An Trong Tran

July 25, 1930 – April 26, 2021

You answered Freedom’s call
It was really for us all

Father – Husband – Soldier
P.O.W. – Church Member

Saturday, April 10, 2021 Matthew Kincaid Enax, was abruptly taken from his life and family far too soon. Caid was born April 20, 1992 in Houston, Texas to Matthew Enax and (Garver) Gaines.
He moved to Calhoun County at the age of 9, and soon met a little girl on the swing set at school that he swore he could marry. He was incredibly intelligent and usually too smart for his own good. breaking boundaries and making lasting relationships. Miscreant that he was, he would give the clothes off his back to anyone in need. He never hesitated to stop for someone who needed help on his side of the road. On June 26, 2012 Caid married Andrea Patin, the same little girl from the playground, and started their own family. Overcoming many difficulties, he became the husband and father he always wanted to be. He was a giant goofball who always taught his children to have fun, even if there was a chance of getting hurt. He was a dedicated employee of Petroleum Service Corporation at Dow Seadrift Operations, having finally found a career that he loved and could see himself retiring from.
Caid will be desperately missed by wife Andrea, son Matthew Kaylar, daughter Antimony Grace, and his rescue dog Belle, his father Matt, mother Peggy and step father Dale Gaines, loving sister Rachel Frye, brother-in-law Zachary, and niece River Lanell, and his step brother Christopher Gaines and his girlfriend Shawna Cottrell, maternal Grandparents Ronald and Susan Garver, Motehr-in-law Tammy McClelland, and Father-in-law Ryan Patin, Brother by Choice Lucas Castillo, and his longest and dearest friends Kayla Boyd Robertson and Matti Wakefield, along with numerous Aunts, Uncles, cousins and friends. Caid was preceded by his paternal Grandparents, his Memaw, Grace Lewell (Cox) and Alfred Henry Enax, and his other Brother by Choice Matthew Overton.

Property Taxes

I assume EVERYONE received their 2021 property tax statement from our appraisal board friends. A few observances:

IS there no limit as to how far the appraisal bill will go up in the following years? I am getting pretty tired of having my county ‘RENT’ go up every year by the maximum amount allowed by law. Thank God I homesteaded my property or the sky would have been the limit I’m sure! I ‘ONLY’ got hit with 10% increase this year! I wish MY income would go up by that same amount every year and get 10% interest at the bank!

2020 was a bad year…whether the problems were made up or not, the economy shut down due to Covid. Undeniably, the private sector got hit the worst. Businesses closed down, or were severely curtailed. Employees had hours cut substantially, if they were lucky, or were laid off. Jobs were hard to come by as the FEAR of Covid was unleashed upon our country by Our Government, the Mainstream Media and those who stood to make a profit. Again, the population followed like sheep and never questioned their fate…but that’s another story. What happened to the annual flu season? Didn’t hear anything about that. The point is, the private sector paid the price and is continuing to. The public sector didn’t miss a paycheck! Didn’t matter if there was no school open, no public offices open, no libraries or other city and county services available. Those people STILL drew a paycheck! AND AT FULL PAY! I thought EVERYONE was supposed to have skin in this game! NOPE! Most worked from home if they worked at all! So….’WE’, the people who were hit the hardest economically with Covid, are being hit the hardest economically with property tax bills to pay for those who didn’t lose their jobs or had their businesses shut down. HMMMMMM…..fair???????

Maybe salaries should have been reduced along with unnecessary services and spending programs! In times of crisis: REDUCE COSTS! CUT TAXES!!!!

What about persons on fixed income? Seniors and disabled people? Think it’s going to be easy for them to come up with the extra funds to pay for this folly? Don’t worry folks….if you can’t pay it, they will just do a tax foreclosure and get you out of your home and put someone else in who can pay them. They Just Don’t Care! Don’t worry…You can always go live with relatives!  Who knows….there might even be a nice illegal alien moving into your home for whom the government pays all the expenses and health insurance for!

I suggest the Dolphin or some other publication publish the entire payroll of our local bureaucracies and salaries of EVERY employee on public payroll. See for yourselves what exorbitant wages are being paid at your expense. They are public employees so this information should be available to the public. Then, after reviewing these Covid exempt expenditures, you may find some solace in knowing that the hardships bestowed upon you by the appraisal board actually benefited someone else’s life….but not yours!  Something to think about when you lose your home.

In fairness to the Appraisal Board, I believe they are only doing what they are being told to do. This problem goes MUCH higher than that one county office. It’s always the lowest paid public employees who have to deal with the complaints of irate taxpayers. Rarely, if at all, do the highest paid public employees get their pay cut. This is observable when the State or Federal governments run out of funding. Then you see services shut down and employees sent home and the public, who pays for these services and needs something, gets a phone recording telling us the office is closed. Yet…the highest paid public servants still collect full pay.  Vote out the county commissioners and state officials who allow this to go on. Property Tax reform’s time has come! I would MUCH rather have a sales tax increase or a State income tax in exchange for the ability of some taxing entity’s power to raise taxes indiscriminately and foreclose on my property.

Sometime, long ago, the Texas lottery was sold to us as being a way to fund education in this state. What ever happened to that??????

Jim Farris
Seadrift

4/12/2021

Internal division has once again become a serious and consequential concern. America, and indeed the world, are ever changing entities. This is normal in a fast-paced world. What our attention and attitude become defines each of us. Therefore, it is important for each of us to not only understand, but to also realize, ideas that counter ours might have some merit.

If we want to survive as a nation, common ground must be had. A dictating authority by Democrats or Republicans must not snuff out one another. Snuffing out the voice of opposition is dangerous to a democracy.

The term “Big Brother” was a term used in the 1980’s that meant a central government will control and take care of its people’s needs. It also would spread the wealth to all, eliminating different social statuses.

Another term used 50 years ago was the word “mudslinging”. This terminology was used to discredit, demonize, or belittle opposing political views, either political parties or individuals.

History will tell our tale and fate of these times. Unity and inclusion would certainly be a more positive approach for a more desirable outcome.

Donald Cook
Port Lavaca

Thank You, Donors

The Port O’ Connor Community Service Club would like to thank the following Donors for their generous contributions to our Building Project!! The Club greatly appreciates your donations and your support!!!

A Cut Above Lawn And Pool Service
American Inn And Suites
Barbara Robbins
Barnes Appraisal- Mark and Sarah Barnes
Bourg Electric
Bobbie Sue Karm
Chuck and Kathy Hoskins
Design Works- Jill Bryant
Earl C. Sams Foundation Inc.
Emma Jean Dumas
Green and McElreath, CPAs
Jitan Patel
Ken and Theresa Shirk
Krenek Fence Company
Leo Miller
Louise E. and W.H. Bauer Charitable Endowment Trust
Marge Braudaway
Nan Burnett
POC Shrimpers Association
POC Washateria LLC
Rusty’s Charters
Ruth Plumb
Tigrett Real Estate
Urban Surveying Inc
Cliff Blank

The Service Club would also like to thank all who donated items and all who shopped and donated money to our Garage Sales!!! Your generous support is always appreciated!!

POC Service Club

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 (exception 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.

Just recently, I have been reminded of my mother. I am in the process of moving my office after 25 years, and found the notes from my mother’s funeral that I helped with 16 years ago. Then I got a call from the Gonzales Sheriff’s office informing me that I had better keep my mother away from a renter or she will be charged with harassment! After I explained the “real story”, I quickly received an apology from the officer!

I know some of you did not have the greatest mother of all times, but I did! If I were looking for someone to fill the shoes of Wonder Mother, I could easily compare them with my mother! In fact, there is the portrait of the Wonder Mother in the Bible – Proverbs 32. All of us would be blessed to read it.

But, who can compare with this Wonder Mother of Scripture? She gets up before dawn and stays busy until the early hours of the morning. “She has the looks of a movie star, the domestic abilities of a master chef, the stamina of a world-class athlete, the intellect of a professor with a PhD, the tenacity of a political operative, the wisdom of a godly missionary, the sensitivity of Mother Theresa, the business sense of a Fortune 500 executive, an etiquette expert, and the spirituality of the Virgin Mary!” Who could find such a woman? Well, I have to say, maybe boastfully, I did and I married her! Pastor Joane fits this picture!

So, what about all the mothers who are asking, “I can’t measure up to the Proverbs 31 mother – is there any hope for me? Can God use me with all my flaws, with all my sins? I even have times when I lack faith! I have a past; I have many scars; I am not perfect! Will God bless me and use me for greatness?

While I was considering the average mother – is there truly any mother who is average? I thought of another passage of Scripture in Matthew 1, verses 1 thru 6. Few people read this chapter because it is boring! “The historical record of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham…Abraham fathered Isaac…Isaac fathered Judah…Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar…Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth; Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered King David, who fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba).” BUT, in these few verses of Scripture, we find four (4) unique mothers listed that would not have made it on the Proverbs 31 Wonder Mother list: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.

The story of Tamar is one that has surely found its way to be retold in many forms – probably in Soap Operas! It can be found in Genesis 38. Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah. She was married to Judah’s first son – Er. He died without having a child, so the custom was followed that Judah’s second son – Onan- was to marry Tamar so they could have children that would be credited to Er. But, Onan also died without fathering a child. Judah was afraid that Tamar was a “black widow”, so he refused to give his third son in marriage to her. So without a child, after Judah’s wife dies. Tamar does the unthinkable. She dressed like a prostitute and propositions her father-in-law, who does not recognize her. He takes her up on her offer, and she bears him a son. One word describes Tamar’s story – desperate! Often desperation causes us to make bad decisions. Tamar made one even though she thought herself justified in doing so.

Where Tamar was a one-time prostitute, Rahab was a full-time prostitute. Her story was written in Joshua 2. Rahab’s brothel was on the wall of Jericho. She sheltered the Israeli spies, who had come to scout out the land of Canaan before claiming it for their homeland. It was because of her courage and fear of the Jewish God that allowed the spies to safely get back home. God spared her life and the lives of her family, and later she gave birth to Boaz, who would marry Ruth. Rahab represents that kind of person who is trying to dodge their past. Even after reformation and true repentance, someone or something is always there to remind us of our past!

Ruth’s story is one of tragedy – famine led to the death of all the men of her immediate family – her father-in-law, her brother-in-law, and her husband. These tragedies allow us to see her devotion to her mother-in-law for which she is remembered. She gladly returns to Israel, leaving her homeland, because of her love and faithfulness to her mother-in-law. Don’t miss something here – Ruth is not an Israelite; she is a Moabite. Worse than being from the “wrong side of the tracks”, she was from the wrong lineage of people. The Moabite were a nation filled with incest, notoriously pagan, and very ungodly people. Like the Moabites, some people just can never shake their roots.

All of us know the story of Bathsheba. While her husband was fighting a war, she had an affair with King David. The affair resulted in the death of her husband and the death of her infant son. But, before throwing too many stones at the “other woman”, remember it takes “two to tango”! King David was just as guilty of adultery as she, but in spite of their failures, God blessed them with King Solomon.

There are three spiritual truths that I wish to convey from these Scriptural stories. 1. Stop comparing yourself to others!  When we compare ourselves with those we consider better than, the result will pride. when we compare ourselves with those whom we consider to be less than, the results will be covetousness and envy – both are very sinful!

2. Stop allowing the past to control the future! Our past – and we all have one – must never paralyze us! We can quickly get past it by simply recognizing our error and saying, “I’m sorry!” We all have hurts, habits, and hang-ups, therefore, we must never allow satan to use these things against us. We have proof of God’s grace and great examples in Scripture. The one Who died to provide us the grace was born into this world by a long line who had already experienced His grace!
3. Start being the person you were created to be! God’s grace never provides a license to continue in our sins. When confronted with Truth, Rahab announced your God is God in Heaven above and on earth below. With that announcement, Rahab began her journey of faith.
So, Mothers, what if you are not quite the Proverbs 31 Wonder Mother? Be encouraged! God is going to bless you and use you! AND, maybe this message is not just for Moms!

April was a special month for Seadrift residents! Driving down city streets will be a new Solid Waste Truck! Purchased by the City of Seadrift, it is a 2020 Isuzu NRR with an eight cubic yard PAK-MOR trash body. How awesome is this! -Tanya DeForest