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bay area observer july 14, 2011

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By Rebecca Collins [email protected] On July 8, 2011 a fire destroyed the home of a long-time resident, Jimmy Permenter at 211 East Forest Ave in Shoreacres. The house and most of his possessions were destroyed. Shoreacres City Administrator, David Stall said in a press release issued immediately af- ter the fire, “Jimmy was one of the very few residents that stayed during Hurri- cane Ike and never left. He rebuilt and repaired and never looked back. Tonight the challenge is so much greater. We are very sorry for his loss”. The intense fire and windblown em- bers caused damage to nearby trees and set grass and brush fires as far away as a half a block. La Porte firefighters and EMS were assisted by Shoreacres Po- lice officers and were able to tamp out those small fires and prevent further loss. Surrounding structures were not destroyed but neighbors suffered dam- age due to the extreme heat. The siding melted off the house across the street, patches of lawn were scorched, and even nearby vehicles also suffered ef- fects of the heat. There were water pressure issues that caused a slight delay in fighting the fire. David Stall said “There were pressure issues at the fire today. I personally monitored the supply (suction) pressure at the first-in pumper. It was zero and intermittently negative at the peak of the fire. As more trucks arrived and more demands were made it wasn’t going to get any better. That said, I also can tell you that no amount of water pressure or supply would have saved this house under the circumstances present this af- ternoon. The fire just had too much of a head start before any fire hoses were charged”. City of La Porte Assistant Fire Chief Donald Ladd confirmed that the home was probably beyond saving, and that the water pressure issue didn’t help the situation, but was not a factor in stop- ping the destruction of the house. Ladd said, “Yes, we would have liked more water pressure, but the fire did have a head start, and the time it took to realize we didn’t have the pressure we needed wouldn’t have help save the house”. Water was pumped from Galveston Bay to help extinguish the fire, and once pressure built in the hoses, firefighters then had enough pressure to quickly extinguish the fire. Assistant Chief Ladd confirmed that response time by the La Porte Fire Department was ap- proximately 3 minutes. Five engines, one aerial, and 1 grass rig were called to the scene. Backup manpower from Deer Park was also requested. Although the city of Shoreacres main- tained water pressure in the system throughout the fire, it has been operat- ing at about half capacity since Hurri- cane Ike destroyed Water Plant #1 near City Hall. Approximately half the wa- ter storage, water sources, water pres- sure boosters, and the pressure/elevated storage were completely destroyed by Ike. Most of the hydrants in Shore- acres were also damaged by Ike and are still awaiting repair. As a result there are hydrants that may not be functioning to their full ability. Plans are in the works to rebuild Water Plant #1 which should be fully operational early next year. Plans are also in place to rehabilitate all of the fire hydrants in Shoreacres. Stall said in his press release, “Our system today simply is not up to the high demands of large scale firefighting. All of our water comes from our smaller Water Plant #2 on Bayou Forest at the extreme west end of the City where the water tower is lo- cated. The further east you go the harder it is for us to supply large volumes of water. We have been anxious to rebuild Water Plant #1 for almost three years so that we can meet the city’s routine de- mands and improve water pressure and delivery. And we look forward to hav- ing a good supply of water for fighting fires like the one today. The new water plant will be a huge improvement and provide better pressure than the city has ever experienced. That won’t how- ever improve our distribution system, the pipes in the ground. We have fewer hydrants than we should have. But hy- drants require large water mains, the pipes that we don’t have”. The City of Shoreacres is taking open bids to replace four blocks of water mains east of Old Highway 146, which will improve the system’s pressure and capacity in those areas. Stall says it’s the first step of a long range plan to upgrade our water distribution system. As of July 12, no definite cause of the fire is known. An investigation will be complete within a couple of weeks. Status updates on the City of Shore- acres projects can be followed on their website at www.cityofshoreacres.us. Under the heading of “City Project Status Reports” residents can finding updates on all city projects including water system improvements, By The Bay Seaside Garden Club Seabrook Carother’s Coastal Gardens Third Wednesday 12:30 p.m. Seaside Garden Club meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 12:30 pm at the beautiful new Carother’s Coastal Gardens Wed- ding and Event location, 502 Pine Gully Rd in Seabrook. Next meeting: July 20th Attend Seaside Garden Club’s pre- sentation on attracting butterflies to your Seabrook garden. TishReustle, Galveston County Master Gar- dener, will teach us how to create a butterfly friendly habitat garden on Wednesday, July 20th, 2011, at 12:30 pm at Carother’s Coastal Gar- den. For more information call 281- 474-4825. Bay Forest Two Man Team Championship Bay Forest Golf Course July 16-17 Go to www.bayforestgolf.com for entry form CERT Training South Houston Community Center Tuesday Evenings 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. TCCI, Community Chaplain Corps CERT training will be held at the South Houston Community Center, 1007 State St., South Houston, TX 77587. Classes will be held on Tues- day evenings from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., starting July 12, 2011 and ending August 30, 2011. The training is free and open to the community and surrounding areas. To register contact Misty Gunn at 281-436-8169 or misty.gunn@oem. hctx.net or Chaplain Sheepdog at 713-540-6304 or chap0129@ya- hoo.com. www.harriscountycitizen- corps.com PandaMania!!! LP Community Church July 25 to 29 5:30pm to 8:30pm PandaMania!!! Where God is Wild about you. The wildest VBS you’ve ever seen will be coming to La Porte Community Church at 202 S. 1st St. on July 25 to 29th. Dinner will be at 5:30pm and VBS will to held at 6:15 to 8:30pm. Ages 3 years through 5th grade. For more information call Leslie at 713-7030479 today!. We’re looking for classmates!! La Porte High School Class of 1971. A reunion is being planned for this fall. Please contact us on Facebook @ LPHS Class of 1971 Reunion or call Don Davison @ 409-944-1311 LPPD Announce Citizens Police Academy for August The La Porte Police Department will begin a new Citizens Police Academy (CPA) on August 9, 2011 with graduation scheduled for No- vember 15, 2011. CPA participants attended classes at the La Porte Po- lice Department every Tuesday night for 15 consecutive weeks from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Participants are exposed to a large group of well-qualified instructors. All courses are taught by City of La Porte Police Depart- ment employees, both certified po- lice officers and civilian employees, serving in specialized positions. To supplement the classroom instruc- tion, hands-on training is offered to participants involving 15 areas of police operations, ranging from Spe- cial Weapons and Tactics to Commu- nity Policing. Participation in the CPA is free and all materials are provided by the Police Department. Applicants must be at least eighteen years of age with a clear criminal history. This means that applicants can have no convic- tions for felony offenses, cannot be on probation for any reason, and must not have any outstanding war- rants. An application is also required to be completed and a background check will be conducted prior to the first night of class. The department asks that all applicants live or work in the City of La Porte, although oc- casional exception(s) may be made. For questions concerning La Porte’s Citizens Police Academy, contact Officer Robyn Gallion at 281-842-3162 or log onto the depart- ment’s website at www.ci.la-porte. us/gov/police/support/default.asp. ... INDEX Community ......................2 Local News.....................3 Business.........................4 LPISD Newsletter,,,,,,,,5-8 NASA News....................9 Police News..................10 Classifieds....................11 In The Garden...............12 VOLUME 2, NO. 28 LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011 The Bay Area Observer Community News For The Galveston Bay Area Pasadena Plumbing Services, Inc. “For All Your Plumbing Needs” 281-487-4688 Smart Shoppers Browse In Santa Fe... But Buy It At The World Famous CROW’S NEST ART GALLERY 230 Jefferson La Porte, Texas 77571 281-471-4371 The Onsite or In-House - 2 Locations La Porte - 281-867-0429 Webster - 713-893-8920 Business-Residential PC-Laptop-Server Networks - Xbox-TV Repairs-Security Camera Home Theater Installs ABC COMPUTER SERVICES - 24 X 7 Intense Fire Destroys Home In Shoreacres Continued on page 3 The Fire Destroyed Everything Including An Antique Car By Rebecca Collins [email protected] On Tuesday July 5th Seabrook City Coun- cil voted 4-1-1, with Mayor Glenn Royal op- posed and Paul Dunphey recusing himself, on the first reading of Ordinance No. 2009-09 to approve a conditional use permit to establish a “motorcycle sales and repair’ business in a C-2, Medium Commercial Zoning District at 910 Bayport Boulevard. The location is currently a defunct gas station. The applicant, Twisted Custom Cycles, wishes to establish a motorcy- cle repair facility at the old Food and Fuel gas station and convenience store. The owners have indicated that they wish to establish a repair and retail (parts, accessories, and apparel) facility that will operate Monday through Friday 9 am to 6 pm and Saturday 9 am to 1:30 pm. Twisted Custom Cycles already operates a similar facil- ity in Alvin. This business would be a satellite location of that original operation. Seabrook resident Marcia Jones objected to the motorcycle shop going in at that location. She said, “I am just incredulous that anyone would even consider this. If you know where this location is, first of all it’s less than a block from a very, very quiet residential neighbor- hood. Second of all it’s fronting Hwy. 146 right across of Dairy Queen where cars are coming in and out of there all day long. It’s exceed- ingly dangerous to even think of even putting something like that there. We have a heck of a LPFD Pumping Water From Galveston Bay Seabrook City Council Approve Conditional Use Permit For Motorcycle Sales and Service Shop Photo by David Stall, City of Shoreacres La Porte City Council Recognizes Employees, Takes No Action On Drought Contingency Revisions Continued on page 3 By Rebecca Collins [email protected] During Monday night’s city council meeting Nicole Wells re- ceived recognition for a job well done in the human resources department of the city. Wells was named Employee of the 2nd Quarter. She performs a variety of activities within Human Re- sources including employment, benefits, compensation and re- cords. Nicole advises employees and management on the inter- pretation of City policies, programs, and procedures and ensures programs are implemented in accordance with established poli- cies and procedures and administered consistently throughout the City. Nicole also serves as Chairperson of the Special Events Committee and coordinates events. She actively participates in almost all events, which usually are after work hours and on

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Bay Area Observer July 14, 2011

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Page 1: Bay Area Observer July 14, 2011

By Rebecca [email protected]

On July 8, 2011 a fire destroyed the home of a long-time resident, Jimmy Permenter at 211 East Forest Ave in Shoreacres. The house and most of his possessions were destroyed. Shoreacres City Administrator, David Stall said in a press release issued immediately af-ter the fire, “Jimmy was one of the very few residents that stayed during Hurri-cane Ike and never left. He rebuilt and repaired and never looked back. Tonight the challenge is so much greater. We are very sorry for his loss”. The intense fire and windblown em-bers caused damage to nearby trees and set grass and brush fires as far away as a half a block. La Porte firefighters and EMS were assisted by Shoreacres Po-lice officers and were able to tamp out those small fires and prevent further loss. Surrounding structures were not destroyed but neighbors suffered dam-age due to the extreme heat. The siding melted off the house across the street, patches of lawn were scorched, and even nearby vehicles also suffered ef-fects of the heat. There were water pressure issues that caused a slight delay in fighting the fire. David Stall said “There were pressure issues at the fire today. I personally monitored the supply (suction) pressure at the first-in pumper. It was zero and intermittently negative at the peak of the fire. As more trucks arrived and more demands were made it wasn’t going to get any better. That said, I also can tell you that no amount of water pressure or supply would have saved this house under the circumstances present this af-ternoon. The fire just had too much of a head start before any fire hoses were charged”. City of La Porte Assistant Fire Chief Donald Ladd confirmed that the home was probably beyond saving, and that the water pressure issue didn’t help the situation, but was not a factor in stop-ping the destruction of the house. Ladd said, “Yes, we would have liked more

water pressure, but the fire did have a head start, and the time it took to realize we didn’t have the pressure we needed wouldn’t have help save the house”. Water was pumped from Galveston Bay to help extinguish the fire, and once pressure built in the hoses, firefighters then had enough pressure to quickly extinguish the fire. Assistant Chief Ladd confirmed that response time by the La Porte Fire Department was ap-

proximately 3 minutes. Five engines, one aerial, and 1 grass rig were called to the scene. Backup manpower from Deer Park was also requested. Although the city of Shoreacres main-tained water pressure in the system throughout the fire, it has been operat-ing at about half capacity since Hurri-cane Ike destroyed Water Plant #1 near City Hall. Approximately half the wa-ter storage, water sources, water pres-

sure boosters, and the pressure/elevated storage were completely destroyed by Ike. Most of the hydrants in Shore-acres were also damaged by Ike and are still awaiting repair. As a result there are hydrants that may not be functioning to their full ability. Plans are in the works to rebuild Water Plant #1 which should be fully operational early next year. Plans are also in place to rehabilitate all of the fire hydrants in Shoreacres. Stall said in his press release, “Our system today simply is not up to the high demands of large scale firefighting. All of our water comes from our smaller Water Plant #2 on Bayou Forest at the extreme west end of the City where the water tower is lo-cated. The further east you go the harder it is for us to supply large volumes of water. We have been anxious to rebuild Water Plant #1 for almost three years so that we can meet the city’s routine de-mands and improve water pressure and delivery. And we look forward to hav-ing a good supply of water for fighting fires like the one today. The new water plant will be a huge improvement and provide better pressure than the city has ever experienced. That won’t how-ever improve our distribution system, the pipes in the ground. We have fewer hydrants than we should have. But hy-drants require large water mains, the pipes that we don’t have”. The City of Shoreacres is taking open bids to replace four blocks of water mains east of Old Highway 146, which will improve the system’s pressure and capacity in those areas. Stall says it’s the first step of a long range plan to upgrade our water distribution system. As of July 12, no definite cause of the fire is known. An investigation will be complete within a couple of weeks. Status updates on the City of Shore-acres projects can be followed on their website at www.cityofshoreacres.us. Under the heading of “City Project Status Reports” residents can finding updates on all city projects including water system improvements,

By The BaySeaside Garden ClubSeabrook Carother’s Coastal GardensThird Wednesday12:30 p.m.Seaside Garden Club meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 12:30 pm at the beautiful new Carother’s Coastal Gardens Wed-ding and Event location, 502 Pine Gully Rd in Seabrook.

Next meeting: July 20th

Attend Seaside Garden Club’s pre-sentation on attracting butterflies to your Seabrook garden. TishReustle, Galveston County Master Gar-dener, will teach us how to create a butterfly friendly habitat garden on Wednesday, July 20th, 2011, at 12:30 pm at Carother’s Coastal Gar-den. For more information call 281-474-4825.

Bay Forest Two Man Team ChampionshipBay Forest Golf CourseJuly 16-17Go to www.bayforestgolf.com for entry form

CERT TrainingSouth Houston Community CenterTuesday Evenings6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.TCCI, Community Chaplain Corps CERT training will be held at the South Houston Community Center, 1007 State St., South Houston, TX 77587. Classes will be held on Tues-day evenings from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., starting July 12, 2011 and ending August 30, 2011.The training is free and open to the community and surrounding areas. To register contact Misty Gunn at 281-436-8169 or [email protected] or Chaplain Sheepdog at 713-540-6304 or [email protected]. www.harriscountycitizen-corps.com

PandaMania!!!LP Community ChurchJuly 25 to 295:30pm to 8:30pmPandaMania!!! Where God is Wild about you. The wildest VBS you’ve ever seen will be coming to La Porte Community Church at 202 S. 1st St. on July 25 to 29th. Dinner will be at 5:30pm and VBS will to held at 6:15 to 8:30pm. Ages 3 years through 5th grade. For more information call Leslie at 713-7030479 today!.

We’re lookingfor classmates!! La Porte High School Class of 1971. A reunion is being planned for this fall. Please contact us on Facebook @ LPHS Class of 1971 Reunion or call Don Davison @ 409-944-1311

LPPD Announce Citizens Police Academy for August The La Porte Police Department will begin a new Citizens Police Academy (CPA) on August 9, 2011 with graduation scheduled for No-vember 15, 2011. CPA participants attended classes at the La Porte Po-lice Department every Tuesday night for 15 consecutive weeks from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Participants are exposed to a large group of well-qualified instructors. All courses are taught by City of La Porte Police Depart-ment employees, both certified po-lice officers and civilian employees, serving in specialized positions. To supplement the classroom instruc-tion, hands-on training is offered to participants involving 15 areas of police operations, ranging from Spe-cial Weapons and Tactics to Commu-nity Policing. Participation in the CPA is free and all materials are provided by the Police Department. Applicants must be at least eighteen years of age with a clear criminal history. This means that applicants can have no convic-tions for felony offenses, cannot be on probation for any reason, and must not have any outstanding war-rants. An application is also required to be completed and a background check will be conducted prior to the first night of class. The department asks that all applicants live or work in the City of La Porte, although oc-casional exception(s) may be made. For questions concerning La Porte’s Citizens Police Academy, contact Officer Robyn Gallion at 281-842-3162 or log onto the depart-ment’s website at www.ci.la-porte.us/gov/police/support/default.asp.

... INDEX

Community......................2Local News.....................3Business.........................4LPISD Newsletter,,,,,,,,5-8NASA News....................9Police News..................10Classifieds....................11In The Garden...............12

VOLUME 2, NO. 28 LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

The Bay Area ObserverCommunity News For The Galveston Bay Area

Pasadena Plumbing Services, Inc.

“For All Your Plumbing Needs”

281-487-4688

Smart Shoppers Browse In Santa Fe...But Buy It At The World Famous

CROW’S NEST ART GALLERY

230 JeffersonLa Porte, Texas 77571

281-471-4371

The

Onsite or In-House - 2 LocationsLa Porte - 281-867-0429 Webster - 713-893-8920

Business-Residential PC-Laptop-ServerNetworks - Xbox-TV Repairs-Security Camera

Home Theater Installs

ABC COMPUTER SERVICES - 24 X 7

Intense Fire Destroys Home In Shoreacres

Continued on page 3

The Fire Destroyed Everything Including An Antique Car

By Rebecca Collins [email protected]

On Tuesday July 5th Seabrook City Coun-cil voted 4-1-1, with Mayor Glenn Royal op-posed and Paul Dunphey recusing himself, on the first reading of Ordinance No. 2009-09 to approve a conditional use permit to establish a “motorcycle sales and repair’ business in a C-2, Medium Commercial Zoning District at 910 Bayport Boulevard. The location is currently a defunct gas station. The applicant, Twisted Custom Cycles, wishes to establish a motorcy-cle repair facility at the old Food and Fuel gas station and convenience store. The owners have indicated that they wish to establish a repair and retail (parts, accessories, and apparel) facility

that will operate Monday through Friday 9 am to 6 pm and Saturday 9 am to 1:30 pm. Twisted Custom Cycles already operates a similar facil-ity in Alvin. This business would be a satellite location of that original operation. Seabrook resident Marcia Jones objected to the motorcycle shop going in at that location. She said, “I am just incredulous that anyone would even consider this. If you know where this location is, first of all it’s less than a block from a very, very quiet residential neighbor-hood. Second of all it’s fronting Hwy. 146 right across of Dairy Queen where cars are coming in and out of there all day long. It’s exceed-ingly dangerous to even think of even putting something like that there. We have a heck of a

LPFD Pumping Water From Galveston Bay

Seabrook City Council Approve Conditional Use Permit For

Motorcycle Sales and Service Shop

Photo by David Stall, City of Shoreacres

La Porte City Council Recognizes Employees, Takes No Action On Drought Contingency Revisions

Continued on page 3

By Rebecca [email protected]

During Monday night’s city council meeting Nicole Wells re-ceived recognition for a job well done in the human resources department of the city. Wells was named Employee of the 2nd Quarter. She performs a variety of activities within Human Re-sources including employment, benefits, compensation and re-cords. Nicole advises employees and management on the inter-pretation of City policies, programs, and procedures and ensures programs are implemented in accordance with established poli-cies and procedures and administered consistently throughout the City. Nicole also serves as Chairperson of the Special Events Committee and coordinates events. She actively participates in almost all events, which usually are after work hours and on

Page 2: Bay Area Observer July 14, 2011

PAGE 2 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

COMMUNITY

P.O. Box 305 • Seabrook, Texas 77586Phone: 281-907-3140 • Fax: 866-596-8973

Email: [email protected]

Opinions in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the newspaper. Any erroneous statement which may appear will be correct-ed if brought to the attention of the publisher. Liability for errors is limited to the reprinting of the corrected version. Submissions are encouraged by mail, by fax, or by email to [email protected].

Editor & Publisher.....................................Rebecca [email protected]

Associate Editor.........................................Carolyn [email protected]

Sales Representative..............................Beverly Lawrence281-793-7961 • [email protected]

Sales Representative...................................Charlotte Horn281-507-8257 • [email protected]

The Bay Area ObserverEstablished in 2006

Serving the communities along Galveston Bay.

Salon La RougeHair, Nail, Massage & Facials

Salon La RougeLet me design you a

new look for Summer!

Lisa K. Cook: Owner/Master Styl ist281.474.2528 • 902 Hardesty • Old Seabrook

South Side Roller Derby invites you, your family, and your friends to sign up for a Free Month of instructional roller derby training from experienced skaters including skating the track, taking falls, getting up, stopping, blocking, taking a rail, speed skating, and much more….

Girls (7 to 17) – Mondays at 5:30Women (18 and up) – Mondays at 8 pm

Men (18 and up) – Tuesdays 7 pm

To sign up email: [email protected] visit: rollerderbybootcamp.com/signup.htm

South Side Roller Derby - House of Derby3502 Palmer Hwy

Texas City, Texas 77590(281)460-2240

www.rollerderbybootcamp.comwww.southsiderollerderby.com

Free Roller Derby Lessons For Kemah Residents

Session 1: June 27 - July 8Session 2: July 25 - August 4

Class times and levels will be set based on the levels and times needed based on registration. Final class times will be called/emailed on the Thursday prior to the session beginning.

For more information visit www.kemah-tx.gov

Free Summer Swim Lessons For Kemah Residents.

The Seabrook Association will be hosting a special event invit-ing everyone from the Bay Area community to come together to honor the achievements of the tens of thousands of NASA civil servants and contractors who have contributed so much to the mission successes and space exploration aboard the “most com-plex machine ever built in the world”. Astronaut, Steve Nagel who has flown 4 missions on the shuttle and been involved with the program since STS-1, will be our guest speaker. There will also be a NASA video highlighting the 30 year history of the shuttle. The Seabrook Association is a non-profit organization dedicat-ed to making the Bay Area community a better place to live, work and play! www.seabrookassociation.net. Reservations by 7/15.

Space Shuttle Program Tribute July 20th - 5:30 – 7:00 PM

Lakewood Yacht Club -281-474-2511. Admiral’s Ballroom - 2425 NASA Parkway

Come join us:August 6, 2011, 12p.m. - 7p.m.

Eagles Lodge803 S. 8th Street, La Porte, Tx. 77571

Kristie is a loving mother to 2 young sons, and a devoted wife of 11 years to her husband Lance. The Johnson’s are local mem-bers of our community, and are in need after a terrible accident that has left Kristie hospitalized. Kristie is facing a long road of recovery after an automobile accident on June 3rd. She sustained several injuries and is looking at a 6 month stay in the hospital. Her insurance will not cover all of her medical expenses, making it difficult for her family to meet those needs without help from our community.

During the benefit we will be selling Bar-B-Q plates for $8. There will also be a live auction starting at 2pm and a silent auc-tion will run from 12p-5p. We will have a 50/50 raffle, liquor bas-ket raffle and a dessert wheel also. Come join us for a fun filled afternoon while helping out one of our fellow neighbors.

To make a donation or for more information please contact:

Glenna Soltes 832-876-3425, Betty Fiala 281-236-1072, Amanda Conway 281-917-9001

Ann Minton 281-787-5419, Kristie Baez 832-414-0407

Seabrook Association Space Shuttle Program

Tribute - July 20th As a result of the current drought conditions the City is urging all residential and commercial users to take drought contingency measures and reduce their water consumption where possible. Since July 1, water usage has been on the rise and the City is asking residents and businesses to conserve water to keep usage levels below the 6.9 million gallon Stage 1 point. Seek ways such as, limiting the number of days for lawn wa-tering or reducing other non essential water usage. Other recom-mendations are outlined in the City’s current Drought Contin-gency Plan. Please visit the City of La Porte website at www.laportetx.gov <http://www.laportetx.gov> for the most up to date information related to the City’s Drought Contingency Plan. For additional information please call the City of La Porte’s Pub-lic Works Department at (281) 471-9650.

City Of La Porte Urges Citizens To Conserve Water

The Evelyn Meador has opened on N. Meyer and ready for all to see and use. Our new feature is drive up service for returning books and checking books out from the library. Just come and check out this service. Every Tuesday at 10:30 am, year round, they have Preschool Story time. Every Wednesday at 10:30 am, year round, they have Book-worm Babies. On July 18th, at 1 pm. Johnette Downing , author, will pres-ent her book with music. The theme is “ Lyrics to Literacy” to promote her unique style of reading.

News From The Friends Of Evelyn Meador Library

Benefit For Kristie Johnson

www.eatatlaredos.com

Homemade TortillasFresh Local SeafoodOld Family Recipes

For To-Go Orders Call

281-291-8080

2119 Bayport Blvd.(Hwy. 146)

Seabrook, Tx. 77586Hours:

Monday - Saturday10:30 - 8:00

Sunday - Closed

Serving homemade Mexican food in the Bay Area since 1969

LAREDO’STEX-MEX CAFE

The Farmer’s Market At Clear Lake Shores customers got a jump start their Fourth of July celebrations and got in the patriotic spir-it on July 2nd while eating red, white and blue cake and shop-ping a true neighborhood farmer’s market. The Market donated a portion of the day’s proceeds to the “Clear Lake Shores Civic Club Scholarship Fund” to support its annual Independence Day fundraising efforts.

The Farmer’s Market At Clear Lake Shores Celebrates

America’s Birthday

The full moon this weekend will provide a rare opportunity for nighttime nature explorations at Armand Bayou Nature Center. Special afterhours moonlit EcoExploration programs will allow visitors to experience the nature preserve as prairie, forest and bayou wildlife begins to emerge under the Texas night sky. On Friday evening, a Prairie Hayride will allow visitors to travel through one of the region’s rarest habitats with the guidance from a top prairie naturalist. Saturday evening offers two unique programs, a nighttime birding walk and a cruise on the darkened bayou. The guided Owl Prowl Night Hike will lead visitors into the hardwood forest in search of owls and other creatures of the darkness. A Moonlight Bayou Cruise on the Bayou Ranger pon-toon boat will provide unique up close wildlife viewing along Armand Bayou. EcoExploration programs have limited seating and require advance reservations. Program details and fee information are available at www.abnc.org. To reserve a space, call 281-474-2551. Armand Bayou Nature Center is located at 8500 Bay Area Blvd. near Red Bluff Road in Pasadena, TX. The Center is open Wednesday through Saturday at 9:00 AM. On Sundays the Cen-ter opens at Noon. The last admission is at 4:00 PM. The gates and parking lot close at 5:00 PM. Admission fees are $2 for seniors over 59, $4 for adults, $2 for children 4 to 12, and chil-dren under 4 are free. Visitors are encouraged to wear sturdy shoes and be prepared for changing weather conditions. More information about Armand Bayou Nature Center is available at www.abnc.org.

For additional information, contact:Barbara Baxter

Visitor and Member Services CoordinatorArmand Bayou Nature Center

281-474-2551 ext. 10

Full Moon Full Of Nature Opportunities

FLOOD Insurance!

Would you like to talk to someone who can explain your options and

help you get an elevation certificate?Let’s see if your premium can be reduced?

Need an agent?

Call us today!

Beth Brady Insurance Agency281-471-5433

1520 S. Shaver • Pasadena, Texas 77502

Store Hours: Tuesday -Thursday 8:30 - 5:30 • Friday & Saturday 8:30 - 6:00 • Closed Sunday & Monday713-472-0997

www.pasadenahabitat.org

Page 3: Bay Area Observer July 14, 2011

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER PAGE 3

LOCAL NEWSLa Porte City Council...Continued from page 1 OBITUARIESweekends. Mayor Louis Rigby read the presentation, part of which said, “Nicole serves the City of La Porte Employees and chairs the committee with a great, positive attitude and gratitude. She does it all willingly, all the time. She’s a leader for the committee and all enjoy serving with her. Nicole’s commitment to her job and the employees should be recognized and Nicole should be com-mended”. The city council voted unanimously to table action on the pro-posed donation of property from the La Porte Main Street As-sociation. The property the property owned by the Association on Lots 29 and 30, Block 39 on Main Street is involved in a delinquent tax suit which was served on May 10, 2011. City At-torney Knox Askins was approached by the treasurer of the now defunct La Porte Main Street Association and asked if the City would be interested in acquiring the property. The total amount of taxes owed is $1,112.68. City council discussed the proposed revisions and amendments to the current La Porte Water Conservation and Drought Con-tingency. At City Council’s June 27, 2011 meeting, staff recom-mended three revisions to the existing Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan, which included the addition of a pen-alty to coincide with the mandatory water reduction measures that are mandated by the Stage 2 component of the plan. Other revisions included clarification of the Stage 2 lawn water-ing schedule and public information updates to include the vari-ous networking and social media outlets that are now available to the city. La Porte Resident Phillip Hoot spoke during the public hearing portion of the meeting concerning the proposed changes to the drought contingency plan and said, “If we’re concerned about going into drought conditions, why can’t we tell our citizens now to cut back? I reduce because I was told to. I don’t see the point in fining people. Every time a government wants to restrict or fine somebody it’s the same old thing. Let’s scare them, lets tell them all the bad things that are going to happen. I heard very little of what the program consists of but about the bad things that are going to happen if we don’t do this”. The city council discussed, but took no action on proposed revi-sions and amendments to the current La Porte Water Conserva-tion and Drought Contingency Plan.

time coming out of there most of the time coming straight over the Kemah bridge. The alternative is they will be coming down through the neighborhood. If you’ve even been anywhere near a repair shop you know you’ve got something very, very noisy all the time. I don’t understand this at all. If there’s any way to get a petition, I will personally go door-to-door. I ask all of you would you want this business next to your house”? The ordinance had previously been amended by the same vote to provide for a landscaping plan and to ensure compliance with the city’s noise ordinance. Jason Olson, owner of Twisted Custom Cycles said, “The safety issues are concerns for us. Most people on motorcycles aren’t going to put themselves in danger. We promote safety. We promote community leadership. I don’t believe that our motor-cycles will be any louder than the regular traffic already is on 146, and I’ll study that if need be”. City council also voted 4-2, with Mayor Royal and Mike Gi-angrosso opposed, to rescind an agreement to contribute $1,500 to the Annual Poker Run, which was held in Seabrook on June 24 and 25. The organizers of the event had agreed to post the city’s logo and the events official website. That did not occur as agreed. Chuck Pinto, Seabrook’s City Manager discussed a pending increase in water rates by the City of Houston. The increase will automatically be passed through to water customers in Seabrook. No action was taken on the item.

Marilyn Jo Parker 77 of La Porte passed away Saturday June 11, 2011. Born in Salida Colorado, June 8, 1934. Survivors include her Husband John W. Parker,Jr of LaPorte, Children are Carol Buttler and husband Alan of La Porte, John W Parker,III and wife Kitty Shannon of Northshore, Jamie Lu French and Donnie Creel, Mark Parker and wife Donna Owens of Conroe, Robert Parker and wife Carla, Teresa Damm and husband George of Ft Davis Tx., Michelle Roy and husband Rob, Mary Chovanec and husband David, Uncle Jack Turner and wife Shirley of Denver Colo., 26 Grandchildren and 11 Great Grandchildren also sur-vive.

Marilyn Jo Parker

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Randy Cernosek began his career with the City of La Porte on June 28, 1981. Ronald Reagan had just begun his first term as President, gasoline was $1.25 a gallon, a new 19” color TV cost $399, and IBM introduced the first Personal Computer. Some things have reversed, many things have changed, but there is one constant. Randy is the same hard-working, cantankerous, knowledgeable,workman today as he was back in 1981. He has served the citizens of La Porte faithfully and has made a lasting contribution to the City that he can look back on and be proud of. We salute Randy on this milestone in his life, we thank him for his 30 years of service, and we wish him the very best that retirement can bring for him and his wife Kathy. Congratulations, Randy and Good Luck!

Anytime the La Porte Rotary Club has what seems to be an impossible challenge this ‘Rotarian of the Year’ steps up with a huge smile and a helping hand! Ray Nolen has served on the board in many capacities: Sergeant at Arms for three years; the outgoing 2010-2011 Vice President; and now he is 2011-2012 President Elect. He was the 2010-2011 Bulletin editor where he made our bulletins very interesting and had our members looking forward to the “quotes of the day”. Ray was responsible for co-organizing & planning our first Crawfish Boil Fundraiser which was a big success and the model for what is now our Annual Crawfish Boil Fundraiser, which he chaired this year. He has chaired our service project ‘Paint Your Heart Out’ for the past three years and has been ticket chairman of the Reverse Draw for the past four years. The Reverse Draw is our club’s largest fundraiser and this year’s theme is The Hee- Haw Reverse Draw, Ray is the 2011 event chairman and he is re-sponsible for the event theme & format change which will bring our event to the Lomax Rodeo Arena.

La Porte Rotary Club “Rotarian of the Year”

Sheery Lowe of the La Porte Community Civic Club presented a plaque to city council in appreciation of their support and sponsorship of the 30th Annual Junettenth Celebration.

Randy Cernosek, Retiring After 30 Years From The City Of La Porte Parks & Recreation Department.

Seabrook City Council...Continued from page 1

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Beverly Mendell Halet passed away at her home in Seabrook, Texas on Sunday July 10th, af-ter a lengthy illness. Bev was born on June 29, 1943 in Liver-pool, Nova Scotia and spent her formative years in New West-minister, British Columbia, Canada. Bev graduated from General Hospital School of Nursing, Winnipeg, Manitoba, and moved to California where she worked in the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center. Bev later became a flight atten-dant for United Airlines and told many stories of the celebrities she met on her flights from Los Angeles to Honolulu, Hawaii. Bev later moved to Houston where her two children, Crystal and Jason, were born. She con-tinued her education while in Houston earning a Bachelor of Science degree cum laude from the University of Houston. Bev worked for the City of Houston Health and Human Services Department as an Environmen-

tal Quality Specialist before re-tiring in 2001 from the City of Houston Department of Public Works as an Assistant Public Works Operations Manager. Bev was involved as a volunteer with many organizations but she especially love to volunteer at Memorial Hermann Southeast where she made many friends. Besides doing volunteer work, Bev loved to fish, garden and travel. Although a Canadian at heart, Bev became a US citizen in 2007. Bev is survived by her husband, John, and her two chil-dren Crystal Mendell and Jason Mendell. Bev is also survived by her father, Dr. John Mus-tard, Victoria British Columbia, sister Elizabeth Mustard and her children Tristan and Tory Khaner of Edmonton Alberta, sister Jean hill and Brother-in-law Dr. John Hill of Bedford, Nova Scotia, her Mother-in-law Patricia Halet and sister-in-law Mary Lederer both of San Anto-nio, as well as numerous cous-ins. As was her wish, Bev’s re-mains will be spread along the coast of Nova Scotia. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or the charity of your choice. A reception to celebrate Beverly’s life will be held at a later date. The family wishes to thank the doctors and nurses at Kelsey Seybold, MD Anderson, St. Lukes and Vitas Hospice for their care and compassion dur-ing Bev’s illness.

Beverly Mendell Halet

Billy Bryan Lamar, 84, of La Porte, Texas passed away on July 11, 2011. Born October 7th, 1926 in Greenwood, Texas

to Clarence and Viola Lamar. A veteran of World War II, and retired from the military after thirty-seven years ending up at Ellington Air Force Base. Sur-vivors include his wife, The-resa Lamar and children Linda Nieman and Husband Clarence, Ronnie Lamar, Bill Lamar and Wife Cherrie. Several Grand-children and Great Grandchil-dren also survive.Services will be held 10:00 A.M. Friday July the 15th at Paul U. Lee Funeral Home Cha-pel with interment to follow at Grandview Memorial Park. In lieu of usual remembranc-es, donations may be made to American Diabetes Associa-tion.

Billy Bryan Lamar

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BUSINESS

Dinghy Planet, LLC announced on July 8, 2011 the acquisition of KO Sailing, a leading provider of recreational and performance sailboats, kayaks, windsurfers and accessories. KO Sailingís new owner and president, Mark J. McNamara, is a world-class sailor and recreational boating expert. McNamara succeeds the current owner, John Kolius, and plans to continue KO Sailingís longstanding support of boat enthusiasts with a retail store in Texas and an online store at kosailing.com. Current employees will remain with the company and John Kolius will take on an advisory role as a member of the Board. The acquisition provides for the continued growth of KO Sailing, including the addition of several new product lines, distribution and partner growth, and enhanced marketing programs. The retail business will also be moving to a new location in Seabrook, Texas in the coming months. John Kolius has contributed a great deal to youth and performance sailing during the past 20 years,î said Mark McNamara. ìThe company began by supporting one-design sailing along the Gulf Coast and has grown into a solid business with multiple product

lines, world-class partners and devoted customers. The boating industry has grown based in no small part to his work, and I aim to continue Johnís support of local sailing communities, recreational boaters and youth sailors all over the country.î Approximately 75 million Americans participated in recreational boating in 2010, a 14 percent increase from 2009, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Associationís (NMMA) annual Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract. Additionally, $30.4 billion was spent on recreational boating, including retail sales of boats, engines, trailers, accessories and services last year. Nothing makes me happier than to pass the KO Sailing baton to someone with as much passion as I have for the sport,î said John Kolius. ìWith this acquisition, KO Sailing will continue to support recreational and performance sailing for generations to come—I believe that’s very good news for the boating industry.” Youth Sailing “Youth sailors are the backbone of the sport of sailing,” McNamara continued. “Whether it is a nine-year-old sailing her first Optimist or an Olympic hopeful training in his Laser, we provide everything a young sailor needs to fall in love with the sport

and contribute to its ever-growing popularity in America.î In support of youth racing, KO Sailing also plans to charter Lasers, Laser Radials, Optimists or Club 420s ready to sail at race events. KO Sailing’s support trailer will be on-site at the following events with boats, parts, gear, clothing and sailing accessories available for sale:

Texas Youth Race Week, July 9 ñ 15, 2011U.S. Junior Sailing Event/USODA Team Trials Qualifier

Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, Kemah, Texas Lakewood Yacht Club, Seabrook, Texas

Houston Yacht Club, La Porte, Texas

2011 Optimist National Championships, July 17 - 24, 2011Houston Yacht Club, La Porte, Texas

KO Sailing will also be sponsoring the 2011 Girl’s Optimist Nationals Dinner and Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at the Houston Yacht Club in La Porte, Texas. Terms of the acquisition were not released.

Dinghy Planet, LLC Acquires KO Sailing; Continues LongstandingTradition of Serving Recreational and Performance Sailing Needs

EDUCATIONUH-Clear Lake Receives National

Distinction For Second Year University of Houston-Clear Lake has been named to the 2010 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to community service. This marks the second year UH-Clear Lake received the honor. The corporation recognized 641 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from literacy and neighborhood revitaliza-tion to supporting at-risk youth. UH-Clear Lake is among 511 colleges and universities throughout the country named to the Honor Roll for its various community service initiatives. “Providing service to the community has been a long-standing commitment for UH-Clear Lake, reinforcing our goal of being a community-minded, partnership-oriented university,” says UH-Clear Lake President William A. Staples. “Our centers and pro-grams are outstanding resources for the community in which we live. We feel honored to be recognized for this service.” Several community service initiatives supported by UH-Clear Lake were recognized including the Center for Student Leader-ship, Involvement and Community Engagement, which provides students with a way to foster learning and personal development through leadership training and community service. The center coordinates volunteer opportunities for students with agencies such as the Habitat for Humanity and United Way. UH-Clear Lake’s Center for Autism and Developmental Dis-abilities offers assessment and intensive behavioral and other therapies for autistic children and their families, while the Psy-chological Services Clinic, provides individual, couple, family and group therapy.

The McWhirter Professional Development Laboratory School, a partnership with Clear Creek ISD, offers research-based pro-fessional development and education practice to improve student achievement. To increase educational opportunities for first-gen-eration low-income students, UH-Clear Lake’s STEP or Success Through Education Programs provide a seamless path for stu-dents to graduate high school, attend college and return to their home communities as teachers. Celebrating Our Elders is a unique college transition and men-toring program that assists disadvantaged and first-generation students. Since its inception, Celebrating Our Elders has distrib-uted approximately $159,000 in scholarship funds to 270 first-generation Hispanic and African American students. “UH-Clear Lake is pleased to be named to the honor roll for the second year, as we continue to strive to make community service an important part of our students’ education,” says UH-Clear Lake Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Mri-nal Mugdh. UH-Clear Lake’s sister institution, UH-Downtown, also made the honor roll for the second year. The Corporation for National and Community Service reported that in 2009, 3.2 million college students dedicated 307.3 million hours of service to communities across the country, which repre-sents 27 percent of college students. Overall, 63.4 million Amer-icans, age 16 and older, volunteered in 2009. The corporation oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education. To find out more about the university, visit http://www.uhcl.edu.

For 11 days in May 2011, 10 students from University of Houston-Clear Lake and the University of Houston traveled throughout Tur-key studying the country’s cultural landscapes. Led by the School of Human Sciences and Humanities Associate Professor of Geography Jeff Lash and Associate Professor of Sociology Mike McMullen, and in collaboration with the Houston-based Institute of Interfaith Dialog, the itinerary included stopovers in the cities of Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, Kayseri, and Konya. “Throughout the field study, students became acquainted with Turkish culture by reading its highly varied geographic and cultural landscape,” explained Lash. “Masterpieces of religious architecture such as the Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmet Mosque (also known as the “Blue Mosque”) in Istanbul, the Great Mosque in Bursa, and the Temple of Hadrian located in the city of Ephesus that is now a spectacular outdoor museum, allowed students to experience more than two thousand years of spiritual expression.” Visits to the House of the Virgin Mary or “Meryem Ana Evi”, (Mother Mary’s Home) in Selçuk near Izmir, and to the antique ru-ins of the Basilica of St. John, built by the Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, provided context for the history of Christianity. Lash added that Christianity’s strong presence resonates in the naming of the nearby Selçuk-era Isa Bey Mosque, or the Lord Jesus Mosque. In the city of Konya, set on a high plain in the middle of the Ana-tolian steppe, students became acquainted with the life and times of Mevlâna Celaleddin Rumi, or simply Rumi, one of the Islamic world’s greatest Sufi mystics and the founder of the Mevlevi order better known as the “Whirling Dervishes.” Lash added that Rumi’s literary works are well loved around the world and he is one of the best selling poets in America, even eight centuries after his death. Just west of Kayseri, in the Cappadocia region of central Tur-key, students toured the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site of Göreme National Park. In this spectacular landscape of eroded fossilized volcanic ash, students experienced underground dwellings, con-vents, kitchens, wineries, and granaries, and churches containing 4th century Byzantine art. The region was the launching point of the idea of the Holy Trinity, as well as the iconoclastic movement and remains an important pilgrimage site for Christians who have more than 300 ancient churches to select from. Archeologists have discovered several underground cities that are connected by under-

ground roads, some of which may have been built as far back as the Neolithic period. Lash said that students’ exposure to historic landscapes was bal-anced with visits to contemporary sites such as elementary schools, high schools, universities, a writers’ and journalists’ association, and numerous cultural museums. These visits allowed students to bet-ter understand how Turkey integrates secular citizenship, education, and human development with Islamic spirituality. During the tour, participants were introduced to members of the Gülen community, a transnational civic movement engaged in altruistic service for the common good and intercultural dialogue. School principals, jour-nalists, and members of the business community discussed how the movement’s philosophy guides socio-economic development in one of the world’s most dynamic societies. In Houston, Turkish-Americans and their friends established the Institute of Interfaith Dialog in 2002 as a non-profit educational organization. The institute aims to eliminate or reduce false ste-reotypes, prejudices and unjustified fears through direct human

communication. It is with this goal in mind that UH-Clear Lake As-sistant Professor of Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Studies Maria Curtis, a, first approached the institute with a proposal to develop a permanent UHCL study abroad program in Turkey in 2007. “Without Dr. Curtis’ dedication to cross-cultural education,” stat-ed Lash, “this year’s study abroad program would not have hap-pened.” UH-Clear Lake’s School of Human Sciences and Humanities plans to conduct the fourth annual Turkey Summer Study Abroad Program in May 2012. For more information about study abroad op-portunities and possible study abroad scholarships, call the Office of International Initiatives, 281-283-3008, visit http://www.uhcl.edu/OII or email [email protected].

UH-Clear Lake Students Study In Turkey

During a recent trip to Turkey to investigate the geography and culture of the country, students from University of Houston-Clear Lake and University of Houston and professors from UH-Clear Lake visited the ancient Library of Celsus at Ephesus, built in 117 A.D. Pictured with UH-Clear Lake Associate Professor of Geography Jeff Lash (standing, center back) and Associate Pro-fessor of Sociology Mike McMullen (standing, second from right) are Ursela Sultan, Deborah Karam, Juan Garcia, Monica Rincon, Heather Day, Evgenia Terekhova, Michele Gaddis, Ali Bozta (volunteer guide from the Institute of Interfaith Dialog), Tuba Bozta (volunteer guide from the Institute of Interfaith Dialog), Samantha Solis, Imelda Estrada-Wicks and Beth Sresthaphunlarp.

Ten students from University of Houston-Clear Lake and University of Hous-ton traveled through Turkey in May investigating the cultural landscape with UH-Clear Lake Associate Professor of Geography Jeff Lash and Associate Professor of Sociology Mike McMullen in collaboration with the Houston-based Institute of Interfaith Dialog. Pictured with Lash (standing, back) and McMullen (kneeling, front) in front of the Konak Clock Tower are Saman-tha Solis, Heather Day, Ursela Sultan, Beth Sresthaphunlarp, Juan Garcia, Monica Rincon, Imelda Estrada-Wicks, Tuba Boztas (volunteer guide from the Institute of Interfaith Dialog), Michele Gaddis, Evgenia Terekhova and Debo-rah Karam. The group is posing in front of the Konak Clock Tower in Izmir, Turkey.

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THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER PAGE 9

NASA NEWS

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By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Astronauts making the last spacewalk of NASA’s space shuttle era on Tuesday retrieved a broken pump from the International Space Station and in-stalled a fill-er-up experiment for a robot. The space station’s two-armed robot Dextre won’t tackle the $22.6 million playset - a fancy Fisher-Price toy as one astronaut describes it - until long after Atlantis departs and the shuttle program ends. But perhaps more than anything else on this final journey by a shuttle, the robotic demo il-lustrates the possibilities ahead for NASA: sat-ellite-refueling stations in space run by robots.In a departure from previous shuttle visits, the spacewalking job fell to space station astro-nauts, Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan Jr., who teamed up for three spacewalks in 2008. The four-person Atlantis crew is the smallest in decades, and so the lone spacewalk of the mis-sion was handed over to the full-time station residents. It was the 160th spacewalk in the 12 1/2-year life of the orbiting outpost, and the last one planned for Americans for more than a year. “To see that we’ve really done it, it’s just awe-inspiring,” Fossum said of the completed space station and all the spacewalks that went into it. “Ron and I are honored to be a part of it, to help close out one of the final chapters.” Fossum and Garan completed the two ma-jor chores - the pump removal and robotic test hookup - inside of 3 1/2 hours. They spent the rest of the 6 1/2-hour spacewalk on a variety of small tasks. The two paused during their spacewalk to admire the view 245 miles below - Kennedy Space Center - and on the next swing around the world, Houston, home to Mission Control.“Hello Kennedy, beautiful launch,” Fossum called out. Atlantis departed Kennedy on Friday on the very last shuttle launch. The ammonia coolant pump stopped working last July and, for more than two weeks, left the space station with only half its cooling capabil-ity. Space station residents had to perform three emergency spacewalks last summer to replace the pump and restore full cooling to all the on-board equipment. NASA wants the pump brought back to Earth so engineers can figure out why it failed to help them keep the on-board station pumps running. The space station is intended to operate until at least 2020. Garan gripped the pump as the space station’s

robot arm maneuvered him over to Atlantis. The pump was anchored in the shuttle’s payload bay, ready for next week’s ride home. A small object ended up floating away, possibly a fabric strap from some insulation. As they turned their attention to the robotic experiment, the spacewalkers thanked all the thousands of people who worked on the shuttle. “It is really beautiful,” Garan said.Flight controllers choked up as Garan wrapped up work in the shuttle payload bay and noted that he was leaving it for the last time - the last time by anyone. “We’re technical people and we keep our heads in the game in real time,” said Mission Control’s Glenda Brown, the lead spacewalk of-ficer, “but there wasn’t any one of us who didn’t have a little bit of a catch in our throat.” The robotic workbench - which the astronauts attached to a shelf on Dextre’s base - consists of a 3 1/2-foot box holding four customized tools, including a wire cutter and a safety cap removal device, as well as an assortment of knobs, caps, valves and a half gallon of ethanol.Dextre - a hulking metal robot with 11-foot arms - will release locks on the tools in August but won’t try out the workbench until January. The designers of the experiment - based at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. - envision robots one day using these methods to fill the fuel tanks of satellites orbiting as high as 22,300 miles. That would keep the spacecraft operating longer, instead of becoming expen-sive pieces of space junk. What’s more, spacecraft bound for distant worlds could fill up after launch, thereby flying more payloads because of the savings in fuel weight. While the spacewalk unfolded, some of the eight astronauts inside worked to unload the nearly 5 tons of supplies that were delivered in a giant cargo carrier by Atlantis. It represents a year’s worth of food, clothes and other house-keeping items, to tide the crew over in case commercial rocket makers fall behind in their own cargo runs. The first such haul is supposed to take place by year’s end. Until now, the shuttle has hoisted the bulk of supplies to the space station. Cargo runs by Russia, Japan and Europe will continue. NASA is turning to private enterprise in the post-shuttle period, so it can meet the White House goal of sending astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars the decade after that. The 13-day flight by Atlantis is the last for the 30-year shuttle program. Atlantis is due to return July 21 to Kennedy, where it will go on display at a tourist center.

Astronauts Make Last Spacewalk Of NASA Shuttle Era

In an image made from video, astronaut Ronald Garan Jr. dangles outside the International Space Station during the last spacewalk of NASA’s space shuttle era, with fellow astronaut Mi-chael Fossum (not shown), Tuesday, July 12, 2011. They will retrieve a broken ammonia pump outside the International Space Station and pack it aboard the docked shuttle Atlantis. The two will also set up a robotic refueling experiment. (AP Photo/NASA)

University of Houston-Clear Lake President William A. Staples was presented a copy of “Wings in Orbit: Scientific and Engineering legacies of the Space Shuttle 1971-2010” by one of the book’s co-editors and director for University Partnerships at NASA Johnson Space Center Kamlesh Lulla. The book showcases the scientific and engineering accomplishment of the Space Shuttle program. UH-Clear Lake, which was created because of growth in the Clear Lake area during the formation of NASA Johnson Space Center in the late 1960s and early 1970s, has maintained a strong relation-ship with NASA Johnson Space Center. In addition to working with them to establish programs and sharing resources, UH-Clear Lake’s Alfred R. Neumann Library serves as a home to the Johnson Space Center History Collection.

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Contracts NASA has selected five firms for awards under a $400 million solicitation to perform large gen-eral construction projects. The work will be performed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Ellington Field, the Sonny Carter Training Facility, all in Houston, and the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. The five selected firms are Swin-erton Builders of Arvada, Colo.; J.T. Vaughn Construction, LLC of Houston; Kiewit Building Group of Arlington, Va.; Skanska USA Building of Houston; and Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Austin, Texas. Awardees will provide general construction services, including limited design-build capability, modification, repair and demoli-tion for multiple unrelated large projects. The guaranteed minimum amount of work for each firm un-der the contracts is $5,000. The maximum total amount of all task orders under all contracts awarded under this solicitation shall not ex-ceed $400 million for the five-year period of performance. There are no options included.

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POLICE NEWS

Police Blotters

Burglary...............................................................................................................................6

CVE Citations...................................................................................................................................6

Disturbances.....................................................................................................................11

Domestic Violence.............................................................................................................................3

DWI/DUI...........................................................................................................1

Prisoner Transport/Process ............................................................................................................16

Public Intoxication ...........................................................................................................................1

Traffic Accidents ............................................................................................................................ 9

Traffic Citations/Arrest ..................................................................................................................34

Seabrook Police Department7/07/11-7/11/11

Flood Insurance – You Can’t Afford to Wait Hurricanes and tropical storms can cause extensive flooding on the coast and stretch hundreds of miles inland, but the La Porte Of-fice of Emergency Management (OEM) reminds residents and businesses there are steps they can take to reduce the impact of floods on their businesses, homes, family and finances. Learn your flood risk: Anywhere it can rain, it can flood; and any-where it can flood, homes and properties are at risk for flood damage. Learn your individual flood risk by entering your ad-dress at www.floodsmart.gov. Make sure you have the right insurance coverage: Most hom-eowners insurance policies do not cover flood damage, so be sure to consider flood insurance for both your structure and its con-tents. There is typically a 30-day

wait for a flood insurance policy to take effect. The average flood insurance policy premium is gen-erally inexpensive each year and provides structure and contents coverage. In moderate-to low-risk areas, homeowners can protect their properties with lower-cost Preferred Risk Policies (PRPs). Conduct a household inven-

tory: Be sure to keep a record of all major household items and valuables. These documents are critically important when filing insurance claims. For help in con-ducting a home inventory, visit www.knowyourstuff.org. Protect important financial documents by storing copies of irreplaceable documents (such as birth certifi-cates, passports, etc) in a safe, dry place. Keep originals in a safe de-posit box. La Porte OEM urges residents and businesses to get prepared now. Visit www.floodsmart.gov or call 1-800-427-2419 to learn more about your flood risk, how to pur-chase a flood insurance policy and the benefits of protecting your property against flood. For more information, visit www.lpoem.org or contact La Porte OEM at (281) 470-0010.

Children are indeed a pre-cious resource, yet they of-ten remain unable to care for many of their own basic needs. Therefore, in an effort to partner with Safe Kids of Greater Houston and the Na-tional Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the La Porte Police Department will team-up with neighboring Deer Park Police on July 15, 2011 in an effort to promote the proper se-curing of children in vehicles. The event will take place from 8:30am-12:30pm and will take place in the Wal-Mart parking lot located at 9025 Spencer Highway. The primary focus for police

during the event will entail ed-ucation on the use of seatbelts, booster seats and car seats. However, as an additional feature, officers will properly install the safety devices and

show motorists how to operate the equipment first-hand. Fur-thermore, if any citizen finds themselves in need of guid-ance on an additional safety measure, La Porte officers re-port that they will welcome all questions. The Car Seat Check-up Event is for all persons who are in-terested and the cost is free. Additionally, there will also be information for individu-als to receive and apply for free safety car seats during the event. For more information contact La Porte PD Support Service Officer Roger Gonza-lez at 281-471-2141.

La Porte Police Scheduled To Provide Education On Child Safety-Seats And Seatbelt Usage

In September of 2009 the La Porte Police Department celebrated the arrival of a new piece of technology which has since revolutionized their bat-tle in combating car thieves. However, given the continued success in the device’s patrol function, the recent attainment of two additional automated li-cense plate scanning and mon-itoring devices is something the department expects will increase in their crime fight-ing efforts. These new mobile automated License Plate Read-ers (L.P.R.) not only search for stolen vehicles, but have also been programmed to alert pa-trol officers of motor vehicle operators who may be unli-censed or uninsured, have out-standing warrants issued for their arrest, or are registered sex offenders frequenting pro-hibited areas. By combining these multiple features, LPPD expects to bring resolution to yet even more criminally-relat-ed dilemmas. L.P.R. devices, permanently mounted on a police vehicle, monitor all four sides of a pa-trolling police car using high speed video cameras. The system works by automati-cally reading all license plates within view of any of the four cameras, scanning them direct-ly into an established police database, and providing offi-cers with an audio and visual alert of vehicles that have been reported stolen or of opera-tors who have outstanding ar-rest warrants. The equipment simultaneously displays all related suspect information di-rectly onto the computer screen located inside of the police car. In a most-recent example of the L.P.R.’s effectiveness, on June 25th LPPD evening shift officers located a stolen rental car thanks to L.P.R. detection. After conducting a traffic stop on the identified vehicle, offi-cers placed the operator in cus-tody for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and the vehicle was scheduled for return to the rental company. In all other patrol vehicles, without L.P.R. devices, of-ficers must type license plate numbers into their mobile data terminals by hand or call in plate numbers to the depart-

ment LPPD Continues to Pur-sue Auto Thieves and Other Wanted Criminals In September of 2009 the La Porte Police Department celebrated the arrival of a new piece of technology which has since revolutionized their bat-tle in combating car thieves. However, given the continued success in the device’s patrol function, the recent attainment of two additional automated li-cense plate scanning and mon-itoring devices is something the department expects will increase in their crime fight-ing efforts. These new mobile automated License Plate Read-ers (L.P.R.) not only search for stolen vehicles, but have also been programmed to alert pa-trol officers of motor vehicle operators who may be unli-censed or uninsured, have out-standing warrants issued for their arrest, or are registered sex offenders frequenting pro-hibited areas. By combining these multiple features, LPPD expects to bring resolution to yet even more criminally-relat-ed dilemmas.

L.P.R. devices, permanently mounted on a police vehicle, monitor all four sides of a pa-trolling police car using high speed video cameras. The system works by automati-cally reading all license plates within view of any of the four cameras, scanning them direct-ly into an established police database, and providing offi-cers with an audio and visual alert of vehicles that have been reported stolen or of opera-tors who have outstanding ar-rest warrants. The equipment simultaneously displays all related suspect information di-rectly onto the computer screen

located inside of the police car. In a most-recent example of the L.P.R.’s effectiveness, on June 25th LPPD evening shift officers located a stolen rental car thanks to L.P.R. detection. After conducting a traffic stop on the identified vehicle, offi-cers placed the operator in cus-tody for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and the vehicle was scheduled for return to the rental company. In all other patrol vehicles, without L.P.R. devices, officers must type license plate num-bers into their mobile data ter-minals by hand or call in plate numbers to the department’s dispatch center, whenever sus-picion is raised concerning a particular vehicle within their assigned patrol area. Although most of the Department’s patrol officers manually scan license plates during their tour of duty each day, the procedure is slow and tedious, resulting in only a few dozen license plates being checked each day. Each of the automated License Plate Read-ers, however, has the capability of checking a license plate ev-ery second, allowing an officer equipped with this new technol-ogy to check as many as 3000 license plates every hour and scan through a relatively bot-tomless database of stolen vehi-cles, wanted subjects, and other persons of special interest. By acquiring the additional new L.P.R. equipment, the La Porte Police Department has taken another step to protect the interests of their citizens. For more questions regarding the agency’s continual efforts to thwart criminal activity or for any other matters concern-ing La Porte Police operations, please call 281-471-2141. ’s dispatch center, whenever sus-picion is raised concerning a particular vehicle within their assigned patrol area. Although most of the Department’s patrol officers manually scan license plates during their tour of duty each day, the procedure is slow and tedious, resulting in only a few dozen license plates being checked each day. Each of the automated License Plate Read-ers, however, has the capability of checking a license plate ev-ery second, allowing an officer equipped with this new technol-ogy to check as many as 3000 license plates every hour and scan through a relatively bot-tomless database of stolen vehi-cles, wanted subjects, and other persons of special interest. By acquiring the additional new L.P.R. equipment, the La Porte Police Department has taken another step to protect the interests of their citizens. For more questions regarding the agency’s continual efforts to thwart criminal activity or for any other matters concern-ing La Porte Police operations, please call 281-471-2141.

LPPD Continues to Pursue Auto Thieves and Other Wanted Criminals

WHITECAP - BURGLARY - HABITATION

Resident reported that a collection of coin change was removed from the master bedroom closet and no sign of forced entry was found. Approximate value of $ 150.00 in miscellaneous coin change was taken at some time during the past week by an unknown suspect, but complainant suspects that possibly the housekeeper may have taken the money since she was the only person in the residence in the past week. Investigation is in progress.

CREEK HOLLOW - BURGLARY – HABITATION

Resident reported possible burglary occurred during the day but no property was found to be missing from the residence. Forced entry at a back window of the house was determined. No further investigation planned.

BAYVIEW - BURGLARY – HABITATION

Resident advised that a forced entry burglary had occurred during the day by an unknown suspect. Forced entry determined to have been at a back window of the residence. Fingerprint evidence was lifted for inves-tigation. Suspects stole gold and silver rings and bracelet jewelry from the master bathroom area along with a Rolex pendant necklace all with a value of approximately $ 1,500.00. Investigation is in progress.

WOODLAND - MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT

Contract lawn maintenance company owner reported that his 1994 Ford 150 pick-up truck and a towed 6 ft. by 12 ft. utility trailer with lawn equipment was stolen from the street at a customers’ address in El Lago. Reportee stated that the truck was worth $ 2,000 and the trailer and lawn equipment, which included an Exmark 32” riding mower, a 22” walk behind lawn mower, weed-eaters, grass blowers and a concrete saw and gas cans, was valued at $ 16,000.00. No suspects were identified. The truck and the Exmark mower were entered into TCIC/NCIC. Investigation is in progress.

NASA PARKWAY - ROBBERY – STRONGARM

Resident at apartments reported that he had been assaulted and robbed by an Hispanic male suspect after he tried to speak with the suspect’s girlfriend in the parking lot at the apartments. The suspect chased the complainant and knocked him down and then punched and kicked him on the ground before he stole his cell phone and $ 27.00 in cash from him. Responding officer found the suspect in the apartment’s parking lot within a few minutes of receiving the robbery report and recovered the complainant’s money and cell phone from the suspect. Suspect was arrested, charged and placed into county jail and the property was returned to the complainant. Case closed.

SEAWAY - BURGLARY – HABITATION

Residents reported that their house had been entered during the day, while they were at work, by an unknown suspect and property was stolen. The suspects stole numerous items of gold, silver and diamond jewelry and a 9MM pistol from the master bedroom. The value of the stolen property is approximately $ 4,400.00. Pistol was entered into TCIC/NCIC computer system. The residents were not sure if the back door of the residence was locked or unlocked when they left for work, but the door was found unlocked when they returned home from work. No sign of forced entry was determined. No suspects. Investigation is in progress.

Lakeview Police DepartmentOffences - June 2011

Page 11: Bay Area Observer July 14, 2011

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER PAGE 11

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Page 12: Bay Area Observer July 14, 2011

PAGE 12 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011

Seaside Garden Club To Host Tish Reustle On July 20th, Vic Madamba

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Helping Wildlife Drought Victims

By Marian Henderson and Cyndi Bohannon

The drought Texas is experi-encing is one of the worst this state has ever seen. At the Wild-life Center, both mammals and birds are being brought in by the public in dehydrated and emaciated condition. There’s not much we can do to increase our chances of rain, but there are things we can do to help wildlife in their quest for survival during this extreme hot climate change. This article will look at what can be done to help different groups of animals.

Birds

Both baby and adult birds are greatly affected by the heat. The birds are either starving because their parents are struggling to find food, or the adults collapse from the traumatic heat stress they are enduring. The best way to help our native birds is to provide a water source for them to help en-dure these dire conditions. Generally speaking, a bird bath should be no more than 3” deep for birds. Change the water daily to avoid spreading disease. Do not chemicals to clean your bird-bath. Just use a brush to scrub out any algae every few days. Weekly, you should rinse you freshly cleaned bird bath with a 10% solution of bleach and wa-ter. That’s just over 1 ½ ounces of bleach per gallon of water. Let the solution stand for a couple of minutes and rinse. This will kill parasites and bacteria. Place the birdbath near some small bushes or low cover. This makes them feel more secure and not out in the open and vul-nerable to predators. It also al-lows them to have a place to fly to in order to preen their feathers after bathing. If possible, textured birdbaths such as concrete are preferred so birds can get a better foot-ing when bathing. Place rocks or broken pieces of terracotta pots in the middle to provide a landing area for birds. If you only have a smooth surface bird bath, you can place pebbles in it for more texture. To attract birds to the birdbath, drippers can be purchased from wild bird sup-pliers to create a running water sound. Most of these drippers can also be turned into misters which the birds will most hap-pily fly through. You may also place small pans or plant saucers a little lower to the ground, but slightly el-evated to avoid predators. Rela-tively speaking, the closer to the ground your water source is the more open area there should be around the water source. Experi-ment with different size, depth and elevation off the ground, you will find that certain species prefer different configurations. Making sure plenty of food is available not only to our year round native birds, but to those that come to Houston for the summer to raise their young would be an added plus. Put out various types of seeds like sun-flower, thistle, millet and cut up fresh fruit to attract a large variety of birds. To attract woodpeckers of all kinds, provide suet feed-ers, peanut butter spread on pine cones and mealworms. An ideal backyard could also offer a buf-fet of bloodworms, crickets, and suet feeders most of which can be found at your local pet store or specialized bird supply stores. If squirrels are the bane of

your birdfeeder, purchase the metal feeder that has a pressure sensitive perch. Not only will this keep the squirrels out, it will prevent the larger birds from bullying the smaller birds at the feeder. I have 2 of these feed-ers, one is set high enough the woodpeckers can come for the shelled peanuts and the other is set for smaller birds so the crows and grackles can’t monopolize the feeder. Place the feeder near bushes or trees, but not close enough that the squirrels can jump to them. To slow down climbing, use a metal shepherd’s crook. Grease with vegetable shortening or purchase a baffle if the gray squirrels become too adept at climbing. Most people are unaware of mice and rats raiding the bird-feeders at night. While the popu-lation of rodents is necessary to feed the owls and hawks, no one wants an overabundance. Either use the metal birdfeeders with the spring loaded perch or bring the feeders in at night. Many of our native birds eat in-sects and while providing a buf-fet of bloodworms, mealworms or crickets can be very expen-sive, you can help these birds by simply not using insecticides in your yard. I’m not suggesting that you not treat ant mounds or allow every ornamental plant be ravaged by insects – just remain mindful that even if you have plant damage in the short run, the insect eating birds will mini-mize this problem in the long run. One of the most damaging insects to hibiscus and other or-namental plants is the aphid. The aphid can be naturally controlled by the release of ladybugs. Don’t forget to put out hum-mingbird feeders as well. Most hummingbirds migrate through in the fall and spring, but some do stay in the greater Houston all summer. When making hum-mingbird food, boil one cup of sugar to 3 cups of water. Make sure to change out their feed-ers every two to three days to avoid mildew buildup. Placing saucers of fruit in your backyard will draw flies, gnats, wasps and other smaller insects to the area. Hummingbirds are known for swooping down and snatching insects out of the air, a great pro-tein source for them. Contrary to popular belief, hummingbirds do not exclusively drink nectar for a food source.

Squirrels

Although some people tend to find squirrels bothersome at the bird feeder, this would be an ideal time to let them share the birds’ food. They too are strug-gling to find food and are com-ing in to the wildlife center un-der extreme conditions. One suggestion to keep them out of the bird’s feeder is to pro-vide them one of their own. This worked well in my yard until the White Winged Dove learned how fun it was to empty it. Dove are usually ground feeders, so I guess these larger dove thought the human was stupid for putting the seed in the feeder and pro-ceeded to rectify the situation. They can empty a 3-tube feeder in less than 2 hours! In the end, dove and squirrel eat peacefully around the base of the feeder, so I guess all is well. Squirrels enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables as well as the seed that is put out for birds. Instead of tossing wilted grapes, car-

rots, squash and zucchini, place bowls of these on the ground for their dinner. Shelled or un-shelled pecans, acorns, and corn on the cob are some of their ab-solute favorites. Anything left over come evening will be eaten by the opossum or raccoon. Squirrels need water sources also, but their preferred configu-ration is different than that of birds. Squirrels will come to my birdbath because there is a near-by four foot picket fence nearby to jump to and from. The one they prefer is a shallow pan that I’ve placed at the base of a tree. Squirrels don’t spend much time on the ground at my house since I have dogs, instead they have a well traveled path through the trees to the feeder. I have placed the water dish at the base of one of the trees near the feeder.

Raccoon, Opossum and Armadillo

At the Wildlife Center we do not encourage the feeding of raccoon and opossum. We understand why people want to feed these animals, but in the long run it can be more harmful than helpful. First of all, you are putting these beneficial animals out of work. Their job is to scavenge everything edible so the environment stays clean. Next you are luring animals to a single spot where contact allows disease to spread. This isn’t as important to opossums since they are im-mune to almost everything that preys on warm blooded animals (including venomous snakes), but distemper can jump from raccoon to raccoon like wildfire and kill all the animals in a given popu-lation. The external signs of dis-temper resemble rabies, so suffice it to say that it isn’t a kind death. Another point is that you can-not control who comes to the party. In addition to the opossum and raccoon, you will undoubt-edly be feeding the mice and rats too. Bird feeders and the seed left on the ground at night are magnets for mice and rats. Feed-ing supports a higher density of animals than the land could support itself. This increased density (especially rodents and raccoon) can wreak havoc with neighbors that don’t share your love of wildlife. During such stressful times as this drought, the arguments against feeding become thinner, but we want you to know the consequences. Except for the ar-gument about spreading disease, water would be very beneficial to these animals. To minimize the issue of disease, please emp-ty and thoroughly rinse contain-ers each day. Once a week, rinse with a solution of 10% bleach to water. A useful container for these animals is a dish that goes under a flower pot.

Butterflies and other Insects

As the hierarchy goes in na-ture, insects are typically at the bottom of the food chain. With no rain in sight, our vegetation, which is what a lot of insects de-pend on for food, is not growing. No insects, no food for the birds. The big exception is butterflies. Keep watered those plants that bloom and become a nectar source for the butterflies and bees. Milkweed and passion-flower, for example, are both a nectar source and host plant for Monarch butterflies and Gulf Fritillaries. These caterpillars are then a food source for many species of birds, possums and

raccoons. As the caterpillars turn into adults, a wide variety of birds become dependent on them for extra nutrition. In the meantime, it’s fun to watch the ravenous caterpillars lay waste to the milkweed and enjoy the beauty of the adults as they feed on the flowers. Avoid using any pesticides dur-ing this severe drought unless absolutely necessary. The more insects out there for animals to eat, the better it is for all the animals. Remember, there is no pesticide that only kills one spe-cific type of insect. When you spray a pesticide, it will kill all the insects in the area…even the beneficial ones. Also, if you have one of those electronic bug zap-pers in the backyard, now would be a good time to put it inside the garage to increase the population of insects as a food source for the animals who need it. Butterflies have special require-ments for drinking. They take in liquids through their proboscis, a long, hollow tube that is sort of a modified tongue. Butterflies are often seen “puddling,” or gather-ing at damp, sunny spots, where they get their moisture from sand or mud. Butterflies are incapable of drinking freestanding water that bird baths provide. Constructing a butterfly wa-tering station is easy once the requirements are known. First, you will need clean sand (sand-box sand is available at any home improvement store) and a shallow dish or birdbath. Fill the container with sand and keep it moist, mound the sand to the center or around the edges so there is always sand that isn’t covered in water. To make land-ing pads for them, place rocks in the middle and at the sides. Rinse the sand regularly to keep it clean and to inhibit mosqui-toes from breeding there. Besides providing watering stations you can also provide nutrition for them as well. But-terflies enjoy overripe fruit such as bananas, watermelon or pears. Place these offerings in brightly colored dishes in your backyard, to attract a variety of butterflies. This article was printed cour-tesy of The Wildlife Rehabilita-tion and Education Center in Houston Texas.

Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center

The Wildlife Rehab & Educa-tion facility was formed to meet the need for wildlife assistance in the Greater Houston/ Upper Gulf Coast. Every year thousands of injured, ill, or orphaned wild birds and mammals are received by the licensed rehabilitators at WR&E. It is the only trauma and rehab center in our area that treats all injured, sick, or orphaned Texas wildlife species. Together with the SPCA and the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, WR&E cares for every single species of animal. WR&E is located at 7077 Katy Rd. in Houston just inside the 610 Loop off of I-10.For more in-formation about this valuable as-set to our community go to their website at www.wrande.org

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Contact Mike at 281-471-8960 • Cell 832-405-2460

A textured, shallow bird bath no more than 3” deep is recommended.

The Seaside Garden Club will host two speakers in the coming months to talk about butterflies. Tish Reustle, Galveston County Master Gardener will give a presentation on attracting butterflies to your Seabrook garden at the July 20th meeting at 12:30 p.m. and teach members how to create a butterfly friendly habitat. At the August 17th meeting Vic Madamba, Texas Master Natu-ralist, will present a program to increase awareness of last win-ter’s devastating effect on the population of the Monarch Butter-flies. He will speak about how we can help them in their annual migration to our area in late September with habitats, food and protection for their larva. Dori Nelson, Seaside Garden Club members said, “We look for-ward to hearing from Tish Reustle next Wednesday July 20th at our meeting, and, for the following month, this next presentation will be most appropriate. The Monarch’s numbers are way down due to many environmental factors. We will be learning what we can do to help the Monarch at our August meeting”. Seaside Garden Club meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 12:30 pm at the beautiful new Carother’s Coastal Gar-dens Wedding and Event location, 502 Pine Gully Rd. in Sea-brook. For more information call 281-474-4825.

Vic Madamba, Texas Master Naturalist, giving a presentation on last winter’s devastating effect on the population of the Monarch Butterflies


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