, there is no certain count but it was in the “several thousand,” and thanks to the crowd for leaving the beach clean. We do a drive by of the beach each Saturday afternoon after the parade to make sure none of the 600-plus Moon Pies we throw from our float are left to attract seagulls – they can tear through a plastic wrapper in no timeand found none and no sandycandy. Congratulations to the Padre Island Business Association who helped organize the parade this year for the first time. We include a variety of photos in this issue and look forward to next year.
Whooping Crane Festival in Port Aransas This Weekend
In addition to the Whooping Crane, an awesome array of wintering migratory birds flock into the wetlands and onto the Texas shorelines of Mustang Island in and around Port Aransas. Birding tours by land and sea are highlights during the festival. Visitors of all ages will enjoy the many festivities during the celebration. Nature is the theme of the free trade show featuring numerous unique vendors. A wide selection of optics, paintings, photography and one of a kind gift items for the nature lover in all of us will be featured. Other activities include presentations from world-renowned speakers at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, photography workshops and a variety of field trips.
Whooping Cranes cont. on A3 There were more than 60 floats in the Barefoot Mardi Gras Parade last weekend. The winners are:
Best Golf Cart - Debra Nunn 1st - Jeff Jensen - Islandscapes 2nd Padre Island National Seashore 3rd - Padre Island Muses More Mardi Gras Photos on A2, A4 & A11
Close enough for government work If you have been to the boat ramps at the JFK of late you may have noticed these signs.
Inside the Moon
$28 Million Revitalization Plan for Flour Bluff The City of Corpus Christi on Tuesday approved a Revitalization Plan for Flour Bluff which includes improvements to infrastructure, transportation, drainage, recreational facilities, and the economy. Some of the funds have already begun flowing into project and more will be forthcoming in the near future in the wake of Tuesday’s vote. All we can say is that it is high time someone did something to protect our fish population from wildfires and apparently the state and feds have both committed themselves to the task. Judging by the signs the Texas Parks & Wildfire Department along with the U.S. Department of Interior/Fish & Wildfire Service are joining forces to combat this growing problem; which may be caused either by wildfires on the water or spontaneous combustion of fish – the research is still out. It is ratings month for television news operations so expect some breathless teasers, “Record number of fish being killed due to wildfire! At Ten we’ll tell you what you can do to prevent wildfires on the open sea! Oh the fishmanity!
Bills Bills Bills We’ve been getting many questions on changes as gas, water, and electric bills for January hit Island mail boxes this month. New methods in monitoring use and billing have in many cases led to higher gas and water bills. All we can tell you is the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Call the city and ask questions. On the electric bill side the AEP delivery charges shown are often greater than the cost of the electricity used by the consumer. Larry Jones, with AEP’s Austin Corporate Communications office informs us that the charge is placed there by AEP after approval by the Texas Public Utility Commission and essentially is a charge for the use of AEP’s transmission lines which is passed on the Retail Electric Providers (REPs). The charge has always been there. What is different is that the charge has become such a large part of the
Around continued from A3
Since 2011 the city has spent $7.3 million in bond money in Flour Bluff on streets and drainage projects. Under the newly approved plan an additional $1.8 million in Capital Improvement Funds, Community Development Block Grants, and bond money will be spent on drainage in the area bounded by Flour Bluff Drive, Matlock Street, Military Drive, Jester Drive, NAS Drive and the undeveloped properties along Jester and Matlock. In addition, another $7.9 million in money from the 2014 bond election will be spent along Waldron Road from Caribbean Drive to Glenoak Drive where the road will be reconstructed, widened and rehabilitated into a five lane road with
Flour Bluff by the Numbers • The population of the Flour Bluff area is 23,338. • It covers 13.64 square miles or 13,739 acres • The ethnic makeup is as follows: Caucasian, 68%, Hispanic 25% , African American5% , 7% other • 22% of the population has income below the poverty level • 78% of the population is under the age of 20. • Army Depot is the largest single employer and employs over 5,000 people
Fishing A7
• The Naval Air Station was built in 1941 as part of the World War II war effort. The Air Station houses Naval flight operations and these operations have shifted emphasis from Naval air flight operations to Army helicopter and related operations • Many of the areas in Flour Bluff with blight and deterioration are properties that housed the original military workers at the Naval Air Station. • In 2009 BRAC military restructuring at the Naval Air Station expanded Army operations. A master plan was developed in 2009 to improve and upgrade facilities at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station for Army helicopter operations. The planned improvements continue through 2040 • Crime in Flour Bluff 13% higher than the Corpus Christi average even though the average Corpus Christi crime rate is 33% higher than the State average. * Source: City of Corpus Christi
Sports A8
Bluff continued on A3
A little Island history
“Come and Take It’ Born on Copano Bay
By Dale Rankin In late 1835 as history began rolling inexorably toward a fight for Texas’ independence, a series of events on Copano Bay led to the first Texas flag, the words of which have become the battle cry of Texans and others who champion gun ownership rights under the Second Amendment. But what the Texans of 1835 meant by Come and Take It had less to do with individual rights than it did with the right of Texas’ settlers to fight against taxation without representation. On September 20, 1835 James Power who was one of the founders of the colony at Live Oak Point near the current town of Rockport
History continued on A6
Winter Texan Roundup A15-16
The battle flag of Gonzales depicting a cannon with the words "come and take it" beneath.
Live Music A16
A2
February 19, 2015
Island Moon
Barefoot Mardi Gras
HERE
IS THE NAKED TRUTH:
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Padre Island Campus • 15205 SPID, Suite 200 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 • 361.993.5900 • WeAreChurchUnlimited.com
February 19, 2015
Island Moon
Moon Monkeys
Did Ya Hear?
Letters to the Editor Andy
Mike Ellis, Founder
by Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com or @padreeyelander on twitter
Mr. Purvis, One of the greatest pleasures of going to Port A is to read the Moon. I thoroughly enjoyed your article on Ernie Banks. I have the honor of owning one of his bats, which he autographed for me at a long forgotten charity event in Corpus Christi some 30 or 35 years ago. Would it be possible for you to send me a PDF of your article so that I could frame it and hang it on the wall next to this bat?
Distribution
Regards,
Pete Alsop Island Delivery
Bob Stratmann
Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin Classifieds Arlene Ritley Design/Layout Jeff Craft
New Advertisers
Riley P. Dog Park What a great parade and so much support shown by the crowd for our dog park. Look at the parade pictures on the Padre Moon website. There is a good picture of Ro's Bogart in his fancy coat and hat! Thanks to all who decorated our float, Drew who furnished the truck to pull it, and the Edler's with their cart, and all our walkers who had a great time throwing dog biscuits. I think everyone I know was on the beach!! We went to the RV and Boat Show in the afternoon and as we came back home we saw the large number of cars in the Veranda parking lot for the Mardi Gras party. Way to Go Mardi Gras sponsors and participants!!!!!! Bev Hoffmann
Contributing Writers Joey Farah Andy Purvis Devorah Fox Mary Craft Jay Gardner Chad Peters Todd Hunter Dotson Lewis Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk Dr. Donna Shaver
PI DOG and Riley P. Dog Park Committee had a great time in the Barefoot Mardi Gras parade!
Photographers Miles Merwin
Lyn Edler
Jeff Dolan
Retirement
Mary Craft Ronnie Narmour
Question:
Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus)
I’ve been planning my retirement throughout my career, and I’m finally nearing the age when I can stop working. What is the earliest age I can start receiving Social Security retirement benefits? Answer:
Rabid Bat Moon Riley P. Dog 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.
Last week at Yoga Class , an Islander , Katie Howell, mentioned her dog pawing at a flower bed. When Katie checked she found a sick or dead bat. I advised her to call Animal Control which she did. They collected the Bat and sent it to be tested. It was a positive for Rabies. As directed by Animal Control she had her dog checked by Dr. Heaton and boosted for Rabies. I thought this was news worthy Dr. Demarious Frey
News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office.
15201 S. Padre Island Drive, Suite 250 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper
Where to Find The Island Moon
Overnight
Business Briefs The Barefoot Mardi Gras Parade Winners were Islandscapes pirate ship who took first place, Padre Island National Seashore with their large turtle got second and Padre Island Muses with the large flip flop won third. Debra Nunn won for best golf cart.
Feb 19 2015
Spanky’sLiquor
Doc’s Restaurant
IGA Grocery Store
Snoopy’s Pier Isle Mail N More
Carter Pharmacy
Island Italian
San Juan’s Taqueria
Ace Hardware
Wash Board Laundry Mat
Texas Star (Shell)
Holiday Inn Jesse’s Liquor Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant Subway
Chamber of Commerce
Island Tire
Duckworth Antiques
And all Moon retail advertisers
Back Porch
WB Liquor
Feb 20 2015
Port Aransas Art Center
Shorty’s Place Giggity’s
H.E.B.
Stripes @ Cotter & Station
Liquid Town
Deep Sea Headquarters
Departs Port Aransas Civic Center
7:00 am - 11:00 am Birds of the Island Field Trip w/Gene Blacklock Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center (LBTBC)
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Registration
8:00 am - 9:30 am
Island Birding Van Tour
9:00 am - 6:00 pm
10:00 am - 11:30 am 10:00 am - 11:30 am 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
(UTMSI)
Civic
Bill
Ellis
Memorial
Island Birding Van Tour Departs Port Aransas Civic Center
Nature/Birding Boat Tour Woody's Sports Center
Guest Speaker: Jace Tunnell
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute
11:00 am - 5:00 pm Port Aransas Art Center
Aransas
9:00 am - 11:00 am Photography Workshop w/Larry Ditto
Port
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute
Civic
Departs Port Aransas Civic Center
Library
Aransas
9:00 am - 10:30 am Guest Speaker: Cecilia Riley
(UTMSI)
Port
Bird’s Nest Trade Show
Center
Ethyl Everly Senior Center
Stripes on Flour Bluff & SPID
Woody's Sports Center
Center
Police Station
Civic
7:30 am - 12:00 pm Whooping Crane Boat Tour Fisherman's Wharf (FW)
Whataburger on Waldron
Fire Station
Aransas
6:00 am - 12:00 pm Fennessey Ranch Birding Field Trip
Flour Bluff
Port
Dolphin Encounters Boat Tour
11:30 am - 12:00 pm 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm
Port Aransas Art Center
Optics Presentation
The Annual Whooping Crane Festival in Port A starts Thursday, February 19th with $20 registration at the Civic Center and ends on Sunday, February 22nd. There will be land and sea tours to view the birds at close range, vendors with unique items and featured speakers.
Around continued from A1 overall bill that some REPs, the companies we buy our power from, have started itemizing it on bills to show that it is not coming from them; small consolation when you write the check. The Island Moon Art Walk is at the Veranda at Schlitterbahn this Saturday, 10-2, and next weekend is the Billy Sandifer 2015 Big Shell Beach Cleanup. We’ll see you there and in the meantime, say hello if you see us Around The Island.
utilities. Improvements will include curb and gutter, sidewalks, ADA curb ramps, pavement marking and bikeway elevation design. Utility improvements will include underground stormwater system, water distribution and sanitary sewer system and various franchise utility relocations. An additional $6.6 million from the 2014 bonds will be spent by early 2017 to replace a 10-inch cast iron sewer line along Laguna Shores Road that has outlived its designed lifespan.
Port A Arts
Larry Joe Taylor and Richard Leigh will be at the Third Coast Theater in Port A on Saturday, February 21st.
Fisherman's Wharf (FW)
Nature/Birding Boat Tour
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Dragonfly Restaurant is, of course, known for their great gourmet dishes created by Chef Dominique but the Curacao Bar is a great place to stop just for drinks. Their specialty drinks include pineapple mint margarita, strawberry passion fizz, chocolate covered strawberry martini and mixed berryrita. They also offer a fine selection of wines.
Bluff continued from A1
11:00 am - 5:00 pm Port Aransas Art Center
Photography
10:00 am - 2:30 pm Whooping Crane Boat Tour
The Island Moon Art Walk is at the Veranda at Schlitterbahn this Saturday, February 21st 10 am – 2 pm. The vendors will be set up along the covered patio so weather should not be an issue.
La Copita Ranch
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Whataburger
The Gaff
Pre-Festival
Moby Dicks
Port A Glass Studio
3:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Location
CVS
Keepers Pier House
Event
WB Liquors
Coffee Waves
Gratitude Gift Shop
Feb 18-19 2015 Excursion
Time
Sandpiper Condos
All Stripes Stores
Woody’s Sports Center
Date
Registration
A Mano
Public Library
The St. Andrew's Knights of Columbus Lenten Fish Fry will take place every Friday until March 27th. They will serve fried fish, fries, coleslaw, green beans and their famous tartar sauce. The price is $8/ plate and you can dine in or take out 5 pm – 7 pm.
Looking forward
Here is a schedule:
1:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Stripes @ Beach Access Rd. 1A
Port A Parks and Rec
When you’re ready to apply for retirement benefits, use our online retirement application, the quickest, easiest, and most convenient way to apply.
Center
North Padre
Pioneer RV Park
You can receive Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. Keep in mind that if you retire at age 62, we’ll reduce your benefits by as much as 30 percent of what you’d get if you wait until your full retirement age. If you wait until your full retirement age (66 for people born between 1943 and 1954), you’ll get your full benefit. You can also wait until age 70 to start your benefits. Then, we’ll increase your benefit because you earned delayed retirement credits.
Whooping Cranes continued from A1
The Island Moon Newspaper
Lisabella’s Restaurant
The Padre Isles Property Owners Association Annual Meeting will be held at the Seashore Learning Center Gym on Encantada Saturday, March 14th at 10 am. Refreshments will be served.
The Boathouse Bar & Grill brings you WELLcome Wednesdays with live trivia starting at 7 pm. Well drinks and pints are $2.50 all day. The trivia contest winners will receive $25 for first place, $15 for second and $10 for third.
t Christiansen
Port Aransas
A3
Bill Ellis Memorial Library
Guided Wetlands Education Center Tour
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI)
Pet Adoptions at Ace Weekly pet adoptions are being held at ACE Hardware on the Island Saturdays from 11-3. The events are held by Mission Pawsible Animal Assistance. Stop by and say hello and if you can’t adopt an animal they would gladly take a donation for care of the animals in foster homes.
The city has also launched a plan under which police officers and city code enforcement staff began meeting with residents to cut high grass, clean up vacant lots, and remove “illegal encampments and illegal dumping.” As part of the plan the city will use $4.6 million in Capital Improvement Funds for a Flour Bluff Citizens Collection Center for solid waste, discarded appliances, furniture and household hazardous waste. The plan also calls for $329,000 in Community Development Block Grants, with $201,500 still to be allocated, for improvements to the Ethel Eyerly Senior Center remodeling and expansion.
Send letters to the editor to editor@islandmoon.com or visit us on Facebook
February 19, 2015
Island Moon
Mardi Gras on the Islands
Photos by Miles Merwin and Debbie Noble
Port A Mardi Gras Parade
A9
February 19, 2015
A5
Island Moon
Police Blotter Editor’s note: We have included a few crimes not from The Island this week; in one case to remind Islanders to be careful with their credit cards, in other cases, well, we figured you could use a good laugh and folks, there are some real morons running around out there.
After an investigation it was determined that the driver, Ruth Pina (09/09/1987), was intoxicated and she was arrested. In both of the DWI cases, the suspects’ vehicles were impounded by officers.
But he got a Like from the PD
But Officer they were blueberry!
Both were informed there are no Whataburgers at the Nueces County Jail. 9 a.m. February 12 1621 Leopard Street Robbery (muffin) Corpus Christi Police responded to the EZ Stop Store located at 1621 Leopard Street after the store clerk was assaulted by a man trying to steal a package of muffins. Officers arrived and were told the suspect was seen putting the merchandise into his pants pockets and when he tried to stop him there was a struggle at the doorway of the store.
Corpus Christi Police Detectives are asking for the public’s assistance in helping them locate a wanted person. Jason Avalos (05/19/1974) is wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant for a felony theft that occurred on February 4, 2015 at the Kohl’s Store located at 5626 Saratoga Boulevard just after 8 P.M. The suspect went to the jewelry counter and asked a store employee to see a ring valued at over $3000. When the employee handed it over, the suspect fled the store out the front door with the ring. A customer waiting in the checkout line recognized the suspect as a Facebook friend. She showed store employees his profile picture from her phone and they determined that it was the man who had just stolen the ring. Detective’s followed up on this information and were able to secure an arrest warrant for the suspect. Jason Avalos is 6’ 00” tall and he weighs 215 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. There is a $10,000 bond set on the warrant. We ask that anyone with any information on his whereabouts to call Corpus Christi Police at 361-886-2600. Anyone who would like to provide information to the investigators and keep their identity secret may provide the information through Crime Stoppers at 886TIPS (8477) or online at http://www.888TIPS. com. Information provided to Crime Stoppers which results in an arrest may earn the caller a cash reward.
I’ll take a Whatacatch and a Dirty Martini! 6200 Saratoga Boulevard Ordering Fast Food While Intoxicated 2:50 a.m. Feb. 13 Corpus Christi Police were called after another driver observed a possible drunk driver pull into the drive thru at the Whataburger located at 6241 Saratoga Boulevard. The caller advised that he had seen the 2002 Mercury Cougar driving all over the road, going across the median and back while traveling on Saratoga Blvd. He followed the vehicle as it pulled into the drive thru and he called police. Officers arrived and contacted the driver, Alejandro Lopez (02/01/1978) and after an investigation they determined that he was intoxicated and he was arrested. While officers were investigating this call a female, driving a 2009 Toyota Corolla, pulled into the Whataburger parking lot. She began talking to officers at the scene and she appeared as though she had been drinking.
After a brief fight the suspect, Algie Jenkins (01/06/1967), was able to flee on foot from the store. Responding officers found him walking down Leopard Street near city hall. He was taken into custody and charged with robbery due to his assault of the store clerk during the commission of a theft. No word on the muffins.
Card Holders Beware Feb. 10 9:00 a.m. 2738 Prescott Street Credit Card Abuse Corpus Christi Financial Crimes Detectives served a search warrant at a home located at 2738 Prescott Street. Officers had begun an investigation late in the afternoon yesterday and returned this morning to execute a more extensive search warrant of the home and make two arrests. The two day investigation has resulted in the recovery of several cash gift cards from stores around our city, $16,000 in cash, several fake identification cards and electronic equipment used in making credit cards. Two suspects that lived at the home were arrested on felony credit card abuse warrants, San Juanita Avalos (07/30/1982) and Ibrahin Suarez Venero (03/12/1986). The warrants each had a $100,000 bond. It appears as though both suspects had been cloning credit cards of victims, and were able to make purchases even though victims still had their cards in their possession. This investigation could lead to more arrests. Corpus Christi Police Department wants to remind everyone to check their credit statements on a regular basis, even though they have not had any of their credit cards stolen to guard against this type of financial crime.
Police Calls 9300 block SH 361 1:11 a.m. Feb. 15 Aggravated Robbery 14400 block Verdemar 10 p.m. Feb. 14 Criminal mischief $500-$1500 14300 block SPID 10:30 a.m. Feb. 15 Criminal mischief $50 14500 block SPID 2:26 p.m. Feb. 16 Gasoline theft 15200 block Cruiser 5 p.m. Feb. 11 Dead on Arrival 15300 block SPID 7:57 p.m. Feb. 11 Gasoline theft 15400 block Seamount Cay 7:31 p.m. Feb. 15 Terroristic threat
Stuff I Heard on the Island by Dale Rankin It has taken eleven years since it was first proposed but construction of the Park Road 22/ SPID Water Exchange Bridge appears now only six months away. The current schedule calls for construction of the bridge to begin in September 2015, immediately after the summer season, providing the city can find the last $2 million of the $8 million needed to fund it. Given what a long strange trip it’s been, I thought a review of the process that brought us to where we are would be timely.
Genesis in 2004 I first became aware of the project just before the city bond election in 2004. This was in the days before the Island United Political Action Committee when a split Island vote meant that we got scant attention when it came time to put items on bond elections. As the election approached The Island had no projects on the ballot until then District 4 City Councilman Mark Scott added $1.4 million for the bridge. When the list of projects came out then-IslandMoon-Publisher Mike Ellis asked me to call Councilman Scott and get details. He said the agreement between the city and developer Paul Schexnailder required that Mr. Schexnailder install water exchange culverts under the roadway as part of his development plans. The cost, he said, to install the culverts was estimated at $900,000 (to be paid for by Mr. Schexnailder) and the $1.4 million was to be added to upgrade from culverts to a bridge which was estimated at a cost of about $2.3 million at that time. I knew neither Mr. Scott nor Mr. Schexnailder at that time and when I called Mr. Schexnailder I was surprised to learn that the city’s plan to go from culverts to a bridge (to be funded partially by Mr. Schexnailder) which was already on the bond list, was news to him. It was the first time I found myself as the messenger between the city and The Island; but not the last.
Not a new idea I soon learned that the idea of getting water from the Gulf into the Island canal system was decades old. It had been discussed when The Island was first developed and everyone I spoke to agreed it was a good idea, and that a bridge to allow for the passage of boats was an even better idea. The bonds passed and the project languished for years until plans were brought about for the Schlitterbahn waterpark and the accompanying beachwalk which included the bridge with pedestrian walkways, and the project fell into the purview of the Island Strategic Action Committee which began pushing the city to get it done. As things go, the cost of the bridge jumped from the original $2.3 million, first to $4.3 million during the tenure of Mayor Henry Garrett, then to $6.2 million and finally the current $8.1 million under Mayor Joe Adame. About three years ago design plans began and are now about 90% complete with state and federal permitting being the final obstacle, assuming the city finds the needed $2 million. The bridge is the last of the 2004 bond projects in the city to be addressed. In hindsight, it is probably advantageous that the bridge project has waited as development plans on The Island have evolved, and expanded, over the years; a bridge built ten
In hindsight, it is probably advantageous that the bridge project has waited as development plans on The Island have evolved... years ago would probably be inadequate for current and future Island needs. When the idea of a waterpark was first broached on The Island more than fifteen years ago the site was on the beach side of SPID; but when that moved to the west side of the roadway the bridge became the lynchpin for Island development.
Amenities are the key Most of the attention paid to Island development has centered around Schlitterbahn and that is understandable. It is the most visible (literally and figuratively) and as the first major project on The Island since the digging of Packery Channel and the raising of the JFK Causeway, both more than ten years ago, has been the lightning rod for the Bridgedropper crowd who want The Island to remain exactly as is – a column for another day. But a look at the overall development plan that includes the waterpark shows that the real addition to The Island is not the park itself, but the amenities it will generate around it; marinas, hotels, single and multiple-family units, and retail and public space along the 3200 linear feet of the newly dug canals that will connect the waterpark to Lake Padre and on across Windward Drive to the beach. These are all things that we Islanders will use regularly and are the additions that will add the most to the Island lifestyle. The bridge is the key. Without it everything around the park itself changes. Make no mistake, good business sense dictates that something will be built on the currently vacant land east of SPID but it won’t be the same as what is contemplated now and without the bridge it won’t be connected by water to the canals where most of us live. And it goes further than that. In the latest contract between the city and the Conrad Blucher Institute, which is paid for by money for the Island Tax Increment Finance Zone (TIRZ), the canal system was added to the area that is monitored for environmental change in anticipation of Gulf water flowing into the canal system beginning next year. The bubblers currently in the canals are stark testimony to the lack of oxygen in our canal waters. The influx of Gulf water after the opening of Packery Channel has helped but it is nothing compared to the tidal flow and circulation that will accompany a second, direct opening into the canal system. And speaking of the TIRZ, until 2021 any and all property tax levied on new construction inside the zone will stay inside the zone. With $500 million-plus planned in that time, that is a lot of tax money that otherwise would disappear OTB that will stay here. So the Water Exchange Bridge – I’m thinking we ought to come up with a more sexy name – will bring economic, environmental, and lifestyle change; improvements in all three areas in my opinion. But the bridge is the key.
15700 block Escapade 1:30 a.m. Feb. 12 Unauthorized use of motor vehicle
Padre Isles Property Owners Association Annual Meeting Saturday – March 14, 2015 10:00 A.M. Seashore Learning Center Gym Encantada And Park Road 22 (Across The Street From St. Andrews Catholic Church) Refreshments Served 2015 Assessments Due By March 31St
The BACK PORCH
Late Fees Applied On April 1st
You’re invited to… THE GIFT OF PEACE LUNCH & LEARN Island Presbyterian Church 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Saturday, February 21 Please RSVP to: 949-8770
Open at 2 pm Mon - thurs Fri-Sun + nOON-2AM Live Music
The BACK PORCH Re-Opening February 27! Bar
Leave a message, the office is not always staffed.
What we will cover: *Your Rights at the End of Life, Organ Donation & Grief* Resources for Caregivers*Aging and Disability Resources* Wills, Probate, Medical Power of Attorney and Advanced Directives*Funerals & Pre Arrangements* Lunch is included Free - No Cost!
The
$2.25 WackyPORCH Wednesdays! BACK ON THE WATERFRONT
132 W. Cotter St. Bar
PortA
A6
February 19, 2015
Island Moon
PACT Presents Sandy Awards and Begins New Play Sandy Awards Recognizes Top Actors By Brent Rourk The Port Aransas Community Theatre continues its busy schedule as it present the Sandy Awards and begins another fabulous play. The Port Aransas Community Theatre will be celebrating the Sandy Awards (the Port Aransas version of Oscars) for the Theatre Year of 2014 on Sunday Night, February 22, 2015. The festivities begin at 7:30 P.M. at the theatre, 2327 Highway 361 in Port Aransas. The public is invited to attend this fun and free event. There will be refreshments, food, drink and frivolity prior to bestowing awards to talented actors, actresses, directors, vocalists, for best play, best set design and best lighting and sound. On stage a variety of local presenters will hand out the "Sandy Awards" and others will entertain everyone attending. The winners will have been selected by the PACT Membership for 2014. On March 5th PACT will begin a three week run of Money Matters, a play written by Michael Parker and Susan Parker and directed by Tamara Merson Wren. The play will run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings March 5,6,7,12,13,14,19,20,21 at 7:30 PM and on Sundays March 8,15,22. PACT is located at 2327 State Highway 361. Call 361-749-6036 for tickets or contact brownpapertickets.com online.
Local Businesses Bark for the Riley P. Dog Park Woofs and Tail Wags are being sent from our community canines to local businesses that have welcomed Riley P. Dog Park donation boxes on their premises! Padre Pups want to give special pats and tummy rubs to Island Mail Plus, receiving a first place award for donation box contributions in 2014, Whitecap Liquor for being in second place and JB’s German Bakery who ran a close third place and also features a dog friendly dining patio! To each of them go howls of happiness as well as framed Riley P. Dog Park certificates of appreciation sporting great pictures of Riley P. Dog! Paws are also joyously extended to the Animal Hospital of Padre Island who not only has a donation box in the waiting room, it also has a jar stating that $5.00 donations will be matched! BOW-WOW!! Appreciative barks are also given to Bruno’s Bath Houses in Flour Bluff and on Wooldridge Road for their ongoing support. And yet another happy yip goes to the PIPOA where a donation box is located on the front counter! Community kids are also connecting with canines through a popular donation box prominently placed in Sweet Swirl. Loving licks go to YOU, kids (especially if your fingers and faces are a little sticky from the goodies you just gobbled)! Pats, without the licks, go to parents for their generous donations and for helping the kids discover the joy that comes from participating in worthy causes, like dog parks! WOOF! WOOF! In gratitude for their generosity, P.I. pups also would like to toss some tasty treats and plaudits to other local establishments that Rallied for Riley P. Dog Park with donation boxes. These businesses, which include Snoopy’s, Ace Hardware, Palm Bay, W B Liquors and Island Fitness, have maintained boxes on a rotational or short-term basis. Brand new barks of delight go to Jesse’s Fine Spirits and Mesquite BBQ on the island and to Shear Heaven Pet Spaw in Flour Bluff. These establishments have recently acquired donation boxes. In fact, any business that is not currently sponsoring a donation box and would like to support Riley P. Dog Park may do so by logging on to www.padreislanddogpark.com/contact & sending a message. In fact, all readers are invited to check out the entire website! It’s Doggone Good and Newsy!
Time to Become a Star Coastal Bend residents of all ages will have the opportunity to earn a spot in this year’s “Corpus Christi IDOL” and “Jr. IDOL of Corpus Christi” singing competition when they audition Friday, Feb. 20, through Sunday, Feb.22, at the La Palmera Mall, Food Court staging area. Locals ages 12 and under will audition for “Jr. IDOL of Corpus Christi” while those age 13 and older will audition for the popular “Corpus Christi IDOL.” There are only 20 spots in each division available for potential competitors. Top performers will be selected to move on to the finals on Friday, Feb. 27, and Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Performing Arts Center at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Proceeds benefit Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Department of Theatre and Dance. For more information, go to http://cla.tamucc.edu/theatre/.
It’s a Mad, Mad, Week at the Museum of Science and History The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History has crazy fun planned with a science twist all week for Spring Break.
BoatUS: Lightning Facts
Analysis of Decade of Lightning Strike Which Boats are Most Likely Targets
The odds of getting struck by lightning are about one in a million. But if you own a boat, the odds of it being struck by lightning are significantly higher – about one in a thousand. However, not all boats are created equal when it comes to lightning. A justreleased analysis of 10 years of insurance claims by Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) shows that certain boats are significantly more at risk than others. But which ones? And, what can you do if you’re caught on open water? BoatUS has some answers: Let’s first state the obvious: While even PWC’s can be hit, it’s a no brainer why monohull sailboats with their tall masts pointing to the sky have significantly more lightning claims than powerboats – 3.8 chances per 1,000 versus a 0.1 chance in 1,000 for bass boats-runabouts-pontoons. The national average for the probability of a boat lightning strike claim for all types of boats and sizes is 0.9 chance per 1,000.
The damage from direct lightning strike on a small craft
Size matters: It’s also not a stretch to understand why larger boats of all types – which present a larger target to the skies – are struck more often than smaller ones. A boat 40-65 feet in length has 6 chances per 1,000 while boats 16-25 feet have just a 0.2 chance per 1,000. Increasing the height of a sailboat mast from 35 to 45 feet nearly triples the odds of being hit.
of a marina, and higher average mast height. What can you do to lessen the chance of a strike on open water? According to the University of Florida’s “Boating Lightning Protection” by William Becker, it’s better to run for protection than remain in the open, so long as you can make it all the way back to shore and take shelter in your car or an enclosed building and are not caught at the shoreline.
Location matters, too: Where boating populations are dense and lightning is common, strike insurance claims are high. Six of the top 10 states in terms of frequency of lightning claims – Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina – all lay within the thunderstorm hotspot in the Southeast and midsection of the country. Heading west, the frequency of lightning claims falls to about 1 chance in 10,000 along the Pacific Coast, or about 1/10th the national average.
If that’s not possible, pull in the fishing lines or wakeboarders early as strikes can occur a mile in front of thunderstorm cloud. Listen to the weather reports and learn to read weather conditions. Lower antennas. In an open boat, stay low, keep arms and legs inside. If there’s an enclosed cabin go below to the center. If your boat has a lightning protection system, avoid touching anything connected to it such as a mast. Turn off any electronics and don’t touch them. That includes avoiding the VHF if possible. If you can, remove it and store down below.
The effect of two hulls: A multihull sailboat is almost twice as likely to have a lightning claim as a monohull. But this is true only for sailing craft – the frequency of pontoon boat lightning claims is well below average. Why sailing cats get hit more is unclear, although theories include lack of a keel, more wetted surface, larger footprint, the dockage of cats at the outside edges
To view the full analysis online, “Striking Lightning Facts”, in the January 2015 issue of BoatUS Seaworthy Magazine, go to BoatUS.com/lightningfacts.
History continued from A1 on Copano Bay, was gazing out the window of his home when he saw a ship entering the bay. He and another man rowed a small boat out to meet the ship and discovered it to be a troopship full of Mexican troops come to invade the then Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas.
the March north. When the Mexicans reached Goliad, October 2, 100 soldiers from the Mexican Army were sent to the town of Gonzalez to reclaim a cannon given the settlers by the Mexican government to fight off raiding Indians. The soldiers had orders to disarm the settlers but the settlers had other ideas.
Revolution Mexican style
Since the citizens at Gonzalez favored the states rights government in Mexico they saw the soldiers of Santa Anna as an invading force. Instead of giving the cannon back to the Mexicans they loaded it with chain and scrap metal and fired it at the approaching Mexican Army then they attacked; when they did so they moved under the now familiar flag with the image of a cannon and the words “Come and Take It.” The Mexican commander Captain Francisco Castaneda ordered a retreat leaving a dead cavalryman on the field. Texas had its Lexington.
In the 1930’s Generalissimo Santa Anna had come to power in Mexico as a supporter of Federalism; the definition of the term Federalism in Mexico was the opposite of the one used in the United States during its revolution. In the U.S. the term meant the centralization of power in the capitol while in Mexico it was synonymous with states rights. Santa Anna, as was the custom of his colorful and largely duplicitous career, made his way to power as a Federalist only to switch sides once in office and become a Centralist in favor of disbanding state militia units and concentrating power in the central government – which he now controlled thanks to the backers of state’s rights who put him in power. (See how that works?)
The first link in Texas’ independence chain came when James Power looked out his window on Copano Bay and saw a ship; arguably the first act in the historical record on Texas soil which lead to her first flag, independence, becoming a Republic, United States statehood, and eventually the U.S. Mexican War which would bring a U.S. Army to the shores of St. Joseph Island and what is now the city of Corpus Christi.
Santa Anna moved to surpass the first of many Mexican revolts in Southern Mexico and more than 2000 Mexican citizens were killed to put down an uprising in the state of Zacatecas. The call went out for Texians to resist Santa Anna’s Centrist government and Santa Anna’s call for militia received no response from the Texas colonies east of the Guadalupe River. It was clear that the Mexican citizens of Texas, most of whom had arrived from the United States, had no desire to be ruled by a tinhorn despot all the way down in Mexico City.
If ever there was a Texan who could literally say he looked out his window and saw history pass by it was James Power that day in September, 1835 at his house on Copano Bay.
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The Texans act In June of 1835 Texans met in the town of San Felipe in Stephen F. Austin’s Colony and issued a declaration defending states rights. This is the reason you will see in history books, and occasionally on a Texas flagpole to this day, the tri-color Mexican flag with the numbers 1824 on it. That is when the Mexican constitution promising state’s rights was signed and it was that constitution the Texans favored. That flag pre-dates Texas’ drive for independence and instead stood for Texas as a strong state under Mexican rule. Many Texans while they were opposed to Santa Anna’s tyrannical rule still thought themselves to be Mexican citizens and did not want the fight that surely would come with a drive for independence. A group in the town of Gonzales in July of that year had pledged loyalty to Mexico and refused to supply troops to the Texas militia who vowed to fight for independence.
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Texans were divided on independence until March, 1836 when the Battle of the Alamo settled the issue. In the meantime Santa Anna had no idea of allowing the unruly Texans to arm themselves against his government. He sent his brother-in-law General Martin Perfecto de Cos and 500 men to put down the Texans’ unruly ways. It was they aboard the troop ship which Power intercepted in Copano Bay. The Texans had no idea the troops were on the way but while Coz and his men were unloading supplies the word of his arrival spread like yellow fever across Texas.
Come and Take It Ten days later Coz’ men took up the March for San Antonio after stopping by Power’s home; causing him much trouble later on when there was great debate about whether it was a social visit or Coz was an uninvited guest. At the town of Refugio the Mexicans raised two companies of soldiers who joined them on
Spring Break Mad Scientist Camp for kids ages 5-12 is the week of March 16-20. Kids will do science activities and enjoy the best the museum has to offer, including the new indoor and outdoor playgrounds, as well as take a Field Trip to Indian Point Park on Thursday, March 19. Weeklong camps include: t-shirt, daily boxed lunch, snacks, field trips, and materials. Drop- ins are also welcome, so Mom and Dad can have a break within the break! Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with before and after care available. Cost: $215/members, $240/nonmembers. Information/ Registration: ccmuseum.com/sbcamp. The Museum will also have Wild Science Week the week of Saturday March 14 through Sunday March 22. Guests will enjoy activities throughout each day focused on themes- Saturday is Pi Day (catapult pie!), Monday is Chemistry, Tuesday is Engineering, Wednesday is Biology, Thursday is Geology/ Paleontology, Friday is Art and Science. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Information: ccmuseum.com/event/wild-scienceweek-mar-2015.
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February 19, 2015
A7
Island Moon
Backwater Adventures On the Rocks
By Joey Farah
By Jay Gardner
Farah’s Fishing Adventures
Springtime and the Fishin's Easy Well, spring time is upon us already and I don’t hear any complaints. After last year’s lingering winter this is a treat. Many years PEOPLE say that the bay system is early or late in Mother Nature’s timeline of transition into spring or summer, most of the time it is just them. The changes in season and the times that the fish and the bay change every year are pretty predictable. Last year was definitely a late spring, but we are right on time this year. With that said, we are into the first big peak of black drum activity during their spawn. At the same time, the hordes of small baitfish that have been wintering out in the deep waters of Corpus Christi Bay, the deep holes of the Upper Lagoon, and the Gulf Passes are all entering the back bays and hitting the grass flats now that the shallows are warmed up. It all starts at the bottom, the mud. Winter time fishing information always centers on the repeated story of “go to the mud!” Small tiny bugs, worms, and invertebrates live in the soft bottoms of the sea floor. These are the building blocks of the entire food chain. During the winter months these critters burry up and then emerge in the spring. Baitfish and sometimes gamefish feed on them, now they are moving out into the shallow waters again and with them are the bait. Look for them under the lights at night and you will see the tiny little players in the big game. When the water warms up then the growth of algae and plant life will start to flourish as well and many of these baitfish and fry will feed on the new growth grasses. Again all out in the shallow grass flats where sunlight is warming the bottom. Soon the small green buds will form on the Mesquite trees and the sounds of busy corner stores will sound the alarm of Spring Break.
Susie from New Mexico caught her first speckled trout this week drift fishing with soft plastics. Time for Full Boxes! If you have been waiting for a time to go on that fishing trip of the year, when you catch so many big fish that you can’t close the cooler, now is the time. The black drum run is in full speed right now and along with them you have a swarm of redfish that are hungry and active. On our live bait trips we are easily taking limits of up to five people per day along with drift fishing for trout, reds, sheep head, and some flounder. This is the time to entertain out of town guests or business friends and build those bonds that last forever. We have been regularly catching our limits of drum then taking a few minutes to pull over and cook up some fresh shore lunch, FRIED FISH TACOS! After a good lunch we get back to fishing and usually drift fish for trout and reds with artificial or live bait. This has been really filling the box as well as teaching local anglers how to be successful at more than one type of fishing. Combine a scouting/learning / fun day/ customer entertainment trip and I guarantee you will see your year on the water ahead be the most successful yet. I am rigging up my new Blazer Bay for the year so anyone that is in the market to get into a new boat give me a call. The 24ft Blazer Bay is the smoothest, driest, most roomy boat I’ve ever had. We regularly take this boat to the best fishing spots in the bay, as well as offshore for the big ones. Last year’s boat is ready for its new home and will save its new family a lot of money. With the roar of speed boats in the air we drifted over the shallow flat away from the “WALKERS” The conversations they were having finally bleed out. Looking down into the water over the shallow bottom footprints in the mud showed like bomb craters. Soon the
footprints diminished and as I made a long cast I could see nervous water ahead. The DOA Jerk Shad hit the surface and skipped like a scattering bait fish. The bait flipped and danced across the water quickly and then a large hump appeared
Well I have to admit loyal readers, I slacked and waited till the last minute on this one. Oops. After the craziness of the Mardi Gras parade this past weekend (what an event! That was a blast!) and being behind at the office, I didn’t get a jump on writing this gripping tale of excitement. I guess that’s par for the course, LOL. Migration is right around the corner, and I’m excited. I was working in the back 40 the other day trying to find a johnboat that I swore was back there somewhere, and looked up from peering through some tall grass and noticed a flock of birds coming in from the south (this was on Sunday when we had a southeast wind). The birds were unmistakable due to their calls, and after a quick glance with my binoculars confirmed that it was a mixed flock of painted and indigo buntings. They bounced around in my brush line for a few minutes, and then picked up and headed north. Wow, it appears that the first groups are moving through. I’m stoked.
Rita from Wyoming with her largest black drum this week a good 36 bull. peeled shrimp Baffin Bay in pursuit. The big fish rushed the bait and I dipped the rod just for a second and the redfish inhaled the lure. The mud boiled and the drag rang out as this fish took off against the bend of my Waterloo. When the red came to our side he rolled over in less than 2ft of water. A few casts later and a few more reds, I noticed not a single foot print in the bottom. Then an explosion of water around the Jerk Bait and silver side flashed before us. Her head was shaking with her gills flared wide. In my mind I can still see it in slow motion as she walked across the water. I stepped out of the shallow water skiff and played her to hand. The big sow trout was purple in the morning sunlight and her eyes met mine like she knew she had been tricked. That was the first of three big trout that we caught that morning, all up where the wade fishermen, “WALKERS”, had not disturbed. When wade fishing in a big group, in a line across the flats, you are pushing a wake and presence. Watch the bait move in front of you as the mullet sense your movements. The largest mature speckled trout are more sensitive to everything in their environment than any other fish in the bay. Long casts and slow movements will bring you into the right zone. We moved towards an old set of duck blind posts where sea grass had gathered around the wooden posts. The wind was pushing water in an arch around the grass and a fleeing set of mud minnows skirted the surface as they moved past the grass. I peered into the water around the grass and tried to find the image of a big trout waiting in ambush. I stared into the water like an Osprey, but could not see her or any other signs of gamefish. I made a cast or two towards the area with nothing. As I moved off I made a final throw and pulled the bait with the current around the sticks. The thump of a bite sent a grin on my face all the way through my rod. Her head came up immediately and she sprang out of her hiding place with anger. This fish stayed low in the water but ran around me over and over again. Each time she passed I could see her eyes staring at me from her world. When I brought her to have I wondered if she had seen me and thought that I had passed before she feed on the bait. Look for probable hides, ambush spots, hunting grounds. Do not follow other boats, but find your own small places and slip into the right state of mind. Your stress will flee your soul and you will connect with the symphony of life around you. Give me a call to get set up your next adventure on the water. Keep those hooks sharp and your lines tight.
Lots of trout along the king ranch shoreline feeding on small pin perch. DOA CAL SHADS are the perfect match.
We now have Gluten Free Pizza!
We’re due for some heavy southeast winds here in the next few days, and I imagine that there will be more birds along by the weekend. I have yet to figure out the best feed for buntings, as I have fed about everything (except milo, that attracts too many sparrows and red wing blackbirds). I catch them feeding on the Johnson grass seeds (go figure) despite my best efforts to get rid of that invader weed from the yard. Orange crops are coming in from the valley, and oranges around town are ripe now. If you have a neighbor that doesn’t do anything with their oranges, get a couple of sacks if they don’t mind. They will freeze nicely, and you can dole them out an orange or two every couple of days until the full migration starts. Many birds love that orange goodness, but they will also eat grapefruits if they’re sweet as well. We were bumming around on the beach the other day, and noticed that the beach crews (both City of Corpus Christi and Nueces County) had recently graded the beaches back down towards the water, as prescribed in the US Army Corps of Engineers permits. Kudos to the City and the County for a really good job of doing it! Normally, the sargassum is scraped up from the waters edge for the first half of the year and placed at the toe of the dunes, and then in the fall and winter, after the sargassum has dried out and decayed, that material should be graded back down towards the water’s edge. This puts the decayed sargassum nutrients back into the interstitial food web that benefits threatened and endangered shorebirds like the piping plover and red knot, and also keeps the beach nice
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and wide. An added benefit from the grading is that it makes a nice, hard packed drivable beach that is more impervious to eroding during the upcoming wind events. Way to go guys, looks great! Now, if we can just work on the occasional placement of sargassum above the toe on the coppice dunes that kills them, curb that practice, and then we’ll be good. We’re in the final stretch for a couple of big events that I partake in every year, and they are both near and dear to my heart. A week from Thursday on the 26th will be the 37th annual CCA-Corpus Christi banquet down at the American Bank Center. Come on out and help us raise money for great projects like the State water reef out of Packery Channel. The second one is immediately after that on Saturday February 28th, which will be the 20th annual Billy Sandifer Big Shell Clean Up starting at 8am at the Visitors’ Center at Malaquite. Yours truly is a section leader again this year (after having given up my hotdog responsibilities to the capable folks at Weiner schnitzel) and will be on the upper beach again. Make sure to send your questions to Aaron and Tyler at info@friendsofpadre.com and let them know you’ll be down to help out. Due to the craziness next week, and traveling the week after to Florida, I may be absent for a few weeks folks. Drop me a line at jaygardner@ scientist.com if you get lonely and need to read my typing. LOL. See you all on the sand!
Moon Phases
Tides of the Week Tides for Corpus Christi (Bob Hall Pier) February 19-26, 2015
Day
High /Low
Tide Time
Height in Feet
Sunrise Moon Time Sunset
Th
19
High
1:37 AM
1.1
7:03 AM Rise 7:22 AM
19
Low
9:12 AM
-0.4
6:23 PM Set 7:29 PM
19
High
4:22 PM
1.1
19
Low
9:45 PM
0.6
F
20
High
2:55 AM
1.2
7:02 AM Rise 8:07 AM
20
Low
10:07 AM
-0.2
6:23 PM Set 8:35 PM
20
High
4:40 PM
1.0
20
Low
10:20 PM
0.4
Sa
21
High
4:13 AM
1.2
7:01 AM Rise 8:52 AM
21
Low
11:04 AM
0.1
6:24 PM Set 9:40 PM
21
High
4:57 PM
0.9
21
Low
11:04 PM
0.2
Su
22
High
5:35 AM
1.2
7:00 AM Rise 9:36 AM
22
Low
12:07 PM
0.4
6:25 PM Set 10:43 PM
22
High
5:13 PM
0.9
22
Low
11:56 PM
0.0
M
23
High
7:06 AM
1.2
6:59 AM Rise 10:21 AM
23
Low
1:22 PM
0.7
6:25 PM Set 11:44 PM
23
High
5:27 PM
0.9
Tu
24
Low
12:54 AM
-0.2
6:58 AM Rise 11:07 AM
24
High
8:57 AM
1.2
6:26 PM
Closed Superbowl Sunday
Bad beach practice
24
Low
3:09 PM
0.9
24
High
5:35 PM
1.0
W
25
Low
2:00 AM
-0.2
6:57 AM Set 12:43 AM
25
High
11:15 AM
1.2
6:27 PM Rise 11:55 AM
Moon Visible
0
1
5
11
20
30
40
A8
February 19, 2015
Island Moon
SPORTS Sports Talk
High Percentage Shot
Competition committee has proposed rule changes to discuss By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon Dotson’s Note: The season is hardly over and here we are, at it again. If there is an NFL rule that you believe needs to be changed, please send it to me as soon as possible. If I receive your suggestion no later than March 1st, I will try to get it discussed, at least informally, by some of those in attendance at the NFL competition committee during their March meeting.
“The rule is pretty clear that when you go to the ground and make the catch, you have to hold onto the ball through the entire process,” Blandino said. “In order for it to be a football move, it’s got to be more obvious than that. It was all part of his momentum in going to the ground. “It’s something we’ll review with the competition committee, but in order to be consistent we have to draw the line somewhere.” * The “Anthony Hitchens Rule”: Hitchens, a Cowboys linebacker, was initially flagged for pass interference late in the Detroit-Dallas playoff game, but the flag was picked up, no call was made, and NFL rules prevented the officials from consulting instant replay. Patriots coach Bill Belichick proposed last year allowing coaches to challenge any type of play they want, which would have covered the Hitchens play. His proposal didn’t pass, but Blandino thinks it could this year.
First dunk was seventy years ago By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon Seventy years ago this week, Bob Kurland became the first player in basketball history to dunk during a game. Now this high-flying offensive move is considered the difference between the good and the great. You never asked guys that tall to dribble. It was like asking a two-year-old to hold a ripe tomato, nothing good was going to come from the event. He was extremely tall, lanky, and red-headed. He was even too tall for the military. When growing up, his mother went from “Baby, eat your food” to “If you eat one more thing, I’m going to spank you.” This fellow was a rebound machine, the Windex man; he always cleaned the glass. He was so tall some thought he needed oxygen. Writers nicknamed him “Foothills,” because he was the next step between the flatlands and the mountains. He was so big he wasn’t born, he was founded.
The No Catch The infamous “process of the catch” rule will be a top item on the competition committee’s docket after rearing its head at the end of the Green Bay-Dallas playoff game on this play. Each March, members of the NFL’s competition committee — made up of owners, team executives, league executives, and coaches — convene to discuss potential rule changes to bring in front of the 32 owners for a vote. This year’s meetings will be held in Phoenix, and the committee will be plenty busy. “At this point, I don’t know what’s going to come out of the competition meetings,” said Dean Blandino, the NFL’s senior vice president of officiating. “But I’m sure we’ll have a lot of things to discuss.” He’s not kidding. The overriding theme during the regular season was heavy-handed officiating — significantly more penalties called in the passing game, on both the offense and defense — and that continued in the playoffs. The Patriots’ comeback win over the Ravens, and Peyton Manning playing potentially his final NFL game, were certainly memorable. But the signature moments of the playoffs involved the officials — the blatantly missed penalties at the end of the Detroit-Dallas game, Ravens coach John Harbaugh complaining about the officials and the Patriots’ deception, and Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant’s fourth-down catch that was overturned upon instant replay. The top catch phrase of the postseason? Blandino’s “That will be discussed in the offseason.” If it seemed like every Monday Blandino was making the media rounds to explain a controversial ruling, it’s because he was. In the last two months, Blandino addressed six types of controversial plays, and ended each explanation with some variation of, “That will be discussed in the offseason.”
“We’ll review all our mechanics like we do after every game, and it’s something that will be discussed in the offseason,” Blandino said. * The “Kam Chancellor Rule”: Chancellor made two athletically freakish plays in the Seahawks’ win over the Panthers, taking a running start and leaping over the offensive and defensive lines on a field goal block. Chancellor landed safely on the other side each time, but as Blandino noted, “It’s something that we’ll look at.” “It is legal because he jumped from off the line of scrimmage, he didn’t land on a player, and he certainly didn’t use the body of a teammate or opponent to gain leverage to get additional height,” Blandino said. “But there’s a safety element to it.” * The “Brandon Browner Rule” and the “Nick Moody Rule”: These two are related to the Belichick proposal of allowing coaches to challenge any plays they want. The competition committee will discuss allowing coaches to challenge illegal-hit-to-the-head penalties after the Patriots’ Browner was incorrectly flagged for one against San Diego (he led with his shoulder and hit his opponent in the shoulder). And it will discuss whether coaches should be able to challenge roughing-the-passer penalties after Moody was incorrectly flagged for roughing Seattle’s Russell Wilson, a penalty that ultimately cost the 49ers the game and their playoff hopes. “At full speed, it’s real tough to make these calls,” Blandino said. “But when you’re able to slow it down, you’re able to discern between contact to the head and contact to the shoulder.
Let’s take a look at the rules the competition committee will be discussing this March:
“It was discussed last year, and I think it will be on the agenda.”
* The “Calvin Johnson Rule”: The infamous “process of the catch” rule will be a top item on the docket after rearing its head at the end of the Green Bay-Dallas playoff game. Referee Gene Steratore ruled that Bryant lost control of the ball when he hit the ground before making a “football move.” Blandino helped Steratore make the call by consulting in real time from the league offices.
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Blandino defended the rule, arguing that it is more lax than what the NFL used to have on the books — Buccaneers receiver Bert Emanuel famously had a catch overturned in the 1999 NFC Championship game when the nose of the football touched the turf even though he clearly had possession of the ball.
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Oklahoma A&M Aggies (now known as the Oklahoma State Cowboys) were coached by legendary Henry Iba. The Aggies won back-toback NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships in 1944-1945 and 1945-1946 seasons with Bob Kurland in the middle. The Aggies became the first college team to win back-to-back titles. Kurland was voted a three time AllAmerican and a two-time National MVP. In 1946, Kurland received the Helms Foundation College-Basketball-Player-of-the-Year Award and the Sporting News Player-of-the-Year Award. During the 1945-1946 seasons, Bob led the entire NCAA in scoring, with 643 points, an average of 19.5 points per game.
Gonna need a new rule
“I believe that there is a lot of sentiment for that or heading in that direction, so it’s obviously something we’re going to consider,” Blandino said. “But are there unintended consequences for that?” * The “Belichick Substituting Rule”: Belichick took advantage of a loophole by inserting an ineligible receiver to the game and creating confusion in the Ravens’ defense about which players to cover. Blandino reiterated that the Patriots did nothing wrong — they properly informed the officials about the ineligible receiver, and the officials relayed it to the Ravens — but the competition committee will review the officiating mechanics, such as whether the Ravens should have gotten more time to sort out their defense before the Patriots snapped the ball.
in 58 points that night against a devastated Macauley. Ed told The Tulsa World in 1996: “I kept a newspaper clipping from that game in my billfold throughout my pro career. Every time I thought I needed to be humbled, I would look at that box score and remember I was the guy who held Bob Kurland to 58 points.”
The play of 6’ 10” George Mikan of DePaul, 6’ 10” George Kok of Arkansas, and 7-footer Bob Kurland created additions to the NCAA rule book. These three and other big men often just swatted away shots before they reached the rim or jerked down rebounds while the ball was above the cylinder. To put a stop to these, the NCAA instituted the defensive goaltending rule at the end of the 1944 season. Two of these behemoths (Mikan and Kurland) met at the end of the 1945 season in Madison Square Garden. This game was played during wartime to raise money for the Red Cross. Kurland’s Aggies had beaten Kok’s Arkansas team in the regional finals, 6941. Oklahoma A&M continued on to beat New York University in the NCAA Finals and DePaul Bob Kurland, the first player credited with a dunk score won the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Mikan, during a game who outweighed Kurland by He was labeled college basketball’s first seven- 20 pounds and wore thick glasses, fouled out footer and the kind of player that the fans in the first half after scoring only nine points. “let have it” every time out; what more could Kurland scored 14 points in a 52-44 Oklahoma a basketball player want? If you let this guy A&M win. in the building, he could score. He ran from Kok continued to play after-college rim to rim, and his height was his weapon of professional, and Mikan ended up winning five choice. This fellow scored so easily he needed NBA Championships with the Minneapolis to announce when he was going to pass the Lakers. Mikan was also inducted into the basketball. He played during a time in college Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, in 1959. basketball when players who stood over 6’5” Kurland played for the Gold Medal winning were viewed as freaks, oddities, and different. He was different all right and gained national men’s basketball teams that represented the renown for his athleticism in blocking shots, United States Olympic Team in London, rebounding, and scoring the basketball. Coach England, in 1948, and also in Helsinki, Finland, Henry Iba built his Oklahoma Aggies team in 1952. around this big guy, and they won two National Bigger than the NBA Championships together. Bob never played in the ABA or NBA. Kurland First Dunk was drafted by the St. Louis Bombers in 1947, Bob Kurland has been credited as the first but followed many players from his era to the player to use the dunk as a way to score in a Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) ranks. The basketball game. Nobody celebrated a dunk in simple fact is, at that time you could make more the 1940’s. The game of basketball was thirty money playing in the AAU than you could in years away from its first slam dunk contest. He the newly-formed NBA. Many NBA players never thought a slam dunk was anything more complained that they were not getting paid on than a high percentage shot. “You only get two time. Kurland worked for Phillips Petroleum and played for the Phillips 66ers. The team was points,” said Bob. based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Bob Kurland “It happened by accident,” said Kurland in played on this team for six years and the 66ers a story captured by the Orlando Sentinel, in won three AAU Championships (1947, 1948, 2012. “We were playing Temple University in and 1950). In 2006, Bob Kurland was also 1944. The ball happened to be under the basket inducted into the College Basketball Hall of and I got it up and stuffed it in. That started Fame. it; I guess…It was an unintentional accident. It A dear friend of mine, Dotson Lewis, played wasn’t planned.” against Kurland and the Phillips 66ers in 1946. Glandular Goon The final score was 7-5. “Bob Kurland simply Robert Albert “Bob” Kurland was born blocked every shot attempted by our team,” said December 23, 1924, in St. Louis, Missouri. His Dotson. family moved to Jennings, Missouri, a suburb Bob Kurland died at his home in Sanibel Island, close by, where he grew up. And I mean grew Florida, on Sunday, September 29, 2013. He up! At Jennings High School, Kurland faced was 88. Kurland retired as a senior marketing the same issue of most tall guys, where their executive, from the Phillips Company, in the coordination rarely catches up to their size, mid-1980’s. He is survived by his wife Barbara, until they are older. At 6’6” as a freshman, two sons, Alex and Ross, two daughters, Dana Henry Iba decided to take a chance on Bob. and Barbara, and seven grandchildren. In Iba told him, “I’ve never seen anyone like you 1961, Bob Kurland was elected to the Naismith before. I don’t know if you can play basketball Basketball Hall of Fame located in Springfield, or not, but if you come to school here, enroll Massachusetts. and stay eligible, I’ll see that you get a college Andy Purvis is a local author and radio education.” Kurland enrolled in 1942. When legendary coach “Phog” Allen from the personality. His newest book “Greatness University of Kansas found out Kurland had Continued” in now available to order online at enrolled at Oklahoma A&M, he chastised bn.com, Amazon, Google Books, Bookamillion, etc. You may also purchase all three of his Kurland as a “glandular goon.” latest books at the local Barnes & Noble Book Iba gave him a #90 jersey and started Kurland store in Moore Plaza. All three books are also immediately skipping rope to improve his available in e-book format, Kindle, Nook, Apple agility. Iba also had him work a speed bag I Pad and Kobo. Please visit www.purvisbooks. to increase his hand-to-eye coordination and com for more info and leave a message in the required Bob to take dancing lessons to help his guest section. You may also contact him at footwork. Slowly Kurland gained the ability to purvis.andy@mygrande.net and don’t forget to block shots, and run the court. His teammates listen to Dennis & Andy’s Q & A Session each began to look for him in an effort to feed him Thursday night from 6-8 PM on ESPN 1440 the ball. These were the days of no shot clock, KEYS. and holding the ball was a way to slow down the game, to give below average teams a chance to win. Scoring did not come easily at first for Bob, and he practiced continuously. Kurland swore he took 600 hook shots with his left hand in one afternoon, after practice. “The first since 1987 100 didn’t hit anything,” said Bob. “The next • New Homes 100 didn’t all go in, but after that I started to • Remodels connect.”
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Easy Ed In a February game played in 1946, against St. Louis University, Kurland was matched against another future Hall-of-Fame basketball player known as “Easy” Ed Macauley. Ed was a freshman who stood 6’ 8” tall and played for the Boston Celtics and St. Louis Hawks after graduating from college. Kurland poured
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As mentioned in the last column, this month we took the show on the road and went south to visit a little town on the northern coast of Honduras. About 900 nautical miles due south of Pensacola as the crow flies, Tela sits just downslope of lush green mountains on the Atlantic Ocean at the corner of the Yucatan Peninsula and the main body of Honduras. It still attracts a few tourists from around the world and many weekenders from the larger interior cities. (Somewhat similar to the Port
February 19, 2015
Island Moon
Banana Republic The banana industry relied heavily on English speaking Americans (white) and Eastern Caribbeans (black) for management of all this progress while expecting the native Spanishspeakers (brown) to do all the day-to-day labor such as picking and loading. This racial divide peaked in major class warfare in 1954 when the laborers mounted what is now known as the General Strike. Significant concessions were made by the corporations but the drop in profits resulted in less capital to invest in infrastructure. The railroad fell into disrepair and eventually shut down, the loading docks were burned by arsonists in the 1970s, and most of the former management eventually moved back home to the US or Puerto Rico leaving the town with little to do for itself.
There’s a Runway Here Somewhere
The Mayor of Tela thanks Pilot Daniel Mourra and Skydiver Omar Bardales for bringing an Aviation Week to his town.
Congratulations to Delanie Delmoral and Nickie Morris who collected $415.00 in contributions at the Mardi Gras parade for the Flour Bluff Special Olympics. A huge thank you goes to those who so generously supported their efforts.
all participants by Sobe Adrenaline Sports Drink, Flor de Cana rum and of course there was always plenty of Pepsi. Daniel Mourra’s
Fast forward to 2014 when Honduran-born Houston resident and skydiving Airstrip and Beach in Tela Honduras. Note the Pepsi enthusiast Omar Bardales met Logo as target for parachute landings! fellow Honduran and EmbryRiddle educated aviation enthusiast Daniel Aransas/ Houston relationship.) Mourra. Both saw great potential in the Founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1504, now overgrown and crumbling Tela airport Tela struggled for its identity through the sitting right next to one of the country’s centuries and eventually became modernized most beautiful beaches. Not only is twentyeight year old Mourra a commercial pilot and founder of Horizons School of Aviation and Charters in San Pedro Sula, he is also a renowned musician and national celebrity giving him some significant political pull. While Mourra convinced the mayor of Tela to gather a labor force to treat his runway with some machetes and wheelbarrows, Bardales recruited a parachuting team from the US, including staff and equipment from our Port Aransas-based Skydive South Texas. Although we can’t say we saved the town, we certainly gave them something to do for a few days!
Skydive South Texas staff pose with their airplane, some Honduran schoolchildren and their favorite US newspaper.
in the late 1800s when Honduras farmland was “conquered” by the United Fruit Corporation which built schools, hospitals, commissaries, housing areas, loading docks, golf courses, an airport and of course one of its trademark railroads. Such development of “Banana Republics” was common in Central America by fruit distributors throughout the early 20th century and is an oft-cited example of corporate neocolonialism in the third world.
The event started February 4th and the old airport and the beach across the road were suddenly the places to be for thousands of impoverished townsfolk and weekend visitors. Mourra and his flight instructors flew in with a fleet of aircraft from the city while another prominent businessman had a tank of aviation fuel towed two hours across the mountains. Pepsi Cola set up tents, barricades and lunch vendors at the airport and dozens of windblades and other Pepsi paraphernalia on the beach. We arrived on Tuesday evening with our Cessna 182 which was immediately housed in the only hangar still standing on the airfield. On Wednesday the First Lady of Honduras, Ana Garcia Carias, arrived in a military Bell “Huey” helicopter to watch the first recreational parachute jumps onto Honduran beaches and of course give a short speech to the townspeople.
Tropical Airshow
The Tela Railroad station, built by United Fruit Company (aka Chiquita Banana) in 1916 and abandoned in the 70's.
Over the next five days the skies above Tela were a buzz of activity. Mourra’s three airplanes and a Robinson R-44 helicopter flew dozens of aerial tours up and down the coast while our Cessna flew almost nonstop every day, racking up fifty sorties and over two hundred parachute jumps. Daily lunches and nightly dinner parties were provided for
The town of Tela from 10,000 feet. band hosted a grand finale party and concert Saturday night in the now dilapidated Tela Railroad central station, a historical landmark the new mayor is working hard to restore now that he’s got the airport usable again. Although we Texans who enjoyed all this hospitality are content with an annual visit, there’s already talk among the locals of somehow making all this activity permanent. We’ll help as best we can! As I’ve always found when traveling the “third world”, the food simply cannot be matched in freshness and flavor. When a town is surrounded by farms on a fertile and tropical landscape-- as opposed to suburban sprawl-it’s inevitable I suppose. Vendors under tin sheds in the town square sell tomatoes, onions, coconuts, loose eggs and fresh picked fruit and every convenience store has an entire section of the same. In our modern society a Farmer’s Market has become a novelty but down south it’s the standard. I didn’t see many bananas, however, but I think I figured that out: on almost every sortie I overheard Boeing 767s with the “UPS” callsign departing from the international airport sixty miles away. I guess we’re still getting the bananas out of the republic without the middle men or the orphaned port of Tela… Next week: How we got there—Private Plane travel across neighboring Mexico! Island Resident Jason Towns is a Commercial Pilot, Air Force Reservist and Owner of Skydive South Texas in Port A.
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February 19, 2015