Looking back at 2006

Sam Russell was named Port Aransas' new police chief after a search that boiled down to four finalists. He immediately went to work implementing a police department study finished early in 2006.

A year of the expected and unexpected, joy and sorrow, victories and defeats, now draws to a close. Looking back on 2006 in Port Aransas reflects a community on the grow and with divergent views on how to move ahead in the dawn of 2007.

Here is a brief journey into the past 12 months in Port Aransas . . .

January

A long-awaited stamp of approval came through from the Texas General Land Office (GLO), which allowed the city to raise the price of beach parking stickers from $6 a year to $12 a year.

The stickers are required to park anywhere along Mustang or Padre island beaches except in the Nueces County park between the south jetty and Horace Caldwell Pier, in Mustang Island State Park, and on the Padre Island National Seashore.

The city issued a burn ban, along with the statewide ban on burning, to include beach areas. Police officers began enforcing the ban over the New Year's weekend, asking campers to douse campfires and bonfires.

Ground was broken for the Wetland Education Center at The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute.

More than a dozen fires were spotted on the beach over the weekend, police reports showed.

City council members got their feet wet with a look at beach management practices on Tuesday, Jan. 10, when coastal geologist Dr. Richard Watson presented a two-hour-long program on beach erosion and geology.

The program was designed to give council members a firm footing in how to balance the need for keeping beaches safe for both pedestrians and drivers while at the same time allowing sand to accumulate as dunes, which Watson calls the city's first line of defense against storms.

"We have to deal with a balancing act," agreed Councilmember Mike Hall.

"I think the same citizens who tell you they want the dunes to grow would also be very upset if they lost what they moved here for, the beach," he added.

A Winter Texan from Pottsboro died Monday, Jan. 9, when the boat he was fishing from capsized off the north jetty.

Projects to provide drainage for areas like this one at Alister and Beach s t r e e t s , w h i c h often flood due to heavy rains, were approved by voters and got under way late in the year. Kayakers may no longer be seen near the intersection.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Corpus Christi recovered the body of Raymond Glenn Oliver, 74, at about 10 a.m. after a boater called the Coast Guard Station at Port Aransas to report the accident, according to reports.

Jimmie Eugene Purcell, 63, of Norman, Okla., told rescuers that he and Oliver went fishing about 9 a.m. He said waves began pushing the boat into the rocks, and when Glenn tried to reset the anchor, the boat capsized.

Port Aransas High School graduate Erik Hamilton, a U.S. Marine, watched two friends die before his eyes in Iraq last year.

Hamilton was back in the United States on convalescent leave due to an injury, but expected to be sent back to Iraq as soon as August. Despite the deaths he witnessed and the hazards he faced, he said he would have no problem with going back if the order comes.

Lady Marlin basketball stand-out Whitney Williams was named to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-State Basketball Team, among many other athletic and academic achievements.

Hamilton, who served on a bomb disposal platoon, said he wants to do his part to help transform Iraq into a democracy with as little bloodshed as possible from his fellow Marines.

"If I didn't go back, somebody less experienced would, and they wouldn't be able to do the job as well as I could," said Hamilton, 21. "It's all about the guy next to you."

Jack L. Moore, 85, pastor at Community Presbyterian Church in Port Aransas from November 1976 to March 1986, died Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006, in Austin after a battle with Alzheimer's disease.

As 2006 unfolded in Port Aransas, the "Pop! Pop! Pop!" of pneumatic nail guns punctuated the daylight hours.

The sound was accompanied by the steady whir of power saws and the gravelly voices of concrete trucks mixing batches of cement on their way to pour more foundations on the sands of Mustang Island.

The question of just how much sand needs to be moved on Port Aransas beaches, and how it should be moved, remained unresolved, though a workshop has been set for January to discuss the subject.

These sounds were music to the ears of realtors, builders and developers whose outlook on the year was glowing.

Other segments of the business community, lodging and restaurant interests in particular, and some retailers, viewed the new year with tempered optimism. More rooms to rent and an influx of new restaurants and boutiques altered their share of the proverbial pie.

The challenges for the hospitality and retail industries in 2006 were to maintain and, they each hoped, increase their market share.

By this time next year the Fisheries and Mariculture Laboratory (FAML) at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute (MSI) here should have a new building for research into the spawning and growth of some of the fish most important to the area.

The new building is thanks to a $600,000 grant from the Coastal Conservation Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to marine resource conservation.

" We ' l l b e d o i n g r e s e ar c h into the development of species such as southern flounder," said Dr. Joan Holt, MSI associate director for mariculture and professor of marine science.

Sabrina Grubbs started her new job on Friday, Jan. 27, as chaplain to the Port Aransas Police Department. The job doesn't replace her other position as pastor at Island Worship Center; it's an additional, unpaid.

As the department's first-ever chaplain, Grubbs will counsel both sworn officers and other police department employees and their families and visit sick or injured officers in their homes or hospitals. She'll provide help to victims, serve as part of the department's crisis response team and provide for prisoners' spiritual needs.

The first steps were taken in a possible legal face-off between former Police Chief Don Perkins and the City of Port Aransas.

The city received a letter from former Port Aransas Police Chief Don Perkins' attorney, Gay E. Gilson of Corpus Christi, asking that the city put Gilson in touch with city insurance representatives so they could discuss claims. Such letters are common preludes to litigation, City Attorney Mike Morris said. While the letter didn't discuss any specific claims other than retaliation, Morris said Perkins' lawyer would probably try to reach a settlement of claims with the insurance representative.

Port Aransas business owners were taking a "wait and see" attitude about the Texas Department of Transportation 's (TxDOT) proposed priority ferry boarding pass system, even as the TxDOT commission voted to postpone a decision on the proposal for a month.

Transportation commissioners tabled the proposal until they meet again in February. The move to postpone came at the request of elected officials from the Bolivar Peninsula area, which is across the Houston Ship Channel from Galveston and is also served by TxDOT ferries. Port Aransas and Galveston-Bolivar are the only two TxDOT ferry systems.

Major cuts in funding for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) have left the Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Board wondering where funds will come from to finish work on the proposed Charlie's Pasture Nature Preserve.

I n J u n e , w h e n local waters were unusually clear, a group of Port A r a n s a s m e n discovered a littleknown shipwreck on the bottom of Lydia Ann Channel. They were, from left, Billy Gaskins, B r y a n E v a n s , Wayne Serpa, Keith McMullin and Dee Wallace.

TPWD's Recreation and Parks funds were chopped by the 2005 legislature from more than $20 million in 2002 to slightly more than $5.6 million. Port Aransas had been preparing a grant application seeking TPWD funds to help complete the nature preserve.

Because of the funding cuts, TPWD has reduced the application cycles for its outdoor program grants from twice

a year to once a year, with a deadline of July 1. Those applications will be reviewed on July 31 and considered at the January 2007 Parks and Wildlife Commission hearing.

February

The city learned it would get some help from the Texas General Land Office (GLO) in deciding how to handle the ticklish subject of beach maintenance, a topic that's had residents and visitors disagreeing over the merits of moving sand from the dune area to the water line.

Trucks and bulldozers clear ground (foreground) for an 18-hole golf course along both sides of State Hwy. 361 in Port Aransas. The signature Arnold Palmer links-style course is to be part of Newport Villages, a development that is expected to include more than 2,000 homes, more than one hotel and a boat marina.

By state law, the GLO has oversight over Texas beaches, including dune protection and shoreline erosion.

GLO spokesman Jim Suydam confirmed that the agency had hired Dr. Spencer Rogers of the North Carolina Sea Grant Program to be a consultant on the issue. Suydam called Rogers an expert on beach nourishment and dunes.

Rogers agreed to be the consultant at no cost, being reimbursed only for his travel and living expenses, Suydam said.

"His charge will be to work with city officials, to look at Dr. (Richard) Watson's findings and figure out the best way to do things," Suydam said.

Port Aransas will remain in University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 1A, with only one change in the makeup of the district. Agua Dulce will be replaced by Falls City. Other schools, besides Port Aransas, remaining in District 31-A are Corpus Christi Academy, Pettus and Woodsboro.

Port Aransas Mayor Georgia Neblett was the only elected official named to a Texas General Land Office committee to look for permanent funding sources for the state's Coastal Erosion Response Act (CEPRA).

The committee, named by Land Commissioner Jerry Armstrong, includes, besides Neblett and Armstrong, representatives from the oil and tourism industries as well as those from liquid natural gas (LNG) companies and Texas ports.

Their charge, according to the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Coastal Resources, is to "study the effectiveness of the CEPRA and make recommendations to improve the program, identify funding sources, and determine the roles of federal and local governments in erosion response."

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and local anglers appeared to have reached an agreement on what to do about prop scarring of seagrass beds in shallow waters north of Port Aransas.

That calls for basically what the anglers had wanted to begin with: Open waters in the Redfish Bay Scientific Area with criminal penalties attached to uprooting or scarring seagrass.

Dr. Peter Thomas, professor of marine science at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) here, received an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from rebro University in Sweden.

The university said Thomas was chosen for his accomplishments in the study of steroid signaling in cells, focusing on understanding how steroid hormones affect reproduction.

A study/survey of the Port Aransas Police Department conducted by Mike Keller, a retired police chief from Webster and a consultant to police departments, told the city it needs more police officers and needs to pay them more. Quoting a survey of officers and residents that called the department short-handed, Keller said, "Part of the inability to attract qualified candidates is the salary and benefits package. The goal should be to have a competitive package that will encourage the police employees to live within the City of Port Aransas."

City council members named a beach advisory committee on Thursday, Feb. 16, as a temporary board to advise the council on how best to maintain the city's beaches. The five members of the Port Aransas beach advisory committee are Scott Holt, Murray Judson, Noyes Livingston, Jim Freeman and Tony Amos.

Holt is from the scientific community; Judson represents the business community; Livingston is from the "beach interest" group; and Freeman and Amos are the at-large members of the committee.

Texas Monthly magazine named "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" as one of the top 25 Texas movies on DVD. The movie was written by Kim Henkel, a long-time resident of Port Aransas and Corpus Christi.

A team of Port Aransas High School students won an academic competition televised Monday, Feb. 20, on KEDT-TV.

The Port Aransas team beat a team from Corpus Christi's Moody High School in "Challenge!" - a show similar to the venerable "Jeopardy!" television game show. The score was 160 to 125.

Teachers at Brundrett Middle School began teaching some old dogs a few new tricks - or at least gave them some remedial training on their old tricks.

Principal Travis Longanecker sent out letters and made personal phone calls to parents of more than 25 seventh and eighth-graders, inviting them to sit in on math enrichment classes their children were scheduled to take.

TxDOT commissioners approved ferry priority boarding pass regulations at their February meeting. It provides for a $250 fee for the first two-axle vehicle at each address, with additional passes at the same address going for $150 each.

For someone who works in Port Aransas but takes the ferry to work every day, 250 days a year, that would figure out to 50 cents each direction.

However, TxDOT has also said it will not begin issuing passes until it has at least 500 applications for the permits, which will let vehicles bearing them generally get on ferries before vehicles without the passes.

Fees for the priority permits go up as the size of the vehicle increases. Buses, motor homes and trucks with up to three axles will be charged $500; the fee for multi-unit trucks and other vehicles with more than three axles will be $1,000.

Jillian Bartlett and Leah Matthews earned first division ratings on Class I voice solos at the Regional University Interscholastic League (UIL) State Solo and Ensemble competition at Texas A&M-Kingsville, Saturday, Feb. 11.

The ratings qualified the Port Aransas High School students for the Texas State Solo and Ensemble competition

Members of the Marlin varsity basketball team were named to the District 31-A All-District and Academic All-District teams. Making the cut were Reid Copeland, Academic All-District; Brian Dignum, second team All-District; Cory Wallace, first team All-District; Matt Dunton, honorable mention All-District and Academic All-District; Cody Collins, Academic All-District; Drake Sawyer, honorable mention All-District and Academic All-district; and Matt White, honorable mention.

March Less than 300 voters in Port Aransas cast ballots in the Tuesday, March 7, Primary Election. Republicans outnumbered Democrats, with 166 and 89 ballots cast, respectively.

Two men whose boat capsized near the end of the south jetty on Friday, March 10 escaped without serious injury.

Harry T. Nieuwonhuyse, 70, of Port Aransas and Allen K. Manes, 69, of Springfield, Mo., were treated for minor injuries and possible hypothermia at a Corpus Christi hospital after their ordeal.

The men were aboard a blue and white, 21-foot-long boat when they became disoriented in fog near the end of the jetty about 12:10 p.m., police said.

In the final hours of the filing period, races formed for all positions on the city council.

If not for the bond issue, there would be no election at the school since only incumbents filed. That was the story at the water district where no election will be held since no races formed.

Filing by Keith "Kit" Gutherz and Eliza Large Monday, March 13, in the final hours of the last day of the filing period made for a three-way race for Place 2, and turned Place 6 into a race.

Gutherz filed for Place 2 along with Keith McMullin and Betsy Churgai. Incumbent Bill Smith decided to bow out when it became a three-way race.

Eliza Large made it a race for Place 6, held by incumbent Mike Hall.

In Place 4, incumbent John "Bubba" Jensen is being challenged by Charles Bujan.

Mayor Georgia Neblett and her opponent in the last mayor's race, Claude Brown, laid their cards out early and will vie again for the post.

City council members were so anxious to get the State Hwy. 361 expansion project under way that they promised to pay the cost of requested drainage improvements. In a resolution authorizing City Manager Michael Kovacs to sign a contract with TxDOT, the council asked for a four-lane highway with a median strip from Avenue G south as far as money will allow.

Kathy Caldwell, who has been assistant library director in Port Aransas for 12 years, was unanimously named to the position by city council members.

Five Port Aransans from Island In The Son United Methodist Church spent five days as Volunteers in Mission in Carboneras, Mexico.

The team worked under the guidance of Guillermo Berman and his staff of Iglesia Methodista.

Clockwise from top left: Visitors check out one of the homes on the 2006 Tour of Homes. Royalty was introduced just before the 2006 Homecoming basketball game. Aransas National Wildlife Refuge whooping crane coordinator Tom Stehn donned whooping crane guise for the Celebration of Whooping Cranes and Other Birds. Diners found much to enjoy in the 2006 Dine Around. Volunteers made the 2006 Book Sale to benefit the Bill Ellis Memorial Library a success. Katie Crysup is "Elvis" at the pre-opening gala for the Port Aransas Community Theater's new theater building. Crowds flocked to Mustang Island for the annual Texas Sand Sculpture Festival, popularly known as "SandFest." Center, a hot craps table was one of the drawing cards for the annual Rotary Club Casino Night, a charity event.

The release of a final environmental impact statement by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cleared the way for the new Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve--the third largest in the country and the only NERR on the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

The new NERR will be located in Aransas and Refugio counties and will include approximately 185,708 acres. The reserve includes wetland, upland and marine environments typically found in the western Gulf of Mexico. It will be managed by UTMSI.

Port Aransas High School junior Whitney Williams was selected by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches as All-Region and All-State. She was one of 20 girls in Class A in Texas selected to be on the all-state team.

To celebrate 10 years of promoting the arts on Mustang and Padre Islands, a reception was held by the Art Center for the Islands on Saturday, April 1, at Plantation Suites.

UTMSI took another step into the future on Saturday, March 25, when ground was officially broken for a Wetlands Education Center at the institute.

It also marked a milestone for Dr. Rick Tinnin, Director of Education Services at the MSI. Tinnin, who has been at the institute for 32 years, has been working toward getting a wetlands center for exactly half that time.

The groundbreaking cleared the way for work to begin on the center, and it marks the approval and funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and The University of Texas at Austin. But the center is still a long way from being finished.

The Get Reel, a private sport fishing boat headquartered in Port Aransas, would be crisscrossing the Caribbean Sea for the next few months, competing in a series of billfishing tournaments expected to be televised later on the ESPN2 network.

The tournaments are being conducted by the Billfishing Xtreme Release League.

The first tournament was held March 13-15 in Marathon, Fla. The rest will be held intermittently from May to September in locations including the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Dominican Republic, Antigua, British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, said Port Aransan Brian Phillips, captain of the Get Reel.

April

Port Aransas welcomed a former California Highway Patrolman and former chief of the Uvalde Police Department as its new police chief.

Samuel Russell of Uvalde was offered the position, and accepted, after a grueling, all-day session with fellow professionals, City Manager Michael Kovacs and consultant Mike Keller. He emerged over four other finalists from Palmer, Kaufman, Premont and Corpus Christi.

Russell, 61, said he had not had a chance to look closely at the Port Aransas Police Department, nor had he read a study on the department that was critical of its lack of leadership, not having a departmental policy and procedures manual and for being alienated from Port Aransas residents.

"I intend to have a basically userfriendly department," Russell said. "A police department is a service organization."

He said he wants to "build trust by the community, and professionalism" in the police department.

Four Port Aransas High School Marlin tennis players earned the right to advance to the regional tournament on the merits of their performances at the district tournament here.

Clark Smith in singles, Patricia Stievo in singles and the doubles team of Steven Wilson and Matt Dunton will represent PAHS at the regional tournament in Brenham on April 26 and 27.

Port Aransas High School will be well represented at the area track meet today, Thursday, April 13, in Ben Bolt.

Several members of the Marlin and Lady Marlins teams placed in the top four at district on April 6 in Ben Bolt to earn the right to advance. Athletes who advanced were Matt White, Robert Tatum, Peter McKelvey, Cody Collins, Drake Sawyer, Steven Wilson, Lia Phillips, Samantha Snowdy, Whitney Williams and Sarah Armanovs.

Gas division crews were working out of makeshift headquarters in Port Aransas on Tuesday, April 11, after a fire gutted the division office at 325 E. Avenue G on Saturday morning, April 8.

Kurt Requarth announced plans to retire after nearly 23 years as the Port Aransas harbormaster.

Requarth started work in the marina in October 1981 as a helper. When the harbormaster's job came open two years later, he applied against what he saw as overwhelming competition and got the position.

Jim Moss announced his retirement after working for 24 years as a teacher and administrator in the Port Aransas Independent School District. He has been principal of Port Aransas High School for the past two years.

The 22 people who hopped aboard for the first of three historical tours of Port Aransas got an earful as well as an eyeful on Monday, April 17.

Brother-and-sister team Marcy Thomas and Manny Mathews joined Eva Westmoreland in telling the group some of the history of Port Aransas, including relevant - and sometimes revealing and entertaining - anecdotes.

The tour was a joint venture of the City of Port Aransas and the Port Aransas Preservation and Historical Association (PAPHA). The association wants to apply for grants for some projects, and acceptance will be much more likely if the projects have at least the tacit blessing of the city.

Part-time Port Aransas resident Lauro Cavazos was honored with a Distinguished Achievement Award by Iowa State University during its Distinguished Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 20.

The awards are given through the ISU Alumni Association and the ISU Foundation, and recognize outstanding achievement and leadership.

Finance Director Judy Lyle reported to the city council on Thursday, April 20, that although the city had budgeted 13 percent more for fuel this year than last year, costs so far total $77,000, compared with $48,000 at this time last year. That's an increase of 60.4 percent.

In response, City Manager Michael Kovacs said, the city is scouting for ways to conserve fuel.

"We're using golf carts more; if a pickup goes out of service, do we really need to replace it with a pickup? We're doing as much as we can ourselves to make sure we're using fuel in the most efficient manner."

If you catch more flounder in the future, thank FAML at UTMSI and the TPWD.

On April 4, TPWD workers released 1,500 flounder fingerlings into Little Bay in Rockport, the culmination of two years' cooperative work between the two.

Only a tiny percentage of the fingerlings will survive predators and other dangers of the wild, but "It shows that it can be done," said Dr. Joan Holt, director of FAML.

Ken Dunton, an avid cyclist, rode 180 miles of the so-called "BPms150," theoretically a 150-mile bicycle trip from Houston to Austin to raise money for multiple sclerosis research.

"They call it 150 miles, but the way they routed us, it was actually 180," Dunton said when he returned to Port Aransas.

He was invited to participate as a member of the Shell Cycling Team and one of about 10,000 cyclists who hit the road to raise money for research.

Port Aransas High School senior Kristin Hall was named Academic All-State by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. To be considered, players must be at least secondteam all-district, and they must meet strict academic requirements.

Applications for priority boarding passes became available online, at the Port Aransas City Hall and at the TxDOT district headquarters in Corpus Christi.

Tears, laughter, hugs and handshakes were abundant in the emotion charged atmosphere of the first Port Aransas Fishing for a Cure Relay for Life.

The event that began Friday evening, April 21, was held to raise money for the American Cancer Society. When Saturday, April 22, dawned, the ACS was richer by more than $42,000.

"We raised the most money per capita for a first-time relay," said organizer Lynne Ahlstrom. With a population of 3,370, Port Aransas raised more than $12 per person in the relay.

The ACS set a goal for the Port Aransas event of $15,000.

"We were 390 percent over the goal," said Anne Denton, another relay committee member.

Both the science and computer science teams from Port Aransas High School qualified for state at the Region IV University Interscholastic League (UIL) competition Friday, April 21. May

Port Aransas' beach maintenance committee now knows where it's going.

At a meeting on Monday, May 1, members drafted a statement of purpose and a scope of work - neither of which was provided by the city council when committee members were appointed in February. They also chose Scott Holt as chairman and Noyes Livingston as vice-chairman. Committee members determined they will "Evaluate current beach maintenance practices and make recommendations to the city council on future practices that will balance public access and enjoyment with hurricane protection and environmental sensitivity."

They also decided to review current and past beach maintenance practices; review local, state and federal regulations that influence or limit beach management options; and review how natural processes shape the beach and dunes.

One after another, they stepped to the lectern and gushed. The president of the University of Texas. A United States congressman. A U.S. senator. And more.

Speaking before an audience of about 100 at UTMSI in Port Aransas on Saturday, May 6, the dignitaries exclaimed what a great accomplishment it was to push through the creation of the Mission-Aransas National Estuary Research Reserve - the nation's first estuarine research reserve in the western Gulf of Mexico.

And, one after another, the speakers at the dedication ceremony for the reserve singled out UTMSI research scientist Dr. Paul Montagna for doing so much to make the reserve happen. The reserve was Montagna's brainchild, and he put in seven years of work to make it a reality. He has been designated as manager of the reserve.

The Millie Wise Sportsmanship Awards went to Port Aransas High School seniors Kristin Hall and Steven Wilson who also were named Female and Male Athletes of the Year at the annual Marlin Athletic Booster Club awards banquet.

Clockwise from top left: A proposed multi-story condominium planned for Mustang Island is said to be the tallest building in the area aside from a Corpus Christi bank tower. The tall ship La Gloria passed through Port Aransas to and from a visit to Corpus Christi. Municipal Court judge Duncan Neblett, left, swears in newly-elected Mayor Claude Brown and councilmen Mike Hall and Bubba Jensen; councilman Keith McMullin's swearing-in awaited his winning a runoff election. Supporters gathered for the opening of the Chamber of Commerce-Tourist Bureau satellite office at the Port Aransas Community Theater building. Beach Street got a facelift at its junction with the beach and Horace Caldwell Pier. Kristin Hall joined, the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Islanders softball team. Jim Moss announced his retirement as principal of Port Aransas High School at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Revelers hoisted mugs of beer at the city's annual Fall Back Festival. Dignitaries gathered in Austin, where the Legislature recognized The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute's 60th anniversary. Center, Christie Barwise accepts the trophy as the Corpus Christi Big Game Fishing Club's top angler from club president John Price.

Port Aransas had a new mayor as a result of elections held May 13. Two city council seats were retained by incumbents, and a third council seat was to be decided in a runoff election scheduled for June 10.

Challenger Claude Brown defeated incumbent Georgia Neblett in the mayor's race, 741 votes to 558 votes.

John (Bubba) Jensen retained his Place 4 seat, defeating challenger Charles Bujan, 666-627. And council member Mike Hall won over challenger Eliza Large, 798-487.

In the three-way race for Place 2, Betsy Churgai ended up with 502 votes, Keith (Kit) Gutherz with 161 votes, and Keith McMullin with 621 votes. The runoff will be between Churgai and McMullin, since none of the candidates won a majority.

In another item on ballots on May 13, a Port Aransas ISD bond election was approved, with 865 votes for and 401 against. The money will be used to partially re-roof H.G. Olsen Elementary School and to buy a bus and a Chevrolet Suburban for student transportation.

Port Aransas celebrated the life of Maurizio "Maurice" Halioua, ownerchef of Venetian Hot Plate, on Friday, May 26.

Halioua, 45, died Monday morning, May 22, 2006, in a Houston hospital after a long illness.

Halioua was active in the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce- Tourist Bureau board of directors, a founding member of the Beach Street Merchants Association that became the Merchants Association, then evolved into a committee of the chamber. He was instrumental in founding the Dine Around.

Bob Smith became president of the Port Aransas Independent School District Board of Trustees. Trustees also voted Chuck Borders in as vice president and elected Lorraine Stern to a second term as secretary.

Five Port Aransas Independent School District staff members who gave 24 to 27 years of service to the district were honored at the end of the school term. They were Port Aransas High School Principal Jim Moss, 24 years; PAHS Counselor Nancy Vaughn, 25 years; H.G. Olsen Elementary School teacher Faye Gibson, 24 years; custodian Irene Castellano, 24 years; and Brundrett Middle School social studies teacher Mary Goodwin, 27 years.

PAHS junior Whitney Williams placed seventh in high jump at the state track meet. It was her third consecutive trip to the state meet.

Valedictorian Stephanie Conner and salutatorian Dillon Jones addressed parents, family and friends during commencement ceremonies for the Port Aransas High School Class of 2006. High school teacher Bill Slingerland gave the commencement address.

Bob Byrd was hired as the new principal of Brundrett Middle School.

UTMSI hosted about 1,100 vistiors on Saturday, May 27, when the institute celebrated its 60th anniversary with an open house.

The South Jetty won second place in Sweepstakes based on cumulative points earned in the Texas Gulf Coast Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest, and reporter Phil Reynolds was elected second vice president of the association during the 68th annual convention.

Sweepstakes points are earned for placing in the various contest divisions judged by members of the Panhandle Press Association. Work submitted for judging was published during 2005. June

Port Aransas property owners saw their appraised property values shoot up as much as 162 percent over five years. Changes like this in home values have led to water-cooler talk in Port Aransas claiming that the appraisal district is concentrating on Mustang Island, appraising homes here more frequently than properties on, say, the south side of Corpus Christi.

Michael Mantz, the assistant chief appraiser for the district, said appraisal districts are mandated by law to appraise every property at least once every three years. However, there's nothing that says it can't be appraised every year.

Patsy Grimes of Port Aransas submitted a recipe to The Best of Country Cooking 2006, and it was selected for publication in the ninth book in the series of Taste of Home cookbooks.

Three Port Aransas High School music students received honors at the UIL state solo/ensemble competition at Texas State University in San Marcos on Monday May 29.

Leah Matthews received a first division rating on her vocal solo. Nicole Sanchez, baritone, and Elissa Rabalais, flute, received second division ratings on their instrumental solos.

Port Aransas High School's cheerleading team earned an invitation to the NCA (National Cheerleading Association) competition this fall as a result of their accomplishments at the Division I NCA camp.

The cheerleaders attended the NCA camp June 3-6 at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville with more than 300 high school cheerleaders representing 17 high schools from across the state. Cheerleaders attending this camp may qualify for national competition to be held in Dallas or Nashville in the fall.

The Port Aransas Independent School District experienced one of its larger employee turnovers in recent years, with at least 15 resigning since January.

Four of the 15 employees resigned to take other positions within the district.

The resignations and retirements were coincidental, not driven by any one reason, said Superintendent Billy Wiggins.

Keith McMullin edged out Betsy Churgai in a runoff election for council Place 2 on Saturday, June 10, 525- 493, or 51.57 percent-48.43 percent. The margin of 32 votes represented 3.14 percent of the 1,018 ballots cast in the election.

Port Aransas High School's Lady Marlin softball team members racked up All-State and All-District honors. Whitney Williams was named to the All-State team and to the first team All-District infield and to the Academic All-District team. Heather Grumbles received a unanimous vote for All-District Most Valuable Player and was named to the Academic All- District softball team. Kristin Hall was named first team all-District Pitcher and selected for the Academic All-District team and Academic All- State Team. Katy Bridges was selected to the second team All-District Infield and the Academic All-District team. Leah Matthews was selected for Honorable Mention Infield and the Academic All-District team. Elaine Franco earned a place on the first team All-District Outfield and Academic All-District team.

Lizzie Dupnik earned a spot as second team All-District Catcher.

Lia Phillips earned a slot on the first team All-District Infield and Academic All-District team. Kathy Ashley worked her way to the second team All-District Outfield and Academic All-District team. Mary Teller earned Honorable Mention and Academic All-District team honors.

An anonymous benefactor donated $5,000 to the Port Aransas Independent School District, allowing Brundrett Middle School to hold summer school this year without school officials having to dip into reserve funds.

With some reluctance, city council members agreed to kick in $1.7 million toward a proposed improvement program for State Hwy. 361 south of Port Aransas.

While the Art Center for the Islands celebrated its 10th anniversary, it also sought a new beginning.

Officials with the arts group started a drive to raise enough money to buy a piece of land - the location of which has not been decided - and construct a new building on it.

A new master drainage plan for the city took the first step toward approval, with city council members voting to accept the plan on June 15.

The plan would provide guidance to the city on how residents want to handle storm water and runoff. It would replace a plan that was first approved back in the 1980s.

Port Aransas High School students envisioning themselves as future leaders, accountants, Web masters or police officers are in luck.

The high school announced plans to begin offering new electives exploring those subjects in the fall.

Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, announced that South Texas won $1 million for the Coastal Bend in the funding bill for Transportation, the Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The bill includes $750,000 for expansion of the TxDOT ferry system at Port Aransas, funding fought for by former mayor Georgia Neblett.

The Paul Mathews Sportsmanship award, presented by the Port Aransas Little League, went to Josh Reiter of the Tarpons and Marina Milligan of the Longhorns, based on recommendations from the coaches.

Two Port Aransas scientists were awarded a $1.3 million federal grant to study an area of the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana known as the "dead zone," where low oxygen levels for years have flushed away and even destroyed marine life. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the grant to Paul Montagna and Peter Thomas of UTMSI.

"This is a big deal," said UTMSI Director Lee Fuiman, adding that it is the largest grant the institute has won since receiving a $1.8 million grant in 2002.

"One of the important things is that the dead zone is a national issue that has received a lot of attention," Fuiman said. "The fact that they're bringing in UTMSI specialists from the western gulf - which is not where the dead zone is - tells you that the players we have here in Port Aransas are important people on the national scene when it comes to the marine environment issues."

City council members approved a 20 percent homestead exemption, the first such city exemption for homeowners who claim houses here as their primary residences.

TxDOT began a study that could mean better and easier traveling between Corpus Christi and Port Aransas along State Hwy. 361, the "Island Road" that runs the length of Mustang Island.

Clockwise from top left: Port Aransas native Marcy Mathews Ward Thomas was grand marshal of the first annual Old Town Festival, leading the parade in a classic Bentley. Mortarboards in hand, graduates kick up a fuss (and some surf) on Port Aransas High School prior to graduation day in May. City council and planning and zoning commission members took guided tours of historic buildings . Bruce Furlow retired from the Nueces County Water Conservation and Improvement District 4 board of directors after serving since 1992. Enthusiastic Winter Texans participate in exercises at the Pollock Center. City officials began taking a look at exactly what they want to do with 67 acres the city owns on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Heavy equipment was in evidence as construction began on condominiums and town homes at The Moorings. Andi Wickham and John Ray show visitors a sea turtle during The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute's biennial open house. Center, top, Dillon Jones, left, salutatorian, and Stephanie Conner, valedictorian, are honored by Port Aransas High School principal Jim Moss. Below, H.G. Olsen Elementary principal Sylvia Buttler shows off "exemplary" plaques awarded by the Texas Education Agency.

TxDOT announced that it would ask public officials, developers, landowners and interested citizens for their ideas about improving the Island Road between Port Aransas and Park Road 22, the extension of South Padre Island Drive in Corpus Christi.

Clockwise from left, Nueces County's I.B. Magee Beach Park underwent a facelift in 2006, with the old office being replaced by a new office-shower building; beachfront bathrooms were also rebuilt. Port Aransas' beach maintenance advisory committee worked nearly a year to come up with recommendations on how best to care for Mustang Island beaches. A team of Port Aransas High School scholars competed in KEDT-TV's .Challenge!' program on the local PBS station. Alex Porter was an entry in the annual lighted boat parade in the city marina. Chamber of Commerce members discussed the city's economy. Newly elected State Rep. Juan Garcia addressed the Rotary Club. Volunteers gathered in Port Aransas to help during the GLO fall beach cleanup. Volunteers returned several sea turtles to their natural habitat after rehabilitation at the Animal Rehabilitation Keep, including Hermione, a 250-pound loggerhead. Spring Break '06 was a time for relaxing away from school work and other responsibilities. Center, Whitney Williams returned to the state track meet for the third time.

Unusually clear waters revealed a large submerged shipwreck in the Lydia Ann Channel. It was found by a group of experienced Port Aransas divers who had never seen it before.

Just what vessel it is and exactly when it sank remain a mystery to the divers and to the Texas Historical Commission's state marine archaeologist.

The mystery began unfolding as Bryan Evans was parasailing more than 200 feet above Lydia Ann Channel when he saw something below that he never had noticed in seven years of piloting a boat around that channel almost daily. It was a dark, roughly oval shape maybe 250 feet long on the bottom of the channel, about 25 feet below the water's surface. July

Two longtime Port Aransas fishing guides separately stepped forward to offer their opinions on the identity of a Lydia Ann Channel shipwreck that puzzled veteran local divers and state marine archaeologists.

But the guides - Bill Hart and Lloyd Dreyer - had conflicting ideas about which vessel sank there.

Hart felt certain it was a barge that sank more than 50 years ago and maybe a lot longer ago than that. Dreyer, on the other hand, said that the vessel was a concrete ship scuttled in the channel just after World War I.

A property tax revolt with its roots in Port Aransas appears to be spreading to other Texas coastal cities and could result in legislative proposals that would basically alter the municipal property tax structure.

Mayor Claude Brown, Councilman Rick Pratt and City Manager Michael Kovacs met recently with Nueces County Commissioner Chuck Cazalas and officials of the Nueces County Appraisal District to make them aware of dissatisfaction with rising property values in Port Aransas.

"Our citizens are being taxed past the point of tolerance," Pratt said.

A new program, "Science and the Sea," was debuted on public radio station KEDT-FM in Corpus Christi. A new program will be broadcast each week.

The program is part of MSI's 60th anniversary celebration. It is two minutes long and is produced by KEDT-FM and the same team that produces the popular "StarDate" radio program, which originates with the McDonald Observatory.

Dr. Paul Montagna, after close to 20 years to the day at UTMSI, is leaving to accept a post with the Harte Research Institute in Corpus Christi.

The Harte Research Institute is affiliated with Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi.

Montagna's new job will be as the endowed Chair for Ecoscience and Modeling, one that will allow him to continue all of the research he's been doing in freshwater inflow and estuaries, he said.

The crew of Clean Sweep, that had been fishing in the Poco Bueno tournament got a once-in-a-lifetime experience on their way home when they witnessed the birth of a baby sperm whale on Saturday, July 15.

Authorities agree that witnessing the birth of a calf whale in the wild is a rare thing, but none could offer any actual chances of that happening. Dr. Bernd Wursig, who studies whales at Texas A&M University-Galveston, called witnessing the birth of a whale in the wild "a very rarely and poorlydocumented event."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has given Port Aransas a passing grade. In fact, the agency gave the city the highest possible rating - "strong" - based on an inspection visit on July 12.

Say goodbye to the Longhorn.

UTMSI's 102-foot-long research vessel, the major oceanographic vessel in Texas, will be sold sometime this year.

It costs nearly $500,000 a year to operate the vessel. That money isn't being recouped, and it's not budgeted at The University of Texas level or by either state or federal governments.

August

It was announced in early August that, beginning this fall, Port Aransas High School will not allow freshmen to leave campus for lunch. The school's new principal, Travis Longanecker, who was principal of Brundrett Middle School the past two school years, said he decided to institute the new policy for a few different reasons. One is to keep freshmen safe. The Port Aransas trolley began charging to carry passengers on a loop around the city. The Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) imposed a 25-cent fare on the trolley, which had been free since its inception.

The RTA also announced an increase in the fare for the Port Aransas Flexi-B, the bus that carries passengers from here to Corpus Christi. Flexi-B fares, previously 50 cents, increased to $1.25 for a one-way trip.

The Texas Historical Commission announced it would investigate a mysterious sunken shipwreck in Lydia Ann Channel.

The commission's state marine archaeologist, Steve Hoyt, said he would lead a group of volunteers who will scuba dive at the wreck in a "reconnaissance survey." Hoyt said he hoped to identify what kind of vessel it is and perhaps its approximate age.

While the City of Port Aransas sprays frequently for mosquito control, neither the city nor Nueces County planned to inspect for west Nile virus within the city limits.

Six cases had been reported as of mid-August in Corpus Christi; five of the victims recovered, and the sixth was on the way to recovery.

The city council decided to ask voters to approve a total of $6.46 million in bonds on Nov. 7 to pay for a program designed to improve drainage in the city and to repair a number of streets as well as fix the leaky roof on the city hall/civic center and add office space to that building.

The South Jetty introduced its online edition. Online browsers were able to access the entire newspaper, including reproductions of each page of the newspaper, (known as PDFs) by going online to www.portasouthjetty. com.

A little-known sunken shipwreck in the Lydia Ann Channel appeared to be a wood-hull steam ship that sank many decades ago, according to an archaeologist who explored the wreck with three other divers.

State Marine Archaeologist Steve Hoyt estimated the ship most likely sank in the late 1800s or early 1900s. He said he could not immediately determine the ship's exact identity because the wreck is so deteriorated.

With little fuss and no public comment, city council members and the board of the city's Recreational Development Board approved a tax rate and their respective budgets.

That action clears the way for the city to begin a new fiscal year.

As recommended by the staff, the city's new tax rate will be 29.7 cents per $100 valuation, down from the current 37.8 cents.

The Port Aransas Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 8-0 to approve a tax rate of $1.394582 per $100 in property value.

The school board made the vote after a public hearing in which no members of the public showed up to speak.

The new tax rate is about 15.5 cents lower than last year's rate of $1.55 because of changes in school finance laws passed by the state Legislature. However, Port Aransas property owners may not see lower tax bills because property values have risen dramatically after reassessments by the Nueces County Appraisal District.

September

A brand name on a brick plucked from a mysterious shipwreck in Lydia Ann Channel helped a state marine archaeologist get a better idea of the wreck's age.

Texas Historical Commission divers who recently explored the wreck found a firebrick imprinted with the words "A.P. GREEN F.B. CO," said Steve Hoyt, one of the divers. Hoyt is the state marine archaeologist with the Texas Historical Commission.

The A.P. Green Company began stamping its name on firebricks made at its factory in 1915, so archaeologists now know the ship could not have sunk anytime before that, Hoyt said.

Nueces County Constable Pct. 4 Bobby Sherwood announced that the Nueces County Commissioners Court extended funding for an additional deputy constable through the next fiscal year. The result of having another deputy on board has been a dramatic increase over the past few months in citations for beach littering and glass containers as well as traffic offenses.

Marilyn Cook of Port Aransas was named to the 2006-2008 Kappa Delta Pi Executive Council. Cook, a teacher at H.G. Olsen Elementary School, was chosen as alumni counselor for the International Honor Society in Education for the next two years.

City and RTA officials began looking at a proposal to put a Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) bus at the Port Aransas end of the ferry route in time to pick up workers at the ferry ramp and take them to work, and pick them up again at the end of the work day and take them back to the ferry.

Glenn Martin, the Port Aransan who's on the RTA board, said if a deal can be struck between the city and the RTA, the bus might run during morning go-to-work hours, slack off during the day, and run again as workers leave for home.

SandFest, which has been under the umbrella of Port Aransas Community Theater throughout most of its 10-year existence, became a separate non-profit organization.

City council and planning and zoning commission members declined to change their minds about 67 acres of land the city owns fronting the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. The current draft land use map labels the 67 acres as "mixed use," which gives the city the widest possible latitude in what it wants to allow to be built there. The property is now vacant land. The 67 acres is just beyond the end of Port Street, adjacent to the ongoing Charlie's Pasture Nature Preserve and facing the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. According to the city's planning and projects manager, this property is not part of any of the properties that were purchased for recreation or park use.

A group of Port Aransans announced formation of a non-profit foundation to seek community support for the Port Aransas Independent School District with funding, enrichment programs and other support work.

The Port Aransas Education Foundation obtained official non-profit status and put together a board of directors in August. The board consists of Janice Roberts, president; Vanessa Brundrett, vice president; Jana Snow secretary; Wendy Moore, treasurer; and board members Michelle Sowers, Beth Owens, Mike Hall, Jay Jones, Rob Clark, Greg Villasana and Mark Milligan.

Volunteers plucked about 7,500 pounds of trash from San Jose and Mustang islands during the 20th annual Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup.

Clockwise from top left, the annual Songwriters' Showcase at the Tarpon Inn courtyard drew its usual enthusiastic crowd. Port Aransas' Mustang Beach Airport saw some improvements and looked forward to more in the future. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, left, was the speaker at the designation of the Mission-Aransas National Estuary Research Reserve. Hutchison was also featured speaker at the opening of Packery Channel, a conduit between the Gulf of Mexico and Corpus Christi Bay. Got'M On took second place in the decorated boats category at the annual Blessing of the Fleet. Lauren Littlefield, right, won top honors in the annual Deep Sea Roundup tournament. Sailboats from the Houston-Galveston area wound up here at the annual Harvest Moon Regatta. Athletes of the Year Steven Wilson, left, and Krysten Hall accept plaques from Port Aransas High School Athletic Director Steve Reaves. Enthusiastic marchers gathered for Port Aransas' first annual Relay for Life in support of cancer research. Center top, anglers did particularly well in this year's Outboard Tournament, as evidenced by this prize kingfish. Below, Bob Byrd was named new principal of Port Aransas High School.

A crew of about 60 people filmed scenes on the beach and other locations around town for a movie whose working title is "Carriers." Imdb.com, a Web site devoted to television and film, says the movie is about "four friends fleeing a viral pandemic" and that they "soon learn they are more dangerous than any virus."

SandFest announced plans to team up with The Art Center for the Islands, Port Aransas Community Theater, Port Aransas Food Pantry and Friends of the ARK to run SandFest's sandsculpting festival on the beach in Port Aransas March 30-April 1.

A surf club formed at Port Aransas High School to help students take part in the sport and maybe get involved in ocean conservation while they're at it. Among other things, the club will help students get involved in surf competitions sponsored by the Texas Gulf Surfing Association.

Thirty-four H.G. Olsen Elementary School students got the opportunity to splash around in the mud and catch tadpoles. The fourth graders toured wetlands at UTMSI and at Port Aransas Community Park, learning about wetland ecology all the while. Also at UTMSI, the students sat at computers and typed questions for wetlands experts who were broadcasting a show live from the coast of Oregon.

Georgia Neblett of Port Aransas was appointed as a public representative to the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) board of directors. TWIA was established by legislative mandate to provide wind and hail insurance for Texas Gulf coast property owners in the event of catastrophic loss.

October

Announcement of the ribbon cutting to officially open Packery Channel drew mixed opinions from Port Aransans about how the channel will affect the town's tourism industry.

Some believed Packery Channel would lure a little bit of business away from Port Aransas, but it was hard to find anyone who believed Packery would rob Port Aransas of so much business that the town would suffer much.

Port Aransas schools were as prepared as any school could be for the unthinkable, Superintendent Billy Wiggins said after a wave of school shootings erupted across the nation.

Port Aransas High School held drills specifically geared toward dealing with an armed intruder, said Travis Longanecker, principal of the high school. It was all a part of the institute'work as lead state agency for the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS).

Changing city fees from city charter or ordinance to being set by city council resolution was expected not only to make it more convenient for the city - it could turn into a money maker as well.

Many, though not all, city fees were raised when the council passed an ordinance in September allowing the fees to be set by resolution.

However, most of those increases weren't expected to affect residents on a daily basis.

An invasion of red tide that floated in to Port Aransas waters the first week of October floated away the next week, borne to the south by longshore currents.

Rising fuel prices also hit public agencies that have little way to adjust revenue to fight the higher prices. So they began attacking the problem another way: Going to gasoline-powered or electric carts, some of which are close relatives to the those one might herd around the golf course.

For tasks that don't require heavy hauling or speed, the carts have turned out to fill the needs of the agencies that have tried them, department heads said.

The Port Aransas Independent School District braced itself to pay more than $50,000 more than last year for windstorm insurance because the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is not insuring school districts for as much.

Richard Safford was recognized as the 2006 Citizen of the Year during the annual Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce banquet. Presenter Mike Hall cited Safford's involvement in community activities, including soccer, Little League, scouting, school and youth activities.

The Lady Marlin varsity cross country team won the district championship and a berth at the regional meet, and one Marlin varsity runner, Matt Dunton, earned a berth at regional.

The regional berths were earned on the basis of performances at the district meet.

Brundrett Middle School's eighth grade Lady Marlins won the district cross country championship.

A report combining recommendations from the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the city's beach maintenance committee calls for less work on the beach and allowing the area between the dunes and the water to become more natural.

A Port Aransas scientist found evidence that low oxygen levels in an area off Louisiana known as the dead zone could be hurting reproduction in croaker - an important baitfish in recreational fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico.

Peter Thomas, a professor at UTMSI, emphasized that his findings are only preliminary and still need to be confirmed with further study he plans to do next year.

UTMSI scientists aboard the Longhorn research vessel conducted research in the dead zone in August and October.

The major research vessel at UTMSI took her last cruise on Thursday, Oct. 26, with staff members and faculty aboard.

Earlier this year, university regents decided it was too expensive to keep the Longhorn and ordered that the vessel be stripped of scientific equipment and sold. November

A fund drive for acquiring and preserving a house on Oleander Street was launched by the Port Aransas Preservation and Historical Association (PAPHA).

The Mercer house, also known as the Sears house, was documented in a survey as one of two most significant historical structures remaining in "Old Town", along with the Tarpon Inn, which already has historical registration.

The home is scheduled to be torn down to make room for a planned 16-townhouse development.

The developer has offered to give the building to PAPHA on the condition that it be moved off the property as soon as possible.

The options are to buy the house and the property, which would cost $620,000; or accept the offer of the house and move it for approximately $40,000 plus the cost of the land, said Betty Bundy chairman of the grants committee.

Senior Marlin runner Matt Dunton placed third overall at regional cross country among 179 other runners in the boys' 5K (3.12 miles) with a career best time of 16:19. Dunton earned a berth in the state meet. The Lady Marlins ended their season in fourth place at the regional statequalifying meet.

An anonymous donor made a contribution of $5,000 to the Port Aransas Education Foundation, reported Janice Roberts, president of the foundation.

The donation was the largest donation the foundation had received since the non-profit organization's formation in August.

Kristin Hall, a 2006 graduate of Port Aransas High School, made the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Islander women's softball team. The Islanders head coach, Dawn Wuthrich, said Hall made the team as a walk-on after trying out.

Port Aransas voters approved two out of three bond issues proposed by the city. Proposition 1, for $1.305 million of bonds for street, curb and sidewalk improvements, passed 959- 334, a 74.16 percent approval rate. Proposition 2, for $1.380 million in bonds for drainage improvements, passed 968-317, an approval rate of 75.33 percent.

A third ballot proposition, to repair city hall and add to the building at a cost of $3.775 million, was turned down, 677-605. That meant 47.19 percent of the 1,282 voters who cast ballots on that issue were in favor of the proposition.

While supported by Nueces County voters, District 32 State Rep. Gene Seaman was unseated by Democratic opponent Juan Garcia in the General Election. County voters elected Loyd Neal as county judge and gave Jim Kaelin the nod for county sheriff.

Developers announced plans to build the three tallest buildings in the entire Coastal Bend on Mustang Island.

The 500-unit high-rise condominium, near Mustang Island State Park, to be called Maravilla Del Mar, will include three buildings, each more than 30 stories high.

David Underbrink, the project engineer, said the developers "are not interested in a total ban for traffic" on the beach in front of the development. The developers will seek to have bollards installed to limit traffic to an area near the dunes in the same style as beaches in Port Aransas, said Underbrink, who is with Naismith Engineering in Corpus Christi.

Nearly 20 Port Aransas residents and officials went to a meeting of the Nueces County Beach Management Advisory Committee meeting on Friday, Nov. 10, loaded for bear. At issue was the question of whether Nueces County should consolidate all dune building permits under one office, presumably the advisory committee. Although Nueces County has legislative control over dune permits, Port Aransas city officials issue dune building permits within the city under an inter-agency agreement signed back in 1994. The committee voted 4-1, with two members absent, not to recommend the change to county commissioners.

Port Aransas High School senior Matt Dunton ended his high school cross country career at the state meet by finishing 23rd out of 104 runners. He ran the race in 17:32 in cool, windy conditions in Round Rock on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Port Aransas nightclub owner Joseph "Jody" Paul McCormick Sr. died after a short illness in a Corpus Christi hospital Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006. He was 58. The owner of Sharkey's had been a resident of Port Aransas since 1988.

The City of Port Aransas has gotten behind an effort to save a building described as "the crown jewel of Port Aransas historical buildings."

Councilman Rick Pratt asked fellow council members to approve in principle the attempt to save the building commonly known as the Sears house at Oleander and Rob- erts streets.

Nobody seemed to know exactly why Port Aransas' hotel-motel tax revenue shot up by 50 percent in October. City finance officer Judy Lyle's figures showed that revenue from the hotel use tax was $261,491.43 in October, compared with $174,275.69 in October of 2005.

The spike for October compared with October a year ago isn't consistent with the rest of the year. In no other month did the hotel use tax shoot upward like that.

The number represents money received from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in October. Lyle said the actual spending occurred roughly during the period of July- September, 2006.

However, chamber of Commerce- Tourist Bureau executive director Ann Bracher Vaughn pointed out that during the period when the taxes were collected - July through September - Port Aransas was undergoing two hurricane alerts, one for Katrina and one for Rita. Another possible explanation for the rise in hotel occupancy tax revenue in October is that some businesses may have submitted taxes late.

Former Port Aransas Mayor Georgia Neblett was named executive director of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). Dr. Lee Fuiman, director of UTMSI, announced Neblett's appointment. The Mission-Aransas NERR became official in May; it's been without a director since Dr. Paul Montagna accepted a position at the Harte Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in July.

The first annual Old Town Festival included a parade, storytelling by members of some of Mustang Island's old-time families, a reception and certificate presentation in

the courtyard of the Tarpon Inn, a bagpipe concert, a street dance and a concert at Third Coast Sound. It was designed to call attention to the Port Aransas Preservation and Historical Association's (PAPHA) efforts to save the so-called Mercer House, also known as the Sears House, and to raise money to help in that project.

Keith Donley, chairman of the city's Airport Advisory Board, said the board has a vision of using the airport better, in a way that will bring more money into Port Aransas and perhaps even make some money for the city. To that end, he presented an idea to the city council: Why not see if private companies would be interested in setting up shop at the airport at no cost to the city? What Mustang Beach has now is a good runway, a building, some hangars, fuel for sale and a good instrument approach system.

What it doesn't have is somebody on hand to provide information and service to visiting fliers.

In flying jargon, that's called an "FBO" - a Fixed Base Operator, the company that runs the aircraft servicing, map selling, information office, snack bar - whatever the airport has to offer. December

A team of Port Aransas High School students didn't compete in a state robotics competition in Lubbock because their bus was turned back due to icy roads.

Longtime SandFest organizers selected their first board of directors.

The new board members elected officers: Betty Crawford, president; Buddy Pletz, vice president; Elleece Calvert, treasurer; and Robert McElroy, secretary. McElroy is the husband of Dee McElroy, the event director.

The other board members are Rick Adams, Arnold Govella and James Morris.

Janice Roberts, president of the Port Aransas Education Foundation, announced the foundation had decided to provide H.G. Olsen Elementary School's fifth graders - there are nearly 40 of them - with a field trip to hear the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra at the Performing Arts Center at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, on Saturday, Jan. 13. The grant, for $1,200, was the first awarded by the newly formed foundation.

The Nueces County Commissioners Court voted to conditionally grant a dune protection permit to the developers of a high-rise resort planned for property just north of Mustang Island State Park. The $350 million resort is planned for property that lies on a part of Mustang Island that lies inside the Corpus Christi city limits. The City of Corpus Christi issued a building permit for the project. Plans call for a 500-unit condominium complex that would include a building that is 34 to 36 stories high and two other buildings that would be 32 to 34 stories high, according to David Underbrink, the project engineer, of Naismith Engineering in Corpus Christi. If built, they would be among the tallest buildings on the Texas coast south of Houston.

TxDOT officials have not yet set a deadline for applying for priority boarding passes, but they were expected to offer refunds to people who applied for the passes and submitted deposits.

The priority boarding idea would have let pass holders go to a special staging area at ferries in both Port Aransas and Galveston. Those staging areas would be loaded onto ferries first, until the ferries were half full, then "regular" vehicles would be allowed aboard.

University officials believe a $1.8 million grant earmarked for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute will be a strong lure for graduate students considering enrollment at the institute. Among other things, the grant from the National Science Foundation would have graduate students working alongside teachers in fifth- through eighthgrade classrooms to educate students on the science behind water.

A Nueces County proposal to extend dune building requirements an additional 150 feet from the vegetation line on Mustang and Padre islands will not affect Port Aransas, according to county commissioner Chuck Cazalas.

Cazalas, whose Precinct 4 includes both islands as well as Port Aransas, said he had no idea how information began circulating that the county would place Port Aransas under the new amendment.

"The county never intended to include Port Aransas in the 350-foot rule," he said on Tuesday, Dec. 19.

An amendment proposed by Nueces County commissioners to the county's dune protection plan would set building restrictions 350 feet inland from the dune vegetation line on Mustang and Padre islands instead of the current 200 feet.

ABC News TV program "Good Morning America" touted Mustang Island as one of the nation's top 10 beaches.

On top of that, developer Randal Greene said Sports Illustrated would feature the Newport Golf Course as its 2008 course of the year. Greene also said critic Geoff Shackleford had written an article for Golf Digest magazine praising the course, and that Golf Digest would feature Newport Golf Course on a cover next year or in 2008.

Port Aransas City Manager Michael Kovacs has been named regional president-elect of the Texas City Management Association (TCMA). Region 9, the region that includes Port Aransas, encompasses 19 counties in the Texas Coastal Bend, from Kleberg County on the south to Fayette County on the north. It goes as far west as McMullen and Duval counties.