STOP BREAK INS IN POC

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Neighbors looking after each other

PORTOCONNORWATCH.COM

General Town Hall Meeting
Saturday March 23rd 9:00am-10am
Community Center

Agenda:

• Community Update Since the Sheriff Town Hall
• Join as a Resident Member (no fee)
• Join as a Block Captain
• Receive Training to Be a Block Captain & Member
• Presentation of portoconnorwatch.com

Come to the meeting. We can take Port O’Connor back if each of us does our part.

Dwayne Fishbeck, owner of Buena Vista Coastal Homes, presents a donation to portoconnorwatch.com accepted by Joe Wiatt.

“It’s an effort to help offset the cost of water and sewer and to lessen the burden on the people who are here permanently,” said Port O’Connor MUD Board President Teddy Hawes. He was explaining the reason the Board has given intention to introduce a bill in the Texas Legislature to implement a sales tax in Port O’Connor. “We need more water and sewer capacity to offset the influx we have at certain times of the year. We feel it is reasonable for visitors using our services to help pay the cost of it.”

Currently the sales tax in Port O’Connor is 6¾ % . 6¼ goes to the State and ½% to the County.  The proposed sales tax would add ½ to one cent per dollar of purchase price. The sales tax would apply to goods and services covered by the Texas Sales and Use statute, which excludes groceries.

“We agree with our customers that our rates are high, but they are currently set as low as possible to cover maintenance and a slow expansion. We do not wish to raise the rates or to collect more property taxes, but we do need to expand more quickly than is possible with our current funds.  Basically, a sales tax is the most fair tax you can get,” Teddy said.

Teddy noted that water and sewer is still not available to a large portion of Port O’Connor. There are many dead-end lines which require periodic flushing, an extra expense. “We need to finish the system for the whole town. We could get the water and sewer rates down by spreading the costs over a larger area,” he said.
The Board has begun discussions with local business owners concerning the proposed legislation. Anyone who would like to read the proposed bill may pick up a copy at the MUD office, 39 Denman Drive. If you are in agreement with this proposal, you are encouraged to contact Senator Glenn Hegar and Representative Geanie Morrison voicing your support.

The next MUD Board meeting will be held Monday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. at the MUD office. As always, regular MUD Board meetings are open to the public.

Clint & Barnacle

Gardening Gene Comes Alive

Greetings from the island everyone. Hope all of you are doing well and remembered to set your clocks ahead this past weekend. I have but one clock to occasionally glance at out here, so in about ten seconds I was done.

Time is really of very little importance to me on the island. I basically get up when Mr. Rooster begins his morning song, and go to bed a few hours after sunset. Short of Barnacle’s periodical vet trips to Dr. Motl, time related appointments do not exist on island ground. I go in to the mainland when Mother Nature allows me to do so, and run back out when my necessary supply gathering chores are finished. Not a bad gig, being free from the shackles of the hands of the clock.

Well the fig trees are budding and leafing out, and the small orange tree is putting on a few new leaves, even though I don’t have a lot of confidence that it’s gonna make it. But you never know, I’ll leave it in the ground until the very end.

I’m having really good luck with the fig trees out here on the island. The oldest is four years old and the other two I planted last Spring. I just ordered another one, the Petite Negri, a dwarf tree or bush variety that can be grown in a large container, and produces sweet purple/black fruit. Fig trees do pretty well in the South, as they thrive in hot climates, planting zones 7-11, requiring only about 100 chill hours (when temps stay between 32-45 degrees F), per year.

The one fruit tree that I have never attempted to grow, primarily because they normally require an excessive number of chill hours, is the apple tree. However I just located and ordered one from a nursery catalog that claims 100-200 chill hours is sufficient. It is intended for the South and is actually three different varieties grafted onto one rootstock. The Anna, Einshemer, and Dorsett Golden all combine to make this one tree. I think that I can get it to live out here, but the $60 question, what that little tree costs, is will it produce edible apples? Stay tuned for THAT answer. If anyone has been successful growing a producing apple tree in this area, please contact me by email and tell me about it.

My little tomato plants are coming along nicely in the little greenhouse. I start my seeds later than most, because if I put them in the ground too early out here the strong late north winds will cripple or destroy them. I started out seeding for 54 plants, and just potted-up (small pot to larger for strong root development), 34 total. Typically, you want to begin with twice as many seeds as you end up with plants in the ground six weeks later, so I’m on track to end up with 25 healthy and strong wonders of nature. It’s a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment to start with a tiny seed, and the end result being a delicious treat picked from the garden.

Well that’s it from the island for now; everyone take care and have a great day.

Clint Bennetsen lives full time on Matagorda Peninsula Island and authors a monthly column for this newspaper. To comment, ask questions or contact Clint, you can contact him at ccbennetsen@yahoo.com or dolphin1@tisd.net

The Pack 116 Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet, held February 28th, was very well attended. It featured a chicken fajita dinner, a talk from BSA Executive Bart Gentry, and entertainment by Troop 362 Port Lavaca Karankawa Lodge Native American Singing & Drumming Team. The auction was a lot of fun with many competitive bidders raising the bids on the cakes which were made by the boys and their fathers.

Tiger Den - Cody Branch, Kyle Doggett, and Adam Authement were promoted to full Tiger Advancement. Tiger Den Leader is Adam Authement.Tiger Den - Cody Branch, Kyle Doggett, and Adam Authement were promoted to full Tiger Advancement. Tiger Den Leader is Adam Authement.

Wolf Den- Ashton Albrecht and Chase Harding received their Wolf Badges and 2013 Pinewood Derby Patches. Beverly Clifton is Wolf Den Leader.

Bear Den - Shane Branch, Harley Albrecht, Joey Helm, Anthony Luna, and John Rosenboom earned their Whittling Chip Card which allows them to carry their Scout pocket knife at Boy Scout functions. Beverly Clifton is Bear Den Leader.

Webelos - Ronnie Carriles, Collin Branch, and Evan Clifton earned their Webelo Colors plus their Handyman and Readyman pins. They are working toward their Arrow of Light which is the highest level in Cub Scouting. Mike Clifton is Webelo Den Leader.

Joey Helms with his grandpa, David Stringo, and the $305 carrot cake.

Seadrift’s Troop 106 held their 39th annual Boy Scout Barbecue Dinner fund raiser on March 2 at the Seadrift School cafeteria. As usual, it was well attended with good food and good participation from the Scouts, their parents and the community.

There were many donated items put up for auction by auctioneer Mark Daigle, including many delicious homemade cakes. Most items went for at least $100. Although this reporter left before the end of the auction, I was there long enough to see lively bidding on a dewberry cobbler made by Tommy Stanfield, which sold to County Judge Mike Pheifer for $300.

Boy Scouts at the Troop 106 Annual Barbecue Dinner

After 18 years as Scoutmaster, Patrick Henley (center) announces that he will be limiting his involvement in Troop 106. Cub Master Fred Mendez (left) and Webelo Den Leader, Joey Carpenter (right) will be taking over many of the Scoutmaster duties.

Mary K Belter, Camie Rasmussen, and Mario Stoddard serve up the dinner.

Donald Morales, Pack 106, shows off a cake for auction.

Roster of Seadrift BSA #106

Pack 106

Cub Master Fred Mendez
Den leaders:
Joseph Carpenter
Stephanie Goodman
Tara Goodman
Misty Hall
Boys:
Dillon Morales
Tyler Salinas
Derrick Youngblood
Keaton Cady
Trenton Goodman
Tyler Henson
Ryder Morales
Landen Rasmussen
Ivan Vazquez
Colin Carabajal
Hayden Gillespie
Caleb Gregory
Brenner Marek
Fernie Mendez
Dustin Miller
Donald Morales
Matthan Morgan
Christopher Salinas
Joseph White

Troop 106

Scoutmaster Patrick Henley
Asst Scoutmasters:
Aaron Recker
Richard Luna
Boys:
Caleb Aguilar
Joseph Aguilar
Lionel Carabajal
Justice Cunningham
Levi Marek
Joseph Mayorga
Christopher Vasquez

Committee members of both:

George Andreas
Mary K Belter
Ralph Belter
Lea Hall

Thanks to Ralph Belter for help with the Troop/Pack names.

Cub Scout Pack 116 Scouts participated in the LaSalle District Pinewood Derby on Saturday Feb. 16, 2013 at the Victoria Mall. Pictured are Weeblo Evan Clifton, Weeblo Ronnie Carriles, Wolf Ashton Albrecht, Bear Harley Albrecht, Bear Anthony Luna, & Weeblo Den Leader Mike Clifton. Not pictured: Wolf Chase Harding.

Eagle Scout Tyler Jordan Sanzo with grandparents, John and Joyce Jordan

Congratulations Troup 941 with Ten Eagle Scouts Including Tyler Sanzo!

Congratulations are in order for Tyler Jordan Sanzo, a senior this year at Foster High School, Richmond, Texas for achieving the Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout rank.

Congratulations are also extended to nine other young men from the same troop who also received the Eagle Scout Award. Recently nine of the ten attended the Eagle Scout Award Ceremony which was held at the First United Methodist Church of Fulshear in Fulshear, Texas which is the home of Troup 941 of the Brazos District Sam Houston Area Council. This troop has proudly seen fifty young men since 1987 achieve the Eagle Scout Award due to the dedication of the leaders and hard work of the recipients.

The nine recipients attending the ceremony held on February 9th were Cole Boudreaux, Andrew Dewees, Matt Gill, Shawn Horton, Donald Irvin, Adam McGaffin, Parker Meroney, Tyler Sanzo, and Jack Wauson. It was a moving ceremony with lots of proud parents, grandparents, and relatives. Tyler is the Son of Sonya Sanzo and Greg Sanzo. His Grandparents, John and Joyce Jordan of Port O’Connor are very proud of his journey in scouting and achievements which is the same sentiment expressed by the rest of his family.

An appropriate quote appeared in the Eagle Scout Program Book by Sir Robert Baden-Powel, Founder of the Boy Scouts 1908 which is “The whole object of Scouting is to seize the boy’s character in the red-hot stage of enthusiasm, and to weld it into the right shape and to encourage and develop its individuality, so that the boy may educate himself to become a good man and a valuable citizen for his country”.

Tyler began his scouting career in the first grade with Troup 941. He earned his Arrow of Light in 2005 and has served as Chaplain’s Aide, Scribe, and Assistant Patrol Leader. He has attended several summer camps including a memorable trip to Camp Orr where his Mom, Sonya Sanzo shuttled several scouts to Arkansas and resided at the relatively primitive camp for a week. One unforgettable event was where his Mom encountered a huge rattlesnake by herself while the scouts were on a hike. She took some personnel back to the spot where she was on her own hiking adventure and the snake was captured, brought back to the camp and named “Sonya”. The scouts enjoyed this snake encounter when they returned to the camp after their hike.

Last summer the troup attended Sea Base Camp in Florida which will remain very memorable along with the millions of mosquitoes. It was quite primitive, but they all had a great time.

For Tyler’s Eagle Scout Project, he completed a stone walkway at Reading Junior High School. The walkway is a functional and beautification project that benefits faculty, students, and visitors to the school. The different natural colors in the stone make a very attractive walkway.

After graduation from high school, Tyler is looking forward to studying Mechanical Engineering next fall at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX.

Being an Eagle Scout is cool – so stay in there if you are in the Scouting Program, as it is very well worth your effort. Congratulations to all ten Eagle Scouts and Best of Luck in all you may achieve!!

Spring 2013

By the time you are reading this, Mother Nature has almost ushered out Winter as the official season of the hour. Of course, for most of the Continental United States that means a lot more temperature wise than it does in South Texas. By comparison, the town I was born in, Oak Lawn, Illinois, right outside Chicago, has only had about five to six days of three or more inches of snow this Winter.
And this is a good year for that area as far as “snow days”.

I suppose there is a certain mystique about snow, especially to many living in this paper’s distribution area, who may have never really experienced a real snow storm. Snow is also popular with children, especially around Christmas time, but most people who have had to lash up boots, break out shovels and salt and commute in it will tell you let it snow on Christmas Eve and melt the day after Christmas.

They would rather have Easter (and there has been snow on the ground in Chicago at Easter too, I got the pictures to prove it, brand new tricycle and nowhere to ride it), it usually is at least above thirty-five degrees outside by that time.

But you don’t have to ‘thaw out’ to see the effects of Spring. The flowers and the wildlife really feel the season in their bones and fibers, an instinct older than anyone reading (or writing) this. We connect to it too, which explains why so many people start to feel more alive when Spring comes around.

Instead of the bleak horizon of shorter days and longer nights, comes the promise of warmth and Summer and freedom and being outside in the sun for hours on end. Spring is the beginning of the Baseball season as well, a sport which has been a part of the warm months in this country for well over a hundred years and is the very definition of American.

Children have a stake in this season and its main festivities too as they do in every season. Easter break used to be a great key to being able to tell that Summer was just around the bend along with Summer vacation, which at that time where I was living was two months off of Catholic school that felt more like ten months in a way that only your childhood Summer vacations can.

Personally, I love Spring because ever since the invention of the camera phone I am prone to take pictures and video of anything I come across, especially the nature that was around me. So naturally Spring time was a good time to do so as all the flowers and trees are alive and ready to go.

Spring is a great time to reconnect with nature in more ways than just taking pictures, before the dog days of Summer kick in and it becomes too hot to think, let alone reconnect with anything besides the fan, the A/C and the iced beverage of your choice. It has the beautiful temperatures and mannerisms of early Fall without the colder Winter waiting in the wings.

Although it is recommended to wait for warmer weather for such activities as swimming or sun bathing, Spring has a welcoming briskness all her own; she is the last mix of the times just past, where everything was asleep and chilled to a warmer day where she awakens the world with sunshine and graceful breezes.

However you plan to spend the upcoming Spring, remember to take the time to take a look at the life all around you and remember that even on your darkest of days, everything can be reborn, anyone can awaken like the flowers do, if only they take the time to try.