Inside the Moon
Island Projects A4
How to Watch Football A8
French Sister City visits Island A9
The
Issue 596
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
September 17, 2015
Around The Island
Live Music A16
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Photo by Miles Merwin
Big Hammerhead in the First Cut
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com We barely made it a mile down the beach before the Red Tide Detector went crazy; the needle pegged at four sneezes per mile before the Detector Dog gave up her spot looking out the open window and settled into the seat with a sigh. The fun of watching the birds feed on the washed-up fish was overridden by the sting in the air.
Islander Settling Her Case on Judge Judy
County Overcharges $854,775 for Elections Figures includes $357,571 the County overbilled itself By Dale Rankin
This eight-foot Hammerhead Shark was photographed swimming in the first cut about five miles south of Bob Hall Pier on Kleberg County beach Saturday morning by a fisherman. Two days previous three, six-foot Black Tip Sharks were seen swimming in the same spot. The Red September has arrived friends, as bad as any year we can remember. It has been noted by several of our readers that as the Red Tide has descended upon us the only people who aren’t coughing are the smokers. The good news is that the Local’s Season is in full bloom. This was the view south from Bob Hall Pier on Tuesday with nary a tourist in sight.
Kleberg's Beach Dwellers A13
Red Tide Rising!
Some beaches littered with hundreds of fish
When Islander Lauren asked a friend to dog sit for her she had no idea it would land her on national television. A few months ago her friend took care of her precocious year-old Labrador Retriever and when the dog was left alone it decided to vent its displeasure by eating some of the furniture. Then a while later it happened again and
Judge Judy continued on A6
An audit of Nueces County election costs has found that the county, which charges other tax entities in the county to conduct elections, overbilled them by $497,204.43 for elections since 2012. The audit also found that the Nueces County Clerk’s Office under its previous boss, overbilled the Nueces County General Fund by $357,571.39. Nueces County Commissioners on Wednesday voted to refund the money in the form of cost cuts in the form of 50% credits in the next two election cycles beginning in the
County continued on A4
Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup Saturday, September 26
Volunteers are signing up now for the nation's biggest coastal cleanup next Saturday By Brent Rourk
Meanwhile, further north the popups have been stored by the seawall with care, waiting for the Winter Texans who soon will be there. In the meantime they resemble an army of frozen skeletal anthropoids ready to invade our Island. It’s a good time to be on our island folks, as long as you’re not afraid of giant spiders.
“Old Division” Moon Monkey Dotson Lewis came in last week with a complaint. He plays in a Ping Pong league and he has now entered into a new category; “Old.” “They actually call it “Old!’ he says. “Over 86 is old…but Old!” Now understand Dotson is no Spring Chicken, he is officially an octogenarian halfway to being a nanogenarian but in the meantime every Friday night Dotson can be seen running up and down area football fields in pinstripes refereeing high school football games. Here’s thinking if most of us tried that we would indeed feel “Old” trying to keep up with Dotson.
Island Crime Season We check the Island police calls each week to look for trends and changes in crime patterns. This time of the year there are fewer eyes and ears on our Island and we become tempting bait for sneak thieves who drive around looking for crimes of opportunity. It’s sad to say but a check of the crime report shows that petty crime has gone up slightly in the past couple of weeks. It’s nothing serious, but open garage doors and open car windows draw thieves like moths to a flame. Keep an eye out.
Aaaaargh! Saturday is Talk Like a Pirate Day and so Port Aransas will have their Pirate Parade. Even if the cannons don’t thunder and there’s nothing to plunder you can be pirate for a day. So we’ll see you on the Bounty Main, also known as Alister Street. Happy Diaz y Seiz and Rosh Hashanah everybody. Say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Weather and water conditions this week created the perfect storm for the return of Red Tide to our shores. The toxic, choking algae noted by its red color but more so for its lethal effects on marine life washed up school of dead fish along our beaches. The stinging and suffocating odor has not yet reached levels of years past when it challenged and choked our respiratory systems when it kept many Islanders us indoors but has been strong enough to affect breathing and sinuses. The cause of the Red Tide is the microscopic algae known as Karenia brevis, a mighty giant that can cause some huge problems as it produces toxins called brevetoxins. According
Posing after cleaning the beach at Padre Island National Seashore during Adopt-A-Beach 2013, a large and hungry group from King High School heads for the hot dog line. Photo by Brent Rourk
Red Tide continued on A4
2015 Life Jacket Design Competition Winners Break New Ground What would a modern life jacket look like if you threw out the rulebook and started with a clean slate? The answer lies with the winners of the 2015 “Innovation in Life Jacket Design Competition” announced this week at the International Boat Builders Exhibition and Conference in Louisville. Sponsored by the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water and the Personal Floatation Device Manufacturers Association (PFDMA), a team of five judges from the boating, paddling and life jacket manufacturing industry reviewed nearly 250 contest submissions from as far away as Mongolia and New Zealand, and also asked recreational boaters to vote for their favorite design entry. The goal of the competition was to rethink a 100-year-old design, seek out the newest technologies and design innovations and develop interest in newer, more versatile life jackets. Design entries were judged on the following criteria: innovation, wearability, value/affordability, reliability, versatility and practicality. At stake was $15,000 in prize money. Additional judges included marine industry consultant, speaker, and former “West Marine Advisor,” Chuck Hawley and Frank Solazzo,
The 2015 Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup takes place at 30 of Texas’ most popular tourist beaches. Volunteers can sign up online at www.texasadoptabeach. org to take part in a fun-filled day at the beach that makes a difference.
Each volunteer will be given data cards, gloves, pencils and trash bags. All volunteers are advised to wear closed-toe shoes, bring sunscreen and plenty of drinking water. The Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Cleanups are held rain or shine!
Cleanup continued on A14
A little Island history
Indianola is Born and Killed
Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series on the history of the port town of Indianola. It is based on the book Indianola: the Mother of Western Texas by Brownson Malsch.
Indianola 1844
The second place design by Jimi Beach inflates when the wearer's head is submerged a Team Leader with Leland Limited which supplies high-pressure gas filled cylinders used in inflatable life jackets. The winners are First Place ($10,000): Michael Garman of Moseley, Virginia submitted his prototype design that
Life Jackets continued on A5
It was In Indianola that Texas’ first German Protestant minister, the Rev. Louis Ervendberg held the first Weihnachtsfest complete that December complete with a Christmas tree for the new Texans. Those families were the first of many thousands of Germans who would arrive at Indianola and eventually fan out across Texas and found towns with German names which are today part of the daily Texas vernacular. In January 1845 the first wagon train of immigrants set out across the plains bound for
the Comal Tract of land, at the current site of the town of New Braunfels in Comal County
History continued on A13