Friends of the Seadrift Library will hold their annual Junk in the Trunk sale on Saturday, November 5. Get your “junk” together and think about renting a spot to sell it. Look for future notices.

Sundown Island Warden Tim Wilkinson -Photo by Peggy Wilkinson

Tim Wilkinson has been named Audubon Texas’ newest Coastal Warden for Sundown Island and the Matagorda Bay area. Tim is former Warden Chester Smith’s son-in-law. He and his wife Peggy spent the last 13 years serving as assistants to Chester getting to know Matagorda Bay, Sundown Island, volunteers and the birds that call this area home. Tim brings with him a wealth of experience on varied projects to create and support nesting habitat, building and maintaining important infrastructure (pier, windmill and piping system), and leading volunteer events that benefit Sundown and develop community involvement.

Bob Benson, Executive Director, Audubon Texas expressed the sentiments of all of Audubon; “We are thrilled that the family tradition will continue for the protection of Sundown Island. The birds remain in good hands now that Tim has accepted this position. He will carry on the legacy of Chester Smith insuring the birds have a safe and well managed home.”

Audubon Texas, the state program of the National Audubon Society, is working to restore over 3 million acres of grasslands, oversee 13,000 acres of critical coastal habitat, and educate 50,000 students on an annual basis.

Special Event Benefiting the Port O’Connor Library

A very unusual happening benefiting the POC Library is scheduled for Saturday, October 29th here in Port O’Connor. Planned is a gumbo and chili cook off which should bring out all the famous cooks as well as local would-be cooks. Hoop of Hurricane Junction has planned this very special event and is providing space for all entrants.

Several teams of incredible cooks have already entered and have made their plans very apparent to all other would-be cooks. Teams are being sponsored by various business firms as well as organizations throughout this area. And this is strictly a local area happening.

Hoop, as sponsor of this benefit, has made a very emphatic statement that all monies received from this event will return to our community. And this means that our Library will benefit substantially. And if you have visited our Library lately, you will see that we are really bursting out of the seams, so we are extremely grateful to be the recipient of the funds from this very fun event.

The residents of Port O’Connor are no strangers to helping each other through various activities, so it should not be surprising to learn of an event benefiting our POC Library. To be concerned about another person here in POC is not unusual nor is the person forgotten as events will be staged continually for that person. And Hoop, the owner of Hurricane Junction, has done much for this community with many silent offerings of help, and in planning and hosting many benefits.

The event starts early at 9:00 a.m. when the cooking teams arrive to start preparing their mouth-watering chili and unusual gumbos. These recipes represent the pure basic and local part of our heritage that is so important to our life style in POC, and several hours are necessary to prepare the dish with just that “right” taste of Seasonings.

The public is invited to arrive about 3:00 p.m. when the chili and gumbo will reach its proper level of doneness. Samples will be provided for all to taste and comment on. Judging of the tasty offerings will take place around 4:30 p.m., prior to the silent auction of many “necessary items” for your home or office. Do come and let your taste decide the winner!

And if you are uncertain as to where Hurricane Junction is, just follow the signals from your nose. The aroma of delicious gumbo and chili will lead you straight to the corner of Maple and 15th Streets. Do plan to arrive no later than 3:00 or 3:30 p.m., otherwise seeking parking may be hazardous. For more info: 361-983-4249.

Prostitutes, strippers, illegal immigrants, runaway youth, domestic servants, migrant workers, and young girls are often victims of human trafficking. Trafficking in persons, especially women and children, for the purpose of sexual exploitation is quickly becoming the world’s fastest growing industry and most profitable criminal activity. The U.S. State Department estimates that about 20,000 men, women, and children are trafficked into the United States each year, mainly for sexual exploitation. Many of these are found in Texas.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, human trafficking recently became the number one crime industry in the world, and Houston, Texas is the major hub for such activity.
BUT, there is Home of Hope – Texas! Home of Hope is a long term rehabilitation facility for women and girls who are victims of the sex trafficking trade. The average age of the girls who are trafficked is 11 to 17 years of age. Home of Hope plans to have the home opened by January, 2012.

According to Dr. Laura Lederer, former director of Global Trafficking at the State Department, “This will be one of the first long-term rehabilitation centers in the United States. The girls will receive psychological and medical help, as well as schooling and job training.”

On October 23, Fisherman’s Chapel will host Reverend Jeanine Sullins, who is presently traveling and raising funds for Home of Hope – Texas. Reverend Sullins will be presenting the Home of Hope in the 10:00 a.m. hour and taking questions from those attending. She will also be minstering in both the 11:00 am. and 6:00 p.m. services at the Chapel.

Everyone is urged to attend these informative presentations. Further information about Home of Hope – Texas can be obtained by visiting:
www.homeofhopetexas.com

Port O’Connor sailors JJ Ault and grandson Spencer, who set sail for Florida on September 9th, (Dolphin Talk, September 23 issue) had their trip cut short when their boats capsized at Galveston on September 26.

They survived their mishap without injury, but their boats were too badly damaged to continue on.

JJ and family would like to thank all those who were concerned for their well being.

Following is an excerpt from the e-mail he sent to his family following the accident:

“We had 20 knot tail wind from Freeport to Galveston. We sailed across part of Galveston Bay following the Inter-coastal-waterway. The radio had out small craft warnings. It got really exciting. We had to bail and could only run downwind, which was lucky because that was where we wanted to go. We camped on an island about two miles from the bridge on Hwy 45.

Today we got to a little less wind and made for the bridge. To get to Galveston Island we had to turn right at the bridge. We saw a shrimp boat go that way right before we went under the bridge, so we followed because we knew he would give deep water. Before we got to the end of the bridge we began to encounter a very strong tidal current going out to sea. When we realized we wouldn’t make it we tried to turn around and tack away from the bridge. The current was too strong to sail against so we got sucked under the first tall bridge (the south bound lane for autos). The north bound bridge was a different story. Our masts would not fit under the bridge, but we were going anyway. Right before we got sucked under I told Spencer to Abandon Ship. I always wanted to say that. The only thing I saved was my wallet.

My boat turned over as it went under so I took off swimming to try to beat the strong current to shore. We were being sucked out to sea. Spencer saved three bags as he got sucked under. We both swam as hard as we could and finally beat the current and made shore on the Galveston side. We had most of our stuff sealed in five gallon buckets we found along the way. We watched as they spread out across Galveston Bay. Then suddenly we saw Spencer’s boat come out from under the bridge and take off sailing away empty in a twenty knot wind. Apparently his shorter mast and higher freeboard made it under the bridge. We laughed about that but we had to keep swimming hard so we would make it.

We walked till we finally found a McDonalds and a city bus stop. This message is from the Galveston library.”