Citizens of the Week at Port O’Connor School

Week ending November 20: PreK- Marcos Blanco; K- Pryncess Few; 1st- Nicolas Ragusin; 2nd- Alex Lopez; 3rd- Stehpen Bowman; 4th- Ayden Brown; 5th- Leah Lucey

Week ending December 7: PreK- Haiden Dean; K- Laela Aranda; 1st- Aubrey Ragusin; 2nd- Emily Ferrell; 3rd- Aiden McClelland; 4th- Kyle Doggett; 5th- Hunter Williams

Week ending December 11: PreK- Jakob Donaldson; K- Kobe Guzman; 1st- Grace Brown; 2nd- Cole Spicak; 3rd- Christopher Richter; 4th- Dylan Ramirez; 5th- Ashton Fowler-Albrecht

Seadrift School’s Pirates of the Week

Week ending November 20: PreK- Janiee Pendergrass; K- Jonathan Grifaldo & Juan Banda; 1st- Luis Zarate & Colten Evans; 2nd: Gunner Evans & Angelenia Chatham; 3rd- Kylee Green & Olivia Krause; 4th- Jonathan Nguyen & Tyler Salinas; 5th- Blake Reyna & Adrian Cano Junior High: Henderson- Zachary Henson; Cady- Sierra Callaway; Parnell- Destiny Chandler; Anderson- Destiny Garza; Sternadel- Avery Flood; Charnetski- Madison Bierschwale; Lillge- BreAnnn Kelley; Cowley- Emily Cain

Week ending December 4: PreK- Gavin Gonzalez; K- Evelyn Scroggins & Kailey Treumer; 1st- Aspen Crittenden & Kayden Garza 2nd- Cadynce Gonzalez & Kyle Staggs; 3rd- Kaedyn Floyd & Taylor Blevins; 4th- Nevaeda Munoz & Mileidy Anzaldua; 5th- Luis Casas Munoz & Eda Gilliland Junior High: Henderson- Stormy Mills; Cady- Colin Carabajal; Parnell- Dylan Beaver; Anderson- Taysia Navarro; Sternadel- Erik Jaramillo; Charnetski- Kamryn Chandler; Lillge- Adrian Cano; Cowley- Liliana Torres

Week ending December 11: PreK- Victoria Spencer; K- Mallory Vannoy & Preslei Haden; 1st- Alaina Morgan & Jasenia Adame; 2nd- Sarah Armbruster & Maddie Webel; 3rd- Ariel Henson & Taylor Blevins; 4th- Braeden Ragusin & Mia Salazar; 5th- Vivian Ledesma & Tyler Henson Junior High: Henderson- Jamie Martinson; Cady- Daniel Castillo; Parnell- Emily Cain; Anderson- Hector Rodriguez; Sternadel- Viviana Munoz; Charnetski- Danien Cardiel; Lillge- Madison Bierschwale; Cowley- Lydia Cowan

AA meets each Saturday night at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Port O’Connor.
POC Lions Club meets the second Wednesday of each month, 4:00 p.m. at Port O’Connor First National Bank
Seadrift Chamber of Commerce meets the third Thursday of each month, 6:00 p.m. at First National Bank meeting room, Seadrift
Commissioner’s Court meets the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month at 10 a.m., 1st Floor of the Court House, Port Lavaca.
Crossroads Astronomy Club meets at 7:00 p.m., third Mondays, at U of H, Victoria, Room 223 info: wes81461@yahoo.com   935-2016
Calhoun County Quilt Guild meets the first Wednesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the Fairgrounds Exhibit Building.
Calhoun County Democratic Club meets the last Thursday of the month at CASA (Christians Against Substance Abuse) meets each Thursday from 7-8 p.m. Call 361-652-7451 for meeting place.
First Baptist Youth Group (Port O’Connor) meets every Wednesday night from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Grades 6th – 12th; Team Kids Grades 1-5
Friday Night Youth meets each Friday, except the first of the month, at Fisherman’s Chapel, Port O’Connor, 7-10 pm
Port O’Connor Cemetery Association meets 3rd Thursday of each month at POC Community Center
Ladies Bible & Book Study is held every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Port O’Connor
VFW Post 4403 meets first Tuesday of each month. 552-3886
Open Mon-Friday; Closed Weekends R. Guitierrez 210-872-1198
Wed., Dec. 23    Ugly Sweater/Tie Day in Calhoun County
8:00-12:00    Open House at County Court House
Mon., Jan. 4    Warrior’s Weekend Volunteer Meeting
6:00 pm        First Baptist Church, Port O’Connor
Tues., Jan. 5    Bunco
7:00 pm        Port O’Connor Community Center
Tues., Jan. 5    Seadrift City Council
7:00 pm        Seadrift City Hall
Thurs., Jan. 7    POC Service Club
10:00 am        Port O’Connor Community Center

The 2015 Lighted Boat Parade, sponsored by the Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce, will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2015.  The parade is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. in the ICW from Larry’s Harbor to just past Clark’s Inn and is open to boats of all sizes that meet the minimum U.S. Coast Guard Safety Requirements.  There is no entry fee.  So, give us a call, decorate your boat and join us.

The Captains’ Safety Meeting will be held at the Inn at Clark’s Inn at 5:30 p.m. on December 5th along with late registration and assignment of parade positions.  The U.S. Coast Guard will have a member at the safety meeting in case of any questions or concerns.

Locals and tourists alike look forward to this annual event, and it is hoped that many boat owners will participate.  Plaques will be awarded in several categories – (Best Overall • Most Spirited • Most Unique • Best Commercial • Best Large Pleasure • Best Medium Pleasure • Best Small Pleasure)  .  This year, as in the past several years, we are happy to announce that the U.S. Coast Guard along with most of the boats and owners who are participants in the Toy Run are planning on being a part of this great tradition.  It looks like this year is no exception – This is going to be a fantastic lighted boat parade.

If you would like to participate, or for more information, visit the Chamber’s website, www.PortOConnorChamber.com and download the registration form or contact the Boat Parade Chairman, Bill Tigrett at 361-983-2671.  So, get out your calendar and mark this event as a MUST SEE!!!  Or, a MUST DO!!! if you join in the fun of being in the parade.

Staying Busy and Preparing for Winter

Greetings from the island. Hope all of you are doing well and adjusting to this cooler Fall weather and rain. I don’t mind the excessive rain we have been having lately, with more in the forecast for this week, but I could certainly do without the added island marsh mosquitoes being hatched out in the standing water. And I’m talking about jumbo sized blood suckers too, nearly half the size of a dragonfly and with dang near the sting of a yellow-jacket! –the kind that laugh in the face of a fly swatter being brought down on them, only to buzz away after being swatted! Now those are big mosquitoes. But hey, if island life was easy there would be many others wanting to partake in it, and I certainly don’t want that. . so I’ll live with my fellow mosquitoes.

I’m currently in the process of finishing the floor on a 12’x26’ garage building, my latest project out here. My intentions are to get a used crew cab 4wd truck out here, but I wanted to construct a building to keep it inside prior to getting it. This is such a corrosive environment out here, trucks simply do not last very long being left out in the weather. So even though the building is fairly costly, not to mention labor intensive doing it by myself, and the cost of having the truck barged out, it will be worth it in the long run.

I’m not sure why I waited so long, but I finally got me a wonderful set of wind chimes a few weeks ago. These things sound like heaven! I never liked the tiny high pitched clanky sounding chimes, so I researched and found a father/son in Austin, TX, Davis Blanchard Chimes, that hand makes their chimes. These have eight 1” tubes, total length of 40”, and the melody is called Westminster Quarters, it is a wonderful sounding tune, and there are many melodies to choose from. The chimes aren’t cheap, just under $100 with tax and shipping, but worth every dime, and have a free lifetime repair with them. If you are looking for great sounding and quality chimes, I suggest you visit the website, where you can actually play an audio of every melody they sell, 45 in all.

I’m stocking up on my books, to be ready for nasty winter weather when I’m stuck inside for several days at a time. My favorite readings are non-fiction survival books, mainly true shipwrecks and lost at sea type stories. I finished one recently, In The Heart Of The Sea, about a whale ship, Essex, that was sank in 1820 after being rammed by an enraged sperm whale. It was an excellent book, and on December 11 it will premier as a movie at the theaters, I’m looking forward to seeing it.

Well that’s it from the island for now, everyone take care and stay warm.

CLINT BENNETSEN is a retired Police Detective who now lives full time on Matagorda Peninsula Island, since April 2006. Clint tells of his island life, experiences and findings in this monthly column of Dolphin Talk. To comment or ask questions of him, Clint can be contacted at ccbennetsen@yahoo.com, or at dolphin1@tisd.net.

This past May, over 900 wounded heroes from the Global War on Terror plus family members and caretakers descended upon Port O’Connor, Seadrift and Port Lavaca for a weekend they are still talking about.  We know this because we hear from them, already wanting to sign up for Warrior’s Weekend X next May.  With this in mind, we are planning some exciting things for our 10th anniversary and would like to share these ideas with as many of you as possible at a volunteer meeting on the evening of Monday, November 30th.  The meeting will be held at the First Baptist Church in Port O’Connor beginning at 6:00 p.m.

We would like to invite our usual volunteers and as many prospective ones as would like to help with the largest event of its kind in the world, right here in POC/Seadrift/Port Lavaca, Texas.  Although there are other like-minded events around, none come close to the magnitude of Warrior’s Weekend (WW) and it all happens here in our local area.  The residents of Calhoun County have joined our volunteers from across Texas and elsewhere to ensure these wounded heroes not only have a great time but also are reminded that their service and sacrifice have not been forgotten.

For those of you not familiar with Warrior’s Weekend, we are a 501 c 3 non-profit manned strictly by volunteers.  No one on our board or our volunteers is paid and we raise all funding.  If you have not been a part of this great event, you’ll get a thrill doing so whether you are a volunteer or one of the 400+ boat captains volunteering on the day they all go fishing.  So, please, come to the meeting to see what new, exciting plans we have for next year and to see whether you’d like to be a part of making a wounded hero have the weekend of a lifetime.

Please either contact me at 361-935-7414, ron_kocian@hotmail.com or any WW board member for more information.  You may also learn more about WW by viewing our website, warriorsweekend.org online or ask for board members Kelly Parks or Russell Hofer down at Froggie’s Bait Dock most any day.  We hope to see you all there.

Ron Kocian, President
Warrior’s Weekend