Associated Press

A 35-year-old Navy pilot killed on a bombing mission in Laos in April 1966 was buried on Satur-day, July 16th with full military honors in Webster, at Forest Park East Cemetary. The remains of Lt. Cmdr. Wil-liam Patrick Egan were identified after a DNA sample his niece provided about 10 years ago was matched to bone fragments a farmer in Laos turned over to U.S. officials in late 2009. “I’ve been waiting for them to find him all these years,” his widow, Anne Egan, said Thurs-day as she cradled an urn with her husband’s remains shortly after they were flown to Houston and presented to her. On the day he died, Egan and another pilot launched their A-1 Skyraiders off the aircraft carrier USS Hancock to attack a supply depot on the Ho Chi Minh Trail west of the North Vietnamese port of Dong Hoi. After rolling in on the target and dropping his ammunition, Egan’s plane was struck by ground fire and went straight into the ground, the gov-ernment said.

“His wingman repeatedly flew over the crash site but could see no indication that (Egan) got out of the aircraft,” said Maj. Carie Parker with the Defense Prisoner of War Missing Personnel Of-fice. The military initially listed Egan as lost. A later search of the crash site didn’t shed light on his whereabouts. His niece, Linda Sanders, said she will never forget their last conversation, shortly before he left on what would be his final

mission. “I said, ‘Don’t let them shoot you. You shoot them first,’” Sanders recalled. “He said, ‘That’s what I’m going to do. I’ll get them — they won’t get me.’” Jerryl “Jeri” Wismer, Egan’s daughter, who was 7 when her father died, said she misses him but is relieved that “after 45 years, my dad has come home.” “He will be buried on American soil where he belongs,” she said. “He’s finally home,” said Sand-

ers, of La Porte, “Our family is back together. We’re complete.” Egan’s Family was escorted to his final resting place by the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcycle enthusiits comprised of a variety of motorcycle or-ganizations. Their purpose is to show sincere respect for fallen heroes, their families, and their communities. They also shield mourning families and their friends from interruptions cre-ated by any protestor or group of protestors.

By The BayCERT TrainingSouth Houston Community CenterTuesday Evenings6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

TCCI, Community Chaplain Corps CERT training will be held at the South Houston Community Center, 1007 State St., South Houston, TX 77587. Classes will be held on Tues-day evenings from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., starting July 12, 2011 and ending August 30, 2011.The training is free and open to the community and surrounding areas. To register contact Misty Gunn at 281-436-8169 or misty.gunn@oem.hctx.net or Chaplain Sheepdog at 713-540-6304 or chap0129@ya-hoo.com. www.harriscountycitizen-corps.com

PandaMania!!!LP Community ChurchJuly 25 to 295:30pm to 8:30pm

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

We’re lookingfor classmates!!

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

LPPD Announce Citizens Police Academy for August

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

Free Roller Derby Lessons For Kemah Residents

South Side Roller Derby in-vites you, your family, and your friends to sign up for a Free Month of instructional roller derby training from experi-enced skaters including skating the track, taking falls, getting up, stopping, blocking, taking a rail, speed skating, and much moreGirls (7 to 17) – Mondays at 5:30. Women (18 and up) – Mondays at 8 pm. Men (18 and up) – Tuesdays 7 pm. To sign up email: info@southsiderollerder-by.com or visit: rollerderbyboot-camp.com/signup.htm. South Side Roller Derby - House of Derby, 3502 Palmer Hwy, Texas City, Texas 77590. (281)460-2240. www.roller-derbybootcamp.com. www.southsiderollerderby.com

... INDEX

Community......................2On The Water..................3Arts & Entertainment.....4NASA News.....................5Police News....................6Classifieds......................7In The Garden.................8 Cuisine............................8

VOLUME 2, NO. 29 LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011

The Bay Area ObserverCommunity News For The Galveston Bay Area

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

Home Theater Installs

ABC COMPUTER SERVICES - 24 X 7

Missing Navy Pilot’s Remains Return Home After 45 Years

By Rebecca Collins editor@bayareaobserver.com

Seabrook City Council has passed, with Councilman Paul Dunphey recusing himself, the second and final reading of Ordinance No. 2009-09, Conditional Use Permit for a motor-cycle sales and service shop to be located at 910 Bayport Blvd. in a C-2 Medium Commercial Zoning District. The applicant, Twisted Custom Cycles, will establish a motorcycle repair facility at the old Food and Fuel gas station and convenience store. The business will operate as a repair and retail facility that will operate Monday through Friday 9 am to 6 pm and Saturday 9 am to 1:30 pm. The location is adjacent to the Old Seabrook area of he city, where several residents are op-posing the move, and expressed their concerns during the public meeting. Jess Epps, long-time resident of Old Seabrook said, “I’m opposed to this project for several reasons. One, the horrible image it’s going to create for the people coming from the south en-tering Seabrook. The first thing they’re going to see is a skull and crossbones”. Former Mayor Bob Robinson expressed his concerns and said, “I think you’re on a slippery slope. Starting two years ago the changes in zoning in the northern part of Old Seabrook to C-2 thereby allowing and encouraging businesses that are detrimental to the quality of life and property values in Old Seabrook”. Carol Robinson also expressed concern and said, “I am opposed to allowing a special per-mit for the benefit of one person who proposes to conduct a questionable business that will not enhance but detracts from our quality of life in Seabrook. I am of the opinion that the city has not done their homework in this situation”. Co-owner of Twisted Custom Cycles Jason Ol-sen reiterated his desire to be considerate of the residents of the area and assured that his com-pany would do everything possible to comply with the wishes of council. The conditional use permit was granted with stipulations concerning the enclosure of waste receptacles, landscaping and other site enhancements. Olsen also pre-sented an updated logo to be displayed on the side of the building. The new logo replaces the originally proposed skull and crossbones de-sign, which was contested by residents. Instead, the new design will be more in line with the area surrounding the business.

Council voted 4-3 to deny first reading of pro-posed Ordinance No. 2011-12 Amendment to the Official Zoning Map, to rezone approximately 13.82 acres of property located between SH 146 and Old SH 146 from C-2 Medium Commercial to LI, Light Industrial. The property is adjacent to the northern city limits of Seabrook. Council expressed a desire to wait until the new high-way is completed in order to get a better idea of the type of business or businesses suited for the area. Council unanimously awarded a bid to Pool-sure, in the amount of $0.92 per gallon for So-dium Hypochlorite Project 2011-10. Council unanimously awarded Disaster Resto-ration Service Project 2011-09 to Roadrunner Restoration as Primary Contractor and Service Masters secondary Contractor. There is no ex-pense to the city unless the contract is activated. All items on the Consent Agenda passed unan-imously including the approval of Resolution 2011-08 denying CenterPoint Energy Entex its application for Cost Service Adjustment. City council also approved Resolution No. 2011-09 “Updating Water and Wastewater Util-ity Rates”. Carl Drechsel with J/Fest Southwest made a presentation to city council about this year’s J/Fest Southwest Regatta. Rear Commodore Drechsel was instrumental last year in acquir-ing regatta support from the city’s hotel/motel tax marketing fund. J/Fest Southwest is inviting J/boat owners from all over the nation to bring their J/Boats to Seabrook and to participate in fall/winter sailing at J/Fest Southwest and other local regattas. The focus of this J/Fest Southwest Regatta is to provide a venue that is all inclusive to J/Boat owners, their family, and friends. While the racers are on the water, their spouses, chil-dren, family and friends can enjoy a myriad of activities and tourist attractions in the Bay Area Houston Area. Drechsel said in a previous press release that “Since Seabrook is the title spon-sor for our regatta, we hope that visiting racers will book accommodations at our fine Seabrook motels,” At least 70 boats from all over the country are expected to participate in the J/Fest Southwest Regatta. It is a collaborative effort between J/Boats Southwest and Lakewood Yacht Club. The City of Seabrook is the Platinum Level Sponsor.

Despite Concerns, Motorcycle Sales and Service Shop Will

Locate In Old Seabrook

History of La Porte Told Through Photographs

Local Authors Pen New Book On Area’s History

The newest addition to the Arcadia Publishing’s popular Im-ages of America series is Around La Porte from local authors Ann Uloth Malone and Dan Becker. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by. The history of the city of La Porte and its neighboring commu-nities is laden with important events and personalities. Pioneers began settling the area 10 years before Texas won its indepen-dence from Mexico. The land that was to become the cities of Morgan’s Point, Shoreacres, Lomax, and La Porte was home to such Texas luminaries as Gen. Sidney Sherman, Gov. Ross Ster-ling, Andrew Jackson Houston, and James Morgan. The beauty of the area attracted legions of summer visitors including Sam Houston and Dr. Ashbel Smith. Years later, Texas oil pioneers looked to the shores of LA Porte’s Galveston Bay to build summer places. La Porte was legally organized January 1, 1892 and in over a century of ups and downs has remained stead-fast in preserving the natural beauty that is its legacy, the friend-liness that is its nature, and educational excellence to which the city’s founders aspired. Today, La Porte is a unique mix of quaint small-town living with big-city amenities. Around La Porte is available at area bookstores, independent retailers and online retailers.

Anne Egan, Widow of Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Egan Was Presented With The American Flag During Graveside Services

Photo by Rebecca Collins

A Scottish Bagpiper Waits for the arrival of Lt. Commander Patrick Egan’s Remains While Patriot Guard Riders Stand At Attention In His Honor.

Photo by Rebecca Collins

PAGE 2 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011

COMMUNITY

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

Email: editor@bayareaobserver.com

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

Editor & Publisher.....................................Rebecca Collinseditor@bayareaobserver.com

Associate Editor.........................................Carolyn Collinscarolyn@bayareaobserver.com

Sales Representative..............................Beverly Lawrence281-793-7961 • blawrence506@msn.com

Sales Representative...................................Charlotte Horn281-507-8257 • charlottehorn53@yahoo.com

The Bay Area ObserverEstablished in 2006

Serving the communities along Galveston Bay.

Visit us on the web at www.bayareaobserver.com

or find us on FACEBOOK

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

Eagles Lodge803 S. 8th Street, La Porte, Tx. 77571 Kristie is a loving mother to 2 young sons, and a devoted wife of 11 years to her husband Lance. The Johnson’s are local mem-bers of our community, and are in need after a terrible accident that has left Kristie hospitalized. Kristie is facing a long road of recovery after an automobile accident on June 3rd. She sustained several injuries and is looking at a 6 month stay in the hospital. Her insurance will not cover all of her medical expenses, making it difficult for her family to meet those needs without help from our community.

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

To make a donation or for more information please contact:

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

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

Benefit For Kristie Johnson

The Famers’ Market at Clear Lake Shores will host a Dog Days of Summer celebration this Saturday (July 23rd) with fun, free activities for dogs and kids! Bayside Bed and Biscuit and Bayside Animal Hospital will give away free dog coloring books, stickers, tattoos and promotional items at the Kid’s Activity Tent. Market vendor Karyn Wenzel of Bark-N-Biskit will treat any pooch wearing a bandana with one of her all natural homemade dog treats. Pampered pooches visit-ing the market that day can also enjoy “bobbing for wieners,” while being serenaded by local artist Michael Orta. All dogs must be leashed, and owners are responsible for cleaning up after their pets. Eileen Ponton with Second Chance Pets (SCP) will offer t-shirts for sale to support this local nonprofit animal welfare orga-nization. SCP is dedicated to providing unwanted pets a second chance through foster care and pet adoption programs. The or-ganization which has no shelter or office serves the Clear Lake area through a network of volunteers, fosters, and adopters. Ani-mals are fostered and loved in volunteer homes until a permanent home is found. The Farmers’ Market is run by a volunteer steering commit-tee of Clear Lake Shores residents. With small town charm and high standards for vendors and products, the market is a Texas Certified Farmers’ Market and features homegrown, homemade, natural and organic products, live music and local vendors. The Farmer’s Market at Clear Lake Shores is located at 1020 Marina Bay Drive (FM 2094), ½ mile west of Hwy. 146. For more information visit the market on Facebook at facebook.com/farmersmarketatclearlakeshores, online at http://www.farmers-marketatcls.com, or contact Market Manager Charlie Hester at charlie@charliehester.com.

Celebrate the Dog Days of Summer at The Farmers’

Market at Clear Lake Shores On Saturday, August 13, 2011, LCA will host the 2nd Annual Back-to-School Block Party and Basketball Shoot-Outfrom 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Jennie Riley Recreational Center. The block party will provide FREE food, fun, and games for all in attendance. LCA is a non-profit organization established to meet the needs of youth in the La Porte Community. LCA’s objective is to identify various needs of the La Porte youth, and administer events and activities to fulfill those needs. LCA is able to meet these needs by partnering with local community leaders, busi-nesses, organizations, and churches. As parents and students prepare to return to school, the ne-cessity of acquiring school supplies continues to be a challenge for some families. Thus, it is imperative that efforts go forth to supplement the costs. During this event we will distribute pre-packaged school supplies for those in need at no cost. In an effort to keep this event free to all, we need your support!

Event Location:Jennie Riley Community Center, 322 N. 4th St, La Porte TX 77571

9AM -5PMContact Person: Marcus Humphrey

Phone: 281-241-7040

2nd Annual La Porte Community Block Party and Basketball Shootout

Join us every Wednesday 5-9pm forTwo Shrimp dinners

Only 19.99!Includes Two (1dz ea) Shrimp Entrees, Four Sides,

Two Iced Teas, Cornbread & Hushpuppies!

Deer Park/La Porte 2501 Underwood • 281-867-9231

Wednesday Special!5-9pm

Shrimp Dinner for Two!

Happy Hour 4-7 $1.99 Rita’s and $2.00 Longnecks Draft

Beer 2.50 All Day

Join our VIP Club! Text “Premiervip” to 90210 and get a free appetizer

~~

Salon La RougeHair, Nail, Massage & Facials

Salon La RougeLet me design you a

new look for Summer!

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

The National League of Cities and the City of La Porte have a program to help you save money on prescription medicines not covered by insurance. The City launched the program in June 2010, and to date, 125 residents have utilized this benefit with an average price savings of $12.78 per prescription. The City of La Porte Prescription Discount Card is available to all city residents free of charge and can help you save an aver-age of 20% off the price of commonly prescribed medications at participating pharmacies. To learn more about where you can pick-up the card and what pharmacies participate in the network, call toll free 1-888-620-1749, or visit www.caremark.com/nlc.

Residents may also pick up a card at the following locations:

• City Hall (604 W. Fairmont Parkway)• La Porte Community Library (600 S. Broadway)• La Porte-Bayshore Chamber of Commerce (712 W. Fairmont Parkway)• Neighborhood Center (526 San Jacinto Street) • La Porte Recreation & Fitness Center (1322 S. Broadway)• EMS Headquarters (10428 Spencer Highway)

This is not insurance. Discounts are only available at partici-pating pharmacies. By using this card, participants agree to pay the entire prescription cost less any applicable discount. Savings may vary by drug and pharmacy.

City Of La Porte Reminds Residents Of The Prescription

Discount Program

Kingdom Security, LLC

24 Hour Service

(281) 479-6663www.KingdomSecurity.org

• Access Control• Burglar Alarms• CCTV

Commercial & Industrial Security Integrators

The City of La Porte will present the video “Community of Choices” at the July Main Street Morning Brew, a monthly gath-ering for business owners presented by the City of La Porte. The July Morning Brew will be at Chocolates by Mark, 210 West Main Street on Wednesday, July 27 from 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public and all La Porte business and property owners are welcome to attend. “Community of Choices” focuses on the economic, social and environmental benefits of preserving community character, and it addresses the role that historic preservation, urban design, trees and landscaping, open space preservation and other issues play in shaping our sense of place. The video is narrated by Edward T. McMahon, former Vice-President and Director of Land Use Pro-grams for The Conservation Fund, and produced by The Dunn Foundation. Main Street Morning Brew is a monthly program designed to introduce La Porte business owners and tenants to each other, and to educate them on the fundamentals of economic develop-ment in the community. The hour-long gathering includes coffee, refreshments, and a short presentation about topics pertinent to La Porte’s economic development, which has a major focus in the Main Street district in La Porte. For additional information about Main Street Morning Brew, please contact Stacey Osborne, Main Street Coordinator, at 281-470-5017. You can also find information online at the Main Street section of the City of La Porte website, www.laportetx.gov.

City Of La Porte Presents Dunn Foundation Video “Community

Of Choices” At July 27 Main Street Morning Brew What will your family be doing Tuesday, Aug 23, 2011? Open-

ing ceremony from 5pm to 7 pm. UH-Clear Lake and NASA Johnson Space Center will honor the 30-year legacy of the Space Shuttle Program with a display of NASA photographs featuring images from all 135 shuttle missions. Get launched with this limited time exhibit - relive the memo-ries. On displaly Aug. 23 - Sept. 28, 2011.

Contact: Office of Alumni and Community RelationsEmail: alumni@uhcl.edu

Phone: 281-283-2021

Location DetailsUHCL, Bayou Building, Atrium II

2700 Bay Area Blvd.Houston TX 77058 USA

The Seabrook Volunteer Fire Department will be hosting a blood drive . The drive will be held on Monday, August 29th, 2011 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM in association with the UTMB Blood Bank. All community members are invited and encouraged to partici-pate in the blood drive, which will be held at the Seabrook Volun-teer Fire Department, Station 1 located at 1850 E. Meyer Road. For more information, please contact SVFD at 281-474-3434.

Seabrook Volunteer Fire Department to Host Blood Drive

Celebrating Shuttle: An American Icon exhibit

THURSDAY, JULY 21 2011 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER PAGE 3

ON THE WATER

www.eatatlaredos.com

Homemade TortillasFresh Local SeafoodOld Family Recipes

For To-Go Orders Call

281-291-8080

2119 Bayport Blvd.(Hwy. 146)

Seabrook, Tx. 77586Hours:

Monday - Saturday10:30 - 8:00

Sunday - Closed

Serving homemade Mexican food in the Bay Area since 1969

LAREDO’STEX-MEX CAFE

FLOOD Insurance!

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

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

Need an agent?

Call us today!

Beth Brady Insurance Agency281-471-5433

1520 S. Shaver • Pasadena, Texas 77502

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

www.pasadenahabitat.org

Lakewood Yacht Club will host its first annual Hatteras Ren-dezvous Fri., Aug. 19 through Sun., Aug. 21. Chairman Asa Lockhart and Co-Chairman Brannon Young are planning a full agenda of activities for boat owners and their families. “Both the east and west coast of our country have numer-ous Hatteras Rendezvous, but we have not had one in Texas to my knowledge,” explained Lockhart. “We are inviting Hatteras owners from all over the Gulf Coast to join us for this fun and educational weekend.” E-mail invitations will be sent to nu-merous yacht clubs along the Gulf Coast and Bob Bean, general manager of Marine Max is helping to contact local Clear Lake area Hatteras boat owners. Friday night will feature a bar-b-que buffet around the club’s pool along with Young as an experienced D. J. for entertainment.

Saturday will have speakers on “all things Hatteras”: electri-cal, diesel engines, interiors, woodworking, and offshore fish-ing. Sat. evening will begin with a fashion show presented by Juju’s beachware and Le Petit Boutique, followed by an “open house” on all the Hatteras boats lined around the Inner Harbor. Finishing off the evening will be a sock hop in the ballroom. On Sunday, participants can enjoy Lakewood’s famous champagne brunch in the ballroom before departing on an informal cruise to Red Fish Island in Galveston Bay.“I think we have something everyone to enjoy!” remarked co-chairman Young. For a more detailed list of events and information to register for the rendezvous, please refer to lychatt@yahoo.com

Lakewood To Host Hatteras Rendezvous

You are welcome atSt. John’s Episcopal Church

“The Beloved by the Bay”

815 South Broadway • La Porte • 281-471-0383www.stjohns-laporte.org

Worship ServicesSUNDAY

8:00 am Holy Eucharist Rite I • 9:00 am Breakfast9:30 am Christian Education • 10:30 am Holy Eucharist Rite II12:00 pm Coffee Hour and Fellowship

WEDNESDAY6:00 pm Healing Service with Holy Communion6:45 pm Adult Bible Study and Youth Programs (K-5 & 6-12)

Looking For A NewCHURCH HOME?

Bring or mention this ad and receive a

free breakfast

Visit us on the web at www.bayareaobserver.comor join us on FACEBOOK

2011 OPTI National Championships Off To Good StartThe 2011 OPTI National Championships, hosted by Houston Yacht Club, in La Porte, Texas, are off to a good start. Five countries, 27 teams and 120 competitors kicked off the Team Racing competition on Sunday. After 72 races, Neuroplasticians

took the lead, followed by Gnarly Purple and in 3rd, the Mon-golian Maniacs. Trying to manage the competitors on the water looked a bit like herding cats.

By Gulfscapes Calendar

Lakewood Yacht Club (LYC) Race Committee Chairman Dwight Bengtson has announced that the club will be hosting its 2nd Annual J/Fest Southwest Regatta on Sat., Oct. 29 and Sun., Oct. 30. Open to the public, races will be held on Galveston Bay. The City of Seabrook is the Platinum Level Sponsor. Last year was the inaugural run of a J/Fest Regatta in Texas al-though such regattas have been held for over 25 years in Annap-olis, San Diego, San Francisco, New Orleans and Seattle. “This will be another great opportunity for Lakewood to promote and support a national caliber event,” remarked Bengtson. The focus of this J/Fest Southwest Regatta is to provide a ven-ue that is all inclusive to J/Boat owners, their family, and friends. While the racers are on the water, their spouses, children, family and friends can enjoy a myriad of activities and tourist attrac-tions in the Bay Area Houston arena. Goodie bags for skippers will contain coupons for family fun. “Since Seabrook is the title sponsor for our regatta, we hope that visiting racers will book accommodations at our fine Seabrook motels,” added Rear Com-modore Carl Drechsel who was instrumental last year in acquir-ing regatta support from the city’s hotel/motel tax marketing fund. J/Fest Southwest is inviting J/boat owners from all over the nation to bring their J/Boats to Seabrook and to participate in fall/winter sailing at J/Fest Southwest and other local regattas. One design fleets slated for the J/Fest Southwest Regatta in-clude J/22, J/24, J/80, J/105 and the J/109. It will be a circuit stop for the J/24’s and the J/80’s. All J/Boats are welcome to race in the PHRF classes and in the J/Cruise class. Any J/Boat is eligible to participate and the regatta organizers intend to offer several exciting formats for the non One Design racers. The pre-regatta Skippers’ Meeting will be held in the ballroom of LYC on the evening of Fri., Oct. 28, 6:30 pm for check-in,

meeting, and refreshments. A pool party and dinner are planned after the races on Saturday. The Awards Ceremony will take place on Sun., Oct. 30, after the races. At least 70 boats from all over the country are expected to participate in the J/Fest Southwest Regatta. J/Boats Southwest’s Scott Spurlin and wife Terry of Austin, TX have been instrumen-tal in spreading the word about the event. It is a collaborative effort between J/Boats Southwest and Lakewood Yacht Club, located on Clear Lake in Seabrook, TX.

2nd Annual J/Fest Southwest Slated Oct. 29-30

PAGE 4 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTAnnual ART FOR ALL

Exhibition at Moody MansionAugust 27–September 11, 2011

ArtWalk Opening, Saturday, August 27, 6 to 9 pm

Mayuko Ono Gray: Japanese Calligraphy My Way

August 27–October 2, 2011ArtWalk Opening, Saturday, August 27, 6 to 9 pm

Gallery Talk at 6:30 pm

Galveston Arts Center is pleased to present an exhibition of work by Galveston County-based artist Mayuko Ono Gray. The exhibition will open during the August 27th ArtWalk and re-main on view through October 2, 2011. Curator Clint Willour will lead a gallery talk with the artist beginning at 6:30 pm during ArtWalk. The event is free and open to the public. Gray’s new series of graphite drawings, Japa-nese Calligraphy My Way, features a combi-nation of traditional Japanese calligraphy and Western drawing techniques. Beginning at age 6, Gray attended calligraphy school in Japan where she would be assigned “words” to copy from the master’s sample. There she learned to pay attention to the strokes, speed and pressure of the handling of the calligraphy brush, feel-ing and imitating the sensibility of the process that created the particular quality of the lines. “The ‘words’ used in Japanese calligraphy are usually poetic and resonate to the sensibility of ‘Haiku’—short and simple, but so much is con-tained within,” writes Gray. “For my works, I chose famous Japanese proverbs that I repeat-edly heard growing up—which shaped my way of thinking or beliefs in my daily life as youth, and also now they apply to my daily life in the U.S.”

The exhibition will feature 4 large drawings representing the four seasons that combine Japanese proverbs entangled in what appear to be abstract vines or string. Works such as Minu ga hana… (2011), incorporate the Japanese proverb and its English translation: Flowers un-seen, Flowers while waiting, Blissful ignorance (no more things beautiful than unseen). Gray has studied art in the United States since high school and is mainly a figurative artist. These abstract works in graphite on paper are a recent development in her work. Gray received both a BFA and MFA in painting from the University of Houston. Her work was included in the group exhibition, The Drawing Room, at the Galveston Arts Center in 2008. She has had solo exhibitions at Hooks-Epstein Galleries, Houston, and Galeria 910, Oaxaca, Mexcio. She will have a one-person exhibition at the Mary Matteson-Parrish Art Gallery at Lone Star College Montgomery in Conroe later in October 2011. Galveston Arts Center is operating in a tem-porary downtown gallery space—the site of the former Maceo’s Spice and Import Company lo-cated on the corner of Market and 25th Streets. The exhibition gallery and selections from GAC’s retail gallery, ArtWorks, are open to the public during the summer Monday through Sat-urday, from 11 am to 5 pm, and Sunday from noon to 5 pm. A flyer listing all ArtWalk par-ticipants with times and locations can be down-loaded at www.contemporaryartgalveston.org.

SUPPORT AND SPONSORSHIP

Funding for the Galveston Arts Center is pro-vided by the Houston Endowment, Inc., The Brown Foundation Inc., The City of Galveston Park Board of Trustees through the Hotel Oc-cupancy Tax Fund, The Meyer Levy Charitable Foundation of The Dallas Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund, Levin Family Foundation, Jack and Annis Bowen Foundation, Dr. Leon Brom-berg Charitable Trust Fund, and the generous support of the community, an active member-ship and many volunteers. GAC’s Art for All Education Program is supported in part by the Alice Taylor Gray Foundation, Harry S. and Is-abel C. Cameron Foundation, Galveston Rotary Foundation, Inc., and the Jr. League of Galves-ton County’s Community Assistance Fund.

This Week At Coffee Oasis4650 Nasa Parkway • Seabrook, TX 77586

Thursday - Celtic Music: Irish Session

Simply a Coffee Oasis Tradition. In fact, it pre-dates Coffee Oasis. Sometimes there are five musi-cians in the circle and sometimes there are fifteen. However when you show up, lovers of this tradi-tional will all be delighted. If you have enjoyed it before you will want to come back and if you haven’t ... What are you waiting for? The music usually starts about 8PM.

Friday - PetesimplePetesimple got its start in early 1999 at the Univer-sity of Houston. 3 EP releases, six side projects and one new member later Petesimple Released their 1st full length album “And it was still Hot” in the November of 2004 in Houston Texas. Many gigs to follow, Pete Lippincott (Petesimple) toured the United States with his new found Bass/Beatbox-ing/singing bandmate Ian Hammer. Bringing folk-boxing into the lime light on a midwestern United States tour, Pete and Ian made music history with folk-boxing, or at least a foot note in your music history text book. Ok maybe not a foot note, more of a penciled in scribble next to Sting and Dave Matthew’s section of your music history book be-cause you bought your text book used. Hey every-one starts somewhere. Not long after Petesimple went on a short tour through England. Now back

in the states, Petesimple is touring in the southwest with the new band - Sam Ortallono on bass, Rich-ard Cholakian (drums), Ashley Milne (sultry sing-stress), and a brass section with Tim Kochen on saxophone and Gus Paredes on trumpet. With two new albums under its belt “Freaky Timber Witch” (2007) and “Hippopotomonstrosesquipedeliapho-bia”(2010) under the independent label Live Mu-sic Records. Back in the studio for their 3rd com-mercial album Petesimple is coming to rock your town and folk up your life. The show starts at 8PM. Come by to get settled in before the show begins.

Saturday - EMP_E2This entertaining musician brings you back in time to an era of music that is rarely heard any more. His soft acoustic ic style of playing will warm your heart and take you back in time as you listen. Al-though an accident injured his right hand, and he was unable to pick or strum the guitar, the injury led to the development of his unique acoustic style of playing, offering a melodic, romantic sound. His ability to render single note inflections in a one of a kind patting style, generates the sound of more than one musician playing. This unique sound blends well with the smooth memorable romantic lyrics clearly identifiable in his songs. The show begins at 8PM ... come early to get a good seat.

Galveston Arts Center is pleased to present an exhibition of work by participants in GAC’s Art for All Education Outreach Programs. The exhibition will be hosted at Moody Mansion and will open during the August 27th ArtWalk. It will remain on view through September 11, 2011. The event is free and open to the public. The Galveston Arts Center’s mission includes providing visual arts education and an environ-ment for creative expression. The Art for All Education Outreach Program fosters individual and community growth by encouraging adults and children to explore the creative process in a nurturing environment where they build self-confidence and improve problem-solving skills. Through this initiative, GAC is able to promote the visual arts by bringing the community into the Arts Center through workshops, tours, and classes, as well as by taking GAC into the com-munity in order to reach those who might not otherwise have access to visual arts programs. Classes, which are free of charge to partici-pants, provide artist instructors and supplies to previously underserved populations on the is-land, ranging in age from pre-K children to se-nior citizens. Currently, outreach programs are

offered at these venues: ADA House, Libbie’s Place, Ronald McDonald House, St. Vincent’s House, the Sunshine Center, the Transitional Learning Center, and UTMB’s Department of Pediatrics. In addition, the Arts Center offers art-making workshops for both adults and children through-out the year, and weekly workshops for children during the summer. Since Hurricane Ike dam-aged the Arts Center’s home on the Strand, the 1878 First National Bank Building, these classes have been generously hosted at Moody Mansion. This will be the third year that the Art for All annual exhibition will be displayed there. The Arts Center also collaborates with Rosenberg Library each summer to coordinate art projects in conjunction with their children’s summer reading program. The exhibition will feature work created during the past year by participants in all outreach programs. GAC’s Art for All Education Program is made possible by support from the Alice Taylor Gray Foundation, the Harry S. and Isabel C. Cameron Foundation, Galveston Rotary Foundation, Inc., and the Jr. League of Galveston County’s Com-munity Assistance Fund.

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER PAGE 5

NASA NEWS

When most people think of the ships in NASA’s fleet, they think of the space shuttles that pierce the sky as they carry astronauts toward space. But NASA has two seagoing ships, Liberty Star and Freedom Star, which also stand ready on shuttle launch day. Their crews’ mission is heading to sea to retrieve the two solid rocket boosters that power the shuttle’s ascent. “A typical crew that we carry is 24 people. We’ve got ten crew, ten diver specialists, and retrieval operations personnel,” says Freedom Star Captain Mike Nicholas, a 24-year booster retrieval veteran who works for United Space Alliance. “We depart the port 24 hours in advance. It takes us roughly 12 to 15 hours to get offshore to our SRB impact area. Then we’ll stand by, and do surveillance work to keep other vessels out of the area so that when the launch goes, we have a window that the boosters can come in safely without any traffic be-ing around.” The crews, divers and ships are prepared long

before the solid boosters ignite at the launch pad. “We’re ready to go before launch,” says Larry Collins, Manager of Dive Operations for United Space Alliance. “We’ll have all the diver gear ready, all of our camera gear ready, all the retrieval equipment ready to go. The reels will have all the lines on them, everything that we use for retrieval will be ready.” But diving isn’t their only function during their mission at sea. “The divers are also the retrieval team,” explains Collins, “so the divers operate the cranes, they operate the small boats, they operate the reels. They are multi- functional. They’re the diver medics that operate the recompression cham-bers, they fill the tanks, they lead the dives, they do the diving. Everybody is doing everything.” While most eyes are still glued to the shuttle’s climb, the crews and divers aboard these two ves-sels are on alert, ready to power toward the boost-ers’ impact zone in the Atlantic Ocean to begin their work. When the boosters are spent, they are

jettisoned and fall to the sea as the shuttle’s main engines finish the job of lifting the spacecraft out of Earth’s atmosphere and into orbit. “Once the launch goes off, we can actually visu-ally see the boosters, or we have our radar equip-ment that we can see them coming through the air,” says Nicholas, who adds that the boosters make a sonic boom during their descent, much like the returning shuttle does before landing. “Generally they’re as close as four miles from us, which is very close, and as far as 15 to 20 miles away.”

“We are not allowed in until after it’s cleared,” explains Collins. “It can take us about an hour to get to the boosters from where we are.” During the operation, each ship is assigned to retrieve one booster. First the pilot chutes and main parachutes are brought aboard. They’re followed by the drogue parachute and the 5,000-pound frustum that houses the chutes at the top of the booster. With those elements secured onboard, attention turns to the booster itself, as a team of divers boards two small boats and first conducts a visual inspection of the booster. “After that we go into the recovery of the booster itself. The next operation would be to launch the diver operated plug, which is about 1,400 pounds. We use four divers to put this plug in,” says Col-lins. “When we’re diving deep around the booster, we usually have at least one, sometimes two safety divers, and we try to do video as well. So it’s not unusual for us to have seven divers on that dive to put the plug in.” “We dive it down, put the plug into the nozzle, attach an inch-and-a-half air line to that, and start blowing air into the booster that forces the water out of the booster,” Collins explains. “The booster rises up out of the water and falls over on its side. At that point we attach an inch-and-a-half steel ca-ble to the booster once it’s dewatered and proceed to tow it back to port.” Retrieving the boosters is a potentially dan-gerous operation and requires that the ship’s crew and divers closely follow safety procedures as they work with the booster components, staying constantly aware of the ever-changing con-ditions around them. “Weather conditions are a major factor because a lot of times you have to pay attention to what the wind and the waves are doing and they’ll dictate where you can actually posi-tion the vessel, putting people in the water, putting boats in the water. You have to give the ship a lee so that the boats can be launched in the water so that the personnel goes in safely,” says Nicholas. “The other particular challenge is when it’s windy and seas are high, there’s usually a lot of current, meaning that the maneuvering of the vessel takes a lot of concentration to make the vessel do what you want it to do, or stay where you want it to stay.” The memory of their toughest retrieval brings back the same mission for both captain and diver.“The roughest retrieval was probably STS-63. The condi-tions were so bad that the boost-

ers were badly damaged, the nozzles were broken loose, the forward skirts were damaged. In fact one of the forward skirts fell off on the way back in. The conditions were so bad that for many, many days we couldn’t even attempt a recovery,” remembers Collins. Both ship crews and dive teams are cross-trained, with divers serving in a variety of positions be-tween launches. Training keeps them sharp for each mission. “We do at least four training missions a year where we go out and train on the same type of op-erations as much as we can to a retrieval. We also do diver training, and we do some operations with NOAA and the Navy where we actually perform diving ops,” says Collins. In addition, these ships and their crews have participated in full-scale drills to prepare them to assist in rescuing astronauts in the event of a mis-hap over the ocean. While these ships were specifically designed for booster retrieval when they were built in 1981, they took on added duties over the years. Begin-ning in 1998, they were put into service as “tow boats” providing the transportation for the barges that carried the shuttle’s external fuel tanks. The ships transported the tanks from the Michoud As-sembly Facility in Louisiana to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s east coast, entering through Port Canaveral. This 12-day roundtrip re-quired that the ships be retrofitted for towing the heavier barges with the tanks onboard. The Freedom Star helped deliver the last ex-ternal tank to Kennedy in September 2010, and with the approach of the final shuttle mission, the

crew and divers will be as keenly focused on the work at hand as ever. “I haven’t really dwelled on what that last shuttle mission will feel like,” says Collins. “You’re so busy doing the job, trying to make sure that the job is done correctly, and that everyone gets home safely, that you don’t really have time to think about what those feelings are. That will come later.”

NASA Depends on Freedom and Liberty

Freedom Star Captain Mike Nicholas steers the rocket booster retrieval ship. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Freedom Star tows the booster back to shore for re-furbishing. Image credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

NASA Dawn Spacecraft Returns Close-Up Image Of Asteroid Vesta

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has returned the first close-up image after beginning its orbit around the giant asteroid Vesta. On Friday, July 15, Dawn be-came the first probe to enter or-bit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The image taken for naviga-tion purposes shows Vesta in greater detail than ever before. When Vesta captured Dawn into its orbit, there were approxi-mately 9,900 miles (16,000 kilometers) between the space-craft and asteroid. Engineers estimate the orbit capture took place at 10 p.m. PDT. Vesta is 330 miles (530 ki-lometers) in diameter and the second most massive object in the asteroid belt. Ground- and space-based telescopes have obtained images of Vesta for about two centuries, but they have not been able to see much detail on its surface. “We are beginning the study of arguably the oldest extant primordial surface in the solar system,” said Dawn principal investigator Christopher Rus-sell from the University of California, Los Angeles. “This region of space has been ig-nored for far too long. So far, the images received to date reveal a complex surface that seems to have preserved some of the earliest events in Vesta’s history, as well as logging the onslaught that Vesta has suf-fered in the intervening eons.” Vesta is thought to be the source of a large number of me-teorites that fall to Earth. Vesta and its new NASA neighbor are currently approximately 117 million miles (188 million kilo-meters) away from Earth. The Dawn team will begin gather-ing science data in August. Ob-servations will provide unprec-edented data to help scientists understand the earliest chapter of our solar system. The data also will help pave the way for future human space missions. After traveling nearly four years and 1.7 billion miles (2.8 billion kilometers), Dawn

also accomplished the largest propulsive acceleration of any spacecraft, with a change in velocity of more than 4.2 miles per second (6.7 kilometers per second), due to its ion engines. The engines expel ions to cre-ate thrust and provide higher spacecraft speeds than any oth-er technology currently avail-able. “Dawn slipped gently into or-bit with the same grace it has displayed during its years of ion thrusting through interplan-etary space,” said Marc Ray-man, Dawn chief engineer and mission manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. “It is fantasti-cally exciting that we will be-gin providing humankind its first detailed views of one of the last unexplored worlds in the inner solar system.” Although orbit capture is com-plete, the approach phase will continue for about three weeks. During approach the Dawn team will continue a search for possible moons around the asteroid; obtain more images for navigation; observe Vesta’s physical properties; and obtain

calibration data. In addition, navigators will measure the strength of Vesta’s gravitational tug on the space-craft to compute the asteroid’s mass with much greater accu-racy than has been previously available. That will allow them to refine the time of orbit inser-tion. Dawn will spend one year orbiting Vesta, then travel to a second destination, the dwarf planet Ceres, arriving in Febru-ary 2015. The mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by JPL for the agency’s Science Mis-sion Directorate in Washing-ton. Dawn is a project of the di-rectorate’s Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. UCLA is responsible for Dawn mission science. Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., designed and built the space-craft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Insti-tute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysi-cal Institute are part of the mis-sion’s team.

As a tribute to NASA’s Space Shut-tle Program, artist Brian Basset created this commemorative drawing depicting his characters, Red and Rover, racing alongside the space shuttle as it lands for the final time. In 2004, Basset was hon-ored with a one-man show of his space-themed comic strips at NASA Head-quarters in Washington, D.C. On July 26, 2005, an original drawing by Bas-set commemorating America’s return to flight launched aboard shuttle Discovery on the STS-114 mission. Basset created the strip in 2000 about a boy and his dog, who dream of one day going into space. Twice nominated by the National Cartoonists Society for Best Comic Strip of the Year in 2003 and 2010, Red and Rover appears in more than 160 newspapers worldwide and is syndicated by Universal Uclick. Previ-ously, Basset worked as an editorial car-toonist for The Seattle Times.

Image Credit: Brian Basset

What a Ride It’s

Been

Latest Image of Vesta Captured by Dawn on July 17, 2011

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on July 17, 2011. It was taken from a distance of about 9,500 miles (15,000 kilometers) away from the protoplanet Vesta. Each pixel in the image corresponds to roughly 0.88 miles (1.4 kilometers).

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

PAGE 6 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011

POLICE NEWSPolice Blotters

Assaults ............................................................................................................................................1Burglary............................................................................................................................................7Ordinance Violation..........................................................................................................................5CVE Citations...................................................................................................................................7Disturbances...................................................................................................................................12Domestic Violence........................................................................................................................... 3DWI/DUI..........................................................................................................................................2Prisoner Process............................................................................................................................... 7Public Intoxicationv...........................................................................................................................1Traffic Accidentsv.......................................................................................................................... 12Traffic Citations/Arrest....................................................................................................................33

Seabrook Police Department7/11/2011 – 7/18/2011

La Porte’s Office Of The Fire MarshalOffers Information Concerning

The Safety Of Natural Gas Natural gas is used in many homes in our area for cooking, hot water, and heating during the winter months. In addition to the gas in homes, thousands of miles of natural gas pipelines are buried in the ground. Even if you do not have natural gas in your home, the La Porte Fire Marshall’s Office advises you should still be aware of the hazards associated with it. Did you know that natural gas in its native state is colorless and odorless? The chemical Mercap-tan is an additive added to natu-ral gas to make it easier to detect in the event of a leak. Mercaptan has a very strong smell, similar to rotten eggs. If Mercaptan was not added, it would be hard for you to know if natural gas was coming from your unlit stove, furnace or if your hot water heater was leak-ing. This makes Mercaptan a very

valuable safety feature. In addi-tion to smell, gas leaks can also be detected by hissing sounds or bubbles in standing water. If you suspect a leak of natural gas you should leave the area and call 911. Do not use electronics in areas that you suspect have a leak; they may provide an ignition source for the gas. Never drive

through areas where natural gas is leaking. Also, never use matches or lighters if you suspect a gas leak. Remember to avoid storing com-bustible material close to natural gas powered appliances. A three foot clear-space should be main-tained around these appliances to prevent accidental fires. Finally, remember that flammable and other combustible liquids should never be stored in the same room as gas powered equipment, as fumes from these materials may find their way to the pilot light and explode. By remaining aware of the listed facts and safety precautions, La Porte’s Fire Marshall’s Office re-mains confident we can all remain safe around our precious resources of Natural Gas.

On July 26th, 2011 the La Porte Police Department will host a graduation ceremony for the most recent members of their Advanced Citizens Police Academy course. The event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the La Porte Po-lice Department’s Training Room, located at 3001 N. 23rd Street, and refreshments will be served immediately follow-ing the recognition ceremony. The Advanced Citizen Po-lice Academy (ACPA) is a seven-week program designed to provide a working knowl-edge and background of the La Porte Police Department, as well as foster a closer relation-ship between police officers

and the community they serve. Graduates of Advance Class “2011 - A” are each former attendees of the police depart-ment’s 15-week basic Citizens Police Academy (CPA) course and will continue to experience

a direct avenue for community involvement and an opportuni-ty to experience policing first hand. In addition to their latest graduation announcement, LPPD also reminds that they will begin a new basic CPA course on August 9, 2011 with graduation scheduled for No-vember 15, 2011. For ques-tions concerning either of La Porte’s Citizens Police Acad-emies, please contact any of the agency’s three Police Area Representatives at 281-471-2141 or log onto the depart-ment’s website at www.ci.la-porte.us/gov/police/support/default.asp.

LPPD to hold Graduation Ceremony for Advanced Citizens Police Academy Class

With 16 multi-family dwell-ings and apartment complexes within the City of La Porte, as well as a nearly-equal number of duplex-style rental struc-tures located among various residential areas, police stress that there exists a need for rent-ers to be aware of the safety concerns which can surround living in any residential envi-ronment with multiple occu-pants. As most apartment and multifamily structure-dwellers become used to the heavier volume of pedestrian traffic, those who intend on commit-ting criminal acts are not as easily spotted as they would be near a single home. As a result of these conditions, the La Porte Police Depart-ment reminds those who live in apartment communities to take the following steps for in-creasing the essential elements of both safety and security:

• When moving into a new apartment, have all locks re-keyed by a licensed locksmith.

• Check all exterior doors for adequate closure.

• Make sure deadbolt locks are installed on all exterior doors.

• Don’t advertise that you live alone. Consider mailboxes, telephone listings, and com-ments to strangers.

• If you plan to be away for more than a day, let manager(s) know when you will be return-ing.

• Have all deliveries dropped off at the front office.

• Lock your exterior doors even when using the pool, game room, or at a neighbor’s residence.

• Take trash to dumpsters dur-ing daylight hours.

• Remove all valuables from

your vehicle which remain in plain sight.

• Always lock your vehicle doors and Park in areas with good lighting.

• Consider purchasing apart-ment rental insurance.

• Do not hesitate to report suspicious persons or circum-stances to the police or apart-ment management.

Living in an apartment com-plex can have many benefits, the greatest of which is the sense of community. By taking the listed safety precautions, residents will only increase their peace of mind. For more information on crime preven-tion methods or notable prob-lems in the area of your apart-ment units, please contact the La Porte Police Department at 281-471-2141.

La Porte Police Provide Apartment Renters with Additional Security Measures

Recently the La Porte Municipal Court was honored as a 2011 Traffic Safety Award Recipi-ent at the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center’s (TMCEC) Municipal Traffic Safety Initiatives Conference in San Antonio on May 23-25, 2011. Applicants were judged on the basis of what their court is doing in terms of public outreach in traffic safety in an effort to reduce automo-bile crashes, traffic fatalities, driving under the influence, child safety seat offenses, red light running, and other-traffic related offenses. The La Porte Municipal Court feels that com-munity involvement and education are impor-tant roles of the municipal court. Municipal Court Week, National Night Out, the city’s An-nual Safety Fair, and their juvenile docket all incorporate traffic safety education. Defendants may be seen around town sporting a bumper sticker on their car that reads, “ La Porte Mu-nicipal Court, How is my DRIVING? I received a citation from the La Porte Police Department and am on Probation. If you see me driving un-

safely, please contact the Court to report my bad driving habits.” The La Porte Municipal Court will continue to improve the quality of life for all citizens by continuing to promote and imple-ment traffic safety initiatives. TMCEC’s Municipal Traffic Safety Initiatives is funded by a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation. This grant sponsors the Traf-fic Safety Awards to recognize municipal courts that have made outstanding contributions to their communities in the area of traffic safety. TMCEC is a project of the Texas Municipal Courts Association (TMCA), composed of mu-nicipal judges, clerks, prosecutors and court support personnel, which monitors legislation, attorney general opinions and changes in case law to ensure that the 871 municipal courts in Texas remain up-to-date on the law. Award recipient may be contacted at: 281-471-4683, Lynda Kilgore, Court Administrator, or Mary Ann Harrison, Sr. Deputy Clerk, City of La Porte, Texas 76903

La Porte Municipal Court Receives The 2011 Municipal

Traffic Safety Initiatives Award

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER PAGE 7

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Building, Remodeling & Repairs

Handicap tile, shower, bath with tile seats.

Clean or re-grout tile walls & floor.

New stainless steel grab bars installed.

Ray Garcia281-471-4947

Medical Assistant needed in La Porte

Experience a Plus. Fax# 281-470-8787 PH# 281-470-4700

SERVICES

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PAGE 8 THE BAY AREA OBSERVER THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011

Red Orchid TreeIN THE GARDEN

P.J. Mock, Jr. M.D.Family Medicine • American Board of Family Medicine

1200 Highway 146, Suite 250La Porte, Texas 77571E-mail: pjmlptx@aol.com

Phone: (281) 471-0130 Fax: (281) 867-9241

Uphill’s Liquor

1021-A S. Broadway • La Porte(Across From Fischer’s Hardware)

281-471-2132

“Come To Uphill’s For Your Spirit”

Best Prices In Town

281-667-7758www.laurentcustomhomes.com

SFA Researchers Discover CancerTreating Potential of Invasive Plant

A thorn in the side of area boating enthusiasts may supply a ray of desire for some cancer pa-tients, in accordance with latest study conclusions at Stephen F. Austin State Institute’s Nationwide Center for Pharmaceutical Crops. Research Experts at the center have found that big salvinia, one of the most poisonous invasive species in the planet, has promising medical po-tential that can supply a novel approach to manip-ulating the species. The team lately found that extracts of big sal-vinia could operatively restrain the evolution of human being tumor cells with minimum harm to typical cells. The research experts are in addition the first to have insulated a class of compounds liable for the bioactivities. “Our study opens a new door to positive control of poisonous invasive plants,” said Dr. Shiyou Li, study professor and principal of the center, which is housed in the Arthur Temple Educational Insti-tution of Forestry and Agriculture at SFA. “in addi-tion, our elucidation of the chemical composition of big salvinia will help research experts greater realize the molecular mechanism of invasion.” Big salvinia, in addition called as water fern and

kariba weed and by its scientific name Salvinia molesta D. S. Mitchell, is a fern species national to Brazil. Since 1939, it has assaulted lake and river systems in warm climates. Climate change, specifically boosting tempera-tures, a longer evolving season and ascending fractional co2 levels, have enhanced both the af-fluence and variety of invasive plants. Big salvinia at the moment is one of the most widespread and environmentally, economically and socially dev-astating invasive plant species in the planet. Chris Moret of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Branch and his crew have gathered about 1,000 pounds of plant matter in East Texas for use in the study. To date, more than Thirty diverse com-pounds, incorporating 4 new compounds, have been insulated from the big salvinia. Further tests of the bioactive compounds insulated from big salvinia are continuing in Dr. Bharat B. Aggar-wal’s laboratory in M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. For more data about the Nationwide Center for Pharmaceutical Crops at SFA and to read this ar-ticle in its entirety visit www.ncpc.sfasu.edu

Seabrook Massage& Herbal Merchant

1214 Moskowitz • Seabrook Texas 77586 Open: Tues-Fri 10am-6pm • Sat 10am-4pm

281-942-9102 please check the website for other specials

www.seabrookmassageandherbs.com

Moor Mud Therapy Massage

Only $90

New!

Your 90 min session will begin with a relaxing dry brushing over the back to exfoliate and prepare the skin for the rich black mud. A warm towel will be applied over the entire back and set with heat packs to allow the Moor Mud to deeply penetrate the muscle. The mud will then be removed with hot towels and followed up with the ultimate back and body mas-sage focusing on all your sore muscles. Benefits: Healing, Rejuvenating, Relieves Fatigue, Aches and Pains, Detoxifies and De-stressing.

1-Hour Swedish Massage & Peppermint Foot Scrub Only

$80Includes a relaxing 1 Hour Swedish Massage followed by a rejuvenating foot scrub to exfoliate and revitalize your feet. Hot towels included

This ad was paid for using funds from the City of Baytown’s Hotel/Motel Tax (HOT).

www.baytown.org/piratesbay

June - August11:00 Am - 7:00 pm

7 DAys A weekweekenDs only

mAy AnD september

Admission:48” and Above $17

Below 48” $12

281-422-11505300 East RoadBaytown, Texas

PB 5.305x5 2011.indd 1 4/14/11 10:11 AM

Services Include; Interior And Exterior Painting, Siding, Rotted Wood Replacement, Doors,

Pressure Washing And Others.

HandyMan Services“Professional Painting and Siding”

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

Texas Parks & Wildlife representatives remove giant salvinia from B.A. Steinhagen Lake near Jasper. Researchers at Stephen F. Austin State University’s NCPC are using the samples to study the cancer-treating potential of the invasive plant.

Bauhinia galpinii, the red or-chid tree, can be trained in sev-eral ways; a small tree, a large sprawling bush, a mounding shrub, or a climbing cover for a trellis. It lends itself to many different forms in your garden. If left alone, it will maintain a sprawling, somewhat mounding, bushy effect. If the red orchid tree is planted next to another tree or a trellis, the new growth will become vine-like and spi-ral towards the tree or trellis for support. This habit makes the red orchid tree a good candidate for covering an arbor, trellis, or fence. It rarely gets taller than about ten feet and will grow to be about that wide. Bauhinia galpinii has beauti-ful coral red flowers and blooms from mid summer through au-tumn in our area. The plant at-tracts bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Swallowtails and Gulf Fritillaries especially like the red orchid tree. Its blue green leaves are lobed and re-semble a cow’s hoof. Bauhinia galpinii is native to South Africa and grows ex-tremely well in our semi-tropi-cal area. It requires little mainte-

nance once it is well established and can handle dry periods in our weather. It is vigorous and hardy but not invasive. The red orchid tree really fits in well with a tropical landscape. A backdrop of banana trees and flanked by different kinds of hi-biscus makes a great setting for this versatile plant. It is just as effective if left alone to become a sprawling bush in the middle of the front yard. Trimmed as a small tree, it can have a very

oriental look and looks nice in a Japanese garden. Red orchid tree is easily pol-linated in our area and forms many flat, dry, seed pods. These are very easy to germinate and grow fast. This plant is recom-mended for USDA Zones 9b to 11. It may die back if we have an unusual severe freeze but re-covers quickly. Red orchid tree (Bauhinia galpinii) is a wonder-ful plant to include in a Texas coastal garden.

Shrimping season on the Texas coast officially opened on July 15th. Brown shrimp (Penaeus aztec-us) are concentrated off the Tex-as-Louisiana coast and are mostly caught in the summer months. Browns tend to be firmer than

whites which makes them good for battering, and have a stronger, slightly iodine flavor. They typi-cally account for around 55% of the domestic catch. Males reach 7 inches, while females grow to 9. Shrimp are low in saturated fat and are a very good source of pro-

tein, selenium, and vitamin B12. Only about 10% of the shrimp eaten in the United States come from U.S. sources. The rest are imported, and most are grown in aquaculture. When buying shrimp be sure and ask for brown shrimp caught off the coast of Texas or Louisiana. Support our local shrimpers.

Grilling Shrimp:

Some folks peel and devein the shrimp. Some folks want the flavor that the shell adds and so they just leave the shells on the shrimp. Some folks just put the whole shrimp on the grill, heads, shells, veins and all. Either mari-nate shrimp for a few hours in something like Italian dressing, or brush them with lemon but-ter and garlic. Put them directly on the grill or thread them onto bamboo or grilling skewers. Grill them until they are pink on both sides. Shrimp cook very fast so keep an eye on them. Cooking time depends on how hot the coals are. Just before taking them off the grill, you can brush them with your favorite grilling or bar-beque sauce.

CUISINEA Little Shrimp Info Before Grilling

By Robert BurnsAgriLife Extension Service

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Ir-rigation Technology Center-School of Irrigation will conduct a new course on solar-powered and other renewable-energy irrigation systems. “Renewable Energy for Landscape Irrigation” will be held 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. July 27 at 317 Scoates Hall on the Texas A&M University campus in Col-lege Station. Charles Swanson, AgriLife Extension landscape ir-rigation specialist and one of the course instructors, said the class was designed in response to public de-mand for ways to use renewable energy to power ir-rigation systems. “People have become very conscious of both the increased cost of water and the electricity to power irrigation systems,” Swanson said. “They want a green solution.” The course will primarily focus on two types of renewable energy, solar power and wind power, he said. “It’s more a focus on booster-pumps on non-pres-surized systems, especially where people want to uti-lize water from a pond or rain-water collection tank,” he said. Swanson noted there are new products on the mar-ket that can bring down the initial cost of a renew-able-energy system. “For example, there are now direct-power solar pumps that are designed without batteries to run only a few hours a day,” he said. “Not having batteries means the cost is about halved in most cases.” In addition to learning how to design and operate pumping systems that utilize wind and solar energy,

students will also learn how to determine peak irri-gation-water requirements, calculate irrigated area and determine water-storage requirements, Swanson said. Registration is $155 for licensed irrigators, irri-gation technicians and irrigation inspectors, all of whom will receive eight continuing education units toward renewal of their licenses upon completion of the course. Registration for non-licensed Texas Nursery Land-scape Association members and Texas Master Gar-deners is $116.25. To register online, go to https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/ and search for the keyword “renewable.” For more information, contact Swanson at 979-845-5614, clswanson@ag.tamu.edu . Information on other irrigation courses can be found at http://irriga-tion.tamu.edu .

New Irrigation Course Will Cover Solar Pumping

A new Texas AgriLife Extension Service training class teaches ways to use renewable energy, such as solar pan-els, to power irrigation systems, said an AgriLife Exten-sion specialist. (Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo.)

Gardeners of all levels are invited to attend the Gardeners by the Bay meetings held the first Wednesdays of each month, from September to May, at University Baptist Church (Great Room on 2nd floor) located at 16106 Middlebrook Drive. Members and guests enjoy a light brunch from 9:00 to 9:30 AM. A brief business meeting is then held prior to the main program. Guest speakers present timely programs of interest to all gardeners. Anyone interested is welcome to visit or join. Our membership includes novice gardeners as well as certified Texas Master Gardeners who are eager to share their expertise and knowledge in response to questions and concerns. Local trips are planned each year to gardens or other places of interest to gardeners. Visit us at http://gbtb.org

Our fall 2011 programs are:Sept. 7, 2011 - “H” is for ‘erbs’

Oct. 5, 2011 - “Blue Berries in the Backyard”Nov. 2, 2011 - “What’s Blooming in the Lazy Gardener’s Garden

Please call Joanne at 281-286-4938 for information. See you September 7th, 2011

Gardeners by the Bay