Texas is a state proud of its independence and its history, proud of the way it holds onto traditions and also, proud of its sports and the sportsmen that play them.

This includes hunting, a pastime that although I fired many a gun in my youth when my father was friends with eighth district Chicago Police Officers, I never have partaken in.

However, I feel I agree with the Native Americans that if you eat and use the animal in the proper manner, there is nothing wrong with hunting, unless you are talking about hunting an endangered species of course.

It is the connection to man’s distant past, the age when if you were hungry you had to go out into the world to get it, and not just going to a job to punch a time clock and stop off at HEB to buy a frozen pizza and some potato chips, but rather you had to put your body and your mind on the ‘front-line’ and go and get dinner like our ancestors did.

In today’s political climate, and in the wake of too many mass shootings, especially at schools, where our most precious resources are really held, there has been much talk about gun control and how to stop these horrible tragedies from occurring.

I am going to focus on the former, because I have as said had experience firing guns of all types and calibers as a child and still keep one Taurus Five shot .38 revolver for home and self defense. On the latter, stopping these outbreaks of violence, would not only take tremendous thought before I would feel competent as a writer to give an opinion but also it would probably take more words then I can use here.

What I wanted to state was that I am a bit of a misplaced soul in Texas, being a liberal and usually backing the Democratic or Independent tickets in most elections but I also think for myself and as a liberal some of the talk I have heard through comments on news articles online and on social media make me shake my head as much as some conservative policies sometimes do.

Mainly the over the top suggestion of abolishing the second amendment all together, which, while I do not think it will happen, is absolutely nonsense because it was put in place to not only give the American citizen the right to protect himself and his family and provide his own food from the wild, but also is in place because the forefathers knew when you take away the common man’s guns, the ‘kings’ have all the weapons in the kingdom and can now use them to control you.

If it sounds farfetched, that last bit, it might be, but it was part of the reason for being there in the first place and I would rather be safe than sorry, especially the way the modern world is turning today, with all of the random violence.

All in all, my belief is, even as a liberal. that the great document that started this country is once again being tested and my hope is that although some changes could be made to the process it takes to obtain legal firearm ownership, that document once again prevails against those that would take her power.

Is Our Water Safe?

Is our water safe to drink, who knows it seems like some people were not notified to boil your water since el president did away with Code Red and put in place his own version of how to notify the people. There is a lot wrong with our water system.

Legal fees have gone way up. The old legal fees before this board ran about $3,800.00 to $4.500.00 a month. The new legal fees run around $7,800.00 and up.
Meeting notices are not being posted correctly according to the open meetings act. USWUG has left at the end of January. They could not continue to work in a hostile environment. Here is part of the reason they left from their termination letter.

1. POCID has refused to fund the M&R (maintenance and repair) fund as required.

2. POCID has engaged and continues to engage in conduct that violates the agreement.

3. Under Texas law the agreement contains an implied covenant by each party that it will not hinder prevent or interfere with the other party’s performance of its contracted duties.

POCID has breached such covenants repeatedly and in numerous respects. By way of example:

The agreement includes a carefully crafted reporting framework designed to avoid costly inefficiency, to ensure that important information is properly channeled to everyone who needs it, and to enable POCID to operate consistently with open government and other legal requirements.

By contrast, certain POCID officials continue to insist that district information be discussed only with select board members, and often in response to rambling, sometimes incoherent and abusive late night e-mails directed to USWUG personnel other than those responsible for this agreement.

This problem was called to POCID attention more than a year ago, yet the situation has only gotten worse.

While the agreement places upon USWUG full responsibilities for its staffing and personnel decisions it also vests USWUG with full discretion concerning those decisions. Nevertheless certain POCID officials have repeatedly inserted themselves into matters involving USW employees. By way of example: Director Brown demanded that USW terminate employee Kim Stafford, that she be fired and threatened that POCID would terminate the agreement if she was not. As you may know Mrs. Stafford has threatened to take legal action against USW as a result of Director Brown’s conduct. Director Brown has also interfered with USW hiring of District Manager and while repeatedly insisting that he was not trying to tell USW how to do their job.

Following Hurricane Harvey Director Raybon inserted himself into USW inspection of the vacuum pits and attempted to take charge of directing USW personnel conducting these inspections.

There is so much more wrong with our water system and it is getting worse. Three directors have resigned because no one can work with director Brown and his two cohorts. They have no idea what it takes to run a water and sewer district. They are the ones that should have resigned.

After USW left I understand that there were not enough licensed personnel to operate the system according to TECQ rules. IS OUR WATER SAFE????

Teddy Hawes

To All POC,

Enclosed is a letter I submitted to the Port O’Connor Improvement District. A lot has happened leading up to this letter. This letter is for all of you that have expressed your concerns to me. People have said the POCID is in the worst position that it has ever been in. You might be right. I have no hidden agendas, I wanted to be straight forward. The POCID lost its only operator, leaving us in a serious violation. I wanted to help by using any licenses I had, but I had concerns of its legality. Unfortunately TCEQ informed me it is NOT legal for me to be on the board AND act as an operator. The majority of the board tried to force this on me in a meeting where the topic was not allowed any discussion. I have many concerns about actions that have been taken by certain board members. I definitely do NOT like the drama! It doesn’t matter if you want to see POC grow or if you want it to stay small. My actions are for you. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. This isn’t a complicated fix. Companies WANT to work for us and with us, just not for or with certain board members. Please know I do this for you and your district.

March 2, 2018
To whom it may concern:

I want to address the Board’s decision made yesterday to use my license and appoint me as the operator of the District’s water system. First of all I DID NOT and DO NOT give POCID permission to use MY license in any shape or form. At yesterday’s meeting, I was not allowed discussion or any input on Agenda item B1 of the Emergency Meeting March 1st 2018, “Leon’s meeting”, concerning this issue. I had questions for legal counsel. I got notice of the meeting at 1307 of the emergency meeting. At 1328 I tried to contact legal counsel with no success. This would have been in the best interest of the Board as well. I believe that there are issues with the Board’s actions under TAC 30 Rule 293.32A7. My understanding is that it is illegal for a board member to be an operator per Texas Administrative Code TAC 30 293.32A7. I could not voice this concern since I was told that it was “not open for discussion” during the meeting. I am sending a copy of this e-mail to Blas Rizzo with TCEQ to give TCEQ notice that I DO NOT and DID NOT give POCID permission to use MY license to operate its water system. I have concerns regarding the District’s inability to keep operators and keep out of violations because of the actions of certain Board members. These members have run off every operator the District has had in recent past. Many of the decisions made by these Board members have put the District in violation. These members have shown in the last year that they are incapable of properly overseeing the District. The actions that were taken during Hurricane Harvey were another indication of their inability to run the District properly. The District is behind in services, taking money from customers without providing service because of the dismissal of US Water. It was recently brought to my attention that the District may be collecting taxes to repay a bond that was never issued. It was also recently brought to my attention that past meeting agendas may not have been posted correctly. I demand the IMMEDIATE resignation of Leon Brown and Marshall Bradford. If Leon and Marshall resign, there is a good probability that the District’s violations caused by these Board members could be resolved today. I am only asking this for the good of the community.

Thank you,

Nathan O’Neill

Trash!

The trash all over town and in the ditches etc is getting out of hand. Take a drive around town and look. If you own a business and your ditch is full of trash, how can you drive by it every day and not pick it up! How bout the people who just mow around or over the trash?!! Really??!! Lot of out of town people put the cans out on Sunday only to have the wind or whatever dump the can over and then the trash gets blown all over the ditches etc. They come back days or weeks later and pick the can up but leave trash all over the roads and ditches! And its not just the out of towners.. Full bags of trash along the highway??!! How bout along Coloma Creek bridge where everyone fishes? Totally trashed… well done morons! Pick your trash up and keep POC a nice clean town

Disgusted POC Resident

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 (with exceptions 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.
Letters to the Dolphin: Dolphin Talk P.O. Box 777 Port O’Connor, TX 77982 dolphin1@tisd.net

Years ago, as a young teenager, I had the exciting privilege of camping out with my Sunday School class for a couple days on the Boguehoma River, in Mississippi. Our class set up camp on a rather picturesque sandbar where the river ran deep and slow. The dark water that flowed lazily by, made for a mysterious foreboding to an otherwise calm scene.

The night was filled with fishing with our rods and reels from the bank of the river. We also threw out some trot-lines farther upriver, in hopes of snagging a monstrous catfish. Boy! Were we having fun?!! What a thrill it was to lay out under the stars all night while discussing endless questions with some of the adults who came along to prevent any pandemonium. Not only that, but we filled our gullets with all sorts of sweets and “junk food.” We also drank assorted soft drinks and fruit-flavored drinks like they were going out of style. I thought I was in “hog-heaven.” Perhaps that explains some of the piggish ways I exhibited.

The next morning I awakened bright and early, and decided to go for a swim in the river. Looking back, that decision wasn’t among the smartest ideas I’ve ever conjured up. For one thing, I hadn’t had a “real” meal to speak of, and what I did eat was loaded with sugar. Added to the fact that I’d stayed awake until almost dawn, and you have a disaster waiting to happen. You see, though I didn’t know it at the time, I had low blood-sugar—hypoglycemia, the doctors call it. I’d been in the water only minutes when my body began to feel like lead. The harder I tried to swim back to the bank, the more I kept being sucked under. With that I started frantically yelling, “Help!”, “Help!”, “Help!” As I was going down for the third time, I heard my pastor yell from the riverbank, “Get him Gerald!”

Gerald was a first year college student, who I’d looked up to as a thirteen-year-old kid. For a long time I’d looked up to Gerald Gunn. He was strong, smart, personable, good-natured, and confident. He was all the things I figured I wasn’t. About the time I’d resigned in my mind that I was about to see God, I felt a strong arm entwine itself around my chest. You guessed it; it was Gerald Gunn. He quickly pushed me above the river’s surface and said, “I’ve got you; it’s okay; it’s all right.” At that moment, I was as limp as a dishrag. I couldn’t respond at all. But I was certainly happy to be alive. I was amazed that my friend had so willingly endangered his own life to save mine. Later, I shared my gratitude with Gerald, and told him how grateful I was that he was there to save my life.

The story I’ve just shared with you is true. However, I find in this story a resemblance to another true story that has become meaningful not only to me, but also to all who have turned to Jesus Christ in faith and trusted Him for spiritual rescue. Allow me to shed some light on the point I wish to make with the following:

Dwight L. Moody used to tell of a man who went out to seek his fortune and then sent for his wife and son. The wife and son got on a ship and sailed toward California. On the way, the ship caught on fire. There were not enough lifeboats and people were fighting to get into the ones that existed. The woman begged for a place on one of the boats and a man agreed to let her in the boat. Instead, she tossed her son into the boat at the last moment and remained on the ship to die.

As the lifeboat drifted away, people heard her shouting to her son, “Tell your daddy I died in your place; tell your daddy I died in your place!”

That is what Jesus did for you and for me. He died in our place. The Cross shouts the message, “Jesus died in your place.” 1

Dear friend, do you know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? He won’t barge His way into your life. You will have to be willing to turn from your sin and invite Jesus into your heart. At that very moment He will take up residence in your heart and life. Won’t you accept Christ while there is still time? God’s Word says, “…Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2b). The Bible also says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). Give your heart to Jesus. It’s time.

1 J. Mike Minnix, Editor, www.pastorlife.com

Port O’ Connor Improvement District has changed billing systems so please keep an eye out for your bill. If you go to https://www.eonlinebill.com/bapp/pocid/indexl and create an account you can view your bill, pay your bill, view payment history, get set up with automatic bank draft, and paperless billing. If you have any billing questions or concerns, you may contact the office.

The Port O’ Connor Improvement District and LaSalle WCID No.1A customers will need to make sure to sign up for alerts on the District website at pocid.org to stay updated. It only takes a few minutes and then you will receive alerts in regard to water, sewer, storm events, outages, etc. Please sign up.. all it takes is an email address.

Call our office at 361-983-2652 for any questions.

The Next time for the Roll Off Container will be April 7th, 2018.

All residents of Port O Connor on the Air Vac System please take time to look around your yard for possible infiltration or inflow into the sewer system. Such as clean out caps off, your candy cane or vent is loose allowing rain water to enter into the system. Finding these problems will help in reducing unwanted water into our sewer system.

My neighbors Parker and Patty are always telling me how proud they are to be a part of Port O’Connor, Texas. They say it is a great community and so friendly. They were recently planning an Easter Egg hunt for the church kiddos and got to telling stories about Easter celebrations when their kids were growing up. When the 4th child was just under two years old, her siblings dressed her up like a little lacy yellow chicken for Easter. They then proceeded to feed her all the chocolate candy eggs she could stuff in her little funny face while at a party. Her older brother Paul was playing with her and swinging her around and around when suddenly she spit up huge amounts of Easter Chocolate eggs all over her yellow chicky outfit and her brother’s Easter Egg blue dress shirt. The siblings were amazed that so much chocolate could come out of such a little girl. It was everywhere, dark and sticky chocolate. Mom and the sisters tried so hard to clean up the toddler and her brother but it was no use. They both looked like muddy messy Easter chicks now. They reluctantly returned to the party and as kids do eventually forgot about how they look and had fun anyway. Neither them nor any of the family ever looked at Easter chocolate eggs and little yellow chicks in quite the same way. Hope all your Easter chicks are bright and your eggs are sweet and clean. Happy Spring!