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Issue 594

Island Moon

The voice of The Island since 1996

September 3, 2015

Around The Island

By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com Now and then we get reminded of how lucky we are to live on our little sandbar. This week the reminder came from friend Steve Coons up Port A way who sent us this photo.

There are a handful of rhapsodic transcendental experiences that always make we Islanders feel like a kid again; finding a sand dollar on the beach, watch a ship steam out through the jetties on its way to ports unknown, and watching a dolphin fly out of the water just because it can.

We are indeed lucky to live in a place where those are daily occurrences.

Blue Bell returns

The wider passage is designed to accommodate the large boats anticipated to enter the marina planned for Lake Padre as part of Schexnailder’s development there.

Schexnailder told ISAC members that he expects to have his permit with the Army Corps of Engineers in place by the end of October. That permit includes the water passage under the planned $8 million Water Exchange Bridge under SPID which will connect the current Island canal system on the west side of The

Good news from our state’s capital this week where Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the return of Blue Bell Ice Cream to selected markets in Texas. The company hasn’t said when we will see it back on Island shelves, but rejoice fellow Islanders creamy cool relief is on the way.

We finally got some relief from the humidity which has plagued us for most of August when last week a high pressure system brought in dry air and with it the Chamber of Commerce Weather. Then early Tuesday morning we Islanders got a free pressure car wash as a thunderstorm blew through with heavy rain and just enough wind to knock the dragonflies off our radiators. The low humidity and beautiful blue water that has been up close to our beaches for the past couple of weeks portend for a great final weekend of the 2015 Tourist Season. The high tide on Tuesday brought the slightest hint of Sargassum weed to our beaches; more than we have seen so far this year but, at least for now nothing to worry about.

On Tuesday Barry made an appearance on the ABC Network show Good Morning America’s On The Money segment to explain how his company can cut 25% to 35% on your monthly bills by basically being willing to put up with endless hours on the phone talking to service providers and knowing which questions to ask.

Way to go Barry! And we want to send a posthumous shout out to our friend Mindy who passed away about two years ago. We think she would have been very proud of what Barry has done with their idea.

Say hello if you see us Around The Island.

FREE

Island to the Lake Padre area, it will also open the way for $100 million in development Schexnailder has planned for the area, including two marinas as well as residential and commercial property.

City engineers told the ISAC Tuesday that Texas Department of Transportation, which must issue a permit for the building of the Water Exchange Bridge, will not do so until the Corps of Engineers permit is in place.

Current plans call for the bridge to consist of a forty-foot wide water passage with 14-feet of clearance from the waterline to the bottom of the bridge, and two 40-foot wide pedestrian and cart paths on both sides of the waterway. City staff told the ISAC that a public hearing to explain the design of the bridge that was tentatively scheduled for this month has been postponed pending the issuance of the Corps permit.

Paddle for Parkinson’s Set for This Saturday, September 5 at Billish Park At 9 a.m. Saturday, September 5, they will line up in the canal at Billish Park, head off in a flurry of paddles and splashing water, and the 9th Annual Paddle for Parkinson’s event will be underway.

Nine years ago Islander Mona Singleterry came up with an idea. Why not do an event to raise money to fight Parkinson’s Disease by using the natural environment here on The Island, and Paddle for Parkinson’s was born.

The first year it was called Catch The Cure and was a fishing tournament. But over the years the event has grown into the Island tradition that will kick off

Barry makes ABC News About ten years ago Islanders Barry Gross and Mindy Niles were discussing the difficulty of choosing between various providers of personal services from cell phone, to electricity, to cable when they hit upon a grand idea for a business; help consumers wade through the labyrinth of Byzantine plans and rules and cut their monthly bills and BillCutterz was born.

Weekly

Lake Padre Water Gate to Expand to 85 Feet

Island developer Paul Schexnailder whose company owns the majority of the land surrounding Lake Padre on the east side of South Padre Island Drive told the Island Strategic Action Committee (ISAC) on Tuesday that the opening of the water gate leading from Packery Channel to Lake Padre will be expanded from its current 50foot width to 85 feet.

State Representative Todd Hunter to Speak With Islanders Wednesday, September 9 at Doc’s

By Brent Rourk The IUPAC invites all Islanders to join our Honored Guest and Speaker State Representative Todd Hunter at Doc’s on Wednesday, September 9th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM when he will discuss Texas Legislative Update – windstorm, water, and workforce.

Enjoy complementary appetizers.

After his presentation ask questions, enjoy appetizers and the view at

Hunter continued on A5

Live Music A18

Free

Update on Island projects

By Dale Rankin

Seashore Science A14

again this Saturday. While the tourists are starting to pack the beaches,

Paddle continued on A5

Photo Courtesy of Skydive South Texas

Island Landmarks Tell Interesting Stories

By Dale Rankin With work on the tower at Schlitterbahn nearing completion a new landmark is entering the Island landscape. But it is only the latest in the collection. We decided to take a look at the history of other oftenphotographed spots around The Island.

Needlefish

The submarine Needlefish is located in front of the Padre Islander just north of the Commodores/SPID intersection. The Needlefish has been a fixture on The Island for over a decade. The homemade submarine was designed after a WWII class VII submarine. The creator, Bill Gifford, originally built the Needlefish in honor of his father, Bill Gifford Sr., and everyone else who fought in WWII. The submarine took Bill more than 1000 hours researching and over 2000 man-hours to finally complete.

It is a one of a kind working scale model of the WWII version. It has a shell made from a 1,550-gallon propane tank, a displacement of 18,000 pounds, and is 33 feet long.

Powered by two, twenty horse-power diesel/electric motors; it can reach speeds of up to 10 knots, 11mph, and can reach depths of 300 feet for a time span of four hours making it perfect for a two-person trip to explore sunken ships, conduct marine research, or just enjoy a unique look at life underwater. After being built the fully functional miniature was a star attraction at many boating shows and other events until it was sold on Ebay to Bob Clark, owner of The Padre Islander.

The Shark In 2003 word filtered out around The Island that the owner of the Third Coast Beach Company at the corner of Headsail and SPID, across the street from CVS, which wasn’t there at the time, had applied for a permit to build a giant shark in front of his store. For some reason this mortified a certain segment of The Island population.

They used words like “carnival” and “Panama City” to describe their outrage at the very idea of having a giant shark sign on their Island. Port Aransas at the time already had two and no one seemed to mind, but for the anti-shark crowd having one on Padre Island was sacrilege and they set out to do something about it.

The vocal opponents of the shark sign demanded a hearing with the Planning and Zoning Commission and on the day of the hearing there was a packed house; everyone there was dead set against the shark; except one man. His name was Yehuda Azoulay and he owned the business and had complied with the existing city ordinance and was asking for a final permit to build his sign. The Zoning Commission, unaccustomed to having a packed house seemed caught off guard but after almost two hours of Islanders taking turns

at the podium denouncing the evil sign they said that while Mr. Azoulay’s sign was in compliance with existing ordinances they would deny him a permit anyway. But they told the gathered crowd that if Mr. Azoulay took the matter to court he

Landmarks continued on A2

A little Island history

Massacre at Goliad - An Eyewitness Account

This is the latest story in a series based on the writings of Herman Ehrenberg who in 1836 immigrated to Texas from his native Germany to fight for Texas’ independence from Mexico. Fortunately for us Mr. Ehrenberg was a literate man who kept a full diary of his experiences in the struggle. But his journal was lost to history for 100 years until 1936 when “an ancient German manuscript was found by instructors at the University of Texas” but the language was old German that was not understood by any of the professors at the University.

As fate would have it a student from Refugio was working on his Master’s Degree at the time and he recognized the language as the old German dialect that his mother had taught him as a child and he translated the 100 year-old story

to English and wrote it down in two versions; one is still on file at the University of Texas Library, the other was a red-bound folder which was passed down through his family. In June, 1975, as part of the 140 anniversary of the original events the Refugio Timely Remarks newspaper printed Herman’s Mission at Goliad first-hand account of the Texas War

By Herman Ehrenberg for Independence. It is from that newspaper, with many thanks to 1836 Islander Blackie Pitzer who brought On the second day of March it to us, that this account is taken.

(1836) our first Congress In this the final chapter, Ehrenberg had solemnly proclaimed the describes in terrible detail the independence of Texas from moments leading up to the execution the Mexican Confederation, and of Texian prisoners at Goliad.

History continued on A15

A2

September 3, 2015

Island Moon

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Landmarks continued from A1 would probably win because he had met all city requirements on the books at that time.

“If somebody wants to spend a million dollars they could probably win in court,” one Island resident said to the commission.

Finally, Mr. Azoulay, who was present but had henceforth not announced himself, took to the podium and after some remarks in a heavy accent which made him difficult to understand, turned and faced the crowd.

“And I have a million dollars,” he said, and shook his fist at the crowd, “and I will build my shark!” You could have heard a pin drop.

The next week he filed for a court hearing and was granted a hearing in 105th District Court at which his attorney argued that the sign was not a sign at all and therefore not subject to the city’s sign ordinance, and even if it was it complied with the sign ordinance. Mr. Azoulay won.

of the Jolly Green Giant on the bean can which is inches tall, or the one on in the television commercials in which the Jolly Green Giant is a hundred feet tall? And really, is this something we want the courts to have to decide…”How tall is the Jolly Green Giant, the story at Ten!” So the Overlay Zone was not only too late to stop the Giant Shark Sign, its language was loopholy anyway. And the shark…he just keeps opening his mouth to a new generation of people taking selfies every summer, oblivious to the controversy he caused by simply being there.

The Sandcastle & Mermaid

Simultaneously, while the Great Shark Fight was being waged a process was underway to draw up a plan establishing the Island Overlay Zone for regulating the type of buildings, plants, and landscaping that would be permitted on The Island which is still in effect but seldom enforced.

Adopting dress that they would have worn two thousand yeras ago Jackie Suliman Catherine Clark and Emily Clark enjoy the recent Toga Party at Schlitterbahn

GIGANTE SALE! A section for signs was already in the draft process but with the Shark Sign Threat looming the language was expanded. The planning process was rather labor intensive and took several months to complete and when it was done the Overlay Zone limited the type of signs which could be built “To protect the public from the danger of unsafe signs, and from the degradation of the aesthetic qualities of the City.” This sign ordinance went on to prohibit “Life size or larger than life size replicas of animals, fish, or inanimate objects intended to be used as a commercial message.”

But the rules in the Overlay Zone were too late to stop the Shark Sign, and besides, if the shark sign was say, one foot shorter than a Whale Shark it wouldn’t be larger than “the life-size animal it depicts anyway.

So the Overlay Zone rules were too late to head off the Great Shark Sign Debate, but a close reading of the ordinance will find some interesting loopholes. For instance, what happens if a business owner at some point decided to open the Jolly Green Giant Fruit Stand? How tall can his sign be? Is it the size

Given the language of the Island Overlay Zone listed above, the Sandcastle and mermaid at Ocean Treasures would have made for an interesting discussion. While the sculpture, arguably the most photographed landmark on The Island by visitors, was constructed prior to the passage of the Overlay Zone rules in 2004.

If it were being built today it would raise some interesting and profound questions; like, exactly how big is a mermaid, or a sandcastle for that matter? Since the rules state a sign/sculpture may be no larger the object it depicts the actual size of a mermaid would be a salient question.

Like the Jolly Green Giant the actual “lifesize” of a mermaid could be difficult to quantify.

So that is a look at the Island landmarks as of September, 2015. Who knows what we will see over the next decade as The Island is built out, but as for now let’s hope no one wants to build the Titanic Tee-Shirt Shop.

Under the tent Labor Day Weekend sale

ALMOST GIVE IT AWAY Sale

Sept. 4th, Sept 5th, Sept 6th & Sept. 7th Out with the old in with the new!

1812 State Hwy 361 Suite A • 749-1828 Next to Tower Center’s Old Location

September 3, 2015

Island Moon

Mike Ellis, Founder

Distribution Pete Alsop Island Delivery Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin Classifieds Arlene Ritley Production Manager Jeff Craft Contributing Writers Joey Farah

GLO Column

A DMV Experience

Seems to me that the so-called "news release" from the GLO in the Aug 27 edition should have been on the opinion page instead of presented as a researched, factual news article. At the very least it should have been under George P's byline similar to Todd Hunter's column. The last sentence of the GLO report is the crux of the matter as Bush's entire argument is that it doesn't matter to him whether a particular animal is endangered or not--he doesn't believe anything should interfere with "property rights." The obtuse statement that federal agencies should " take local and state data on wildlife into account before listing a species as endangered" belies Bush's agenda and implies that the process is random instead of utilizing biologists' scientific research. He apparently thinks it would be fine for local and state groups to manufacture whatever data they want and for that data to be given equal consideration.

My 87 year old mother recently moved into a retirement center. She still drives and wanted her license to reflect her new address. So Tuesday morning I drove her to the new DMV office on I-37 NW of town. We arrived at 11:30 am and were told they already had all the people they could handle that day – at 11:30 am! So we drove the 30+ miles back to her new facility where I tried to change her address online, but learned that people over 79 can’t change their address on line. I can understand not being able to renew the license online, but the address? So our next attempt was to download the form from the DMV site, fill it out and mail it in which we did. A half day later and “maybe” we will have gotten her address changed. Fortunately, she has a son who can use the computer, because how many 80+ year old people do you know that even know what download means? You’d think a simple phone call would be sufficient as it was with her bank and insurance company!

LuAnn Ferguson

Craig Wooldridge

Andy Purvis Devorah Fox Mary Craft

Red Light Camera tickets can be beaten

Maybeth Christiansen Jay Gardner Todd Hunter

Here's a public service message on how you might beat a "rolling right turn" red light camera ticket. I got one for not stopping at the painted white stop line, which is before the crosswalk, at the Staples - Williams intersection.

Dotson Lewis Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk Dr. Donna Shaver Photographers Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan Mary Craft Ronnie Narmour Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus) Riley P. Dog

Publisher Dale Rankin About the Island Moon

The Island Moon is published every Thursday, Dale Rankin, Editor / Publisher.

Total circulation is 10,000 copies. Distribution includes delivery to 4,000 Island homes, free distribution of 3,000 copies in over 50 Padre Island businesses and condos, as well as 600 copies distributed in Flour Bluff, 1,400 copies on Mustang Island and Port Aransas businesses.

News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office.

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

Where to Find The Island Moon Port Aransas Lisabella’s Restaurant Pioneer RV Park

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And all Moon retail advertisers

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Gratitude Gift Shop Keepers Pier House Port A Glass Studio The Gaff

The penalty for a red light camera violation is only $75 and cannot go on your driving record or be enforced by any judicial process. It is entirely extrajudicial, a money making enterprise by a private company, Redflex, in cahoots with local governments that can collect lots of money without having to do anything, the camera company takes care of everything. Redflex and the city figure that almost everybody will just pay the $75 because it cannot go against their driving record or insurance and fighting the ticket is too much hassle.

But being wholeheartedly offended by to the surveillance state and robotic for- profit law enforcement, the lack of meaningful due process in the red light camera violations system, and being retired with plenty of spare time, I decided to fight it. My requested administrative hearing resulted in a finding against me, which is standard and predictable. Next is an appeal for a trial de novo in municipal court with a real judge. Before trial I filed an answer denying the violation and raising four affirmative defenses, briefly summarized as follows: 1. The Texas Transportation Code requires a city to do a traffic engineering study to consider design changes, signalization changes and other alternatives, and a referral to an advisory committee and recommendations, at the given intersection before installing a red light camera at that intersection. The Code says a red light camera penalty cannot be imposed if the city did not do that traffic engineering study before installing the camera. I requested production of all records of the traffic engineering study for that intersection. The only document produced was a one page list of the number of accidents at nine different intersections before cameras were installed, hardly a "traffic engineering study" within the meaning of the Transportation code.

2. The Transportation Code says a city may not agree to pay a percentage or fixed dollar amount from penalties to the camera company, and no penalties may be imposed if a city violates that provision. The only enforcement mechanism to collect the penalties is for the Texas Transportation Department or county assessors to refuse to issue vehicle registration renewals unless unpaid penalties are paid.

The Redflex contract was amended after five years to include provisions that periodically Redflex will sent TxDot its computer files identifying the vehicles/drivers who have outstanding unpaid red light camera penalties.

That enables the state and assessors to deny vehicle registrations, forcing payment of the penalties, and in return the City has agreed to pay fixed dollar amounts for each such computer file to Redflex. So what's the difference, paying fixed dollar amounts to Redflex for each collected penalty, or for each penalty Redflex makes collectible by sending its computer files to the TxDot? 3.

The Transportation Code and City ordinances require red light camera violation notices to contain an affidavit or declaration by a cop that "...as part of my assigned duties and responsibilities" he is declaring that he viewed the camera images and in his opinion they show

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

a violation. The declaration on my violation notice did not have the required recitals and the signature looked like a fax copy of a rubber stamp signature.

4. There are about 17 intersections with red light cameras. Lots of intersections have dummy cameras to intimidate drivers. The active ones must have a street sign before the intersection saying "Photo Enforced". At the active camera intersections, cameras are set up to shoot pictures of the rear of cars in the right turn lane as they cross the white line without stopping -- "snap snap", another ticket being issued -- even though those drivers did make complete stops up ahead, before entering the intersection, where they have to be to see if there is any cross traffic coming. So tickets, lots of tickets, were and are being issued at those intersection for perfectly safe red light right turns. Some 260 such tickets had to be dismissed by the City when it was revealed that so many drivers were being unfairly ticketed at an intersection on Yorktown.

It is still happening, because the "rolling right on red" camera tickets are such a fertile source.

But go to any red light intersection with no camera, and you will see nearly all of the cars in the right turn lane on red lights cross over the painted white line without stopping, and move ahead on up to the crosswalk nearer the corner, to stop where they can see when it is safe to proceed. What you will not see is any cops monitoring those intersections to cite drivers who cross the white line in the right turn lane without stopping, but who do stop before entering the intersection and turning right.

Nope. Real cops don't do that, and no real cop, or d--- few, would issue such a citation to a driver for an illegal right turn on red if the driver crossed over the white line but did stop before turning into the intersection. Only the cameras do that.

So, what was the outcome at trial of all of my research and preparation? The Judge called my case, asked if the parties were ready, and the city prosecutor announced that the city was electing not to present any evidence. So the court granted my motion to set aside the violation notice and the finding of liability, and I get my $50 appellate filing fee refunded. A bit disappointing not to get to do the trial and present all of my good stuff, but hey, as they say in litigation, always take the first exit.

I don't know which of my arguments may have influenced the city to bail out. I would like to think it was because the city did not want to run the risk of getting an adverse ruling which could torpedo and sink this whole red light camera scheme.

I hope this story and the records in my case may benefit any of y'all who also hate the idea of robotic big brother law enforcement without due process. The records and my Answer and Affirmative defenses are public records of the Corpus Christi Municipal Court, In Re Appeal

by Robert Nash, Cause no.140026248. I hope enough of us fight these unfair camera tickets to make it unprofitable and unproductive for our city to continue the camera program and to join the many cities that have decide to trash the program.

Bob Nash Island

by Mary Craft mkay512@aol.com or @padreeyelander on twitter

New Advertisers Grand Opening for the Wine Bar at Island Time Sushi Bar & Seafood Grill (Big Shell Plaza, next to Subway) will be held on Thursday, September 3rd starting at 6 pm. They are also celebrating their first anniversary. Stop by and enjoy light hors d’oeuvres and samples of their new draft wine and Craft beers on draft. They have a full kitchen with chargrilled steaks, seafood and healthy sides. Daily specials are Happy Hour all night on Mondays, $2 Tuesdays, half price wine Wednesday and Crafty Thursdays $3 specials.

Motorcycle Mike’s Mobile Garage does maintenance, repairs or tires for your bike at your location. Call Mike at 549-0535.

Gratitude in Port A is having their Labor Day sale with funky sunglasses 2 for $10, tattoo clothing, fabulous greeting cards, De Terra essential oils, beautiful jewelry and much more. Visit the most eclectic shoppe around at 316 N. Station Street. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10 – 6 and Sunday noon – 4 pm.

Raggdoll Boutique will have a sidewalk sale with great mark downs on Saturday, September 5th 10 am – 7 pm. They are located next to Lyco’s Nails 2 at 14457 SPID. Gulf Plumbing in Port A is a family owned company with old fashioned integrity. Daniel Windham is a master plumber licensed in Texas and Colorado for over 38 years. They provide service calls, new construction, residential and commercial. Call 749-2000 for appointment.

A Mano in Port A is having a Giant Tent Sale Labor Day weekend Friday, September 4th – Monday, September 7th. Owner Deb says that she is almost giving it away.. They are located next to the Tower Center on Highway 361.

Wind & Wave Surf Shop is having a huge Labor Day weekend sale Friday – Monday. All women’s swimwear will be 50% off, all shoes and men’s board shorts will be 25-50% off plus more. There will also be used and new kayaks for sale. They are located at 10721 SPID.

Business Briefs Joe the Barber is no longer at Isle Mail Plus.

No information available on where he will be moving to.

Dragonfly Restaurant will be closed September 20th – October 4th. They will reopen on Monday, October 5th and will be open on Mondays during the football season.

Larry Joe Taylor will be playing at the Back Porch in Port A on Saturday, September 5th.

The Boathouse Bar & Grill is having an NFL 2015 Season Kickoff Party on Thursday, September 10th. The Padre Island Business Association will be 5:30 – 7:30 pm and the Pittsburg vs New England game will be immediately after. There will be prizes, games, best dressed sports costume contest and complimentary food and beverages.

Flag Football Tourney in Port A will begin registration Wednesday, September 9th at the Parks and Recreation at 739 W. Ave. A. The tourney is for 6th grade - 10th grade and each team must have at least one girl. The tournament will be held on Saturday, October 10th at 9 am at the soccer field in Roberts Point Park.

The Island United Political Action Committee will have State Representative Todd Hunter as the speaker for this month's Meet and Greet on Wednesday, September 9th 6:30 - 8:00 pm at Doc's Restaurant. He will update on windstorm, water and workforce and will address any questions. Enjoy delicious complementary appetizers and you can also bid on silent auction items.

Reels for Heels Fishing Tournament to benefit Dress for Success will be held at Marker 37 Labor Day weekend. Check their Facebook page for details.

Moon Columnist Andy Purvis can be heard on KSIX 1230 on AM Sportsradio Corpus Christi every Tuesday in September at 6 – 7 pm. The station carries the Houston Astros, Texans, Rockets, Texas A&M Kingsville football, CC Ice Rays, Eric Von Wade in the morning, Kat in the afternoon and Dennis & Andy’s Q & A session They welcome calls at 884-1230.

Downtown Farmer’s Market is held every Wednesday 5 – 8 pm at the Art Center courtyard on Shoreline.

Two Women Graduate Ranger Training

Holiday Inn Jesse’s Liquor

Did Ya Hear?

Letters to the Editor

Moon Monkeys

A3

Editors’ note: This letter is in response to a column last issue about the first women to graduate from the Army’s Ranger School.

Mr. Lewis, I saw in your Ranger School article in the 27 August "Moon" that you wanted some responses from the public.

My frame of reference is based on 37 years in the military, over thirty of which were spent in the Infantry working my way up from E-4 to O-5. I have three sons who are career soldiers; two are airborne qualified close combat veterans several times over; all three have been in the sand box. One has a Purple Heart, the other has a ranger tab. Both are Pathfinders with Bronze Stars.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but here are my politically incorrect opinions. If they are chopped out of context, I will come across as a woman hater, but my reason for writing is a high regard for the welfare of all soldiers, regardless of gender, and the war-readiness of the U.S. Military, not misogyny.

Full Disclosure: As a social liberal, I want all people to be able to be the best person their potential permits. As a retired soldier, I am only interested in mission accomplishment and the welfare of troops. As a conservative, I

wish we were like Israel where most people, of both genders, serve in the military for a period of time. As a college graduate, I am aware that biologically, all mammals begin as the female of the species and that men are nothing more than modified women. As an amateur anthropologist, I understand why men generally act like men and women act like women in most tribal cultures over time. As a former tactics and leadership instructor in an Infantry based co-ed officer candidate school program, I can say that women make fine soldiers and leaders when provided the opportunity (give a woman a chance to prove she is as good as a man and she usually will). As a guy, I appreciate my girlfriend being pretty "girlie", even though she curses like a sailor and has the ego of a marine.

That's the short version, but it is a start.

The Army allowing women to attend Ranger School was suppose to be an experiment to see if it was worth doing for real. Heck, I could have saved them the money and time; there will always be females who are smarter, faster, tougher, stronger, and better motivated that many males - including me - so yes, females can make it through Ranger School. The point is why? It is certainly an oxymoron that the military should not waste resources on efforts that do not lead to mission accomplishment (google F-22 and F-35 for the reality of DOD

thrift) and it is fairly clear at this point that women will not be quickly assigned to direct combat branches, so the school slots are being wasted when they should go to those soldiers who will more likely need the training.

Yes, I understand the deep battle, the hazards of asymmetrical warfare, and the fact that American women will be, and have been, in combat, but that is still not the norm. As both an Infantryman and former tank commander (M-60A3s) I do not want to be in a combat unit with the absolutely finest female soldier possible if she can't pull an injured armored crew member out of a burning vehicle's hatch and carry him unaided a reasonable rescue distance all by herself. I don't care about the potential risk of sexual "attraction" (believe me, out in the field after a couple of days, everyone is ugly), someone's daughter's blood and guts being spilled, messy toilet arrangements, possible POW threats, or pregnancies and periods; the only thing that counts to me is can a soldier literally carry the load, in all of its manifestations. For an infantryman, it is extremely heavy, especially when it is rapidly bleeding to death.

My experience says to my satisfaction that women, by and large, lack the upper body

Ranger Letter continued on A6

A4

September 3, 2015

Island Moon

New Rig

Come Party on the Patio ♥ Happy Hour 3-7 ♥ Jenga ♥ ♥ Sidewalk Chalk Outside ♥

NOW OPEN

MOTORCYCLE MIKE'S MOBILE GARAGE

361-549-0535 Construction of a new rig continues in the yards near Ingleside. Photos by Brent Rourk

TIRES • MAINTENANCE • REPAIRS AT YOUR LOCATION Grand Opening for the Wine Bar

@ Island Time Sushi Bar & Seafood Grill (Big Shell Plaza, next to Subway)

September 3, 2015 starting @ 6pm

Sonic Drive In 14401 S Padre Island Dr

We invite all our Island friends to light Hors d'oeuvre & samples of our NEW Draft Wine!

Thanks for supporting Island Time Sushi for this First Year of Operation.

Relaxing environment to sit and enjoy great food, wine, and conversation!

Great Selection of Wine and Craft Beers on DRAFT!

Janice Minter, Broker/Owner

“Serving the real estate community with honesty & integrity for more than 35 years. It pays to work with an experienced Realtor®”

www.TexCoast.com

Single property websites (361) 949-8485 Office (361) 215-4273 Cell & Text

The freshest sushi prepared with skill and care!

Full kitchen with chargrilled steaks, seafood & healthy sides!

Daily Specials: Monday – Happy Hour all Night Tuesday - $2 Tuesday Wednesday – ½ Wine Bottles Thursday – Crafty Thursday $3 specials

Fresh House made Appetizers and Desserts!

Hours: Mon – Thurs 5pm – 10pm, Fri & Sat 5pm – 11pm Ph: 361-949-3046, Facebook: Island Time Sushi Bar & Seafood Grill

Labor Day Sale @ Gratitude!!!

Funky Crazy Sunglasses- 2 pair for $10.00!!

live

Mus ic & Pa , BBQ, rty

New "Gratitude" Shirts Tatoo Clothing Great Books & Signs Fabulous Greeting Cards Readers & Sunglasses De Terra Essential Oils Beautiful Jewelry More Than You Imagined!

Most Eclectic Shoppe Around!!

Open 10-6 Tues. - Sat., 12-4 Sunday 316 N. Station St. Port A. TX 361-749-0302 www.portagratitude.com

2015

September 3, 2015

Stuff I Heard on the Island

Island Moon

by Dale Rankin

After years of not paying attention to the eight miles of beach in Kleberg County the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office and the Kleberg County Commissioners have suddenly found religion.

County seat in Kingsville to the Kleberg Beach.

While the county lines stretch to the Island directly across the Laguna Madre from the King Ranch on the far shore, the roads to not and require a circuitous route through the cotton fields of Nueces County.

Evidence of their conversion came not on the road to Damascus but rather in the form of information presented to the Island Strategic Action Committee this week by Islander David Pierce who manages a portion of the Kleberg Beach for private owners. According to David, quoting officials from the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office, Kleberg County deputies spent a total of 246 man-hours patrolling the area in August, writing 44 citations for speeding and 12 for driving in the dunes. The area we are talking about stretches from the northern boundary of Padre Island National Seashore to the Kleberg County line just south of Sea Pines, and everything from the Gulf Beach to the Laguna Madre.

Unstuck in Kingsville

What is interesting about the sudden interest in the area by Kleberg County is it comes after Nueces County, with a $1 million grant from the Ed Rachal Foundation, last year bought 3860 acres of land in Kleberg County, including six miles of beach, from the Texas General Land Office with the understanding that Nueces County would patrol and maintain it, at their own expense with the help of the Rachal Foundation, under an interlocal agreement with Kleberg County. The problem is that the agreement has been hung up in the Kleberg Commissioners Court since February because, for reasons that remain unclear, they have refused to approve it.

The original hang up was an estimated $9000 per year it would cost Kleberg County to help pay for the maintenance and law enforcement; less than what it would cost them to vigorously patrol and maintain it, but still $9000. To solve the problem the Rachal Foundation agreed to pay the $9000 for the next five years, and they also provided money to pay for new vehicles for Nueces County Constables to use in patrolling the area.

Puzzling motive It would be easy to conclude that Kleberg County’s newfound interest in the land is driven by the money to be made by writing tickets; but since the land is in Kleberg County any fines collected on tickets written there go to Kleberg County even if they are written by Nueces County Constables. So Kleberg County, by signing the interlocal agreement, would get a free bite at the apple by collecting ticket money without having to pay for deputies to write the tickets. Maybe they are concerned that the Nueces County officials, since they wouldn’t get to keep the fine money, wouldn't be vigilant enough in the enforcement arena, but the fact is that Kleberg has made little or no fine money there in the past because, well, there were no law enforcement types to write tickets.

The sudden interest in patrolling the Islanders know, comes after decades attention by Kleberg law enforcement of the hour-and-a-half drive from the

area, as of nonbecause Kleberg

For the last month or so crews from Kleberg have been coming to the beach on Monday morning to empty the trash cans there. We have had reports from eyewitnesses who have seen beachgoers in Kleberg use their vehicles to push over trash cans there in order to harvest the aluminum cans and drive away leaving the trash to blow down the beach.

The Burners Without Borders group has done a great job of cleaning up the beach around The Bowl and in fact, the entire eight miles of beach in Kleberg is in great shape given that there is little done to grade or maintain it.

It would seem that extending the $12 Beach Sticker area to the Kleberg Beach would be an obvious solution, but that cannot happen without the acquiescence of Kleberg County officials.

Nueces County officials, including Precinct 4 County Commissioner Brent Chesney and the Nueces County Coastal Parks Board under the leadership of Charlie Zahn have done everything possible, and then some, to get an agreement in place but nothing can happen until things become unstuck in Kingsville.

Our canal clean up person continues to pull lots of trash out of our canals. One thing he has been able to identify is that dumping palm fronds, lawn clippings, shrub clippings and so forth may be a violation which the Fish and Wildlife game warden indicated could lead to a fine. We will keep you posted on this development.

Library The swapping library continues to be well used. If you need a book, stop by and take as many as you find interesting. You do not need to bring a book to take one.

Free Notary All 3 of the PIPOA staff are notaries public.

Many residents know we offer this service, but if you are looking for a notary public, just stop by. There is no charge for this service.

The Jackfish ramp repairs are nearing

Doc’s, and also bid on silent auction items (Sunset Cruise, Art, Photo Session, and Schlitterbahn Tickets.)

As our Island State Representative, Todd Hunter has been involved in countless issues that impact our Coastal Bend, Corpus Christi, and our Island. His commitment to serving his constituency with distinction is noted with determination, vision, commitment, and his drive to understand the complexity of current issues.

The Island United Political Action Committee was organized seven years ago to united the Island’s 6200 registered voters behind candidates endorsed by the IUPAC membership.

Any registered Island voter is automatically a member of the IUPAC and the decision on which candidates for office to endorse is made by a vote of the membership.

Send Letters to the editor to editor@islandmoon.com

10

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Your purchase of $50 per customer Now offering SNS Powder gel, 20 % discount for full set.

361-949-1794 Mon - Sat 9:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m • Sunday 11 a.m - 5:30 p.m.

14493 S. Padre Island Dr., Unit B Next to Padre Pizzeria

Dragonfly Restaurant Curacao Blues

Come Join us for Our NEW HAPPY HOUR!!!

Enjoy our these specials on our Monday Night Football

$3 Draft and House Drinks $4 Mojitos, Margaritas, Bloody Marys $5 Long Islands and Infusions $2 and $3 Longnecks

Jackfish Ramp

Canal Clean Up

Hunter continued from A1

For more information see www.catchthecure.org or call 361-960-9597.

$5 Select Appetizers-Chicken Enchiladas, Crab Cake, Goat Cheese Ravioli, Stuffed Jalapenos, Hummus, Bowl of Soup with Toast, or Olives with Toast

Median Maintenance After several years, the Board of Directors decided to contract for services to maintain the approximately 50 medians and cul de sacs on the Island. These medians and cul de sacs will be weeded and cut every month, shrubs will be trimmed quarterly and the palm trees will be trimmed twice a year. We are pleased we are able to include these areas in the Common Area Maintenance. If you see the workers out there, you might thank them, or if there is a problem, please call the office and we will address it with the contractor.

completion. The project should be completed Friday, depending on weather, but it should not be used for at least a week. We are sorry for the long delay, but the Board wanted to make sure the repairs were engineered and the work was done properly.

We’ll see how long that lasts.

This will be the 9th year of fundraising for Parkinson's on The Island. God willing and with the continual help from this community, we'll pass the $100,000 mark of net proceeds raised first through Catch The Cure/Paddle For Parkinson's. Please come out to join in this milestone.

relaxing patio or in our bar Tues-Fri 4pm-6pm

The Paddle For Parkinsons relay is this Saturday morning – September 5. The kayakers, paddleboard and canoe folks will start the race at the Fortuna Bay boat ramp. Note to boatersuse caution if you are in that area. Keep an eye out for the racers. This very worthwhile event has raised close to $100,000 over the past 5 years. The money is to help fund research for a cure for this debilitating disease. The event is fun to watch and there is a barbecue lunch available to purchase at Billish Park. Stop by and contribute to this worthy cause.

So things are progressing slowly in terms of a long-term solution for stewardship to the Kleberg Beach. But don’t blame the Nueces County people, they have done their work, it is now up to Kleberg County to decide what to do, and for now at least, it looks like they have had their conversion and the bright light is telling them to patrol the area themselves.

locals will head to the park for a morning including a professionally timed kayak/standup paddle board relay; live music; BBQ; an awards presentation; a proclamation by Mayor Nelda Martinez/ raffle of a kayak, two Guy Harvey framed prints, and door prizes.

Offering: Full Set Refill Pedicure Manicure Gel Polish Waxing Facial Eyelashes Permanent Makeup

By Maybeth Christensen

It is whispered that the Kleberg officials are peeved that the Rachal Foundation didn’t give them the money to buy the GLO land rather than Nueces County. As I recall, they were queried about that possibility before the purchase by Nueces County but showed little interest.

Paddle continued from A1

Deluxe Nails

News from your POA

A5

Coming Soon to Dragonfly!!!

Ask about our Banquet Room!!!

Catering Available!!!

Book Your Holiday Parties Now!!!

14701 South Padre Island Drive 361-949-2224 www.dragonflycuracaoblues.com

The BACK PORCH Open at 2 pm Mon - thurs Fri-Sun + nOON-2AM Live Music

Sept. 3 The The Georges Sept. 4 BACK PORCH Larry Joe Taylor Sept. 5 Cruise Control Sept. 6 Bar Cody Ryan Sept. 11 Jerry Diaz

Aloha Dave

The

Sept. 12

$2.25 WackyPORCH Wednesdays!

BACK ON THE WATERFRONT

132 W. Cotter St. Bar

PortA

A6

September 3, 2015

Island Moon

Thank You To Seashore Sea Turtle Volunteers

By Donna J. Shaver, Ph.D.

First Friday Reception September 4th 5:30-7:30 Port Aransas Art Center 323 N. Alister Port Aransas Live Music, Refreshments, Great Art & Artists Artists:

Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery, National Park Service, Padre Island National Seashore, e-mail: Donna_Shaver@nps.gov

Guy Morrow is a well know artist in oil, acrylic & egg tempera from Corpus Christi.

John Morrow is Guy’s son, also from Corpus Christi & known for his Fish Prints.

Milt Kramer started painting again after 50 years, he is also from Corpus Christi.

Cliff Welty paints in oils on linen or canvas & paints murals he is from Aransas Pass.

Exhibit up for Show and Sale 9/4-9/25 Right: Girl in Surf by Guy Morrow

Letter continued from A3

On August 29, we held a Volunteer Appreciation Celebration for the volunteers that participated in Padre Island National Seashore’s Kemp’s ridley sea turtle recovery program this year.

Volunteers are an integral part of our nesting turtle and nest detection, documentation, and protection programs and we are very grateful for the many contributions that volunteers made to the program this year. We could not conduct this large endangered species recovery program without the help of these dedicated volunteers.

During the 2015 Kemp’s ridley nesting season, from April through mid-July, 99 volunteers participated in our program, including 77 that conducted patrols on Utility Transport Vehicles (UTVs) or on foot.

In addition to those patrols, volunteers helped with radio dispatching, egg collection and transport, egg care, hatchling release, public education, photography, and many other activities. Volunteers contributed thousands of hours of assistance this year and we are tremendously appreciative of their help.

on the jetty rocks. They also use south Texas passes to travel between the Gulf of Mexico and inshore waters where they feed on sea grasses.

More green turtles are found stranded in Texas due to “cold stunning” than from any other factor. During four of the last six winters, hundreds to more than 1,000 green turtles have been documented cold stunned in Texas. Sea turtles are reptiles and cannot control their body temperature. Severe cold fronts that pass through south Texas cause rapid cooling of the shallower waters of our bays and passes.

The two volunteers that Margie Diclemente (left) and Nancy Devlin (right) contributed the most hours contributed the most volunteer hours to the program this to the program during the season. nesting season were Margie Diclemente with 539 hours, and Nancy Devlin with 481 hours. One hundred twenty of Nancy’s hours When this occurs, green turtles living there were spent patrolling, which was the most for can become “cold stunned” if they do not any volunteer this year. Margie logged 454 find refuge in deeper, warmer waters. Cold dispatch hours, which was the largest volunteer stunned turtles become immobilized and float total for that activity. Dan and Jan Smart to the surface. They can be blown ashore by the conducted the second most UTV patrol hours, prevailing winds, and if they are not found and and largest number of walking patrol hours rescued, these turtles can die due to predation or exposure to the elements. among the volunteers, respectively.

If cold stunned turtles are located quickly Volunteers helped find many of the 106 Kemp’s ridley nests located on North Padre and brought to rehabilitation, most are revived Island this year. Volunteers also transported and released back into the wild when water most of the 19 other Kemp’s ridley clutches temperatures warm. We can greatly reduce found in Texas north of North Padre Island, so the number of green turtles that die from cold that they could be cared for in our incubation stunning by searching for and rescuing them. facility. From these 125 Kemp’s ridley nests, Our bays and passes are vast, green turtles are slightly more than 10,500 hatchlings were widely distributed there, and hundreds of turtles released at the National Seashore this year. can be found over a period of days, weeks, or Twenty-three of our hatchling releases at the months between October and March, so we National Seashore were open to the public, need lots of help during these events. and more than 12,000 people attended. Most of the personnel from the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery that worked these public releases were volunteers, since staff members were still on various shifts to cover patrols, egg care, and other program activities.

Volunteer assistance with cold stunning Volunteers also help tremendously with rescue, documentation, transport, and release of green turtles that become immobilized during very cold conditions. The green turtle has been listed as a Threatened Species in Texas since the late1970s. Fortunately, after years of conservation, the population of green turtles inhabiting Texas waters has grown markedly. Since 2009, the most common sea turtle species found washed ashore (stranded) on the Texas coast has been the green turtle.

South Texas waters provide important developmental habitat for juvenile green turtles, which can often be seen swimming near the jetties at our south Texas passes. Green turtles are herbivorous and feed on algae growing

Volunteer training In October, we will hold a training session to inform volunteers and citizens how they can help if cold stunning occurs this winter. The session will be open to the general public, to people that want to volunteer with the Padre Island National Seashore Sea Turtle Program, and to people affiliated with other sea turtle conservation efforts in Texas. We are working on setting the date, time, and location and will announce them soon in another Island Moon article on our Facebook page titled Padre Island NS Division of Sea Turtle Science & Recovery.

In a few months, we will announce training dates for people that want to volunteer to help us during the 2016 Kemp’s ridley nesting season.

Our nesting training sessions are typically held in March and we will begin patrols during the first week of April. If you have questions about cold stunning or nesting training or our sea turtle volunteer program, you can contact one of our staff members by calling 361-9498173, ext. 268 or sending us an e-mail at pais_ seaturtlevolunteer@nps.gov.

Police Blotter 23 Pets Find New Homes Several bags of dog and cat food were collected during an event that encouraged animal ado Sunda at Animal Control Service on Holly Road.

23 animals left Animal Control on Sunday, and in exchange for no adoption fees, a bag of dog or cat food was accepted.

Volunteers worked from noon until 5 PM getting animals adopted out.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their weekend to come to our facility to help get our animals into new homes.

100 block Zahn Road 1 a.m. August 30 Assault by contact 14600 block SPID 10:30 p.m. August 31 Driving while license suspended/ Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle (two counts) 14300 block SPID 5:20 p0.m. August 25 Public intoxication 14000 block SPID 10:51 p.m. August 29 Possession of drug paraphernalia/possession of marijuana 100 block Zahn Road Midnight August 30 Burglary of a motor vehicle

Photo of dog and cat food collected on Sunday

SPID/Whitecap 12:14 a.m. August 26 No automobile insurance/Possession of drug paraphernalia/vehicle impound

Police Calls

14300 block SPID 11:30 p.m. August 29 Assault by contact

14100 block Atascadera 10:09 p.m. August 30 Possession of controlled substance/ possession of drug paraphernalia/possession of marijuana/Possession of a controlled substance/Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle

14300 block 2:07 a.m. August 29 Assault with injury

13500 block Catamaran 9:30 a.m. August 27 Burglary of a habitation

13300 block SPID 2:45 a.m. September 1 Burglary of a motor vehicle

14700 block Compass 9:24 p.m. August 31 Assault with bodily injury

Shaye Haver strength and stamina to do so, and to try and force the few exceptions into the existing system is a waste of time and resources. Even though professional male fighters will accept and work with them as a mater of human nature under fire, the "hotel load" to make females fully capable of sustained direct combat to satisfy a few powerful military and political progressives and barn burning feminists isn't worth the friction and cost.

Oh, I am aware that many men can't carry the load either, which is one of the reasons they don't join the Army or Marines, pick a combat arms branch, go to OCS, or volunteer for Ranger School, Force Recon, or Navy SEALS. I am also aware that by the time I got assigned as a staff officer in the Infantry, I was probably flirting with the same limitations myself. But I could when I was carrying a rifle as a young grunt or commanding a rifle company many years later, and that is when it really counted.

I don't believe that a thirtyish female combat company commander is going to be able to maintain the fitness level and muscle mass that got her through the earlier gateways of West Point, ROTC, or OCS. I'm guessing here, but I'm pretty sure that Navy BUDS and SEAL training usually leads to an assignment to an operational SEAL team.

Army Ranger School doesn't work that way.

Most Ranger School graduates don't go to a ranger unit; they continue on in their normal branch progression. (Like five jump chumps are usually called "jump-qualified' rather than paratroopers, non-ranger unit Ranger School graduates are typically referred to as "ranger qualified" or having a "ranger tab". The term Ranger means just that: a member of a ranger unit, even for the soldiers who haven't been to Ranger School. Oddly enough, most junior enlisted members of ranger units haven't attended; they undergo exceptional in-house training in the unit itself instead.).

Ranger School is basically a fantastic leadership and confidence course that stresses strength, stamina, motivation, and the ability to work under pressure while highly fatigued and frustrated. Kind of like being an officer in a combat unit in the real Army. A key ingredient for completing Ranger school is endurance and drive, which the two women in question clearly have in abundance. Good for them. They did great!

However, Ranger School graduation doesn't automatically mean a soldier is an outstanding leader. I have served with many excellent leaders who didn't have ranger tabs, and have suffered through a few who did who were awful. One of my sons is a ranger qualified officer, and he still has room to grow in the leadership department.

A ranger tab by itself isn't necessarily an indicator of superior leadership qualities. A soldier can get through almost any military training, like OCS, PLDC, or Ranger School, by being a good follower as well as being an effective leader. In fact, a soldier has to be both to make a contribution to his or her school class, as well as the Army as a whole late as they are promoted. The cadre is looking for teamwork, in a heavily peer review influenced climate, in a "cooperate and graduate environment". ( I was dropped for push ups by a TAC officer at OCS graduation because I had never been previously individually punished during the entire course.

Ten years as an enlisted man had taught me the skills to "blend in" and only have to suffer the almost constant group punishment instead, which was quite enough. His explanation was that I was guilty of not taking enough risks to stand out for the sake of the unit. I learned something from that event.)

Unfortunately, I think that attending and completing Ranger School did the two women a disservice - and all female soldiers in general also. Now the new "gold standard" for female promotion is a ranger tab, which is far out of reach of most of the outstanding female soldiers I had the privilege of serving alongside in my last assignment in the Military District of Washington. Many women will aspire to what few can obtain, an unrealistic AND unnecessary goal. The Army, in its needless experiment to place an albatross-like ranger tab on the shoulders of an artificial highly-select female population, has created a WWE level freak show instead.

Female ranger qualification has become the Army's "White Whale' that will lead them on a pointless quest to place women in combat arms.

Unfortunately, this genie isn't going back in the bottle quietly, now that the military has proven that exceptional females can do what typical females probably shouldn't be doing. These two

Kristen Griest women are basically military "Frankensteins" through no fault of their own. They may have "deserved" a shot at Ranger School, but they don't deserve being forced to be figureheads for the horse trading and backroom dealing over women's roles in combat that this ploy introduces and camouflages.

Ironically, these two ladies hardly needed to be ranger qualified to be standouts - or even function - in their professional branches, military police and aviation They were already West Point graduates and are well trained and highly motivated and were headed to the top to begin with. Lieutenant Colonel is assured and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them doesn't end up a general officer just to make this farytale complete. (One of the considerations that the Army hasn't worked out is the potential for career progression for the "super women" it puts into Ranger School, combat branches, and possibly special operations units; where do they all serve as they work their way to field grade and flag officer rank - the Pentagon?

Presidential aides? West Point? The promotion and assignment pyramid gets pretty steep as you get near the top and there is only so much room for the chosen few.)

One of the women said that the lack of infantry skills held her back. She wasn't complaining, just stating an occupational limitation in as innocuous a way as possible (neither of these two ladies are going to say anything that will jeopardize the party line, which is obviously an official commitment to eventual female combat arms assignments, whether it is reasonable and necessary or not.) I don't think she intended the comment to cause any problems, but to just serve as sort of a mild compliment to the men who happened to come from the infantry branch and supposedly struggled less.

What? They don't teach small unit tactics, basic infantry drills, fundamentals of patrolling, elementary field craft, and personal leadership at the U.S. Military Academy anymore? What about all the artillery, combat engineer, aviation, and armor junior officers who enter Ranger School with "limited Infantry skills"? How about the lucky West Point cadets and ROTC cadets that get cycled through an occasional class? How about the clueless "no-fail" foreign exchange students Ranger School is sometimes forced to accept? What infantry skills do they poses that gives them an advantage over a woman?

How hard can it be: the biggest requirement is a cool head and common sense; sometimes even "high diddle, straight up the middle" is good enough. (It worked for me once on a graded ranger patrol in a freezing rain at O:dark thirty in the Georgia piney woods; the ranger cadre were too tired and cold themselves to care at that point. I got credit for "initiative" after the instructors "killed" the previous lost patrol leader because they knew I was the best land navigator in the squad.). If these women thought they had to have a hundred per cent solution for an eighty per cent infantry patrolling problem, they were intellectualizing the issues too much.

In my opinion, the Army is violating the "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" rule with this self-inflicted Ranger School experiment. It is a distraction during a time of spiraling weapons systems costs, endless fruitless missions, personnel reductions, basic branch role conflicts, funding in-fighting, and loss of national will (I remember when America could build a WW II destroyer escort in a Texas ship yard in a mater of days; now we can't produce an operational aircraft in almost a decade - at a cost of a fleet of escort destroyers!). The basic function of the armed forces is combat readiness, not progressive social engineering and congressional district make-work projects.

It is time to focus on basic warfighting, with a workable mix of female and male service member assignments, and the realistic strategy to make it work. The feminist movement in the Army has had its "G.I.Jane" moment and the cost outweighs the benefit, especially in the fool's errand of trying to force women into special operations units. If American women have to fight for their personal survival, I hope we have the guts and resources to train and equip them for that harsh trial. But, women should not have to fight institutionally in deliberate heavy combat operations as long as we have enough motivated men ready to do the job.

Frankly, I'm afraid that we are losing those kind of men in our increasingly meterosexual metropolitan society, but that is a different story.

End of transmission. OUT. Noyes Livingston

September 3, 2015

A7

Island Moon

Backwater Adventures A Note From Montana

On the Rocks

By Jay Gardner

By Joey Farah Farah’s Fishing Adventures Well as the seasons are changing and the call of the wild drapes over me I am 1,100 feet over the ocean chasing elk dreams. Very primitive and simple, not as much as naked and afraid! We have been here for two days and have already seen lots of wildlife of all kinds and had a nice bull inside 50 yards. Had grilled grouse cooked over an open fire with wild cranberries. I’m praying that I am blessed with a beautiful beast to bring home yet leaving with a full heart would be enough. Fishing back home this week should be a great. The lunar calendars are showing a great spike in activity this weekend, here and there. Reds are hunting the shallow flats and the trout and flounder are schooled up along the deeper water. Fish are pacing the hurts between the sandbars in our surf as balls of baitfish move out of the bathe bays. Get out and let that spirit of the wild take over and give thanks. See you when I get down.

Capt Mike Deisch with one of the early flounder runners. Live piggy perch

This is one of many big mature trout moving towards the cooler tidal waters of the Upper Laguna Madre' this month.

This beautiful trout we caught on the King Ranch Shoreline on live piggy perch.

Afternoon dinner bells have been ringing for big redfish in the flats.

Reminder to Take Hunter Education before Heading to the Field With hunting season right around the corner, it’s time to get your hunter education certification.

To hunt legally in Texas, anyone born on or after Sept. 2, 1971, must complete a hunter education training course or purchase a onetime ‘deferral’, good for one license year.

Because the minimum age of certification is 9 years old, hunters under the age of 9 must be accompanied by a licensed hunter in the field.

Hunters ages 9 through 16 must either complete hunter education courses or be accompanied while in the field. Deferral purchasers must also be ‘accompanied’ which means to be within normal voice control of a licensed hunter 17 years of age or older who has completed hunter education or who was born before Sept. 2, 1971. Hunters 17 and up must complete hunter education courses.

Big trout are on a diet of fin fish right now.

The large front teeth serve as tongs when attacking their prey

I headed out to West Texas last week for work for a few days, and I would say that it was very interesting, but it really wasn’t. LOL. When you start getting out west of say, Ozona, then you get in the land of the mesas, the “flat top” mountains. Then further west of that into Fort Stockton, its really cool territory with some neat plants and birds.

Unfortunately, right after Ozona, we took a right up 349 and headed through Iraan and Rankin towards Midland. The mesas melt away in the rearview, and the terrain simply goes to low, rolling hills. With. NOTHING. Around. As you get closer to Midland, the pump-jacks pumping oil easily out-number both the people and the cattle, combined. The low-relief desert fauna is only broken by the invasive mesquite trees, none of which are over say 8 feet tall. Barely enough to occasionally break up the landscape.

At least the property we were looking at for the client (although heavily disturbed) was kind of interesting though, there were neat fossils in the material being mined and used as roads. Scott found several pieces of ammonites standing around the truck while I wandered around in the wilderness looking for endangered species that weren’t there. What I did find, however, was a plethora of cottontail rabbits and more scaled quail than I knew existed in Texas. They were EVERYWHERE! It was fairly unnerving to be wandering around solo and have a covey of 20 quail blow up four feet in front of you and bail out at once. If you’ve never experienced that, believe me, it will get your ticker going.

We stayed in Midland at night at the Holiday Inn Express, and I even had an Island Moon with me, but for some reason I really didn’t think it would count (at least for me) if I did the “traveling Moon” thing. For one, I’m a Moon Monkey, and it doesn’t really count if I do it, unless it’s literally on the Moon. That and it’s a lot more fun to see y’all’s pictures in the paper instead of my mug. And lastly, nothing against Midland, but I’m pretty sure that’s not a noteworthy destination. Y’all make sure to take the Moon with you when you travel and send in your pics.

One last summer blast on the Island folks, and then we’ll have it all back to ourselves. County

Return to the Land of the Mesas and City crews are already out there on the sand prepping trash cans and port-o-potties for the onslaught for Labor Day weekend. There has been some talk about the trash cans system that Port Aransas uses, vs. the City, vs. the County.

Evidently Port A has gone to a new system with a large truck and larger, more centralized cans.

When there are large weekends, the cans around this end of the Island don’t seem adequate. But come Monday, they do get emptied, and life resumes. Kudos to all for getting on that. I think that the larger problem is actually getting beach-goers to USE the cans, not necessarily the cans themselves. Code enforcement is new on the beach, and I’ve heard of a few tickets being written. Hopefully that will “encourage” people to put their garbage in the can, instead of near or around the can. Once that mind-set changes, I think a lot of our problems with trash on the beach will diminish.

Speaking of tickets, I’m sure it’s a no-refusal weekend, so make sure you keep an eye on your friends and family this weekend loyal readers.

And I’m also sure that the patrols will be in the ski canals as well, keeping folks safe. It’s good to see patrols in there as it can turn into the Idiot 500 sometimes with folks pulling people on tubes and what-not.

As for myself, Keith will be in town with his new woman, I’ll be attending Roadkill Willie’s annual skeet shoot, and then joining up with Kyle and Bridget and crew doing Adventurer Day at local beach on Saturday. Drop by and say hello, they will be the folks with all the beach-games set up and going on. My email changed, drop me a line at tarponchaser@mail. com and I’ll see you on the rocks at some point.

Scientists, NOAA and Anglers Team-Up Every angler dreams of casting into a giant swarm of densely packed fish. These fish frenzies can occur when fish come together at specific times and locations to spawn and reproduce. Some of the most important fisheries (groupers, snappers, drums and croakers) form these types of spawning aggregations. However, little is known about spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Mexico. A diverse group of scientists hope to change that by compiling and evaluating existing information on spawning aggregations in the Gulf as the basis to design a cooperative, Gulf-wide monitoring network focused on this important aspect of commercial and recreational fisheries.

Dr. Brad Erisman, Assistant Professor at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas and lead scientist on the project, will team up with scientists from around the Gulf to work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, state agencies, commercial fishermen, and recreational anglers to generate the very first comprehensive baseline of available information spawning aggregations

and their fisheries in the Gulf. They will do so by reviewing existing monitoring programs and data throughout the Gulf and then follow up with workshops to identify key information gaps. To synthesize all of this immense amount of information, the team will also create reports that outline and prioritize future research, monitoring, and management needs for spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Similar to elsewhere in the world, fish spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Mexico are integral to a healthy ocean and these aggregations support the most productive and lucrative fisheries in the region. Therefore, improving monitoring, assessments, and management of spawning aggregations are a top priority for the Gulf of Mexico. This project focuses on creating a pathway to support the sustainable management of fish spawning aggregations in the Gulf for the benefit of both recreational and commercial fisheries. Likewise, it seeks to coordinate with existing monitoring programs, incorporate its findings into existing data portals, and compliment current efforts of federal, regional, and stage agencies.

Moon Phases

To make this process easier than ever, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department now offers the option of completing training courses completely online for Texas residents 17 years and older.

September 2015

However, TPWD also offers three other convenient methods of getting certified: the basic, enhanced and advanced courses, which involve classroom and/or field time.

Jamie Staggs pounded out a snapper limit at a inshore shrimp boat wreck.

The basic hunter education course is designed for novice and young hunters ages 9 and above and requires six hours of classroom instruction.

The enhanced hunter education course is a combination of an online home study program and up to five hours of field training. The advanced hunter education course requires more than six hours of instruction and includes more content than the basic and enhanced courses.

Each of the courses costs $15, and the passing grade for all courses is 75 percent.

Since mandatory hunter education first started in 1988, the number of hunting accidents and fatalities has declined to fewer than 3 per 100,000 hunters. Incidents involving those who had completed hunter education courses are only in the single digits each year.

To help improve hunter safety, choose from one of the many flexible options to get your hunter education certification now. For more information and to register for hunter education programs, visit http://www.tpwd.texas.gov/ outdoor-learning/hunter-education.

The certification is valid for life and is honored in all other states and provinces.

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Some federally controlled areas require all hunters using that site to have hunter education certification. In Texas, this includes Corps of Engineers property and most military reservations. Check with the specific area prior to going hunting.

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Tides of the Week Tides for Corpus Christi (Bob Hall Pier) September 3-9, 2015

Day

High /Low

Tide Time

Height in Feet

Sunrise Moon Time Sunset

Th

3

Low

2:05 AM

1.2

7:09 AM Set 12:18 PM

3

High

5:49 AM

1.4

7:48 PM Rise 11:43 PM

3

Low

1:15 PM

0.2

3

High

9:25 PM

1.7

F

4

Low

2:20 PM

0.2

7:09 AM Set 1:19 PM

4

High

11:26 PM

1.8

7:47 PM

Sa

5

Low

3:30 PM

0.1

7:10 AM Rise 12:33 AM

5

7:45 PM Set 2:17 PM

Su

6

High

1:05 AM

1.8

7:10 AM Rise 1:24 AM

6

Low

4:42 PM

0.1

7:44 PM Set 3:11 PM

M

7

High

2:07 AM

1.9

7:11 AM Rise 2:16 AM

7

Low

5:50 PM

0.2

7:43 PM Set 4:01 PM

Tu

8

High

2:50 AM

1.8

7:11 AM Rise 3:10 AM

8

Low

6:51 PM

0.3

7:42 PM Set 4:47 PM

W

9

High

3:20 AM

1.8

7:11 AM Rise 4:03 AM

9

Low

8:55 AM

1.4

7:41 PM Set 5:29 PM

9

High

11:29 AM

1.5

9

Low

7:45 PM

0.4

Moon Visible

77

67 56 45 35 25 17

A8

September 3, 2015

Island Moon

SPORTS Sports Talk

Major League Baseball’s Fastest Pitcher

Chocolate Thunder

By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon

By Dotson Lewis

Sportswriter Jim Murray once wrote, “He was so big he wasn’t born, he was built.” At 6’11 inches tall and weighing 260 pounds, he was massive, the kind of guy who would have lived at the top of the beanstalk. He resembled a marble statue and his presence could fill up the room. He was as big as Christmas and held the record for the most “Yo-mama” during an interview. This dude was a one-man band, a hotdog with extra mustard and a happy, funloving kid, in a grown man’s body. He also had a smile that belonged in a museum. The shoes he wore cost $500. The price alone would have killed most people. He may have been one of the first guys to have his shoe size, his IQ, and his jersey all the same number.

Dotson’s Note: Do you think Aroldis Chapman's 105.1 mph pitch is faster than Ryan or Feller?

You're skeptical of the FFE measurement?

Consider this. As the baseballs crossed the plate, Chapman's was traveling 96.5 mph, Bob Feller's was at 98.6 mph, and Nolan Ryan's was still moving at an astonishing 99.1 mph.

Because of the various ways through the years used to clock a pitch, and considering the oldest methods were very antiquated, it is not a given who is/was the fastest pitcher ever. It’s a bit of guesswork. My choice for fastest ever, thanks to many stories from a few of my much older friends who saw him throw, is without a doubt Atley Donald. He is someone I bet most of you “Moon Monkeys” have never heard about. My thanks to sports scribe Thomas Van Hyning for many of the facts contained in this article.

Atley Donald New York Yankee Pitcher Bob Feller this offer, when the pitcher remained in St. Petersburg due to an injury: “Here are the keys and gas card to my white convertible,” said DiMaggio. “You can return the car to me in New York City.” DiMaggio, a very private person, liked Atley, who also kept to himself.

Betty reminisced about the time when she and Atley, as newlyweds, shared dances in Florida with Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe. Betty and 44-year old Atley were married in Natchez, Mississippi, in a private ceremony on January 8, 1955, at the Presbyterian Church. True to Atley’s nature, he insisted upon a private ceremony in Mississippi because he didn’t want people “gawking at him” around Choudrant, Louisiana, where he lived.

Clocked at 94.7 MPH in 1939 Soft-spoken Richard Atley Donald once threw 95-mile-per-hour fastballs for the 1939 New York Yankees, the first major league team to win four straight World Series.

Atley’s lifelong ambition was to be a New York Yankee, according to Betty, his widow.

In January 1934, Hugh Donald gave Atley $25, plus a raincoat, so he could hitchhike to St. Petersburg, Florida, where the Yankees trained.

Yankee scout Johnny Nee, who covered the South, had seen Atley pitch for Louisiana Tech, but never signed him. Atley looked Nee up in St. Petersburg and was told to contact Yankee management when spring training camp opened. Betty Donald said Atley made $12 a week at a St. Petersburg grocery store sacking sugar to make ends meet prior to spring training.

Nee introduced Atley to Yankee skipper Joe McCarthy, who gave Atley a uniform, and put him on the mound to face Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs and Bill Dickey. McCarthy was quite impressed. “He looks like Lon Warneke out there,” remarked the Yankee manager. Warneke was one of the National League’s elite pitchers, so this was a compliment. Betty Donald took pride in noting that Babe Ruth, in his final spring training, played a “bit of pepper with Atley.” She added, “And so did Lou Gehrig!” Ruth also played poker with Atley during March and April 1934 evenings. Betty recalled that Atley told her, “Ruth did not like to pay up.”

“Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig were close friends of Atley’s; those Yankees were a great group,” said Betty. Atley’s best big league season was his rookie one in 1939. He led the American League with a .813 winning percentage; set a league and team record of 12 straight wins to open a season; and was one of seven Yankee pitchers to win 10+ games, finishing 13-3. Atley’s 12-game win streak for the 1939 Yankees took place from May 23-July 25 and ended against Detroit before his 29th birthday in early August. Daniel M. Daniel, in the August 1939 issue of Baseball Magazine, penciled in his 14-player 1939 All-Rookie Team, with Ted Williams in right field; and three Yankees: Buddy Rosar, Charlie Keller, and Atley Donald. Daniel wrote: “The pitchers shout that we cannot overlook Atley Donald of the Yankees and Whitlow Wyatt of the Dodgers, who approached mid-season with grand winning streaks, yet unbeaten.”

The six-foot-one, 186-pound Atley said this about win streaks: “You hit your stride and everything you do out there is right. You get the breaks. Line drives whiz into some fielder’s outstretched glove. Those long shots they hit into the stands off you are foul by a foot. Your teammates make runs. And you win.” Talent and ability also help. On August 30, a primitive machine in Cleveland clocked Atley’s fastball at 94.7 miles per hour, significant because it put him in the “same league” with Bob Feller. Atley was used sparingly the last two months, pitched below his normal standards, and saw his ERA climb from 2.51 to 3.71. He did not appear in the 1939 World Series.

Bob Feller

Atley suffered from poor vision in his left eye, which disqualified him from military service during World War II. Manager Joe McCarthy “raised Cain” when someone stole a base off him, so Atley carefully studied base runners in order to compensate for his vision challenge.

This eye problem may have been the reason Atley was always a left-handed batter. Atley’s physical maladies kept him from making more than 20 starts in a season, even during the war years when the pitching staff was depleted.

Atley’s final four seasons as a Yankee pitcher, 1942-1945, showed a combined 35-21 wonloss record. New York won the 1942 and 1943 pennants and split the Fall Classic with St. Louis, losing in 1942, but winning in 1943.

Atley took the loss in Game 4 of the 1942 series and did not pitch in the 1943 event.

While watching him play basketball, you had to keep your eyes on him. If you weren’t watching him it was like going to the Empire State Building and not looking up. He had always been a little bit on tilt. The look on his face after a thunder dunk was like he had just seen the Ark of the Covenant. This guy threw down dunks that had never before been seen.

His dunks were so powerful the ball hit the floor before he did. He had enough power to light up a small city and he never forgot to speak to a kid. The great Stevie Wonder gave him his nickname, “Chocolate Thunder.” Stevie didn’t have to see Darryl to know he was something special. Darryl Dawkins was Moby Dick in a gold fish bowl. The only thing that could have stopped Dawkins from dunking the basketball was being kidnapped. He was rough and tough and wasn’t happy unless he had some flesh and blood underneath his fingernails after a game.

Dawkins led the league three times in personal fouls. During the 1983-84 season, Dawkins set the NBA record for personal fouls committed, at 386. If you could stop trembling long enough when Darryl spoke to you, you could learn something.

First player directly from high school

Nolan Ryan-During 1973 No Hitter Yankee post-World Series victory parties in New York City in the 1930s and 1940s featured the big band music of Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians and Bob Hope as emcee.

Lombardo met many of the Yankees from that era including Atley. Betty recalls a Florida dinner-club experience in the early 1960s when Lombardo was playing and noticed the Donalds seated at a nearby table. Lombardo stopped the music, walked over to Atley and shook his hand.

Atley became Dr. Bobby Brown’s patient in 1975 when he was having symptoms of coronary disease. Brown recommended that Dr. Manny Nazarian in Fort Worth, Texas, perform bypass graft surgery. It had sentimental value to Bobby Brown, he saw Atley pitch for Newark in 1937-38 and first met Atley in 1947, at the Yankees-Dodgers World Series, early in Atley’s scouting career. When Atley came to New Orleans, where Bobby Brown was in medical school at Tulane University, they would visit, have dinner and occasionally attend horse races at the Fair Grounds.

Atley passed away at age 82, in West Monroe, Louisiana, on October 19, 1992. Betty then summarized Atley’s qualities: good sense of humor, never bragged, was religious, and kept in touch with old friends. In March 2010, the Mississippi Legislature recognized and saluted the Sports Historical Legacy of the late Richard Atley Donald, the only major league baseball player born in Morton, Mississippi, in the centennial year of his birth.

Dotson’s Other Note: I believe the forgoing is not only a very interesting story of a great, although virtually unknown, baseball player, but also gives us some inside info on many very famous major league players who were friends of his. Who is your choice for the fastest major league pitcher of all time? Your comments, suggestions, questions and concerns regarding Sports Talk articles, please call the Benchwarmers at 361-560-5397 weekdays, Mondays thru Fridays, 3-6 P.M. or contact me. Phone: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530-748-8475 Email: dlewis1@stx.rr.com

Atley liked to shag flies with DiMaggio, who in the early 1940s surprised Atley with

Darryl Dawkins was born on January 11, 1957, in Orlando, Florida. He was close to his father, Frank, but reared primarily by his mother, Harriet.

Darryl powered Maynard Evans High School to the 1975 Florida State Championship.

Eighteen-year-old Darryl applied for the 1975 NBA draft as a hardship candidate. The Philadelphia 76ers made him the fifth overall pick. David Thompson from N.C. State was the top pick, followed by David Meyers, Marvin Webster and Alvan Adams.

Dawkins became the first player to go from high school to the NBA, National Basketball Association, but he was not the first high school player to turn professional. In 1974, Moses Malone jumped from high school in Virginia to the Utah Stars, a member of the ABA, American Basketball Association. These two leagues merged together in 1976. Many others would follow in Malone’s and Dawkins’ footsteps: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett entered the NBA straight out of high school.

Dawkins brought with him, size, huge hands, attitude, and a fine jump shot for a big man. The Wilt Chamberlain comparisons began. Darryl was still a kid and, without spending time in college, he needed time to develop. Darryl was immature and, to cope with his new found fame, he developed a make-believe world he called Planet Lovetron. He wore lime green suits and pink coats that made him look like a huge bottle of Pepto-Bismol.

Darryl spent time on the bench his first two seasons, only playing in 37 games his rookie year. Dawkins would be called on more often during the 1976-77 season, as the 76ers made it to the NBA Finals against the Portland Trailblazers and Bill Walton. Philadelphia would lose to Portland in six games. Dawkins’ time would be expanded during the 197778 season as he played nearly 25 minutes a game. With a team that consisted of Julius Erving, George McGinnis, Lloyd Free and Doug Collins, playing time was hard to come by. They advanced to the Eastern Finals before losing to Wes Unseld and the Washington Bullets, in six games.

! Yo-Mama!

Darryl Dawkins would eat anything that wouldn’t eat him. We may never see his likes again. I’m a huge fan of the old Negro Leagues in baseball, especially Satchel Paige, who used to name all his pitches. Dawkins did the same thing by naming his dunks. He had the Rim Wrecker, the Go-Rilla, the Lookout Below, the In Your Face Disgrace, the Cover Your Head, the Spine-Chiller Supreme, and his favorite, the Yo-Mama.

Dawkins spent 14 years in the NBA. The first seven were with the 76ers, with whom he went to three league championships and lost each time. He also played with the New Jersey Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets), the Utah Jazz and the Detroit Pistons. Along the way, injuries began to pile up as Darryl hurt his back. It would bother him the rest of his life. Dawkins averaged 12 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

His career shooting-percentage was .572, the seventh highest in league history. Darryl scored 8,733 points, pulled down 4,432 rebounds, all while blocking 1,023 shots. He would continue to play overseas with three different teams in Italy, and enjoyed a season with the Harlem Globetrotters before playing in the CBA and IBA. Dawkins would wear #53, #45 and #50 during his professional basketball career.

Darryl turned his attention to coaching. He coached professional teams in Winnipeg, Canada, and Allentown, Pennsylvania. In 2009, he also coached for Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, not far from Allentown where he and his fourth wife, Janice lived. Dawkins managed to write a book with the help of author, Charley Rosen. It was entitled Chocolate Thunder: The Uncensored Life and Times of Darryl Dawkins. He talked about the racism he had incurred and his experiences with drugs and partying.

It’s been a lot of years since they chanted his name. Darryl Dawkins, one of the game’s fiercest dunkers and lovable characters, passed away on Thursday, August 27, 2015. He died of an apparent heart attack in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was but 58. He leaves behind his wife Janice, their son Nicholas, and daughter Alexis; a stepdaughter, Tabitha; and a daughter from a previous marriage, Dara. “You didn’t have to know him to like him,” said “Sleepy” Floyd. “He was a tremendous person.”

My radio partner, Dennis Quinn, and I were on the air that night and Dennis took a minute to tell about his friendship with “Double D,” that’s what he called Dawkins. Quinn had met Darryl in Florida and covered him for a local sports television station. They hit it off, played some one-on-one and had a photograph taken of the two of them. It’s tough when you lose your pals.

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.

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Darryl Dawkins

Darryl Dawkins’ hands were incredible large.

They helped him not only palm and control a basketball, but allowed him to literally grab a blocked shot or rebound out of the air. This kind of thing had never been seen before and some referees called him for traveling when he returned to the floor. Of course most fans remember Dawkins as the guy who tore down backboards and rims. On November 13, 1979, Darryl shattered the backboard when he threw down a massive dunk over top of the Kansas City Kings’ center, Dave Robinzine at the Municipal Auditorium. Glass went everywhere, delaying the game for 90 minutes. No one could dunk like Dawkins, not even Chamberlain. Three weeks later, Dawkins did it again, but this time at home against the San Antonio Spurs, at the Spectrum. The NBA declared that any further tearing down of the backboard and or rim by hanging on would result in a fine and a suspension.

It became known as the Dawkins rule.

Dawkins always claimed that the first time he broke the backboard, it had been an accident and he did not plan to tear down another rim but “All the fans were hollering, ‘You’ve got to do one for the home crowd,’ so I went ahead and brought it down. Everybody was in awe. Fans were running out and grabbing the glass. People’s hands were bleeding. I felt like I was doing something no other human could do.”

Shortly afterwards, the NBA began to work on the so-called breakaway rims.

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September 3, 2015

A9

Island Moon

Love the Locals:

Island Time Sushi Bar and Grill

By Erica Rose Bertero Erica Rose Bertero is a local writer/blogger and Assistant Professor of English at Del Mar College. Visit her blog, “BEACH GAL BARED” at www.beachgalbared.com. She can be reached at beachgalbared@gmail.com.

“The most important things are actually the easiest to obtain: great friends, good food, and a decent bottle of wine,” – Blake Mycoskie, founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS shoes GREAT friends, GREAT food, and a GREAT bottle of wine (or great bottles, if you prefer) can be found in our local neighborhood, so you needn’t look far! Island native or not, the place to find a truly local feel and utterly delicious cuisine is at Island Time Sushi Bar and Grill.

local artists, and even a yoga class on Monday nights at 6:30pm (a donation-based class taught in the lounge area).

Island Time Sushi Bar and Seafood Grill offers various daily specials, weekly specials, table side service, homemade desserts and appetizers, and an exclusive wine selection. You can enjoy ½ price sake bottles, $4 house wine (glass), and select $5 sushi rolls every Monday. $2 Tuesdays include tuna tacos, nigiri, crispy pork belly steam buns and domestic beers. Wednesday is considered Ladies’ Night, featuring ½ price wine bottles, $5 spring rolls, and a discounted salad selection.

With fantastic owners at the helm, and the support of a great kitchen and serving staff,

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Opened in August 2014, by Romeo Galindo and his sister Alda Galindo, from Day One they have focused upon providing the highest quality of customer service and an eclectic food and wine menu. Boasting the largest sushi bar found on the Island and Port Aransas, Island Time features great specials throughout the week and a unique dining experience.

Romeo You may know Romeo “Sonny” Galindo, as he has had nearly 30 years in the restaurant industry. He began his journey with Marco’s Catering, working alongside Marco Mattolinni.

Here on the Island, Romeo was the general manager at Black Sheep for five years, which he describes as a vital experience and a big stepping stone toward realizing his dream of owning a restaurant. He was able to forge partnerships and make real connections with the Island community – a community that he found to be accepting, loving and supportive of small business success. Equally important was the support he found in his family, with his younger sister Alda Galindo and her decision to become a partner in the business. She shared, “I believed in his dream and I knew he would be successful. People come to Island Time to see Romeo for the stellar service and treatment – they expect it because they know him from experience. He takes care of people – he makes it a point to learn names, their stories, and is truly invested in providing something great for the Island.”

Island Time The inspiration for the creation and subsequent opening of Island Time came from first, filling a need on the Island. Sushi Bar had closed its doors, yet there was a clear void to be filled as Romeo saw that people enjoyed a closer location for good sushi. He was also inspired by his own experiences in the industry, and above all, he had a passion for food and people. One of his goals from the beginning was to create a culinary community co-op; he had a desire to work with local chefs, food growers and other local business owners. He is meeting this goal by forging various local partnerships – one can enjoy local seafood and fresh garden products found in a variety of IT dishes. Island Time has a plot in the Island community garden, with dreams of growing more of their own food and ingredients. You can also enjoy local musicians,

your dining experience at Island Time will truly be one you’ll want to share with others – and it will be one you’ll definitely want to have more than once! Some of the local favorite appetizers are the Crispy Brussel Sprouts and the Lockhart Quail; top sellers for the sushi bar are the Rattlesnake Roll, Ecstasy Roll and the Shaggy Dog; enjoy a TJ Filet or the Fresh Catch of the Day from the Char-grill; and finally, don’t forget to sample the homemade cheesecake for dessert! My personal favorite items are the Island Fusion Noodles (created by the sushi chefs) and the Ecstasy Roll.

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Island Time is located at 4225 South Padre Island Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78418. To place To-Go orders or ask about daily specials, call 361.949.3046. You can also place ToGo orders online at http://www.toasttab.com/ island-time-sushi-bar-seafood-grill. Follow and “Like” Island Time on Facebook and Instagram “islandtimesushibar” – for all the latest specials and events.

As a supporter of local businesses here in Corpus Christi, and a lover of sushi and good wine, I recommend you making the time to visit Romeo and the staff at Island Time!

Mention that you read about IT in “Love the Locals” and/or the “Beach Gal Bared” blog OR you read the article in the Island Moon newspaper for a sweet offer: choose a bottle of wine from the ½ price Wednesday list on ANY day of the week! Great food, wine, and friends on “Island Time” – what could make for a better combination?

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A10

Island Moon

September 3, 2015