thenorphletpaperboy: August 2nd, Corpus Christi, Texas , 1960 Celia com...

thenorphletpaperboy: August 2nd, Corpus Christi, Texas , 1960 Celia com...: Hurricane Celia August 2 nd , 1970, Corpus Christi, Texas I’ve been staring at these geologic maps all day, and I need some   coff...

August 2nd, Corpus Christi, Texas , 1960 Celia comes calling.

Hurricane Celia

August 2^nd, 1970, Corpus Christi, Texas

I’ve been staring at these geologic maps all day, and I need some  coffee, crosses my mind as I walk down the hall to the break area where Bob and Don are drinking coffee.

 “Hey, Richard have you seen the latest on the hurricane?” said Don.

“Yeah.  Looks like we’ll get some rain out of this one.”

Bob nods and says, “Yeah, it’s only barely a hurricane. Probable won’t get much.”

“Well, I’ll probably stay home tomorrow and ride it out,” I replied.

“Me too. We’re high and dry,” said Don.

“Well, I’m going to finish this cup of coffee and call it a day.”

Maybe we will get some rain out of old Celia,” crosses my mind as I head for the elevator. A quick 15-minute drive across the causeway, and I’m in Portland, a bedroom community of Corpus Christi. Vertis is waiting for me at the door.

“Richard, Celia is going to hit us! Should we drive up to San Antonio?”

“Naaaa, nobody is leaving. It may not even be a hurricane by the time it hits land. Shoot,

I’m tired of watering the yard.”

“I’m okay with staying here, but Lara and Ashley, our babies, have me worried. I wouldn’t want them to be in danger.”

“Vertis, if I thought we were in the slightest danger, I’d be heading out of here.”

“Okay, but are you sure?”

“Yeah, we’re just going to get some needed rain.”

                                                                     &

I’m up early to get a cup of coffee, when the TV announcer gives the latest hurricane coordinates, and his comments give me some concern.

“Celia has strengthened overnight to 85 miles per hour. The storm is expected to move inland near Portland around noon.”

            Vertis has just walked into the room and her first words are, “Richard, it’s getting stronger. What do you think?”

“Vertis it’s barely a hurricane and as soon as it hits Padre Island, it’ll weaken and by the time it hits us it’ll be below sixty miles per hour.”

“Okay, but I’m still worried about the kids.”

“It won’t be a problem. Nobody is leaving.” I’m thinking, Women always overreact.

It’s almost 11 and the TV blares, “Celia has strengthen to ninety five mile per hour and it is expected to make landfall within the next hour! Seek shelter---take all hurricane precautions!”

As I look out the front window, I see a swing set bouncing down the street, and I know we have waited too long to leave. The electricity has just gone off.

“Richard! What are we going to do?”

Vertis is upset, and I’m really regretting not driving up to San Antonio, but we’ve waited too late. The kids begin to cry, as I try to figure out what we need to do.

“Vertis get some pillows and blankets, and we’ll put the kids in the bathtub…and hurry!”

The wind is much stronger when Vertis screams, “Oh, my God!”

She’s looking out the front window, and as I run over a complete roof bounces down the street. Our house is shaking, and it occurs to me that our roof could go.

“Get in the bathroom with the kids and cover them with the pillows and blankets!” I’m yelling. We’re listening to a shortwave radio, and the announcer just said …”Port Aransas has just clocked gusts of one hundred and seventy-five miles per hour.” Lying over two kids as I whisper to Vertis, “Port Aransas is only fifteen mile from here.”

We’re in the bathroom hovering over a couple of crying kids, and Vertis is yelling,
“I told you we should leave!” When I hear a loud wrenching breaking sound and then a crash, and I think one of our neighbors has just lost their entire roof. The wind is much stronger, and I think our roof will go any minute. We’ve been huddled in the bathroom for nearly an hour, when all of a sudden the wind stops, and it occurs to me that the eye of the storm is passing over us. I’m outside and the sky is blue with just a few clouds.

“Vertis, Bill’s house is on the bay, and he’s by himself. I need to check on him.” A wall of black clouds is out in the bay, but until they reach us the storm won’t start again.

“Bill! Bill!...My God! The house is almost gone!” Bill opens the front door. He’s dishevel

and gasping for breath.

“Richard! I’ve been holding the door shut for hours! If I hadn’t the whole house would

have blown into the bay!”

“Get in the car, Bill! Our house is okay.”

As I pull into my garage I, spot a two by four sticking in our roof. It’s only a few minutes until the wind is at full strength; maybe not quite a strong, and we’re in the living room looking out the window.  Another hour passes and the wind has almost stopped.

“Vertis, I’m going to check on George and Marilyn and their two kids. Their house facing an open street, and they may have gotten hit hard.”

I’ve just turned the corner.

“Oh my God!” I’m in tears, as I look at a pile of rubble. “They’ve been killed,” But as I pull up to what was their house the whole family runs out from a neighbor’s house across the street.

“George! How did y’all get out of that pile of rubble?”

“Richard, as our roof started to go, I put Marilyn and the kids in the kitchen crouched against the bar. The whole roof did blow off and the kitchen ceiling fell on the bar, but it left a space where Marilyn and the girls were. When the eye came over we crawled out and ran across the street to the William’s house.”

I’m back at our house now and a crowd is gathering. Our house, a ranch style one story house in the middle of the block only suffered minor damage. But other houses especially the two story one have suffered catastrophic damage.

I’s getting dark now, and there’s no electricity, water, or gas, and the food in everybody’s deep freeze is being put on the grill. Everyone has a storm story, but no one is injured.

I’ve just made a head count, and we’re going to have 23 people spend the night with us.

                                                              &

It’s morning and our family is heading into the center of our little town, and as we come to First Baptist Church, Vertis bursts into tears. I’ve been on the building committee for the past year and two weeks ago we dedicated our new 500 seat sanctuary. The huge roof is nowhere to be seen, and both side walls have collapsed on the pews. Only the Baptistery and foyer are still standing.

It’s noon now, and as were standing there a big 18 wheeler pulls up. It’s the Baptist Men of Texas disaster team with cases of bottled water.

I’ve just put our case of water in the car, and I see Vertis and the kids in line for something. I join and in a few minute a Texas National Guardsman hands me a tray.

thenorphletpaperboy: The Cougar Sightings

thenorphletpaperboy: The Cougar Sightings:                          The Cougar Sightings I guess my expectations were too low because, as the sighting kept coming in from more ...

The Cougar Sightings

                         The Cougar Sightings

I guess my expectations were too low because, as the sighting kept coming in from more and more counties, it seemed cougars were everywhere. Here are the sightings and counties; Pulaski County (5), Hot Springs County (1), Ashley County (1), Searcy County (1), Cross County (1), Columbia County (2), Lafayette County (3), Ouachita County (1), Van Buren County (1), Yell County (1), Desha County (1), Union County (1), Bradley County (1), Perry County (1), Benton County (2), Montgomery County (1), Polk County (1), Arkansas County (2), and Sebastian County (1). That’s a total of 19 counties with 28 confirmed sighting. Of the sighting 5 were said to be black cougars, and one sighting was a female with two cubs. It’s a little difficult to pinpoint the cougar hot spots, but southwest Arkansas certainly seems to have a breeding population, and as expected, most of the sighting were adjacent to dense timber, usually near major streams.

An estimate of cougars would have to take into account that they are only found in the least populated areas of the state, and are very shy as far as being seen. Of course, in the count, there may be cougars that have been spotted twice, especially in Pulaski County. But it is possible that each sighting was an individual cougar, and that the most populous county in the state has a significant population of big cats. Of course, we must realize, not everyone in the state reads my column. In fact my column doesn’t appear on a regular basis in the NW Arkansas Democrat-Gazette edition.

Since some of the areas of the state, especially in northwest and northcentral parts of Arkansas are more remote and forested, and those folks didn’t participate in the cougar count, I would have to increase my estimate of cougars in the state by at least a third, which would increase the possible number of cougars to 36. Of course, since cougars would normally be in the deepest of the remaining big woods in the state, and well away from any towns and farms it would stand to reason we have spotted only about 25% of the cougars in the state. If you add all of the known sighting and extrapolate them to get a definitive number of cougars in Arkansas it would increase the number to between 100 and 125 cougars. Of course that sounds as if we could spot a cougar on every corner, but knowing how many were actually spotted and then considering the deep woods in the Ozarks, Ouachitas, and the old growth timber along our major rivers, and you might conclude I have underestimated the number.  But considering the above factors, it is clear that cougars are certainly present in our state, and not just a big cat or two that escaped from cages.

The game camera pictures clearly show full grown cougars prowling the woods. One of them, recorded by Emmanuel Keith, has been photographed several times in the same area. The picture, taken by James Mitchell in Yell County, has a clear picture of a large cougar that has just killed a feral hog. This picture was shown to the Game and Fish Commission, and they tried to trap the cougar, but were unsuccessful. Since I mention the Game and Fish Commission let me comment that there were other sightings that were reported to the Commission, which essentially they ignored, and as we know, the Game and Fish Commission’s official statement is that these cougars are ones have escaped somehow from a zoo or circus or they were pets, and there isn’t a breeding population in the State. I think it obvious, because of the number of reputable, confirmed sighting that there are not one or two escaped cougars in the state, but maybe as many as a 125, and from the sighing in southwest Arkansas, we know there is a breeding population.

The Game and Fish Commission should recognize the obvious. (1) There are probably well over a 100 cougars in the state and there is a breeding population. (2) With this recognition there should be regulations to protect the small population of cougars that are essential to the restoration of a balanced ecosystem. As noted from one of the game camera pictures, feral hogs are a part of the cougar’s diet--- it captures a picture of a cougar who has just grabbed a feral hog, and still has blood around its mouth from the kill. Of course we know feral hogs are a huge problem in the state. The game camera pictures with this report clearly show big cats, and there are other game cameras at the sites to confirm that all the pictures are indeed of cougars. (3) Currently, as noted a couple of years back when a hunter killed a cougar in Bradley County, there isn’t a penalty of any kind to protect the animals. The regulations should specifically prohibit the killing of cougars, and place a penalty equal to the amount that is placed on poaching an elk in North West Arkansas. (4) Mother Nature is doing her best to return a balanced ecosystem to our state by filling the predator vacuum with cougars, coyotes, bobcats, and bears. We should be helping in this restoration by protecting the cougars, closing bear season, discouraging the shooting of coyotes and bobcats, and putting a bounty on feral hogs. We can never expect to have a completely balanced ecosystem in our state unless we have large predators. Our quail are gone because the predators that held down the population of scavengers that eat quail eggs have been eliminated. If you want to see the cougars protected, the feral hog population reduced, and a drop in Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in our deer herd reduced, (CWD would be reduced because cougar would eliminate the sickly deer and keep the disease from spreading.) let the Game and Fish Commission know you care about a balanced ecosystem in our state. Send your mail to Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 2 Natural Resources Dr. Little Rock, AR. 72205 or call 800-364-4263.

In closing let me just say this about our Game and Fish Commission: overall the Commission is doing a great job and our restored turkey, deer, and bear populations speaks for a job well done.  Our fishing lakes are some of the best in the nation, and the Commission represents the best interest of our hunters and fishermen of our state. I served on the P. C. & E. Commission with Steve Wilson, the former Executive Director of the Game and Fish Commission, and I can tell you, from knowing Steve, the Commission is undoubtedly at the top of anyone’s list of agencies in the state. However, they do need to recognize that 100 to 125 cougars roam our woods, and they need to be protected.

 

thenorphletpaperboy: Let's Cut to the Chase

thenorphletpaperboy: Let's Cut to the Chase: Let’s Cut to the Chase             Today our country is enjoying a booming economy. The economic improvement has sent the stock marke...

Let's Cut to the Chase

Let’s Cut to the Chase

            Today our country is enjoying a booming economy. The economic improvement has sent the stock market to new highs, and the average American has more money in their pockets than ever before. But, as you know, we Americans can’t be satisfied. No, we’re always striving for more, and that equals high productivity. American productivity has had a big part in making America the superpower we are today. We are the most powerful nation on earth militarily and economically.

However, it seems, even with all the progress we’ve made, some folks aren’t satisfied, and they want more, and the problem is, they want more anyway they can get it. Barriers have been conveniently pushed aside in the rush to make as much money as possible, and to accomplish that goal, many of the laws and regulations that stood in the way of their rush to make more money have been eliminated. It’s sad to say this, but a large number of Americans have become obsessed with the goal to make as much money as humanly possible.

I’m an American capitalist, small business owner, and I want to make a buck as bad as anyone, but in today’s America I’m shocked at what lengths some Americans will go to make money. In other words, while we are having the best of economic times our greed is setting the stage for the worst of times. It’s the rush to make money, a hell-bent-for-leather quest, to use an old Texas comment, and we seem to believe there are no consequences for our actions.

They’re too modest to say, “Yeah, we need to get out of that climate change stuff. It’ll keep me from making money.” No, they conveniently ignore and trash the facts presented by 97% of the World’s scientists to denounce what the rest of the world’s countries and the Pope are calling global warming. We are the only country in the World backing out of the Paris agreement and they did it simply to make money, and they’re lying through their teeth when they try to justify not believing the obvious. And what’s worse, they know they’re lying. Or maybe the lust for money has clouded their mind to the point where they actually believe the lie.

The EPA is going to let the states handle coal fired plants discharges, but what they don’t say is they’re doing it to allow the coal companies and the coal fired energy plants to continue to make more money at the expense of clean air. They gut the Endangered Species Act, but don’t say, “To make more money.” But, it’s true! And when our National Monuments are reduced in size and the Arctic National Wildlife is opened up for exploitation, they’re too modest to cheer, so they cross their fingers and say, “We need the oil” even though they know the world is awash in oil, and renewable energy is moving into the energy picture. Yes, the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, one of the last pristine places on earth, will be crisscrossed with roads and after numerous rounds of drilling, and even the possibility of open pit mining, the once vast herds that roam the tundra will be a thing of the past. Yes, they know that is a fact, but they won’t stop.  It is the rush to make every dollar they can at the expense of our health, our environment, and our children’s and grandchildren’s future.

Sure, clearcutting a 10,000-acre swath of our National Forests will make some folks a lot of money, but it and the hundreds more that will be allowed under our congressman’s bill will leave scars on the land that will haunt our children and take a generation to recover. But that doesn’t stop Bruce Westerman, our congressman, from offering a bill that would let that happen. Multiply the 10,000-acre clear-cut by a 100 and a clear-cut the size of a large county could happen under his bill.

Of course, they conveniently try to ignore the Buffalo National River as a hog farm pollutes it, because they wouldn’t want to be associated with the group of folks who would try to stop someone from making money.

Money is not the root of all evil. No, but the Love of Money probably is.” And the evil lust for money at any cost is setting our quality of life back a full generation, while our elected officials brag about getting rid of regulations. Those regulations are there for maintaining the quality of life everyone wants.  

Yes, they give lip service to draining the swamp, but in reality, they’re not draining the swamp, they’re poisoning the swamp, clearing the swamp trees, polluting the swamp water and killing the swamp fish.  As a government official brags about reducing regulations, what he or she is really saying is, “Have at it boys. Whatever you want to do to make money is okay.”   Every time we look a bit deeper into a regulation that has been removed, we find out its being removed to let a company or individual make more money while the environmental impact is ignored

 And speaking of companies making money, the recent huge corporate tax cut, which will add a trillion dollars to the National Debt, is the ultimate giveaway. I’m no accountant, but the chickens will come home to roost on that greedy grab. The fiscal irresponsible addition of one trillion dollar to the National Debt just highlights the greed for more money.

I hate to say it, but a lot of Americans have so ingrained the desire to make money at any cost into their mindset that they must believe the sole purpose of life on earth is to accumulate wealth. It boggles the mind. They must be living under the mantra; “Who dies with the most stuff wins.”

I guess the real shock to me is the denial by a lot of people about what is going on. When a person talks about the future of his or her grandchildren, it’s always in a glowing and positive manner, and if you quiz them further, they would tell you their hope for the future is that their grandchildren and great grandchildren will have a better quality of life than they did.

But how can a person say that knowing the dismal world that they are creating for their grandchildren to live in? A world of endless wildfires, super hurricanes, tornados, and a drought that will create a worldwide famine. A child born today will easily live to see the cities of New Orleans and Miami become unlivable due to massive flooding caused by global warming, if we don’t reverse it. But those same children’s parents will scoff at the 97% of the world’s scientists who tell them that. It’s an overriding desire to make money that taints the minds of a large number of people to the point that they won’t believe the facts. And the facts are evident.

Lord deliver us!

                                                       &

Keep turning in those cougar sightings! Great response so far. The sightings report, complete with pictures, will be in my September 16^th column. It will surprise a lot of folks.