My neighbors Parker and Patty are always telling me how proud they are to be a part of Port O’Connor, Texas. They say it is a great community and so friendly. They always tell me how special Valentine’s Day is to them, but I never knew why until recently.

Parker told me that he met Patty in 4th grade, fell in love with her in 7th and married her after his first few years in college, but Valentine’s Day is where it all began.

When they started junior high, Parker really liked girls. He flirted and complimented and fancied himself a ladies’ man. When the class decided to exchange valentines, Parker wrote one to every single girl in their grade. They each were the same. He wrote, “Dear _____, you are the prettiest girl in our class and my favorite. Please be my valentine and my girlfriend. Love, Parker.”

He neatly printed each girls name on the pink card, but failed to print them on the envelopes. So, when Patty opened hers, it read ‘Dear Barbara,’ when Barbara opened hers it read ‘Dear Deloris,” and so on and so on to more than 17 girls in his 7th grade class.

First the girls were mad, then they laughed, then they made fun of him for the remainder of the year. None of them had more fun teasing him than Patty with the beautiful red hair and bright green eyes.

By spring Parker was smitten, He asked Patty to the dance, they became best friends and later boyfriend and girlfriend.

Seven years later when Parker asked Patty to marry him, on Valentine’s Day no less, he wrote to her a solemn promise to never send another girl a valentine and always send one especially for her, the girl he loved.

Patty accepted and 47 valentines later she has always gotten a special valentine wish from her special valentine love. Some have been extravagant, like the Hawaii trip or the diamond bracelet, some have been silly and fun like the silhouettes he hand crafted and displayed kissing in the front yard, and one or two were sweet and simple like the bouquet of pink roses delivered to the maternity ward after the birth of their second daughter on February 13th or the hand crafted desk for her retirement home office.

But, big or small, plain or elaborate, this June 1st will mark 48 wonderful years together and this month he will deliver a 48th heartfelt and loving valentine’s Day card to Patty with her name proudly written on the card, correctly every time.

Happy Valentine’s Day to lovers everywhere!

We’ve gotten numerous questions regarding our two wind turbines since the second one (#2) was installed recently. The most recent wind turbine (#2) was installed to supplement electricity consumed by the Water Treatment Plant to reduce the monthly electrical bill. Before Wind Turbine #2, the average Water Treatment Plant electric bill averaged $3,000.00 to $4,000.00 monthly and sometimes higher in dry weather. Wind Turbine #2 is just now coming fully online and we won’t know the actual estimated, averaged savings until after a few months of billing.

Number 2 Wind Turbine came on line in the early part of October 2014. However there was an electrical problem with the electrical generator causing a failure within the first week. This generator is inside the top nacelle behind the blades. This repair was completed November 17th which is the reason it was not seen running for most of October through middle of November.

During this time it was also discovered there was an electrical configuration mismatch with the incoming power at the Water Treatment Plant on the AEP side. This was corrected by AEP the same week the generator was replaced in Wind Turbine #2. To answer that question: Yes, the replacement generator was a warranty replacement. Since November 17th Wind Turbine #2 has been in operation but with periods of not operating primarily because of fine tuning needed in the software to better fit the environmental conditions of our area dealing with sudden wind direction changes that are common this time of year. By now you should notice it is getting more running time due to those software tuning for tracking the changing wind directions. It’s not perfected yet, but getting much better during this initial run-in time.

Number 1 Wind Turbine was installed at the Waste Water Treatment Plant to supplement electricity consumption by the Waste Water Treatment Plant to reduce the monthly electrical bill. Before Wind Turbine #1, the average Waste Water Treatment Plant electric bill averaged $2,500.00 to $3,000.00 monthly and sometimes higher in wet weather. Since Wind Turbine #1 came online in February 2012 the average electric bill has been $1,000.00 to $1,800.00 monthly. During high winds, this turbine sometimes produces more electricity than the Waste Water Treatment Plant requires and it is returned to the electrical grid and the City gets this as a reimbursement credit on the quarterly electric billing. This quarterly credit averages around $500.00. Selling this back to the grid is not automatic and required application with the Retail Provider. The reimbursement rate is about two cents to four cents per kilowatt hour. We are in process of obtaining a similar arrangement for Wind Turbine #2 should it produce more than the Water Treatment Plant needs.

Like Wind Turbine #2, #1 (in 2012) experienced issues with optimum, continuous operation (software) during about the first four months as well as other equipment malfunctions resulting in very similar questions because it wasn’t turning.

The most common question we’ve been asked about Wind Turbine #2 is something like: “Why is it (Wind Turbine #2) stopped while the other one (Wind Turbine #1) is turning?” Other than the software fine-tuning required to optimize operation during this initial running phase which caused stoppages, there are inherent operational differences between the two in the way they operate versus wind speed – wind speed is the key to the answer for this question.

For both Wind Turbines it is a given that the higher the wind speed the more power produced and the lower the wind speed the less power is produced. Most of the questions about #2 not running versus #1 running usually come at a time when wind speeds are very low. I hope the below information provides the basic answer to this question and how they are different, especially in low wind speeds.

Wind Turbine #2: When wind speeds are low – around 6mph to 7mph – #2 turns itself off because it is producing ZERO kilowatts and won’t re-start until winds are about 10mph to 11mph.

Wind Turbine #1: When wind speeds are low – around 6 to 7mph – #1 keeps leisurely rotating, BUT it also is producing ZERO kilowatts even though it is turning. It will turn itself off when winds get below 3mph to 4mph and won’t re-start until winds reach about 6mph to 7mph.

The bottom line is this: Whether turning or not, with winds below 9mph (yes this is more than that 6-7mph), each wind turbine’s production is so small and unmeasurable for all practical purposes production is ZERO kilowatts.

Another question usually revolves around “How much are they producing”? Both wind turbines will produce near 90% to 100% peak power – both are rated at 100kw – at the very highest, steady winds above 28mph to 31mph. Likewise, they will automatically shut themselves off when wind speeds exceed pre-determined design limits – each is different. As to the power produced: Number 2 had a peak kilowatt output of 90kw between the January 7 – 9 period – but too early to collect trending and average data over such a short time. Number 1 had a peak kilowatt output of 95kw for the same period of January 7 – 9. This was a time when wind speeds had steady peaks of 30mph and higher during that same period.

Wind Turbine #1 has produced a total of 480,000kwh since February 2012. Time will tell us how well #2 will do over the next 6 – 12 months and we should be able to have more useful data on which to make valid estimates rather than our initial guesstimates.

If anyone has other unanswered questions or wants more details, they are free to come visit me at City Hall when I am in.

By the time you read this I suppose you have made your New Year’s resolutions. It is even possible you may have broken one or two already. One could suggest you make a simple one like improve yourself and stick with it. These are a few of the things we ordinarily do right after we celebrate the New Year on 1 January. That is one of the coldest times of the year.

Here in Calhoun County we have cold spells even in this age of global warming or cooling, for sure the climate changes. In this cooler season you need to watch your plants, feed the birds and other creatures that don’t have something to keep them in food.

Did you ever ponder why the year starts on that day? It is just an arbitrary time there is no seasonal reason. The winter solstice, when the Sun is furthest south, is 10 days earlier.

That winter date would be a logical first of the year. It is when Mother Nature changes seasons. Actually, that is when the Ancient Greeks held their celebrations for the New Year. That wasn’t the only culture using seasons as year starters. Back around 2000 BC the Mesopotamians used when spring started as the time to start a new year. Things were beginning to grow at that time. Astronomers call it the vernal equinox.

Since we are all human and like to be different the Phoenicians decided that the time to start a new year would be fall, approximately six months later. I guess that is like animals who go into hibernation. That is what we now call the Autumnal equinox. So as you can see folks didn’t always agree even that far back in time.

Those thousands of years ago they had figured out that the year had seasons that repeated in regular cycle. It made sense to them that Nature had picked certain times to each season one of those times should be when the New Year started.. In those early days the folks were closer to Nature.

This was back when the world was sorting itself out on calendars and such. .The Romans began to take charge of those things. They set up the Julian calendar. It has evolved into our modern day Gregorian calendar. In those calendars the month names came from mostly Roman or Latin sources. January was named after the Roman God Janus, the two faced God. One face looked back to the past and the other looked forward to the future.

For a great while the choice of spring as the start for the year was predominate. It fit with the dominate agricultural culture. But as time went along somewhere in the 16th century the folks started to use the 1 January date. That Janus name got us into looking back to last year and on to next year. It is an arbitrary choice close to a seasonal choice. Who knows it might change in the distant future..

In a world that seems like it is at the brink of madness at times, it is a pleasure to see when a real leader steps up and accepts the challenge of trying to make the world a better place. To say the world’s biggest power wielders are bent on profit over the common good is not a new concept but one that seems to be growing steadily worse with each passing year.

Which is why I simply love Pope Francis.

Born in 1936, Pope Francis was a nightclub bouncer and chemical tech before being ordained as a priest in 1969 and a Cardinal in 2001.

However, to me the best accomplishments he has made have come since he has become Pope in 2013, using his position to influence world events and becoming one of the very few voices of sanity and equality from a man with a major platform to do so.

Known for a sense of humility and living a simple life, Pope Francis has become an inspiration for all who fight the good fight, choosing to live in a guest residence rather then the lavish quarters used by former Popes and choosing to wear less adornments allowed by his position.

Although not surprisingly backing ideas held firm by the Catholic church, Pope Francis has shown that he is the most progressive Pope to ever hold that position, believing strongly in dialogue between the faiths and showing love for even the non believers who are outside his flock.

More interesting is the role he played recently in relations between the United States and Cuba where he was said to have played an integral part in the new found relations these countries share.
Other refreshing and quite amazing acts have been his call for world peace during his first Easter as Pope and his call for his fellow clergyman to be humble and simple in wealth and in life. He also has promised to sell any gifts he receives, giving the proceeds to charity.

He asked people to avoid the easy gains of greed so rampant in this modern world and also that the message of the church is the same as it was when Jesus was alive, that of love and humility and tolerance towards others.

The words are perfect truth all too many in the world might feel hit home, describing the: “widening gap between those who have more and those who must be content with the crumbs” .
Pope Francis has also taken a strong stance against the destruction of the environment of this planet, something never really touched on by his predecessors. He told of how the environment was exploited for the greed of select men rather then the good of man as a whole, saying: “God always forgives, but the Earth does not. Take care of the Earth so it does not respond with destruction.”
Pope Francis also has remarked on the importance of women in the church saying they are an integral cog in spreading the faith and were also the first to witness the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In short, Pope Francis has become a man I admire deeply. Too often those in the position to make a change shirk the chance to do so, Pope Francis has become in a short period an inspiration to the world which seems so close to the brink of chaos.

Tina had another good cage fight and came out winning – 2 for 2 wins! (Tina Christy resides in Great Britian, and her grandpa Chris lives in Port O’Connor.)

Let us brag on your kids! Send their accomplishments to:
Dolphin Talk; P.O. Box 777
Port O’Connor, TX 77982
dolphin1@tisd.net