November 2006 - Clear Lake Shores Civic Club

Clear Lake Shores Islander
Clear Lake Shores Civic Club Newsletter
November 2006
Annual CLS Thanksgiving Dinner November 11th!
Letter from the Prez
By Allan Batchelor
Let me start by saying I am a
summer guy. Flip flops and tank
tops. I love summertime. Playing
in the water, I love 95 degrees. It
makes sipping fresh brewed iced tea in the shade
seem like heaven. I’m glad we finally got a cold
front. Is it just me or was this summer a tad long?
Oh well, now’s the time to get your brand spanking
new Civic Club sweat shirt! Grant’s been whining
about colors so watch for something other than the
dark blue like mine.
If you missed the last meeting here’s an update. We
have turned our kitchen upgrade in to a class project. Yep. The students from two of San Jacs culinary classes have been out to look the place over.
Their project is to come up with new ideas for our
kitchen. In turn the Club will vote this month on
making a donation to their Culinary Arts scholarship fund in return for their hard work. The school
wants to make a PR event out of the presentation
and as soon as we pull it together I’ll pass along the
info.
Jarboe Park is officially opened. That pesky work
thing kept me from going but I hear it was pretty
cool. Congrats to Vaness and her folks for a job
very well done. Looks like a springtime Party in
the Park waiting to happen. Speaking of which,
anybody interested in a Party on the Patio to break
in our new slurpee machine? Let me know. Randy
Haynes has a great idea. An Island style poker run.
That’s right, clean up your golf carts and get ready
to ride. We’re working out the details now and if
you want to help call me or Randy. (Gotcha)
Our pet liaison, Lezlie Cates, is working on an
event to raise pet supplies for the good folks at
Bayside Bed and Biscuit. They take care of most of
the strays that end up on our little slice of paradise
and I think this is a nice way to say thanks. Lezlie,
put me down for a 50 lb bag of pet food.
The Thanksgiving Dinner is nearly here. Two more
weeks. Mark it on your calendar. If your plans have
changed and you can, or want to, help out it’s not
too late to call Mike Bass or Bryan Hoerner. We
are also still looking for a parent to chair the Children’s Christmas Party this year. We have it tentatively scheduled for Saturday, December 9th – you
can pick the time. We’ll supply funding, will help
to round up volunteers and will promote it for you
but we need someone to pull it all together. Please
call Susan Adams at 281- 538-7505 or e-mail her at
[email protected] if you can help us out.
We managed to get most of the changes to our ByLaws passed at the last meeting. We decided to get
a legal interpretation for our last proposed change
before we voted on it. The letter from the attorney
is inside. This is the change that allows our
neighbors in Lazy Bend to join. I’d like to vote on
this last item at our November (next week) meeting
so plan on coming out. I’ll try, with Lowell’s help,
to have our new stereo installed by then.
I’ll wrap this up by reminding everyone what
Tammi Perkins said about Halloween. When
you’re done or if you opt not to participate please
turn off your porch light. If your house is elevated
consider setting something up downstairs. If not for
the kids for the old fat people like me. My knees
thank you. See you around the Island!
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 2
Civic Club Officers
Important Telephone Numbers
President : Allan Batchelor -281-538-8180
[email protected]
Vice President: John Wright - 281-538-6213
[email protected]
Secretary : Susan Adams - 281-538-7505
[email protected]
Treasurer : Arline Laughter - 281-334-7487
[email protected]
Islander Staff
Editor: Susan Perez - 281-538-0079
[email protected]
Advertising: Candy Jard - 281-334-4366
[email protected]
Ad Placement: Helle Brown - 281-334-5104
[email protected]
Stewart News: Diana Hoerner
Gardening News: Julie Moncur
The Islander is a non-profit, non partisan newsletter, written and published by the CLS Civic Club
to promote cohesiveness and unity in our community.
The purpose of the newsletter is to inform CLS
citizens of island news and events, to provide a
forum for positive dialogue, and to encourage
submission of unbiased letters and articles, under
the guidelines of the Civic Club bylaws and policies. Signed articles, announcements, ideas for
publication must be submitted to the editor by the
19th of each month by e-mail, telephone or in the
Islander box at the City Hall Annex. The Civic
Club reserves the right to edit for style, policy
and space.
Business Ads: Deadline: 15th of each month
All Ads must be paid in advance
Monthly
November 2006
6 months
Yearly
Business Card - $15
$80
$100
1/4 page
$25
$135
$200
1/2 page
$35
$195
$300
Full page
$65
$350
$600
Classified
$5
6 months or more to be included on the ad list
Club Memberships: $10.00 per family July 4,
2006 thru July 3, 2007.
CLS Police :
281-334-1034
Dispatcher:
281-538-0659
City Hall:
281-334-2799
Municipal Court:
281-334-0697
Mosquito Control:
281-534-2726
CLS Public Works
281-334-1083
WCID #12:
281-334-3331
Reliant Electric:
713-201-7777
Reliant/Entex:
281-534-4569
Centerpoint Energy
for gas leak
1-800-752-8036
Verizon:
281-212-5000
Ameri Waste, Inc
281-331-8400
US Representative: Ron Paul - District 14
Washington D.C 202-225-2831
Texas Senator: Mike Jackson - District 11
Austin: 512-463-0111
Pasadena: 713-948-0111
Tx. State Representative: Larry Taylor:
District 24
Austin:
512-463-0729
League City: 281-338-0924
Galveston County Emergency Management
281-534-2531
Sheriffs Dept. : 281-534-2531
Depart. Public Safety:
713-957-6192
Dept. of Transportation: 409-948-4000
Local Roads Conditions/Closures:
713-802-5074
American Red Cross:
409-945-7200
Salvation Army:
409-763-1691
National Weather Service:
281-337-5074
Marine Information Recording: 281-337-7895
Girl Scouts 832.253.1101
Phone Numbers for Seniors
AARP:
1-800-424-2277
American Society for Aging: 1-800-537-9728
Bay Area United Way:
1-979-282-6000
Social Security:
1-800-772-1213
American Red Cross/ Medical
Transportation:
281-282-6039
Web site: www.senior.com/about
Pet Liaison : Lezlie Cates Smith:
Weekdays 281-837-4154
Nights & weekends - 281-334-1467
Clear Lake Shores Web Site
www.clearlakeshores-tx.gov
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
Schedule of Events
November
02 - Civic Club Pot Luck & Meeting 7PM
page 3
November 2006
Civic Club Pot Luck Dinner &
Meeting
Date: Thursday, Nov. 2nd
03 - Elections Be sure to vote!
Time: 7pm
07 - City Council Meeting 7pm
11 - CLS Thanksgiving Dinner - 11 - 3
14 - EDC Meeting
16 - Stewart School Thanksgiving Feast
20– 24 - School Thanksgiving Holiday
21 - City Council Meeting
Entrees: S - Z
Veggies or Salad: L - R
Desserts A - K
To be voted on : Allowing
Lazy Bend residents to join
the Civic Club.
Children welcome.
23 & 24 City Offices closed
Annual Clear Lake Shores
Thanksgiving Dinner
Date: Saturday, November 11th
Time: 11 am - 3 pm
Price: Adults $8.00 Children: $4.00
Desserts: $1.00
Thanksgiving Fare
Turkey and Cornbread Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Seasoned Green Beans
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Delectable Cranberry Sauce
Roll
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 4
Letter from the Attorney
Allan;
With respect to your email below, and the questions
you posed therein, this is in response to same. First
my apologies, I believe I answered your questions
posed in my email to you dated 10/4/06 (copy pasted
below), but as lawyers have a propensity to do, I
probably went into too much detail, which may have
caused confusion. So I will try and be briefer in responding to your following questions:
1. "Can non residents join the Civic Club?" As a
result of the language of both the Articles of Incorporation and the By-laws (see my email below for further explanation) it is my opinion that non residents,
presently, can not join the Civic Club.
2. "Is it as simple as amending our By-Laws". Yes,
but the Articles of Incorporation should also be
amended. The process for amending each is outlined
in my email below.
If you have any further questions on this, please do
not hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
Bill A. Todd, Jr.
Mills Shirley L.L.P.
P.O. Box 1943
Galveston, Tx. 77553-1943
(713) 571-4270 (direct line)
(409) 763-2879 (fax)
e-mail: [email protected]
Prior email:
"Dear Allan:
November 2006
welfare and community good and general welfare
of the community embraced within the City of
Clear Lake Shores." (underline added) Also the
existing bylaws address the issue, specifically Article III, Section 1, Membership, provides "the membership of the club shall be composed of the inhabitants or property owners of the city of Clear Lake
Shores.” (underline added) Although the Articles of
Incorporation are not as clear on the issue, the bylaws are. Both the bylaws and the Articles of Incorporation may be amended or revised and
adopted at a meeting of the members by a 2/3s vote
of the membership present, where notice has been
given according to the bylaws setting forth the purpose of the meeting, etc. Assuming the appropriate
vote in favor is received, the amended Articles of
Incorporation need to be filed with the Secretary of
State's office.
In addition and in lieu of the above, I previously
discussed with you the aspect of Clear Lake Shores
Civic Club merely charging an annual fee to nonresidents of Clear Lake Shores in order to allow
those nonresidents to utilize the amenities of Clear
Lake Shores. This process would probably not require a formal vote of the members, and could be
put in effect merely as a result of a vote by the
Board of Directors.
Upon your receipt and review if you should have
any questions or comments or desire further discussion, please do not hesitate to contact me."
Grandchildren
After having reviewed the documents you provided to
me, the following are my comments with respect to
the issue of whether Clear Lake Shores Civic Club
can allow members to become a part of the Civic
Club that are not residents of the City of Clear Lake
Shores.
Our five-year-old grandson
couldn't wait to tell his
grandfather about
the movie we had watched on television, "20,000
Leagues Under the Sea."
The scenes with the submarine and the giant octopus had kept him wide-eyed. In the middle of the
telling, my husband interrupted Mark, "What
caused the submarine to sink?"
Addressing that issue is the Articles of Incorporation
of Clear Lake Shores Civic Club, specifically Article
IV, which provides "the purposes for which this corporation is organized are: the promotion of social
With a look of incredulity Mark replied, "Grampa,
it was the 20,000 leaks!!"
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 5
Stewart News
Stewart Elementary Makes the
Honor Roll!
Stewart Elementary has been chosen by the Texas Business and Education Coalition to
receive the honor of being named a Texas Honor
Roll School. According to the Coalition, “Schools
make the honor roll by meeting demanding comprehensive performance standards for three consecutive years. They show us how good all schools
could be, and serve as effective practice for educators in other schools.” On December 4th a team of
teachers from Stewart will travel to Austin to receive
a plaque from the Coalition commemorating their
achievement. An award celebration will be scheduled
later at the school. Stewart Elementary and Space
Center Intermediate were the only two schools in
CCISD to receive this prestigious honor. Watch
www.tbec.org/honorroll for Stewart’s name when the
2006 honorees are posted.
Stewart’s Principal, Debbie Phillips, has also been
notified that Stewart is a finalist being considered for
the National Blue Ribbon Schools Award. The
U.S. Department of Education awards this honor to
public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior in their states, or that demonstrate
dramatic gains in student achievement. Stewart, being one of the top 10 schools in Texas, was nominated by the state for this honor.
We are all so proud of Mrs. Phillips, Mrs. Rodriguez, the Stewart faculty, and all the students at Stewart for working so hard to make Stewart Elementary
the best school in Texas!
Fall Carnival
I am writing this with one week still to go until our
Fall Carnival, but it takes several months of hard
work by parent volunteers to organize such an event.
So, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize
a few of them: Becky Dietz, who was in charge of
ticket sales and counting all those quarters; Lisa Foley
and Shanna McGinty, who spent hours coordinating
and organizing all the games and prizes; Chris Walker
and Gail Morris, who took care of the class baskets
auction; Nicole Brown, who visited every business in
the area for an awesome silent auction; Connie
Freiberg, who turned the Science Lab into a Haunted
House; Jay McAndrew – Bake Sale Queen; Becca
Scoville, who made sure we weren’t in the dark; Tami
Perkins, who entertained us and let everyone know
November 2006
about it; Amy Lussier, who coordinated the inflatables; Sandra Reinagel, in charge of vendors; and
Severin Bohem, who took care of sponsorship. Now
did I forget anybody??? Oh yes, our Civic Club’s
fearless leader, Allan Batchelor and his lovely better
half, Melinda, who revisited their days in Key West,
flipping burgers all night. Thank you so much to everyone!!!
Upcoming events:
PTA Board Meeting………
Taco Cabana Night………
Family Math Night………
First Grade Feast…………
School Thanksgiving Feast
Thanksgiving Holidays… .
Science Night……………
Nutcracker Market………
Tues. Nov 7th
Tues., Nov 7th
Thur. Nov 9th
Tue., Nov 14th
Thurs., Nov 16th
Mon., Nov. 20th –
Fri., Nov. 24th
Thur. , Nov 30th
Tues., Dec. 5th –
Thurs., Dec 7
Diana Hoerner
[email protected]
Don’t Forget!!!
The First Tuesday of every month is
Stewart Night
at
Taco Cabana
(in front of Office Depot)
From 4 – 8
You must order and pay at the inside counter, and
make sure to write Stewart on your receipt and put it
in the fishbowl.
You don’t have to have a student at Stewart to help
support the school.
See you there!
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 6
A Thanksgiving
Story
By Allan Batchelor
We moved aboard our shiny
new sailboat in the middle of
the summer. Legend Point was
as new as our lifestyle and our
primary concerns were keeping the A/C running and the
margaritas flowing. Concerns
of food preparation were nonexistent. The shiny new boat
had a stove. It even had an
oven! Heck, all the new boats
came with them so they must be OK.
One morning, prior to a spectacular sunrise at old Redfish came the realization that the trusty microwave lacked a
major component to provide us with much needed coffee.
Electricity. If we wanted coffee we had to use our shiny
new stove. Our shiny new denatured alcohol stove to be
precise. With a short stretch of the imagination denatured
may be defined as; de; from, away, opposite, un and; nature (d) natural. Unnatural works well here. What else can
produce a flame that takes all morning to boil two cups of
water? With the flash point of curtains being relatively
equal to the boiling point of water it’s pretty much a foot
race to the coffee. And the smell!
A few month and as many new curtains later we graduated to full-fledged live aboards and were progressing
nicely towards cruiser-wannabes. Along with that maturity
came the accepted use of our three burner, fully gimbaled
hand warmer. By fall we mostly had breakfast down pat
and the coffee adventure was but a distant memory. She
would start cooking the bacon and I would run up to
League City to get coffee and a paper. The bacon went in
the microwave and the eggs were usually ready to flip
when I got back. Biscuits were still a crapshoot as our mastery of the black arts had not yet extended to the oven section. It was so small that the biscuits would expand upwards to and through the upper rack. Forcing the biscuits
back through the rack for purposes of ingestion would
never ever be worth the effort. I pray I will never be that
hungry. Needless to say we ate a lot of toast. As all new
home owners do, we looked forward to our first Thanksgiving in our new floating palace. It was that moment, November 4th, 1984 , that it dawned on us that we needed to
hone our cooking abilities in order to meet the upcoming
challenge of Thanksgiving. Calling on our collective experience we set to the task of planning a feast for two.
When the green beans were under control and the stuffing was scheduled for stove top time we set upon “the
bird”. We realized that this would take some planning and
with paper and pencil we arrived at the following.
WHEN 1hr/lb = 12 lb = 12hr
November 2006
IF C2H60 (alcohol) = heat
THEN 1lb ≠ 1hr ≠ 12lbs ≠12hr
BUT 1hr ≈ 3 oz ≈ 5h 20min /lb ≈12pounds ≈ 64hrs ± 1
Day
Now, intentionally having a fire on your boat while you
go to work is bad, very bad. Your neighbors will not like
you. This means you can only cook when you are home
(24hr((day))-9h((work))=15h ((non working)) having an
unattended fire on your boat while you sleep or shower is
another really, really bad idea. Your next of kin and your
ex neighbors will not say good things about you. Posthumously. So, (15h((non-working))-10h-((sleeping, personal
hygiene and misc.)) = 5hr so calculating non sleep, non
working time to cook your turkey means you need to start
cooking the bird on Veterans Day because it will take two
weeks to cook a bird that Houdini couldn’t get in our easy
bake over from Oz. All you newbies out there feel free to
write this down. We needed a plan B.
Okay, obviously we needed a smaller bird, but where in
the name of Saint Elmo were we going to find a turkey
that small. Unnatural thoughts filtered through my mind,
causing a shudder. Thoughts from a three mile island DayGlo bi product to a U.S. Navy, turkey like, loaf of pale,
compressed mystery meat. On to plan C.
Plan C found our still new stove slightly modified. With
only a Saturday and a little flesh from my right hand donated to the effort, the middle rack was successfully removed from our oven. While the biscuit issue had apparently been resolved our ability to find a turkey that was
about the size of a cordless phone was in doubt. I still
maintain that a turkey that small is a pigeon. A squab by
any other name…. We were on our way back to the boat
with turkey number three, a cute little butterball we could
call our own, when disaster struck. While attempting to
navigate around the piling at the head of our finger pier, the
butterball managed to work his way between me and the
piling. Faster than you could say giblet gravy I was voted
off the pier. That’s right, a dead, mostly frozen turkey
pushed me in the water. That’s my story and I’m sticking
to it. Which brings me to D. Being a live aboard in several
local marinas means you are a citizen of the drop dead gorgeous little community of Clear Lake Shores. Yep, the Official Yachting Capitol of Texas. Up front it doesn’t really
mean a lot but there is a lot of subliminal good stuff to take
advantage of. We all make the most of our relaxation with
the big difference being, our land dwelling citizens schedule their event on a regular basis, did you know that for
less than Luby’s charges for a Thanksgiving dinner with all
the fixings you are a short dingy slash bike ride away from
a veritable turkey day feast. That’s right, on November 11th
for the paltry sum of 8 dollars you can get a real home
cooked Thanksgiving Dinner and meet some new
neighbors. For more information talk to any civic club
member. The best part is you don’t have to stink up your
boat.
Happy Thanksgiving and See you around the island.
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 7
November 2006
The Party Is Near!!
What Party you ask? Our Annual Adult Christmas Party, that’s what! Don’t forget to MARK your CALENDARS for FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8 so you don’t miss out on the fun.
The Scholarship Fund is hosting our Annual Adult Christmas Party.
Date:
Time:
Place:
Friday, December 8
8:00pm – Midnight
Clubhouse
Entry Fee Donation:
$15.00 Singles
$25.00 Couples
NOTE: Your entry fee donation is to help us defray costs of our …………
“LIVE BAND”.
Contact Susan Perez at [email protected] for reservations.
Wine will be available for a small donation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Setups will be available!!!!!!!!!!
Appetizers will be served!!!
NEW INFORMATION:
DOOR PRIZES!!!!!!!!
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 8
Wanted
Pictures for the CLS
web page!
Anyone who has some to
contribute please send them to Karen
MCDaniel at City Hall. She will need them
in an electronic format. You can send them
to:
[email protected]
Adult Christmas
Party Band
If a person or
persons would
like to make a direct donation for the
payment of the Band, the Scholarship
Committee would be very
appreciative.
The Band cost is $300.00.
If the Scholarship Committee does not
have this expense, we would be able to
offer “Any Amount” donations as an
entry fee to the Adult Christmas
Party.
If you or a group of people would like
to donate a portion or all of the total
cost, please contact Kimmy Johnson
at 281-513-3101.
The Scholarship Committee Thanks
You, and hopes to see everyone at our
Adult Christmas Party.
November 2006
Welcome New Civic Club
Members!
Jean Anne and Mike ALLEN
Carmel BEVAN
Janice and Jim BEVAN
Judy BOH
Angie and Butch CLOYD
Mattie COPELAND
Pam and Craig FINK
Betty and Ted GUTHRIE
Debi and Bruce HARKINS
Sue and Gary HODGE
Diane and Tom JOHNSON
Mary Ann and Tod JOHNSON
Liz and Rick LOYNES
Krisann and Ted MUSKIEVICZ
Mary NASH
Eileen PONTON
Nancy and Ronnie RICHARDS
Glenda and Richard SHERMAN
Nancy DANIELS
Vicky TOLAR
We really appreciate your support!
Birth Announcement
Paul and Allison are very proud
and happy to
announce the birth of their
precious new son:
Levi PrestonGarner
Born: October 5, 2006 ! 8:34pm
8 lbs 2oz - 21 inches
Grandparents, Kay and Bob Remak will thrilled to
tell you all about him, just ask!
Big Brother Trevoer and Big Sister Darien love him
very much.
Hugs and kisses
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 9
Alert: Wine Cork
Recall
Just kidding. I’m collecting
corks! My aim is to make items
to be sold at the “Silent Auction” taking place during our
Annual Thanksgiving Dinner, Saturday Nov. 11th.
This request goes out to all islander wine connoisseurs, wine drinkers, winos:
November 2006
Desserts Needed
Event: CLS Thanksgiving Dinner
Date: Sat. Nov. 11th
Time: Between 8 & 10, if possible
Call: Susan Perez 281-538-0079
Email: [email protected]
I want your cork!
You can drop your corks at my house anytime
you’re out cruzin in your buggy. There will be a
large storage tub at the gate.
All corks greatly appreciated
Kay Remak
922 Cedar Rd.
281-334-2148 - questions
Hail To The Chief
Chief Shelly that is! Chief Paul
Shelly will have been with the
City of Clear Lake Shores for
15 years as of October 26th.
Captain Cranston will have
been here for 10 years as of
November 25th.
A Thanksgiving Greeting
from all of us at
The Islander
Thank you soooo much for your
service in our wonderful
community!
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 10
What A Ride!
The CLS Ladies Luncheon was a
great success and if you missed it,
well all I can say is that’s too bad!
The meal was great and thanks to
Roselyn Pierce and our Trolley driver
Joe Jordon it was unforgettable!
November 2006
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 11
Clear Lake Shores
History
The following article is reprinted
from the May 1992 ISLANDER.
Dear Sir:
I thought someone might be interested in a little
additional history of Clear Lake Shores.
I spent at least part of every summer of my life in
Clear Lake Shores from 1928 until 1956. I am now
73 and have been living in San Antonio since 1956.
My father, Loran J. Patton, was the contractor who
put in the original roads. As I remember, the project was done for the Houston Post. Shell for the
roads was hauled by barge from Galveston Bay. I
remember one barge overturned as it rounded the
bend in the natural channel between the bay and the
lake. They tried to recover some of the shell but the
cannel was so deep they could not; from that time
on the channel was referred to as “Deep Hole”.
My father bought a lot for our family’s summer
place at the corner of Pine and Juniper. The house
was still there when I visited in 1985. He built the
original house with local help from a Mr. Lawrence
who lived on a farm on the Kemah-League City
road. Mosquitoes were so bad that we slept under
netting at night until the screens were installed. The
original house was a small dressing room and a
kitchen surrounded by a screened sleeping porch.
The bathroom was out in the yard, and we showered with buckets suspended on a rope. We had a
shallow well but obtained drinking water from
Kemah. We used kerosene lamps and cooking
stove. I was eight years old, and my brother was six
that first summer.
For many years we moved from Houston to “the
Bay” as soon as school was out, as it was so much
“cooler”. We loved it. There was no telephone, no
radio, and no automobile until Dad arrived home
from work in the evening. The only warning we
had of a hurricane approaching was some “old
timer” saying, “It smells like a storm,” then Dad
would show up and we would race to get out before
November 2006
Jarboe Bayou covered the entrance bridge. There
were only three or four houses in the subdivision at
first; in fact, there were only a few houses on the
whole of Clear Lake. Dad built a pier on the shallow end of the channel as it neared the lake. We
toughened our feet each early summer by walking
barefoot to the pier or the “Skippers Place” which
sold a few groceries and beer and was across the
street from the Club House. The Club House hosted
dances and barbecues.
We learned to swim in the channel in Kemah, and
graduated to swimming in “Deep Hole” which had
a community pier. My brother and I salvaged an
old rowboat after a hurricane and started exploring
Clear Lake, armed with a machete. Later we had a
canvas sail made for the boat and learned to sail on
the lake, often pulling an overturned boat and wet
heavy sails through the mud to shore.
As we grew older, the house grew and the subdivision filled. We had a deeper well, an inside bathroom, electricity, but never a telephone. Mr. Platzer
put in a boat works on the channel and we bought a
motorboat. We formed a sailing club and competed
in races at the end of the lake near the old Harris
County Park. My brother, Joe, and I often crewed
on larger sail boat races in Galveston Bay.
I lost my brother and my husband in World War II,
but I brought my son down each summer to stay
with my parents while I drove into Houston to
work each morning through the early fog. During
war years a Mr. West had a house near “Deep
Hole” and occasionally gave us a pound of real
butter from his cows.
So many memories! Swinging from the cliff over
“Deep Hole” with a bar of Ivory soap to clean up.
The armadillo who decided to live in the outhouse.
Crabbing from the channel pier. Porpoise who
came up under you as you went night swimming.
Being careful not to go near “Snake Island” in the
far side of “Deep Hole”. Inner tubing to Kemah to
get the mail.
Take care of the old subdivision for me. It holds
many friendly ghosts.
Sincerely,
Betty Patton Vickers Burke
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 12
Island Recipes
By Susan Perez
This is a new recipe for me but it
looks great! I am going to make
it for the CLS Thanksgiving Dinner and we shall see. Of course,
anything that comes from the
Barefoot Contessa has been real
good for me.
Pecan Squares
Crust:
1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping:
1 pound unsalted butter
1 cup good honey
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in
the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add
the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together
the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18 by 12 by 1-inch baking sheet, making an
edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake
for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned.
Allow to cool.
For the topping, combine the butter, honey, brown
sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a
wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3
minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy
cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to
get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for
25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from
the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and
refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.
November 2006
Hear Ye All College
Scholarship
Contestants!
As part of your requirements for the CLS College
Scholarship, you must put in
some civic hours.
The Christmas Decorating
Committee needs some
hands at putting up the outside decorations this
year.
We will be decorating on the 1st Saturday after
Thanksgiving and if you will give me a call or
email we will give you the times.
Susan Perez
phone: 281-538-0070
Email: [email protected]
Dedication of Jarboe Park
It was a picture perfect day! We all basked in
the cool sunshine and gave tribute to the efforts
and success of Vaness Hamilton’s vision to add
another park to our city. What a feat!
I am sure that I speak for all of us here in
Clear Lake Shores when I say “Thank you,
Vaness” .
The park has finished phase one and will go to
the next phase which includes a gazebo and
swimming pool. I love it here!
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 13
November 2006
YOU CAN BECOME PART OF WRITTEN HISTORY
AND BENEFIT FUTURE GENERATIONS
Most of you have probably noticed the old woodframe building that has recently been moved to the corner of
6th and Bradford in Kemah and is currently being renovated. This building is the Old Kemah School. In a
joint effort of the Kemah Historical Society and the City, this building is being restored and will become a
Visitors Center as well as a Museum to house the collection of photos and artifacts the Kemah Historical Society has accumulated. Some of these items go back to Indian times.
The Society was founded in 2004 by Tandace Lorae McDill in memory of her late aunt & uncle, Lorae and
Jimmie Walker, who owned Jimmy Walker’s Restaurant.
This building is significant because it is one of the few original public structures in the community. The earliest photo of the building is dated 1921 but some records show it might have existed as early as 1912.
The old school house is a source of fond memories for many local residents who attended the school up until
1949. Syliva Streater, ex-council woman for Kemah, remembers the old school having two classrooms. 1st
and 2nd grade in one room and 3rd & 4th in the other. At some point in time the principal, LaVace Stewart,
built an addition for 5th & 6th graders. In 1949, the now functioning Steward Elementary was built and the
students moved from the two room house to the new facility. This school now services Kemah and Clear
Lake Shores elementary students.
Ed Linck, President of the Kemah Historical Society, and Nolan Kelly have been working on the project of
restoring the school since its inception. They perform work as money becomes available. Without the dedication of these men and several others on the Historical Society and City, this project would not have been possible.
Here is where you can help. The Kemah Historical Society is selling brick pavers which will be installed in
the outside walkways. These brick pavers will have your name engraved on them and will be inlaid into the
pathways. You can also purchase a larger 12x12 tile if you want to put many family names on one tile. For
instance, Cynthia Medsger who owns Okie’s Liquor Store bought a tile in memory of her Dad, Capn. Okie.
You can purchase a brick for yourself, donate a tile in memory of a loved one who might have attended the
old school, or someone living who attended that school or now attends Stewart Elementary. This would be
your chance to memorialize yourself or a loved one at the Visitors Center/Museum. If you are interested in
purchasing a brick paver for $60 or a tile for $120, please call Roselyn Pierce at 281-334-2973, member of the
Kemah Historical Society.
N ove m b e r 2 0 0 6
Sun
5
Mon
6
Tue
7
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
Civic Club
Pot Luck &
Meeting
7pm
3
Be sure to
vote!
4
8
9
10
11
CLS
Thanksgiving
Dinner
11 - 3
City Council
Meeting
7pm
12
13
14
EDC
Meeting
7pm
15
16
17
18
19
20 school’s out
21 school’s out
22school’s out
23school’s out
24 school’s out
25
City Council
Meeting
7pm
26
27
28
City Offices City Offices
closed
Closed
29
30
Clear Lake Civic Club Newsletter
page 15
City (survey, bulkhead repairs, etc.). Councilman
Bass also requested that surveys and lease inspection
reports be provided for each lease, along with the
applicable minimum bid information, any time council is expected to deliberate on putting bids out for
lease.
Clear Lake Shores City Council Minutes
October 3, 2006
1. CALL TO ORDER— Mayor McIntyre called the
meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. All Council members
were present with the exception of Councilman
Wright. Staff members present were Chief Shelley
and Karen McDaniel.
2. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Economic Development Corporation, Waterfront Compliance Committee, Planning and Zoning Committee, Road
and Drainage Committee, Master Park Plan
Committee, FM 2094 Annexation Committee,
Jarboe Bayou Park Steering Committee, Pool
Committee
3. UNSCHEDULED VISITORS
a. Craig Ward spoke to Council regarding confusion
over the recent waterfront non-compliance notices.
He asked that the procedures for approving and protesting any such non compliance issues be more
clearly spelled out by Council given the Waterfront
Compliance Committee’s role is purely advisory. He
also asked Council to hold a joint workshop with the
Waterfront Compliance Committee for discussion of
this matter.
4. NEW BUSINESS:
a. Discussion and possible action regarding Resolution 2006-11, a joint resolution with Galveston
County, establishing a Galveston County Emergency Management Organization (Mayor McIntyre)
Councilman Carrothers moved to approve Resolution
2006-11, with Councilwoman Hamilton as a second.
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
b.Discussion and possible action regarding setting a
date for acceptance of sealed bids for three waterfront lots: C-76, C-78, and E-116B (Mayor McIntyre)
Brief discussion was held regarding reserve prices for
the sealed bids. Per Councilman Bass’ suggestion,
the minimum bid was decided to be the Fair Market
Value based on the March 26, 2004 appraisal bulkhead lease rate indexed yearly by the CPI plus improvements in the water and any cost incurred by
November 2006
TABLED UNTIL SURVEYS ARE COMPLETED
5. CONSENT AGENDA:
c. Check register from September 14, 2006 to September 27, 2006
Items
f (September 5 minutes) and h
(September 19) were removed from the consent
agenda for further discussion.
Councilman Bass moved to approve the consent
agenda, with Councilman Johnson as a second.
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Financial Activity Summary
Minutes for August 15, 2006 regular meeting
Minutes for August 22, 2006 special meeting
Minutes for August 23, 2006 emergency meeting
Minutes for September 5, 2006 regular meeting
Councilman Bass moved to approve the minutes as
amended per his previously submitted written amendments, with Councilman Johnson as a second.
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
i. Minutes for September 12, 2006 workshop meeting
j. Minutes for September 19, 2006 regular meeting
Councilman Bass moved to approve the minutes as
amended per his previously submitted written amendments with Councilman Carrothers as a second.
MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY, except for
Councilwoman Hamilton who abstained since she was
not at the meeting
k. Minutes for September 25, 2006 special meeting
6. ADJOURNMENT—Mayor McIntyre adjourned
the meeting at 7:39 p.m.