Surrounded by customers and POC Chamber members, Joanie and Kirk Morgan (in center holding up scissors) cut the ribbon on their new Treasure Chest location at 2818 West Adams Ave. (Hwy 185). Although they have been in business in Port O’Connor for several years, the Morgans have recently moved to the more spacious location. In addition to all their fine merchandise, ranging from jewelry to furniture, you can still enjoy a cup of coffee and those delicious kolaches.

The workday on Thursday, March 3 was a great success. About a dozen ladies came and stayed to help. All ceiling fans were cleaned and all cobwebs swept down in the whole building. The back youth room was completed: cabinets cleaned, baseboards cleaned, walls cleaned, chairs washed. Kitchen area was cleaned and all cabinets cleaned and organized.

Vernon Thumann and Virgil Redding power-washed the whole building, patio area and drive through area last Sunday. What a difference it has made! Looks really nice. (Great job, guys!) and free of charge to the community.

Gary Alford, owner of Southern Landscaping of Seadrift reworked the sprinkler system heads and fixed a leak in the system. (Thanks a lot!)

Marilyn Giessel and Shelly Gasch did a terrific job on new landscaping posts and will be putting in new rope. John Pitonyak dug holes for the posts, which were donated by King Fisher Marine. All of this hard work and expense was donated to the Port O’Connor community.

Well, we are glad the first work day went so well because the second one was a flop. One person showed up. One of the new stoves was put in and some more of the baseboards in the big hall were cleaned.

Nicholas Gonzales has been trimming the shrubs and plants in the front of the building for several days.

We’ll be letting you know the progress of the Community Center and our clean up efforts in the next paper.
-Marie Hawes

Calhoun County Justices of the Peace recently attended a 20 hour Justice Court training seminar in Corpus Christi.  The continuing education is  required by the State of Texas for all Judges regardless of the amount of time he or she has been in office. A variety of workshops was offered to the attendants for updating and reviewing subjects relating to their courts. Among subjects offered, were pretrial  procedure, traffic laws, juvenile laws,  landlord/tenant issues, family violence, electronic death registration, fail to attend school procedure and alcohol/minor related offenses. The seminar was presented by the Texas Justice Court Training Center, which is Sponsored by South Texas State University / San Marcos.  Each Judge received full certification for the current academic year.

Calhoun County is fortunate to have this particular group of Justice Court Judges. The group has an excellent working relationship and they genuinely  care for their precinct, county and state.   The Judges all agree serving Calhoun County is an honor and a privilege. They strive to serve in their capacity to the best of their ability.  Participating in their continuing education guarantees they will remain knowledgeable and will keep abreast of any changes to State laws.

Pictured at right, left to right-front row-Pct. 5- Judge Nancy Pomykal (serving 21 yrs.), Pct.-3- Judge Gary Noska, (serving 21 yrs),Pct. -1- Judge Hope Kurtz, (serving 5 years).

Back row-left to right-  Pct. 4- Judge James Dworaczyk (serving 19 years total tenure) and Pct. 2- Judge James Duckett (serving 17years)  . Collectively this group of  dedicated professionals has been serving Calhoun County for 83 years. Each Judge was recently re-elected to his or her current term in the November General Election.

“We wish to thank all our supporters for allowing us to serve them for another four years. We will continue to serve Calhoun County and the  state of Texas with fairness and competence.” Pct. 5, Judge Nancy Pomykal  said as she spoke for the entire group.

Highway Dept. workers complete installing an “Adopt A Highway” sign. To further their service to the community, the Port O’Connor Lions Club has recently committed to keep clean of litter two miles of Highway 185 near town.

-Photo by Bill Tigrett

The Church is engaged this entire month in collecting donations for the “Annie Armstrong” Easter Offering for North American Missions. This offering is to help our missionary force to reach for Christ an estimated 258 million lost people in the United States and Canada. The national goal this year is $70 million. 100% of all contributions will go to support more than 5,000 missionaries in North America. The “Annie Armstrong” offering is 46% of the entire annual budget for this mission cause.

Going into “Daylight Saving Time” last Sunday gave a real boost to our attendance and we thought it would hurt attendance. Not so! Our morning worship service was well attended and we bid farewell to several “Winter Texans” as they headed back home. Brother Marcos preached a very inspirational sermon and the choir sang an enlightening song, “Sound the Battle Cry”, directed by Raymond Grant.

“Spring Break” is now over and our children are back in school. Just a little over two months and school will be out for the summer. This year is really moving fast. Easter is only a month away. Parents and grandparents, don’t forget this year’s annual Easter Egg Hunt which will be Saturday, April 23, at 2:00 p.m. at the church. Candice Stryker is again in charge of the hunt. There will be special areas for each age group to hunt eggs and some eggs will have a special prize. There will be refreshments for everyone. All children are invited to the hunt; just bring your Easter baskets.

Don’t forget our Annual Port O’Connor Easter Sunrise Service on the front beach at the covered pavilion. This is a must for everyone to attend. Easter Sunday, April 24, at approximately 7:00 a.m., you will hear special Easter music and sing with those in attendance. Brother Marcos Gohlke will deliver the Easter message. Don’t forget to bring your chair.

Vacation Bible School, “Big Apple Adventure”, for children Pre-K through sixth grade, will be held June 13-16 from 9:00 a.m. to noon each day. Mark your calendar for this great children’s experience.

See you in Church Sunday!