The Victoria Ducks Unlimited Dinner will be held Thursday, October 20 at Club Westerner in Victoria. Single tickets are $40; Couple $60. Table (8 to a table) prices are $400/Corp or $700/Sponsor.
Checks payable to “Victoria Ducks Unlimited” should be mailed c/o Jim Angott, Chairman, at 5641 US Hwy 77 S, Victoria, TX 77905. Info: 361-894-5178.

The first six weeks is already over and we’re proud to honor the students who achieved Perfect Attendance and earned all A’s and A’s and B’s.

Perfect Attendance PK-2
Front Row: Kilea Sibley, Harley Maraggia, Jacklyn Gutierrez, Antonio Gloria, Alexzaria Lopez, Aislin Guzman, Melany Romo; Second Row: Alexandria DiClemente, Shayla Teel, Leah Lucey, Makayla Reed, Ethan Redding, Dylan Ramirez, Jenna McManus, Ashton Albrecht, Adalia Gossett; Back Row: Amy Resendiz, Tarah Munsch, Joey Helms, Maddie Hawes, Sarah Doggett, Shane Branch, Keven Salinas, Harley Albrecht, John Rosenboom (Not pictured Damian Guzman and Keegan Short)

Perfect Attendance 3-5
First Row: Brooklyn Redmond, Taylor Ragusin, Faith Peeler, Logan Hobbs, Esmerelda Garcia, Dalton Alford, Collin Branch, Hannah Tucker; Second Row: Eli Romo, Sam Thumann, Clayton Maraggia, Dillon Hobbs, Paige Satterfield, Riley Hughs, Adriana DiClemente, Tyler Reed, Javier Ayala; 3rd Row: Sierra Posey, Craig Lopez, Thomas Hawes, Carlos Sanchez, Noah Guzman, Carly Rosenboom, Oscar Resendiz; 4th Row: Madison Posey, Gavin Gosnell, Zoila Garcia, Drake Dyes, Mitchell Arlitt, Marshall Arlitt (Not pictured Elizabeth Carey)

A Honor Roll
Front Row: Alexandria DiClemente, Shayla Teel, Shane Branch, Leah Lucey, Chase Harding, Keaton Cady, Ashton Albrecht; Second Row: Brooklyn Redmond, Taylor Ragusin, Evan Clifton, Sarah Doggett, John Rosenboom, Amy Resendiz, Tarah Munsch, Anthony Luna, Joey Helms, Maddie Hawes; Back Row: Drake Dyes, Hannah Tucker, Carly Rosenboom, Tyler Reed, Clayton Maraggia, Thomas Hawes

AB Honor Roll
Front Row: Makayla Reed, Ethan Redding, Harley Peeler, Kalynn Harding, Adalia Gossett, McKaelyn Carriles; Second Row: Shayleigh Sprague, Paige Satterfield, Sierra Posey, Eli Romo, Chloe Ragusin, Faith Peeler, Madison Stringo, Harley Albrecht; Back Row: Cierra Harper, Gavin Gosnell, Zoila Garcia, Riley Hughs, Trey Hagler, Adriana DiClemente, Elizabeth Carey, Ally Luna, Dalton Alford (Not Pictured: Damian Guzman)

Students Practice Fire Safety Techniques

Members of the Port Lavaca Fire Department and the Port O’Connor Volunteer Fire Department presented fire safety information to the students on October 4th. Sparky the fire dog was on hand to reinforce the importance of having a family meeting place and to remind the kids not to play with matches. The students also got to look at the POC fire truck and handle the fire hose. Thomas Hawes said, “Tell the firemen, the kids had a very good time”.

Children hug Sparky the Fire Dog.

Halloween Carnival

Get ready for a spooky good time on Saturday, October 29th. The Halloween Carnival is fast approaching so get your costumes ready. The costume contest is open to everyone (adults too) and begins promptly at 4:00 in the school gym. There are also lots of fun Games for the kids, tasty food including BBQ sandwiches, hotdogs and more. You can show your creativity by entering a pumpkin in the Pumpkin Carving Contest. To enter, just bring your pumpkin to the school auditorium by 3:45pm the day of the Carnival.

If you like scary thrills, take a walk through the Haunted House which opens in the gym immediately following the costume contest. If you like less haunting activities, you can try your luck at the Cake Walk.

The PTO officers have received some great prizes from many of the local vendors for this years’ Raffle. Tickets can be purchased at the school or from any PTO representative. Ticket cost is $5 for 6 tickets. That’s only five dollars for six chances to win some fantastic prizes. The raffle begins at 6:30 pm and you do not have to be present to win.

For more information about the carnival you can call the school (361) 983-2341 or got to the PTO page on Facebook www.facebook.com/pocpto .

Don’t Forget to Save Boxtops

Don’t forget to snip those box tops off your food labels and bring them to school. Each box top is usually worth about 10 cents and those dimes add up! Thank you Mary Covarrubias for handling our box top program. She trims them, checks the dates and sends them in for our school.

Dates to Remember

October 21 Fifth Grade Field Trip to Fennessey Ranch

October 24-27 Red Ribbon Week

October 28 Student Holiday (No School) Teacher Workday

October 29 Halloween Carnival
4:00 pm Costume Contest begins

November 11 Fourth and Fifth Grade Field Trip Goliad

November 14 Book Fair – School Library

November 17 K-5th Victoria Symphony Musical Petting Zoo

It was so dark that I could barely see how to park my car there on the bay front; I could not see the faces of those gathered around the big telescopes set up on Wesley Hunt’s driveway. Wesley introduced me to his wife and to Kelly Hawes, but the others gathered around were just voices in the night, although I knew they must be members of the Crossroads Astronomy Club.

In contrast to the darkness around me, looking skyward I could see a myriad of lights bursting through the darkness. That beautiful sight can only be experienced by those of us who are privileged to live in places such as Seadrift where distracting artificial lights are still at a minimum.

Wesley had invited me to join them that evening (September 24th) to experience some of the sights in the night sky that are not visible to the naked eye. His telescope was pointed toward the Milky Way belt, which appeared as a sort of thin cloud spread almost vertically above the bay. The galaxy has this appearance because of the Earth’s position within the galactic plane, around two-thirds of the way out from the center. (I copied that last sentence from a web site, since I have no knowledge whatsoever of “the stars”, except what little I learned in elementary school.)

The first thing Wesley wanted to show me was a “globular cluster”. Wesley said these are “balls of a million stars not seen by eyes alone”. Before he could adjust the telescope, Kelly Parks used his telescope-binoculars to locate the position of the object we wanted to see (these binoculars were huge, weighing about 10 pounds), then a laser was used to pinpoint it, and the telescope was aimed at that point and adjusted.

The telescope is quite large and the eyepiece was on the side of it, near the top, which meant that in order to look through it I had to climb a little ladder, try to sit on the top step and look in the eyepiece, while not touching the main body of the telescope. This was quite a feat for a stiff-jointed older lady with a fear of heights! But with Wesley’s help, I managed. I was disappointed that I really could not see anything that looked to me like a “globular cluster” of stars. I would see something, then all would be black – the same trouble I always have when looking through binoculars.

Next, the telescope was pointed at a carbon star. I was told (if I understood correctly) that carbon stars burn and burn and never burn up. It was supposed to appear as a red dot, but I never saw a red dot, only a white one. Maybe that was due to something called the “Purkinje effect”. (Look it up.) But I don’t know. I was getting discouraged.

They say, “the third time’s the charm” and it really was. After some adjustments, the telescope was pointed toward the Andromeda Galaxy, the closest (2.9 million light-years) to our own. And I saw it! An elliptical blob of white, an inch or two in size – but actually a whole galaxy that’s even larger than ours.

Wesley said he is always fascinated to look at Andromeda and often wonders if maybe there is someone there looking back this way and wondering if there is any life here.

Thanks, Wesley, for this incredible experience. Even now, when I close my eyes, I can see the Andromeda Galaxy. I am reminded that, as Wesley’s father used to say, “My God’s power is beyond human comprehension.” The telescope is a tool to show that power. If you ever have an opportunity, I heartily recommend you take a look.

The Crossroads Astronomy Club meets the third Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Houston at Victoria (3007 N. Ben Wilson), Room 223. For information, you may contact Wesley Hunt at 361-935-2016 or wes81461@yahoo.com.

Tuesday, October 4th became the start of the Halloween Season as the ladies attending that evening’s Bunco Party soon discovered. Entering the Meeting Room of the Community Center, an individual soon found herself in another scenario as she was greeted by a Tall Witch with stringy orange hair hanging from her hat while eerie and ghostly music filled the air. A large black tarantula rested on the window sill daring anyone to venture closer; he was accompanied by a pair of bats lurking nearby. Beneath the scary spider and antagonistic bats was a table well endowed with very tasty treats as supplied by Joyce Jordan, Mary Ann Claiborne and Shirley Gordon. Additionally, Sally Jones provided many plates decorated in the appropriate theme for some of those spectacular goodies including the chocolate cupcakes beautifully sporting Worms!

Following “the pause that refreshes”, these women joined in a resounding “Happy Birthday” to our hostess, Joyce. In addition to receiving an unusual birthday card, Joyce was also gifted with a delicious appearing chocolate cake without candles. For that omission, draw your own conclusions.

And then play commenced with three full tables of players, so Elvira did not visit again. The guest of honor for the evening was Lorene Webb, a former resident who is now making her home in the Lake Conroe area. Not only did Lorene make her presence known with her charming smiles, she also took home the Grand Prize for winning the most games.Other winners were Sally Jones for winning the least games! And a family of three took the remaining prizes: Most Buncos, Debbie Michalek; Floating Bunco, Melissa Satterfield; and the Booby Prize, Paige Satterfield. But, in revenge for these three family members winning, they have been named hostesses for the November Party. Tuesday, November 1st is the date at 7:00 p.m., and we’re wondering who will be the turkey?

AA meets each Saturday night at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Port O’Connor.

AA Meetings are held each Monday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 4th & Cleveland, in Seadrift. Fellowship begins at 7:00.

POC Sports Association meets the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at POC Community Center.

POC Lions Club meets the second Wednesday of each month, 12 Noon, at Cathy’s Restaurant

Commissioner’s Court meets the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month at 10 a.m., 1st Floor of the Court House, Port Lavaca.

Crossroads Astronomy Club meets at 7:00 p.m., third Mondays, at U of H, Victoria, Room 223 info: wes81461@yahoo.com 935-2016

Calhoun County Quilt Guild meets the first Wednesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the Fairgrounds Exhibit Building.

Open Arms (Families Surviving Infant Loss) meets every third Tuesday at Central Church of Christ, 801 E. Airline, Victoria, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Calhoun County Democratic Club meets the last Thursday of the month at IBC Bank, Port Lavaca, at 5:30 p.m.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (N.A.M.I.) meets 3rd Monday each month from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Parkway Church, Victoria. Support group meets at Laurent Towers fountain from 6-8 p.m., 2nd and 4th Tuesdays each month.

Calhoun County Conservative Club meets 2nd Tuesday each month, 11:00 a.m. at the Heritage Center in Port Lavaca

Friday Night Youth every Friday except the first Friday of each month, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., Fisherman’s Chapel, Port O’Connor

Oct. 11-15 Calhoun County Fair

Sat., Oct. 15 Service Club Garage & Bake Sale
8:00-3:00 Port O’Connor Community Center

Sat., Oct. 15 Seadrift Fishermen Celebration
7:00-Midnight The Pavilion on San Antonio Bay

Sat., Oct. 15 VEC Annual Meeting
1:00 p.m. 102 S. Ben Jordan St., Victoria

Oct. 15 National Grouch Day

Tues., Oct. 18 Blood Drive
8:30-11:45 a.m. Calhoun ISD, 525 N. Commerce, Port Lavaca

Thurs., Oct. 20 Port O’Connor Service Club
10:00 a.m. Back Room of POC Community Center

Fri., Oct. 21 Roll-off Bin for POC MUD Customers
8:00-4:00 16th and Harrison

Sat., Oct. 22 POC CCA Banquet

Oct. 22 Mother In Law’s Day

Sun., Oct. 23 Home of Hope – Helping Sex Trafficking Victims
10:00 a.m. Fisherman’s Chapel in Port O’Connor

Sun., Oct. 23 Annual Turkey Dinner
11:00 a.m. St. Patrick Church in Seadrift

Oct. 28 & 29 Victoria Cemetery Tour
573-1878 or vpitx.com

Sat., Oct. 29 Consignment Auction
Calhoun County Fairgrounds; info: 552-5456

Sat., Oct. 29 Port O’Connor School Carnival
4:00 p.m. Costume Contest

Sat., Oct. 29 Chili & Gumbo Cook-Off Benefit for POC Library
4:30 p.m. Hurricane Junction, Maple & 15th, Port O’Connor

Sat., Oct. 29 Monster Bash
8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Calhoun County Airport/Calhoun Air Center

Mon., Oct. 31 Seadrift Halloween Parade
6:00 p.m. First National Bank to City Hall