666 a for the web by Mary Craft

Inside the Moon

Barnum Bummer A6

Moon on a Spoon A7

Port A. Homecoming A9

The

Issue 666

Island Moon

The voice of The Island since 1996

January 19, 2017

Around The Island

By Dale Rankin The shotguns along the Laguna fell silent and it was just after dark when the flawed beauty serving the drinks flicked the lights and said to all in attendance, “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.” As we filed out Oklahoma Robert Bob was heard to mumble his reply: “It was a cold winters evening, the guests were all leaving, O’Leary was closing the bar, When he turned and said, To the lady in red, Get out you can’t' stay where you are.” It’s been a week of reflection on our little sandbar as temperatures in the middle of the country have dipped below those of the North Pole driving Robert Bob south to our shores. If the world went spinning off its axis about now we Islanders might not even notice, as long as the reds keep running. Last week we saw a Winter Texan loading a bucketful of Sargassum weed into his trunk. We certainly hope this trend catches on and we encourage not only Winter Texans but anyone who wants to haul away a trunk load of Sargassum weed to help themselves. It has been a light year for the stuff but dribs and drabs have been washing up on the beach at the north end of PINS which should answer the Sargassum demand for seaweed hoarders. We also hear that the sandburs are good eating so help yourself.

Island knuckleheads The past week has seen reports of cars being broken into all over our Island and an uptick in the incidents of sneak thieves plying their trade up and down the neighborhoods. About a dozen vehicles along the area near the seawall had windows broken out along with several houses that were hit.

Think of it as the Willie Sutton Syndrome who when asked why he robbed banks replied, “That’s where the money is.” We’re the sweet spot of the city and when we leave our garage doors up and valuable items inside our cars the sneak thieves will find us. Lock up everybody and keep your eyes open for trouble.

Fourth of July Fireworks This just in from the Moon Planning Ahead Department…we’ve had several inquiries already about what day the 4th of July Fireworks show will be on this year. We get this most every year and on its surface it seems like a silly question until you find that in many cities the show goes up on the Saturday night nearest the actual 4th date. But not so hereabouts. Fireworks guru Jerry Watkins reports that the show which is now in its fifth year, will go up on Tuesday, July 4. The show is staged at the end of Whitecap and is paid for with donations which can be dropped off at the POA office on The Island. Enjoy the weather everybody. We leave you this week with the words of that great American Calvin Coolidge who famously said, “The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny.” Say hello if you see us Around The Island.

Fishing A11

Free

Weekly

FREE Special Taxing Zone Holds Key to Island's Future

Funding on Public Amenities Around Packery Water Exchange Channel Moving Forward By Dale Rankin Bridge Delayed In February, 2003, about two years By Dale Rankin

The push to put the final piece of funding in place for the planned Park Road 22/SPID Water Exchange Bridge was delayed by at least a month on Tuesday as the Board of Directors of the Island Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) tabled a move to commit $4 million from that fund to cover potential funding shortfalls. The move came on the same day that bid proposals went out to potential builders of the bridge, which city staff said is expected to cost “between $8.5 million and $11.5 million.” City officials released a schedule on the project this month which calls for bids to be opened on February 1, City Council approval by mid-March, and construction to begin by the end of March with scheduled completion by April, 2018. The TIRZ funds would only be necessary if there is a need to supplement the $7 million currently available from savings on other bond programs. On September 13, 2016 the Island Strategic Action Committee (ISAC), which is an advisory committee to the Corpus Christi City Council, unanimously passed a motion to support the use of no more than $4 million from the TIRZ fund to supplement funding for the Park Road 22/SPID 22 Bridge only after all previously committed dollars to the project have been spent. The bridge, as currently designed, consists of three spans of forty feet each, the center span covering a waterway, the two adjacent spans covering pedestrian and cart paths. The plans call for fourteen feet of water depth with concrete sides and floor to prevent erosion, and fourteen feet of boat clearance from the waterline to the bottom of the bridge structure. The bridge would be located along SPID where canals to both sides are already in place as well as bulkheading on the Lake Padre side. The idea for the bridge originated in 2004 when a $50 million bond package contained no Island projects and then-District 4 City Council member Mark Scoot proposed adding

Bridge cont. on A2

after citywide voters approved the project to dig Packery Channel, the Corpus Christi City Council voted to approve improvements adjacent to the channel to be funded by money from the Island Tax Increment Refinance Zone. The resolution, which also founded the TIRZ, read: “Secondary development incudes proposed park amenities that encompasses approximately 14.2 acres providing access to Packery Channel, the beach, and the jetties; passenger and recreational vehicle parking; walkways; restrooms; and vendor facilities. The location of two potential City park areas is proposed

Photo by George Todt

Island by the numbers

Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 2016 TIRZ#2 Fund Balance $6,992,623 Beginning Balance 2016

$3,405,001 TIF Collections 2016 ($6,000,000) Reserves (Dredging, Bonds, Maintenance) $4,397,624 Available Funds

Sources of Revenue

2009:

City of Corpus Christi $1,597,917 Nueces County $985,617 Nueces Co. Hospital District $406,158 Del Mar Jr. College $137,838 Farm to Market Road $12, 165 Total: 3,139,695

The shelters and tables along Packery Channel were part of the 6 Pack Project Pack cont. on A2

2010:

City of Corpus Christi $1,273,417 Nueces County $786,419 Nueces Co. Hospital District $324,072 Farm to Market Road $9,709 Total: 2,393,616

Cost Estimates for Remaining “Six Pack” Projects Project Phase:

2011:

Phase 1: Restroom Facilities at South Parking Lot Project Complete

City of Corpus Christi $1,203,508 Nueces County $745,121 Nueces Co. Hospital District $307,054 Farm to Market Road $9,201 Total: 2,264,884

Phase 2: Parking and Overlooks Project Complete Phase 3: Restroom Facilities at Packery Channel Current Budget $200,000 Design FY '15 Budget $815,000 Construction Request FY '16 Budget $1,051,000 Construction Request 2,066,000 Total Project Budget Phase 4: Ramps to Jetties Current Budget $274,000 Design completed under Phase 2 Phase 5: Pavilion Current Budget FY '16 Budget Request FY '17 Budget Request 1,281,200

Fund

2012:

City of Corpus Christi $1,372,033 Nueces County $849,855 Nueces Co. Hospital District $350,213 Farm to Market Road $10,494 Total: 2,582,595

Construction

$75,000 $200,000

Prelminary Design Design

$1,006,200

Construction

2013:

City of Corpus Christi $1,519,533 Nueces County $1,019,647 Nueces Co. Hospital District $387,968 Farm to Market Road $11,625 Total: 2,860,601

Total Project Budget

Phase 6: Administration and Maintenance Building FY '18 Budget $715,000 Design/Construction Request

2014:

City of Corpus Christi $1,645,468

Phase 7: Parking Lot Improvements at Jetty Ramps FY '18 Budget $879,000 Design/Construction Request

TIRZ cont. on A2

A little Island history

In 1915 South Texas was on the Edge of a War Between U.S. and Mexico The law of Ley Fuga – shot while trying to escape

Americans off a train in Chihuahua and killed them.

By Dale Rankin Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of stories about the Border War that raged in South Texas in the early part of the last century. By autumn of 1915 The Border War was in full bloom. The Plan de San Diego that had been drawn up in the South Texas hamlet of San Diego had spawned full-blown combat as its adherents spread out across the South Texas’ Wild Horse Prairie in their attempts to bring about a revolution that would lead to, first the capture of Brownsville and Corpus Christi, then San Antonio and Austin, and finally lead to the return to Mexico the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and California. President Woodrow Wilson’s program of “watchful waiting” espoused by his Secretary of State William Jennings

Para Dios y tierra

Pancho Villa Bryan was thought by many to be seen as weakness south of the border which only emboldened the border raiders. Then in early September

Wilson’s administration recognized the government of Venustiano Carranza which so angered his rival Pancho Villa that Villa took seventeen

On the Texas border Mexican troops were dug in at the river crossings along the Rio Grande, with more than 400 Mexican troops on the south side of the border at Progresso alone and 5000 U.S. troops stationed in Kingsville. There was no longer any pretext or doubt about the fact that this was open warfare. This was not bandit raids or the roving bands of horse and cattle rustlers the border area was used to; this was a declared war aimed at territorial acquisition by the government of Venustiano Carranza who was trying to consolidate his hold on power during the Mexican Revolution. His chief rivals for power, including Pancho Villa, were concentrated along the

History cont. on A4

January 19, 2017

Island Moon

Pack cont. from A1

Bridge cont. from A1 a $1.2 million item to the bonds which, according to his plan, when combined with the estimated $900,000 cost of building underground water – exchange culverts required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Permit held by developer Paul Schexnailder - would provide $2.1 million to construct the bridge. However, a cost estimate on the project was not done until much later – 2012 – which eventually led to the current $8.5 million price tag.

equipment needed for beach maintenance. Already complete as part of the Packery projects are the picnic tables and shelters along the northern boundary of Packery Channel, and the adjacent parking lot and boat ramps. The largest of the projects is a public pavilion between Zahn Road and Packery Channel. The projects were not part of the original vote approving the channel but were subsequently approved by the city council.

along the area nearest the Gulf of Mexico reach of Packery Channel.” The original plans called for the development of about a dozen separate but interrelated projects which over the years were reduced to six projects which came entered the common Island vernacular as The Six Pack. Many of the original projects fell by the wayside due to state regulations which forbade their construction and others were delayed for a variety of reasons. For example, a four-acre parking lots on the beach on each side of the channel could not be built due to a prohibition on impervious cover by the Texas General Land Office and the cost of an alternative design became cost prohibitive.

The TIRZ Board, which consists of city council members and is chaired by District 4 City Council member Greg Smith, will next meet in council chambers on Tuesday, February 14, a meeting time has yet been set.

Also on the ISAC committee’s agenda are ramps on the Packery Jetties to comply with the tenets of the Americans with Disability Act, and a beach maintenance facility to house

2017:

TIRZ Six Pack Map CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS TIRZ #2 Zoning

W HY

F-R/IO B-2A/IO/SP/97-09 R-2 R-1B B-2A/IO/SP/96-12

A-2

A-1

F-R

R-1B/IO

R-2

B-2A

AT/PUD-2

AT/IO

R-1B/PUD-2

R-1B/IO AT/IO A-1/IO AT/IO B-2/IO B-2A/IO R-1B/PUD-1/IO B-2/IO

R-1B

B-2A/IO

R-1B/IO

A-2 B-2A/IO/SP/98-08

R-2

F-R/IO

B-2A/IO/SP/96-06

TIRZ #2 Zoning

AT/SP/01-11 AT Printing Date: 8/26/2009 File: H:\PLN-DIR\SHARED\GIS Projects\Legal\TIRZ2\zoning.mxd Prepared By: MikeN © City of Corpus Christi, Texas

1,350

2,700

City of Corpus Christi $3,127,882 Nueces County $1,939,557 Nueces Co. Hospital District $799,263 Farm to Market Road $23,945 Total: $5,890,647

2019:

City of Corpus Christi $3,708,557 Nueces County $2,299,895 Nueces Co. Hospital District $947,753 Farm to Market Road $28,893 Total: $6,984,598

2020:

5,400 Feet

TIRZ zoning map

CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS TIRZ #2 Current Land Use

City of Corpus Christi $4,366,726 Nueces County $2,708,317 Nueces Co. Hospital District $1,116,057 Farm to Market Road $33,435 Total: $8,224,535

2021:

WHITECAP

City of Corpus Christi $5,113,212 Nueces County $3,171,538 Nueces Co. Hospital District $1,306,844 Farm to Market Road $39,153 Total: $9,630847

2021:

Call 361-949-7281 Mary Melick Real Estate

Legend

AT/IO

R-1B/SP/01-11

Printing Date: 8/26/2009 File: H:\PLN-DIR\SHARED\GIS Projects\Legal\TIRZ2\clu.mxd Prepared By: MikeN © City of Corpus Christi, Texas

Legend TIRZ #2

Current Land Use

$225,000

B-2/IO

A-1/IO

B-2A

Gulfstream Beach Condo

14810 Windward #521

City of Corpus Christi $2,615,229 Nueces County $1,621,428 Nueces Co. Hospital District $668,166 Farm to Market Road $20,018 Total: $4,924,842

2018:

B-4

WHITECAP

Gorgeous views! Beautiful Updates! VERY WELL PRICED

2015:

City of Corpus Christi $1,761,879 Nueces County $1,091,870 Nueces Co. Hospital District $449,943 Farm to Market Road $13,481 Total: $3,317,173

2016:

The bridge was/is the lynchpin in connecting the 104-acre site around Lake Padre where excavation work is nearing completion and planned development around the Schlitterbahn waterpark on the west side of the roadway. Access to the Gulf of Mexico from the existing Island canal system, under the bridge, would be through a 3600-foot canal which would include retail, commercial, residential, and office space, along with a marina currently under construction, a 300-room hotel currently under design, and a dry boat storage facility.

Planned restroom and shower facilities were delayed due to the estimated cost of over $3 million dollars each for two structures due to the need for them to be at least eleven feet above the ground to avoid hurricane waters. Now, a sub-committee of the Island Strategic Action Committee is working to make the remainder of the “Six Pack” projects a reality. First on their agenda, portable solar-powered, air conditioned restrooms and showers which can be towed from the beach as a hurricane approaches at a cost of $60,000 each. Current plans call for four of the portable facilities to be located on the beach near Packery Channel at a total cost of $240,000, considerably lower than the $3 million price tag for the raised structures.

Nueces County $1,019,647 Nueces Co. Hospital District $420,181 Farm to Market Road $12,590 Total: $3,097,886

City of Corpus Christi $2,162,313 Nueces County $1,340,366 Nueces Co. Hospital District $552,345 Farm to Market Road $16,549 Total: $4,071,572

The canal and bulkheads leading too the East side of the bridge site are complete

TIRZ cont. from A1

1,450

2,900

Drainage Corridor

Professional Office

Park

Commercial

Low Density Residential

Public-Semi Public; PSP

Medium Density Residential

Light Industrial

High Density Residential

Heavy Industrial

Vacant Water Natural Area Wetland

Mobile Home

5,800 Feet

TIRZ detail map “While we don’t have a legal responsibility to build these projects, we have a moral obligation to do so,” District 4 City Councilman Greg Smith told the TIRZ board Tuesday. “Promises were made by the previous council and it is up to us to see that they are kept.” The ISAC subcommittee on Tuesday recommended returning the ramps, restrooms, showers, and ramps to the city’s engineering department for scoping and cost estimates with the intention of returning them to the city council as soon as possible for funding from the TIRZ account.

City of Corpus Christi $5,960,390 Nueces County $3,697,237 Nueces Co. Hospital District $1,523,577 Farm to Market Road $45,642 Total: $11,226,846

Totals for all years City of Corpus Christi $37,428,065 Nueces County $23,198,342 Nueces Co. Hospital District $9,559,692 Farm to Market Road $286,400 Del Mar Jr. College $137,838

GRAND TOTAL: $70,610,3378

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

January 19, 2017

Island Moon

Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder

Letters to the Editor

Distribution Pete Alsop Island Delivery

POA Board Candidates

Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin Classifieds Arlene Ritley Production Manager Abigail Bair Contributing Writers Joey Farah Andy Purvis Mary Craft Christiansen Jay Gardner Todd Hunter Dotson Lewis Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk Photographers Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan Mary Craft Ronnie Narmour Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus) 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. News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office.

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

Now that the list of POA Board of Directors candidates is on the street, I am gratified that so many have volunteered to run, giving the owners a vast expanse of options. I note, however, the range in temperament, dedication to service, and commitment to improve the Island that these candidates offer. Two candidates in particular highlight opposite ends of the spectrum. At the good end is Mr. Stan Hulse, who has been an exceptional contributor to our Island in many ways for many years. His service on the PIPOA Board has been focused on doing what is best for all of the owners, with a desire to increase communication both ways and take owner’s feedback and find options to incorporate it into the way the POA does business. His service as a member of the ISAC has helped keep Island issues at the forefront of City planning. And he has helped craft strategic solutions to some of our most vexing issues. He has expanded his knowledge, experience, and influence as a member of the Windstorm Task Force, providing input to legislative policies on windstorm insurance that benefit all of the owners. As the Executive Director of the PIBA, he has overseen the growth of our Island businesses with a steady hand, calm and friendly demeanor, and an ability to make all feel welcome here. I am proud to know Stan and I look forward to his continued service, in many venues, for all of us who live on the Island. At the opposite end is Mr. Robert Algeo, an outspoken individual who has railed against nearly all areas that the PIPOA Board has engaged in for many months. His rants are at best nonsensical and at worst insulting. He hijacked a useful Smartphone application, “Nextdoor”, and turned it into a daily diatribe of propaganda against the PIPOA, to the point that civil Island residents turned it off in droves. The Moon has regularly published his vitriolic manifestos against the POA, illustrating his caustic ideas. As an example, at Halloween, one Island resident created a distressing scene that was intended to show anger at, and possibly do harm to, the POA’s Compliance Officers. In a Letter to the Moon, Mr. Algeo condoned this display claiming folks should find the humor in it. I believe Mr. Algeo was one of very few residents disturbingly capable of laughing about this. In showing his contempt for the POA, Mr. Algeo essentially wrote that the Board, who simply had the resident remove any references to the Compliance Officers from the display, was oppressive and nothing more than jack-booted thugs. This mind-set alone shows he is not capable of working with the other Board members or the staff to improve the

POA and the Island. In every community there are a few malcontents who routinely complain with visceral, acidic comments about those who try to make the community better. Mr. Robert “Bob” Algeo is one of our malcontents and just because he has added his name to the list of candidates does nothing to change the fact that he does not have the demeanor, community spirit, vision, and temperament to serve on the Board of the PIPOA. As folks begin to mark their ballots, I urge all of our owners to mark your ballot for Mr. Hulse and support moving our POA forward in a positive direction, with change for the better, and experience you can trust. I ask all owners to NOT VOTE for Mr. Algeo and reject his negativity that will only undermine and damage our POA. Jeffrey F. Carlson

Vote for POA Reps A quick reminder that you are to vote for only TWO (2) candidates for Board of Directors. There is some confusion about the role of the Board of Directors for the Association. The Board sets the policy, carries out their fiduciary responsibility by overseeing the expenditures and investments, and considers various projects and ideas to enhance the community. They are volunteers and several have full-time jobs. Your paid staff takes the direction from the Board of Directors and is your contact for questions and concerns. Charges of conflicts of interest and “taking money under the table” have been made about the Board. If there is any question about doing business with a firm with employs a Board member, that Board member recuses themselves from any consideration or discussion. They take great care to make sure there is no conflict of interest. The money issue is one of innuendo and is almost slanderous with no basis in fact. The books of the Association are audited each year. When I started six years ago, the audit charge was $30,000. Last year that charge was $9,000. This is due to the fact that we have enhanced the accounting for how our dollars are spent with documentation which can and is verified by the auditor. There is very little cash which is handled by the office. Some people pay for their stickers in cash, but again, we have a numbering system and receipt system which is audited. One of the things we are learning from all the social media conversations is that we need to find a way for the Board to communicate directly with the residents. The Board of Directors meeting is not the place for free and open conversation. One suggestion could be to do a “Coffee with the Board Members” possibly quarterly. Some issues are not solved immediately. Some of our owners do not want to clean up their yard, fix the houses or trim their trees. So, when folks say we are not “doing anything,” rest assured, we are working on it, but not everyone is willing to do the necessary work. Another issue could be the house is vacant and we cannot go on that property. We are not giving up or ignoring the problem! If you see a problem, please just call the office and let us know about it. We rely on our residents to help us when something is not right. Again, it might not be done the same day, butwe will work to get it done. The positive about residents becoming more interested and involved is that it is a learning experience for all of us. Maybeth Christensen

Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper

Lisabella’s Restaurant Pioneer RV Park

WB Liquors Port A Arts

North Padre All Stripes Stores

A Mano

Angry Marlin

Coffee Waves

CVS

Moby Dicks

Whataburger

Spanky’sLiquor

Doc’s Restaurant

IGA Grocery Store

Snoopy’s Pier Isle Mail N More

Carter Pharmacy

Island Italian

San Juan’s Taqueria

Brooklyn Pie Co.

Wash Board Laundry Mat

Holiday Inn Texas Star (Shell)

Public Library

Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant

Chamber of Commerce Duckworth Antiques Back Porch Woody’s Sports Center

Flour Bluff

Giggity’s

H.E.B.

Stripes @ Cotter & Station Gratitude Gift Shop Keepers Pier House Port A Glass Studio The Gaff

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

The Boathouse Bar & Grill is now taking table reservations for the NFL playoff games on Sunday, January 22nd. Call 589-9601. The Island United Political Action Committee Board (IUPAC) is currently seeking three new Board Members. Consider becoming involved in our community and making a difference. If you are interested in joining the IUPAC you may leave a message on their Facebook page. The Schlitterbahn Women’s Golf Association meets every Saturday at 9 am for a friendly round of golf. All skill levels are welcome. Call Fran more information at 877-2551. The Port Aransas Garden Club Annual Home Tour will take place on Saturday, January 28th. Bus tours are available at 9 am and 11 am at a cost of $25. Self-guided tours are available 1 – 5 pm at a cost of $20. Tour maps are available at the Community Center. For more info visit their Facebook page. The Padre Island Yacht Club is welcoming new members. Boat slips are available for members and they sponsor many activities both on cruises and at the clubhouse. Every Friday you can enjoy the sunset happy hour 6 – 9 pm. Contact Rear Commodore James Thompson at jmtislandtime@gmail.com about membership. The Padre Island Antique Car Show will be held at the Barrel parking lot Saturday, January 28th 11 am – 1 pm. While you are there enjoy brunch now served on Saturday, as well as Sunday. Schlitterbahn is hosting a “Elvis meets Tom Jones Show” by singer Jeff Gordon on Friday, February 3rd 5 – 8 pm.. Tickets are $25/person which includes buffet and can be purchased at the admission gate or online. Winter Texans mark your calendar. Call 5894220 for more details.

Valentine's Dance

Mary Rose, Executive Director on with life as intended.

Island Tire

Shorty’s Place

Business Briefs The Annual William Ellis Memorial Library Book Sale will be held Saturday, February 4th 9 am – 5 pm and February 5th 9 am – 3 pm in Port Aransas. There will be an extensive selection of books plus movies, magazines, audio books and music. There will be lots of bargains so bring along boxes.

The Port Aransas Art Center will hold it’s 2nd Annual Rock Around the Arts Valentine’s Dance-Music by the PA Rockers-Time: 6:3010pm Date: Feb 14th Location: Civic Center on Ave. A in Port Aransas. Heavy hors devours, beer and wine- 25$ per person. Tickets are selling fast so get your Tickets at the Art Center as soon as you can to secure your attendance at this very fun event!! 323 N. Alister 361-7497334 artcenter@ centurytel.net

Subway

WB Liquor

The 20th Annual Port A Dine Around will be held Monday, January 30th 5 – 8 pm. Tickets are $20 and are available at the Chamber office 403 W. Cotter. There are 20 restaurants participating. Call 749-5919 for more info.

Our newsroom has received information that a sale of Island Moorings Marina in Port A is imminent. More info as it is made available.

Jesse’s Liquor

And all Moon retail advertisers

The 6th Annual Coastal Bend Boat & RV Expo will be held at Richard Borchard Regional Fairgrounds on February 10 – 12 with over 50 manufacturers represented.

Burners Without Borders Corpus Christi is having their Winter Beach Cleanup on Saturday, January 28th. Muster is at Mile Marker 262, where they will be handing out trash bags and giving a cleanup safety briefing. Cleanup begins at 10 am and lasts until 1 pm.

Ace Hardware

Port A Parks and Rec

New Advertisers The 11th Annual Coastal Bend Travel Fair will be held at the Port Aransas Civic Center on Tuesday, January 24th 10 am – 3 pm with free admission. There will be over 40 booths showcasing tourist attractions. There will be nature seminars, monarch butterfly gardens, whooping cranes and much more.

The Padre Island Rotary Club is looking for sponsors for their popular Night at the Races event to be held at Schlitterbahn on Saturday, January 28th. Food sponsorship is $200, event sponsorship $500 and race sponsorship $100. They are also looking for donations of gift certificates and baskets for raffle prizes. Contact Linda Walsh at lawalshva@yahoo.com.

Sandpiper Condos

Stripes @ Beach Access Rd. 1A

By Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com

Mike May’s Beachside Grill at Bob Hall Pier has weekly specials including hand battered chicken fried sirloin on Mondays, build your own burger Tuesdays, crab and shrimp boil Wednesdays, $2 off ahi tuna plates on Thursdays and fried fish basket on Fridays.

Where to Find The Island Moon Port Aransas

Did Ya Hear?

Sincerely, Barbara De Toto

Editor’s note: The election of two new officers on the seven-member Padre Isles Property Owners Association will be held on Saturday, March 11, at Seashore Learning Center Gym, 15801 SPID (Encantada at SPID). There are eight members running for the two seats and the top two vote getters will take office. Property owners inside the POA boundaries get one vote for each piece of property they own and usually just over 1000 votes are cast, about 100 of them by proxy. You can vote without attending the meeting by using the form included here. We extend an offer to all candidates and POA members to write us at editor@ islandmoon.com and we will print any and all (non-libelous) letters in their entirety up to 800 words. There will also be a Meet the Candidates Night at Island Presbyterian Church, 14030 Fortuna Bay Drive, from 7-8 p.m. on Thursday, January 19. The candidates (in the order they appear on the ballot which we include here) are: Stan Hulse, Marvin Jones, David Dare, Carter Tate , Robert Algeo, Dennis Sprout George Potter and William Kent Kerr Other candidates can also be written in by using the form.

Attention

Boat Owners! Do you own a boat with a cabin and would you like to make some money with it? We have slips and are looking for boats to use for charters. If you have a boat and are interested in an entrepreneurial opportunity call 361 332-9978. This is a rare opportunity.

January 19, 2017

Island Moon

History cont. from A1 U.S./Mexican border and the more trouble he could stir up in that region the more his rivals would have to divided their attentions between him and their northern flank.

population all along the border, to the excitable character of the Mexicans and to the vengeful feeling that exists among Americans due to the recent outrages committed by Mexican band of raiders well known to have been composed partly of Mexican soldiers the situation…is likely to give rise to such serious consequences that further delay is dangerous…I have heretofore been very conservative in regard to calling for more troops... because I wished to avoid unnecessary expense. The time for economy has passed, more troops should be supplied regardless of expense…”

their bodies were found along the roadside by U.S. troops. Literally translated ley fuga meant “to take flight.” In border lingo it meant “shot while trying to escape” which was a long way of saying executed. The Law of Flight was nothing new between Mexicans and Anglos along the border. Everyone understood the rules. It turned out one of the victims of Ley Fuga were a tenant at the ranch, an employee of

Ferguson put up a $1000 reward but in his naiveté told an underling to “make a demand upon General Nafarrate. I am sure he could capture and deliver them to us.” Funston cited the “role of cattle smuggling which has been going on for years along the border has led to the organization of powerful bands of smugglers along the river…” This should all sound familiar to anyone who lives along The Border today.

It was a de facto declaration of war. Funston wanted two additional regiments – one cavalry, one infantry – and two infantry battalions to be rushed to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio then stationed in Harlingen. The Border War was being run by Mexican General Emiliano Nafarrate based in Matamoros who had begun to move the front line of the fight further north. Problems had spread as far north as Del Rio and in early September one Miguel Saiz was arrested in Cameron County on a charge of inciting a rebellion against the United States government as he spoke at a baile outside Brownsville urging his listeners to “rise up in arms and retake all the lands the Americans have taken from us.” In his luggage investigators found a red flag of rebellion, the Deguallo of no quarter.

The law of Ley Fuga In Matamoros Nafarrate complained to the Associated Press reporter there that he had no problem with the U.S. Army “but if the Rangers work on the river front…they will be causing trouble all the time. While the troops kept mainly to the river crossings and towns, the Rangers took to the brush where they fired at any

Revolution spreads Then a few days later three Mexicans addressed a crowd in San Antonio estimated at 1000 inciting them to rise up in armed insurrection. They each received 200 days in the Bexar County jail for blocking traffic and were awaiting federal charges – martyrs in waiting. Meanwhile the Carranza government continued to deny any involvement in the Plan de San Diego. His commander, the Constitutionalist commander General Nafarrate in Matamoros continued to direct the Border War and protested to U.S. General Frederick Funston, based in San Antonio and in charge of the Army’s South Texas region, about the cannons on the American side of the river which were dug in and pointed directly at his headquarters. The U.S. Vice-Consul in Mexico E.J. Puig reported that General Nafarrate “assured me that he had given strict orders to his men to retire some distance from the river front and was disposed to assist in every way possible to prevent further trouble.” Funston sent a telegram to the War Department, “I shall no longer take responsibility for failure to provide sufficient troops to adequately protect the people in the disturbed district against a possible uprising among the Mexican population…If I don’t have an adequate force ready for instant use, a single act of indiscretion by a subordinate commander on either side may start a conflagration that will extend along the entire border and result in an International crisis.” “Owing to the great preponderance of the Mexican (Americans) over the American

the ranch where the raid had taken place, and the third a visitor to the ranch with really bad timing.

A question of sovereignty The Army prohibited the border crossing of livestock except at designated cross points and Rangers were told to stay back from the river unless in hot pursuit of raiders. This all sounded like a good idea to desk sitters in San Antonio and Washington but was like trying to hold back the tide with a broom along the enflamed border. This was a fight that would be settled by arms.

Soldiers Mexican soldier they got a clear shot at across the river. The troopers lived by international protocol; the Ranger lived by the Law of the Border – which is to say no law at all. Meanwhile open combat continued. On September 13 twenty to thirty insurgents surrounded a ten-man outpost of the 12th Cavalry at Los Indios on the U.S. side about daybreak and in a thirty-minute exchange of gunfire wounded the sergeant in command and killed two troopers. Army reinforcements captured five men believed involved and turned them over to civil authorities. They were jailed in San Benito and three days later were put in automobiles for transport to Harlingen. Down the road the road the Ley Fuga was applied and

Eight of the total of ten reconnaissance aircraft owned by the U.S. Army were patrolling the skies along the border ready to report trouble or direct artillery fire. In these days before the U.S. entry into World War I the Texas/Mexico border was the main focus of the U.S. military. Given the fluid political situation in Mexico as the interests there tried to decide who was indeed the sovereign power, and the resulting perfidy

Fighting in Brownsville On September 17 fighting reached the outskirts of Brownsville. Carranza soldiers opened fire on American troops from across the river and the soldiers returned fire. There was now open combat between U.S. and Mexican troops with fire crossing the international border. American troops reported that four Cameron County deputies and a Brownsville policeman started the firefight by firing across the river at nothing in particular. The Rangers and local civil authorities alike viewed the current Border War much the same as the one six decades before; to them having U.S. troops along the border meant a chance to incite a general conflagration in which they would be backed by the full force of the U.S. Army. If firing a few shots across the river was enough to start a declared was then it was ammunition well spent. If the Rangers could use the U.S. Army to strike a blow that would leave them in a better situation vis-à-vis the Mexicans after the Army went home, then it would serve their interests in a border fight that had been going on with the Mexicans since before Texas was a state.

Natural state of equilibrium Tension along The Border was then, as it is now, a natural state of equilibrium. The presence of the U.S. Army just gave the Texans more resources in the fight. As General Funston wrote to his superiors in Washington, “Such conduct could easily involve us in a long and blood war…”

US. Army camp along The Border 1915 of the various factions there was no one for the U.S. to negotiate with. The only solution was to pour troops into the South Texas buffer zone and await events south of the border. Orders came from Washington to San Antonio and the border was sealed to “all male persons capable of bearing arms who cannot satisfy the officer in charge” that they had a legitimate reason to cross. Word went out from Texas Governor Pa Ferguson to capture the leaders of the Plan de San Diego Luis de la Rosa and Aniceto Pizana.

To the Texans that was the whole point. While Big Brother is in town let’s get him to bloody as many Mexican noses as we can before he leaves. Funston wrote the Governor Ferguson, “The interests of Texas and the whole nation are involved and I consider the situation so fraught with danger that unless these incidents can be at once stopped I shall feel compelled to recommend that the President of the United States place the Counties on the lower river under martial law in the severest form.” Next issue: Mexican-Americans flee South Texas.

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Super Bowl LI is a few weeks away, and football fans everywhere are starting to make their predictions. On Sunday, Feb. 5, two teams will compete for the NFL championship title in Houston. If you’re heading to the Super Bowl this year, Better Business Bureau advises you to be on alert for ticket scams. There are currently thousands of game day tickets listed on classifieds websites, which seems great to those making a last-minute decision to see the big game. However, these sites offer no guarantees and do not require identification from sellers. Buying tickets in person is not always a sure thing either, as it has become easier for scammers to make fake tickets look real. This may become a more likely scam because the game is in Texas this year. BBB offers the following tips for safely purchasing Super Bowl tickets: Do your research. When purchasing tickets through an online broker, check out their BBB Business Review at bbb.org for details about the company, history of complaints and customer reviews. You can also check to see if they are a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers, an organization that works with law enforcement agencies, professional sports teams and other organizations to fight against counterfeit tickets. Verify the tickets are real. Search for guidance online about how the tickets should look and compare them to the ones you want to buy. Also, compare the price of the tickets to the price of others being sold. Scammers will often list tickets at a very low price to lure victims. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Check the ticket broker’s refund policy. Research the ticket broker's refund policy before purchasing, and make sure it provides clear details about the terms of the transaction. Assess the company's policy for customer satisfaction and details on reimbursement for cancelled events.

Watch for hidden fees. Some websites include service charges and additional shipping fees. While these charges should be identified on the website and disclosed to you before the transaction is finalized, read the fine print to make sure you know the total cost that will be billed to your account. Pay with a credit card. Always use a credit card as additional protection. Also, never wire money to someone you don’t know. Money sent via wire transfer is extremely difficult to retrieve. Once the scammers have picked it up, there is little recourse, if any, for getting your money back. Additionally, BBB advises you to watch out for these red flags: The ticket seller prefers to communicate via email. If the seller doesn’t provide a physical address or phone number as another option to communicate, that’s a red flag. With email, there’s no way to tell where the person is emailing from, or who the person is. Ask questions! The ticket seller can’t provide additional photos or information. Request more photos of the property, or ask to be given a virtual tour via webcam. Ask for specific details about the package or tickets you are purchasing. Legitimate owners and/or sellers will be happy to oblige. If you believe you have purchased a counterfeit ticket, immediately report it to the NATB’s hotline at 630-510-4594 and file a complaint with your BBB at bbb.org. Kelly Trevino is the regional director for the Corpus Christi/Victoria area of Better Business Bureau serving Central, Coastal, Southwest Texas and the Permian Basin. Kelly is available for media interviews and speaking engagements. You can reach her by phone: (361) 945-7352 or email: ktrevino@corpuschristi.bbb.org.

January 19, 2017

Island Moon

Stuff I Heard on the Island

By Dale Rankin When I started writing this we had a mayor. But somewhere around paragraph three that changed. While our incoming President is a Tweet man, it seems our outgoing mayor is a Facebook man. He resigned Wednesday afternoon by posting the following on Facebook and by e-mailing it to the City Secretary. “Consider this my resignation. I resign immediately. The city can no longer deal with such differing views and divisiveness. I step down from my position as Mayor, in order to allow the council and city to regain focus on success. Sorry, they are now into my ex-wives and kids. Nothing good will come from that mess.” And that, as they say, was that.

Tides of the Week Tides for Bob Hall Pier January 19 - January 26

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High /Low

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3:04 AM

19 20

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0.2

7:20 AM

Rise 12:11 AM

High 9:14 AM

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6:00 PM

Set 12:06 PM

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1:59 PM

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3:46 AM

0.0

7:20 AM

Rise 1:03 AM

High 1:09 PM

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6:00 PM

Set 12:42 PM

Low

4:20 PM

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0.8 -0.2

7:19 AM

Rise 1:54 AM

High 7:50 PM

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4:27 AM

High 2:08 PM

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6:01 PM

Set 1:19 PM

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5:08 AM

-0.3

7:19 AM

Rise 2:45 AM

High 2:45 PM

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6:02 PM

Set 1:59 PM

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-0.4

7:19 AM

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High 3:18 PM

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6:03 PM

Set 2:41 PM

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-0.5

7:18 AM

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High 3:48 PM

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6:04 PM

Set 3:27 PM

Low

7:04 AM

-0.6

7:18 AM

Rise 5:17 AM

High 4:15 PM

1.3

6:05 PM

Set 4:16 PM

Low

7:40 AM

0.7

7:18 AM

Rise 6:06 AM

High 4:39 PM

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6:05 PM

Set 5:09 P

5:48 AM 6:26 AM

Moon Visible

41 32 24 16 9 4

They daily press has covered the blow by blow, but it began when it was reported that McQueen’s claim that his undergraduate degree was from Florida State could not be verified. The best I can tell is that his undergrad was from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University which is billed as, “the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace. How Embry-Riddle m o r p h e d Quitter into Florida State is a riddle that now doesn’t even require andanswer – it’s ancient history. McQueen’s attack on “the media” which really was KRIS TV that broke the story, reminded me of the claim by that renowned American author and man of letters Terrell Owens who claimed he was misquoted in his autobiography. Not being able to remember where you went to undergrad is like Brian Williams who “conflated” his account of being shot down in a combat helicopter. If there are two things in the world I would think you would remember it is where you went to college and whether you were shot down in a combat helicopter. I must admit I was disappointed to hear that McQueen was resigning, I thought he handled himself very well in the recent water crisis and he seems to be a steady hand at the wheel but the wheel he was steadying last Tuesday was the one on the front end of his motorcycle as it headed out of town while the council met without him. A motorcycle with a gas leak I hear. I didn’t think it was such a big deal that he hired his friend at a $60,000-plus salary for a city job; it may come as a surprise to some but that isn’t the first time an elected city official got a friend a job at city hall. But forgetting where you went to college is a problem.

So now what? It just so happened that City Councilman Greg Smith was in my office when his phone blew up with the news. As I read through the City Charter it seemed to me that Joe McComb is now the mayor, the question which the Charter is unclear on, at least as I read it, is whether Joe can return to his At-Large seat after a special mayoral election or whether he forfeits his AtLarge seat if/when he becomes mayor. It is also unclear from the Charter if McComb can pass the mayor’s seat on to the second-highest vote getter –Michael Hunter - and retain his AtLarge seat.

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This raises a couple of questions: First, is whether McComb can re-claim his At-LargeSeat after the mayoral appointment and subsequent Special Election (assuming he doesn’t run); Second, who might run for that seat in the Special Election; and third, who will now run for mayor. Try as I might I couldn’t get Greg to say yes or no on whether he might consider a run. I think it is fairly certain that Mark Scott will run, providing he wins a court hearing that is likely to be required to determine if he has been termed out. The “ruling” by a special council hired by the city that he is eligible to return to city office despite term limitations almost certainly will not be sufficient for his detractors who say fourteen years in city office is enough. McQueen alluded to how the pressure came to land at his doorstep in another Facebook

post earlier when he said, “I strongly wish you would fix the reporter that created this entire episode in our city. Look for the real MONEY that is starting the controversy.” As in most cases of local politics there most certainly are some monetary interests at work in McQueen’s removal and that story will come out in due time, but in my world a reporter who correctly points out that you said you graduated from a university that you, apparently, didn’t attend doesn’t need to be “fixed” for reporting facts.

Who’s on first? The way I read the Charter it doesn’t make any distinction between the new “mayor” which is the highest vote getter in the last At-Large election, and the Interim Mayor who fills the role until a Special Election. If the two are one in the same then McComb has lost his At-Large seat by becoming mayor and the Special Election will include a vote for the At-Large seat, unless the City Attorney says otherwise. That doesn’t seem at all fair to me because McComb didn’t ask for the mayor’s job and should not lose the seat his was elected to because he is forced to become mayor. But if that is the case then the council can then appoint an Interim At-Large City Council member who can then run for the seat in the election, a huge advantage which can be bestowed by the current council. As for the now upcoming mayor’s race I would think that recently defeated At-Large candidate Chad Magill will be a possible candidate, and I’m sure Nelda Martinez's name will come up. Here is what the City Charter has to say about the process: City Charter Sec. 12. Vacancy in Office of Mayor. (a) In the event of death, resignation, permanent disability, forfeiture of office, recall or impeachment of the mayor, or if for any reason a vacancy shall exist in the office of mayor, the council member elected at large who received the highest number of votes in the last regular election shall immediately become the mayor, provided that such council member shall not be at that time the subject of any recall petition on file with the city secretary. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event more than one year remains until the next regular city council election or the council member designated to become mayor is the subject of a recall petition on file with the city secretary, a special election shall be called by the then remaining council members to fill the vacancy in the office of mayor, and if there then are no remaining council members such special election shall be forthwith called by the county judge of Nueces County, Texas. (b) Any person who becomes mayor as provided above shall have all the duties and powers of the mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term of the mayor, unless sooner removed as provided in this charter. In the event a council member becomes mayor, the office of the council member shall become vacant, and such vacancy shall be filled as provided in this article. Sec. 13. Vacancies in Office of Council Member. In the event of death, resignation, permanent disability, forfeiture of office, recall, or impeachment, of any council member, or if for any reason a vacancy shall exist in the office of any council member, the then remaining members of the council by majority vote shall forthwith fill such vacancy by appointment of a new council member having the qualifications for such vacancy or vacancies as established by law, and the appointed council member shall hold office until the next regular city election and until his or her successor has been elected and qualified, unless sooner removed as provided in this charter; provided, however, that in the event a majority of the council members be recalled at the same recall election, then the vacancies in the offices theretofore held by them shall be filled by a special election to be held within sixty days after such vacancies occur. Such election shall be forthwith called by the then remaining council members, and if there be no remaining council members, such election shall be forthwith called by the county judge of Nueces County, Texas.” You are now as informed as anyone is on what will happen next in this unusual set of circumstances. I’m thinking maybe we should turn it into a reality show involving mortal combat. That would seem to make about as much sense as what we have… And so it goes.

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January 19, 2017

Island Moon

Senior Moments

The Greatest Show on Earth is Not Coming to Town By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon Dotson’s Note: To say the least, I was shocked Beatty. when I recently heard/read: “After 146 years The press regularly attacked circuses. A Staten the ‘Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey’ Island newspaper pointed out that a single circus is closing.” I remember as if were visit of the Great Eastern Circus took from the yesterday, running all the way to the railroad community "enough money to sustain three station to watch the circus train arrive, unload missionaries among the heathen for a year." and parade through town to a vacant acreage on the south side where the circus was to set up. Soon after the parade finished, I, along with some other boys about my age (11), got jobs watering and cleaning up after the elephants. Our pay for two long days of work was general admission tickets to both of the two (Saturday & Sunday) matinee performances. Thanks to Bob Brooke for his contributions to this article.

The Beginnings The first circus came to the US on 3 April 1793. John Bill Rickets, an English equestrian rider, used a ring and added acrobats, a rope walker and a clown to his equestrian act. But the circus didn't have an elephant - at least not yet.

P.T. Barnum

The elephant didn't get into the circus until the 1800s. Hackaliah Bailey, a farmer from Somers, New York, had a brother who was a sea captain. The brother, while in London, bought a female African elephant at auction for $20 and sold it to Bailey for $1,000.

Clyde Beatty Was One Of The Circus' Great Wild Animal Trainers Eventually, menageries began using equestrians and clowns to present performances in circus rings, so the distinction between circus and menagerie gradually faded. They traveled at night in wagon trains over country roads often a foot deep in mud, covering only two or three miles an hour. These were the so-called mud shows. The longest distance they could cover was 10 or 15 miles. A hostler rode ahead of the wagons to find the shortest route and to "rail" every fork and crossroad by taking a rail from a farmer's fence and placing it across the road that was not to be taken so that the wagons would avoid making a wrong turn. An advance agent ballyhooed the show, arriving on horseback about a week ahead of it. He would ring a bell, beat a drum, or blow a bugle to get folks' attention, then talk up the show while persuading tavern owners and storekeepers to let him tack up his bills, usually in return for free passes to the performance.

A Poster Featuring Jumbo, the World's Largest Elephant. The captain put the elephant on board a sloop bound up the Hudson River for Sing Sing, the nearest river town to Bailey's home. Bailey walked the animal, which he called ‘Old Bet’, from Sing Sing to Somers, 56 miles away. He walked the elephant only by night so that the public wouldn't glimpse the beast along the route "for nothing". During the day, he exhibited the elephant for a small fee and began to make a profit.

On circus day, a clown would come into town a couple of hours before the circus enticing the townspeople with acrobatics, clowning and snappy jokes. Then the wagons would arrive. The regular members of the troupe split the profits, with each expected to perform several jobs. Owners seldom paid salaries. The ring was always the heart of the circus. When the circuses first took to the roads, they played in enclosures made by surrounding the ring with sailcloth sidewalls stretched around posts and trees. There was no roof,

Bailey's success encouraged others to invest in unusual animals for exhibition and take them on tour. Unfortunately, a ruffian in Maine shot Old Bet to death in 1816. Old Bet's death didn't stop her from going on exhibition. Nine months later, advertisements began appearing in New York newspapers saying that Bailey had had the remains of Old Bet stuffed and preserved. For the next four years, Old Bet's remains toured New England.

Circus Tent so if it rained, the show couldn't go on.

After John Bill Rickets was lost in a shipwreck as he headed for England, the circus in America almost disappeared. No superstars like Rickets caught the fancy of the public. However another idea was catching on: the traveling menagerie.

Joshua Purdy Brown, another native of Somers, New York, put up the first circus tent in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1825. The simple idea of a canvas tent that was easily portable yet kept both rain and blazing sun off performers and spectators alike proved the perfect innovation.

The Menagerie

The following year, Nathan Howes pitched a round tent 90 feet in diameter over his ring. On a windy day, the tent sounded like a windjammer under full sail. This was the first Big Top.

At first, entrepreneurs put individual wild animals on display and charged admission. As time went by, exhibitors began adding more animals to their shows. By the early 1820s there were 30 or more traveling menageries touring the eastern US. It wasn't until the late 1830s that promoters figured out a way to combine the menagerie with the circus. Cat acts in the US began in 1833, when Isaac Van Amburgh first stepped into a cage occupied

While European circuses had tents designed with four center poles forming a square to accommodate their one-ring design while expanding the area for seating, the American Big Top put its tent poles in a single-file line as the circus expanded into two, and then three, rings, enlarging the area for performers as well as the audience. Dotson’s Other Note: Ernest Hemingway, a lifelong circus lover, once wrote, "The circus is the only ageless delight that you can buy for money. Everything else is supposed to be bad for you. But the circus is good for you. It's the only spectacle I know that, while you watch it, gives the quality of a truly happy dream." I believe that no mention of a circus would be complete without the name ‘PT Barnum’ being noted. Phineas Taylor Barnum was born on 5 July 1810, in Bethel, Connecticut, only 20 miles from the part of New York State that was becoming famous as a cradle of the circus at the very time when Hackaliah Bailey was exhibiting Old Bet. Barnum met Bailey while he was owner of a retail fruit and confectionery store in Bethel. It would be great to hear from all of you Moon Monkeys about your circus memories.

Lion Tamer Isaac Van Amburgh

Your thoughts regarding this or any articles appearing in The Island Moon are greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading and commenting on Senior Moments. I can be reached at: dlewis1@stx.rr.com and/or Land Line: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530-748-8475.

by a lion, a tiger, a leopard and a panther. Dressed like a Roman gladiator in toga and sandals, Van Amburgh emphasized his domination of the animals by beating them into compliance Please Note: The next Veterans Roundtable with a crowbar and thrusting his arm into their Meeting will be Tuesday, January 24, 2017, 9-11 mouths, daring them to attack. When he came under attack for spreading cruelty and moral AM, 3209 S. Staples. All Veterans, their families ruin, Van Amburgh quoted the Bible: "Didn't and anyone interested in Veterans affairs, are God say in Genesis 1:26 that men should have invited. Coffee & doughnuts are provided. Hope dominion over every animal on the earth?" To to see you there. Also our Veterans Radio Round enhance his case, Van Amburgh actually acted Table is on the air on KEYS AM 1440, 8 – 9 AM, out scenes in the Bible, forcing a lion to lie Saturdays. The next will air January 21, 2016. down with a lamb and even bringing a child Please listen and call in. The listener/text line from the audience to join them in the ring. is: 361-560-5397…It’s your show. Van Amburgh's vicious theatrics gave rise to the Hang in there/Have fun! so-called American style of feline acts, a style that reached its peak a century later with Clyde

Anecdotingly

Miss Direction

ByAbigail Bair I suffer from a condition that my family politely refers to as “directional impairment.” Impolitely, it's some wierd breed of dyslexia. This is a hereditary problem, and the G.P. has it even worse than I do. The Rev finds our inability to find due north (or, often, 'left') hilarious, and helpfully teases us unmercifully. Yesterday, when I briefly got lost during the dog jog (on a route we have traveled daily for the past two years), I did some quick calculating and realized that I’ve been lost approximately 80% of my adult life. I’ve gone astray so often that I now have degrees of lost-ness, sort-of like the way Eskimos have words for snow. Most of the time, the situation isn’t dire. Because I don’t know where things are located in any conventional sense, I navigate by landmarks (on the dog jog it’s canine points of interest like Rich Man’s Alley, the Pee Pee Tree and that place we saw the cat that one time). Once I recognize something, I can usually deduce how to get home from there. Technology has been great, too. Now that there’s a magical lady who lives in my phone and knows where everything on planet Earth is, I can get anywhere in almost a reasonable amount of time.

On the Fun Bus

objections and decided to “split the difference.” This caused us to wind up on a farm road in the middle of nowhere. Even if you get lost a lot, seeing a dust devil blow menacingly over the ruts you’re bumping down (when you’re pretty sure you should be on a highway) is disheartening. That’s about when The Fight started. I was automatically out because we were so far removed from civilization (we’re talking no power lines, no telephone poles, ears straining for the penultimate banjo music, rural) my cell phone wasn’t at all functional. This also meant no calling for help. I wasn’t about to let that stop me from joining the fray, however. When a good Bair fight breaks out, you get in there and scrap, otherwise you get branded as a wussy and no one listens to you at all, ever, on any topic until you get a few licks in during the next Mega Battle. You could have a doctorate in astrophysics, and be trying to answer an astrophysics question that only an astrophysicist could really adequately answer, but if you refused to fight in the last Family Scramble, you’d get told to hush while the G.P. (who does not hold a PhD in astrophysics) took over. We are a contentious bunch.

More lost than Columbus

GPS overload

An old boyfriend of mine once pointed out that my family’s default volume is “yelling.” The Fight was no exception. It started with the G.P. hollering at all of us because we were lost, despite the fact that he was definitely the one who drove us there. Then Josh began bellowing about having a better GPS and how we should have just listened to him in the first place. Then I started screaming about “why in the hell would you take a “shortcut” when you don’t know where we are or where we’re going? What part of “dirt road” didn’t seem wrong to you immediately? Better GPS is stupid. When is .1 meter going to be a valuable accuracy? We’re looking for a whole, giant city literally called LONG MOUNTAIN, not buried treasure. Also, GIVE ME THE NYQUIL, MOTHER!” The Rev then chimed in, cheerfully channeling Admiral Peary, “Well, we’re heading North. Just keep going and eventually we’ll get there.” I’m pretty sure that my mother is unaware of just how much north there is in the world, and that if you miss your north place, you can’t just loop back longitudinally around the planet and catch it on the next pass. This released another barrage of screeching, but no Nyquil. The whole argument was punctuated by the G.P. interrupting everyone to tell us that he was, “Getting 32 miles to the gallon (joy voice)….oops, now 12 (despair voice)” because even though we were more lost than Columbus, it’s important to always know how much you’re spending on gas. Eventually, we found a highway. Not the correct highway, of course, but it was a start. I figured out exactly how long the charge on my laptop lasted (5 hours and 14 minutes), and made several ill-fated attempts to snatch the Nyquil. We finally got to Colorado, and (after a few minor missteps involving Denver), to Longmont. We weren’t even very late to the wake.

Of course, even with all the assistance, we got lost within about six hours because everybody’s GPS had different ideas about getting to Colorado. The G.P. overrode our strident

Author's note: The G.P. read this column earlier and commented: "Not bad, daughter dear, but none of it is exactly true. We were getting 33 mpg." He would know.

Several years ago, my uncle died suddenly. The funeral took place in Colorado, and the G.P. decided to forego the expense of buying plane tickets for the Rev, myself and my brother, Josh. In lieu of flying, we drove from Corpus to Longmont in Dad’s Mercury Marquis. My brother tried to name it the “Fun Bus.” My brother sucks. I went for “Titanic,” but it didn’t fly. Ultimately, and for obvious reasons due to four upset adult digestive systems being imprisoned in what felt like a shoe box for several days, we just went with “Fart Car.” As you can imagine, a family road trip with children in their 30’s wasn’t going to be a laugh riot. My brother, being tall and a jerk, got shotgun and the Rev and I were stuck in the back. My initial plan was to chug Nyquil and try to sleep through the whole thing, like a decent human being, but Mom caught me and confiscated the bottle before I could down enough to drown out the family. She thought that deliberately overdosing on cold medicine would somehow be worse than spending 40 hours in a car, awake, with all the Bair Primes. Parents just don’t understand. Due to innumerable past family trips wherein we wound up lost in places like the only swamp in Nebraska, EVERYBODY brought their own on-board navigational system. Dad had his cherished Oracle (which also told him his miles per gallon), Josh (a tech junkie) brought a system that had accuracy up to .1 meters and probably also flew a drone, I had my phone (with poor accuracy but excellent Tetris) and Mom had her innate sense of direction combined with a determined cheerfulness so brutally annoying that even Pollyanna would be unable to resist slapping off the smug.

January 19, 2017

Island Moon

Saturday, January 28th

Classic Car Show At the Barrel Mr. Lance Bradley, the new owner of The Barrell and Black Sheep restaurant has invited The Padre Island Antique Classic Car Club members to have their January car show and drive-in at the parking lot of his restaurant and bar at 15201 S Padre Island Dr #120, Corpus Christi, TX 78418. The event will take place from 11 AM to 1 PM on Saturday, January 28th. The Black Sheep restaurant now features a brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 AM to 2 PM. If you plan on attending the show which will feature a variety of vintage automobiles, please park in the front parking lot upon arrival and enjoy a great brunch at Bradley's establishment.

Behold the Taxman Cometh

January 31 is the Deadline

The last day to pay your 2016 property tax bill without penalty and interest will be on Tuesday January 31st. Accounts not paid by January 31st become delinquent on February 1st, per the Texas Property Tax Code 33.01, according to Nueces County Tax Assessor-Collector Kevin Kieschnick. Those who wish to skip the line and the wait should utilize our no fee online E-Check option. Just have your checking account number and routing number nearby when logging in. Click blue link below for access: https://actweb. acttax.com/act_webdev/nueces/ If you choose to come in, help us reduce your wait time by bringing your tax statement with you when paying your bill. Those who wish to not wait in line and have a paid receipt mailed to them may use our drop box located on the 3rd floor by the tax office. Please include a check and the statement(s) for the property(s) being paid. If you need additional information, please feel free to call my office at 361-888-0230, Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Island Moon on a Spoon

Roasted Tomato Soup Preheat oven to 425 degrees

By Chef Vita Jarrin As the weekend approaches, I am pretty sure the last thing you want to read about is another pumpkin recipe. So this week, I thought I would add one of my favorite soup recipes into the fall menu mix. I particularly like this recipe because it’s easy for one, and roasting the tomatoes first, with the garlic, shallots, sugar and balsamic vinegar, allows the ingredients to caramelize while baking which adds an extra richness to the flavor. This soup is also child friendly. What child doesn’t like a bowl of tomato soup? Especially with a grilled cheese Sammy on the side. For this recipe I am including an elevated version of grilled cheese, but you can use a grilled cheese of choice. If you want to garnish your bowl of soup, you can add a sprig of basil and or a couple of homemade croutons, and still serve the grilled cheese Sammy on the side.

Tomato Soup Ingredients: ¼ c Olive oil 3 lbs. Roma tomatoes

Place all of these ingredients in a 9x13 cake pan and mix all of these ingredients together and bake for one hour and fifteen minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes. Place tomatoes in a blender or food processor and puree. If you are using a heavy duty blender or processor, there is no need to strain the soup mixture. If not? You will need to in order to remove any tomato skin residue left in puree. Place pureed soup in a sauce pot and add the vegetable or chicken stock. Adjust seasoning if you need to. Bring to a simmer and add the cream (optional) Serve with Grilled Cheese Sammys

6 Grilled Cheese Sammys 12 Slices of crusty bread cut on the bias ½ stick of butter for coating exterior slices for toasting Basil pesto (store bought or homemade) 12 slices of Havarti or Jalapeño Havarti (Melts Nicely) Spread Pesto on one slice of bread and then add two slices of cheese to each slice and top with the other. Spread butter on both sides of bread.

1 pt. Cherry tomatoes 2 shallots small dice 6 cloves garlic smashed Handful of fresh basil chopped 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 1 tsp sugar

Heat a skillet and place Sammys down and toast both sides until golden and crispy. Serve with soup and voila you have a light yet very satisfying meal.

Tip of the Week:

2 tsp Salt ½ tsp black pepper¼ C heavy cream 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock Pinch of cayenne 9X13 baking sheet Pot for finishing soup on stove top

You can change up the bread and cheese in order to keep this meal interesting. For example… how about using Brie or Swiss Cheese? How about using caramelized onion in the Sammy also? You can even use sun dried tomato or broccoli pesto.. The ideas are endless. Most importantly enjoy yourself, get creative, try new things have fun!!! Happy Eats!

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January 19, 2017

Island Moon

SPORTS Sports Talk Special to The Island Moon

Dallas Cowboys Top Ten Players of All Time & etc. By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon seasons. The 11-time Pro Bowler and seventime First Team All-Pro was a fixture for Dallas’ Dotson’s Note: For the first time in more offensive line for most of the 1990’s, including than five years, I am spending part of my day, Sunday January 15, 2017 watching (on TV) the Dallas Cowboys participate in a National Football League Football Contest. The last time I watched the Cowboys play was October2, 2011 when they lost in the old (now gone) Texas Stadium in Irving to the Detroit Lions 30-34. Tony Romo was the Cowboys’ quarterback and among his teammates on that day were Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Dan Bailey, Felix Jones and Laurent Robinson.

He’s Coming Back By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon Winston Churchill once said “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you will see.” After his first step on a football field, he knew he was home. He is a man with a deep sense of right and wrong, and giving up a screen

coaches for guidance. Coach Carl Spoonemore guided Phil as a father figure and saw that Phil went to college at Angelo State University, on a football scholarship. Phil was named the MVP of his high school football

Dallas Cowboys Facts 1960-2016 The Dallas Cowboys play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. From 1960 to 1971 their home field was Cotton Bowl. From 1971 to 2008 the Dallas Cowboys' home field was Texas Stadium. From 2009 to present they have played at AT&T Stadium. They have played in 31 Playoff seasons (as of 2014) including years 1966-1973, 19751983, 1985, 1991-1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2014. The Cowboys have won 22 Division Championships including the NFL Capitol in 1967, 1968, and 1969, as well as the NFC East in years 1970-1973, 1976-1979, 1981, 1985, 1992-1996, 1998, 2007, 2009, and 2014. The Dallas Cowboys have won 10 Conference Championships including the NFL Eastern in 1966 and 1967, as well as the NFC in 1970, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1992, 1993, and 1995. The Dallas Cowboys have won the Super Bowl five times. They won Super Bowl VI, XII, XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX. The Dallas Cowboys have had several team nicknames including America's Team, Doomsday Defense, The Boys and Big D. The Dallas Cowboys have 21 former members enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame including Herb Adderley, Troy Aikman, Larry Allen, Lance Alworth, Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett, Forrest Gregg, Bob Hayes, Michael Irvin, Tom Landry, Bob Lilly, Tommy McDonald, Bill Parcells, Mel Renfro, Deion Sanders, Tex Schramm, Emmitt Smith, Jackie Smith, Roger Staubach, Randy White, and Rayfield Wright.

Dallas Cowboys- 2016/2017 Rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have led the Dallas Cowboys in 2016/2017 and put the Cowboys in first place in the NFC East. Prescott set the rookie record for most passes without an interception and Elliott is the league leading rusher. Though both players are off to tremendous starts, they are still a long way off from cracking my list of the Top 10 Dallas Cowboys of all time.

the Cowboys’ Super Bowl XXX title. #4: Randy White After moving from linebacker, White became one of the Cowboys’ best defensive tackles of all time. His nine Pro Bowls and nine First Team All-Pro distinctions were only outdone by a co-MVP award for his performance in Super Bowl XII. #3: Emmitt Smith Despite being the league’s all-time leading rusher, Smith has staunch competition among the greatest Cowboys of all time. His eight Pro Bowls, five All-Pro seasons and two league MVP awards speak for themselves; Smith is best known, however, for leading Dallas to three

Super Bowl titles in the 1990’s, in one of which Smith himself was named MVP (XXVIII). #2: Bob Lilly Arguably the best defensive tackle and most decorated Cowboys player of all time, Lilly spent the entirety of his esteemed career in

Top 10 Dallas Cowboys of All Time #10: Jason Witten

Dallas. Eleven Pro Bowl appearances, nine AllPro distinctions and a Super Bowl championship later, he earned the lofty title of “Mr. Cowboy.” #1: Roger Staubach

Now the Cowboys’ all-time receptions leader, Witten is already one of the best Cowboys to ever play. Ten Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams make Witten a paragon of consistency, but he is still searching for that elusive first Super Bowl title. #9: Mel Renfro

A transplant from the offensive side of the ball, Renfro became of the best defensive backs to ever suit up for America’s Team. Renfro was named to 10 Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams while with the Cowboys, winning two Super Bowls along the way. He has the most interceptions in team history. #8: Tony Dorsett Dorsett made the most of his 11 seasons in Dallas. Trailing only Emmitt Smith for the most rushing yards and touchdowns in Cowboys history, Dorsett established himself as one of the team’s best running backs of all time. He finished as a four-time Pro Bowler and helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl XII. #7: Michael Irvin Another staple of the great Cowboys teams of the ‘90’s, Irvin still holds the most receiving yards and touchdowns in team history. With five Pro Bowls and three Super Bowl titles to his name, Irvin’s name is forever linked to the greatest Cowboys of all time. #6: Troy Aikman One of the most recognizable faces in Cowboys lore, Aikman quarterbacked the Cowboys to three Super Bowl championships. Aikman also earned six Pro Bowl nods and Super Bowl XXVII MVP honors, and trails only Tony Romo for most passing touchdowns. #5: Larry Allen Paving the way for Emmitt Smith was Larry Allen, a star offensive lineman in Dallas for 12

“Roger the Dodger” takes the top spot. The legendary quarterback best embodies the Cowboys’ glory days, leading Dallas to four Super Bowls and two championships as the starting quarterback. His six Pro Bowls and Super Bowl VI MVP award led to his 1985 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Dotson’s Other Note: Did you agree with my top ten Dallas Cowboys? If not, please send me your top ten. Update: NFL Division Play-Off, January 15, 2017 Dallas Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers--if you did not enjoy this game, you should not be permitted to watch football at any level ever again. Cowboys Tie Game in 4th Quarter--after a first half that was largely dominated by the Green Bay Packers’ offense, the Dallas Cowboys have shown why they were one of the best teams in football this season. Behind rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, the Cowboys reeled off consecutive touchdowns and tied the score at 28-28 after having been down by as many as 18 points in the first half. The Green Bay Packers could not hold on to a huge early lead, but Mason Crosby’s pair of 50-yard field goals in the fourth quarter were enough to give the team a 34-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, earning them a trip to the N.F.C. championship game next week against Atlanta. It was a game well worth watching. Your comments, suggestions, questions and concerns regarding Sports Talk articles are greatly appreciated, please call the Benchwarmers at 361-560-5397 weekdays, Mondays thru Fridays, 5-7 PM, or contact me. Phone: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530748-8475 Email: dlewis1@stx.rr.com Have fun -30-

Charter Boat Owners and Operators Wanted for new location on Packery Channel

Packery

Phil Danaher pass for fifteen yards is just wrong. He has built a football family, and family always makes you feel like you’re part of something much bigger than yourself. His teams run the football with heart, and their offensive sets are as confusing as Andy Rooney’s eyebrows. On defense, his kids hit you so hard they knock the sound out of you and put you on mute. He wanted characters with great character on his team and, during practice; he could run the tongue out of your mouth. And they win; win like they had invented the game. When you played Calallen High School in football, you added prayer to your list of things to do. On November 3, 2016, Calallen stuffed the Flour Bluff Hornets, 31-7, in the District 30-5A Championship Game, giving Danaher his 427th win. With 427 wins in his pocket, he’s now the winningest football coach in Texas High School history. This guy has had more Gatorade baths than anyone in the state. No one wants to talk to him about another coach; they want to talk about Phil Danaher. Coach Danaher understands that sometimes what you know can be the enemy of what you can learn. He knows that success doesn’t come from doing 4,000 different things. It comes from doing five or six things, 4,000 times. They say a legend is a person who connects with those he has never met. Let me introduce you to a legend, Coach Phil Danaher. Philip C. Danaher was born November 23, 1948, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Phil moved shortly afterwards with his family to South Texas, where he would play four different sports at Harlingen High School. He had lost his father in a car wreck and turned to his

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

After graduation, Danaher married his college sweetheart, Anita, and began to move through the coaching ranks starting at Dilly High School in 1974. Four years later, he left Dilly for Hamshire-Fannett High School. When Danaher arrived at Calallen High school in 1984, they had not reached the playoffs in 29 years. That was all about to change. The Wildcats have now appeared in a record 32 consecutive playoffs. Along the way, Calallen has reached the state finals twice and the semi-finals nine times. Age teaches us that winning isn’t everything, but it sure is fun. The best news is that he’s coming back. I am proud of you, Coach, and your kids. If I could give your team a pep talk, it would go like this. “One of the most important traits in life is to endure. Things are not going to go your way all the time. That doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong path or not doing the right things. Everything we do depends on others and, with that idea, the potential for distraction and the stubbing of one’s toe is great. You have to believe in yourself and endure. Andy Purvis is a local author and radio personality. Please visit www.purvisbooks. com for all the latest info on his books or to listen to the new radio podcast. Andy’s books are available online and can be found in the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. Andy can be contacted at purvis.andy@mygrande.net. Also listen to sports talk radio on Dennis & Andy’s Q & A Session from 6-8 PM on Sportsradiocc.com 1230 AM, 96.1 FM and 103.3 FM. The home of the Houston Astros.

Night at the Races

Save the Date Saturday, January 28

The Padre Island Rotary is presenting their popular “Night at the Races”. The event is Saturday, January 28, at the Veranda at Schlitterbahn, beginning at 6:00.

This is a really fun night on the Island. Get up, shake off the cold and come join us at The Races. We also welcome our Winter Texans to join in the fun. Follow us on Facebook and the Island Moon as we approach the event. We are looking for some race sponsors and food sponsors. You will get your monies worth by being mentioned throughout the evening as well as having your signs and/or banners posted around the room.

Ticket price is $35.00, which includes appetizer buffet and a cash bar with Happy Hour prices all evening. Tickets are being sold at Schlitterbahn, and by all Rotary Members. You will watch actual races shown on multiple TV’s around the restaurant. You will place your bets at three betting windows then proceed to cheer your horse to win. There will be 8 races with ten horses in each race. You will bet on them with $1,000.00 in funny money that you will receive upon entrance. During the Evening, if you run out of the funny money, you can always buy more. You will also be able to buy a horse each race for $20.00. There will be 10 sold at each race. If that horse wins, you win $100 and a bottle of champagne to share with your friends. At the end of the evening you turn your winnings in for raffle tickets for some great prizes. Your admission ticket will have a door prize stub on it that you will drop in the bucket upon entering. We will be calling numbers throughout the night for some good prizes as well.

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team two years in a row, at the quarterback position.

The Padre Island Rotary is a service group. We raise funds and spend the majority of our monies in the local community. We support the Adoption Awareness Picnic program that pairs local foster children in our area with vetted families for adoption; we support Interact, which is the high school equivalent of Rotary. This program has been thriving at Flour Bluff High school for years. There are over 100 members. Our cub has several members that work as sponsors along with a school sponsor. We give out a number of scholarships throughout the year for academia and community services. We support RYLA which is a rotary sponsored Youth Leadership Camp. We pay for up to 3 selected Interact members to attend each year. We supply them with their club shirts, and snacks for their meeting. Another favorite program is our Women’s Shelter Birthday Party. Each month we check with the local women’s shelter and find out how many of the children have birthdays. Our members pick up pizzas, several birthday cakes, drinks and age appropriate gifts for each birthday child. We also support Timon’s Ministries back pack and tennis shoe program. For additional information contact me at lawalshva@yahoo.com or Margie Corbett at rftc2009@gmail.com

Choose one of our Signature Paninis and a medium Gelato... only

Wednesday & Thursday 12-8 Friday & Sunday 12-9 Saturday 12-10 14254 SPID Sweet 101 361-589-4130

January 19, 2017

Seashore Happenings

Island Moon

Port Aransas High School Homecoming Parade

Prinicipal Genger Holt and students' raising money for new PE equipment!

Christi Kresser DVM

Dr. Christi Kresser

Voted Best Veterinarian 2006-2016

Thank You Friends, Supporters, Clients

We can’t express enough how much we appreciate your vote of confidence. 11 years you’ve voted us “Best of the Best Vetrinariain” in the South Texas Area.

Our Commitment To You We will continue to offer the best medicine, quality product & premium customer service to you, our clients & patients from North Padre Island, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi, Rockport, Aransas Pass, Flour Bluff, Southside, Calallen, Mathis...

Dr Christi Kresser, Ray Herrera & Staff