The Seadrift Lions Club will again host this year’s Shrimpfest Pageant, with all proceeds to benefit the Seadrift Lions Club Scholarship Fund. The pageant is open to all county residents. There will be a few changes to the age categories this year.

Little Miss and Little Mister will be for ages 0-5, and Junior Miss will be open to girls age 6-9. Young Miss is open to girls aged 10-14, and Miss Shrimpfest is for young ladies aged 15-18. Entrants should wear Sunday or Party style attire. No swimsuits, short shorts, or bare midriffs will be allowed.

Contestants will be judged based on their community service activities, poise, and personality. We want young people to know that their beauty comes from within, from service to their families and communities.

Entry forms may be turned in at the Port Lavaca Wave office or First National Bank in Seadrift. Deadline for Pageant entries is 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2015. No late entries or at the gate entries will be accepted. Please see the Pageant entry form for all rules, guidelines and contact information.

All entrants will receive a participation gift, and the top three in each category will receive a trophy. Junior Miss and Young Miss will each receive a trophy, sash and tiara, and Miss Shrimpfest will receive trophy, sash, and crown, as well as a college scholarship and an opportunity to be sponsored in the Calhoun County Fair Pageant.

The Pageant will be held during Shrimpfest (June 13 & 13) on Saturday afternoon from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Contestants should arrive by 12 noon the day of the pageant to check and receive instructions.

Pageant applications will be available at businesses throughout the county or on the Seadrift Lions website, www.SeadriftLions.org  after May 1, 2015.  Information and updates will be available up until the start of the pageant on our Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/SeadriftLions.
Businesses or individuals wishing to sponsor any part of the pageant, or make a donation to the Scholarship Fund should contact Lion Peggy Gaines at (361) 920-1743 or SeadriftLions@gmail.com. For more information about the pageant, entry forms, judging criteria or times should also contact Peggy by phone or email.                  -Peggy Gaines

It’s not long now until you receive that coveted diploma, and Dolphin Talk would like to be among those who congratulate you on this hard-earned achievement. Graduates among our readership, but particularly those in our school district, are encouraged to contact us in the next few weeks so we can include you in our Graduates’ Issue.

We are happy to recognize, not only High School graduates, but also those completing college and/or trade school.

We will be printing in our June issue. The deadline for submitting your information will be June 5th.

Please contact us at dolphin1@tisd.net or phone 361-983-4667 for details.

Attention Business Owners and Operators:
Get your Locator Spot Today!

The Port O’Connor Community Service Club is producing a full color Locator Map of our community. This map will be reproduced on durable aluminum and posted in a protective frame at Kingfisher Beach near the restrooms. Visitors and locals alike will be able to quickly locate and contact local businesses and services from their locator spot and contact information listed on the map.

You as a business owner are in charge. You decide how you want to be represented on the map. You will have four lines of typeface listing names, numbers, even websites if you choose. It allows you to advertise locally and reach far beyond your front door. If a tourist pulls up looking for a marine shop, or restaurant, or whatever, they will have categories, location markers and a key or legend for local businesses offering whatever they may be looking for in POC. They can then call, come by or contact you from your locator spot information.

The Community Service Club will service and maintain the map display at no charge to you after your small initial advertising investment. We have kept the fees low so that all businesses may participate. Service Club members are calling on local business owners to take their order for their locator spot. If you have not been called on or just want to get a jump on the others, please call and I will arrange to take your order for your spot on the map. Call Kelly Gee at 817-929-2564. We hope to install by July 1st, so don’t delay. Deadlines will approach fast. We are not seeking to make money from this project, but to bring a service and a special touch to the community we all love. Please consider being a part and thanks so much!

Mayor DeForest presents a plaque to Johnny Mikolas in appreciation of his nine years of service on Seadrift City Council.
-Photo courtesy Kayla Meyer, Port Lavaca Wave

Council members at the April 7 meeting voted to cancel the scheduled May 9 election because there are no contested races for City Council positions. This is in accordance with the Texas Secretary of State, and declares that those who have filed for re-election, along with one who filed for the seat of Johnny Mikolas, who elected not to file for re-election, are declared elected. The term of office begins on June 1, 2015 for current Council members June Cantrell and Jackson “Buddy” Cross and for Geoffrey Hunt, who takes Johnny Mikolas’ position on the Council.

Police Chief Leonard Bermea presented the March Police Report to the Council, noting there had been 490 calls for service, ranging from calls for information to calls resulting in arrest. There were 142 traffic stops, resulting in 41 citations and 87 warnings. Two traffic stops resulted in arrest, one for warrants, and one for evading arrest. In the latter arrest, officers tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to get compliance from the offender, and had to use their tasers. This was the first time tasers have been used by the department. There were eight other arrests made in March: 3 on warrants, 2 family violence, 1 reckless driving, 1 evading with prior conviction, and one disorderly conduct.

Mayor DeForest reported there were seven building permits granted in March resulting in a property valuation increase of $53,800. Municipal Court closed 27 cases the past month, resulting in fines of $3,868.10. Of this amount, the City keeps $2,339.35; Municipal Security Fund receives $56.26; Municipal Technology Fund, $75.01; and $1,397.48 is sent to the State.

Reporting on Code Enforcement, Animal Control, Coucilman Brigham said six dogs were picked up and impounded to Port Lavaca; eight dogs picked up and returned to owners with warnings; one dog picked up and returned to owners with tickets. Fifteen verbal/writing warnings were issued and one dog was found a new home. There were two call outs for animals hit by cars and one for animal cruelty (cleared) Five cats were trapped and impounded and 18 wild animals were trapped.

Reports were also given by Council members Gaines, Cantrell and Cross. Mr. Cross said work has been done on the boat launch but much more needs to be done. Ms. Cantrell said that due to all the recent rain, work on water lines and drainage is about three months behind. Mayor DeForest said that it will take about two months to reroute about 10,000 feet of ditches to get the water to flow properly in the area of 8th Street. Recently there was a problem with the sewer in part of the town, but another lift station will soon be installed on Houston Avenue. Reporting for Parks and Recreation, Mrs. Gaines said the baseball field is drying out and should be good for play soon.

Mayor DeForest presented a plaque to Johnny Mikolas in appreciation of his nine years of service on City Council.

The Brainstormers

One cold, rainy, windy Saturday in March the Friends of the Port O’Connor Library Board of Directors spent the morning “Brainstorming” ideas and priorities for our new library/learning center. Jeanette Larson, Library Consultant extraordinaire, facilitated the session and we came up with some thought-provoking and creative suggestions. Everyone expressed what they would like to see in our state-of-the-art facility and came up with over thirty musts and/or wishes. Here are the top ten: multipurpose room(s) w/dividers to break up space, storage, coastal décor, Twin Fountain walk-in clinic-like aquarium, big covered porch, flexible spaces with glass partitions or moveable walls, concrete flooring, coffee vending machine, computer stations, and comfy seating for different ages. Of course, there were many more great and provocative ideas and the brainstorming time was well spent and helped to focus on specifics rather than generalities as we move ahead.
A reminder to the community of two important events coming up for “Friends!” We will host a booth at the Crawfish Fest, Saturday, May 2 where once again the fun spinning wheel will be in full spin and a chance for everyone to play and win a prize. T-shirts and coffee mugs will be available for sale. Also our Annual Membership Meeting will be held at the Baptist Church on Saturday, June 27. “Friends” invites all to attend to support our goal of building a new library facility. Renewed and new memberships will be accepted. See y’all then!

Paula McCauley making her druthers known.

Friends of POC Library Host GLO Speakers

On Thursday, April 9, Friends of the Port O’Connor Library hosted speakers from Texas General Land Office at the Port O’Connor Branch Library. GLO Administrative Assistant Debra Case gave a presentation to explain the responsibilities of the state agency. Senior Response Officer Robb Muil and Response Officer Candidate Tony Belton offered additional information and also answered audience questions.

The crowd was interested to learn that although the local office deals primarily with oil spill prevention and response, they provide several other services to the community. Mrs. Case discussed another local program, Adopt-A-Beach, which will take place on Saturday, April 18, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Port O’Connor has two locations: Boggy Nature Park and Kingfisher Beach. Mr. Muil noted that if well-meaning island visitors pick up trash, they should collect from the surf area rather than the dunes.

Guests were intrigued to learn about some lesser known programs of the Texas General Land Office, notably the Veterans Land Board. This feature of their office offers land loans to Veterans and assistance for burials in state Veterans cemeteries. GLO also provides long-term care options for Veterans at eight homes across the state. In addition, GLO manages the Permanent School Fund, mineral rights, state archives, and recently, the Alamo.

GLO representatives Case, Muil, and Belton were open to discussing several questions from the audience. Friends of the Port O’Connor Library and Texas General Land Office plan to host a children’s program later in the year.
-Roxanne Ochoa