Somehow it seems right that all the major polls were wrong about the election. Many of us are probably glad that the campaign is over. However, the adventure is not over. We know things will be different.

It is refreshing to realize that those of us in the middle of the country and a precious few on the east and west coast have been heard. As one who has spent many years of his life with a president I didn’t vote for, I am saddened to see many protests with signs that say “not my President” or worse. As one who has studied history and knows we have had presidents who were not particularly good guys, I am comforted that the electoral system has worked. Perhaps those protesters should read a little history. Or, as some have suggested take citizenship in another country..

To boot, Calhoun County made some big changes. The incumbents were not reelected. The people have moved into term limits with a vengeance.

But enough of politics, Holidays are coming up. Many of us can remember a time when Black Friday was the day after Thanksgiving. This year we have Black Friday events from November first on.

It boggles my mind that marketers and such can somehow turn that one day thing into a month or more. What will happen with cyber Monday or small business day?

Don’t get me wrong. As the resident tightwad I do love sales. As an aging dinosaur I just don’t need to buy as much as I used to. Heck, I’ve shoes that I haven’t worn in ages. In fact, I buy little except E-books and a few Chai Tea Lattes.

Speaking of dinosaurs I really enjoyed a line in a recent viewing of the TV show Blue Bloods. The commissioner, aka Tom Selleck, had been accused of being one. He reluctantly agreed. But, his PR man disagreed by pointing out that dinosaurs are extinct and that he, the commissioner, still roamed the earth. I felt proud to still be roaming myself.

Those thing being said, I can look forward to Thanksgiving. This is in spite of the apparent neglect. Except, of course, the Grocery and other food sellers are busy with their hams and turkeys, I believe cranberry sauce has fallen by the wayside.

One possible positive result from the earlier and earlier advent of Christmas in the entertainment and marketing world might be the actual increase in the real Christmas spirit.

This year is turning into a year of change. Change is what the Universe does with persistent regularity. We folks here tend to get stuck in a groove. Or worse yet tend to let Entropy take control. That constant movement towards disorder and chaos is one of the sadder laws of physics. It is nice when, even for a brief time we attempt to change things and make the Universe a better place. It is a fond wish I and many of my friends over the years have had.

A Honor Roll

First Grade: Christopher Barcenas, Gaige Cady, Saige Carter, Izabella Chatham, Riley Dworaczyk, Brennan Gregory, Olivia Hunt, Liam Key, Joseph Lucas, Marcus Moncrief, Riley Saylors, Evelyn Scroggins, Tatum Semmler, Brylie Penney, Ava Salazar, Karley Sexton-Mohon, Kiley Sexton-Mohon

Second Grade: Clay Brumfield, Kendell Cady, Briley Clark, Aspen Crittenden, Kayden Garza, Keegan Goode, Alexis Green, Danielle Miller, Brice Petrisky, Ashton Sternadel, Callum Taylor, Lorena Torres

Third Grade: Angel Galeana, Zoey Henning, Jaxson Key, Logyn Middaugh

Fourth Grade: Maci Bryan, Briley Christensen, Braylyn Galloway, Natalie Hunt, Ethan Saenz

Fifth Grade: Andrea Hataway, Trinity Morgan, Jonathan Nguyen, Tyler Salinas

Sixth Grade: None

Seventh Grade: None

Eighth Grade: Caleb Lehtinen

A/B Honor Roll

First Grade: Nikolas, Clayton, Emmett Gilliland, Preslei Haden, Talen Henson, Anna Nguyen, Kailey Treumer, Mallory Vannoy, Jordan Willis

Second Grade: Marisol Banda, Zoe Canchola, Jason Joines, Hunter McGill, Alaina Morgan

Third Grade: Sarah Armbruster, Baylee Bates, Kingston Cady, Cody Castillo, Jada Dean, Gunner Evans, Hailey Freeman, Kylee Gray, Dayz Hinds, James Ledesma, Isaac Perez, Christina Ragusin, Kyle Staggs

Fourth Grade: Jasmin Banda, Taylor Blevins, McKenna Boedeker, Brilee Crittenden, Layton Davenport, Phong Hoang, John Jacobs,
Olivia Krause, Draven Maldonado, Mackenzie Moncrief, Dillon Morales, Trevon Ragusin, Neveah Rangel

Fifth Grade: Eric Anzaldua, Blake Bundrick, Mirakle Gutierrez, Rhiannon James, Braeden Ragusin, Sydney Rasmussen, Morgan Russell, Natalia Zarate

Sixth Grade: Isabella Arriaga, McKenzie Bierschwale, Christopher Boyce, Keaton Cady, Tres Canales, Kaelyn Garcia,
Eda Gilliland, Creasie Gohlke, Denver Grissett, Tyler Henson, Kathy Huerta, Vivian Ledesma, Leah Lucey, Ayden Maddux, Jaedyn Mungia, Jacob Nguyen, Mercadee Owen, Hector Perez, Tim Pham, Nate Saenz

Seventh Grade: Evan Clifton, Tyler Cobb, Ellie Cowan, Lysette Estrada, Noah Estrada, Avery Flood, Trenton Goodman,
Erik Jaramillo, Maritza Jaramillo, Jayda Nguyen

Eighth Grade: Malachi Arriaga, Shelby Cady, Shaley Edwards, Caleb Gregory, Fernie Mendez, Stormy Mills, Franklin Murcia Rivera, Jason Nguyen, Andrew Ragusin, Jacob Ruiz, Kristopher Salinas, Joseph White

John Meitzen, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at NC State University, has been named a 2016 recipient of the Society for Neuroscience’s (SfN) prestigious Next Generation Award. John is the son of John and Mary Belle Meitzen of Port Lavaca.

SfN is the largest international neuroscience society, with nearly 38,000 members. The Next Generation Award is a national honor that recognizes SfN members who have made outstanding contributions to public communication, outreach and education about neuroscience.

Meitzen was recognized for his role as one of the pioneers of the annual Brain Awareness Night at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, which will be held for the fourth time in March 2017. The event features hands-on brain and behavior exhibits, talks from NC State students and a keynote by a prominent neuroscientist.

“The event is a lot of fun to organize and has been really successful,” Meitzen said, noting that the 2016 event attracted more than 300 attendees. In the future, he hopes to expand it to include targeted outreach to middle and high school educators.

The award also cited Meitzen’s work in creating a senior capstone course in the Department of Biological Sciences that focuses on an innovative inquiry-based approach to neuroscience. “This approach encourages active learning and engages students in neuroscience at multiple levels of analysis,” Meitzen said. “Developing and teaching it has been a very rewarding experience as I’ve seen students grow in their understanding.”

Meitzen calls the Next Generation Award “fantastic recognition of our growing neuroscience program at NC State,” noting that he has seen expansion of neuroscience research, outreach, interest and education across the university since he arrived on campus nearly four years ago. “It’s an exciting time to be a neuroscientist at NC State,” he said.

Christy Sadler, College of Sciences News

Saturday morning dawned warm and sunny, just the perfect day for the Chili/Gumbo Cookoff on Saturday, October 22nd to be staged at Hoop’s new place, Hooper’s Bar & Grille on West Maple Street. As I arrived semi-early to watch and speak with the contestants as they were starting their preparations, I became very much intrigued with the array of seasonings that many had.

The mixture of balanced seasoning is what makes a carefully prepared and cooked dish become not just ok, but startling correct, and as many of the contestants were returning to take their place among winners, one knew that these chefs had tested and tested their entry many times. Many of the seasonings were somewhat unusual; preparing a good chili is not just a matter of dumping chili powder and cayenne pepper in the pot, but a learned combination of often unusual spices.

Speaking with Nancy Johnston of San Antonio, I learned that her chili lent its unusual and slightly hot taste due to the “hatch” peppers she had ordered from New Mexico. This chili was not a smooth mixture of meats, but good sized pieces immersed in a tomatoey mixture. And Randy and Mary Czaplewski of Spring had a shelf with many unusual spices they used in their chili. And speaking with Diane Cooley I learned that she uses a combination of Mediterranean black salt, Texas white pepper plus beer and tomato soup in addition to the traditional spices, while tasting constantly.

A gumbo dish that had an incredible aroma was sitting at the spot of the Chuckwagon Chix, and speaking with one of them, Sue Glover, I learned that the gumbo had a special ingredient of smoked chicken accompanying the sausage and shrimp. As Chef Sue thought that a little extra smokey flavor was due, she added the skins of the chicken temporarily and stirred well. Additionally, Sue roasts chili peppers of various kinds and then carefully adds them to this special gumbo.

Although there were only ten teams competing at this time, they all made their presence very well known as the mouthwatering aromas of chili and gumbo being prepared, lingered up and down Maple Street. Additionally, several of these chefs were from other areas such as Spring, Lockhart, San Antonio and the Austin complex. But our local chefs were definitely prominent and “on point’ with their concoctions.

However seven people had the difficult job of picking the winners in each division and Paul McGee, Teresa Vogel, Laurie Junek, Susan Huglin, Hank Lippold, Lori Hemphill and Wesley Uagatgen were up to this challenge. Although many spoons were used to taste and often re-taste, and water along with crackers were used to soothe their heated taste buds, this group of unusual volunteers finally achieved winners who were then announced by Hoop.

Jessie Morgan won the first place for margaritas, and if competing with that wonderful drink allows tasters a taste, I’m in line. The Showmanship Award went to the team of Barbara Sue Crouch and Diane Cooley as accompanied by their husbands in their Duck Blind Chili. This group is following in the big shoes left by Marie Richter and her cohorts with their successive wins for the Showmanship Trophy.

Coming in as 3rd place in Chili was Ron Faulstich of Lockhart; and following this event, he and his partner were then on their way to Terlingua to compete in the World’s Chili Contest. Second place was awarded to Barbara and Diane of Port O’Connor and first place was captured by Terry Wright of Lockhart.

And then came the gumbo winners starting with Mike Gould of the Tornadeaux team placing third; the Chuckwagon Chix were in second place with Sue Glover, Nicole Collins and Jeanne Newberry; and first went to the Coastal Oaks Cowboys of Dee and Kyle Woodruff.

Despite the fact that all the teams didn’t win this year, I’m sure we will see these contestants and many more next year about the same time, same place for the 9th Chili/Gumbo Cookoff.

See you then!

And following the announcement of winners, the final tally of the items for sale in the silent auction as staged by Friends of the Library took place. There were so many unusual and beautiful items arrayed on the tables that a shopper had a difficult time deciding where to spend his/her money. But the Friends of the Library benefitted once again this year with the proceeds going for our proposed new Library as Hoop once again has donated all monies earned during that Saturday for the new Library. Therefore, all money remains here in Port O’Connor for the betterment once again of our community.