Citizens of the Week at Port O’Connor School

Week ending November 16: PreK- Cora Haschke, K- Joseph Null, 1st- Camren Hime, 2nd- Madden Guevara, 3rd- Remington Eure, 4th- Aubrey Ragusin, 5th- Cole Spicak

Week ending November 30: PreK-Brantley Ruddick; K- Grant Gregory; 1st- Bryce Sandy; 2nd- Emma Sanchez; 3rd- Christian Gutierrez; 4th- Landon Jones; 5th- Emily Ferrell

Week ending December 7: PreK- Kevin Gutierrez; K- Jameson Washburn; 1st- Kolt Leiker; 2nd- Riley Pagel; 3rd- Vanessa Martinez; 4th- Brayson Thumann; 5th- Kamyla Guzman

Week ending December 14: PreK- Luna Lopez; K- Charlie O’Shields; 1st- Isaiah Ochoa; 2nd- Skyler Pessall; 3rd- Waylon Thomas; 4th- Alexis Soechting; 5th- Byron Ferrell

Seadrift School’s Pirates of the Week

Week ending November 16: PreK- Maisyn Hernandez; K- Davian Martinez & Izaiah Velazquez, 1st- Memphis Speer & Graysen Bernal; 2nd- Aiden Robbins, 3rd- Johnathan Owen & Evelyn Scroggins, 4th- Keegan Goode & Cash Shirhall, 5th- Madison Garcia & Jeremiah Mayorga Junior High: Henderson- Natalia Zarate, Cady- Jaedyn Mungia, Sternadel- Dwight Beaver, Coach Anderson- Olivia Krause, Coach Sternadel- Sydney Rasmussen, Franck- Draven Maldonado, Coach Lillge- Domyniec Volner, Hahn- Tristan Speer

Week ending November 30: PreK- Huntley Galloway; K- Claire Petrisky & Zacariah Willis; 1st- Ryan Gohlke; 2nd- Phoenix Gordillo; 3rd- Jordan Willis & Kaden Compagnari; 4th- Alaina Morgan & Hunter McGill; 5th- Cody Castillo & Madilyn Wehel Junior High: Henderson- Natalia Zarate; Cady- Chelby Keel; Sternadel- McKenna Boedecker; Coach Anderson- Nevaeh Rangel; Coach Sternadel- BreAnn Kelley; Franck- Dwight Beaver; Coach Lillge- Marisol Vallejo; Hahn- Israel Ramos

Week ending December 7: PreK-  Kyleigh Ladner; K- Makenzie Whiddon & Brooklyn Gregory; 1st- Alie Villarreal & Jacob Boots; 2nd- Jaidyn Banda; 3rd- Luis Zarate & Brennan Gregory; 5th- James Ledesma & Kevin Turner Junior High: Henderson- Mia Salazar; Cady- Allison Fowler; Sternadel- Savana Arfele; Coach Anderson- Olivia Krause; Coach Sternadel- Savana Arfele; Franck- Brilee Crittenden; Coach Lillge- Dean Gordillo; Hahn- Tyler Henson

Week ending December 14: PreK- Paisley Pendergrass; K- Kylar Enax & Janesa Banda; 1st- Ely Ladner & Paige Davenport; 2nd- Isaiah Flint; 3rd- Ava Salazar & Riley Saylors; 4th- Gunner Martinez; 5th- Cadynce Gonzalez & Jada Dean Junior High: Henderson- Mileidy Anzaldua; Cady- Barbara Shannon; Sternadel- Jonathan Nguyen; Coach Anderson- Francis Hoang; Coach Sternadel- Gavin Close; Franck- Trevon Ragusin; Coach Lillge- Kalani Reyes

Dec. 20 & 21    Judging for Lighted POC houses
Fri., Dec. 21    Sweet Treat Contest Until 3:00 pm First National Bank, Port O’Connor
Sat., Dec. 22    Children’s Christmas Party 10:00 am Port O’Connor Library
Tues., Dec. 25    Merry Christmas!
Fri., Dec. 28    Retirement Party for Kenny Finster 6-8 pm Port O’Connor Community Center
New Year’s Eve – Bash on the Bay in Port Lavaca Call 361-552-2959; portlavacachamber.org
Thurs., Jan. 3    Port O’Connor Service Club  10:00 am  Port O’Connor Community Center
Tues., Jan. 8    Seadrift City Council  7:00 pm Seadrift City Hall
Tues., Jan. 8    Bunco  7:00 pm Port O’Connor Community Center
Mon., Jan. 14    Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce  6:00 pm  Port O’Connor Community Center
Sat., Jan. 19    Ribbon Cutting for Port O’Connor Library  10:00 am    506 West Main St.
Fri., Jan. 25    Tribute to Merle Haggard  7:00 pm  Bauer Community Center 361-552-1234

After a 14-month absence, the beautiful dolphin sculpture is back in its rightful place in front of the Community Center, welcoming all to Port O’Connor.

Hurricane Harvey had damaged the bronze sculpture, knocking off two fins and making a couple of gouges. Donnie Haynes of Action Welding offered to weld them up, but welding bronze is not your every day job, so he first had to research what type of rods to use and purchase them.
Cleaning the statue when welding was complete was another step that had to be researched. Chemical cleaners were not successful, so it was decided to sandblast. Over time, and many blasting mediums later, one was finally found that would etch the bronze without tearing it up.

Donnie taught Marilyn Giessel how to sandblast; completing that job, she then painted it. More research was required to choose the right type of fasteners to anchor the sculpture. Gary Cunningham and Nick Wright of The Tidelands helped with that job, and the dolphins were finally remounted.

“So in a nut shell, a lot of the delays were due to weather, timing, volunteers schedules, and mostly what I call ‘The Learning Curve’”, Marilyn said. “None of us had any experience with bronze sculptures, so we spent a lot of time researching metallurgy, chemical cleaners, sandblasting mediums, and coatings to finally get to what you now see.”

Marilyn has cleaned up the mount and limestone benches and will re-coat the green schist rock around the sculpture, as well as rebuild the border with stone. It will take some time but the main attraction is finally back up.

“A big thank you to those mentioned in this article who helped me, as well all of you that volunteered to help, and also those that missed the dolphins and asked about them,” said Marilyn.

For those who aren’t familiar with the dolphins, they were donated in 2012 to the Port O’Connor Community Center by the families of three young men who lost their lives in an automobile accident on January 6, 2001. The plaque reads “IN MEMORY OF JESSE, NICK and DUSTY AND OTHERS LOST TOO SOON. SPIRITS FREE FOR ETERNITY! Jesse Giessel~ Mar. 8, 1984 ~ Jan. 6, 2001; Nickolas Colby Pack, Sept. 2, 1984 ~Jan. 6, 2001 and Dustin DeLynn May, July 30, 1983 ~ Jan. 6, 2001.

Magnolia Beach Volunteer Fire Department

On November 6th, Magnolia Beach Volunteer Fire Department presented their annual dinner to the community. John Mayne, MBVFD Fire Chief stated, “The purpose of the Open House Dinner is a Thank You to the community for their support over the year.”

According to Tom Andrews, President of MBVFD, the VFD has been presenting this event to the community since 1992. Kimberly Hudson, Secretary for MBVFD, has been organizing and putting it together for the past eight years. She has had the Memorial Medical Lab director and staff to participate in the event, for our residents who are unable to get checked regularly. She has worked with her volunteers at cooking15 turkeys,100 lbs of Ham and all the turkey dinner trimmings. Also there were 12 days of Christmas free door prizes! This year, more than 300 attended, including our County Commissioner, David Hall, and members of the Port Lavaca Fire Dept as well as the Port Alto/Olivia Fire Chief”.

Twenty-one Silent Auction items raised money to help defer costs of construction of a new MBVFD Resource Center. The old one was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.

“The Resource Center will enable our certified training staff to hold meetings in air conditioning, for Certified CPR and Basic First Aid Certificates to better serve the citizens of Calhoun County,” Tom Andrews said.

Thanks to Debbie Riley for reporting on this event.

Public Viewing Areas for Boat Parade
Froggie’s Bait Stand and Public Ramp South end of Byers St.
Fishing Center South end of 13th St.
Clark’s Inn & Boat House Bait South end of 7th & 8th Streets
Parade Starts Approximately 6:45 p.m.

27th Annual POC Lighted Boat Parade

Thanksgiving will be here soon, and what better way to kick off the Christmas season than with our 2018 Lighted Boat Parade. This event, sponsored by the Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce, will be held on Saturday, December 1, 2018, scheduled to start at dusk, approximately 6:30 p.m. in the ICW from Larry’s Harbor to just past Clark’s Inn and is open to all boats of all sizes that meet the minimum U.S. Coast Guard Safety Requirements. There is no entry fee. Please, give us a call, decorate your boat and join us!!

The Captains Safety Meeting will be held at the Inn at Clark’s at 5:30 p.m. on December 2nd, along with late registration and assignment of parade positions. The U.S. Coast Guard will have a member at the safety meeting in case of any questions or concerns.
Locals and tourists alike look forward to this annual event, and it is hoped that many boat owners will participate. Plaques will be awarded in several categories – Best Overall * Most Spirited * Most Unique * Best Commercial * Best Large Pleasure * Best Medium Pleasure * Best Small Pleasure. This year, as in the past several years, we are happy to announce that the U.S. Coast Guard along with most of the boats and owners who participate in the Toy Run are planning on being a part of this great tradition. It looks like this year is no exception – This is going to be a fantastic lighted boat parade.

If you would like to participate, or for more information, visit the Chamber website, www.portoconnorchamber.com and download the registration form or contact the Boat Parade Chairman, Bill Tigrett at 361-983-2671.

So, get out your calendar and mark this event as a MUST DO, or at least a MUST SEE!!! And join in the fun!