Seadrift Centennial
When will the Seadrift Centennial be? What year?

The depot was here in 1910 as were other buildings.

“The Seadrift Success” newspaper was entered at the Post Office as second class matter under the Act of March, 1989 on September 16, 1911; Editor: George L. Rhea. I do have one of these newspapers.
Just wondering!

Geraldine Wilson
Seadrift

Dear Geraldine,
The City of Seadrift was incorporated Dec 12, 1912; the centennial is just around the corner! I actually read about the incorporation at City Hall in the first minute book which was kept by the city council.
Excerpt from the Discovering Seadrift article I wrote for the April 23, 2010 issue of the Dolphin Talk:

“So last week there I was—engulfed in the pages of Seadrift’s first City Council Minute Book. I could almost see these gentlemen in my mind, calling the meeting to order, secretary with fountain pen in hand gingerly note-taking. The first entry was dated, December 27th 1912, the city council met the day Seadrift, Texas was incorporated. In attendance were W.G. Stewart; mayor, Geo L. Rhea; secretary, J.H. McIntire, D.D. Brian, R.A. Armstrong Jr., and J.L. Knight. That Friday evening “a motion was carried to erect a calaboose on the lot on Houston St., east of the (Seadrift) Success office with permission from A.D. Powers, president of American Townsite Co. and owner of said lot.” The jailhouse stands to this day on the corner of Houston and Rose Street. It is decorated with a mural created by Carolyn Millspaw and Kathleen Lambright appropriately entitled, “Jailbreak.” Seadrift Success was at that time the local newspaper, Geo L. Rhea was the editor. The paper’s headline boasted, “Located on the beautiful San Antonio Bay, the home of fish and oysters. Where the balmy breezes blow and life is like a summer dream.” Not only was Geo L. Rhea the editor of The Success and secretary of the city council, he was also secretary of the Seadrift Commercial Club. J.L. Knight was president of the Seadrift Commercial Club.”

Thank you for the inquiry, it’s always a pleasure to hear from you. We welcome any other questions you or other Dolphin readers may have. I’d love to meet up with you soon to see the copy of Seadrift Success!

Jasmine Gordon,
Dolpin Talk
Seadrift correspondent

State of the Union
Over the last few years, I have become increasingly concerned with runaway federal spending and the spiraling national debt, now estimated to hit $15 trillion this year.  So, as much as I knew Tuesday night’s spectacle was going to be painful to watch, I wanted to tune in and see if there was any chance of progress toward reducing the deficit.  Well, I suppose it’s no surprise that its business as usual in the Obama administration.  In one regard, I was relieved to see Obama stick with his liberal roots, so we know who he is, as opposed to shifting to the center as many people had predicted.

The President was crystal-clear on one of his targets for raising taxes – the oil business.  Obama said “I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies”.  This is simply not true.  Taxpayer dollars are not given to oil companies.  In fact, the oil business is allowed tax deductions for the money it spends, like almost any other business in America.

Now, I’m in the oil business, so this may seem a little self-serving, but I think before people make a judgment on anything they should get their facts straight (and they’re not going to get the facts from the President).  In the past, the Democrats have tried to characterize their proposals as closing tax loopholes for “Big Oil”, but eliminating these tax deductions would have a far greater impact on America’s independent producers.  According to the Independent Petroleum Association of America, www.ipaa.org, independent companies drill 90 percent of new domestic wells, and produce over 80 percent of the nation’s clean-burning natural gas.  Most independent producers are small businesses with fewer than 20 employees, and they typically reinvest over 100 percent of their cash flow back into new American production.

I don’t have a problem with “investing” in alternative energy.  Believe me; someday we’re going to need it.  But how does it make sense to place new taxes on American oil and gas production at a time when we need it most?  For now, domestic production needs to be the fuel for America’s growth, prosperity and energy security.

After Tuesday night’s speech, I was just going to leave it at that – just more Washington spin.  I think most people, especially here in Texas, recognize that.  But as I read over Wednesday’s media reviews, it was interesting to see almost no coverage on this issue.  Maybe this was because the Democrats had tried raising taxes on the oil companies before, and failed, and this was seen as just another attempt and therefore not newsworthy.  However, it’s the manner in which he said it that is disturbing.

When the President considers tax deductions identical to government spending, that is socialism!  He is implying that all the income in the nation belongs to the government, and that if we let working people keep any of it, that is the same as a government expenditure.  This is the opposite of our nation’s founding principles.  In fact, the income belongs to the people, and the people should be the ones that determine how much the government is allowed to keep.

Thank you for your consideration.
King Tomlinson, PE
President
Coastal Plains Exploration, LLC
Port Lavaca, Texas

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