he Port O’Connor Cemetery Association has set a deadline of July 4th for removing all PVC pipes. After that date, all pipes marking out plots will be removed. 12’X12’ cement blocks with name will be the only recognized plots reserved.

The Association asks that you mark each plot with cement 12’X12’ blocks with a name on each block. Each plot will be marking a 5’X10” plot. You will need four cement blocks for each plot, or you are allowed to mark the total of two plots with four blocks. If you are needing more than two plots, the Association asks you to use more blocks, as the examples below:

Someone from the Association will be at the Cemetery on the following dates to record your reserved plots. Bring your cement blocks to mark your future plots.

Sunday, April 13th – 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 10th – 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 8th – 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.

For further information, please call Marie Hawes at 361-983-2322.

Calhoun Students

Victoria, TX — Over 450 girls and women of all ages took to the skies the week of March 3rd – 9th with the pilots of Calhoun Air Center. This marks the fourth year the air center has taken part in Women of Aviation Worldwide (WOAW) Week. WOAW aims to foster diversity in aviation by celebrating history, raising awareness, and sparking vocations among the female population.

Women represent only 6% of the pilot population, a number that has remained the same for nearly a century. Calhoun Air Center aims to change that statistic.

“This is truly an international event that is held for one week that has globally grown to thirty-six countries on four continents; an opportunity to impact females on a very large scale,” said helicopter pilot and Calhoun Air Center owner, Dianna Stanger. “Our team at Calhoun Air Center have been able to influence local girls and women from our small rural area on a level that few metropolitan areas are able to compete with. Each year it makes us very proud to be associated with the volunteers and friends who have helped to make new friends that may be the future of aviation.”

This year, the air center expanded their efforts to nearby schools and airports. Students from Palacios Middle School, Palacios Jr. High, Bloomington Jr. High, Travis Middle School, Calhoun High School and the Air Force TX-956 JROTC joined Calhoun Air Center to celebrate WOAW and take their first flight. The week-long effort was well worth it.

“My original goals for participating in WOAW were to spark a love for aviation and to introduce non-traditional career opportunities for our students,” said the Bloomington Junior High Principal, James Pieper. “In reality, what happened was so much more! The girls that got out of the aircraft were literally transformed into more confident individuals that are ready to take charge of their future. Thank you Dianna Stanger and Calhoun Air Center for introducing a world of opportunities.”

For more events the airport hosts throughout the year please visit www.calhouaircenter.com.

-Jasmine Gordon

Palacios Students

Our 40th Barbecue and auction on March 1st showed Seadrift’s continued support of our Scouting program.  Troop 106 has been active for 72 years.
We want to thank all who cooked, served, and bought tickets for a great meal.  Thanks to the contributors and buyers at the auction.
Items included cakes to fishing trips and everything in between.  Thank you to all of you who pitched in to make it possible for our boys to participate in all Scouting has to offer this year.
Sincerely,
Lea Hall, Committee Member
Seadrift

Boy Scouts of Troop 106

Tanya Cady, JoAnne Mueller, and Nan Burnett served barbecue dinners. Many volunteers worked to make the 40th Annual Barbecue a success.

Thinking of burning that pile of brush in the back yard? Or burning off the grass and/or brush in that field in the country you own? There are several laws and regulations you need to abide by. In this article I’ll go over some important State regulations, including some rules specific to areas in Calhoun County.

Before we go into the State regulations, let’s cover local rules first. If you live inside of the Port Lavaca or Point Comfort City Limits, you cannot do any kind of outdoor burning. Before you ask, BBQ pits or fires used in the noncommercial preparation of food are allowed.

If you live inside of the Seadrift City Limits, you can go to the Seadrift City Hall and apply for a permit to burn. After your proposed burn area undergoes an inspection you may be issued a burn permit. However, you still need to abide by the State regulations which we will go over.

Before conducting any kind of outdoor burning in Calhoun County you need to call the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office at 361-553-4646 to let them know you are burning. They will inform you of any County burn bans and ask your name, location of the fire, and your phone number. Several times a year local emergency responders and law enforcement personnel are dispatched to fires that turn out to be controlled burns which were not called in to the Sheriff’s Office.

Outdoor burning in Texas is governed by Title 30, Texas Administrative Code, sections 111.201 to 221. While listing all of the regulations here would be prohibitive, here are the important ones:

You cannot burn electrical insulation, treated lumber, plastics, tires, oil filters, non-wood construction materials, heavy oils, asphaltic materials, roof shingles, potentially explosive materials, chemical wastes, and items containing natural or synthetic rubber.

Burning shall not be started when surface wind speed is predicted to be greater than 23 miles per hour (mph) or less than six miles per hour (mph) during the burn period.

Burning must be conducted downwind of, or at least 300 feet from any structure containing people located on adjacent properties unless prior written approval is obtained from the adjacent occupant with possessory control.

The initiation of burning shall commence no earlier than one hour after sunrise. Burning shall be completed on the same day not later than one hour before sunset, and shall be attended by a responsible party at all times during the active burn phase when the fire is progressing. In cases where residual fires and/or smoldering objects continue to emit smoke after this time, such areas shall be extinguished if the smoke from these areas has the potential to create a nuisance or traffic hazard condition. In no case shall the extent of the burn area be allowed to increase after this time.

Burning shall be commenced and conducted only when wind direction and other meteorological conditions are such that smoke and other pollutants will not cause adverse effects to any public road, landing strip, navigable waters, or any off-site structure containing people.

If at any time the burning causes smoke to blow onto or across a road or highway, it is the responsibility of the person initiating the burn to post flag-persons on affected roads.

The authority to conduct outdoor burning under these regulation does not exempt or excuse any person responsible from the consequences, damages, or injuries resulting from the controlled burn, and does not exempt or excuse anyone from complying with all other applicable laws or ordinances, regulations, and orders of governmental entities having jurisdiction.

These are just a few of the Regulations the State of Texas has regarding outdoor burning; the full set of regulations can be found at: www.tceq.texas.gov/publications/rg/rg-049.html/at_download/file

The modern world we live in moves faster than ever before. The internet, smart phones, tablets and gaming consoles all connect us in new and exciting ways, opening a new universe for us to explore.

Beyond the limitless information, entertainment and social networking possibilities however, it would seem that modern society’s fast paced ways have put a luxury price on things like manners and patience and a desire to understand respect those around us.

Partially this can be blamed on the “now” attitude we all seem to carry with us daily.

Advertisements for all manner of wares have been pushing this concept at us for decades. Words like “fast, quick, easy and simple” dominate our daily lives. Of course, who can forget the ever important “act now!” that accompanies every late night infomercial from vacuum powered do-it-yourself hair cutting kits (yes, it did exist, it was called the Flowbee, can still be found online and is made in Corpus Christi) and ridiculous robes that make us look like Druids that support the Longhorns.

Thing is, Humanity is not easy or simple in it’s diverse complexity of daily activities and how those activity’s force us to interact with others. Sadly, this leads to confrontations that are as unproductive as they are damaging. Simple ignorance of the fact that everything around us has a soul has lead us down a path where we place a premium on lofty expectations and turn a blind eye to the most simplest ways to improve our daily lives.

Some blame such changes on inventions like the smart phone and video gaming’s popularity but at one time they thought TV might change us all into mindless idiots…wait a minute, hold that thought.

Although we could definitely debate till infinity that the rise of the television has lead to some very bad consequences socially and otherwise, I find it hard to blame the car for running off the road when a person was behind the wheel.

A bad workman always blames his tools and in the case of our understanding of those around us, we are at times very bad workmen indeed. However, besides the gloom and doom there is something we all can do every single minute to have a positive impact on this issue.

Think.

It’s all those words we love to hear: “Quick, easy, simple and fast.” We have the world’s most perfect computer right in our own skulls, no Wi-Fi connection required. Just think before you act, put yourself in the other person’s shoes before you are so quick to ignore or dismiss, label or condemn.

I can hear a few sighs out there from those reading who know this is true but feel daunted at the weight of the outside world that is set in its ways and the scoffs from those who think I am peddling snake oil in a storm.

However, I’m not saying the next time you head to the store for a loaf of bread or milk, you hug the cashier and tell her how special she is (a matter of fact, I do not recommend this at all, it may be construed wrongly) nor am I saying that if you put a smile on your face tomorrow morning your boss will not suck, your legs will not ache or your car will stop making that funny ticking sound.

What I am saying is that if we all just tried a bit of patience, understanding and acknowledgment of our fellow men and women the world might just be a little bit better off besides.