GLO Honors Debbie Gayle
According to a recent Texas General Land Office press release, Commissioner George P. Bush announced that the King Fisher Beach Adopt-A-Beach site will be dedicated in honor of Debbie Gayle who served as the site’s coordinator for 18 years.
“Volunteers are the heart of the Texas Adopt-A-Beach program,” said Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush. “Debbie Gayle was dedicated to her family, community, the Texas Coast, and the Adopt-A-Beach program. We are honored to dedicate the King Fisher Beach Adopt-A-Beach site in honor of Debbie’s service and appreciation for the Texas Coast.”
Our family was delighted to learn about this honor. We also received a certificate signed by Commissioner George P. Bush commending her for her years of service.
My mom truly loved the coastal lifestyle growing up in Port O’Connor and raising her own family here as well. For generations, our extended family have spent innumerable days enjoying our ‘Treasures of the Texas Coast.’ When I was in high school, my mom was touched by my essay for a GLO contest of that name, so she signed up to be a local coordinator.
Her love and consideration for nature have been passed down to her children and grandchildren. For us, the Adopt-A-Beach cleanups are a family volunteer effort each spring and fall; we work together to help keep the environment in good condition and encourage others to do the same. -Roxanne Gayle Ochoa
(I would like to thank the staff of the Austin and Port Lavaca GLO offices for helping me coordinate this cleanup without my mom, Debbie Gayle, who passed away in late August. We especially appreciate Tony Belton, Port Lavaca GLO response officer, his wife Cathy, and their daughter Courtney for their assistance at the site on Saturday. I would also like to thank my dad, Daniel Gayle, for providing volunteers with hotdogs, chips, and drinks; my brother, Scott Gayle, for his assistance; and my husband, Aaron Ochoa, for keeping my younger two sons occupied at the beach during the cleanup (my oldest helps pick up trash.).
The Gayle family and Tony Belton family at the Fall Adopt-A-Beach on Saturday, September 26.
Clean Up at King Fisher Beach
By Roxanne Ochoa
Fifty-three volunteers participated in the Adopt-A-Beach cleanup at King Fisher Beach on Saturday, September 26, 2015. The majority of these volunteers were members and chaperones of youth groups: the Intercoastal 4-H club from Port O’Connor and the Leo Club of St. Joseph’s High School in Victoria.
Local and visiting volunteers spent the morning picking up 35 bags of trash, for a total of approximately 700 pounds. This includes 12 bags (400 pounds) brought in from Sunday Beach by an Austin couple who have helped regularly for about 8 years.
Unusual items found on King Fisher Beach included a handlebar grip, corn cobs, a spark plug, and underwear. Items of concern were a large waterlogged piece of foam, because volunteers picked up pieces of it all along the beach, and the visible end of a thick buried cable, which was reported to the county for assistance in retrieval.
At King Fisher Beach, volunteers recorded picking up nearly 400 cigarette butts, 144 plastic bottle caps, 96 fireworks, 62 plastic beverage bottles, and 60 beverage cans. They also reported 22 balloons, 34 cigar tips, 38 plastic bags, and 4 diapers.
I look forward to continuing our family tradition by becoming the King Fisher Beach Adopt-A-Beach coordinator. See you for the Spring cleanup on Saturday, April 23!
4H help clean King Fisher Beach: L to R: Luke Doggett, Antonio Gloria, Christopher Richter, Kyle Doggett, Brooklyn Redmond, John Rosenboom, Trevon Ragusin. Back: Tarah Munsch, Sarah Doggett, Andrew Ragusin, Justin Munsch
Magnolia Beach Clean Up
By Rhonda D. Cummins, MMR
Calhoun County Extension Agent – Coastal & Marine Resources
We had a great turn out at Magnolia Beach for the 29th annual Fall Adopt-a-Beach. 190 folks signed in. Approximately 2,150 pounds of trash was collected. Most unusual items noted were: five $1 bills, cell phone, inhaler, and a toilet seat.
Special thanks goes to Calvin Anderle and the Hardhead Derby crew for cooking and donating the pulled pork sandwiches for the lunch today. We’d also like to thank J & T’s One Stop in Magnolia Beach for donating ice and the Magnolia Beach Volunteer Fire Department for all their help and the use of the fire barn for our lunch. Thanks also to Arthur and Tim of Precinct #1 for hauling our trash away.
We had several groups come clean the beach including: The CHS Robotics Club; Victoria Boys and Girls Club; O’Neil and Sons Brewing Company; Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas; Boy Scout Troop #421; The OLG Mariner Family. (I apologize if I left any groups off.)
This was a wonderful morning at the beach with many local residents pitching in with the visiting volunteers to help turn the tide on trash. The fall cleanup is part of the annual Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup which is the world’s largest volunteer effort on behalf of ocean and waterway health.
As the ocean trash data form states: “Ocean and waterway trash ranks as one of the most serious pollution problems choking our planet. Far more than an eyesore, the rising tide of marine debris threatens human health, wildlife, communities and economies around the world. The ocean faces many challenges, but trash should not be one of them. Ocean trash is entirely preventable.”
Victoria Electric Cooperative employees at Texas Adopt-A-Beach Boggy Nature Park Clean-Up held September 26.
