Since 2005, the Calhoun County Humane Society has been rescuing and finding homes for abandoned/unwanted animals. The City of Port Lavaca has allowed CCHS to operate out of their 3,200 sq. ft. animal control facility since 2005, but the Humane Society needs their own space to keep operating and saving as many innocent animals as possible. In 2015, even with limited space, CCHS was able to save 642 dogs and cats.

In 2014, CCHS purchased 3.71 acres at 106 Haley Lane, just outside the Port Lavaca city limits and preliminary shelter plans have been finalized. The new 5,280 sq. ft. space will allow more space for adoptable animals and save more pets from being euthanized. CCHS’s “Operation Save Our Tails” working towards their $566,389 goal, with the help of donors, now needs only $97,781 to make their dream a reality.

CCHS is extremely proud to have received two generous grants:

HEB, a good friend to our community and so many others, has contributed to worthy causes throughout Texas and Mexico for 110 years. A grant of $10,000 was received along with a sincere hope for CCHS’s success; many thanks HEB!

The Meadows Foundation, established by Algur and Virginia Meadows in 1948 to benefit the people of Texas, is among the most recognized family foundations in the country. Since its inception, The Meadows Foundation has distributed more than $775 million in grants to more than 3,000 Texas Institutions and agencies. CCHS was extremely gratified to receive a grant of $60,000 from this foundation along with the honor of being recognized as a worthy organization in our community deserving of help. Many thanks from CCHS to The Meadows Foundation!

Calhoun County Humane Society board is still seeking volunteers to serve on a subcommittee to assist in fund raising. Please email the board at cchs@tisd.net if you are interested in helping in any way. Grants are also being sought to help cover building costs. Donations can be made payable to CCHS Building Fund and mailed to P.O. Box 1505, Port Lavaca, TX 77979.

Personalized Brick Project: The personalized brick project is part of this fund raiser, with 4” by 8” bricks available for a donation of $150 and 8” by 8” bricks for a donation of $300. These bricks will be a part of the building’s front exterior. You may pick up an order form for these at CCHS or Dr. Bill McClellan’s office on Porter Road. Any donations made toward the building fund must be made to Calhoun County Humane Society and designated “building fund” or “Operation Save Our Tails.”

Donating Services: Since the budget is broken down for specific items, there is also the opportunity for donating something such as landscaping, fencing, paving of the parking lot, etc., either labor or materials or both. If you have any other ideas or questions please contact CCHS at cchs@tisd.net.

September 10 Dinner/Dance: You can contribute to “Operation Save Our Tails” by enjoying an evening of entertainment on Saturday September 10 at the “Nightriders Dance” at Bauer Community Center in Port Lavaca. Dinner will be served at 6:00 p.m., Menu includes Pork steak, German potatoes, green beans and bread. Enjoy dancing from 8:00 p.m. until midnight. The cost is only $30.00 per persons, with all profits going to the Calhoun County Humane Society’s building fund.

Tickets are available at The Green Iguana, Port Lavaca Vet Clinic, Russell Cain Real Estate, Port Lavaca Animal Shelter or call 361-553-8916.

The mission of the Calhoun County Humane Society is to find loving homes for dogs and cats rescued from the local animal control facility and encourage responsible pet ownership through public education. Will you help?

To learn more about CCHS, visit their web site: www.calhouncountyhumansociety.org or check out their Facebook page. The shelter is located at 201 Stringham Drive across from the ballpark and rodeo arena at the Port Lavaca Fairgrounds.

We can’t say it enough! “Friends” is so appreciative of all those that support our goal of building a new library in Port O’Connor. With that in mind, we thought the POC community would enjoy seeing the latest donation made by four very industrious and thoughtful children. Blessings on everyone who cares about this ongoing project! We’re getting there slowly, but surely!!
-Virginia Dell Lichac

(Left to Right) Kena Rabe, Jaxson Allen, Kyla Rabe, Kinzley Allen

My granddaughters, Kena and Kyla Rabe, wanted to open a Lemonade Stand during POCO Fest. Since our house is located on Commerce Street where all the POCO Fest action was, we agreed under one condition…they had to donate half their earnings to something worthwhile. After several suggestions, they chose the new POC Library. As a retired school librarian, I was thrilled! Along with their friends and in two short hours, the girls raised over $200…people were very generous. They took out their donation part, paid me back for the lemonade and cups and split the rest four ways! It was a wonderful lesson in selling, buying, profit margin and giving. Needless to say, we were very proud and so glad we can be a part of the future library. The girls are looking forward to one day checking out books from the new facility and so are we!

James and Mary K. Rabe
Cuero, Texas

Island Summer Heat Continues

Greetings from the island everyone, hope all of you are doing well on this summer day. And what a scorching summer it has been. I’m sure it has not been any hotter than our previous south Texas summers, we simply forget from one year to the next just how sultry and miserable it can be. And with the absence of air conditioning, I can tell you first hand it has been hot!

I can remember a time about eight years ago when I did use air conditioning, having a window unit downstairs in the kitchen, and one upstairs in the bedroom for nighttime use. Oh yes, I’ll admit, it was wonderful having a nice comfy cool room to sleep in at night, but I simply got tired of having to deal with, and feed fuel to and listen to a loud generator to power the AC. So I slowly weaned myself off it, keeping all the windows open and hoping for a nice nightly summer breeze. I haven’t used any AC in over eight years now, and look, I’ve survived!

Even with the heat, the beach has been beautiful to walk on these summer mornings and evenings. I’ll start from my house and make the exactly half mile trek across the island “prairie”, over the dunes and to the surf waters edge. I’ll then turn either northeast towards the big jetties, or southwest and head towards Pass Cavallo, alternating which way throughout the week. I so enjoy seeing the gorgeous morning sunrises over the Gulf of Mexico, the water glistening under natures beauty. And the late evening walks afford me the opportunity to see the stunning sunsets over Matagorda Bay.

I’ve come to realize since my island life days, that the amazing beauties around you in life are what matter and bring smiles and happiness. Whether it be special people or nature’s wonders, it’s not WHAT you have that brings joy, but WHO you have and what you notice and appreciate around you. The saying, “stop and smell the roses”, is so true. Enjoy life.

And for when I return from those beach walks, I built a nice enclosed outside shower, to rinse off and feel human again. The shower uses my underground well water, which means it is pretty cold, but it saves on my stored rain water for inside the house use. I’m decorating the shower with various nautical stuff, including island beach finds; it’s looking great already.

For the second consecutive year, and only the second time in my nearly 17 years on the island, no seagrass, or sargassum, has washed ashore this summer. Even though the seagrass makes for a yucky and smelly beach for a few months, it is nature’s way of helping with erosion after the grass filters into the sandy beach. So it’s a good thing that the sargassum washes in, but one or two summers without it should not create any major problems, and it makes for a nice clean surf and beach.

I’ve got some baby tomato plants started from seed for a small crop to enjoy in the Fall. I did very well on my Spring tomatoes, so I wanted to grow a few more for friends to enjoy during the Fall season. Nothing better than a vine ripened homegrown tomato.

Well after 1 1/2 years with no dog after Barnacle’s passing, as you are reading this, I should have just returned from picking up my new puppy, Corky. I’ll leave out on the morning of August 17, heading to Saginaw, TX., to bring the little guy back to the island. He will be a black and white boxer, and I am so excited for him to be here. The cats, on the other hand, will surely hate both of us for awhile, but they will adjust. No dog will ever replace Barnacle, but I know that he wants me to have a companion, and he will be watching over us to make sure I give Corky the love he will deserve. So next month a new picture of Corky and I will appear at the top of the monthly articles.

Well that’s it from the island for now. You kids enjoy your last remaining days of summer vacation before school starts, and have a wonderful school year. Everyone take care and have a great day.

Is your child interested in joining the Intercoastal 4-H Club? If so, please join us at our first monthly meeting of the school year at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, September 5, 2016, in the Port O’Connor School library.

This local Port O’Connor club includes students from 3rd grade through high school. Younger students may join as Clover Kids. There is a $20 registration fee through October 31, which goes up to $25 after November 1. Also, members pay dues of $1 at our monthly meetings on the first Monday of the month.

This club’s main projects are raising livestock and poultry for the Calhoun County Fair in October (current members raise poultry, rabbits, and goats) and performing community service such as food drives and community cleanups. You may have noticed our new Adopt-a-Highway sign on 185!

Local 4-H members also participate in projects throughout the year including sewing/fashion, cooking, photography, and healthy living. There are many more activities we can do. Some projects are individual, for our local club, or countywide.

For more information, contact club manager Roxanne Ochoa at 361-746-4965 or roxochoa7@gmail.com.