Palacios Beacon News Page

Palacios Beacon Online. Subscribe today.

Click for Palacios, Texas Forecast

Sunday * May 11, 2008

Palacios, Texas

Published Since 1907....Online Since 1999

INDEX

PET PALS & BIRDNOTES

ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY

ABOUT THE BEACON & BEACON POLICIES

EMAIL THE BEACON

Google

Search WWW
Beacon Online

NEWS: Beacon Deadline is 10 a.m. Mondays. / Email editor@palaciosbeacon.com

· TURNING OUT THE CROWD FOR THE ANNUAL BLESSING DAY
· PALACIOS SCHOOL BOARD, CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS ON SATURDAY
· PALACIOS’ NEW POLICE CHIEF SWORN INTO OFFICE
· COUNTY HURRICANE AWARENESS CONFERENCE SAT. IN BAY CITY
· WORKING THEIR WAY DOWN MAIN STREET
· TxDOT REGIONAL AIRPORT PLANNING MEETING MAY 20 IN BAY CITY
· GULF OF MEXICO SHRIMPING SEASON TO CLOSE ON MAY 15
·

TURNING OUT THE CROWD FOR THE ANNUAL BLESSING DAY

THE ‘welcome mat’ was out for the hundreds of folks who turned out to enjoy the festivities at the annual Blessing Day celebration on Sunday. Centered around the Blessing Community Center, the homecoming event included a variety of vendor booths, games, music and plenty of good food. A parade through town also took place in the afternoon. (Beacon Photo by Nick West)

PALACIOS SCHOOL BOARD, CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS ON SATURDAY

Voters in the City of Palacios and the Palacios School District head to the polls Saturday to render verdicts on one contested race for City Council and one contested race for the PISD School Board.

Balloting in the council election is at the school district administration building on 12th Street, while the school board votes will be cast at the administration building, Mopac House in Collegeport and at the Caranachua Community Center. All voting places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Early voting in both elections had a 4:30 p.m. Tuesday (May 6) closing.

The school board ballot feature is a three-way race for the remaining two years on the Position 3 term that became vacant with the resignation of Louis Martino. Bidding for the chair are Bruce Alan Barker, Isidro Castanon and Mary West.

The candidate receiving the most votes is elected. There will be no runoff if no one receives less than 50 percent plus one of the votes.

There are a total of 3,667 registered voters in the school district, including those in the Jackson County portion of the district.

Also on the PISD ballot are three unchallenged incumbents, Rick Cink, for a fifth term; Peter Zamarripa, for a second term; and Cara Herlin, for a second term.

PALACIOS CITY COUNCIL The lone race in the five position City Council election is between incumbent Mark Latapie, seeking a second term at Place 6, and challenger R.A. “Bob” Porter.

Unchallenged on the city ballot are incumbent councilmembers Andy Erdelt, for a third term; Mike Witte, for a second term; Troy Lewis, to complete the remaining one year in the Place 3 chair to which he was appointed last year following the resignation of Bill Balboa; and Joe Morton, for a second term as mayor and fourth term as a member of City Council.

There are 2,348 registered voters in the city, the largest total since 2002, when 578 actually voted, for a 24.2 percent turnout— the largest percentage for a regular city election at least the past 10 years.
A year ago, with one contested City Council race, only 244 of the city’s then 2,278 registered voters went to the polls— the smallest turnout in the same 10 years.

PALACIOS’ NEW POLICE CHIEF SWORN INTO OFFICE

NEW Palacios Police Chief David Miles (right) officially began his duties last Thursday after being sworn into office by Mayor Joe Morton. Miles, who was with the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Dept. for the past 14 years, was hired as Police Chief last month to fill the position left vacant by the resignation of Bernando Guerrero. (Beacon Photo by Bert West)

COUNTY HURRICANE AWARENESS CONFERENCE SAT. IN BAY CITY

Matagorda County’s third annual Community Hurricane Awareness Conference spotlighting speakers, displays and valuable information on the approaching hurricane season will be from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday (May 10) at the Bay City Civic Center.
Featured speaker will be Major Chad Gibson, a hurricane hunter aircraft pilot stationed at Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.
Major Gibson flew into the eye of Hurricane Rita when the destructive storm was a category 5 storm off the Texas coast and on course at the time to landfall in the Palacios-Matagorda County area. Major Gibson is scheduled to present his program at 11 a.m.
The program of need-to-know information on the coming storm season begins at 10 a.m., with introductions by Texas AgriLife Extension Service agent John P. O’Connell, chairman of the conference’s planning committee; and welcoming by Bay City Mayor Richard Knapik.
County Judge Nate McDonald, Palacios Mayor Joe Morton and Mayor Knapik will alternate with the master of ceremonies duties.
Gene Hafele, warning and coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service at Galveston, will lead-off the speakers at 10:15 p.m. by discussing the 2008 hurricane season forecasts.
At 10:45 a.m., Sheriff James Mitchell and Lt. Alan Spears of the Department of Public Safety will speak on evacuation procedures and routes for Matagorda Countians.
Following Major Gibson at 12-noon, Mike Babin of the Texas Department of Insurance will speak on “Preparing Your Home.”
Exhibitor and vendor booths, located both inside and outside the Civic Center, will open at 9 a.m. Also starting at 9 a.m. all entries in the children’s art contest, in which all Matagorda County students in the eighth grade and below, including home schoolers, will be available for viewing.
In addition to the AgriLife Extension Service, organizers for the countywide conference program have been the Texas Sea Grant College Program, City of Palacios, City of Bay City, Rio Colorado Chapter of the American Red Cross, Matagorda County Hospital District, Matagorda County Emergency Management, Bay City Tribune, Local Emergency Management Committee (which provided the monetary support) and the Matagorda County Environmental Health Department.

WORKING THEIR WAY DOWN MAIN STREET

MOTORISTS on Main Street found themselves following the ‘cones’ as preliminary work got underway on the renovation of both Main Street and First Street. Texas Department of Transportation crews began the scraping and grating work on the roadway last week. (Beacon Photo by Nick West)

TxDOT REGIONAL AIRPORT PLANNING MEETING MAY 20 IN BAY CITY

The airports in Palacios, Bay City, Edna and Port LavacaTexas will be discussed at a regional planning meeting to be held from 9-11 a.m. May 20 int the Bauer Exhibit Bldg. at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds in Port Lavaca.

The regional planning meeting is being conducted by the Texas Dept. of Transportation to review and update information for airports in the Texas airport system. During the meeting, citizens will have an opportunity to discuss airport needs.

Economic activity in general will be discussed, focusing specifically on the need for airport improvements as they relate to safety, access, local economic enhancement, and community development.

Specific airport development plans and timing of projects will be reviewed to determine if the TxDOT information is correct and current. Funding procedures for state and federal financial programs for general aviation airports will be addressed.

This meeting will offer a unique opportunity to provide essential input for airport planning and promotes an exchange of ideas and information with neighboring airport sponsors, TxDOT representatives, elected officials, and other interested citizens.

For more information contact Linda Howard in TxDOT’s Aviation Division at (512) 416-4540.

GULF OF MEXICO SHRIMPING SEASON TO CLOSE ON MAY 15

The Gulf of Mexico commercial shrimp season for both state and federal waters will close 30 minutes after sunset Thursday, May 15, until an unspecified time in July.

The closing date is based on samples collected by the Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) using trawl, bag seine and other information gathered from the shrimping industry.

Data regarding TPWD brown shrimp bag seine catch rates, mean lengths of shrimp in April 2008, percent of samples containing shrimp, and periods of maximum nocturnal ebb tidal flow indicate a May 15 closing date is appropriate. Typically, once the shrimp reach about 3 1/2 inches long, they begin their migration back to the Gulf of Mexico.

“The closure is designed to allow these small shrimp to grow to a larger more valuable size before they are vulnerable to harvest,” said Larry McKinney, Ph.D., TPWD coastal fisheries division director. “The goal is to achieve optimum benefits for the shrimping industry while providing proper management to protect the shrimp.”

The Texas closure applies to Gulf waters from the coast out to nine nautical miles. The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced federal waters out to 200 nautical miles also will be closed to conform to the Texas closure.

While the statutory opening date for the Gulf season is July 15, the Coastal Fisheries Division will be sampling shrimp populations to determine the optimum opening date for both the shrimp and the shrimpers. No announcement will be made concerning the re-opening until June data are collected.