Safety will be improved with Seadrift bridge replacement

AUSTIN — In an ongoing effort to improve safety, the Texas Transportation Commission approved $365,000 to replace the Bay Avenue bridge in Seadrift. REXCO Construction Services was awarded the project that will replace the bridge and upgrade the roadway right at its approaches to the bridge.

“In a state as vast as Texas, it’s imperative to not only have reliable roadways connecting our rural and urban citizens, but also to be diligent in designing and maintaining them with safety in mind,” said Commissioner Fred Underwood, Texas Transportation Commission. “Keeping everyone safe on the road is our first priority. We must do everything we can to get the driving public safely to their destinations and home to their families at the end of the day.”

The project is located in Seadrift on Bay Avenue at the Draw. Construction is expected to begin by September and be completed by December 2013.

The following is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

Part V:  Privacy (You really think so?)

Before we start this month’s discussion, El Hyena must confess that he has had some difficulty in deciding this month’s topic.  Because El Hyena is not a particularly confrontational, controversial, or incendiary person, he chooses to avoid many of what some people would consider to be “newsworthy” topics.  El Hyena typically does not conform his beliefs to what television and/or internet news sites determine to be “interesting”, “newsworthy”, or “important”.  So if El Hyena’s readers (assuming there are any) are expecting to read about the Kardashians, the royal baby-to-be, or Whatevergate, they have come to the wrong place.

El Hyena is interested, however, in the recent revelations of government surveillance, as well as what are sure to be continuing reports (leaks) about the extent of same.  The first question that occurred to El Hyena when news was recently revealed by Wikileaks concerning the National Security Agency’s (No Such Agency’s) vast program of sucking up everyone’s “metadata” from ALL of their communications was this:  Why is anyone surprised?

Students of history and readers of books will tell us that our government has been spying on us for decades, either to discovery and suppress “subversion” (disagreement with government policy and/or the implementation of same), or to protect us from foreign or domestic “threats”.  Some would argue that the government’s motive is and has usually been to protect it from us.  As always people usually believe what their favorite “news” source tells them to believe.

But when one thinks about it, in today’s age of social media, when people post every excruciating detail of their lives on Facebook or Twitter, do people truly have an expectation of privacy?  When all of the major telecommunications companies routinely vacuum up similar information about us and sell it to other companies for “marketing purposes”, why should anyone be surprised that everyone, whether it be the government or private business, knows everything about us?  If you drive a GM vehicle, as does El Hyena, doesn’t it bother you that OnStar always knows where you are?  (“Before you discontinue OnStar service, do you think your wife might want to know where you really were last Tuesday when you told her you had to drive to Dallas for a business meeting?”)

According to many in the government, we were not supposed to know how much we are being watched and listened to, who we were e-mailing, etc., and now that we do our national security has been damaged and our own safety has been threatened.  Oh, OK, sorry, our bad.

Our “National Security” apparatus has grown so big due to the latest “threat” to our safety, that apparently it has become necessary for the government to outsource this function to private businesses.  Actually, this has been going on for years due to the trend in “privatization”.  Some may wonder, who the heck is this Booz Allen Hamilton anyway, and how “convenient” is it that a former director of the National Security Agency is now a high-ranking executive in this company?  How is it that a private corporation is passing out top secret clearances to its employees (not the government’s) like parking lot stickers?  But it’s not just Booz Allen Hamilton that’s in the lucrative business of “National Security”; there are hundreds of similar private companies, with hundreds of thousands of private employees in boring looking office building complexes, that make up the Secret Army of Northern Virginia.

Are these “leakers” whistle-blowers (a good thing) or traitors (a bad thing)?  Again, El Hyena submits that the label of choice largely depends on one’s preferred “news” source.  While some, especially the government, tell us these people have betrayed their country, others would say they have performed a valuable and courageous service to us all.  Obviously, the government didn’t want us to know about this surveillance because they figured it would make us mad.  Some believe that it’s perfectly acceptable for the government to spy on us, and we shouldn’t worry about it if we have nothing to hide.  Others disagree.

Anyway, El Hyena has concluded there’s no point in worrying about it when there’s nothing we can do about it and nothing is going to change.

Don’t you feel safer because Google knows what you eat for breakfast, and the government knows you call your mother between 5 and 6 every Monday evening?

Those Bunco Ladies are at it again! Meeting on Tuesday evening, July 2nd, these women gathered at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Center to once again enjoy some delicious food and each other prior to begin playing. And play they did despite the emergence of Elvira, although she only was present at one table. The hostesses for the July celebration were Biddie Hileman and Sally Jones and fireworks were present that evening. Meeting once again in August on the 6th, hostessing will be Pat Ekstrom and Mary Ann Claiborne. For further information if you’d like to join this merry crew, contact Shirley Gordon, 983-4365 at the Library.

The local Lions Club organization held its monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 10th with the election of new officers and plans for the upcoming year. Under the Chairmanship of Joyce Jordan, her fellow officers are Debbie Michalek, Vice President; Diane Cooley, Secretary; Linda Butler, Treasurer; Carol Haverfield, Membership Chairman; and Kenneth Clark, John Haverfield and Jim Butler, Directors. Upcoming plans for the future for this organization are the support of the summer swimming lessons for local children at the home of Kenneth and Grady Jean Clark; the return of the Arts & Crafts Festival to be held in March, 2014 and the support for the Texas Lions Club Eye Bank. This is a very deserving international organization dedicated to serving the needs of others throughout the world. For further information, please contact Joyce Jordan, 361 655-7999 at your convenience.

Port O’Connor Lions Club Officers lst row, L-R: Diane Cooley, Secretary; Linda Butler, Treasurer; Joyce Jordan, President; Debbie Michalek, Vice President; Carol Haverfield, Membership Chairman; and Seadrift Lion Pres. Lynn Reeves. In the back row, L-R: John Haverfield, Director and Jim Butler, Director. Not pictured: Directors Kenneth Clark and Leah Richter-Griffin.

Mothers: As your children have a tendency to grow during the Summer months; please be advised that members of the POC Service Club are accepting donations of clothes, furniture, books, kitchen equipment, bedding and other household items for their massive Garage Sale this Fall. Please contact the Chairman of the Garage Sales, Lydia Strakos 983-2003 or the Assistant Chairman, Debby Busby 512 914-9521 to arrange for storage of large items. Or you can take smaller items to the County Barn located adjacent to the Library. As the date for our Fall Garage Sale is not too far in the future, we are awaiting donations of usable and clean items.

This is a very busy weekend for our Community as the very large annual fishing tournament, known as Poco Bueno, begins with boats arriving earlier in the week. Do hope that all of you in attendance enjoy yourselves watching the big boats come in.

I’m still seeing white lines as Henry and I have just returned from a trip to Florida to take delivery on a motor coach. Did find that the Interstates in Florida are beautifully marked with excellent signage; but the drivers of various vehicles are extremely aggressive. But, it was a good trip; we thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to many more in the future.

What Is A Port O’Connor Woman?
Is She:
A very remarkable lady, a native-born POC person, whose talent for baking pecan pies is only surpassed by her active life as a member of the Service Club.

Another woman who was born here and has served as President of several organizations plus continues a career in real estate.

Another talented lady who makes beautiful quilts for her grandchildren, but is also active in her church.

Women who have time for their church and our school; or for husbands who temporarily need special attention and/or their older parents; yet they still have time to give to others in this very unique Community.

A woman who volunteers at the local school and in the Library; women who have learned about the joys of a good photograph; women who have found that writing a paragraph for print is totally unlike the required essays in school; women who have found another niche (not outlet) in which they are able to enjoy the hours of every day.

Although many of these women have moved here with their retired husbands, many are still fully employed in various fields; while maintaining a fulltime career; these unusual women shine in other fields. One whose career is in public service still makes time to hold an office in an organization and dazzle everyone with a skill in solving puzzles. Another holds office as a justice official, yet actively helps her husband in his business. Yet these women, though fully occupied daily in various activities, somehow always have time to go fishing with their husbands or grandchildren.

These are not women who just sit at home; some who have cooked and cleaned all their married life; these are women who have developed another life for themselves. And these are women who live longer than those in larger cities and enjoy their life more.

So, is it the air here in POC? Is it the closeness of the community where one waves at another in a passing vehicle? Is it the lack of sidewalks and curbs, stop lights and cops that lead to a longer and more enjoyable life? Is it caring for others in a very special way?

Many questions! I’d be interested to learn of the answers anyone has.

kubeckasue@yahoo.com
361 798-0560

Sizzlin’ Summertime is here. Aren’t you lovin’ it! So many fun things to do. And based on the crowds of visitors and friends, it is no secret that this is one terrific and welcoming little community. People love coming to Port O’Connor.

Our Independence Day Celebration was red, white and wonderful, and the fishing tournaments have yielded some great catches and are bringing some awesome anglers to our small town. Compliments to our firemen chefs who fed so many so well at their annual barbecue. Here’s hoping their fund raising efforts were successful. Poco is providing perfect opportunities for boat envy and fisherman’s tales, and many of the fishermen are donating their catches to POC or other food pantry programs. Thanks, fisherman, for your generosity. Bomber© Fishing Lures out of Arkansas shot some promotional footage in our fishing waters in July, and the first annual concert/car show is harmonious fun for sure. The local kids, young and old, have been busy with camps, trips, excursions and other pursuits. Remember how much fun that was when we were younger? Enjoy the summer fun while you can because the school year will return sooner than you think.

And when school starts, the Service Club will again be actively involved in supporting our students, helping POC Elementary teachers to purchase necessary supplies for the school rooms, supporting the annual Holloween Carnival by rewarding costume entrants with a little cash, baking cakes, and volunteer labor, and helping in other ways throughout the year. At the end of school, POC Service Club awards scholarships to deserving Calhoun High graduates.

The POC Service Club met July 11th after the holiday fell on our usual meeting date, and 15 members were in attendance. While the summer schedule is a little slower, plans are in the works for some special projects and events. The History Book Committee is compiling a display book of POC history and is asking for people to loan for copy or donate pictures of POC people and happenings from 1910 to 1960 if you or your family members have them. They can copy and return your pictures and artifacts if you would like. Just call Janet Johnson at 983-4737 to make arrangements. The Service Club is also actively planning our fall Community Garage Sale and would appreciate your donated household items, clothes, toys, sport and fishing equipment. We will pick it up or you can drop it off at the County barn behind the JP offices. Call Lydia Strakos at 983-2003 for pick up information.

At our July meeting we were happy to welcome back Sharon Wood to an active role in our organization. Sharon and her husband Dean were Port O’Connor residents before moving to Port Lavaca. Sharon remained active in Club until illness in her family required her complete attention, but now she hopes to have more free time to renew her acquaintances here and be more involved in Club activities. Welcome back, Sharon!

Our August meeting will be Thursday, 8/1 at 10:00 a.m. in the small room at the back of the POC Community Center. We will return to our twice monthly meeting schedule in September, so even if you have been out of town or busy for the summer months, this is a great time to get involved. In addition to our Fall Garage Sale, we will soon be planning our yearly Senior’s Christmas Luncheon, and we never know what opportunities for service may present themselves in between.

We welcome all who want to join us. Contact our president Janet Johnson at 983-4737 for more information. Your skills or talents might be just what we need for our next community project.

So, until next time, be safe, live simply, love openly, forgive generously and remember this quote from the great leader and reformer Nelson Mandela who currently needs our prayers and thoughts as he faces serious illness. He said, “It always seems impossible until it is done. Maybe you can be the one who makes the difference and gets it done.”