Inside the Moon Eclipse A2 Moon on a Spoon A7 Traveling Moon A9 Fishing A1 Live Music A18 Issue 697 The Island Free The voiceMoon of The Island since 1996 August 24, 2017 Weekly www.islandmoon.com FREE Photo by Jan Rankin Around The Schlitterbahn Island By Dale Rankin Future May As of this writing Wednesday afternoon we are playing chicken Hang on with what is now Tropical Depression Harvey with predictions of a six to eight foot surge tide. By the time Monday you read this you may need it for an umbrella, we are after all a full service newspaper. But as storms Hearing go hereabouts this one doesn’t look like a bad one…which of course is Bankruptcy judge what they said about Hurricane Celia right up until she slammed into The to decide fate of the Island with 175 mph wind. There has already been a run on bottled project water, one of the building blocks of By Dale Rankin hurricane survival items along with The future of the Schlitterbhan gasoline, cash money, batteries, and waterpark and land surronding maybe ammo. Our plans to fish the it will be hanging in the balance Texas Women Anglers Tournament Monday during a hearing in front of Saturday are looking bleak indeed. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta in To paraphrase the late great Warren San Antonio. Zevon, send lawyers, guns and money dad, the spit has hit the spam. At issue are two key points, the first, What in Tar-Nation? whether the Henry family, owners of Other than a giant storm it’s been a Spilled Tar Appears on Port Aransas and Padre Island Beaches three Schlitterbahn parks in Texas rather quite week here on our little including two-thirds of the local sandbar, except of course when By Dale Rankin Crews in South Padre Island one and a park in Kansas City, can collected more than 1000 pounds of the sun went dark, but only for a Work crews have been battling large force the local park into Chapter 11 beach tar in February but none has little while. We had one report of a splotches of tar which have been Bankruptcy over the objections of the been reported that far south in this patron of a local drive through food washing up on area beaches from one-third owner in the park developer event. establishment threatening to blot out the Port Aransas Jetties to the Padre Paul Schexnailder who is seeking to the sun if he didn’t get a free meal, Island National Seashore for the past In 2013 no source of the tar was ever keep the park on track to deliver on he was told to pull up and wait for week. identified and indications were that it the original design for the park and his order and at last report was still was the result of natural seepage. A The patches of thick gooey tar vary there. We are reminded of the time GLO official said when the first tar in size from quarter-size in Kleberg in 1504 when Christopher Columbus washed ashore this time, about two County to pizza-sized patches just convinced a group of Jamaicans that weeks ago, it had been floating and south of Bob Hall Pier and on north his god was angry with them for baked in the sun to the point that it was to Port Aransas. refusing to give him and his men free brittle, almost like asphalt. However, provisions so he would blot out the Officials with the Texas General the tar found in the last week has been moon until they came across. Luckily Land Office at the cleanup sites say soft and pliable without exposure to for Columbus he had astronomical the oil will be tested to see if it matches the sun until it made landfall. tables compiled by the German that of any drilling rigs currently As of Wednesday afternoon crews astronomer Johannes Muller von working in the Gulf of Mexico. The at two locations estimated they had Konigsberg that told him an eclipse same phenomenon occurred in 2013 cleaned up just over 1000 pounds and was eminent. It scared the daylights when similar tar patches washed up, it continued to arrive. Tar on Mustang Beach out of the Jamaicans and no doubt it but that was limited mostly to the area would have scared the daylights out just south of Bob Hall Pier. Photos by Ronnie Narmour of the Karankawas this week too if there were any left. Meanwhile… Island kids are back at school Coyote Crazy! at Seashore Charter Schools. Mosquitoes and tourists have been in short supply. (Not to make any kind of connection between those two of surrounding area, which includes course since mosquitoes don’t spend a 3200-foot long BeachWalk canal money and tourists generally don’t with retail and commercial space. bite). A second but related decision for On Tuesday we went to the monthly Gargotta is whether to allow creditors shouting match and a POA meeting of land surrounding the park to broke out. It was the first meeting in foreclose on the land and put it up for about a year where there wasn’t an sale. armed guard in attendance and some of the members of the Padre Isles The Henrys have reportedly been Property Owners Association seemed actively seeking a buyer for 163 acres less than pleased with the board of land in question which for the past and were not reticent about saying After our article last week "Something is Attacking Dasmarinas Dogs" Islanders have sent in some great so. The meeting had to be recessed pictures of our local coyote population-. Keep 'em coming, gang! Photos by Richard Clark. Schlitterbahn cont. on A4 while things cooled down but here’s guessing officer Alton will be back A little Island history next month. Tortuga Dunes Some good news this week as Nueces The Battle of Whitecap Beach County issued a letter approving Civil War Battle Leaves Union Ships Stranded Near Whitecap Beach going forward with the long-stalled Tortuga Dunes project on the beach Editor’s note: In the last issue we SIR: I have the honor to report the armed Confederate schooner having her, and then about 5 miles astern. at Zahn Road. Developer Jeff Lamkin left you with the outbreak of a Civil arrival at this place on the 27th left Corpus Christi for the pass, for The chase was continued for 8 who purchased the property this War battle on what is now Whitecap ultimo of the U.S.S. DeSoto and the the alleged purpose of sounding the year plans to build several hundred miles, and at 11 a. m., when within Beach. Before manmade changes to U.S. bark Afidnight, and on the 29th channel. about 150 yards of the Pass, and small units, under 500 square feet at The Island, Corpus Christi Pass ran ultimo of the U. S. gunboat schooner I at once went on board of U. S. bark then under a high bluff of land a purchase price in the low to mid- from the Laguna Madre at a point Rachel Seaman. The Afidnight I have Arthur and reported the same to her called Padre Island, being hard $100,000 range and allow buyers to where Fish Pass now begins, parallel dispatched to cruise on the coast commanding officer, Lieutenant T. F. pressed by the boats, she was lease them out for overnight stay. His to the beach to a point near the end of Texas, between Galveston and Wade. It was thought best to send an run ashore, officers and soldiers plans also call for two restaurants on of present day Whitecap where it Matagorda Bay; pg 803 v16. expedition to capture her, the Arthur abandoning her, and took refuge the beachfront. The county approval, emptied into the Gulf of Mexico. required due to the location near 396 WEST GULF BLOCKADING to proceed in advance to Corpus behind sand hills. As soon as our the dunes, clears the way for some In 1861 Union and Confederate SQUADRON. Expedition in search Christi Pass, while a boat expedition boats rounded the point of land, paperwork with the City of Corpus troops fought a battle there which of Confederate schooner from Corpus from the Sachem proceeded by way they were attacked by volleys of Christi but it looks like things are ended with the Confederates in Christi, December 7, 1862. Report of Corpus Christi Bay. The Arthur musketry from behind those hills, moving at the site after years of no possession of two Union ships which of Acting Master Johnson, U. S. accordingly got underway at 3 a.m. wounding Mr. Reynolds badly, and progress due to the high cost of flood were abandoned near the mouth of Navy, commanding U. S. S. Sachem. and boats from this vessel at 6 a.m., killing two of the Sachems crew and insurance; a problem that Lamkin has the channel. U. S. S. SACHEM, Aransas Bay, consisting of 18 men and two boats, wounding two more; also killing a man, a refugee from Corpus Christi, solved. The following is an account of the Tex., December 8, 1862. SIR: I beg in charge of Mr. A. H. Reynolds, whom I asked as a favor to join the battle from the two leaders, first the leave to make the following report: acting ensign, and G. C. Dolliver, expedition. Mr. Reynold’s party Packery Channel Union, then the Confederate. I caused to be captured on the night masters mate.