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.”

Look for the full story in Friday’s newspaper.

Judy Anderson with her first grade students in their Port O’Connor school classroom.

When, on the evening of February 13, Doyle Adams announced the Sweetheart Banquet’s Citizen of the Year, it came as a great surprise to worthy recipient, Judy Anderson. Citing her many years of initiative, enthusiasm, and dedication to teaching the children of Port O’Connor, Doyle proudly presented Judy the Citizen of the Year plaque on behalf of Port O’Connor’s First Baptist Church.

One of the first in the audience to congratulate her was Naomi Albrecht, who hired Judy 36 years ago, Mrs. Albrecht’s final hire before retiring as Principal of Port O’Connor School.

Judy was the school’s kindergarten teacher for 19 years and has spent the past 17 years teaching first grade. “I love teaching, and I love Port O’Connor School,” said Judy. “Our little school is the heart of Port O’Connor and I am blessed to be a part of it.”

Judy is proud to say she is the daughter of a teacher and the mother of a teacher. Son, Collin, is a teacher at Seadrift School. Judy’s mother, Elizabeth Mutchler, was Head Librarian and English Teacher at Calhoun High School. It was because of her mother that Judy met her (future) husband, Henry Anderson. Henry, two years ahead of Judy in school, was in Mrs. Mutchler’s class. Although Henry refused to read “Huckleberry Finn”, his teacher somehow allowed him to meet and court her daughter.

Previously from Port Lavaca, Judy has been a resident of Port O’Connor since marrying Henry almost 40 years ago. In addition to Collin, they have a son, Tyler, who is a Senior at UT (Judy’s alma mater).

The key to teaching, says Judy, is finding different ways to get kids excited about learning. She is a self-proclaimed “blog stalker”, meaning she follows a number of educational blogs, always looking for new and exciting ways of teaching. She also attempts to be “tech savvy”, using smart boards and Ipads. Judy plans to attend a convention in Las Vegas this summer where she can meet some of the bloggers she’s been following, with the expectation of learning new ways of teaching reading and math, and learning new technology.

A tour of Judy’s first grade classroom will show just how involved and enthusiast the children are about learning. Hanging everywhere are samples of their writing and artwork and reminders of basic lessons needed to be proficient in their work. Looking at their compositions, penmanship and artwork, one would never imagine these were the efforts of first graders, they seem so advanced.

Judy says she plans to keep teaching for ten more years. With her fresh, enthusiastic approach to teaching, she will surely continue instilling a love of learning in her students. Thank you, Judy!

After many years of working in crowded conditions in a rundown former Air Force building, circa 1962, the staff of TPWD Coastal Fisheries finally have a roomy, modern facility in which to pursue their objective: “to provide optimum opportunities from and conservation for the rich biological diversity inherent in Texas’ marine waters.”

The newly-completed building sits at the foot of 16th Street in Port O’Connor, overlooking the waters the staff is charged to monitor and protect, while ensuring that our bays remain the great fishing spots they currently are.

Seven Fish and Wildlife technicians at the Coastal Fisheries office are charged with keeping up with what goes in and what comes out of our bays. They survey the bays, estuaries and near-shore Gulf, and monitor changes in fish population. Part of their job consists of surveying anglers at the docks as they return from their fishing trips. Most of the technicians are our neighbors in the Port O’Connor area: Mark Kelley, Clint Troxler, Justin Pawlik, Jeremy Helms, John Haffernick, and Theresa Krenek, and Brittany Foster, who resides in Rockport.

Biologist Norman Boyd, San Antonio Bay Eco System Leader, heads up the local office, assisted by Administrative Technician Pagie Reeves. The office currently is in the process of filling two more biologist openings, which will bring the total staff to eleven.

All the offices are located on the second floor of the building, with the bottom floor containing a large work room and a laboratory. Mr. Boyd is especially pleased to have a dedicated laboratory since there was not one before. In the old building, the bathroom served as a make-shift lab. Other features include solar panels on the roof which supply some of the electricity needs and rainwater storage tanks which will be used to maintain the landscaping.

Docked beside the building is the 48 foot research vessel and a separate boat barn houses three small skiffs.

The Port O’Connor facility is one of eight Coastal Fisheries field stations up and down the coast. There is also a science research facility near Palacios, Sea Center Texas in Lake Jackson, a hatchery for trout and reds, and the Marine Development Center in Flour Bluff. The main office is in Austin.

A few details remain to be completed at the new Port O’Connor facility, including completing the landscaping. When this is done, an open house will be held.

The Coastal Fisheries Division manages the marine fishery resources of Texas’ four million acres of saltwater, including the bays and estuaries and out to nine nautical miles in the Gulf of Mexico. Coastal Fisheries management strategies are directed toward optimizing the long-term utilization and sustaining fisheries populations at levels that are necessary to ensure replenishable stocks of commercially and recreationally important species. The Division also focuses on habitat conservation and restoration and leads the agency research, management and inter-agency coordination on all water-related issues, including assuring adequate in-stream flows for Texas’ rivers and sufficient freshwater inflows for bays and estuaries. These priority goals and strategies will assure our marine waters’ health and productivity and protect fish, wildlife and plant resources from degradation or depletion.

Pagie Reeves (l) and Theresa Krenek at the Coastal Fisheries Port O’Connor field office.

40th Annual Seadrift Boy Scout Barbecue

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Seadrift Elementary Cafeteria

To-Go Plates: 3:00 p.m.

Service: 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Cake Auction: 6:00-??

Child and Senior: $6.00 Advance $6.50 at the door

Adults: $7.00 Advance $7.50 at the door

Barbecue Brisket * Beans * German Potatoes

Evelyn and Howard Lewis

The Community Center was so professionally beautifully decorated “Western Style”. Diane Cooley’s Committee went out of their way in the fantastic décor. As you entered the Center you were greeted with two large lighted hearts, and you knew then you would witness a fantastic evening.

All day long the food committee was busy preparing the salad, green beans and the potatoes. The steaks, all 220 of them were carefully seasoned and charcoal broiled on three broilers. The men preparing the steaks and cooking just right was Ray Roberds, Doyle Adams, Tommy Smith and Tom Ekstrom. All professional “Expert” Chefs!

The 2014 “Sweetheart Banquet”, with 222 in attendance was a “Sell Out”. The men of the church quickly served everyone and the 15 Church Youth and 4-Hers made sure everyone had their choice of drinks. The youth did an outstanding job as usual.

The event began with one of our former Pastors, J.V. Helms returning the blessing for the food. Bro. Helms has been in attendance at all of our 19 Banquets. We were extremely happy to have three of our past Pastors and their wives present, Marcos and Sue Gohlke, George and Barbara Yarbrough, J.V. and Ola Helms and our present Pastor Donnie and Shirley Martin.

The program began wit Doyle Adams thanking all the helpers and youth for their assistance in making the Banquet a success. Everyone gave them a very big applause.

Doyle Adams recognized all couples who have been married 50 years or longer and there were 28 couples who held their hands up. The couple married the longest time and receiving a beautiful award, made by Linda Butler, was EVELYN and HOWARD LEWIS. The Lewises have been married 671/2 years. They received a standing ovation after Howard Lewis read a prepared statement. Fantastic! The couple married the least amount of time, with less than 2 years, was JIM and KIM JONES. The Jones were presented a gift by Linda Butler.

The Door Prizes were then given out by drawing tickets from the container and 16 door prizes were awarded.

Doyle Adams then proceeded to the BIG AWARD of the evening, the “CITIZEN OF THE YEAR”. Without announcing the recipient, he read the inscription on the Award Plaque. Everyone quickly recognized that it was Port O’Connor’s long-time School Teacher, JUDY ANDERSON. The Plaque read:

Presented to

JUDY ANDERSON

PORT O’CONNOR CITIZEN OF THE YEAR 2014

For your total commitment, hard work,
initiative, enthusiasm and dedication to teaching
the children of Port O’Connor for
36 years in the same classroom

for introducing the highly successful
modality math system which has spread
throughout Texas schools

for your expertise in teaching in
vacation Bible School

May God Bless you

Port O’Connor First Baptist Church
February 13, 2014

Doyle Adams then led everyone in singing “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”. Wow! Everyone sang the song with real meaning. Doyle then introduced the nights Western Entertainment, Danny Bourg and Tommy Willamson. They brought the house down with their beautiful songs and music. They were great and the applause was a real indicator of satisfaction. Beautiful music and instrumentals was enjoyed by everyone. A beautiful ending to a GREAT 2014 SWEETHEART BANQUET!

Judy and Henry Anderson

Donnie and Julia Klesel

Ray and Kay Middleton

Doug and Mary Jo Walker

Jerry and Cathy Osborn

Russell and Sally Jones

Mavin and Biddie Hileman

Bill and Melissa Satterfield