The Aransas Pass Progress (Aransas Pass, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 25, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 28, 1996 Page: 2 of 24
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Rain provides relief, but p
?!!#*% $mnit
rain. After months of no
we are now getting a lot of
rain In a abort time.
Aa you would expect In this
imperfect world or ours the
rains came too late for many
and too soon for others. Some
crops had been harvested and
production for the most part
was not as good as usual, but
there was still some cotton In
the fields and this will most
likely be lost.
Also most of the rains have
fallen along the coastline and
it is too soon to tell what
effect if any It will have on fill-
ing our reservoirs. Hopefully
we will get some ratal in the
watershed and that will gve
us some relief from the water
rationing program we are on.
However any relief will only be
temporary.
We still need to seek a long
term solution to a water
shortage problem that will
continue to haunt us as our
area grows.
I am not convinced that a
pipeline to Lake Texana la a
good long term solution but 1
don't have enough knowledge
or Information to offer a more
lasting solution.
I can t
for some local
that the networks are realty to possibly win $1,000.00.
struggling to fill time. They
keep going back to 1908 pie winning some i
when there was rioting at the prises we did have a
convention. 1 really don't see winner and he got the
the connection with this years $1,000.00 prise. There are a
convention which most likely couple of new slants to the
will come off exactly aa gsme this year, so get out
order yours i
the Chamber
2750.
tow by
office at 75§-
That means that football and
Shrlmporee cannot be far
behind. The Panthers and
The Mustangs will soon be
taking to the field and It looks
like both teams should do
And as we said SHRIM-
POREE la rapidly approach-
ing. This years SHRIMPOREE
la September 13. 14. and 15.
And as h) past years'there is
a beautiful commemorative
And aa you might have
guessed, with the recent rams
the mosquitoes cannot be far
behind. The nice
our dry summer
could spend son
sitting outdoors i
carried off by the little peat. I
am afraid those evenings will
soon be over for a while.
Hopefully the city will start
spraying very soon and we
can hold the mosquitoes pop-
get will be some more badiv
should be prepared If they
sheuM happen to find their
way Into the Oulf of Mexico
I am happy ta> see the
Democrats, as well m the
Republicans talking about
tax cuts. Mainly bacanae
these days Take home pay
will Just barely make the
trip."
kmum
be looking for you.
' m .3
...........
............................
Reader concerned
for area teachers
I heard a statement, by one
of the teaching staff at our
high school, that gave me real
pause for concern. The state-
ment was that she was afraid
to go Into the parking lot by
herself. That when a “fracus"
would start,, she would do
nothing because of that fear.
This, coupled with what I
learned .from three 'young
men who are recent gradu-
ates of the Aransas Pass High
School system.
While chatting with the
young men. who work for a
friend, die subject of Belize
came up. I asked If any knew
where Belize was. In relation
to ourselves. When that dkl
not obtain a response, I asked
about their knowledge of
Central America, much to my
dismay, two did not know
where Central America was
and the third thought it was a
collection of islands some-
where.
I then named the countries
of Central America and asked
if they knew where they
were....response....did not
have the slightest idea.
Now, we have teachers
afraid of their students and
students who do not know
basic geography. If this is a
criteria of our school system.
God help us. What good does
It do to have us pay extraordi-
nary taxes to educate our
children, build additional
schools and rave about the
low pay of teachers when we
are turning out seml-llterate
kids.
Have we reached the point of
pulling down our school sys-
tem to the lowest level of the
lowest child in school? Have
we totally lost control of what
takes place In the classroom?
Have we reached a point
that our teachers haveno one to
back them up when a rowdy,
over-sized kid decides to act
up and push the envelope?
Are we Just pushing the kids
through school to fulfill a
State requirement or edict
and do not really care If they
get through with some sem-
blance of an education?
These and several hundred
other questions should be
asked by every caring parent
In this area.
I cannot believe that our
parent baae does not want
more for their children thaw
they had fpowtng up. I cannot
believe that our parents, as a
whole, do not want their chil-
dren educated to the highest
level that child can achieve.
Granted, not every child Is
college bound and some
should be well trained In
other means gf earning a liv-
ing.
But an education Is Just as
important to one learning a
—
mm
skill as it is to one going on to
college. Each must face the
complexities of life and they
are going to become more
complex as they grow older.
So a real education Is a must
under any and all circum-
stances.
If our administrators and
teachers have lost control
and children have absorbed
the role as governors of their
fate, we are In trouble up to
our collective necks. We have
given over the basic responsi-
bility of educating our chil-
dren to those without the real
tools to do so in a proper
manner. Very possibly this
why we are losing so many
qualified teachers to other
fields that do not have the
stress factor teaching pre-
sents.
; I wonder If It Is not time for
everyone to take a hard look
at what is ready taking place
in our schools and on the
campuses and what is really
being taken from our schools
Into the real world.
I would like to make one
other point. Too often, we
have taken our truly dedicat-
ed and wonderful teachers
and placed them In a
stralghtjacket, removing their
autonomy in the class room,
plus burying them under a
burden of paper work to meet
State and Federal require-
ments.
The lack of respect being
given these molders of our
children by students and par-
ents alike, has caused a con-
dition of true mental anguish
amongst those who care and
want to teach.
If out teachers are not
respected, they have no
authority. If they have no
authority, they have no safety
and physical threats can be
and are made. And this is
why one is afraid to go into
the parking area by herself.
SOMETHING IS WRONG.
8incerely,
ILC.-Deal
The times (and
symbols) they are
a’ changin’
It makes no difference where
I go or what paper 1 read I
always see there are certain
elements within the area who
go about changing or even
destroying the symbols of his-
tory of the area.
Yea, even in the little City of
Aransas Paaa these revision-
ist are at work. The August
14 Process, probably
unknowingly, highlighted two
moat recent events.
One of the early day symbols
of the little Town of Aranaaa
Paaa waa the Red Flah. This
symbol was on top of signs,
promoting Aransas Paaa.
scattered along highways. It
was said, as far away aa
Chicago.
This was followed by the
tarpon, used by both Aranaaa
Pass and Port Aransas, also
on top or roadway signs
which said WHERE THEY
BITE EVERY DAY. These
symbols were later replaced
by the shrimp and was shown
on most promotional material
about Aransas Pass.
The large fiberglass creature
was for all to see as they came
into Aransas Pass for over 25
years. It looks like this sym-
bol is now history and Is look-
ing for a home. The redfiah.
tarpon and shrimp have now
been replaced by the bronze
sallflah. Sailflsh In Aransas
Passll Well Dad Is from
Aransas Pass and he was the
first to rig out a boat and
started catching sailflsh out
of Port Aransas.
There are those who don’t
want to restore the Seaman's
Memorial Tower with the
symbols which have so much
meaning to so many. These
missing symbols have mean-
ing to all Christian faiths. Are
those revisionist trying to
take religion out of memorials
to love ones who lost their
lives at sea from this small
community?
In early 1988 I was looking
for a place to put a memorial
to my grandfather. G.E. "Bill”
Min ter, pioneer of the seafood
and shrimp industry in the
Aransas Pass area. The Conn
Brown Park was being
expanded and the city man-
ager suggested it be the cen-
ter piece within a raised land-
scaped island which was in
the near center of the park.
Several months later the
park expansion was dedicat-
ed and the memorial
unveiled. For the next 5 to 6
years as people entered the
park, after passing the
Seaman's Memorial Tower,
the first thing they saw was
the landscaped Island, then
the memorial and nautical
symbols placed within the
Island.
The memorial was easily
accessible even for the elder-
ly. It could even be read from
the car. I had acquaintances
from San Antonio. Austin.
Dallas and Houston to men-
tion just a few places who
contacted me saying they had
seen the mrtblal -was that
an one cf my Bn. In 1994 the
town received another money
grant to expand the park. .
The designers and those
local people along with some
of the acquaintances from out
Of town contacted hie regarding
the removal of the memorial.
Finally on one of my month-
ly trips home in November
1994 I went to the park.
My eyes scanned the park,
the 4-5 cars parked on the
vast expanse of asphalt did
not obstruct my vision. No
monument was seen. I then
drove the perimeter erf the
asphalt, still not seeing the
memorial. Well maybe they
Just had not yet put It back.
But finally I saw it at a dis-
tance.
My elderly father could not
walk the distance in the sand.
But there it waa. hard to find
even when I waa looking for It.
No wonder so many of the
locals missed It. no^ to men-
tion those out of towara who
had previously seen It and on
return trips wanted to show it
to their friends.
I realize different elements in
our society have different pri-
orities. I also realize I am very
bias when It comes to the his-
tory and nostalgia of Aranaaa
Pass. I also realized spend-
ing taxpayer’s money and a
few more square feet of
asphalt is prog-ess to some.
And progress to them is
more Important than a land-
scaped island and a memorial
to the history of the seafood
industry.
To Lou and Ralph Arcemont
I say don't eat the "big
shrimp”, let’s find It a home.
Conn Brown Park would be a
fitting home. Also let's get the
Seaman's Memorial complete-
ly restored as it waa built by
those who had the vision for
such a memorial.
Residents should
not pre-Judgs man-
ufactured housing
frig codes an
site built or mobile ham
IVe built my awn site
homes and purchased
Itaedln a mobile home,
also gone through
in both and had
damagra to
which was 1$
ui uu um. wi jimi -----
—_ apparently were mot ***•
Interested in aesthetics (the lag I m
landscaped island), symbols tured 1
of the nautical history along Trailer
with the memorial which had 11
a few words of history of the
mqjor Industry of Aranaaa
Paaa. These symbols alone Thcyi
with the landscaped
subdivision aa the
Parka they already
I
Rb
Hi
of the site built
itlng.
cats
flapping out the
windows. * outside paint
peeled off and sitting not on
permanent foundations but
on small concrete piers,
inside furniture outside and
trash everywhere.
^ Yes Ingleslde I s«w your
sins that you hide from your-
self. I heard It said put Oak
Ridge by the Airport. Get real
Ingleslde. how many of you
would like to live tty the
Airport. Not In my backyard
you said, then who's brfbk-
yard. I thought Ingleslde
fought long and hard to
secure the Naval Station and
now they are unwilling to
have a manufactured housing
subdivision In their back-
yards. What must the Navy
think of this!
. I lived In a manufactured
housing - subdtvlaiPOnh in
Austin, a few years back and
it was state of the art, 3 story
clubhouse, swimming pool,
hiking trails. Day Care
Center, Gym and Styling
Saloon and two tennis courts
on the property. My neigh-
bors were law-enforcement
officers, engineers, bank loan
officers, teachers, govern-
ment and state workers, and
construction workers.
It was a very safe and quiet
place to live and fines were
passed out by the
Homeowners Assoc, to resi-
dents who who did not abide
by the rules and regulations
of the subdivision. Last year
340,000 manufactured
homes were sold mainly
because the cost to build la
one-half the cost of building a
site built home and quality la
built-in.
An E-5 or E-6 Navy person-
nel can not afford a $100,000
home, nor can they afford to
wait a couple of months or
year to get into a condo or
build a site built bouse. Did
you know that the military
will move the manufactured
home for the military «n«« if
he Is transferred, they cer-
tainly can’t move a site built
home for him 2 or 3 states
away, but In most of the
cases I’ve seen when military
Is transferred out new mili-
tary is transferred In and
many of the homes are sold In
place.
The average cost of a 3 bed-
room / 2 bath mobifo. bgmef
can he paid fixf'lq,payments.
of $400.00 per month, which
is less expensive than rent
and it belongs to them. The
homes In Oak Ridge would be
purchased on conventional
loans by anyone with good
credit and the Income to be
able to budget for the home.
The people buying there are
the working middle class, the
tax-paying backbone of the
United States of America,
wishing for the American
Dream. ..Home
Ownership...that fits their
budget and lifestyle!
Wake up Ingleslde
No more housing
Discrimination
THE ARANSAS PASS PROGRESS
U.S.P.S. 028-900
atSn Punch OmMy, CMaa of aw Aratw
$22.40. Sk rant* $14 00 OtfaMa tw Sum in $26.00 8k i
mans Sudani mb $1950
$18.90 •
PuMahara J.6. Richard* Ml *.P Richards
: Jalw Lawman. I
l rapNSq oarsaraMMa. Rnae <
a pVMMWa aManaan
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The Aransas Pass Progress (Aransas Pass, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 25, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 28, 1996, newspaper, August 28, 1996; Aransas Pass, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1145750/m1/2/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Ed & Hazel Richmond Public Library.