Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 44, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 1, 1989 Page: 1 of 14
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See Page 8
Sharks Ready
To Rough-Up
Rice Raiders
wmmms&m
Remember
To Vote On
Nov. 7th
”Aquaculture park” in county's future?
General Land Office official says area well suited for new growth industry
BY MICHAEL SCHEIB
Beacon Staff Writpr
It will happen. And it will happen right here.
"Aquaculture in Texas has a tremendous future
and it will be a lot faster than people think," said
Jack Boettcher of the Texas General Land Office.
The beginnings of this future may well be right
here in Matagorda County.
About 80 people from the area gathered on
Wells Point Road west of Palacios last Thursday
for an Extension Service-sponsored tour of aqua-
culture projects already developed in Matagorda
County. They stopped by the Perry R. Bass fa-
cility where they observed oyster and fin fish
hatcheries maintained by Texas Parks and Wildlife
to restock Texas estuaries; then across the street to
a commercial oyster hatchery (from which spat are
sent to Louisiana for grow-out in leased bays), to
the adjacent Redfish Unlimited, a pioneering oper-
ation which has both hatchery and grow-out
capabilities, and then to a shrimp grow-out "farm"
about a half-mile east of Wells Point Road.
The shrimp farm is of special interest to
Boettcher and the General Land Office. It is the
first aquaculture site built with the cooperation of
the Land Office-but probably won't be the last.
As Boettcher explained, "We want to promote, on
a demonstration basis, aquaculture in Texas."
The General Land Office (GLO) controls, di-
rectly or indirectly, about 22 1/2 million acres of
land in Texas; about 40 percent of it is urban in-
come-producing properties, about 40 percent rural
income-producing properties, and about 20 per-
cent environmentally-sensitive areas. And the
property surely has produced some income. Right
now the GLO has about $8-9 billion in a perma-
nent school fund-the largest public education
endowment fund in the country.
Much of that money came from oil and gas
leases in the past, but things have changed. "We
are looking for other ways to diversify, to generate
more funds for the school fund. One of the things
that the director has a real sincere interest in is
aquaculture," said Boettcher. "Aquaculture will
become a major component of the school fund."
The GLO plans to use about $2-3 million of the
inventory of raw land and dedicate it to aquaculture
projects; fresh water, salt water, fin fish,
shellfish.... And the first is the shrimp farm on
Wells Point Road, and a couple of catfish farms
arc in the discussion stage.
The GLO's thinking is simple. By developing
land for aquaculture and then leasing to an opera-
tor, they have made it easier for the operator to
succeed. If the operator succeeds, then it becomes
clear to other operators AND INVESTORS that
aquaculture is a viable industry in that area and
thereby further growth of the industry is encour-
aged.
Because of the flat topography, mild climate
and underlying clay soils of the so-called rice belt
(of which Matagorda County is a large part), it is
particularly suited for aquaculture and the GLO
has expansive, albeit still tentative, plans for
Matagorda County. (Of little relevance to us here,
(See AQUACULTURE, Page 5)
■
• A
wmsmm
VOLUME 82, NO. 44
30-CENTS
FOURTEEN PAGES
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1989
PALACIOS, TEXAS
Walking the path to a healthy life
SHOWING their united support for a healthy lifestyle and their opposition to drug
abuse, approximately 100 people of all ages took part in the mile-plus Family
Wellness Baywalk Saturday. The Baywalk, which was followed by a hotdog picnic
on the Pavilion, climaxed Palacios' week-long participation during Red Ribbon
Week. Jim and Helen Kilroy were special guest during the activity which was
sponsored by the Texans' War on Drugs-Palacios Area. The recipe for a healthy
lifestyle, according to Madeline Rother, included daily doses of laughter and hug,
proper nutrition, wearing seatbelts, exercise and spiritual well-being. (Beacon
Photo by Nick West)
Laughlin tells area farmers
Farm Bill emphasizes
cleaner environment
BY MICHAEL SCHEIB
Beacon Staff Writer
United States Congressman
from the 14th District, Greg
Laughlin, addressed members of
the Matagorda County Cattle-
men's Association at their annual
banquet last Saturday at Bill's
Restaurant in Midfield.
He spoke of his first 10
months in Washington: "I've
gotten the feeling of frustration at
times just like many in our
neighborhoods and country have
the feeling of frustration with our
government and the effectiveness
of our government. I do think
we have a long ways to go be-
fore we get ahead of the trends
and the crises that have continu-
ally put us in a position of play-
ing catch-up. It's true when we
talk about the deficit; it's true
when we talk about the war on
drugs; it's true when we talk
about our competitive position in
the world economy; it’s true
when we talk about our effort to
clean up our water and our air;
and even our ability to be an ef-
fective force in the important
changes taking place in Eastern
Europe, particularly Poland,
Hungary and East Germany."
He shortly moved to subjects
of more immediate relevance to
cattlemen, however. "On the
1990 Farm Bill, I do not expect
significant changes regarding the
commodity programs. There
will be some tinkering with the
farm bill, but there will not be the
kind of major overhaul tnat
sometimes you've experienced in
the past."
"But there will be a major dif-
Little League to
review reports at
Thursday meeting
Texas Mid-Coast Little
League will meet to review an-
nual reports and make plans for
the 1990 season on Thursday,
Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Palacios
Library Meeting Room. Make
plans to attend this organizational
meeting.
ference between the 1990 Farm
Bill and what we had in the 1980
Farm Bill. That will be in the
area dealing with the envi-
ronment. Many think that sec-
tion will be far larger than it's
ever been in the past and this
section will include water qual-
ity, food safety, ozone depletion,
and animal rights."
"You, in the agricultural field,
are most concerned abput having
a good, clean environment, water
supply and land that you can
continue to make your livelihood
with and support ydttr family."
The Food Safety Assurance
Act, of which I am a co-sponsor,
has already been filed and will
help restore public confidence in
our nation's food supply. This
is a top priority to many of us.
This legislation serves as a start-
ing point to make the regulatory
process more responsive to
changes and improvements in
science by speeding up the
regulatory process the EPA
follows in reviewing pesticides;
while reserving the comment
period for those who feel they
may be adversely affected by
Relative to the EPA's regula-
tions, Laughlin recounted an ex-
perience of a group of El Campo
rice fanners coming to Wash-
ington to protest the banning of
furidan, "which was their only
economical means of fighting the
rice water weevil. There was,
and is, no other pesticide known
to the EPA which will help our
rice farmers with that problem."
An outcome of the meeting was
that "my good friend from the
1st District, Congressman Jim
Chapman, inserted a requirement
(See LAUGHLIN. Page 13)
Lions Club plans
broom/mop sale
The Palacios Lions Club will
be having a broom and mop sale
Saturday, (Nov. 4) at Hamlin’s
Minimax from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Voters to decide on
Texas constitutional
amendments Nov. 7
Texas registered voters will decide on 20 proposed state con-
stitutional amendments when they go to the polls in the Nov. 7
gener i! election
The amendments will be the only items on the ballots when
the polls are open from 7 a.m .-7 p.m. next Tuesday. The absentee
balloting period currently underway will end at 5 p.m, this Friday
(Nov. 3).
Voters in Pet 3 A (Palacios) will cast their ballots on Nov, 7
at the Matagorda County Courthouse Annex in the 400 block of
Commerce. Those voters residing in Pet, 3B will be voting in the
PISD Fine Arts Building instead, of the high school library as in
previous years.
For the Collegcport area, balloting will take place in the
MoPac House while tfibsc in the Blessing area will cast their
votes at the Blessing Community Center,
A • unplc ballot bl lire pm,used.i*. primed ....
Page 13 of this week’s Palacios Beacon?”^ *
iii
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West, Nicholas M. Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 44, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 1, 1989, newspaper, November 1, 1989; Palacios, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth730977/m1/1/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Palacios Library.