A Men’s Retreat will be held Saturday, January 19 at Fisherman’s Chapel, 311 Main St. in Port O’Connor. All men are invited to join in for any part or all of the retreat which begins at 8:00 a.m. with early morning prayer and fellowship. A praise and worship service, led by Wayne Thompson, begins at 11:00 a.m., with Patrick Overton bringing the message.

In the afternoon, there will be a fish fry and fellowship, followed by a devotional and benediction by Fisherman’s Chapel Pastor Erny McDonough.

Ephesians 4:13: “Till we all come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Calhoun County Humane Society again received a grant from the Louise S. and W. H. Bauer Charitable Endowment Trust in the amount of  $4,000 to provide free spaying and neutering of pets belonging to low income county residents. This will be limited to two animals per household, per year. The guidelines  are as follows:

[1] Only qualified low income pet owners with proof of public assistance (e.g., Lone Star card, Medicaid, etc.) will be approved.

[2] Proof of current rabies vaccination is required prior to surgery. If not
available, a rabies vaccination must be given to the animal a minimum of 2 weeks prior to surgery. Charges for the vaccination will be paid by the owner of the animal.

[3] Surgeries may only be performed at one of the three local veterinary clinics in Port Lavaca and must be scheduled in advance by the owner contacting the veterinarian’s office. Each veterinarian reserves the right to refuse surgery for any reason.

[4] A Texas driver’s license of the qualified person is required.

[5] The person seeking qualification for this program must come in to apply; friends, relatives,other individuals may accompany them but may not act in their place.

This program begins 7 January and will be run on a “first come, first serve” basis and will continue until all funds are expended.  CCHS volunteers will handle applications with office hours being Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Free Event!
18th Annual Gospel Music Festival reverberates through Rockport January 4 through 6
Sacred songs and hymns, as well as mountain tunes and early blues

What:     Gospel music will be celebrated in Rockport-Fulton at the 18th Annual Rockport Gospel Music Festival, January 4-6, 2013.   More than 25 performers will entertain you with non-stop performances of some of    the best in Gospel Music.

When:     6 to 10p.m.            Friday, January 4
10 a.m. to 10 p.m.         Saturday, January 5
3 to 8 p.m.             Sunday, January 6

Where: Martha Luigi Auditorium, 1801 Omohundro Street at the Rockport-Fulton High School will host performances

Who:     Rockport’s Gospel Force, a quartet of members from the city of Rockport Police Department

Master of Ceremonies: David Fountain

Headliners: Larry Ford
Angelina McKeithen
Palmetto State Quartet

Plus…
Crimson River Quartet Golden’s
Telestials
4 His Love
Jerry Bennett
Spoken 4
Brian Arnold
The Williamson’s
Amber Waves
Song of Glory
FourTwelve
Local choirs

For more about the Rockport Gospel Festival go to www.gospelforce.org.  or call Gary Howard  361-205-2789. For information about Places to Stay visit www.rockport-fulton.org or call 1 -800 242-0071.

Directions from San Antonio and Houston
If you are traveling from San Antonio take IH-37 south to Corpus Christi, and then take U. S. Highway 181 to Gregory; at Gregory take State Highway 35 into Rockport.

From Houston, take U. S. Highway 59 to Victoria, then take U. S. Highway south to State Highway 239, then south to Tivoli, and at Tivoli, take State Highway 35 into Rockport.

Come join Tina Trevino, Rhonda Cummins, and a cast of volunteers for free cooking demonstrations and samples using fresh, local seafood. Try something new in 2013 and support your local fisherman.

When: Monday nights at 6:00 p.m. during January

Where: Big Bear Shrimp & Seafood, 2241 Hwy 35 N, Port Lavaca
(bright blue building between the Texas Highway Dept. and the Exxon)

Why: Why not? Seafood is easy to cook and it is good for you.

Cost: FREE

January proves to be an interesting month for recreational fishermen as you have opportunities to interact with state and federal regulators on possible changes. Please share this information with anyone you think might be interested.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has scheduled three public scoping meetings in January to gather input about possible regulation changes for 2013-14. The scoping items include incorporation of a rule regarding recreational possession limit, clarification of fish harassment rules, bonus red drum tag requirement changes and new possession rules in state waters for aquatic resources in excess of federal limits.
All meetings will begin at 7 p.m. and are set for:
Jan. 7 – Dickinson TPWD Regional Office, 1502 FM 517 East;
Jan. 9 – Corpus Christi on the TAMU CC campus, NRC #1003, 6300 Ocean Dr.;
Jan. 10 – San Antonio at Bass Pro Shops, 17907 W. IH 10.

If you are unable to attend one of these meetings and voice your opinions, your input can be given electronically at

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/feedback/public_comment/scoping/

or by email to Jeremy Leitz at jeremy.leitz@tpwd.state.tx.us , or in writing to Jeremy Leitz, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744.

The Gulf Council has scheduled scoping workshops around the Gulf of Mexico to get public input on a proposed amendment that examines regional management of recreational red snapper. Scoping workshops are the first and best opportunity for you to make suggestions or raise issues and concerns before the Council begins developing an amendment. Regional management of recreational red snapper would enable areas of the Gulf to propose management measures tailored to specific regions. This round of scoping workshops will address regional management issues, including locally optimal management measures, regional boundaries, allocation, and other components for the design of regional management proposals. Copies of the scoping document and other related materials can be obtained by calling 813-348-1630 or can be downloaded from the Council’s ftp site, ftp.gulfcouncil.org

Seven scoping workshops are scheduled around the Gulf. All workshops begin at 6pm and conclude at the end of public comment, but no later than 9pm.  The two workshops in Texas are scheduled as follows:

January 14, 2013
Holiday Inn Express
2440 Gulf Freeway
Texas City, TX  77591

January 15, 2013
Hilton Garden Inn
6717 S. Padre Island Drive
Corpus Christi, TX  78412

Rhonda D. Cummins, MMR
Calhoun County Extension Agent – Coastal & Marine Resources Texas Sea Grant │ Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
p: 361-552-9747  f:  361-552-6727 │ rcummins@tamu.edu
186 County Road 101, Ste. 1, Port Lavaca, TX 77979
http://calhoun.agrilife.org │ http://texasseagrant.org