It’s that time again, time to spend a beautiful Texas winter day on the bay collecting abandoned crab traps. The crabbing closure will be February 17th – 26th with the main event day on Saturday, February 18th from 8 Am to 12 PM, weather permitting. Only the POC TPWD docks will be facilitated by TPWD staff, however, Charlies and the Austwell boat ramp will also have the big blue dumpsters for trap disposal. We will have gloves, tarps, hooks, and bottled water available at the TPWD-POC facility Friday, February 17th. If anyone has any big plans for Charlies or the Austwell boat ramp (food, music, dance, tractor pull, etc) you can just Reply All to this email and let everyone know. And this year Allan Berger will be coordinating a larger effort out of Port O’Connor, so he will be looking for volunteers.

Last year there were approximately 258 traps removed from the San Antonio Bay system and 912 coast wide. To date we have removed 10,174 abandoned traps from the San Antonio system, and 32,676 coastwide since the program began in 2002. San Antonio Bay system has accounted for 32% of the traps removed coastwide and Galveston Bay system 40%.

Norman Boyd, San Antonio Bay Ecosystem Leader
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Coastal Fisheries Division

Up before dawn to divide and conquer, regional birders from Rockport, Victoria, Houston and Austin spread out across the 15-mile diameter circle of the first annual Powderhorn Christmas Bird Count. Listening for owls and rails before day break, then walking through marshes, running live oak mots and coastal prairie throughout the long day, these sixteen experienced birds searched for any and all birds they could find. Two boats set out in search of birds; one team scouting on Matagorda Island. By the end of the day 166 species had been counted totaling over 63 thousand birds! No surprise to area hunting guides, there were over 28,000 redhead ducks as well as nine other duck species and three types of geese. No huge surprises found but a few gems included a family of Whooping Cranes, an Aplomado Falcon and Nelson’s Sparrow.

While this was a first for the Port O’Connor area, Audubon Christmas Bird Counts have been happening for 117 years. Last year 1,902 counts were conducted across the United States. All told, 2,505 counts were held within the western hemisphere including Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Pacific Islands. Because of the habitat diversity and it’s latitude which wintering birds favor, the mid-Texas Coast boasts not only a large number of CBCs but these local counts produce some of the highest number of species across the country. Just across the bay from POC, the Matagorda County Mad Island Marsh CBC has had the highest species count nationally for 18 of the past 19 years.

While the Powderhorn CBC produced favorable results for its inaugural count, it holds great promise for the future. As we recruit more volunteers and become more familiar with the local habitats and the bird species found within, we feel certain that the Powderhorn CBC can rank among the nation’s highest as well. Next year we’d love to have residents from Port O’Connor, the Sanctuary & Indianola count the birds within their yards and neighborhoods. If you are interested in helping with next year’s count, contact Brigid Berger brigidberger@comcast.net

The POC Service Club is welcoming the New Year with a new ensemble of service projects and more plans to make our little community an even better place to call home. Fund raising, community improvement projects and community service are all on the schedule.

Our spring Garage Sale is set for April 8th. We are now taking donations of quality used household goods and clothing for our sale. If you need assistance with donated items, please call Linda Orrick at 719-650-3433 or Diane Cooley at 903-467-6335 to make arrangements. Please do not leave donations at the County Service Barn any longer.

We are just a few weeks from the annual opportunity for graduating seniors who attended POC Elementary and are now planning for college or trade school in their future to apply for scholarship assistance. Applications will be accepted this spring. For more information, students can check with the school counselor or any Service Club Member.

POC Service Club is a not-for-profit service club committed to the community and its residents. We love helping and seeing good things happen in Port O’ Connor. We are widening our reach to include children, senior citizens and others in need of assistance as we create opportunity for recreation, health and safety and community interactions. About 200 senior citizens and their caregivers and friends enjoyed Christmas Lunch with us in December. Around 75 POC Elementary students were awarded Honor Roll recognition through club donations last semester. Several 4H Club volunteers were financially supported in their Fair efforts to raise and show animals through by POC Service Club. We have added pet potty stations to Kingfisher Beach, rescue heart defibrillators to the beach area and the Community Center, we maintain the Post Office bulletin board and community announcement boards at the Community Center and the VFD. Countless other persons, projects and purposes were aided through monies, manpower or ministry donated by service club members. We meet twice monthly to plan, manage and progress our service plans and efforts. If you would like to be part of a group that freely serves our community and has fun while doing it, please join us at 10 AM the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at the POC Community Service Center.

To those of you who have donated to or shopped our garage sales, bought cookbooks, attended community events, donated to our efforts in any way last year and every year, we humbly thank you. Without your support and backing we would never be able to accomplish the things we do. We are truly grateful.

So, until next time, be safe, live simply, love openly, forgive generously and remember this quote by the late author and heroine Anne Frank who said, “No one ever became poor by giving.” So, if you want to donate to your community savings account, come by, we have your deposit slip waiting.

Troy James Cooley, III

Troy James Cooley III, son of Troy J. and Tonya Cooley of Austin, grandson of Jim and Diane Cooley of Port O’Connor, has earned the honor of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouts. Trip, as he is known, was a member of Troop 1, Austin. During the outdoor ceremony the Scouting Challenge was recited, History of the Eagle and Man, Lighting the Eagle Trail, The light of the Eagle Trail, The Light of the Eagle, Order of the Arrow, The Voice of the Eagle, Eagle Pledge and the Parents Ceremony were observed among other activities. After the ceremony the 75 friends and Scouts in attendance were treated to a great reception and dinner.

Trip’s many accomplishments in Scouting were acknowledged. Among those were a large outdoor deck built for a homeless community in Austin, and a neighborhood library station in front of their home which has been a great success. Many projects and levels of Scouting are required before being awarded the coveted rank of Eagle Scout. The projects require planning, engineering, approval by a Scout board and construction. Trip accomplished each task and was given many accolades for his diligence and hard work.

The final step in the Eagle Scout journey is the approval by the National and local Scouting Board. During the final Board of approval, Trip was acknowledged as an outstanding citizen, student and Scout.

Trip is a senior at Anderson High School in Austin where he is an honor student, a member of the National Honor Society and was Commended by National Merit Scholars. Trip has been accepted to University of Texas at Dallas where he will be studying physics.

December 4, 2016
Congratulations, Trip, upon achieving your Eagle Scout Award. You have attained a status that few men have.
The enclosed hatchet was your great grandfather’s, Troy Everett Cooley, 1912 – 2001. He purchased it when I was 8 years old (1949) when we lived on the farm in Kerens, Texas. Your great grandfather was born in Powell, Texas, and grew up as a poor farm boy. He went to work selling newspapers on Sunday mornings at age 9. He was unable to finish school because he had to work to help support the family.
He served in World War II as a First Sergeant in the famed Texas 36th Division. He was a true hero and never talked about it. In 1945 he was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery, along with two Purple Hearts. I know that he would have been as proud of you as we are.
Love Grandma and Grandpa