Port Lavaca, Texas (August 11, 2011) Ground breaking for a new RV Park in Port Lavaca, Texas has commenced. The RV Park is located at the corner of West Austin Street (HWY 238) and County Road 101 on the corner. Located 1 mile off of Hwy 35, the gated RV Park will have over 94 sites in the first phase of development. GPS coordinates are 28 35 42.75 N 96 38 32.63 W.

A 4000-square foot clubhouse with an essentials store, exercise room, media area, and pool tables will be the center hub of the community. A stocked fishing lake, a swimming pool and hot tub, a walking and jogging track, and several picnic areas and dog runs lead the list of the park’s highlights. Private restrooms and showers, security cameras, 2 laundry facilities, free WIFI, and satellite TV are some of the many amenities. The fully-fenced and gated resort will feature 24-foot wide concrete roads leading to extra wide and long concrete RV pads that include a small yard space. All the comforts of home!

In the last few years developer Doug Jensen has traveled the State of Texas, speaking with RV Park residents, managers, and owners. His goal was to discover the most-wanted features and seek out bright ideas that will help build “a new generation” RV Park. Additionally, the staff of Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO) have provided essential insight to the project.

“This RV Park has been engineered and designed with all campers in mind. The Resort has been built to achieve the highest ratings from both Good Sam’s and Woodall’s.” says Doug Jensen. “I’m excited that it’s going to help more people discover that Port Lavaca is a great little seaside town with a lot to offer everyone.”

Initial waterfront and back-in sites should be open by November. All sites will have FULL hook-ups with water, electric and sewer.

For additional information on Texas Lakeside RV Resort, please contact Doug Jensen or visit the webpage at www.texaslakesidervresort.com or find us on Facebook.

For parents of school-age children and those who assist in the care of their grandchildren, the beginning of school brings mixed emotions. For some, the first day of school brings a sense of relief as it marks the end of the childcare struggles and summer chaos – the “I’m bored” syndrome; for others, especially those who have preschoolers or kindergartners, it can bring sadness and a hint of anxiety as they prepare to launch their special ones into a world of unfamiliar faces and places, routines and expectations.

The good news is, with a little preparation, caregivers can help their children and themselves transition into the school year seamlessly and get their fragile ones off to the right start.

First, go to school! Even before “open house”, parents are welcomed to tour the school, check out their little one’s classroom and connect with their teachers. They can get the names of fellow students and make contact with the other parents. When caregivers attend school with their prized student, the child’s sense of security is boosted. The child will find that there will be kids he knows in his class and will make going to school less scary.

Second, host a back-to-school party. Invite every classmate and their parents to a time at your home where you can get to know both the kids and their parents better. One can often learn much more about people by interacting with them in an informal setting on familiar turf.

Third, establish a routine. A predictable routine helps children to feel safe and secure. Children who are exposed to a routine also tend to perform better in school than others who live without one. Have a set time for waking up, eating meals, and going to bed. Doing so will help assure that school children are well rested, have time to have a nutritious breakfast, and maintain consistent blood sugar levels throughout the day. All of these steps will help the student focus and remain emotionally upbeat.

Fourth, get organized. When our kids come into our home, they know that if their shoes are coming off, they are going to be placed by the front door – hence, no more lost shoes! Having a set place for school books and supplies will help to eliminate early morning scavenger hunts, which inevitably lead to chaos. Designate storage areas for school bags, lunch boxes, sports equipment, important papers, and musical instruments.

Insist that those students in your home unpack their school bags as soon as they return home from school each day. Making lunches and pulling out school clothes the night before can also help to keep your mornings calm. Nothing promotes learning better than the right start each morning before the students reach class.

Fifth, pray. Children and teachers need Divine help. I like what I heard Paul Harvey say years ago, “Prayer in schools is against the law? Not as long as there are tests!” Both students and teachers face challenges and when we ask God to guide them, provide wisdom and favor for them, to protect them, and to help them make right choices, we are helping them make right choices, we are helping them get the best education possible.

Sixth, make yourself known. By establishing your presence in the classroom, you send the message that you are involved and active in your student’s lives. Even if you can not volunteer regularly as “home-room mom” or “PTA president”, you may be able to bake cookies for school bake sales, chaperone special field trips, or take part in school fairs. Even simply sending a teacher an occasional thank-you note will convey that you consider yourself a partner in your childrens education and that you are keeping tabs on what is going on.

Seventh, complete the homework. Whether it is right after school or right after dinner, have a set time when homework gets completed and a set place where it is done. When the child knows that they are expected to do their homework at the same time, in the same place each day, they are less likely to put up a struggle and more apt to complete their assignments.

Eighth, allow the kid to be a kid. After a long and structured day, kids need time to be kids. Set aside time when your student can take part in activities they enjoy. Knowing they can still have some fun each day, they will be less likely to view school as the reason they can not play outside or visit with a neighborhood friend.

Ninth, eat dinner together. Children who eat dinner regularly with their families are less likely to take part in risky behaviors like smoking or using drugs. Remember, eating together is about more than just food. Sitting around the table provides an opportunity for everyone to reconnect and identify with their family unit.

When kids do not feel a healthy connection to their family that is built on love, acceptance, and a desire to be together, they will look for that connection somewhere else.

Tenth, use a family calendar. The school year brings a lot of extra activities to add to personal and work schedules. Having a master family calendar on the fridge or somewhere else where the family can see it will help everyone know who is supposed to be where and when. Use a different color ink for each family member and update the calendar regularly!

Eleventh, establish boundaries. As children navigate through their new environment, having a clear understanding of what is and what is not acceptable will help make good choices. When a child asks to go over to a new friend’s home for the first time, explain that it is your policy to meet the parents first. If your kids want to see a movie that you do not deem acceptable, remind them of your family’s viewing habits at home.

Twelfth, have family devotions. “The family that prays together, stays together” is more than a slogan – it is reality! During devotional time, kids often open up about their struggles, problems or concerns they are having in school. Being available on a regular basis to talk with your kids about God and how He can work in their lives, you will empower them with timeless truths that will guide their decision making process.

Yes, school has started – have we? By putting these simple twelve steps into motion, we will insure that our school kids have the very best chance of excelling! Love your student enough to make these changes!

Comment on Indianola Commemoration Celebration, received by www.TheDolphinTalk.com web site:

I have just learned of this celebration and I hope to be there for it.

My Great Grandfather, Dr. J. M. Reuss landed there in December of 1845 coming from Germany on the ship Neptune. Though he intended to go on to Fredericksburg, he elected to remain in Indianola and tend the sick. He remained there until after the 1875 Hurricane at which time he relocated to Cuero where he remained until his death in 1908. He founded the Reuss Drug Store which is still in operation and claims to be the oldest Drug Store in continuous operation in Texas.

Joe B. Reuss

Letter to the Editor:

I have answered Mr. Thomasson’s attack on me on the Dolphin’s website. I consider the space in the Dolphin (print edition) far too valuable for personal bickering.

I would like to point out that the first organization to endorse Pres. Obama’s re-election on his birthday was the Communist Party USA. For over a year they have stated that they will not run a candidate against Obama, because they believe that Obama and the Democratic National Committee support and are implementing the “45 Declared Goals of the Communist Party”. See these Declared Goals at:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1561529/posts

Perhaps Mr. Thomasson will believe The Congressional Record and Cleon Skousen’s “The Naked Communist”, since he seems to think I make these things up. Search “45 declared goals of the Communist Party’” for 16,500,000 results.

If you want to win, and save America as we know it, you must know and understand our enemy.

I am a Constitutionalist, a Jeffersonian Democrat. We do NOT have a Democrat Party anymore. The Democrat National Committee is controlled by Radical Leftists that the Communists claim for their own. John F. Kennedy or Robert Kennedy would not recognize, or be supported for any office, by what is now called the Democrat Party. Zell Miller saw that 11 years ago. Traditionally the Republican Party was the party of Big Business and the Internationalists. I don’t trust them. However the TEA Party is awakening traditional Americans and trying to restore Constitutional, Conservative, and Christian values and the Republican Party seems to be the vehicle. I hope after we throw out these Radical anti-American Leftists at the Federal level, we can start to rebuild the REAL Democrat Party from the local to state level and even the National level. But it will be a h— of a fight.

Now it seems we only have a choice between the Republican Party or the Communist Party.

Bill Brayshaw, AKA Longknife21, Seadrift

How Did I Get Here?

I was born in 1936 to conservative democrat parents. They instilled in us a need to spend money wisely, save for a rainy day. Everything remained this way until Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society”. Then came Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy, with even bigger give-away programs. We became Republicans.

During the previous years (beginning in 1951), my mother became a single parent of 4 children, ages 14- 12- 8-, 6. Never once did she consider asking for help. She worked at whatever she could find, as did I. My point here is not to illicit sympathy (horrors at the thought), but to point out that in those days people did not look to someone else to take care of them. They were proud of being independent. Now you know why I am a Republican who supports the T.E.A. Party.

Fast forward to the present. Everyone wants something for nothing. No matter what crime anyone commits, it is society’s fault. We have a President, majority Senate, and minority House, who scream “Compromise”. Compromise since 2007 has meant: The Liberal way or ELSE!! During Bob Daschle’s reign as Senate Minority Leader it was obstruct, filibuster, anything to keep from compromising. When the Democrats took over in 2007, it was total control because George Bush chose to “Compromise” and not veto anything they sent to the White House for signature.

Then came the crowning glory — 2008. A total landslide for the Democratic Party. All of a sudden, “Compromise” was no longer mentioned. Just caucus behind closed doors, write the bill, wait until the last minute, and demand an up-or-down vote!!

When the Republicans won the House in 2010, guess what? – all you hear is “Compromise, Compromise, Compromise”. Please show me the Democrat “Compromise”.

Who is the spoiled child, demanding everything their way?? Who has spent us into oblivion?? The Democrats are using the threat of Medicare cuts to scare seniors. In the early 1960’s, who decided Social Security taxes could be used as part of the general fund?? Now there is nothing left. Medicaid and Welfare have used it up.

Because conservative Americans who believe in the Constitution demanded this year that there be a change in the way we do things, the Vice-President, Senator Kerry, and other Democrats have labeled the Tea Party as “TERRORISTS”. This is the same administration who refuses to label combatants who plant bombs, fly airplanes into our buildings, kill indiscriminately — terrorists. According to this administration, these poor people are committing criminal, not terroristic, acts and deserve to be mirandized and tried with all the rights of an American Citizen.

Well, I have arrived at this place. I will peacefully protest, organize, whatever is necessary to attempt to bring our county, state, and country back to a God-Fearing, Moral, America to be proud of!!

Come to our TEA Party, Saturday morning, September 3, 9:30-11:30 am, at the Heritage Center.

Connie Hunt, Magnolia Beach

My Two Cents Worth

Read in the magazine Mother Jones:

American workers are asked to produce more with lower pay and fewer workers. They are doing so and the result is that many people have lost their jobs.

Also there is an article about the Hormel Co. in Austin, Minnesota which process 17,000 hogs a day. In order to lower cost and bust the union they formed a separate company and hired (slang expression for illegal aliens from Mexico) to do the work. When the (same expression) begin to get sick from the methods used to do the work, if they complained they were fired.

The CEO daisy chain: A is the CEO of X Co. He is on the board of Y Co. B is the CEO of Y Co. He is on the board of X Co.You guessed it they both vote each a big raise at the board meetings and when one gets fired because his Co. isn’t doing good he gets a big bonus with stock options to leave the Co.

Suggested reading. The Age of Greed by Jeff Madrick.

This has been going on for over 40 years.

G.B.Robertson

R. E. The Way I See It by Naomi Albrecht.

I found it ironic to be accusing people of manipulating history to suit their agenda, when it appears that’s exactly what’s been done in the referenced letter. First of all, while it’s true when George W. Bush took office he had a budget surplus, it is misleading to say he immediately cut taxes, thus costing our nation $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years. The fact is when Bush took office in 2000, the dot-com bubble was just bursting and the financial markets were reeling. Then in 2001, we were attacked by Muslim terrorists on 9/11 thrusting our nation into severe recession. It was not until 2002, in response to the recession, that Bush cut taxes. After the tax cuts were enacted, the federal government actually saw tax revenues go UP, successively from year-to-year until 2008, when tax receipts stood at about $2.6 trillion – 30% higher than in 2000. During this period, unemployment dropped from 6.3% to less than 5%.

Now, with unemployment over 9%, it should be clear the federal government does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Tax receipts, even after the financial crisis of 2009, still stand at about $2.5 trillion, about 25% higher than when Bush took office.

Regarding the state of Texas, since our governor is running for President, we are all about to be bombarded by the national media with talking points like “we balanced the budget on the backs of our school children” and “the only jobs we created are low-level minimum wage jobs”.

Please. Do some research, don’t just listen to the media talking points.

According to the Texas Association of School Boards, the state actually INCREASED the budget by $1.6 billion. Sure, we have to adjust to (hopefully) the last one-time federal stimulus spending of $3.4 billion. It’s not easy to cut back, but isn’t it better for us to live within our means than to rely on the federal government to tax the population and then send money back to the states?

Most people know that Texas stands alone in the nation in job creation. Texas has added more than one million new jobs in the last ten years, and continues to add jobs at a higher rate than any other state. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage in Texas is $15.14. Contrary to media talking points about the “low-level minimum wage jobs”, facts indicate that Texas ranks 6th in the nation in increasing hourly wages. Yes, average wages are going up, not down.

I’m proud to live in a state that’s leading the way in the right direction, a state that recognizes the importance of balancing the budget at the city, county and state level.

I think it’s time our federal government starts living within its means, like the rest of us have to do.

Thank you for your consideration,

King Tomlinson, Port Lavaca

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.
The Dolphin Editor retains the right to delete or change words that may be considered offensive to some of our readers.

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

The City of Seadrift will hold a meeting at 7:00 PM on September 6, 2011 at City Hall, 501 South Main, to consider adopting a proposed tax rate for tax year 2011 – 2012

The proposed tax rate is $0.421900 per $100 of value. This is the same tax rate as last year

The proposed tax rate would increase total tax revenue in the City of Seadrift by 7.0492%
————————————————————–
Comparison of last year’s tax rate and proposed tax rate for Maintenance & Operations and Debt Service:

M & O Debt
Last Year’s Tax Rate per $100: $0.421900 $0.00
Proposed Tax Rate per $100: $0.421900 $0.00

Last Year’s Calculated Revenue: $231,914.00
Proposed Calculated Revenue: $249,502.00

Run or walk P.O.C. Style 5K, benefiting the POC Chamber of Commerce. Meet us bright n’ early at King Fisher Beach Pavilion, Saturday, October 8th, 2011.

Pre-register online NOW, and get a T-shirt! Don’t forget to register your kiddos for the Dolphin Run Kids K. It will be an exciting event bringing families and friends together P.O.C. Style!

Contact pocstyle5k@gmail.com for more details!