The Builders Association of Victoria and Presenting Sponsor Victoria Advocate’s Annual Parade of Homes will be held May 7 – 22.

The scattered site Parade will feature 14 sensational homes built by some of the area’s top builders.

A parade magazine including a location map will be given to parade attendees. The map and home addresses will also appear in the Victoria Advocate pull-out section prior to the Parade.

Advance tickets may be purchased until May 6 for $8 at both Sherwin-Williams locations, Hall Lighting & Design Center, the UPS Store and the Builders Association.

During the Parade, tickets may be purchased at any of the participating homes.

Admission for the entire tour is $10 for adults and $5 for children not in arms.

Homes will be open from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Saturdays, May 7th, 14th, & 21st and Wednesdays, May 11 & 18; and on Sundays, May 8th, 15th, & 22rd from 1:00 – 6 p.m.

Participating builders are: B.J. Davis Builder, Inc., Blanton Builders Inc, David Hurst Construction, Designer Homes by Rex Horst, DM Custom Homes LLC, Havenbrook Homes by Greg Leach, Palm Tree Resort Properties, LLC, Prokop Custom Homes, Rokyta Custom Homes, LLC, and WP Construction.

Drawings donated by Sherwin-Williams, Hall Lighting & Design Center, and the UPS Store will be given away to some lucky attendees.

For additional information, please call the Builders Association at (361) 578-7711 or visit the website at www.vctbuilders.org.

Among the homes featured will be:

Prokop Custom Homes
661 Bayside Drive
Seadrift, Texas

Prokop Custom Homes
#3 Sanguin
Port O’Connor, Texas

As I write this, I remember that we are now experiencing the Ides of March — now April 15th, Income Tax Day. Yeah, this year we have three extra days, the 18th, as there is a celebration-holiday in Washington D.C. While shelving books and acknowledging the grim day is approaching, I found Confessions Of A Tax Collector, as written by Richard Yancey. The subtitle is One Man’s Tour of Duty Inside the IRS. Picking it up as a lark, I found the book completely fascinating, and now rejoice that the methods used in 1991 and later are no longer being used by the IRS. Interesting reading but somewhat scary too as the 4th Protocol for a collector of the IRS is “Seize, seize, seize”. Luckily that requirement has changed, and, supposedly, the agents are really good people! But hope I never have to find out.

Joy Fielding’s latest, Now You See Her, is set in Ireland and primarily the area around Cork. She has really outdone herself this time; the plot details the incredible changes that a mother goes through following the disappearance of her adult daughter. Despite the physical evidence that the daughter has committed suicide, the mother refuses to believe this and starts upon a search to find her. She accosts any woman with a slightly similar appearance to her daughter, and this leads her into a strange entanglement in Ireland. The description of Cork, both the new area and the old, is beautifully done; makes me want to find a plane and head to Cork, and search for the remnants of my ancestor’s family. Ms. Fielding’s plots are composed of twist after twist; to the point that the reader remains astonished when the ending is reached. Excellent and compelling reading; you do not want to put the book down and go to sleep.

But the book I liked the best out of these three is So Help Me God as written by Larry Thompson. Possibly because this is a legal thriller and the courtroom scenes are fascinating at least to me. Or possibly because I knew the author as I had worked at the firm of which he was managing partner. Being familiar with legalese and the drafting of various legal documents, it was “a trip” to see how the author was able to translate his background into a work of fiction complete with character development and plot and subplot. The book is easy to read, somewhat informative, but with the essence of the plot concerning the doctrines of the Pro Life and Pro Choice movements, it really holds your attention. An extra, Larry’s brother was Tommy Thompson, a very accomplished author. I do hope that this will be not only a one book experiment by Larry; he has found another calling.

Hey, kids, mark your calendars for Saturday, May 7th at the Library; the children’s librarian from Port Lavaca will be here to show a movie beginning at 10:00 a.m. Either Gulliver’s Travels or The Green Hornet will be shown.

A note of gratitude to the person who gave us some DVDs for our collection; with the cut in budget for our Library, the purchase of DVDs has ended. We do appreciate your thoughtfulness.

“When an old person dies, a Library burns down.”

Karin Gillespie

Re-painting the names on the donation bricks
Photos by Bill Tigrett

We used to have a big fishing tournament called the “Troutmasters” that was held here about this time every year. Their motto was “If it ain’t blowin’ we ain’t goin’”. Well they would be right at home now cause its blowin’. This looks like one of those years when you just have to learn to deal with the wind. Despite the breezy conditions the fishing just keeps getting better.

The bays are giving up a lot of trout. Live shrimp or soft plastics have been good around shell bottoms. South Pass has been a good bet. Most of the trout are a bit under the limit but the numbers are encouraging.

The back lakes are really good for reds. The Spring tides should be here about now and the lakes will be easy to navigate. I’ve caught quite a few trout back there but they are mostly undersized. Topwaters are a good choice right now.

Nick, son Mason and Gerald and son Tristen from the Austin area had a fun day celebrating Tristen’s 10th birthday. -Capt. Bob Hill

The jetties are really productive right now. Reds, drum, sheepshead and trout are there for the taking. We have also caught pompano, mackerel, gafftops and sharks. We have had a few days of strong incoming tides that make fishing difficult but when the tide quits the fish have really turned on.

Capt. Bob Hill Port O’Connor Charters (361) 983-4325 www.fishportoconnor.com

Even though it has been quite windy, there have been reds, limits of trout, and flounder coming in to the cleaning table.

We’re getting some nice live shrimp in and have lots of frozen bait.