Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 22, 1999 Page: 1 of 22
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Pull for Patsy
Friends and fans of the ’Queen of
Island Trash,' Patsy Jones, will
GATHER FOR A BENEFIT CONCERT AND
auction Sunday to help with medical
EXPENSES AS SHE BATTLES BREAST CAN-
CER.
Page 1B
Making a splash!
I HE PORT ARANSAS COMMUNITY PARK
SWIMMING POOL WILL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Saturday, May 1. A grand opening
CEREMONY IS SCHEDULED May 8.
Page 1B
’OPT
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Thursday, April 22, 1999|
Listings
Inside!
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Vol. 29 No. 16
SPS 946-020
Volunteers from across Texas
coming to clean beach Saturday
By Carolyn Richards
South Jetty reporter
Volunteers from all over Texas are coming
to Port Aransas Saturday, Apni 24, to help
clean the beach.
They will arrive with their gloves, check
in, check out their trash sacks and proceed to
clean up the litter.
Under the coordination of Pam Greene,
representing Keep Port Aransas Beautiful
Inc., the annual spring cleanup will be from
9 a.m. until noon.
There’s a half mile of beach, from Beach
Street to Avenue G, that Kiwanis Club
members have adopted anti clean on a weekly
basis.
The local cleanup is all part of the state-
wide Adopt-A-Beach program, sponsored by
the Texas General Land Office under the
auspices of commissioner David Dewhurst.
Object of the all-volunteer effort is to
remove debris from the beaches and coastal
waters and to increase public awareness
about the problem of Ix-ach litter, Dewhurst
said. The beaches in 21 other spots along the
Texas coast will also be cleaned.
Trash on Texas beaches has an impact on
coastal wildlife and a negative impact on
tourism, which is a $6 billion business,
Dewhurst said.
There are two places where people can sign
up here for the cleanup.
They may sign in on the beach at Avenue
G, beginning at 9 a.m., and will clean there
until noon.
Those wishing to go to San Jose Island to
clean up may register at Woody’s Sports
Center at 8 a.m. Adults and kids who are
junior high age or older may clean over on
the island.
Coastal Production Services is taking the
volunteers over to San Jose free of charge.
The boat will begin taking volunteers to the
island right after 8 a.m. and will continue
trips until they are all over.
Then those over first will be brought hack
first, Greene said. Actual cleaning time for
individuals to work on the island is about
two hours.
She said those going to San Jose Island
must pre-register to take advantage of the
free boat ride over and back.
KPAB will treat volunteers to an apprecia-
tion lunch of hot dogs and chips, beginning
at noon in Roberts Point Park.
Greene said a number of large groups,
from all over Texas, have notified her of
their intention to participate.
Included in the cleaners will be two Girl
Scout Troops, one from Austin with leader
Susan Armanovs and the other from San
Antonio with leader Bonnie Pfister. Stu-
dents from Anson Jones Middle Schcxil in
San Antonio, with teacher Robert Ortiz, plan
to attend.
Also coming to clean the beach will be
Crockett High Schixil Science Club in Aus-
tin with Doug Anderson as advisor;
AmeriCorp from San Antonio; McNeil High
School Environmental Club from Round
R»xk with advisor Susan Wilson.
Members of Grace Presbyterian Church in
Round Rock will lx* among the beach clean-
ers. They are coming here under the leader-
ship of Kathleen Mtxire.
I wo clubs from the Coastal Bend College
in Beeville - the student government an the
environmental clubs - will he coming here
under the direction of Patty Myers. Lana
Parson of the Seguin Activities Center is
bringing a group.
Among those hauling the trash and pro-
viding food for the lunch w ill he BFI, KPAB,
Famih Center IGA, H.E.B. Aransas Pass,
Rotary Club of Port Aransas, City of Port
Aransas and Quality Liquors.
For more information, contact Greene at
749-742 1 or e-mail her at
RatTra.xx@centuryinter.net,
Finalists are named
for school chief’s joh
By Mary Judson
South Jetty editor
After two-and-a-half days of interviews,
the list of candidates for superintendent of
Port Aransas schixils was narrowed from
seven to three.
This week, members of the superinten-
dent search committee are visiting the com-
munities where the finalists live and work,
and conducting interviews with their peers,
according to Port Aransas schixil hoard presi-
dent, Ann Coffen.
The scan h committee w ill meet again next
week to compare notes and schedule second
!interviews with the finalists 2s time permits.
I he final selection will be made by the schcx)l
board, which Coffen hopes will be* done by
the regular board meeting on May 13.
However, after the next series of inter-
views, “if it’s not right, we’ll start over. We
really want to get the right person,” Coffen
said.
The first rounds of interviews “went really
well,” Coffen said.
“1 was really impressed with the way the
committee worked together. It was the first
time the staff, board and administration
worked together as a team and it was a gixxl
experience,” said added.
Coffen said the interviews represented
“the first time 1 personally felt that we were
all going in the same direction.”.
“1 would have to say the candidates were
of gtxxl caliber," she said.
The three finalists are Bob Wells, superin-
tendent of the Corrigan-Camden schixil dis-
trict which is north of Huntsville; Jamie
Mattison, superintendent at Pawnee which is
iNtIDE
1111% ISM I
northwest of Beeville; and Don Jones, assis-
tant superintendent in Sinton, about 23
miles west of Port Aransas.
cumstances,
. . finding the right
one is the difficult
part.1
Ann Coit i n, president
PAISD SCHOOL HOARD
Wells is married and has two high schsxii
age children. Mattison is married and she and
her husband, a critical care nurse, have two
younger children. Jones, whose wife is a
music teacher, has a 14-year-old daughter.
“I’m comfortable with these three; they’re
primo - finding the right one is the difficult
part,” Coffen said.
“We’re like a train moving forward; we
just have to switch out the engine and keep
moving forward. We’re trying to find the
best fit,” she added.
Coffen said the candidates were surprised
to find the district is not facing some kind of
crisis. After they were informed of the cir-
most of them asked, “Okay,
what’s up?”, and were amazed to learn, in
fact, all is well.
The finalists were among 64 qualified
candidates who applied for the position be-
ing vacated by Dale Kimball who is resigning
to return to Michigan. His resignation is
effective July 1.
Orville Ballard, a consultant hired by the
district toassist with the search culled the list
to 16, and the search committee narrowed
that to eight. One of the eight, however,
withdrew. Several other applications were
received from applicants who did not meet
#!*»<» critiTP.
The search committee is composed of
school board members Jim Freeman, Paul
Matt hews, Ben Brundrett, Jay Sanders, Becky
Corder and Coffen; elementary school prin-
cipal, Jane Thompson; middle school princi-
pal, Jim Moss; high schixtl principal, Skipper
Lister; elementary teacher representative, Katy
Brennan; middle school teacher representa-
tive, Jim Cole; high schixil teacher represen-
tative, Leif Johnson; and Ken Dunton who
w ill become a member of the board as of May
I 3 when he is sworn in.
Mud monsters
These self-styled 'mud monsters,' who in real life are fourth grade students Matt
Dunton and Whitney Williams, enjoyed getting down and dirty Sunday, April 18.
Getting a head start on Saturday's Texas Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup, they cleaned
up a stretch of beach at Island Moorings, after which they rolled in the sand.
Then they found a neighbor's dirt pile and finally achieved the desired effect. The
only clean spot on either one was on Williams -- she doesn't like mud on her face.
Council may endorse
bond issue with terms
By Mary Judson
South Jetty editor
A resolution supporting and at the same
time expressing concerns about a Nueces
County bond issue tHo? includes funding for
reopening Packery Channel and elevation of
the JFK Causeway will be* considered by the
Port Aransas city council tonight, Thursday,
April 22.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at city hall
and is open to the public.
I he council w ill consider passing the reso-
lution that supports the bond issue election
on June 12 because of elevating the JI K
Causeway, but with reservations about safety
issues and operating expenses related to
Packery Channel.
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Cargo from Bosnia
Staff PMOto nv Murray Judson
The USNS Antares sailed past Port Aransas Friday, April 16, en route to unload its cargo at the Port of Corpus Christi The
ship was carrying more than 400 pieces of the 1st Cavalry Division's equipment from Bosnia Helicopters, rolling stock and
containers were unloaded at the port, then taken by rail and truck to Fort Hood in Killeen The USNS Antares is a 946-foot,
190,000 square foot capacity ship under the command of the Navy's Military Sealift Command. The fast surface ship left the
port of Rijeka, Croatia on March 30 and, before arriving in Corpus Christi, stopped at the Port of Wilmington, NC to off-load
equipment. Corpus Christi was selected in order to exercise it as a strategic seaport that could be used to support military
deployments during contingencies. Typically, the unit moves through the Port of Beaumont
In addition, the bond issue would fund
construction of a county fairground (show
ham) in Robstown and widenine of FM 624
in Calallcn. The total package carries a $90
million price tag $18 3 million of which
would lx* raised through the sale of bonds.
The balance would come from state and
federal sources.
If approved, the bond issue would add one
penny to the county’s tax rate.
Port Aransas Mayor Glenn Martin has
said that if he can be assured that the
reopening of Packery Channel will be a finite
expense to Nueces County taxpayers, he will
support the bond issue because it includesthe
elevation of the causeway.
Martin says the causeway will lx* elevated
stxmer and cheaper if the bond issue is
approved.
County Judge Richard Borchard said that
the resolution authorizing the sale of the
bonds, if approved by voters, stipulates that
the bonds will not lx- sold unless state and
federal funding come through.
“If the federal government (U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers) dix'sn’t come up with
their share, we won’t sell the bonds,” he
added.
Port Aransas Councilman Jay Kenigslx*rg
expressed concern at the council's March
meeting that "If they sell the bonds and they
need more for maintenance, they’ll just goto
future commissioners. What is promised
now dex'sn’t bind a future commission.”
He also pointed out that reopening of
Packery Channel is the “fastest way for
Corpus Christi to annex the rest of the
island".
Martin pointed out that there is legislation
proposed that would require cities to provide
services to newly annexed areas in a timely
manner.
Kenigsberg hxtk the position that reo|x*n-
ing Packery C hannel would provide the
necessary development to pa> for those ser
vices.
CouncilmanC ’buck Borders said bethinks
Corpus Christi won’t gi\e awav an\ of its
Pit \si si i 'BOND ISM IPu,i 4A
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Judson, Mary. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 22, 1999, newspaper, April 22, 1999; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth662936/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.