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ProgressThe Aransas Pass

Your hometown newspaper since 1909 Wednesday, May 9, 2012 • 75 cents

Volume 103, Issue 18

By John MorganA two-month-old infant,who was rushed by HALOFlight to the hospital, has re-turned home. The parentscredit the first responders fortheir efforts on their son’s be-half.Gilbert Paredez, Sr. and hiswife Kaitlyn Patterson were

home last Sunday afternoonwhen their son stoppedbreathing. Patterson ex-plained that she was holdingher son on her chest when shenoticed that there was some-thing wrong with him.While Patterson called forhelp, Paredez quickly beganCPR, reviving him after a few

minutes.“I started CPR and got himto breath for a second, then hestopped, so I did another se-ries of CPR on him and wasable to get him back. His pulsewas weak, but I didn’t want totake a chance of messing uphis heart rhythm so I stopped,and by that time the para-medics had arrived.”Paramedics arrived inabout three minutes from thetime his wife placed the callfor help.“These guys were on thespot. They got my son andtook off as fast as they arrivedto get him to the hospital,where I was told he was goingbe airlifted to Corpus Christi.They really did a great jobhelping save my sons life.”Gilbert, Jr. once again be-came unresponsive shortlybefore he was airlifted andonce again was revived byCPR during the flight toDriscoll Children’s Hospital.“Once he was revived againand arrived at the hospitalthey got him stabilized andtold me that my son had con-tracted a rhino virus that wasresponsible for what had hap-pened,“ said Paredez, Sr.He explained that his sonwas a premature baby, bornten months early and suffersfrom several physical condi-tions which made the contrac-tion of the rhino virus a veryserious issue.“Due to the fact my son al-

Aransas Pass city councilmembers on Monday voted todelay a decision on whether tobuy six sets of so-called bunkergear, the clothing firefighterswear as protection when theyenter a burning building, untilCity Manager Reggie Wintershas a chance to talk to Fire ChiefRickie Kilgore.The council, with an eye to-ward youth and tourism, also:• Voted to kick in no morethan $3,000 for a tent to be usedat the upcoming Cabela’s Fish-ing Tournament at Conn BrownHarbor• Approved city police pro-tection and public works sup-port for this year’s Shrimporee,scheduled for June 7-10• Voted to allow youngsters inthis year’s Aransas Pass forYouth program to use the city’saquatic center for free, whichamounts to Tuesday and Fridaymornings for a seven-week pe-riod• Donated the aquatic center,including lifeguards, to thisyear’s Operation Graduation, adrug-free, alcohol-free program

on graduation night.The request for the equip-ment came from Jacob Atcher,treasurer of the Aransas PassVolunteer Fireman Rescue or-ganization. Atcher said four setsof gear would go to volunteers;the other two would be used bythe city’s paid firefighters.He said mid-range bunkergear goes for about $1,300 a set.Questioned about how Kil-gore felt about the purchase,however, Atcher said the volun-teers hadn’t talked with thechief about it.He said funds raised by vol-unteers and gotten from the citywould run out between tuitionfor firefighter education andoutfitting a surplus ambulancedonated to the city by the TexasForest Service.The former ambulance wouldbe used as a “quick-attack” vehi-cle, carrying limited water andfoam for firefighting and asmaller, shorter hose than a full-sized fire engine, Atcher said. Hesaid it could be dispatched to ve-hicle accidents and small brushfires instead of the larger en-

gine, at a significant saving infuel costs.However, he said, the volun-teer group’s board realized thattheir budget wouldn’t stretch tooutfitting the quick-attack vehi-cle as well as buying the newequipment.Atcher told the council whenit’s bought, the four sets ofbunker gear would go to newmembers of the volunteer de-partment. He said older mem-bers of the department alsoneed new bunker gear – “Thatequipment is out of date andwon’t pass inspection,” he said.“If it’s a safety issue, we needto buy this,” Mayor TommyKnight commented. However, hevoted along with council mem-bers Ross McElwee and VickieAbrego to postpone a decisionon the gear until Winters couldtalk with Kilgore.Council members PhillipHyatt and Jim Mills, both volun-teer firefighters, abstained fromvoting. Mills asked City AttorneyAllen Lawrence to look intowhether there was a conflict of

The Gulf of Mexico commer-cial shrimp season for both stateand federal waters will close 30minutes after sunset on Tues-day, May 15 until an unspecifiedtime in July.The closing date is based onsamples collected by the CoastalFisheries Division of the TexasParks and Wildlife Departmentusing trawl, bag seine and otherinformation gathered from the

shrimping industry.Data regarding TPWD brownshrimp bag seine catch rates,mean lengths of shrimp in April2012, percent of samples con-taining shrimp and periods ofmaximum nocturnal ebb tidalflow indicate a May 15 closingdate is appropriate. Typically,once the shrimp reach about 3½inches long, they begin their mi-gration back to the Gulf.

“The closure is designed toallow these small shrimp togrow to a larger more valuablesize before they are vulnerableto harvest,” said Robin Riechers,TPWD coastal fisheries divisiondirector. “The goal is to achieveoptimum benefits for theshrimping industry while pro-viding proper management to

Workmen are paving a stretch of Wilson Avenue from Railroad Street to Conn Brown Harbor to improve thestreet before the start of an upcoming major fishing tournament. The Cabela’s Tournament, scheduled forMay 17-20, is expected to draw hundreds of anglers to the city; council members told City Manager ReggieWinters to get the street fixed so visitors could get to and from the harbor more easily.

By John MorganThree men who are accusedof selling drugs in the local areaare behind bars after theAransas County Sheriff’s officeserved a search warrant at aRockport residence, confiscat-ing a large amount of cocaine,marijuana and cash.Thomas Avery Simmons, 24,Anthony Bryan Solis, 28, andBobby Allison Jr., 29, were ar-rested for engaging in organizedcriminal activity and manufac-turing and distributing a con-

trolled substance Friday afterdozens of officers raided a homein Rockport.Det. Armando Chapa ex-plained that during a two-daysurveillance at least nine vehi-cles came and went from theresidence in short periods oftime. “We witnessed a drugtransaction take place while aschool bus was unloading chil-dren who were coming homefrom school. These individualshad no concerns that childrenwere present during the drug

deal and this made the situationeven more of a priority since thewelfare of children were in-volved.”Chapa believes that all threemen are responsible for sellingdrugs in Rockport, Aransas Passand Ingleside.Several baggies of powder co-caine and crack cocaine wereconfiscated, as well as mari-juana, cash and drug parapher-nalia.Chapa explained that during

No one was sleeping last Friday nightwhen legendary Texas music artist RayBenson and Asleep at the Wheel strolledinto town and put on an old fashion barndance inside the Redfish Bay Boat House.The show was hosted as a fundraisingevent for the Rialto Theater. “I am just sopleased and excited that so many peoplecame out to support us,” Rialto BoardPresident Jen Rubinowitz said.“It was a chance to bring quality en-tertainment to Aransas Pass and showoff all the work being done on the harborat the same time.”The show grossed more than $28,000for the Rialto’s cause to replace the the-ater’s marquee.

Gilbert Paredez and Kaitlyn Patterson with their son Gilbert Jr.shortly after he returned home from Driscoll Childrens Hospitallast week.

AP infant recovering at homeExercise your right to vote!Saturday,May 12

from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

City Council Place 2 and 4APISD School Bond

Council postpones safety gear decision

Okays three other decisions

Shrimping season closes next week

Three in custody after drug raid

�� INFANT, 8�� COUNCIL, Page 18

�� SHRIMP, Page 18

�� DRUGS, Page 18

Concert a success!

In this tough economy, theAransas Pass IndependentSchool District is taking achance by placing a $28 millionbond measure to upgradeschools and add a new elemen-tary and central office on the up-coming ballot.A bond election is simply theschool district asking your per-mission to take out a loan for themoney needed for new build-ings and renovations. It will bepaid back in 30 years using taxmoney.What the bond includes:Most of the schools, whichwere built between 1950 and1996 will receive air condition-ing and roof replacement orrestoration. It also includes ren-ovations at Compton Hall andthree new buses.Over $10 million is slated forthe high school alone, $1 millionof that includes improvementsto the stadium/football field. In-cluded in the plans is a new mul-tipurpose center for holdinggraduation and other functions.Another $10 million will beset aside for a new campus to bebuilt between A.C. Blunt andCharlie Marshall.Due to the age and currentcondition of the central office, itwill be replaced with a newbuilding with the same squarefootage. The central office isover 100-years-old, the top floorwas closed off last year due toleaks. The price tag is $1.5 mil-lion.The cost to you:If the bond passes tax rateswould increase a little over 33cents per $100 valuation of yourhome raising the tax rate from$1.0714 per $100 valuation to$1.4058 per $100 valuation. Inother words, if your home’svalue is $150,000 your taxeswould go from $1607.10 to$2108.70 each year, an increase

of around $500If you are over 65 and have ahomestead exemption, yourtaxes will not change.More information is availableon their website apisd.org, clickon “bond” on the left sidebar.Feel free to call the adminis-tration office at (361) 758 3466if you have additional questions.

The Aransas Pass/InglesideRelay for Life was deemed a suc-cess by organizers.It was held Friday night at theN.O. Simmons Skate Park in In-gleside.The opening ceremony waspresented by the committeechair, Martha Habluetzel. Themayor of Ingleside, Pete Perkins,welcomed the 2012 AransasPass/Ingleside Relay for Life to

Ingleside, the colors were pre-sented by Boy Scout Troop # 25,Girl Scout Troop # 9823, CubScout Pack # 341 and Venture




ProgressThe Aransas Pass

Your hometown newspaper since 1909 Wednesday, May 2, 2012 • 75 cents


Relay exceeds all goals

By John MorganAransas Pass police and firefighterswere dispatched to the 500 block ofSouth Rife after a call was receivedthat a two-month-old female childwas not breathing and was unrespon-sive.As the police and firefighters ar-rived, Tri-County Emergency medicaltechnicians had already taken custodyof the infant and succeeded in resus-citating her while en route to Care Re-

gional Medical Center where doctorscontinued to work stabilizing her.The infant was then transported byHALO flight to Driscoll Children’s Hos-pital in Corpus Christi for treatment.Information as to why the childstopped breathing and her currentcondition has not been released andit is not clear at this time what mayhave caused the situation.Aransas Pass Fire Chief Ricky Kil-gore said, “Getting there quickly is

what helped save this young child’slife and we have to credit the emer-gency medical technicians and doc-tors that work hard to bring this childback and get her to the proper facili-ties where she could be treated.”

First responders resuscitate Aransas Pass infant

Nine time Grammy winners, Asleep at theWheel will be making a stop in Aransas PassFriday.In 1970 Hurricane Celia hit the Coastal Bendand left behind destruction and devastation.Among her victims was the marquee on the his-toric Rialto Theater in downtown Aransas Pass.After 42 years, the Rialto is hosting afundraiser to return the building to its originalglory, complete with a new marquee.Also in 1970, a new band got its start, open-ing for Alice Cooper in Washington D.C.Asleep at the Wheel is a Texas swing band,known for their top country hit “The Letter thatJohnny Walker Read” and their lead singer andonly remaining original member, Ray Benson.This Friday, the two are coming together in abig benefit barn dance to help raise funds forthe Rialto.President Jen Rubinowitz has spearheadedthe fundraiser, working long hours to ensure asuccessful concert. She came to Aransas Passmany summers since 1990 for vacation and fell

in love with the old building.“I got tired of saying, “Somebody should dosomething with that old building.” and took iton myself after I finally made it down here as afull-time resident in 2002. The city, our volun-teers, and the entire region have been so sup-portive of our efforts. I’m proud we’re able tobring a Grammy award-winning band to townbut even prouder of the renaissance we’re see-ing in our downtown and harbor areas!”There are plenty of general admission tick-ets still available at $35, but VIP seating is sell-ing out quickly. The VIP admission includesdinner, premiere seating and a chance to meetthe band before the show. Cost is $75 or $125for a couple. There are only four tables of eightleft at $600.The event will be held rain or shine. Becauseit is in a barn, dress appropriately. Hale balesare limited, general admission should bring ablanket, cushion or seat.Tickets are available at rialtotheater.org.

Asleep at the Wheel comes to Aransas Pass

Benefit for Rialto Theater

Aransas Pass High School held its prom at the Aransas Pass CivicCenter on Saturday. Over 200 students attended the formal event.The theme was New York, New York. The color scheme for decora-tions, tables and chairs was black, white and red. The high schoolwould like to thank the many businesses, individuals, teachers, staffand parents for helping create this memorable event. Pictured are2012 APHS Prom King and Queen: Lupe Moreno and Sarah Harris.

Voters should know factsbefore voting on school bond

By John MorganAn Ingleside woman is facingseveral charges of forgery aftershe was said to have cashed sev-eral checks in the communitytotaling over $10,000.Angela Corona, 32, was ar-rested last week after Inglesidepolice were alerted by Corona’sformer employer that moneywas being taken from his ac-count.According to Ingleside PoliceChief Stan Bynum, Corona issuspected of making checkswith a “fictitious business name

and account numbers.“It is believed that Coronaused a computer where she cur-rently works to make the checksand that she then cashed thenthe checks at a local check cash-ing company in Ingleside on theFeb. 23, March 2 and March 5,for a total of $4,000.Bynum explained that Co-rona cashed the checks beforethe bank realized that there wasno such account and that thechecks were then returned to

Ingleside woman arrested for forgery

Aransas Pass Po-lice officer JordanLusk and DEAagent Ronny Palmwere at the HEB at101 Goodnight Sat-urday afternoon,collecting un-wanted prescrip-tions from thecommunity. Luskstated that the pro-gram had alreadysucceeded in col-lecting several pre-scriptions and thathe was more thanhappy to spend afew hours of hisday for a worthycause.

C.J. Adame signed two lettersof intent, find out which col-lege he is going to, page 8.

�� RELAY, Page 10

�� FORGERY, Page 7 Angela Corona

August 29�The Aransas Pass HighSchool Booster Club will hold aMeet the Coaches night,Wednesday, Aug. 29 starting at6:00p.m. in thehigh school cafe-teria. The public is invited to at-tend.

August 31�The Ingleside VolunteerFire Department will have aspaghetti dinner fundraiser Au-gust 31 from 4 to 7 p.m. at theFirehouse. Meal includesspaghetti, garlic bread and saladfor $5. Ice teawill be provided ifyou eat there.

September 2�Beginning September 2,First Baptist Church at 627SouthHoustonStreet inAransasPasswill beginAWANA.AWANAclubs are available for childrenpre-kinder through 6th grade,“Trek” for the 7th and 8th gradeand “Journey” for high schoolstudents. Clubswill meet every

Sunday from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.Registration is available at thechurch office. Everyone is in-vited. Formore information youmay contact the church office at361-758-3066September 4

�Girl Scouts of Greater SouthTexas Ingleside/Aransas Passservice unit will host a sign upevent on September4 atGJMEl-ementary School from 6 to 8p.m. Girl Scouts is open to anygirl in grades K-12. ForMore In-formation call [email protected] 11

�Aransas Pass-InglesideRelay For Life CommitteeMeet-ing: Sept. 11 at the InglesideDairyQueen at 6:30p.m. Attendthe meeting or contact LeAnneVaillette, 2013 Event Chair at361-758-7952.September 13

�The Aransas Pass Chamberof Commerce is hosting a semi-

nar on social media Thursday,Sept. 13 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.Introduction to Social Mediawill explain the different socialmedia platforms and how theyall work together to promoteyour business. If you have one,bring your laptop, we will offerhands on training. There is a $5fee for this seminar, but free tochamber members. Call 758-2750 to register.�The Ingleside Garden Clubwill host their first meeting ofthe 2012/2013 season onThursday, September 13 at10:00 a.m. We invite all to at-tend as our guest speaker in-forms everyone on how to planta great fall garden. Come andenjoy; this is a free event. Doorprizeswill be given away fromalocal Avon representative. Don’tmiss out! 2740Mustang Drive.�The San Patricio United De-mocrats’ regularmeetingwill beheld on Sept. 13 at 6:00 at Van’sat 411 Magnolia in Mathis. Thisis a social as well as a meeting.Themeetingwill benext door at

El Cielito Lindo. Those inter-ested in eating (Dutch treat)must RSVP by June September11. We will be discussing plansfor fall election. Please call Au-rora Gonzales at 361-643-2260formore informationor toRSVP.September 14

�The Lady with all the An-swers, a one-person play aboutAmerica’s favorite advicecolumnist, Ann Landers, willdebut Friday, Sept. 14 at the Ri-alto Theater in Aransas Pass.Show times are Fridays&Satur-days, Sept. 14 through 29 at

7:30p.m. Therewill be twoSun-day matinees Sept. 16 & 23 at2:00 p.m. Tickets are $15.Community calendar itemsare published on a space-avail-able basis at no charge to non-profit organizations. Preferenceis given to events happeningsoonest. All submissions musthave the phone number of acontact for more information,although that number need notbe for publication. Deadline forsubmission is noon on Mondaythe week of publication. We re-serve the right to edit submis-sions.

Page 4 The Aransas Pass Progress Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Ongoing Events• Tri-County Christian ServiceCenter, 323 N. 7th St., AransasPass will resume offering ourservices to the public Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to noon.

• $500.00 Big Jackpot Giveaway.VFW Bingo – 620 Wheeler Ave.,Aransas Pass. Monday Nights.Games start at 7:00 p.m. Doorsopen at 5:30 p.m. Support yourlocal veterans.

• Open Acoustic Jam, from 7-10p.m., Rialto Theater, 327 SouthCommercial St., Aransas Pass.Contact: 758-0383.

• Pool Tournament at 6:00 p.m.at the VFW in Ingleside. Contact:776-5002.

• Star of the Sea Food Bank. St.Mary Star of the Sea parish inAransas Pass is opening its foodbank to all the needy residents ofAransas Pass from 8 a.m. to 10a.m. the second Thursday ofevery month. 342 S.Rife St. Con-tact: Joe and Cathy Apodaca at361-945-4927.

Meetings• Overeaters Anonymous offers aprogram of recovery from com-pulsive eating using the TwelveSteps and Twelve Traditionsevery Monday at 7:30 p.m. atFirst Baptist Church, 627 S.Houston St. in Aransas Pass.OA charges no dues or fees; it isself-supporting through membercontributions (a donation of $3+per week is recommended.)

• The Golden Triangle Art Associ-ation meetings held the firstMonday of each month, 6 p.m. atthe gallery located on Hwy 361beside the VFW, Ingleside.

• Aransas Pass Rotary meets atnoon Monday at the AransasPass Chamber of Commerce lo-cated at 130 West Goodnight Av-enue in Aransas Pass.

• Aransas Pass Booster Clubmeets the first Monday of themonth in the High School BandHall. Contact: 758-4859.

• Boy Scout Meeting, Mondays,7:30 p.m. at the Scout Center at259 S. McCampbell at WilsonStreet. Boys age 11 to 18 canjoin. Contact: Scout MasterDean Thomas 758-5946.

• The Ingleside Rotary Clubmeets every Tuesday at noon,Garden Center, 2740 MustangDr., rotaryingleside.org.

• The Fibromyalgia SupportGroup meets the second Tues-day of every month at 7 p.m.,Aloha Wellness and ChiropracticOffice, 2681 Hwy 361, Ingleside.Contact: 345-4541.

• TOPS # TX0811 meets eachTuesday at 6 p.m. in Classroom6, at the Ingleside UnitedMethodist Church, 2572 ChurchStreet in Ingleside. ContactJoyce Spieglehoff at 776-2728.

• Aransas Pass Lioness Clubmeets on the third Tuesday ofevery month at 6:00 p.m. at theOriginal Vallarta Mexican Restau-rant. Contact: Carol Ogilvie at758-8253.

• Aransas Pass Lions Clubmeets the first and third Thurs-day at 6:30 p.m. at the ButterChurn Restaurant in AransasPass. Please call Dr. ClaytonRoth at 776-7652 or Carolyn ski-talo at 361-727-0765 for more in-formation.

• The Ingleside Lions Club meetsthe first Thursday of every monthat the Ingleside Garden Center,2740 Mustang Dr. (next to pool)at 7:00 p.m. For information call776-0946 or 776-2635.

• SPCA San Pat County monthlymeetings are the first Thursdayof each month at 6:00 p.m. at theAransas Pass Public Library.

• Alzheimers Support group willmeet the third Thursday of eachmonth at Lexington Place Nurs-ing & Rehab, 1661 W. Yoakum inAransas Pass from 10:30 a.m. to11:30 a.m. Contact: 758-7686.

• Girl Scouts meet every Thurs-day from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. at In-gleside Methodist Church, 2572Church St.

• Keep Aransas Pass Beautifulmeets the second Tuesday ofevery month at the AP Chamberof Commerce, starting at 6:00p.m.

• TOPS # 455 in Aransas Passmeets each Thursday at 6:00p.m. In Macedonia annex build-ing, 750 W. Greenwood. ContactMercie Turner 361-58-5662 orMozell Clark 361-758-5434.New members welcome.

Calendar of Events

Community

Today, I was listening to Pan-dora.com, an internet radio sta-tion, when James Taylor’s “Fireand Rain” came on. I wonderedhow many folks of my genera-tion instantly had flashbacks ofmemories from 1970 when thesong first came out. Then Ithought aboutwhat songwritersmy kids now have programmedinto theirmemory. I have ahardtime believing that in fortyyears, they’ll be smiling whenBritney Spears’ “Oops, I did itagain” comes on a classic popradio station. Of course, I can’timagine any of Britney’s songslasting through the years butisn’t that what our parents’ atti-tude was toward our music, aswell? Timewill tell.The Rialto Theater turns sev-enty-five this fall. One of thethings I’ve enjoyed most aboutbeing involved in its ongoingrenovation is thememories peo-ple share when they hear aboutwhat we’re doing there now.First dates, surviving wartimeblackouts on the coast, dinnerparties in the manager’s apart-ment on the second floor, sellingconcessions there inhigh school,etc. This downtown has lost somany buildings through theyears to hurricanes, fires, andneglect; I hope the communitywill celebrate its survival withus. I’m collecting some oral his-tories and would love to talk toyou specifically about themem-ories you have of the Rialto wewill share as part of our an-

niversary gala celebration.I hate thatwe lost the JacksonHotel to fire recently. I’m surethe memories and the stories ifthose oldwalls could talkwouldhave been quite amazing. TheBigelow Mansion on Houstonand the old Sugar Shack onNorthCommercial havebeenonthe market and are prime forrenovation, too. We have somuch potential and these oldstructures are just brimmingwithmemories, nodoubt. Therearemanyhomes&businesses inour town that just need a bit ofvision and elbow grease to turnthem into something amazing. Ifyou or anyone you know wouldlike toparticipate inbringing thepast back to life, I would love totalk to you.Artisan Events:Friday - Sunday, August 31 -September 2 - “ArtWalk/Mu-sicWalk/BridgeWalk. CorpusChristi Downtown. Admission:Free.Fridays & Saturdays throughSeptember1, 7:30p.m. - “The39Steps” Aurora Arts Theatre. Ad-mission: $14.Daily through September 5 -“Member’s Show 2012 MeritAward Winners” Exhibit. PortAransas Art Center. Admisson:Free.Daily through September 8 -“Standing Out: 2012 MeritArtists” Opening Reception.Rockport Arts Center. Admis-sion: Free.Fridays & Saturdays Septem-ber 14-30, 7:30 p.m. - “The LadyWith All the Answers” Comedy.Rialto Theater. Admission: $15.Fridays & Saturdays Septem-ber 14-October 31, 7:30 -“Rocky Horror Show” AuroraArts Theater. Admission: $14.

JenRubinowitz

Rialto Theater

Area Art Scene

GUN SHOWSept. 8 & 9

Saturday 9-5 & Sunday 9-4at The Aransas Civic Center, 610 W. Wheeler

$5 admission

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The Aransas Pass Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Nicole’s Boutique, celebrating the open-ing of the boutique’s new location. Nicole’s Boutique has expanded and is now in Dolphin Alley. Offeringhigh-level customer service, store-owner Lydia Castillo, is happy to assists her clientele in finding the rightlook to meet the occasion. At the boutique you will find LA Idol jeans and Shabby Chic clothing as well asaccessories like scarves, hats, Yellow Box sandals, bling jewelry and fashion handbags for the ladies. Giftitems are also available such unique jewelry pieces, and CIRCLE/E candles and some dazzling westernbelts. The shop is located at 346 S. Commercial Street. Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:00a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The Rialto Theater volun-teers are gearing up for the2012 season with their firstplay, “The Lady with all the An-swers,” by David Rambo.Laugh along with America’sfavorite advice columnist, AnnLanders. No topic was taboo inher newspaper column, whereshe answered countless letterswith wit andwisdom.This is an irresistible portraitof the woman whose charm,common sense, and down-to-earth approach to life made uskeep asking questions.Directed by Jim Elder andstarring Karen Froeschner inher first one-woman show.You’re going to laugh yourway through the yearsAnnLan-ders showed us how to get overourselves & onwith real life.Member’s free preview isThursday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.Fridays & Saturdays, Sept. 14through 29 at 7:30 p.m. There

will be two Sunday matineesSept. 16 & 23 at 2:00 p.m.Volunteers are needed, call Jen at (361) 332-1230 for infor-mation.Tickets are $15.Rialto prepares for new season

Jim Elder helps prepare the set of the first play of the season for the Ri-alto, The Lady with all the Answers.




The Aransas Pass

Your hometown newspaper since 1909 Wednesday, October 17, 2012 • 75 cents


Exclusive deals made just for you!www.killebrewinc1.com/aransas-pass

Hey Aransas Pass!

Aransas Pass police at press timewere still looking for a man they saythey believe was involved in a shoot-ing at DeBerry and Lamont streetsthe afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 7.Police Chief Eric Blanchard saiddetectives are “developing leads” tothe location of Juan Lee Pena, 22, buthadn’t tracked him down yet.A juvenile also thought to be in-volved in the shooting turnedhimselfin, Blanchard said.Hedeclined todis-cuss any details of the juvenile, citingage issues.Police went to the house at about1:20 p.m. on Oct. 7 after shots werereported fired. Officers said theyfound a car with bullet holes and aman who reported being shot at butnot hit. Officers said a quarrel devel-oped earlier in the day at the inter-section and when the driver of thecar tried to leave, Pena and the youngman shot at him. They became theobjects of a manhunt that continuedthroughMonday, Oct. 15.ADepartment of Public Safety hel-icopter with equipment that can beused for scanning areaswas called in

Secretary of state urgesvoters to prepare now

for early votingTexas Secretary of State Hope Andradetoday announced Texas reached a recordnumber of registered voters on the OfficialList of RegisteredVoters. As ofMonday, Oct.15, there are currently 13,594,264voters onthe list, the highest in state history. Thisnumber will likely increase once all thevoter registration applications processed.Tuesday,Oct. 9was the last day to register tovote in the General Election.“I want to thank all Texans who regis-tered to vote this year and all Texans whoare already registered voters. The next stepis getting to the polls during Early Voting oron Election Day,” said Andrade.A final number for registered voters willnot be available until all applications areprocessed. Due to the high volume of voterregistration applications submittedprior tothe registrationdeadline,many local countyelection officials are still processing appli-cations.The previous record number of regis-tered voterswas 13,575,062 set for the No-vember 2008 General Election.The final list will be set prior to the startof Early Voting on October 22.As a reminder, Early Voting begins Mon-day, Oct. 22 and runs throughNov. 2. Voterscan find links to polling places and times atwww.VoteTexas.gov.During Early Voting, voters may cast aballot at any polling place in their county ofresidence.“With just a week to go before Early Vot-ing begins, now is a perfect time for Texansto begin preparing to cast their ballot,” saidAndrade. “Now’s the time to verify yourvoter registration status, locate your regis-tration certificate,make sure it’s signed, ver-ify where your county’s polling places are,review what’s on your ballot and makeplans to go vote.”Photo identification as required in SenateBill 14 will not be required when voting inperson during Early Voting or on Election

Record numberof voters register

A legislative committeeformed to investigate what’sneeded to bring cruise ships tothe Texas coast south of PortLavaca kicked off its program inCorpusChristi onMonday, hear-ing from supporters of the con-cept at a hearing in the SolomonOrtiz Center at the Port of Cor-pus Christi.Getting cruise ships to South

Texas is largely the idea of StateRep. Todd Hunter, R-CorpusChristi, who represents SanPatricio, Aransas and Calhouncounties as well as the coastalpart ofNueces County. Hunter isa co-chairmanof thehouse-sen-ate committee.Theother co-chairman is Sen.Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, whose district 20 in-

cludes Brooks, Jim Wells andNueces counties and part of Hi-dalgo County.Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, whose district in-cludes Cameron, Kenedy,Willacy andKleberg counties aswell as part ofHidalgoCounty, isa member of the committee.

State reps. Gary Elkins, R-Houston, and Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, and Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-Harlingen, from left, listen as Corpus Christi Convention and Tourist Bureau CEO Keith Arnold testifies at ahearing on Monday, Oct. 15. The hearing, at the Ortiz Center in Corpus Christi, kicked off a legislative com-mittee look at how supporting cruise ships on the Texas coast between Calhoun andCameron counties could benefit state and area economies.

TheRialto Theaterwill kickoff the season with a concertfeaturingT.KayeandSweetfireon Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m.T Kaye & Sweetfire are agroup ofmusicianswithmanyyears combinedexperience in-cluding local, national and in-ternational touring. Thisextensiveperformance experi-ence is thebackboneof Sweet-Fire’s high-energy live shows.The band formed in 2007and includes one female andthree male lead vocals andstrong harmonies that add tothe mix of crowd pleasers inthe show from current andclassic Country to SouthernRock favorites and originalssongs by T. Kaye.TKayebroke into themusicbusiness in 1991 in CorpusChristi and has been workingprofessionally and frontingher ownband inTexas, nation-ally and internationally eversince.Her title cut “Texas

Aransas Pass is asking its wastecontractor to take a look at reducingthenumberof trashpickups aswell asprovide the city with other options.It’s also asking former City Man-ager Reggie Winters to come up witha reason why the city should pay himfor unused vacation time.Winters resigned on Aug. 20 andhas since asked the city to reimbursehim for his unused vacation time, CityAttorney Allen Lawrence said afterthe council meeting on Monday, Oct.15. The council went into executivesessionnear the endof themeeting totalk about that, and when it returnedto open session told Lawrence to“pursue the city’s interests by askingfor documents supporting Winters’request,” according to a motion bycouncilman JimMills.Themotion passed unanimously.

Lawrence declined to commentfurther on thematter.Mike Reeves, municipal marketingmanager for Republic Services (for-merly Allied Waste), came to Mon-day’s councilmeeting at the request ofinterim City Manager Mike Sullingerto talk about the question.Reeves said the company could re-duce trash pickup to once a week in-stead of the current twice aweek, buthe said that wouldn’t reduce the costby half. The cost for a once-a-weekpickupwould be about 65-70percentof the twice-a-week pickup, he said.But he pointed out that other cities– Portland andBeeville in particular –had reduced trash pickup to once aweek, but added a once-a-weekpickup of recyclable materials.

Aransas Pass police believe theyhave one man in custody who’s re-sponsible for burglarizing twobusinesses thenight ofWednesday,Oct. 9, and stealing a golf cart andsome food.Police reports show the twostole the golf cart from the DonelTrailer Park near North Commer-cial and Stapp streets just beforemidnight. They then went to theRedfish Bay Boat House on ConnBrownHarbor,where theybroke inand took some shrimp.Information on the man being

heldwasnot available at press timeon Tuesday, Oct. 16.Officers are asking for help in lo-cating the other man they thinkwas involved in the burglaries. He’sdescribed as being a white male inhis late 20s or early 30s; a surveil-lance camera got video of themen,which is at the police departmentat 600W. Cleveland Ave.If you know anything about ei-ther man, police ask you to call theAransas Pass police investigative

Police still searchingfor shooting suspect

Council considersmove toonce a week trash pickup

Burglary suspect in custody

Officials work to bring cruiseindustry to South Texas areaRialto kicks off season

�� SUSPECT, Page 12Juan Lee Pena

�� BURGLARY, Page 12�� COUNCIL, Page 12

�� CRUISE, Page 12

�� RIALTO, Page 12

�� VOTING, Page 12

A fifth grade student from Charlie Marshall Elementary was knighted as partof the first Early Act First Knight honors ceremony on Friday, October 12. Stu-dents in both fourth and fifth grade who exemplified the virtue of tolerancewere recognized by their teachers and school peers. More photos on Page 10.

Remember tothank a veteranor serviceman

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Hey Aransas Pass!

ProgressThe Aransas Pass Volume 103, Issue 45

Your hometown newspaper since 1909 Wednesday, November 7, 2012 • 75 cents

Aransas Pass city councilmembers passed through someprice increases on Monday andimposed an increase in waterbills to help pay for a new watertower and other expenses.The council also backed offon last year’s increase in moor-ing fees for barges in the Intra-coastal Waterway. Last year, thecouncil bumped the per-nightmooring rate from $30 to $300.Monday, it cut that by morethan 50 percent, to $125 anight.But the council also moved

to save an estimated $53,591,authorizing its financial con-sulting firm of Southwest Secu-rities to re-finance somecertificates of obligation issuedback in 2003.Mayor Tommy Knight saidthe pass-through increase camebecause the city’s waste collec-tion company, Republic Serv-ices (formerly Allied Waste)increased its charges. The in-crease should have been ap-proved for October, but was

Aransas Pass city councilmembers have set two specialmeetings, one to talk with thecity’s Municipal Developmentdistrict and the other to take alook at what the council wantsto accomplish in the long term.Interim City Manager MikeSullinger asked for the work-shop meeting with the MDD,telling the council that afterworking with the managers ofthe city’s Civic Center for twomonths, he wanted to makesome recommendations both tothe council and to the MDD

board.Sullinger said he felt the rec-ommendations “will help betterserve our local citizens, create abetter atmosphere and con-tribute to more use of our CivicCenter.”That workshop has been setfor 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15,in the council chamber.Council member VickieAbrego asked for the long-rangeplanning session.Abrego said after the most re-

The Aransas Pass Crime Con-trol and Prevention Commissiongot approval from city councilmembers on Monday to amendthis year’s budget by $325,000 topay for four police vehicles, toboost the salary of a school re-source officer and to tear downsome buildings suspected of har-boring criminals.City council members went onto award the bid for four Ford Ex-plorer SUVs with police packagesto Commercial Motors of AransasPass for a total of $118,152.The six-cylinder Explorers willget much better gas mileage thanthe police department’s two ex-isting Ford Excursions, said Po-lice Chief Eric Blanchard. TheExcursion is a bigger SUV thanthe Explorer.Bids also came from Aransas

Autoplex in Aransas Pass, forChevrolet Tahoes, for $131,250,and from an auto dealer in Ned-erland, for Explorers priced at$119,840.The Tahoe also is a larger ve-hicle than the Explorer and won’tget gas mileage as good as thesmaller SUV, Blanchard said.Blanchard said he couldn’t yetcharacterize the buildings to bedemolished because the crimecommission hadn’t yet identifiedwhich ones it wants to teardown.“(The commission) has apretty good list,” Blanchard said.“We’re working our way throughit.”However, he said any buildingscheduled for demolition would

With duck season now open,sportsmen who can’t decidewhether they’d rather be hunt-ing or fishing have a chance todo both in the aptly-namedCast & Blast tournament, whichwill be held Saturday, Nov. 10,in Redfish Bay.The tournament will head-quarter at Redfish Bay BoatHouse, 322 Huff St., on ConnBrown Harbor. Kick off will beFriday, Nov. 9, with three-per-son teams taking to the bays onSaturday.Each team may turn in onelegal bag limit of ducks, withpoints assigned based on thespecies of duck, with no hens

allowed. A bonus of five pointswill go to any team that weighsin a legal bag limit with six dif-ferent species of drakes, or alegal bag limit of six drakes allof the same species.Allowable species and pointsassigned to each, as well astournament regulations, areavailable on line at the RedfishBay Boat House Web site,http://redfishbayboathouse.com/Events_Tournaments.html.In addition, each team mayturn in a legal bag limit of red-fish, all of which must be “slot”fish between 20 and 28 incheslong. No trophy tagged fish willbe accepted, according to the

tournament rules, and fishmust be caught on artificiallures.Fish will be scored based ontotal weight of the stringer.Both ducks and fish must betaken from the bay area and theteam must all hunt from thesame spread.Tournament winners will be

Cast & BlastTournamentheld atRedfishBay

The Rialto Theatre inAransas Pass will kick off ayear-long celebration of its75th anniversary on Satur-day, Nov. 10, with a wine tast-ing and wine making party atthe Wine of Mine Winery.The tast-ing startsat 7 p.m. atthe winery,at the cor-ner of Wil-son Avenueand Commercial Street.Wines that can be made thatevening also commemoratethe Rialto’s anniversary, andinclude a sauvignon blanc, awhite wine, and a valpolicella,a red wine of Italian ancestry.Profits from the evening’ssales of any of the 60 or morewines available at the winerywill also go to the Rialto, saidRialto president Jen Rubi-nowitz.In keeping with the theme

of “Wine, Women and Song,”the evening also will featurelive music, Rubinowitz said.She didn’t say how “women”figure in to the celebration.The theatre, at 327 S. Com-mercial St. in Aransas Pass, isa 501(c)3non-profitoperation.It’s sup-ported bydonationsand has nopaid staff.Rubinowitz said the year-long 75th anniversary cele-bration will include theannual Black Tie and BlueJeans gala on New Year’s Eve,to be held this year for thefirst time at the Aransas PassCivic Center. The featured en-tertainer for the Black Tie andBlue Jeans will be John ArthurMartinez, she said.

By Christine BolañosThe third week of a school fi-nance lawsuit involving two-thirds of Texas public schooldistricts is now underway and ischallenging the state’s positionon school funding after expertssided with school districts claim-ing funding is inefficient.Last week Lynn Moak, a long-time expert analyst on state edu-cation funding, suggested duringhis testimony that the state is de-manding higher levels of studentachievement and performancestandards while shrinking the

per-pupil funding available tomeet those requirements. Thisbelief falls in line with the stanceof virtually all 615 public schooldistricts involved in the lawsuit.Moak argued the negative effectsare already visible in the low—30 percent passing rate of eco-nomically disadvantagedstudents on ninth-grade stateend-of-course exams adminis-tered last spring.Funding weights imple-mented to provide extra fundingfor students with special needs

Expert testimony helpsdistricts, challenges state

Water bill increase topay for newwater tower

Wine tasting to kickoff Rialto’s 75th year

The Rialto Theater in downtown Aransas Pass is celebrating its75th anniversary with a wine tasting Saturday.

Parents, teachers and students from Faulk Elementary were “treated” to candy and goodies during theirannual “character walk” on Halloween.

Council to hold specialmeetings withMDD

Crime Control Commissionto buy new police vehicles

Political signs lined the road at Compton Hall Tuesday morning as voters cast their ballots for both local and national races. Look for election results online at aransaspassprogress.com.

�� TOURNAMENT, Page 12

�� WATER, Page 12

�� LAWSUIT, Page 12 �� VEHICLES, Page 12

�� MDD, Page 12

The Aransas Pass HousingAuthority is looking for a newexecutive director in the wake ofLaura Simank’s abrupt resigna-tion from that position lastweek. Simank turned her resig-nation in to the board of direc-tors, effective Friday, Nov. 2.That, in turn, followed the re-ceipt in October of a letter fromthe Texas office of the U.S. De-partment of Housing and UrbanDevelopment noting that someparts of the housing authorityfall below HUD guidelines.Simank did not immediatelyreturn calls from the Progressseeking comment.Housing authority board

president Alice Sloan said atleast some of the HUD criticismdealt with “laxity among thestaff in reporting.” She said in-formation has been gathered tomeet the HUD requirements,but the reports haven’t beenfiled with the federal agency.Sloan said HUD representa-tives visited Aransas Pass inJune, so the staff and board wasalready aware of the findingsbefore the letter arrived.Progress has already been madein correcting those, she said.“Because of the HUD guide-lines, it may take another five orsix months to totally alleviatewhat we’re looking at,” Sloan

said.She said all the criticism wasaddressed at a board meetingon Nov. 2, and “out of six or eight(guidelines), two were low.” “We’re making every effort todo what we can to make surethe housing authority stays vi-able,’ she said. Among the progress Sloanpointed to at the authority werea reduction in the crime ratewithin housing projects, forma-tion of tenant associations, morestringent enforcement of leasepolicies, institution of familymovie nights and other activi-

Housing Authority under fire


�� HOUSING, Page 10

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Hey Aransas Pass!

ProgressThe Aransas Pass Volume 103, Issue 52

Your hometown newspaper since 1909 Wednesday, December 26, 2012 • 75 cents

2006 West Wheeler • Aransas Pass, Tx 78336 • www.AllenSamuelsAP.com

The Christmas tree a family loved –its first-ever real tree – caused the firethat left the family homeless andwith-out Christmaspresents, firefighters be-lieve.But the six-year-old girlwho slept inthe living roomwith the treemay havesaved her two brothers and parentsfrom the fire.Aransas Pass Fire Chief Rickie Kil-gore said the family was asleep in itshome in the 300 block of North NinthStreet about 5:30 a.m. onTuesday, Dec.

18, when the girl was somehow awak-ened by the tree fire.She ran to the bedroom where herparents, Maggie Esquivel and TimothyPrickett, were asleep, and wakenedthemandher brothers.When firefight-ers arrived, the family was in front ofthehouse. Firefighters could see flamesthrough the windows, Kilgore said.It took about 20 minutes to put thefire out. The house isn’t a total loss, butthe living room and kitchen have se-vere damage and the family’s presents

are all gone, he said.“It was their first real tree and theyloved it,” Kilgore said. But he said thefamily bought the tree just afterThanksgiving and it had been standingsince then.“Itwas as dry as tinder,” Kilgore said.He said firefighters haven’t pinneddown the cause of the fire, but they doknow it started in the tree. Lights andwiring on the tree were all destroyed,Kilgore said.

On Friday, Allen Samuels Chevroletdonated a van full of toys, sports equip-ment, household itemsandelectronics.Kilgore presented several envelopes

Local family loses home to Christmas tree blazeCommunity, business lend a hand in time for a Merry Christmas

AnAransas Passman is in theSanPatricio County Jail, chargedwith distribution of a controlledsubstance, after a chase on Fri-day, Dec. 21, that led lawofficersacross the east endof the countyand resulted in at least threewrecks.Sheriff Leroy Moody identi-fied the man as William JosephClark, 20.Chief Deputy Oscar Riverasaid the episode began at 11:54a.m. on Friday in the 2400 blockof State Hwy. 361 when under-cover deputies attempted tomake a drug buy from Clark.Clark became alarmed andrammed the undercover vehiclewithhis own, and then spedeaston the highway, stopping onlyafter he hit another vehicle nearAvenue A. Clark then turnedaround and retraced his route,crossing Farm Road 1069 andgoing on to Gregory, where po-lice, alerted by radio, werewait-ing for him.There, however, Clark again

managed to slip away after hit-ting a Gregory police car. Hedrove north on StateHwy. 35 onthe wrong side of the highway,doubling back at the Avenue Aexit in Aransas Pass. He was fi-nally cornered in aparking lot inthe 1900 block ofWestWheelerAvenue.Clark was taken to a hospitalto be checked before going tothe San Patricio County jail,Moody said.He said Clark also waswanted on a previous drugwar-rant andhad violatedhis parole.Other charges may be pend-ing against Clark, includingevading arrest and aggravatedassault with a motor vehicle,Rivera said.The drug distribution chargecan range up to a first-degreefelony, depending on the typeand amount of the narcotic in-volved. Punishment on convic-tion can be for as much as 99years in prison and/or a fine ofup to $10,000.

Drug bust gone awryends in high speed chase

On Saturday, Dec. 8 around 9 to 10 p.m., a victim accidentally left herwallet behind inside Walmart. The unidentified female in this picture,came along and took possession of the victim’s wallet. The victim im-mediately returned, only to find that her wallet had been taken and neverturned in to Walmart staff. Please take a close look at this female’spicture and see if you can assist police in identifying her. If you have in-formation on this case, contact Aransas Pass PD Investigations Divi-sion or submit a tip anonymously via Tri-County Crime Stoppers at (800)245-TIPS/8477 or online at TCCS Online Tip. Crime Stoppers will payup to $1000.00 for tips that assist investigators in this case.

According to reports, athreateningnotewas foundonaboy’s bathroomwall at InglesideHighSchool onTuesday,Dec. 18.Another notewas found the fol-lowing day in the girl’s bath-room.The notes warned that aschool shooting would happenFridaymorning.

Ingleside ISDSuperintendentTroyMircovich stated in a lettersent home toparents, “In light ofrecent events that have hap-pened in Connecticut, InglesideISD has been working with theIngleside Police department toensure that we are providingthe safest environment for yourchild/children. Each campus

has practiced lock down drillsand we are making sure that allof our exterior doors and gatesare locked throughout the entireschool day.”Anofficerwas assigned to thehigh school and to monitor thejunior high for the remainder ofthe week.“Our other campuses are also

being monitored by our policedepartment and the staff is tak-ing precautions in making surethat each of those campuses re-mains safe for our students. Weconsider all of our students andstaff as family, and we want tomake sure that everyone is pro-tected,” statedMircovich.

Ingleside schools on high alert afterthreatening notes found in bathrooms

Thebestadvice forholidayfireworks?“Don’t,” said Ingleside Fire Chief R.J.Thomas.Whilepeoplebelieve inChristmastra-ditions,Thomaspointedoutsomestatis-tics that should give anyonecontemplatingafireworksdisplaypause.• Eighty percent of fireworks injuriesthat show up in hospital emergencyrooms involve smaller, consumer-classfireworks.•Theagesatgreatestriskof fireworksinjuries during the holidays are fromeight to14–not theonesyouwanttoseehurt.• The basic, unassuming sparkler? Itburns at 1,200 degrees, hot enough tomelt glass.To give yourself the chance of a hap-pier holiday season, leave any fireworksto theprofessionals, Thomas said.

Although the official rule in AransasPass is no fireworks allowed in the citylimits, there is an unofficial designatedarea for discharging fireworks.That would be along the Redfish BayCauseway between the Dale MillerBridge and the Port Aransas ferry land-ing.Aransas Pass Fire Chief Ricky Kilgoreexplainedthat firefighterswillbemakingpatrols throughout theweek in an effortto assure no fires are started because offireworks. It is also illegal to light aerialfireworks inside Ingleside city limits.Kilgore stated, “It is important thatfireworksare takenseriously.Keepthemaway from flammable materials andmake sure you monitor themwhile youare using them, especially with childrenpresent.“Andplease, cleanupyourmess.”

Fire chiefs warn communitiesabout New Year’s eve fireworks

An Aransas Pass man led officers on a chase Friday after a drug bust went bad. The chase started in Ingleside and ended in Aransas Pass.

Nashville Star runner up toplay at New Year’s eve gala

John Arthur Martinez will perform at the Rialto’s Black Tie and BlueJeans gala to celebrate 75 years of the Theater.

Who beat out Miranda Lam-bert on Nashville Star? johnArthur martinez, that’s who.He’ll be headlining the RialtoTheater’s “Black Tie & BlueJeans” benefit onNewYear’s Eveat the Aransas Pass Civic Center.The event celebrates 75yearsin the spotlight for the RialtoTheater, which has stood in theheart of downtown since 1937.All proceeds benefit this non-profit theater’s restoration ef-forts and art programs which

spanart exhibits,music concertsand live theater on its stagethroughout the year.There will be dancing allevening long. Like the variedevents at the Rialto Theater,Martinez likes tomix it upmusi-cally, too. “I’m like themenu at aTexas diner,” he says. “There’schicken fried steak; there’s chilicon carne-smothered enchi-ladas; there’s the spinach veggie

�� FIRE, Page 8


rialto

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