Inside the Moon Flying High A2 Barefoot Benefit A4 Farmer's Market A6 Seashore Happenings A11 Fishing A13 Issue 775 The 27° 37' 0.5952'' N | 97° 13' 21.4068'' W Photo by Debbie Noble Island Free The voiceMoon of The Island since 1996 February 21, 2019 Weekly www.islandmoon.com FREE Around Billy The Island Grocery Store Going Up! By Dale Rankin Sandifer A bright light appeared in the sky Wednesday morning that sent we Big Shell Islanders looking for our long lost dark glasses. The Weather Wonks said it was the sun. Tuesday night it Beach was said that there was a Supermoon up there over our sandbar but if so it was hidden behind a cloud cover. Cleanup Nonetheless the evidence of the Music of the Spheres was there for all to see on Tuesday afternoon as a two- foot tide washed over our beaches Saturday The 24th edition of the Billy and lapped at the dunes. By Dale Rankin square-foot strip center above the The IGA, which stands for Sandifer Big Shell Beach Cleanup flood plane is now on site and work Independent Grocers Alliance, store hits Padre Island National Seashore Dasmarinas peckerwoods Site work on the new Balli Center will begin on the building as soon as is the anchor tenant at 21,000 square Saturday, March 23. Big Shell Beach development is nearing completion Reports came in this week of vandals permitting from the U.S. Army Corps feet. The Balli center also includes a is about halfway down PINS adjacent with construction on the building, breaking windows and generally of Engineers is in place. Rasheed said 3500 square foot restaurant. to Baffin Bay and volunteers with including the IGA grocery store, making a nuisance of themselves on the City of Corpus Christi is requiring four-wheel drive vehicles make the expected to be done by September, “We currently have offers from Dasmarinas. We’ve also had reports him, at his expense, to install a 26- trek to haul out trash that accumulates according to developer Moshin several restaurant owners who want of rampaging coyotes in that area of inch, 1500 foot-long sewer line across over the year. late. If you live in around there keep Rasheed.. to come in,” Mr. Rasheed said. “We the back of the property and a permit just haven’t decided which one is the an eye out for pesky varmints two- “We have already ordered the from the Corps to begin that project best fit.” legged or four-legged. equipment for the grocery store,” Mr. is pending. Once that is in place Island splash pad Rasheed said this week. construction on the building will He said he has one food franchise signed, a nail shop, Super Cuts, and Mr. Rasheed and his wife Lori begin. An eleven-foot high bulkhead will surround the developed property. Rasheed said this week the last of IGA cont on A4 the sand needed to raise the 35,000 Laissez les bon temps rouler! By the numbers… Barefoot Mardi Gras Sandifer Street P.I.P.O.A The street entrance to Balli Park With the ballots for two seats on was renamed for longtime Island the Padre Isles Property Owners Tickets on Sale guide Billy Sandifer, the same Board of Directors already being week the beach cleanup that filed and the annual membership Parade and Ball Saturday, March 2 bears his name takes place. meeting coming up on Saturday, Then in the evening the King and March 9, this week we take a Queens Ball this year is moving to the San Antonio splash pad look at the financial numbers for Prior to 1995 the only people New Orleans Tent at Padre Bali Park the organization as supplied by picking up trash at Big Shell Beach, at the attendees will find a whole new the staff for the year 2018. about halfway between Bob Hall The Island has an opportunity for event with Bali Park transformed into Pier and Mansfield Channel, were $811,511 Total Checking and a popular addition in the form of a the Street of New Orleans. Bourbon shark fishermen who kept a beach fire Savings splash pad for kids of all ages. For Street, Jackson Square and Café du burning around the clock and fueled those not familiar a splash pad is $199,451 Accounts Receivable Padre. it with beach trash. basically a concrete pad with water Saturday night the ball kicks off at $1,959,745 Taxable Income The Barefoot Mardi Gras celebration But starting in 1995 longtime Island that shoots out from the ground level 7:30 p.m. and runs to 11:30 p.m. with Funds is only one week away with the guide and local legend Billy Sandifer and they are wildly popular with dance music from Splendiferous, a Barefoot Parade, Festival and King organized the Big Shell Cleanup to kids. The one seen here is in the Pearl $2,865,322 Mutual Funds shrimp boil from Rollin’ Tide, and a and Queens Ball scheduled for get volunteers to remove trash on development in San Antonio and full bar available. A traditional New $2,723,066 Certificates of Saturday March 2 and tickets are now Padre Island National Seashore and is the main attraction there for the Orleans style procession will bring Deposit on sale. since then over 8525 volunteers have younger set. the Barefoot Royalty through the removed 2,726,000 pounds of trash $1,794,950 Cash Equivalents The parade which travels the beach The Island opportunity comes in crowd and crown the new Barefoot from this ten-mile stretch of remote between Whitecap south to Bob the form of a fund at the City Parks $7,383,339 Self –Insured King and Queen. and wild stretch of 4 Wheel Drive Hall Pier is expected to have over and Recreation Department that (Bulkheads) Tickets are $30 before February 23, Only beach. sixty floats and kicks off at 11 a.m. collects fees from developers to pay and $40 after and can be purchased $4,951 Legal fees Saturday. Volunteers will meet at the for parks around the city. The money online at www.barefootmardigras. Malaquite Pavilion on PINS no $118,821 Total Expenses is set aside to assure there is ample Following the parade the Barefoot com , at Frost Bank Padre Island later than 8 a.m. and entry fees to park space for public use. Currently $9,820,348 Total Equity Festival, with its party of food trucks, and Coastline Properties. The the park will be waved. Four-wheel there is about $4 million available artists, exhibitors and children’s event is conducted by the Padre -$112,824 Net Income drive vehicles and trailers are needed. in the fund, half of the $4 million is activities, will have live music, Kidz Island Business Association and is Volunteers without four-wheel drive earmarked for park improvements $9,779,577 Total Liabilities Fun Zone and a Mardi Gras Costume a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big vehicles will be given transportation within five miles of the location of and Equity Contest for all ages! It’s open from Sisters and Seashore Schools. the new development. The money is 11a.m. – 5 p.m. at Briscoe King paid when platting is done and since Pavilion. Sandifer cont on A4 The Island was platted decades ago and since Island developers had the choice of paying into the fund or A little Island history dedicating land, and further since there was plenty of open land here then, the developers donated 50 acres 51,300 Pounds of Silver from the Spanish Ship Santa of parkland but left no money in the fund for use within the five-mile radius. However, the other $2 million Maria de Yciar Has Never Been Found available can be used anywhere in the Editor’s note: In recent issues we nation’s first topless wedding at his city and that’s where the opportunity have been running the memoirs of business located at the site that is now comes in. longtime Islander Louis Rawalt. the American Bank. But in 1966 a tip The City Parks Board is currently In the 1960s Rawalt told his friend from Louis Rawalt sent Frenchy and looking to build about five splash Eugene French about the location two friends in search of three Spanish pads around the city and The Island of Spanish ships sunk near the ships that were washed up on the is eligible for the two-million in Mansfield Channel in 1554 and shores of what is now Padre Island citywide funding which means if French, known as “Frenchy” to National Seashore in April of 1554 we get busy we might be able to his fellow Islanders, went in search with their holds full of silver bullion get a splash pad in one of our city of it. His search set off a string of and some gold mined in Mexico. parks. The cost for each pad is about events which led to the passing of Spanish records indicate that, among $100,000 and a decision will be made the Texas Antiquities Law but in other items, the ships were carrying in the next few months. This could the end, an estimated $20 million more than 85,000 pounds of silver be a matter for the Island Strategic worth of silver is still in the sand coins stored in wooded barrels. Action Committee to weigh in on. somewhere along the coast of Padre In all about twenty ships set out each Aquarius Park has already been Island.