Comment on 4/26/11 The Dolphin Talk web site post, “Show Your Appreciation to Our Wounded Warriors”:

As the husband of Wounded Warrior I can not tell you how much this weekend means to her, and all the Warriors here at Ft. Sam Houston. We came last year, I cried most of the way, just seeing all of the people showing their love and appreciation to all the soldiers who have fought for us. This is the highlight of our year. Being from Texas, I know how we Texans feel about our country, and the men/women who defend her. Still it was overwhelming to be apart of it, to see it, to feel it. Thank all of you who work so hard to show these soldiers how much you love them.

Ronnie Cantrell

Thank You To Everyone Who Helped With Warriors Weekend V

Dear Dolphin:

I want to personally thank EVERYONE involved in making Warrior’s Weekend V another HUGE SUCCESS. Words just can’t express the emotions and pride our little community feels each year during this SPECIAL event. A SPECIAL THANK YOU to our soldiers for being here and for their sacrifice and their loyalty while defending our beloved country.

In addition, a HUGE THANK YOU to EVERYONE who contributed and worked so hard to bring the vision of this phenomenal event to life right here in Port O’Connor. Thank you just doesn’t seem adequate for all of those who helped to make the experience possible. Some folks helped in big ways, some in smaller ways, but together, as a TEAM, YOU got it done. If anyone helped in any way , THANK YOU.

It is such an honor and privilege to host this AWESOME event. You ALL helped our wounded troops make some beautiful memories they will never forget.

A very special THANK YOU to Ron, Sherry, and the entire Warrior’s Weekend board of directors and committee, for bringing this wonderful and heartwarming “Celebration of Honor” to Port O’Connor. To the Warriors Weekend board of directors and committee: I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your caring, dedication and thoughtfulness will never go unnoticed and will always be remembered. To the soldiers from the Port O’Connor Community: WE THANK YOU. WE LOVE YOU. WE APPRECIATE YOU AND WE WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU HAVE DONE AND ARE STILL DOING FOR US.

THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA IS ALIVE AND WELL IN PORT O’CONNOR, TEXAS, U.S.A.

GOD BLESS YOU. GOD BLESS TEXAS AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Judge Nancy Pomykal
Justice of the Peace
Pct. 5, Calhoun County

Thieves Among Us!

We heard that a number of flags were taken from Port O’Connor yards and roadsides during the past weekend. Some of the sticky-fingered rascals were caught by the Sheriff’s Dept. But also missing is the St. Joseph’s Church sign. Why would anyone steal from the church? Whoever you are, please bring it back. The church needs it. If you know anything about the missing sign, please call 361-983-2392.

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

Holly
Do we really need words here? “Too cute for words” was coined for Holly.
A Pekingese mix about 2-3 years old, she’s a tiny thing, a lovely fawn color and the epitome of sweetness.

Diego
Diego is a wonderful dog!
A German shepherd/Dalmatian mix about 3 years old, he will require a privacy fence as he likes to climb and go visiting. But his attitude is so happy-go-lucky that you can’t be around him and not be happy yourself.
Playful as a puppy, house trained, he loves other dogs and every human he’s met. Diego is pure joy wrapped in a distinctive coat of white and black.
Come see Diego, Holly, and all the other animals at the Port Lavaca Animal Shelter, 201 Stringham Drive (across from the rodeo arena), Monday through Saturday, 10 to 2, or call the Calhoun County Humane Society, 553-8916.
You can also view him and other animals ready for adoption on line at www.calhouncountyhumanesociety.org
Thanks and we’ll be waiting for you!

Fri., May 27
Retirement Party, M. Covarrubias, B. Smith
2:00-4:00 (Come & Go) POC School Cafeteria

Fri., May 27 Friday Night Youth
7:00-10:00 p.m. Fisherman’s Chapel, Port O’Connor

Sat., May 28 Kids Fishing Tournament
9:00-11:00 King Fisher Beach, Port O’Connor

Sat. May 28 Kite Flying Contest
1:00 p.m. King Fisher Beach, Port O’Connor

Sat., May 28 POCSA Barbecue Cook-Off
serving starts 11:00 a.m. at King Fisher Beach

Thurs., June 2 Port O’Connor Service Club
10:00 a.m. Back Room POC Community Center

Tues., June 7 Seadrift Chamber of Commerce
7:00 p.m. Seadrift City Hall

Tues., June 7 Bunco!
7:00 p.m. Back room of POC Community Center

June 7-July 12 Summer Reading Program at POC Library

Thurs., June 9 Port O’Connor MUD Board
7:00 p.m. 39 Denman Drive

June 10 & 11 SHRIMPFEST! Seadrift Bayfront

Fri., June 10 Roll off Bin for MUD customers
8:00-4:00 16th & Harrison

Fri., June 10 Friday Night Youth
7:00-10:00 p.m. Fisherman’s Chapel, Port O’Connor

June 10-12 ”Cinderella” at PL Main Street Theatre
& June 16-19 361-552-4082 or 361-649-6116 for more info

Sat., June 11 BBQ Benefit
11:00-3:00 First Baptist Seadrift, 302 W. Dallas Ave.

June 13-16 Vacation Bible School
9:00-Noon First Baptist Church, Port O’Connor

Wed., June 15 THC Cemetery & Marker Workshop
10:30-2:30 Bauer Exhibit Center, Calhoun County Fairgrounds

Fri., June 17 Friday Night Youth
7:00-10:00 p.m. Fisherman’s Chapel, Port O’Connor

19’ Tow/push Boat Ford 289/OMC I/O. Very economical. Dual batteries, dual tanks w/aux, push foot, on good trailer. $1500 obo. (361) 785-2021

’98 Chevy Lumina 6 cylinder; new tags and inspection. $2,500. Will take no less. 361-489-5139.

36’ Motor Home 1994 Foretravel, 94K, Cummins diesel pusher, diesel generator. $12,000 or best offer. (361) 785-2021.

For Sale: Very well built 10X16 Portable Building. OSB under metal of building. $3,500. Can be seen at 203 E. Washington in Seadrift. 361-489-5139.

Home Office Furniture For Sale. Matched computer desk, 6 ft. Bookcase, 2-drawer File Cabinet. $150 for all. 361-983-2515 or 281-808-2676.

POC grown Sago Palms for sale. 30 to choose from in 10-gallon pots. 2 to 4 years old. $30 to $60. 361-983-2515 or 281-808-2676.

Garage Sale

2494 W. Maple POC

Household goods, kitchen ware, clothing, misc. 8:00 a.m. until ?

June 4 & 5

Will pay a nominal price for two (2) Washing Machines. We make them available to those who need them. Fisherman’s Chapel  (361) 983-4240

On the 20th of May, after leaving the Warrior’s Weekend Field of Honor in Victoria, over 250 of America’s heroes will arrive in Port O’Connor for a weekend they will not soon forget. Most of these brave men and women have been wounded in the War on Terror and this is the best opportunity most of us will have to put into action that often used phrase, “We Support Our Troops.”

The Warrior’s Weekend Field of Honor in Victoria will be dedicated at 3:00 p.m. at Faith Family Church inside the sanctuary where the heroes will attend. For those of you not familiar with the Field of Honor, there will be about 1,500 American flags posted in the field next to the church on Sam Houston Drive and Mockingbird in Victoria and each flag will have the name of a veteran attached to it. Our supporters sponsor these flags for $40 and many of our area school children have been involved for many months to make this happen. This participation is helping to light a flame of patriotism in them that may grow throughout their lives.

After the trek down to Port O’Connor led by Sheriff B.B. Browning through Calhoun County, the heroes will be shown their lodging and then taken to the POC Community Center for a great fish fry with all fish caught and cleaned by our crew led by Russell Hofer and Kelly Parks. We will also offer them 3,000 jalapeños stuffed with shrimp, French fries, hush puppies, cole slaw and chicken wings by Buffalo Wild Wings of Victoria. After that, they will be offered a choice of a game of Texas Hold ‘Em or be allowed to go fishing that evening at The Sanctuary until midnight.

On Saturday morning, the 21st, the heroes will be served breakfast prepared by Rev. Erny McDonough and the good folks of Fisherman’s Chapel, while we await the arrival of the 100 or so heroes plus family members from Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio. When those buses arrive we’ll all go down to Froggies’ Bait Dock at the same time. It is quite a sight to see. Please try to be there to welcome our heroes to Port O’Connor and South Texas. Try to get there by 8:00 or so to get a good seat and bring a chair to await the arrival of the heroes around 9:00 – 9:30.

On Saturday morning, there will be around 175 – 200 boats awaiting the arrival of the heroes along with a 41’ Coast Guard Cutter, a disc jockey playing patriotic music, a vintage aircraft flyover, Academy Sports and Outdoors will be handing out bottled water; cheerleaders doing their thing, and the Warrior’s Weekend store will be open—all right there at Froggies’ Boat Dock. What a sight! You may park at the Community Center and shuttle buses will take you to and from the boat dock. By the way, after the heroes go fishing, go to the U.S. Coast Guard station for their open house and then come to the Community Center. These guys and gals are heroes, too and would like to see you down there.

After the heroes return from fishing with the last boat in at 3:30 p.m., they will freshen up and then attend a huge barbeque dinner in their honor back at the Community Center. Awards will be given out; a band composed of wounded heroes will play; and afterwards, the heroes can either go fishing or play Texas Hold ‘Em again. Then, on Sunday morning after breakfast, the heroes will board their buses for their return trip home. They should be exhausted by this time.

We will hit our target goal of over 300 heroes in Port O’Connor this year and it takes a huge team effort to pull this off. Warrior’s Weekend is getting great cooperation from folks all around the area and that is what it takes to put on an event like this. We believe it to be the largest in the country, right here in Port O’Connor, Texas. Just our Field of Honor has jumped from around 650 flags in 2010 to around 1,500 by the time all is said and done this year.

Warrior’s Weekend would like to take this opportunity to thank the good folks of Calhoun County for their assistance. Although you hate to start naming names as you know you’ll leave someone out, we have to acknowledge the County Commissioners Court, especially Kenny Finster, Judge Nancy Pomykal, Sheriff B.B. Browning and his staff, the good folks at Tigrett Real Estate for their help with lodging including Bill and Valerie and the whole gang, the group at Froggies’ including Connie & Clyde Rowney, the Port O’Connor Service Club, Leah Griffin and the POC Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, certainly the Dolphin Talk, 10th Street Lodge, The Lodge of Port O’Connor, The Inn at Clarks, Captains Quarters in both POC and Seadrift, Falcon Point Lodge, Speedy Stop, the POC Volunteer Fire Department, The Tarpon Inn, St. Christopher’s Suites, Calhoun County ISD, especially Lydia Strakos and her crew, Kathy Yearwood and Grady Jean Clark for decorating the Community Center, Calhoun County Heritage Center and all of the good folks of Port O’Connor, who have so graciously opened their homes to Warrior’s Weekend to make this event happen.

As you read this, we may still be needing boats to take the heroes fishing on the 21st and if you feel so inclined, contact either myself or Kelly Parks by email: Kelly-Parks@att.net and he’ll get you on the list, or go by and see Connie at Froggies’ and she’ll sign you up.

Again, try to be at Froggies’ on Saturday morning, May 21st, to greet the heroes—see their faces light up—and stay for as much as you can. It’s worth it to go to the Community Center to view the wonderful sand sculpture Gloria Fric, aka, “The Dragon Lady” and her friends create for our heroes. Please decorate your homes and business in patriotic colors and give a hug and/or kiss to someone who has put their life on the line for our freedom.

One more thing, on June 18th, international recording star, Kevin Fowler will be the headliner for Warrior’s Weekend Slam & Jam Fishing Tournament in support of Warrior’s Weekend. Go to the website, www.slamandjam.net or check with Connie at Froggies’. What a tournament and party that should be!

See you at Froggies’ on Saturday, May 21st.

Ron Kocian, President Warrior’s Weekend

361-550-0187 ron_kocian@hotmail.com