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361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com The Island Newspaper since 1996 Facebook : The Island Moon Newspaper
August 8, 2013
Photo courtesy of Island Garden Club
The only Island in Texas with more Wedding Planners than Water Towers
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com This week in Washington D.C. the U. S. State Department was asked whether Egypt had a coup and issued a statement which read, we have “determined that we do not need to make a determination.” Here’s hoping that approach catches fire in our Nation’s Capital as it seems unequivocal that less determinations from Washington are almost certain to be better than more determinations. In New York City it was found that the city’s headquarters of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is overrun by bed bugs – doesn’t seem like that would promote mental hygiene but things are bit different in the Big Apple. In Pittsburg a theater where people were watching a Disney movie was evacuated after someone wrote a bomb threat on toilet paper, and in Deer Trail, Colorado the city council is about to declare open season on drone aircraft. So far 157 people have signed up for a $25 “drone hunting license” which would allow them to blast away if they see a drone flying overhead. We Moon Monkeys think such a license would be a big hit on our Island during duck season. Here on The Island two goats were found running loose on Cuttysark, they were herded up with no harm done. Out on the beaches driving conditions are getting worse by the day as the dry weather and wind turn the sand to dust; a turnover in Gulf water has brought cool water up and fishing to a halt from the beaches (actually “fishing” is fine but “catching” is a problem), and the Island Moon Traffic Department has begun issuing semi-hourly traffic reports each weekend on our Facebook page theislandmoonnewspaper for SPID between Commodores and the JFK. The bad news is that the reports began last weekend during the first weekend of the CCPD Crackdown on Aggressive Drivers when two police cars collided there and backed up traffic, but not for very long. The Moon Traffic Department reports that it looked like a NASCAR pit stop as the cop-on-cop smash up was cleared in record time. The good news is that we are now well into August and so far have not had a real Hurricane Scare, so we got that going for us.
Almost time to exhale We have two more weekends before all the kids are back in school so expect big weekend crowds through Labor Day. Last week the Invading Tourist Horde was a bit smaller than the week before. Traffic coming in from Port Aransas in the evenings was lighter than what has been usual of late, however, the badly-timed stop light at SH 361 and SPID continues to stack up northbound SPID traffic from Commodores to Whitecap in the afternoon. If you are headed OTB in the late afternoon on a weekend take the Aquarius Bypass to avoid the crowd.
Next Publication Date: 8/15/2013
Zoning Requested for 46-Acre RV Park Along SPID A developer has applied with the City of Corpus Christi’s City Planning Commission to change the zoning on 46 acres of land bordering SPID near Packery Channel, just south of the JFK Causeway that would allow him to build a 140-pad park for recreational vehicles, according to an official with the commission office. Signs notifying the public of the request for a zoning change went up last week.
By Mary Craft
According to the official the requested change would rezone the land, located inside the Island Overlay Zone, from “CR-2IO Resort Commercial District with an Island Overlay” to “RV/IO Recreational Vehicle Park District with an Island Overlay, not resulting in a change to the Future Land Use Plan.” The request for the zoning change was made by Golden Pointe, LLC. The request for the zoning change will go before the City Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 14, in City Council Chambers. The commission is expected to make a recommendation on whether to approve the request. The request then may go before the Island Strategic Action Committee for review, before it goes the City Council for a final decision. No further details on what type of park, or other business might be built at the site were available at press time.
On “Trial”
One of the Fabulous Teachers on the Island By Brent Rourk I cannot recall when I met her because the exact day and time escapes my fragile memory.
We’ve been telling you about the ongoing saga of the house over on Cuttysark which keeps getting rented on Craigslist; the problem of course is that the fellow in Nigeria who keeps renting it out doesn’t tell the “renter” that someone is living in the house and it is for sale not for rent. After half a dozen or so “renters” showed up the real estate company finally took matters into their own hands and put up a sign stating that the house is not for rent. Not sure if that guy can see it all the way from Nigeria. A woman was attacked this week while sitting in her car near Horace Caldwell Pier in Port Aransas. She managed to get away but was injured. The question that is being asked is whether this attack is related to a similar attack on Tara Truett which happened near the South Packery Jetty on the July 4th weekend. We have spoken to both CCPD and Port Aransas PD and both say there is no reason to believe they are related. No arrest has been made in either case. Both women remain hospitalized.
Island Moon ArtWalk Don’t forget the Island Moon ArtWalk on the seawall on August 17th and 18th. We’ll see you there. In the meantime say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Texas Sealife Center Now Open on the Island
By Dale Rankin
I’ll throw in the Harbor Bridge
Serious questions
Year 16, Issue 486
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Texas Sealife Center & Wildlife Gallery Gift Shop is now open in the old Visitor’s Center across from Subway on SPID. The building was acquired in March and the gift shop opened to the public in June. Executive Director of the animal rehabilitation center is veterinarian Dr. Tim Tristan who currently has an office in Rockport. Veterinarian Technician Amanda Terry is Director of Rehabilitation and is currently working the ARK in Port A. They are working on permits and hope to be able to start bringing in animals in September. They are currently looking for volunteers and applications are available at the Center. The
orientation for the volunteers will be on Sunday August 11th noon – 2 pm. The rehab portion of the building has a surgical suite, a turtle tank and an area of bird cages. Behind the building there will be a large flight cage. Cheasare is currently running the gift shop where they have many consignment works of art by local artists. They also have T-shirts, stuffed animals, ceramic turtle hatchlings that are made there and jewelry. The center will also have interactive educational programs for kids. They are open 10 am – 4 pm and Sundays noon – 4 pm and closed Monday and Tuesday.
Boat Building 101
A Landlubber Builds His Own Wooden Farley Boat
By Joe Calvey, Sr. Walking into the Farley Boat Works for the first time in 2012 wasn’t too difficult. Several men were gathered around the wooden frame of a boat in its early stages. Each looked up and either said hello or nodded with a smile. Without any woodworking skills outside of cutting the occasional 2x4 or sanding and staining a it was a leap of faith taking those first steps Barney Farley (L) Darell Lyn (C) Pat Farley (R) wrap the side into the inner sanctum of a board on the tarpon boat to test the fitting. wooden boat building shop. centered on the steps that would be taken in The men were standing with their arms resting on the mahogany gunwales the days ahead to complete the transformation and the conversation was relaxed. The talk from project to a sea worthy Farley skiff. I had learned about the shop after dropping into the Port Aransas Museum and like a moth to a flame there I was.
The Aransas Rose
Farley Boat Works Shop Master Darrel Lynn looks over a center console skiff nearing completion.
I took a spot along the boat and cautiously placed one hand on the boat as I listened. A fellow named Pat extended his hand and introduced himself as did Curly, Chuck, Denny and Charlie. From somewhere a tape measure was extended out to the end of the boat where I was and I grabbed the end and held it where one of the fellows pointed. The group apparently decided on the next course of action as each fellow headed off to a Boat continued on A4
Island Under Construction I do know that it was in August, 2006. It seems it was upstairs in the old Dairy Queen store on the island that had been somewhat transformed to become a part of Seashore Learning Center and subsequently became a vital part of the first year of Seashore Middle Academy. Energetic, kind, and with a ready smile, she quickly paced around the room that was going to be our classroom for the year with a whirlwind of dust trailing her. She would teach Language Arts to 6th and 7th graders and I would teach one class of High School Spanish and also tutor students who needed math help. She had an aura of kindness about her, also a powerful and contagious case of enthusiasm, and she seemed to be able to multi-task quite fluidly. The white board was covered with schedules, Teacher continued on A12
Demand for housing and work at the Schlitterbahn park are keeping workers busy these days. The apartments on Granada which have been empty and in disrepair for several years are now about halfway through a refurbishment project. On Compass, the apartments which were about to be torn down are being refurbished
to accommodate workers at the Schlitterbahn park. And the Padre Isles Country Club headquarters work has begun on a new section on the west side of the building. Not pictured, Alex Harris has begun work on a town home development on Nemo Court.