Newsletter  May 1999

NEW MEETING NOTICE

COME TO THE SIERRA CLUB

POTLUCK PICNIC

May 18, 1999    1002 Chamberlain     5:30 to 8 p.m.

Bring a dish to share, and perhaps a lawn chair as well.  Drinks will be provided.

COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIR

This month marks the last meeting of the current season as we do not try to meet during the long, hot summer.  Please note that the meeting will be at night and so all those who cannot come to the noon meetings have one last chancer to visit with the group.  Come to have a good time and have your say about what you might want us to do next fall.

This month also marks a change in the way we will contact our members.  We are now on the internet as part of the SIERRA CLUB web page system.    Look for us there under the Lone Star Chapter and then Regional Groups.   We hope to be able to interest many of our members in this new way of communicating and also provide a direct line to any one coming to Corpus Christi to work or play.   Let us know what you think of the site.

Apologies to the out of Nueces County members, but the upcoming bond election is so important for these residents that we have again devoted a page to this issue.  Vote early and VOTE NO.

Our current membership is 307.  Hopefully we will get an analysis of the membership soon...The last one was two years ago.

http://www.sierraclub.org

**************************************************************

Bond Election to be held June 12, 1999

Proposition

"The issuance of $38,500,000 of general obligation park bonds to acquire land and buildings and to construct, improve, renovate, and equip facilities for park purposes, to-wit: improvements to the Packery Channel, Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown, Texas, and the JFK Causeway; and the levying of a tax in payment thereof."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Synopsis of comments made in letters to the editor or on talk radio.  Some are really funny.

Plan for Packery Channel is NO good because it cannot take all boats...only small boats.

Dredge Packery Channel right or not at all.  A tunnel would be good so that no new bridge need be built.

Judge Borchard has said he already has the money for raising the Kennedy Causeway.  So what does he want with more money?  Guess??

The FAIRGROUNDS is in the wrong place.  It should be closer to Corpus Christi.  Twenty or thirty miles is too far to go.

The county has not kept promises with the people who have bought beach permits.  They were supposed to have provided showers and restrooms with that money.  Where are they?

The current COW BARN does not make money.  Over 168,000 dollars are needed to subsidize this.  Why build a bigger borchard boondoggle?

There is no limit to the taxes the county can raise to pay for all this.  We need streets, a new seawall, repaired dam, etc.  Not FRILLS.

LETS DREDGE THE OLD FISH PASS AND KEEP LUBY PARK.  THAT WAY WE COULD HAVE FISHING PIERS AND THE BEACH.

There will be no way to get from one side of Packery Channel to the other except by going on the highway.

SAVE LUBY PARK         NO CHOICE  VOTE NO            NO BONDS

*********************************************************************************

TRASH OR TREASURE?  - THE TOP 12     

• Twice each year, volunteers clean more than 150 miles of Texas coast and record information about types of debris collected.   This data was instrumental in the passage of an international treaty banning dumping in the world's oceans.

• Since the first cleanup in 1986, more than 217,000 volunteers have removed 4,171 tons of trash from Texas beaches.

• Mark your calendarsnow to attend our Fall Cleanup on Septermber 18, 1999.

    25 WAYS YOU CAN HELP SAVE OUR PLANET
                                                       

1. Buy products that feature the recycle mark 

2. Bring a lunch box to school instead of throwing out paper lunch bags

3. Use cloth instead of paper napkins and a sponge instead of paper towels

4. Give outgrown toys and clothes to someone who can use them

5. Bring a container filled with your favorite drink to lunch every day instead of individual cartons

6. Avoid buying items that have excessive packaging

7. Decorate a shoe box with old wrapping paper and use it to store small toys and other things

8. Save used papaer and use the clean side whenever you need scrap paper

9. Refuse a paper bag when you buy something small

10. Find out if there are any other uses before throwing things out

11. Take shorter showers

12. Be careful not to disturb plants and animals when outdoors

13. Volunteer to work at the recycling center

14. Save and resue bubble and foam packing

15. Turn off appliances when not in use

16. Ride your bike instead of the car

17. Buy toys that are well made and last

18. Get some friends and visit a local stream to collect trash

19. Cut six-pack plastic rings

20. Don't let the water run unnecessarily when brushing teeth

21. Build a bird house for the backyard

22. Save empty cardboard containers for craft projects

23. Pick up at least one piece of trash every day

24. Leave grass clippings on the lawn

25. Let grass grow taller in dry areas

KEY ADDRESSES OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

STATE                                                      NATIONAL

  Coastal Bend Sierra Club E-Mail

Protect America's Environment.
For our families, for our future.
       
A Philosophy of Stewardship               
The Sierra Club's statement of Purpose is:  To explore, enjoy and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN

              For questions abouth this website:
  Pluto's Edge Design    Website and Graphic Design