The City of Seadrift was blessed to have many people attending a hearing to fund/defund the Seadrift police. The crowd was estimated to be between 100-125 people. The hearing was on a Tuesday night right before the Seadrift Council meeting on April 4th.

Calhoun County officials Judge Richard Meyers, Sheriff Bobbie Vickery, and Commissioner Gary Reese were present. One local Seadrift pastor, Reverend Tim Smith, was present as well as ex-Seadrift mayor Mark Daniels and prominent business owner Bubba Hall. The Calhoun County Republican Party chairman Russell Cain and its vice-chair Connie Hunt came to the hearing. The Seadrift school principal, Linda Bermea, was present and Calhoun County School Board member Cindy Alford came with the ISD Police Department Chief Randy Duke. Area police officers came to the hearing to show their support.

Points that were made were as follows:

1.The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department cannot afford to hire any sheriffs to help cover Seadrift if the Seadrift Police Department was dissolved.

2.Complaints about Seadrift’s police force could be handled by a liaison citizen committee.

3.The City of Seadrift police utilizes body cams/dash cams. There has been no evidence of any police misconduct.

4.The Calhoun County Independent School District (ISD) Police Department relies upon the partnership of other local law enforcement agencies in the county to assist them to make our schools safe.

5.It was noted that the support for the Seadrift Police Department was overwhelming.

Seadrift has had law enforcement since its inception as a city in 1912. The need has dictated the size of the police department. Also, any available funding goes a long way in affording local law enforcement. An interesting article on-line you can google is “Rural Challenges: West Texas’ smallest departments face difficulties policing rural towns.”

The Seadrift Police Department has worked hard to get grants for necessary equipment to adequately meet Seadrift’s need for law enforcement. On the average the police department receives 300 calls monthly. The calls range from civil matters to felony assaults.

The first Saturday in May, May 6th, is Election Day for Seadrift! Early voting starts the week of April 24th from 8:00 to 5:00, except Tuesday and Thursday of that week when it’s 7:00 to 7:00. Also, on May 1st and 2nd early voting is from 8:00 to 5:00. Voting on Election Day takes place from 7:00 to 7:00.

It was a memorable event this past Palm Sunday at the Port Lavaca Veterans Memorial that honors all area veterans. Memorial benches were installed between the military star points that completed the work of the memorial. If you get a chance please visit the memorial at the Port Lavaca Marina. Veteran memorial pavers are in the memorial representing over 800 veterans. There’s even a couple of Civil War veterans!

In 2014 Greg Falcon, chairman of the Calhoun County Veterans Council, along with Jesse Briseno and Jerry McClendon came up with the idea of creating a memorial for our veterans in Calhoun County. Jesse Briseno drew up a sketch of what the memorial would look like. Greg Falcon then presented the Port Lavaca City Council the drawing. With the support of other area veterans groups the plan for the memorial went forward. Funding came from individual donors as well as monies from the veteran memorial pavers. Greg Falcon commenting on the memorial said, “It is an ongoing project. The monies received from the memorial pavers help pay for the flags and the upkeep of the memorial. Each paver is $80. You can buy 5 for the price of 4. You can call me (Greg Falcon) at 361-920-3029 or Ron Langford at the Calhoun County Veteran’s Office at 361-553-4685.” -Tanya DeForest

CALHOUN COUNTY’S 2023 MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE
DATE: SATURDAY, MAY 27TH
TIME: 10:00 AM
LOCATION: VETERAN’S MEMORIAL & PAVILLION at BAYFRONT PARK
HOSTED BY: CALHOUN COUNTY AMERICAN LEGION POST 167

EVENTS: 1. AMERICAN FLAG RETIREMENT CEREMONY
2. ROLL CALL OF CALHOUN COUNTY’S HONORED DEAD
3. HOT DOGS AND SOFT DRINKS SERVED AT
THE PAVILLION BY PORT LAVACA FIRE DEPARTMENT

Come support America.

Calhoun County writer’s guild is, basically, a gathering of published authors, aspiring writers, writer wannabes, young, medium, and senior folks that have an idea for a story they would like to put down on paper (or computer) and, possibly get it published or, maybe just document an event in their lives that they would like to pass on to their kids, grandkids, etc. We want everybody that is interested in writing a literary piece, novel, novella, short story, etc. to join us.
We meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays every month at the Calhoun County Public Library, 200 W Mahan St, Port Lavaca, TX 77979. Meeting time is from 6:30 p.m. till 8:00 p.m.

If you are working on a story, bring it with you and share it with us. If you have questions about writing, publishing, or anything about your or our stories, we will do our best to give you an answer or where to go to find an answer. (Or just grin and nod as if we don’t have a clue). The published authors can help with a lot of the dos and don’ts of publishing, editing, proofing, story lines, character descriptions, etc.

There are no dues, fees, or charges. Sooo, if you want to join us in this endeavor, send Daniel Harry an email. dan@ccwritersguild.com, or just come to our meeting. Hope to see you there!

Chelsea Lair

 
While the Saltwater Legends boats were racing 90 miles an hour down the Intercoastal, to be first at their honey hole, Chelsea Lair landed this 10lb plus, 27 3/4 inch redfish off the bulkhead in the Sanctuary.