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361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com The Island Newspaper since 1996 Facebook : The Island Moon Newspaper
September 12, 2013
On Every Island a Little Rain Must Fall
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com The weather is good, the beaches drivable, the fish are biting, and the tourists have gone home. It’s hard to think of a better time to be on our Island. Last week there was even a sighting of Kingfish in the water around the harbor in Port Aransas. We ask you folks, what could be more better than that?
Reef delay Last week we told you about the beginning of construction on a reef in 73 feet of water about nine miles out from Packery Channel. Construction of the reef was to begin this week with the moving of more than forty tons of concrete material to the site by barge. That process has been delayed and the barge is now scheduled to arrive from Louisiana this weekend, with the haul to the site set for early next week. The reef is the first of three planned for this area and will provide a prime location for fishing and diving. Anyone who wants to become a part of the flotilla going out to watch the action can stay up to date on our Facebook page theislandmoonnewspaper. We will post a schedule there as soon as we know anything.
Thefts on The Island We continue to have more reports of thefts on The Island and from the looks of things the thieves are getting bolder. As we reported a couple of weeks ago they were driving around Island streets swiping Yeti Coolers off of boats and decks. Not content with the coolers they are now targeting the boats. Last week at the corner of Gypsy and Cuttysark thieves hooked up to a $40,000 Majek Illusion boat with a 225 horse Yamaha motor and drove off with it. The owners live out of town but had one of the most supposedly secure tongue locks available on the trailer. The thieves apparently took the time to remove the old tongue and replace it with one they brought along for the job. This is the latest in an ongoing series of thefts we have had since the Corpus Christi Police Department brass reduced the police presence on The Island. These reductions happen periodically and when they do it doesn’t take long for the thieves to catch on. The fact is that the police presence in the Bravo District, which The Island is part of, has been reduced and the thieves are reacting as expected. Labor Day also marked the removal from the beach of two additional officers assigned there during late hours throughout the tourist season after a woman was attacked and left on the beach on July 5 near the south side of Packery Channel. Those officers are now gone and the police presence on The Island at night has been reduced to the point that the thieves are getting bolder. The boat heist took place just before dawn and the fact that the thieves took their time in stealing the boat is an indication they were not afraid of being seen. Lock up your stuff folks. It looks like we’re on our own. Around continued on A3
Photo By Miles Merwin
Next Publication Date: 9/19/2013
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Year 16, Issue 491
It’s Official: $550 Million LNG Facility Coming to Harbor Island When finished will increase Port Aransas tax roll by almost 50% By Dale Rankin The Corpus Christi Port Commission on Tuesday approved the sale of a 254-acre tract of land on Harbor Island to Martin Operating Partnership, LP, for a price of $34,853.847.95. The land is inside the boundaries of the City of Port Aransas. The Tyler based company plans to develop the site for the handling and export of liquid natural gas which can be harvested from the Eagle Ford Shale in Central Texas at a cost of just over $4 per one thousand cubic feet (Mcf) and sold in China and other markets at over $20 per Mcf. . According to information provided to Port Commission members before their Tuesday meeting the land on Harbor Island, located across the ship channel from Port Aransas just north of the ferry landings, was formerly used by American Petrofina and Exxon as tank farm storage and shipping terminals for crude oil. Those two terminals were in existence before LNG continued on A3
Building a Better Dune
The dune maintainance program, referred to as notching, being used to build the dune structure in Port Aransas is proving a big success. As you can see from these photos the dunes there are higher and deeper than ever.
Seaweed is piled up along the beach.
This 254-acre site on Harbor Island will be the site of the new LNG facility. Port Aransas is across the channel at the top of the photo.
Where Are They When You Need Them? Police Making Their Rounds on the Island By Brent Rourk It was going to be a scorcher – 99 degrees plus heat index adjustment. What a day to do a ride along with the Corpus Christi Police on the island. From about 2PM until 10 PM I planned to get a closer look at what our law enforcement does on the island, what they look for and what they respond to. Would I melt in the heat? Would the officer be stern and dismissive? Would the officer be free to answer questions? Would it turn out to be an informative and eye-opening day? Would the patrol car have working air conditioning?
Island police assisting stranded motorist
Officer Altan And placed in notches in the dunes to create a higher and sturdier line of dune protection. The process involves removing a piece of the dunes – notching – and replacing it with the Sargassum weed which washes up and is collected in these piles along the beach. Over time the process builds a sturdy dune line with dunes higher than those they replaced. The system has been in use by the City of Port Aransas for several years now and is proving to be a good one. When the Big One hits the dune line is our only protection. The higher and the studier the dunes the better and notching system is producing both results.
Plans to Add 3700 Acres to PINS Moving Forward
Thankfully, the car was air-conditioned and offered comfortable seats and a cup holder, so I was duly prepared to complete the shift. Officer Altan Guzeldere arrived at my home at the pre-arranged time with a welcome smile and not even a hint of annoyance about having to cart around a civilian (who works for the newspaper no less) for an entire shift. We had briefly spoken on the phone a day earlier and I had spoken previously with Lieutenant Hooper
Update on Island Projects…
Schlitterbahn, Dog Park, New Water Line to The Island
By Dale Rankin
In the meantime the site is a dumping ground and shooting gallery
about the ride along. They knew I planned to write an article about my experiences so there were no secrets and we began the ride along. The shift began with a call, which would become more numerous as the evening slowly blanketed the island. We immediately answered the call; an alleged disagreement between surfers and fishermen. It must have dissipated prior to the officers arriving. Following that call Altan drove around the island, including the beaches, main highway, and neighborhoods, including dead end streets. As he deftly did Police continued on A8
1919 storm Changed the Shape of Mustang Island On September 14, 1919 the most destructive storm to every strike Corpus Christi made landfall. 287 citizens lost their life that day out of a population of 10,500. The second deadliest storm, Hurricane Celia by comparison had fifteen victims out of 204,000 Corpus residents.
By Dale Rankin Plans are moving forward to add 3700 acres of land to the north end of the Padre Island National Seashore. The land was purchased in the 1990s by the Texas General Land Office which now plans to sell it to the Texas Nature Conservancy which will in turn donate it to the National Park Service to be added to the existing PINS. The Island Moon first reported the story late last year and since that time negotiations have been ongoing between the GLO and the Nature Conservancy. A Conservancy spokesperson said this week that the money is available and talks are progressing. Once the transaction is complete a series of public hearings will be held to provide details on how the additional land will be managed by the Park Service. “This is a long process once the purchase is done and we begin going through the motions required by the Park Service,” said Buzz Botts, PINS spokesman. “But no news is good news. PINS continued on A5
Park ticket booths under construction Schlitterbahn. Crews have begun setting forms to run concrete for park buildings and attractions. Excavation work on the new canals west of SPID is nearing completion. Work continues on the main building at Padre Isles Country Club. Work is on schedule. Island Dog Park. The Island Strategic Action Committee (ISAC) on Tuesday heard from both proponents and opponents of building a new dog park in the existing Aquarius City Park. The project was put together by a group of Islanders, but the location at Aquarius Park is being opposed by some nearby residents. At the meeting POA Executive Director Maybeth Christiansen answered several questions which have been raised about the
Projects continued on A6
Red line is the Shoreline before the 1919 Hurricane; the Blue line is the post 1919 shoreline showing the sand moved by the storm. Almost all the fatalities were cause not by wind but a powerful storm surge and waves coming across Corpus Bay and destroying all but a few structures that were along the waterfront. Corpus in 1919 was a small town, built along the bay front from where Spohn hospital is to North Beach. There was no seawall or breakwater. Water Street was just that, built just a few feet above sea level and along the Bay. North Beach with an elevation of four to five feet above the water was a disaster waiting to happen. History continued on A6