It’s All About Education

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens working with other law enforcement agencies will be concentrating their efforts on enforcing boating while intoxicated (BWI) laws this summer, but they’d just as soon see boaters go to school than jail.

“In real estate the old saying is ‘Location, Location, Location,” said Asst. Chief Jeffery Parrish, TPWD’s boating law administrator. “In safe boating the saying should be ‘Education, Education, Education.’”

Unfortunately, he said, many boaters don’t realize that BWI carries the same penalty as driving while intoxicated. When it comes to alcohol, the only difference between a boat and an automobile is that open alcoholic beverage containers on board a vessel are still legal in Texas.

“But that’s where the difference stops,” Parrish said. “All other Texas laws relating to alcohol and the operation of a vehicle or a boat are identical.”

Last year game wardens arrested 316 persons in Texas for operating a boat under the influence of alcohol. TPWD also reported 10 boating-related water fatalities that were alcohol related.
Game wardens offer these tips to avoid a ride from the lake to jail this summer:

• Always have a designated driver.
• Minimize your consumption of alcohol.
• Take a boater education course.
• File a float plan – let folks know where you will be and what time you expect to be home.
• Wear your personal floatation device (PFD).
• If you observe an intoxicated boat or water craft operator, notify your local law enforcement agency.

Boater education covers legal requirements for boating, safe handling and practical tips such as reading weather signs. Boating courses are available three ways: online, a home study course or in-person courses taught by certified volunteer instructors, game wardens, the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and US Power Squadron. Find course information at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/boater_education/. Locally, call 361-575-8600. Next class is scheduled for May 21.

The Texana Outdoor Expo offers hands-on exhibits ranging from fishing, archery and hunting to kayaking, rock climbing walls, and snakes of Texas. A few of our new exhibits this year are cooking demonstrations, educational seminars (earn CEU’s), geocaching, and the TPWD Operation Game Thief’s “Wall of Shame.” A variety of wildlife and outdoor vendors will also be present to enhance the Expo experience. Held at the Brackenridge Main Event Center, 284 Brackenridge Parkway in Edna. Accessible for the mobility impaired. Fee $5 adults and free for children 12 and under.
Info: 361-782-7272

Contact 361-983-2898 for Port O’Connor Chamber Events

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Kids Free Fishing Tournament

Who: Ages 3 – 12
When: 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. (Register upon arrival at 9:00 a.m.)
Where: King Fisher Beach Park (Font Beach)
Awards: Trophies and Ribbons Awarded for division and age categories
Largest Fish – Most Fish – Smallest Fish

Every Child will Receive a Gift from POC Chamber of Commerce

Kite Flying Contest

Who: All Ages Welcome
Registration: 12:30
When: Starting at 1:00 p.m.
Where: King Fisher Beach Park
Divisions: Homemade & Bought Kites

Trophies & Prizes will be awarded by POC Chamber of Commerce

Cook-Off

Sponsored by POCSA Bar-B-Que Cook-Off

Where: King Fisher Beach Park
Categories: Brisket, Chicken, Ribs, Beans, Chili, Gumbo
Entry Fees: $25 First Entry; $10 Second Entry; $5 3 or more

Contact: 361-655-3521

Serving Begins at 11:00 a.m. – Bar-B-Que Sandwich & Chips = $6.00

All proceeds are donated to the future Sports Complex.

Come join us for a fun-filled day on King Fisher Beach in Port O’Connor, Texas!

A 30 cubic yard roll-off bin will be located behind the fence on 16th and Harrison for MUD customers to bring bulky waste to be hauled off. The bin will be there for one day, on Friday, June 10, 2011.
The bin may be used from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. MUD customers only may deposit large items like carpet, furniture, mattress, stove, etc. Auto batteries may be left outside the bin.

Mud customers must sign in with their name and Port O’Connor physical address.

No commercial waste will be accepted; this is for residential waste only. No paint, tires, gas cans or any unacceptable waste should be placed in the bin.

The Girl Scouts of Calhoun County with Girls With Wings founder, Lynda Meeks, at Calhoun County Airport.

“Where would you like to fly today?” Girls With Wings (GWW) founder, Lynda Meeks, asked The Girl Scouts of Calhoun County. The girls stood before aeronautical maps, charts and flight instruments necessary to learn to fly at Calhoun County Airport on Saturday, May 7th.

After deciding Disney World was a perfect flying destination, Lynda began the interactive GWW presentation teaching the girls “everything” they need to know to be a pilot. This fun hands-on format has been given to over three thousand girls. “We can educate our girls as we entertain them,” affirms Lynda. “They love the chance to learn something new!”

Lynda, an 18 year career pilot for the military and the airlines, has been staying “in the air” by spreading her message that “Girls need Flight Plans, not Fairy Tales!”™ By the end of the presentation each of the girls was able to make radio calls and fly their pretend planes to Florida. Says troop leader Kelly, the girls learned “if they wanted to be a pilot there is nothing stopping them – opened another whole field to them. Young girls need to know that just because most pilots are men doesn’t mean women can’t do it.”

Each of the girls received a patch for their vest and a take home bag with more information about aviation as well as a chance to sit in a Cessna 172 and handle the controls. “I don’t usually have the ability to take the girls out to sit in an actual airplane after the presentation. To see their eyes light up when I told them they would was really something special,” said Lynda. “Thanks to the folks at Calhoun Air Center for making that possible.”

GIRLS WITH WINGS:
Girls With Wings, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization using women in aviation to inspire girls to achieve their full potential via an interactive website, flight training scholarships and presentations to girls’ groups and other organizations. If you wish to schedule a presentation, make a donation or receive further details, please contact Lynda Meeks at LMeeks@girlswithwings.com or 216.577.6131.

Lynda Meeks shows Girl Scout Keira Fleming how the controls work on the Cessna 172 SP.