Janice Dianne Maples, 72 of Seadrift, Tx., passed away on Thursday, February 8, 2024. “Dianne” as she was called by her family and friends was born on March 20, 1951, in Jacksonville, Fl., to the late Matthew James Braswell and Mary Elizabeth Polous Braswell Gilbert.

Dianne was very family oriented and loved spending time with her daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was an active member of her church, serving on the board of First Assembly of God in Seadrift. She loved arts and crafts, shopping, watching Hallmark, cooking shows, traveling/cruises, and having women’s days out with her friends.

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Jerry Wayne Maples; daughter, Rebecca Lynn Rodriguez (David); grandchildren, Tasha Hammer (Travis), Ashley Vallejo (Joe), Alicia Garza (Daniel), Jeffrey Garza, and Cooper Rodriguez; 10 great-grandchildren; sister, Shirley Crum (Ronald); Nieces and Nephew, Heather Riley (Larry), Kristy Miller (Sam), Ronald Crum, Jr. (Allison) and Terrah Huckeba (Travis); 12 great-nieces and nephews, and 4 great-great nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her father, Matthew James Braswell; mother, Mary Elizabeth Polous Braswell Gilbert; brother, James Matthew Braswell; daughter, Kellie Jean Maples and grandson, Paul Simon Garza, III.

Visitation will be on Friday, February 16, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. before the funeral services at 11:00 a.m. at First Assembly of God at 501 2nd Street, Seadrift, TX, with Pastor Tim Smith and Assistant Pastor Beverly Smith to officiate. Interment to follow at Seadrift Cemetery in Seadrift. Fellowship will be held immediately after service, back at the church hall.

Pallbearers are Travis Hammer, Joe Vallejo, Daniel Rodela, Jeffrey Garza, Cooper Rodriguez, and Rion Hammer.
Thoughts and memories may be shared online at www.gracefuneralhome.net Grace Funeral Chapel, Port Lavaca, 361-552-1705.

Garage Sales: The Club is in full swing preparing for our Spring Mega Garage Sale, scheduled for April 6, 2024, and is gratefully accepting your generous donations of household, kitchen, and decorative items; small appliances; clothes; shoes; toys; children’s and baby items, etc. Due to limited space, we cannot accept furniture at this time, and we can never accept mattresses because we cannot resell them. For information, please contact one of the Service Club Ladies listed below.

Memorials: In memory of Jordan Anthony Poole, the Club made a donation to the POC Cemetery Association.

Farmers Market: The Service Club appreciates your ongoing support at our Booth at POC’s Farmers Markets, the next one being Saturday, March 9, 2024 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon. Please come check out our homemade baked goods and treats, potted plants, hand crafted items, “Service Club Cookbooks“, “POC- End of The Road” License Plate Covers, and raffle tickets of $5.00 each for a beautiful handmade quilt. There is something for everyone, so please stop by.

Service Club Meetings:
The Club’s next meetings will be on March 7, 2024 and March 21, 2024 at 10:00 AM at the POC Community Center. All Ladies are welcome!

Alane Haardt- 281-416-6028
Nancy Ladshaw- 830-832-0510
Marie Hawes- 361-920-2322
Nan Burnett- 832-276-5948

We are living in some of the most exciting days of our lives! God is blessing and people are responding, especially since we got the lights working on the cross. Special thanks to Steve and Allen for making the lighting of the cross possible. They are truly special Chapel Friends! We were told that the lighting would make our electric bill skyrocket, but our first bill showed only about a $10.00 weekly increase. Hearing from several people who are traveling back to Port O’Connor by boat after dark and the help it has made for them makes it well worth it! “If you are lost, look to the Cross!” is a statement one hears frequently around here!

Pastor Joane was welcomed back from Indianapolis on Wednesday, January 21, with a great “Seafood Gumbo” created by Kyle., He made a huge pot full, and we saw it all carried away, with most belts being loosened a notch or two. It was a great time of fellowship and the Word.

February began with the Freeze Out Tournament. The first day’s catch all remained alive and was placed back in our bay system, but on the second day, we received several reds and were able to feed eight families from our gleaning. Special appreciation to Darryl, Kyle, and Steve who made the hard work easy – from the scales to the bags.

Pastor Joane and I enjoyed a special evening at the Community Center for the Baptist’s Sweetheart Banquet. Because the portions were so huge, to-go boxes were handing out in advance and all were used! It was a delicious meal with a great program and a lot of wonderful fellowship. We appreciate Jim and Diane who invited us to the gala event.

On Valentine’s Day, Pastor Joane put together a great party at the Chapel. It included a chicken spaghetti dinner, where the men served the ladies, and many other fun activities – and of course, we looked to God’s Word for inspiration.

We got a message reminding us that four years ago a lady from our community packed all her belonging in the back of Pastor Joane’s van and they traveled to Houston. Jessica was entering a rehabilitation program called “Saving Grace”. Now, she is the director of a similar program in Florida. It is amazing what the Lord can do for a life that is willing to give themselves to His Lordship! We are grateful for those who make the rehabilitation program function, especially those who fund the program, but also honored that there are still people who want better for themselves and are willing to do the hard work that is required to accomplish their goals! We continue praying that one day the Lord might help us open a center in Port O’Connor. We constantly see the need and want to try to help those who want the best for their lives.

Easter comes earlier this year than most. It is on March 31. As usual, since 1995, we will gather at the Front Beach at 7:00 a.m. for our Community Sunrise Service. The long range forecast (at my forecast) is for nice, sunny skies, very little wind, and temperatures in the 70s! Plan to be there. Bring your chairs or ATVs, and let us praise God for His Resurrection!

Fisherman’s Chapel, since its birth, 29 years ago, has been an interdenominational congregation whose goal remains to help people make a smooth transition from earth to Heaven. Our personal transition must begin here and Fisherman’s Chapel is committed in helping one find their way. We meet each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. for Bible Study; at 11:00 a.m. for Morning Service, and at 6:00 p.m. for Evening Service. In our Retreat Center, we have a group of Spanish speaking people gather for a devotion at 5:00 p.m. each Sunday. On Wednesdays, we gather at 7:00 p.m. for a fellowship meal and conclude our activities with a time in God’s Word. Our efforts are the same as always and everyone is urged to, “Come, grow with us!”

In life we all must make choices that we don’t really want to make.

A lover we don’t want to break up with, a job we really want to quit but can’t, a test we really don’t want to take, or in this case a pet you really don’t want to give up, but you may not have a choice.

Now, I’ll be the first to state that a pet is not something you should take on responsibility for unless you are very sure you will be able to care for it until it expires or you do.

The real world however can easily provide scenarios where the above statement gets hard to achieve via circumstance, the circumstances in this case being me telling my dad not to get another cat after the one we had ran away because in his confusion caused by his mental illness he kept opening the front door and let the cat out on two separate occasions.

The second time ‘Rizzo’ was never seen again.

I knew that another kind of hard choice might be right around the corner, such as my father no longer getting the proper care at home and that it might be time for him to go to a facility better suited to help him.

Thus when he said the little gray and black cat sitting on the back of the couch was now ours, I felt it might not be the wisest idea.

She was here though and despite myself I became close with the little cat despite the reality of the situation.
Today she’s been with me for over four years and unfortunately life is suggesting that I may have to give her up to move on.

This thought fills me with sadness and a huge sense of guilt as well, because she’s been my constant friend for nearly half a decade.

My dad called her ‘Rizzo 2’ when we got her but I started calling her ‘Baby’ as a term of endearment and it stuck and she started to answer to that name.

She’s loving and smart, she’s not a perfect cat but one that is very loyal and true to herself.
I cannot even put into words how it feels to know she may be gone and that she might think her friend abandoned her…it’s literally too much to bear.

Sadly it was not the first time I’ve had to do this.

Between my father being the kind of man to go and dump the family dog in the streets when he thought it was time for the dog to leave birds in care of an ex in Port Lavaca, I’ve felt this feeling before.

The thing is, life is relentless and I wish this month’s column had a happier ending, but even if the best case scenario is me finding a home for her where my Baby will be well loved and cared for, there will still be two hearts, one large and one small, who will have holes in them.

I’m sorry Baby if you miss me soon, know I’ll always be missing you too.

Seadrift Police Chief Carisalez helped welcome our new 23-24 National Junior Honor Society Inductees on January 30, 2024 at Seadrift School. New Inductees are: Karley Sexton Mohon, Kiley Sexton Mohon, Emma Quintanilla, Kailey Treumer, Pryncess Few and Payten Rivera.

Seadrift School 6th Grade Bay RatBotz Gold competed in the First Lego League in area competition on January 27th. Bay RatBotz took home 2nd place in Robot Competion which help them advance to regionals.
Regions competition will be held on February 17th in Houston.
Sponsor: Mr. Dustin Hahn
Students: Graysen Bernal, Trace Myers, Kolt Leiker, Isaiah Ochoa, John Glover, Jaxon Waghorne and Isrrael Jaramilo.
Way to go Bay RatBotz!

Have you ever been stumped by a difficult word to spell? We all have! How much harder it is to have all kinds of difficult words to spell in a spelling bee.
Pictured are some very brave young ladies who came out on top at a recent spelling bee held at the Seadrift School for grades 2 through 8. From left to right are Naomi Aguilar, Princess Few, Caleigh Lackey, and Crystalline Garner.
The judges for this event held on January 18th were Cathy Epley from Seadrift’s First National Bank, County Commissioner Gary Reese, and Angela Tullos from CCISD.
Photo by Fjola Reger the Assistant Principal at the Seadrift School.

Seadrift Pirates Basketball

The Seadrift Pirates played the STEM 8b Vipers on January 29. The third quarter found the two teams tied 17-17, but in the 4th quarter, the Pirates moved ahead with 13 points, beating the Vipers 30 to 29.

Outstanding Pirates of the Game:
Isiah Flint: 1 rebound, 3 points
Boston Dunn: 1 rebound, 1 block, 2 points
Gaige Cady: 1 rebound, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 9 points
Andrew Garcia: 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 points
Talen Henson: 5 rebounds, 1 block, 15 points
Lamar Williams: 3 steals, 1 block, 2 points
Marcos Blanco: 1 rebound, 1 steal

Coach’s Comments: Gaige Cady it the game-tying free throw and Talen Henson hit the game winning free throw with about 3 seconds left to seal the victory in an exciting back and forth game against the STEM Vipers. Excellent win, Pirates!

National Counselors Week
One special lady who happens to be the school counselor at the Seadrift school was honored during National Counselor Week (February 5th thru 9th) with a fishing trip. That lady is Counselor Irene Cano! Pictured with Irene who is third from the left is (L to R) is Jessica Glover, Samantha Guerra, and Hailie Moore.
– Photo by Seadrift & Port O’Connor School’s Parent Liaison, Cecilia Garcia