10,000 Texans to tackle trash in nation’s biggest coastal cleanup

Thousands of volunteers across the state are making plans now to take part in the Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup Saturday, April 28. In our local area, volunteers will hit three beaches: Magnolia Beach, King Fisher Beach and the Austwell Pier.

Texas — home to the nation’s first all-volunteer beach cleanup in 1986 — boasts one of the biggest all-volunteer beach cleanups in the nation. More than 10,000 Texans are expected to participate in the Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup coastwide.

“Texans aren’t afraid to roll-up their sleeves and get to work for a good cause, and Adopt-A-Beach is a great one,” said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. “Marine debris literally chokes the life out of the ocean, and it’s a completely avoidable problem.”

Volunteers may register on-line for the Spring Cleanup at www.TexasAdoptABeach.org or at 29 of the 30 check-in sites (advanced registration required for St. Jo Island) beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 28th . Each volunteer will be given data cards, gloves, pencils and trash bags. All volunteers are advised to wear closed-toe shoes, bring sunscreen and plenty of drinking water.
The Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Cleanups are held rain or shine!

Texans who are not able to attend the cleanup can help keep their beaches clean by making a tax-deductible donation online at www.TexasAdoptABeach.org. There are several different Adopt-A-Beach sponsorship levels ranging from $25 to $25,000, allowing both individuals and corporations to contribute to this major cleanup effort. Statewide coastal cleanups are held every spring and fall.

To learn how you can participate, or for additional information on the Adopt-A-Beach Program, please visit www.TexasAdoptABeach.org or contact the GLO at 1-877-TX COAST. Those interested may also become a fan of the program at www.facebook.com/texasadoptabeach where event details and results will also be posted.

Area Adopt A Beach Clean Up Sites (9:00 a.m. until Noon):

1. Magnolia Beach/Indianola – Calhoun County
Check-in: Crabbin’ Bridge
Contact: Rhonda Cummins, 361-552-9747, rhondacummins@texasadoptabeach.org

2. King Fisher Beach, Port O’Connor—Calhoun County
Check-in: Pavilion at King Fisher Beach
Contact: Debbie Gayle, 361-552-3200 (daytime), 361-9834647 (evening), debbie.gayle@texasadoptabeach.org

3. Austwell Pier—Refugio County
Check-in: Austwell Pier
Contact: Dwight Mutschler, 361-286-3762,
austwellredfishtexasadoptabeach.org

Thank You
Thank you for your calls, cards and prayers for my mother, Florence Shirk, in her illness and then passing to Heaven. She enjoyed all the wonderful friends she made here in Port O’Connor, especially at the Tuesday Senior Lunch and bingo and at church.
We are so fortunate to live in Port O’Connor, where love and compassion abounds.
    Tom & Pat Ekstrom

To the Editor:
I have the ‘88, ‘89, ‘90, ‘91 and ‘92 editions of the Calhoun High School Breaker. I would like to give them to someone. I can be reached at 604 W. Jefferson Ave. in Port O’Connor, or call 983-4771.
Naomi Albrecht

Job Well Done
I would like to take this opportunity to convey kudos to City Councilman Wesley Hunt and Police Chief Frank Servantes for the remarkable and positive changes they have managed to effect with regard to the Seadrift Police Department.
My thanks go out to Councilman Hunt and Chief Servantes for their collaborative efforts and commendable success, and to our Officers for their diligence, professional demeanor, and devotion to the job and our citizens.
Obviously, running a city is similar to running a business; it generally can’t be done successfully without multiple levels of accountability, checks and balances of expenditures, periodic infusions of fresh ideas, and a desire to succeed and achieve.   For that reason, it’s encouraging to see new faces on the Council and as a result, new enthusiasm and ideas that in time, will guide Seadrift toward overall improvement which will benefit the city as a whole, help ensure wise use of our tax dollars, and promote efficiency and accountability which has been, and in some aspects continues to be, sadly lacking or non-existent.
I consider Councilmen Hunt and LaBarge each to be prime examples of continued devotion and unflagging efforts to make Seadrift the best it can be with the resources available, and I thank you both for your civic-mindedness and determination to ensure the best for all residents.
With Regards,
Pamela Seay
    Seadrift

My Two Cents Worth
Right on Janice Albrecht Stalder. Thanks for telling it like it is with the Koch brothers.
There are some who would have the uninformed believe that it’s about gay marriage, abortion, and gun control. When it’s about who controls the money.
The average state receives $1.29 in federal spending for every tax dollar its residents pay the acrual distribution is far more uneven though. Thanks to our governor Texas receives $0-1.00 while other States like Airizona, Mississippi, and Alabama receive $2.01-$2.50.
It didn’t take the northern states long to figure out  Rick Perry.
When is Texas going to wake up?
Now he wants to get his hands on the Texas teachers pension fund,so he can co-mingle the money with some of his pet projects.
Be you Republican or Democrat write or call your State Rep. and tell him don’t let it happen.
Both parties borrowed money from Social Security and look what happened to it.
    G. B. Robertson    

The Dolphin welcomes letters from our readers on any subject that is of general interest to our audience.  Letters should be 300 words or less (with exceptions at the Dolphin’s discretion).  Letters reflect the opinion of the writer, and not that of Dolphin Talk staff, and we retain the right to determine suitability for publication.  It is the policy of this newspaper to promote area interests: therefore, complaints against local businesses should be directed elsewhere.  Letters must be signed and include day and evening phone numbers, which will not be published.  Your name will be withheld upon request, but anonymous material will not be considered for publication.

Letters to the Dolphin:
Dolphin Talk, P.O. Box 777
Port O’Connor, TX 77982
dolphin1@tisd.net

Battle recognized as one of the top ten battles of the world to change history

LA PORTE – Houston, TX — Booming cannons, cracking musket fire, thundering hooves and battle cries will resound across the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site on Saturday, April 21, as hundreds of history re-enactors recreate the events leading up to Texas winning its independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto.

This dramatic battle re-enactment is the centerpiece of the admission-free San Jacinto Day Festival, that takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the grounds surrounding the San Jacinto Monument. Sponsored by the San Jacinto Museum of History, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and the San Jacinto Volunteers, the festival is a full day of music, entertainment, food, games and fun set amidst living history.

The battle re-enactment, which is the most popular event of the day, begins at 3 p.m. Presented by hundreds of members of the San Jacinto Volunteers and other living history organizations from across the state, the re-enactment dramatizes the decisive battle where Gen. Sam Houston led his Texian soldiers to victory over the Mexican Army, eventually leading to almost 1 million square miles of Mexican territory becoming a part of the United States. The re-enactors will dramatically interpret the Runaway Scrape (Texians fleeing from the advancing forces of Mexican Gen. Santa Anna), the cannon duel and the final battle between the two forces. General Houston will be played by his descendent, Sam Houston IV.

“It is so important to our mission that we are able to present this living, dynamic reenactment of Texas history for free, and that would not be possible without our chief sponsor H-E-B, as well as The Dow Chemical Company, Vopak, Pasadena Strawberry Festival, and Lyondell Basell,” says Larry Spasic, San Jacinto Museum of History President. “Just as important are our partners who help us coordinate this event, including the volunteers from San Jacinto College, Deer Park ISD and La Porte EMS.”

All festival activities are updated continually on the San Jacinto Museum of History website at www.sanjacinto-museum.org. Some of the entertainment and educational activities will include:

• New this year: Solero Flamenco presents a “fiery, passionate and virtuoso flamenco performance,” led by founders Irma La Paloma and Jeremías García
• Last Chance Forever, The Birds of Prey Conservancy, shows its magnificent birds including hawks, owls, eagles, falcons and vultures.
• The Celtaire String Band performs Americana period music using a variety of instruments including the fiddle, penny whistle, guitar, mandolin, spoons, scrub-board and limberjacks.
• Dan Barth will use his Medicine Show Wagon to tell the tales of special 19th century cure-all elixirs, and entertain with a little magic.
• • Blacksmiths, weavers, spinners, quilters and other demonstrators will give visitors a full sense of how life was in the early 1800s. Sutlers (civilians who sold provisions to military posts) will be on hand to sell or show their wares. The Tiny Town Texas display shows how towns were laid out in the 1800s.
  • Texas Parks & Wildlife Department will offer free archery classes for young people.
  • Visitors can also visit the restored marshlands and look for otters, great blue herons, osprey, mottled ducks and American avocets. The marsh is historically important because it barred the escape of many of General Santa Anna’s troops during the 1836 battle.
  • Texas Independence Square Dancers—square dancers from various groups throughout Texas—will demonstrate square dancing and give lessons.
  • Visitors can browse through the vendor area to admire unique hand-crafted items, Texas products and history-related items.
  • For a slight charge, festival goers can view the Making a Mark, Leaving a Legacy exhibit in the Monument looks at the tools that have traditionally been used to make a mark, the people that have left a mark on our region, and the symbols that our predecessors used to convey important ideas and concepts.
  • Monument visitors can take the famous 489-foot elevator ride to the top of the Monument; enjoy the digital presentation Texas Forever!! The Battle of San Jacinto; and view the museum’s latest exhibit Making a Mark, Leaving a Legacy. Combo tickets for the elevator ride, the exhibit and movie can be purchased for $12 for adults, $10.50 for seniors, $8 for children.
  • Battleship TEXAS, the first battleship memorial museum in the U.S., is located in the park and open for visitors. Fees for the Battleship TEXAS are $12 for adults, $6 for seniors, $3 for school and youth groups with a reservation, and free for children 12 and younger.

  The Children’s Area—sponsored by The Dow Chemical Company and Deer Park ISD—includes:

  • A 55’ train complete with train whistle and Texan and American flags.
  • Make-and-take history activities and crafts created by Gifted/Talented specialists from Deer Park ISD; overseen by volunteer teachers from DPISD and student volunteers from San Jacinto College.
  • The Houston ZooMobile with animals native to Texas, interesting demonstrations and nature games.
  • Marsha’s Petting Zoo with sheep, goats and other friendly small animals.
  • Armand Bayou Nature Center with crafts and games from the 1800s.
  • In the military camps, a few lucky children will be chosen to stand with the cannon crew and pretend to load the cannons and will be presented with cannon soot to wear on their noses as a badge of honor.

A free Texas Watershed Steward Workshop on water quality issues related to the San Antonio Bay will be held from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. April 18 at the Victoria Educational Gardens, 283 Bachelor Drive in Victoria.

“The training is free and open to anyone interested in improving water quality in the San Antonio Bay/Guadalupe Estuary region”, said program coordinators. Participants are encouraged to pre-register at http://tws.tamu.edu

The workshop is sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board in coordination with the San Antonio Bay Partnership, a regional non-profit organization developing a stakeholder-based management plan for the San Antonio Bay/Guadalupe Estuary system.

“The workshop is designed to help watershed residents improve and protect their water resources by becoming involved in local watershed protection and management activities,” said Galen Roberts, AgriLife Extension program specialist and coordinator for the Texas Watershed Steward Program.

Roberts said the workshop will include an overview of water quality and watershed management in Texas, but primarily focus on water quality issues relating to San Antonio Bay, including current efforts to help improve and protect this important water body.

The training will include a discussion of watershed systems, types and sources of water pollution, and ways to improve and protect water quality. There also will be a group discussion on community-driven watershed protection and management.

This workshop is being held in conjunction with ongoing protection efforts in the San Antonio Bay watershed. The San Antonio Bay Partnership in coordination with the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program initiated the development of a comprehensive management plan for the bay earlier this year. “San Antonio Bay is an important resource for the area” said James Dodson, facilitator for the San Antonio Bay Partnership. “The bay supports oyster production, commercial fishing and recreational activities, and is also a critical wildlife habitat.”

“We are employing a watershed-based approach to estuary management,” Dodson said.

“Protecting San Antonio Bay begins with water quality and resource protection activities throughout the Guadalupe and San Antonio River basins which provide fresh water inflows to the estuary.”

He said there are programs under way to develop the habitat conservation and public access components of the comprehensive plan, and the partnership is already engaged in preparing status and trends reports on water quality and other resource issues involved in the planning process.

“We encourage stakeholders to attend the Watershed Steward Workshop and to become more engaged in these efforts,” Roberts said.

Along with the free training, participants receive a free copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Handbook and a certificate of completion. The program also offers seven continuing education units in soil and water management for certified crop advisors, seven units for professional engineers and certified planners, and seven continuing education credits for certified teachers. It also offers three general continuing education units for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders, seven for certified landscape architects and three for certified floodplain managers.

Pre-registration is open through the Texas Watershed Steward website, http://tws.tamu.edu.

“Participating in the Texas Watershed Steward program is a great opportunity to get involved and make a difference in your watershed,” Roberts said.

For more information and to pre-register, go to http://tws.tamu.edu or contact Galen Roberts at 979-862-8070, groberts@ag.tamu.edu.

For more information about the San Antonio Bay Partnership and the Comprehensive Management Plan contact James Dodson at 361-649-1518, jdodson27@gmail.com.

The Texas Watershed Steward program is funded through a Clean Water Act §319(h) nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Pre-registration is open through the Texas Watershed Steward website, http://tws.tamu.edu.
“Participating in the Texas Watershed Steward program is a great opportunity to get involved and make a difference in your watershed,” Roberts said.
For more information and to pre-register, go to http://tws.tamu.edu or contact Galen Roberts at 979-862-8070, groberts@ag.tamu.edu.
For more information about the San Antonio Bay Partnership and the Comprehensive Management Plan contact James Dodson at 361-649-1518, jdodson27@gmail.com.
The Texas Watershed Steward program is funded through a Clean Water Act §319(h) nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The History Book Committee of the POC Service Club is seeking information from early residents or their descendents of our Community. We hope to be able to speak with these families who can tell us what Port O’Connor was like in the 30’s and 40’s. Currently, we are planning our book to contain not only the story of growing up here with our school and churches, the planned highway and Intracoastal Canal, shrimp houses and grocery store, and even the movie house, but a page for each family describing their generations with a shared picture.

Please contact either Janet Johnson, President of the Service Club, or Sue Kubecka, Historian, if you would like to be represented. Janet can be reached during the day at 983-4737 and Sue is available at (361) 798-0560. We look forward to hearing from you.