The Aransas Pass Progress (Aransas Pass, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 31, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 4, 1995 Page: 1 of 52
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^ THE ARANSAS PASS
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Wednesday, October 4,1995 500 £rpy
Council cracking down
on Conn Brown renters
□Over $5,000 is owed in
leases, tax payments
By MARY MCADAM
Aransas Pass Progress
Aransas Pass City Council mem-
bers are taking aggressive steps to
collect more than $5,000 owed In
delinquent Conn Brown Harbor
leases, penalties and taxes.
Council members approved a
motion Monday by council member
Linda Thompson to Instruct City
Attorney Allen Lawrence Jr. to con-
tact 10 delinquent lessees by letter,
encouraging them to settle their
delinquent accounts with the City.
They will also be asked to submit
required certificates of Insurance.
Delinquent lessees will be allowed
30 days to comply with the city's
THOMPSON
request.
In further
action. Mayor
Billy St. Clair
Issued a procla-
maUon declaring
Oct. 8-14 Fire
Prevention Week.
According to
Texas
Commission on
Fire Prevention statistics, fires
killed more than 239 people during
1995; three fourths of those deaths
occurred In fires In the home.
In addition, a total of almost
95,000 Texas fires in 1995
destroyed Texas property valued at
more than $340 million.
The purpose of Fire Prevention
Week is to educate the public on
avoiding fires and reducing injuries
and loss by promoting preventive
See Council, Page 12
Opal causes concern locally
dShips crowd Conn
Brown Harbor, some
flooding occurs
By JULIET K. WENGER
Aransas Pass Progress
Water rose higher and higher,
climbing sea walls and covering low
piers and pilings. A hurrlcane-
come-lately named Opal was hang-
ing out In the Gulf near Campeche.
Those who have responsibility for
public safety, went into a walt-and-
watch mode, carrying on normal
affairs but checking as they went to
be sure all was In order' If this
October hurricane stopped fooling
around and headed this way.
Many veteran hurricane watchers
expressed surprise at Opal’s prox-
imity.. Hurricanes seldom take aim
at this part of the coast after
September 15. No hurricane in this
I 0 *
/
PORTER
HERNDON
century has hit In October. Yet this
storm, large of scope and powerful,
could not be Ignored. Weather pre-
dictors. looking at a cold front on Its
way. said all along the air currents
would probably take Opal *to
Louisiana, but then you never can
tell.
The tide kept rising. County
Commissioner Gordon Porter said It
was this high in 1988 when
Hurricane Gilbert hit. About two
and a half Inches of rain fell over the
area In scattered rains at different
times. There ,were not flooding
problems from rain as the dry earth
was absorbing water easily.
High tides caused problems on
streets In Ingleslde-on-the Bay.
Porter said he was called In to put
up barricades. Only one lane was
open on Farm Road 136 north of
188 to Bayside.
In Aransas Pass city hall, prepara-
tions were made Tuesday to print
out evacuation cards If Opal headed
this way. Names of business men
and women and hospital emplc
are on a computer disk. These <
would allow identified people to
return to town If it were evacuated.
City Secretary Tess Skinner said In
past years, the cards were printed
each hurricane season but not
used. This year, holding down
costs, printing was delayed until
any need arose so probably will not
be printed this season.
A few pleasure boats were moved
or hauled out In the area when ris-
See Opal. Page 12
Kinder, gentler buses greet students
□Wooden animal cut-outs
replace numbers on buses
By JOHN LOWMAN
Aransas Pass Progress
Aransas Pass elementary school
students may catch a ride home on
a green turtle. Or a white lamb, a
yellow duck, a green dinosaur or a
‘killer’ whale.
Brightly-colored wooden animal
cut-outs have been placed on
school buses, making it easier for
youngsters to identify ’their’ bus.
said Aransas Pass Independent
School District Community rela-
tions director Laura Simank.
The project — headed by Faulk
elementary school principal Bill
Ratliff and assistant principal
Brenda Yates — should make riding
the bus a more comfortable experi-
ence for students. Ms. Simank said.
“It’s easier for the younger chil-
dren to recognize animals than
numbers, and it’s a lot more fun."
she said. “After a full day at school,
the kids are tired and they have a
lot on their minds. The animals just
make the busses look a little more
friendly."
Students, parents and teachers
are happy with the changes, Ms.
Simank said.
“N
IS?
i Photo by John Lowman
Students of Faulk Elementary School in Aransas Pass board the
“Turtle Bus” after school. Children use the wooden animal cut-outs
instead of numbers to identity their bus.
“The response has been really
good, and parents like the idea.”
she said. “Mr. Ratliff Is very con-
cerned about the kids, and this is
an example of his diligence.”
The wooden creatures are making
the end of each school day more
pleasant for students and teachers
with bus duty, according to Faulk
first-grade teacher B.K. Winn.
“The kids seem to like them." Ms.
Winn said, leading about 20 stu-
dents to the ’lamb’ bus. “They did
get confused with the numbers, and
this seems to make things better for
them."
Since buses which carry younger
students to and from school are
often the same ones used to trans-
port the Aransas Pass Panther foot-
ball team to Friday night games, the
animals are removable.
Lone Star card in use
□EBT card replacing
food stamps, AFDC in
South Texas
By JOHN LOWMAN
Aransas Pass Progress
It looks like a credit card, ft could
cut down on welfare fraud, and It
has proven to Increase Income for
local grocers.
The Lone Star Card is taking the
place of food stamps and Aid to
Families with Dependent Children.
About 500,000 former food stamp
recipients and 122.000 receiving
AFDC will be affected In South
Texas. The card is used much like
a credit or ATM debit card.
Clients shop as usual, but
Instead of paying with food stamps
or vouchers, the card is swiped
through an electronic device. A
debit is then made the customer's
account, according to documenta-
tion by the Texas Department of
Human Services.
Recipients must know their four-
number Personal Identification
Number, have registered their card
with the TDHS, and should know
their account balance, documenta-
tion states. Over 10,000 retailers
state-wide — including H.E.B. and
I.G.A. grocery stores and Sunrise
markets In Aransas Pass and
Ingleslde — will accept the card.
The Electronic Benefits Transfer
program began taking effect
September 22 and most recipients
should have their cards by October
15. Food stamps should be obso-
lete by early 1996, documentation
states.
Implementation of ttae BBT wtll
create 200 Jobs state-wide, will
serve as a money-management tool
for clients and could protect clients
from loss or theft, according to doc-
umentation by the Transactive
Corporation, the agency providing
electronic services for use of the
Lone Star Card.
The card could also cut fraud by
eliminating the “black market" sale
of food stamps, said Deanna L.
Longoria. Region 11 (South Texas)
administrator for the TDHS.
Thanks to efforts by State and pri-
vate employees, changing from the
old system to the new has been
successful so far. she said.
“I am especially proud of all of
our staff who have been Involved in
this innovative project to reform
welfare," Ms. Longoria said. “Staff
(members) have worked long and
hard to ensure the client conver-
sion to the EBT system goes as
smoothly as possible.”
Texas clients account for 10 per-
cent of all food stamps distributed
in the United States. The average
state-wide food stamp allotment is
$292 per month per three-member
household and AFDC benefits aver-
age $188 per month for like-sized
homes.
To register a card, recipients may
call 1-800-777-7328. Retailers may
call 1-800-418-8000 for further
Information.
Birders watching for big year
QEnthusiasts could aid
local businesses
By JUUET K. WENGER
Aransas Pass Progress
The year 1996 should be the big
one for birders.
Eddie Arnold, one of the most
enthusiastic of Aransas Pass bird-
ers. says. “We are going to be
ready." A map of the Texas Birdlng
Trail will be published and distrib-
uted through all visitor reception
stations In Texas.
Those maps will list four birdlng
sites In Aransas Pass. Arnold
expects this to bring a significant
enough number of visitors Into the
town for a noticeable benefit to busi-
ness.
Aransas Pass is already benefiting
from the major effort to attract bird-
ers In Rockport and Port Aransas.
Visitors traveling from one hot spot
for birders to the other go through
Aransas Pass. Arnold believes the
tourists will have the new maps In
hand, see that there are four sites
here and stop to visit them.
The annual Hummingbird Festival
In Rockport recently brought thou-
sands of people to the North Bay
Area. Arnold said these visitors
found accommodations all over the
area, and he thought local motels
were full.
Rockport has taken the lead for
decades in establishing the North
Bay Area nationwide as a prime
birdlng area of the country.
Recently, a nature area has been
developed In Rockport dedicated to
Connie Hager, the birder who start-
ed it all In the Coastal Bend.
Almost a year ago. Port Aransas
acted to take full advantage of the
See Bird, Page 12
Navy working with schools
By MARY MCADAM
Aransas Pass Progress
The U.S. Navy demands a lot of
its families — especially their chil-
dren.
Frequent moves and deployments
can have a tremendous emotional
Impact on children and can create
problems at school and at home.
Area teachers, administrators
and Navy personnel recognized a
need, through focus group discus-
sions. for facilitating better com-
munication between area schools
and Navy personnel In an effort to
help children of local military fam-
ilies cope with stress and learn to
comfortably co-exist with their
teachers, peers and families.
A Navy/School Liaison Program,
offered through the Family Service
Center In Ingleslde. was created to
meet these needs.
As part of this program. Aransas
v
k I
Teachers board the USS Warrior Monday on a visit to Naval Station
Ingleslde as part of a Navy/School liaison program.
Pass I.S.D. administrators nnd Ideas with FSC personnel during a
elementary school teachers had an Navy/School Liaison seminar hclu
opportunity Mondav to share (heir
See Navy. Page 12
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Cole, Mary. The Aransas Pass Progress (Aransas Pass, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 31, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 4, 1995, newspaper, October 4, 1995; Aransas Pass, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1171980/m1/1/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ed & Hazel Richmond Public Library.