The POC Service Club has some fun plans for the coming weeks. We have a Family Movie Night at the POC Community Center Pavilion planned for Spring Break Week. A new release movie, snack and drinks and fun entertainment all for free will be enjoyed by children old and young alike. The movie will start around 7:30 p.m. depending on sunset; and a few fun games and treats are planned for the gathering crowd while we get ready. The Service Club is proud to partner with Chick Flicks of Victoria for this event. They will set up a big screen and quality projection for the best experience. They rent out the gear for private gatherings and children’s parties, and are graciously working with our organization at a reduced cost to benefit our community. Chairs will be allowed in back and blanket pallets will be encouraged up front, so grab your cushiest pillows and join us for this fun family event. Food and drinks will be offered, so please no coolers.

The annual spring Garage Sale is set for April 8th. We are still taking donations of quality used household goods and clothing for our sale. Your donation will add to our success, so if you require help moving donated items, please call Linda Orrick at 719-650-33433 or Diane Cooley at 903-467-6335 to make arrangements. Please do not leave donations at the County Service Barn any longer.

Graduating seniors who attended POC elementary and are now planning for college or trade school in their future are eligible to apply for the 2017 POC Service Club Scholarships. If you need to apply, see your school counselor or check with any club member for details. Don’t wait or it will be too late.

Spring Break will be busy and spring activities like Little League and 4H are gearing up. The Easter Sunrise Service at Kingfisher Beach will be April 16th, and POC Service Club members are pleased to be a part of the Chamber’s Crawfish Festival coming up April 29th. You won’t want to miss the fun and great food at this event. It only happens once a year, so mark your calendar. The monthly Dolphin Talk Newspaper can keep you informed and their Facebook pages hold lots of information in between publication dates. So, sign on and get involved.

The Port O’Connor Community Service Club requires no vetting and has no party affiliation, we have no dress code and bare feet are welcome if that is your thing. Dues are cheap, coffee is free and the friendship is warm and open. You would be welcome to join us. We meet twice monthly at the POC Community Center, 10:00 a.m. every 1st and 3rd Thursday. There is plenty of work and plenty of fun to go around.

So, until next time, be safe, live simply, love openly, forgive generously and remember this quote by the magnificent actress and philanthropist Ms. Audrey Hepburn who said, “Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older you will discover you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” The only supplies you need to bring are your two hands and we will help you find a place to use them.

The Texas Justice Court Training Center would like to recognize the 168 Justices of the Peace who completed the mandated 20-hours of judicial education required of all justices of the peace on January 29-February 1, 2017 in Corpus Christi, TX.

This Justice of the Peace seminar was a highly intensive two and a half-day training that addressed indigent defendants, mental health, ethics, and advanced civil and criminal topics. The 20-Hour seminar satisfies the mandatory education requirements and provides up-to-date information concerning legislation and procedures applicable to justice courts.

Attending the Corpus Christi Seminar from Calhoun County were, Nancy Pomykal, Justice of the Peace, Precinct. 5, Wesley Hunt, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4 and Tanya Dimak, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3.

Calhoun County, Precinct 1, Justice of the Peace, Hope Kurtz and Precinct 2, Justice of the Peace, Calvin Anderle attended their 20 hour seminar to complete their required continuing education the first week in December, in Galveston.

All Five Calhoun County Justice Court Judges have now completed their required hours as set forth by the State Legislature. Through the coming year they are offered ten hour workshops and webniars pertaining to their courts, allowing the judges to stay informed on the proceedings and laws affecting their courts.

Thank You!

The Fisherman’s Chapel Food Pantry sincerely appreciates the generous donation from the Ladies Bunco Group. Your funds will help us provide the fresh products to needy families in our community that will be put with the non-perishable items that we store at the Chapel. As you well know, our community has some very needy families, and we are honored to partner with you and other like-minded groups in providing food for families that would otherwise go hungry.

Thank you, and may God’s continued blessing be yours!

Erny McDonough

Thanks from SDVFD

The Seadrift Volunteer Fire Department would like to thank the following for their contributions and support in helping to make our Gun Raffle / Chili Supper a success:

The Shrimp Shack Restaurant
Bubbas Cajun Seafood Restaurant
La Terraza Restaurant
The Seadrift Shrimpfest Fishing Tournament
Coastline Trailers
Bayflats Lodge
Dicks Food Store
Bayside Convenience Store
POC Rod & Gun
Simplified Soaps
City of Seadrift
Calhoun County Pct. 4
Lori Weaver
Lisa Huddler Cloud
Mildred Stuckey

Everyone who was not a member who helped with the Chili supper and Everyone who purchased gun raffle and/or chili tickets.

Seadrift Volunteer Fire Department

“Let It Rain – Let It Pour”

Could anyone tell me where I can go to a school to learn “witchcraft”?

The place where I live is already covered in front and one side with water. The people in front of me have been living in a “frog pond” for a long time. The man got on a backhoe and dug a trench in the bottom of the County ditch to drain his frog pond yard. But! This old Mama Frog went down the road to tell him if all that water ran down here, I would have to turn into a frog myself. So Help! I need lessons on witchcraft to turn me into a frog so I can live happy as a frog.

Thanks a lot.

Future frog, Geraldine Wilson
Seadrift

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
P.O. Box 777
Port O’Connor, TX 77982
dolphin1@tisd.net

Okay, I know, the wind is still chilly most early mornings and when the sun goes down it cools off fast. Still, there is a breath of the new, the promise of spring in each passing day. Almost without our notice the sun is softening, air is thinner and days a little longer. Soon the gardens will smell of freshly turned soil where seeds are planted, lawn mowers will be humming, and birds will be nesting in anticipation of new hatchlings. The world seems new and bright again.

Still, it is February, and we are still caught in that space between winter and spring. We plan, and wait. We listen for the robin’s song and look for the first daffodil, but still need a sweater and the thicker socks. Rains will awaken things, healing of the frozen foliage will begin to bud, and newly minted leaves will green out. Gardeners will garden, fishermen will fish, walkers and joggers will move with renewed purpose. Hot tea will soon be iced and those worn-out jeans will be cut off for summer comfort. It is excitingly fresh.

March is coming fast. And, no matter what the groundhog or the almanac says, spring arrives Monday, March 20th, 2017 at 5:29 AM. It is the vernal equinox, the time that the sun crosses the Earth’s equator from south to north and one of only two times in the year when day and night are equal in length. (The vernal equinox doesn’t fall on the same day every year because the length of the calendar year doesn’t quite correspond with that of the solar year; the first day of spring varies from March 19 to March 21.) You barely dry the happy tears from valentine wishes and it is time to send shamrocks and dye Easter eggs. Easter, which falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the equinox, is April 16th this year, and in most states, that date also marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, when we know the sun is here to stay.

So, enjoy your hot tea, savory soups and warm sweater for a minute. In our little community, the warm up is coming fast. With it comes more weekenders, more boats and beach goers, fishing tournaments and vacationers, increased traffic, lines at Speedy Stop and the marinas and more people in the space we call home. Neighbors we haven’t seen in a season will return with a smile, and the busy bustle will bring new sights and smiles to our longer days and mellow nights. So, feed the birds, plant the garden, water the grass and dust off the fishing equipment because 2017 Phase II is just another great time to enjoy life in a different way in our little community at the end of the road.

Spring is springing!