Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic School would like to invite you to the Valentine Gala, which take place Saturday, February 18, 2012, at the Calhoun County Airport from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

This year’s theme is “Where in the World is Amelia Earhart?” Guests will spend the evening enjoying fine dining and entertainment while trying to solve the mystery of an American Ledgend who disappeared 75 years ago attempting to circumnavigate the globe.

Come fly with us! Tickets are $50 per person. Tables also may be reserved for eight or more people. Please contact the school office for additional information at phone number: 361.552.6140 ext. 6.

Also please consider making a contribution to the silent auction or sponsoring a set of wings to promote your business.

Our school is non-profit and thus all donations are tax deductible. Donors will be recognized at the Gala and through our church and school publications unless a patron chooses to be anonymous. All proceeds of the Gala go toward the annual teacher bonuses.

We hope you will be able to join us for the Valentine Gala and would like to thank you for your support of our teachers. May God bless your generosity.

Sincerely, Mrs. Theresa M. Dent, Principal

Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic School is open to children of all faiths from Pre-Kindergarten to Eighth Grade and is accredited with the State of Texas. Each year thousands of dollars in tuition assistance are given to ensure that all parents seeking to provide their children with a faith based education can afford to do so. Our certified teaching professionals work at a salary that is less than 75% of what they could earn in a public school. They are an incredible team of devoted educators.

David Miles Parker

Hamilton, Montana – David Miles Parker, 75 years old, passed away Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012 at his home surrounded by his loved ones.

He was a twin, born in Raymondsville, Texas July 29, 1936. He was raised in Texas with his brothers and sisters. He went to high school in Marion, Texas where he graduated and then went on to serve in the military.

He was in the U.S. Coast Guard at the time the station moved from Saluria to Port O’Connor. He was a Vietnam veteran. His last tour of duty was in San Francisco where he was the chief petty officer in charge of the Point Chico 82-foot search and rescue boat out of Yerba Buena Island. He saved a lot of lives had a career he could be proud of when he retired as a decorated chief petty officer in July 1976.

He is survived by his wife Joy; they were married 54 happy years. He is also survived by his daughter, son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Barbara Brandon of Port O’Connor and Rita Lee Fluck of Vesta, California.

He had a fun, full life and enjoyed every minute of it. He spent the last 13 years of his life in Montana where he fell in love with the Bitterroot Valley.

W.H. (Bill) Bauer, Jr., chairman of the board of First National Bank in Port Lavaca, has announced several promotions at the bank. Richard T. (Terry) Cullen has been promoted to President; Dee Harkey has been promoted to Executive Vice President, and Erica Sparks has been promoted to Assistant Cahsier at the Seadrift Branch. Cullen was also elected to the bank’s Board of Directors.

Cullen was born and raised in Victoria, Texas and spent 25 years in banking at Victoria Bank and Trust and then First Victoria National Bank. After four years of banking in San Antonio with Falcon International Bank, Cullen joined First National Bank in Port Lavaca in 2007 as an Executive Vice President. Cullen graduated from Saint Joseph High School in Victoria before graduating from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He also earned and holds the certification as a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA). Cullen, a resident of the Six Mile Community in Calhoun County, is married to the former Laney Kelliher. They have two children and three grandchildren. He serves on the advisory board of the Victoria College Calhoun County, the board of Habitat for Humanity in Calhoun County and is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church.

Harkey was born in Victoria but has been a resident of Calhoun County for over thirty years. A certified public accountant, Harkey began his accounting career in Victoria after graduating from Texas A&M University. After eleven years in public accounting, he began a career in banking, and has served in senior management positions at First State Bank & Trust Company, Port Lavaca; First Victoria National Bank; and for the past six years at First National Bank in Port Lavaca, where he manages the bank’s trust department. Active in the community, Harkey has held volunteer leadership positions in numerous charitable community organizations. He and his wife Shirley, a retired CCISD math teacher, have three children and four grandchildren.

Sparks has been employed by First National Bank in Port Lavaca for over eight years at the bank’s Seadrift Branch. She is an active member of the Seadrift Chamber and volunteers with several local civic organizations. Erica and her husband Clay have two children who occupy any spare time that they have.

First National Bank in Port Lavaca, established in 1957, is a locally owned award winning bank with assets in excess of $212 million. The bank has branches in Port Lavaca as well as the neighboring communities of Seadrift and Port O’Connor.

This is the last issue of “The Dolphin Talk” before the Annual “Sweetheart Banquet”, which will be held in the Port O’Connor Community Center on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. This will be the 17th year that First Baptist Church has produced this “Gala Port O’Connor Affair”. Committees have been organized for the decorations, ticket sales, food preparations, food serving and program design.

A group of men will charcoal-broil the delicious steaks just before the Banquet, while a group of women will be preparing the salad, vegetables and dessert to complete the meal. The Church men and Church Youth will be serving the seated Steak Dinner. Youth waiters and waitresses will see that everyone is served iced tea and coffee.

Immediately following the dinner, special recognition will be given to all the couples that have been married 50 years and longer. A Special Award will be presented to the couple married the longest and to the couple married the shortest number of years. Following this, everyone will join in singing “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”.

One of the highlights of the evening will be the award presentation of the Citizen of the Year. After this special award, door prizes will be awarded to several lucky attendees.

This year the entertainment will be the music of John Sisk and his humorous remarks. John Sisk was with us last year and by popular demand we asked him to return.

Tickets to this year’s banquet are $7.50 each and are available now. Remember we must limit the sales to 200 due to seating limitations. So get your tickets early. Tickets are available from the following: Pat Ekstrom, 983-2030; Pat Turk, 983-2314; Brenda Smith, 983-2272; Debbie Michalek, 648-7075; Evelyn Lewis, 983-4216 and Doyle Adams, 983-4866.

This Sunday the Church will be observing the Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper during the 11:00 a.m. worship service. You are invited to attend and all baptized believers are invited to participate. Our Pastor, Donnie Martin, will the leading the service.

See you in church Sunday!    
           

“I am hesitant to get into these fights, but some you just can’t avoid. This is going to be a knock down, drag out, so we better get the discussion started right now. Let’s hope that the following is just ‘alarmist ramblings’ of a misguided hunting/fishing guide.”

Word is spreading that the Feds are moving quietly to develop a “Waterfowl Management Plan” on Matagorda Island. Unfortunately, that plan may translate into “Closing Hunting” on Matagorda Island while potentially reaching into other areas. I’m no expert on the matter and I’m no politician or “insider” in environmental issues as some are. If you don’t know the history of Matagorda Island, it has a colorful but somewhat “letigious” past and the Fed has been up to their ears in it since the 1940’s.

Loose Understanding Of The History
(I’m not pretending to have all the facts)

The Island was owned by the Hawes family of Port O’Connor during the years leading up to WWII. They ran cattle on it, worked the land, raised their kids, and lived the American dream. As I understand it, the Feds came to the Hawes family at the outset of WWII and more or less issued them an ultimatum that turned into a loose deal for the barrier island in lieu of an eminent domain proceeding. The deal was “let us have the island, we’ll pay you something for it’s use and development as a military training installation while in conflict, and then we’ll give it back when the dust settles. Unfortunately, when the dust settled and WWII came to an end, nobody on the Govt’s. side could remember the terms of the deal and that started the Hawes family on a legal battle to regain their ownership that has only recently ended in favor of the Federal Govt.

Tighter Understanding Of Present Day
(The facts as I’ve experienced them)

In recent years, The State of Texas had a lease on a portion of the Island and managed it as a State WMA. About the time the Ferry burned down in Port O’Connor, the State decided not to renew the lease but still had some management responsibilities there. The State of Texas continued to do some draw hunts and have folks over to the old barracks for camping and fishing, etc. As the State began to diminish their roll on the Island, we began seeing some things that gave us “alarm”. One of the first things was the posting of signs at the entrances to back lake bayous that denoted that this is a “National Wildlife Refuge”. Life went on as usual until about 2009 when we were hit by the first drought in years. During the Winter of 2009, Whooping Cranes were experiencing higher mortality and a sizable portion of the flock fell ill and died. Evidently biologists made a huge leap that figured because of the drought the Blue Crab numbers were suffering in the back lakes on the Island and they were starving to death. Without notice or public discussion, Blue Crabbing was outlawed “overnight”. I didn’t exactly understand the consequence of that action until recently being educated by “those in the know”. The impact of that decision shows that the Federal Govt. has 100% control of Matagorda and can take any action without the least amount of consideration for citizens of The State of Texas. That’s probably not news to many and is certainly nothing new given the current course of the Federal Govt. I should have seen that one coming!

The Picture Gets Clearer, A Few Days Ago

On Wednesday, January 16th, 2012 I had the pleasure of meeting a local Federal Game Warden at Charlie’s Bait Camp. Reportedly, the radio tracking collar on a visiting Whooping Crane was giving a “dead signal”. In visiting with the agent, he indicated that the Crane had been shot by hunters. I asked if he knew that for a fact and he said, “Well, the biologists pretty much can tell.” At that time, the bird had not even been retrieved. I asked if they needed airboat assistance and they refused my aid. While the “cause of death” had yet to be determined, I was asked to provide any assistance or information related to the “supposed killing” of this bird. So, if anyone has any idea about the cause of death of a Whooping Crane near the first cove off the ICW before you get to Wigeon Lake, please call the Victoria office of the Dept. of The Interior.

In discussing the matter with the agent, I asked, “What’s this I hear about changes on the Island”? His first response was “I’m not at liberty to discuss that at this time. I will say, however, that there is an 8 step process that must be completed (by I don’t know who) in order to hunt a National Wildlife Refuge. This process has never been done on The Matagorda National Wildlife Refuge. Step 7 answers the question ‘are there any endangered species that would be affected by hunting activities?’ We are currently on Step 7.” RED FLAG, WARNING, RED FLAG, WARNING!!!

Clearer & Clearer

Unfortunately, the Federal Govt’s reach doesn’t end within the confines of a “National Wildlife Refuge”. The Government has the right (in the name of an endangered species) to limit hunting or any other activity it deems harmful within the “range” of that endangered species. If the Federal Govt’s goal is to outlaw hunting on Matagorda Island, it appears that their reach could spread to Shoalwater Bay, Dewberry Bay, Welders Flats, Port O’Connor marshes, and both directions of the barrier Island. Case in point, this entire area has been closed to Sandhill Crane hunting since I can remember. Why? Because immature Whooping Cranes can be mistaken for Sandhill Cranes according to the folks that make the laws. So, this is a perfect example of a “broad no hunting area” in the name of the Whooping Crane.

It’s interesting to me that in all my years here on the middle coast, we’ve never once had a Whooping Crane harmed by the presence of waterfowl hunting, airboats, fisherman, campers, kayakers, etc. However, one drought year can wipe out 25% of the flock due to our inability to regulate our freshwater inflows. So, instead of dealing with the “hard things” like environmental issues dealing with water rights, the Fed is on the move to outlaw or grossly restrict hunting, fishing, use and access. Figures.

The Sun Goes Down

As the sun sets on more of our freedoms, I question what can be done to fight this battle? I certainly don’t have the answers. I would however, like to reach out to friends and enemies alike that share a common enjoyment of our bays and back lakes. We will have to put aside petty differences and get to be friends “real quick” if we are going to stand a chance on this one. It may be too late; the game may already be over. Regardless, I extend the right hand of friendship and hope to put past differences aside while welcoming friends and allies to begin forming in the name of preserving the freedoms that we’ve taken for granted.

There are people well positioned to help us in this fight. Some represent outdoor organizations, news media, etc. The time is now to start reaching out to them and “get in touch with the issue”.

Truly,

Capt. Kris Kelley, Castaway Lodge, 1-888-618-4868, 361-648-3474 cell