Question
2/12/10
Where is the agenda for the
February Board meeting? It is supposed to be up 2 weeks
prior to the board meeting so people will know what is
being discussed so they can attend - if warranted. IT's
after the latest board meeting and January's agenda is
still up? The membership has a right to know what the
board is discussing. - Oh, and where is the February
newsletter - have yet to receive mine and this is the
second time I have asked for it.
Jan Edwards
Answer
Jan,
Thank you for
bringing this to our attention. I can only guess that
due to Bruce's medical emergency that the February
agenda did not get posted.
You should
have received your Newletter by now, received mine on
Saturday. We really can't give an exact date for
delivery. All we know is that the printer mailed them
the first part of Feb and then we depend on our US Mail
service for delivery.
You mentioned
this is the second time you asked about your newsletter.
I see you sent in your questions Feb 10 and 12, however,
we only received these questions yesterday @ 9:45 pm.
Regards,
Suzanne
Goodson
Question
02/10/2010
We have not received our February
Newsletter. When can we expect our copy?
Jan Edwards
Answer
Jan,
I think this was answered directly
to you by Linda on Feb 13th. You should have received
your Newsletter.
Regards,
Suzanne Goodson
Question
02/10/2010
Last year, the Ralph Premea award candidates were
selected by the previous winners of the award. Since I
have heard nothing about it this year, I assume that
will not be the case. Has that policy changed?
Pat Webb
Answer
Pat,
Marie Breakiron and Marilyn
Shockley volunteered to be on the Ralph Primeau Award
Task Force at the January BOD meeting. They presented
their candidates at the Feb BOD meeting. Since there is
no written policy on this award, there was a procedure
change made this year.
Darrell asked about this also. I am
copying Marie's response to him. Hope this answers your
question.
A great
question Darrell. Although I can’t speak for my friends,
Pat, Connie, Roy, and Arlene Primeau, I feel they would
all agree they are no longer in the best position to
possess the most current knowledge regarding who the
F.O.R. Board of Directors should choose as this year’s
recipient of the Ralph Primeau award. I don’t know how
the future nominees will be chosen. Procedures change
depending on circumstances. I personally apologize I did
not call you first about this year’s nomination, but
with sincere honesty, I really felt with your
resignation, Gloria’s Board resignation, and also with
the Breakfast resignation, you two were just very tired
and wanted to distance yourself from F.O.R. and just
enjoy each other’s company so Gloria could rest and
really take care of herself. You never voiced interest
in still wanting to do anything else with F.O.R. We all
felt you were very considerate to help keep the Web
going until we found someone. Very Best Regards, Mari
Regards,
Suzanne
Goodson
Question
12/9/09
Hi - I met 3 of your members at the
GLO meeting regarding Surfside in
Freeport last Monday. I would love to
learn from you all as to running a
successful campaign to fix and
sustain the mouth of the San Bernard. Thank
you for your response, and thank
those members who took the time last
Monday.
Sincerely,
Suzan Zachariah
Answer
Since Roy and Gloria and I
spoke with Susan Z. the night before and understood the
urgency of Surfside's
problems, we replied
directly to her.
Basically we
told her that Surfside residents needed to: stay
positive, work together and stop the lawsuits, research
the problem, find a tentative solution and engage the
help of local, state, and federal officials. They also
had to engage the attention of the press to follow their
progress.
Looks like they
have done that. See link to today's Facts:
http://www.thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=993c9f0de6b14064
Question
12/16/09
A new company (Docks, Decks and
Bulkheads) operating on the San Bernard River and now
advertising on the FOR WEB Site is causing some
confusion and problems about my long time Brazoria
County registered company (Docks and Decks). This new
companys ad on the WEB site is top and first ad listed
while my Platinum Sponsor ad is near the very bottom.
Might it be possible to rotate the ads every so often so
that all companies and individuals get equal
advertising? Also it was mentioned at the Christmas Boat
Parade that X-pressions is sold but their ad is still on
the FOR WEB page. Thank You David Pope
Answer
I
usually put all new ads at
the top. Periodically I do rotate the ads. But it has
been a while since I rotated them. Will rotate shortly.
I knew that X-pressions was up for sale but have not
heard that they have sold. I have not been notified to
remove their ad. Maybe the new owners will want to keep
the ad on the website.
Darrell Powell
Webmaster
Question
12/16/09
When this column was first started, it was to allow
folks to raise concerns they had to the organization
which they support with their volunteerism and money.
Sometimes people are shy about who they are when asking
these questions or just do not feel the need to disclose
their personal information but still have concerns. The
need for this input is great as a measuring device to
see how the group is doing and where they need to focus
to keep the continued support of its members. The
addition of required personal information in order to
accomplish this is a huge step backward, in my opinion.
I wish the board would reconsider the need to input the
required fields in order to ask a question of the
organization. Maybe an option to leave name and number
for future reference would be nice, but not mandatory.
Pat Webb
Answer
Pat, You
recently
requested
the board reconsider requiring the author to provide
their name and e-mail address when submitting a
"question/comment to the board". We've heard from
several board members and all those who commented are in
agreement to continue requesting the person asking the
question or submitting a comment to provide their name
and e-mail address. E-mail addresses will not be shown
on the website, but the board members will receive them
so we can directly comment to the individual when
appropriate.
Question
December 10, 2009
Is the mouth still open? I tried to take my 30' boat out
and couldn't find a deep enough channel to get out to
the gulf.
K. Nielson
Answer
Mr. Nielsen,
Thank you for
your question to the FOR Board of Directors. The
question of the navigability of the mouth of the San
Bernard is one I personally have heard several times.
While it was hoped that opening the river to the Gulf
would provide a “short-cut” for those of us living on
and using the river to off-shore fishing, it was never
the intention of the Corps of Engineers to make it a
navigable pass. When first opened, it was any easy ride
to the Gulf, but a shoal has formed outside the opening
making it more difficult or impossible for larger
boats. The Corps is aware of the situation - see
Previous Post for Aug. 21, 2009 on the
www.sanbernardriver.com website. They pointed out
that the lack of any significant rainfall through most
of the year hasn’t helped the shoaling situation. Their
commitment is to keep the river flowing to the Gulf, but
not to make it a navigable pass.
I have as
smaller boat than yours (21’ Center Console), and have
gone out several times through the mouth to fish the
surf, but only under good sea conditions. The channel,
such that it is, is to the right (South) side of the
mouth when going out to the Gulf. I was last to the
mouth about three weeks ago and the tide was really low
but still on the way out. There was and extremely
strong out-going current to Gulf on the South side and
the North side was too shallow to reach the beach.
I hope I
answered your question. Join us at our next FOR monthly
breakfast (Saturday, Jan. 2) at DIDO’s!
Bob Bailey –
FOR Treasurer
November 27, 2009
Question
Hello everyone,
I have read your website regarding
the oil spill next to the Las Playas subdivision. It is
a week later and today we are still smelling the fumes
from this spill. There is oil present in the water along
our bulkhead as well as our neighbors. We notice people
pulling tubes with children on the tubes and they are
apparently unaware of the oil in the water.
This seems pretty outrageous that
this situation would be allowed. This oil should be
skimmed off the water, not left as it is. The mud along
our bulkhead is contaminated with oil. There is no one
out here cleaning up the water or the shoreline.
Periodically boats do come by and sop up the oil
contained along the shore inside the booms, but are
doing nothing to clean up the oil not contained. I have
seen the oil all the way up to the bridge.
Is this the way spills are handled
along the San Bernard?
Thanks for your input,
Susan Brockert
Dear Ms. Brockert,
Thank you for sending the note regarding your concerns
into the FOR website,
it must be very frustrating
to you to have this happening before and
continuing through the
Thanksgiving holiday. Your observation about the
boats going by while the
oil that got into our river is being recovered was
very helpful. With this
information your FOR organization was able to
communicate with the
Brazoria County Environmental Protection Officer (Jeff
Minks) and after his
inspection he found that the containment booms had
indeed been breached most likely from the wakes of boats
going by. Jeff got
the wheels in motion to
correct the breach and asked FOR to communicate a
suggested (we have no regulatory authority) voluntary
no
wake zone for this area in an
attempt to limit the impact of the residual oil, as we
hope you have seen via email or on the FOR
site. We again thank you
for your note and hope you will see improvements
in your section of the
river soon. Please let us or Jeff know if you see
signs of another breech so
it can be corrected quickly.
Your early
involvement and actions in alerting FOR and the proper
authorities have greatly helped in containing this spill
and minimizing the damage.
I would like to
personally invite you to attend our December community
breakfast at 8:00 AM this Saturday morning at Dido’s
restaurant so we can meet you and properly thank you for
your efforts.
Sincerely,
Thomas E
Valliere
Co Chairperson
FOR Environmental Committee
November 15, 2009
question
Over the last two years, the Community Center has hosted
over three hundred people to "view the Christmas parade.
This year, it isn't even mentioned as a viewing place
for the public. Whats up with that? Isn't anybody
checking these press releases?
You are correct the Community
Center has been a great place to view the boat
parade. The omission was caught, but the update was not
sent to the paper prior to printing; however, rest
assured future press releases about the boat parade will
include the Community Center.
November 09, 2009
question
Did you know you misspelled Rick Gardner's name? Better
proof your copy better.
Thank you, We will correct in the
future.
November 07, 2009
question
Went to the Breakfast this morning ready to go on the
Dyer Moore easement trip per your newsletter and
meetings. Not only did that not happen, not a word was
said about it. What gives? Frank
At the September 12th meeting it
was announced that the trip to the Dyer Moore easement
had been rescheduled for October 31st and the F.O.R.
Calendar was updated to reflect this change. The rain
we experienced between 9/12 and 10/31 made it impossible
for the trip to occur. The banks on the property are
extremely steep and it would not have been safe and the
vehicles would have rutted Mr. Moore's property. We are
trying to save the environment not harm it. Mr. Moore
has agreed to take members of the Environmental
Committee (EC) to the property prior to the contract
signing. The EC consists of environmentalist,
biologist, geologist, chemist and engineers; they are
our experts and we are relying on their knowledge and
experience to validate the easement is the right
direction for F.O.R. I am sorry you did not get
notification about the change. If you would have
asked about it at the breakfast, you would have been
updated there.
November 02, 2009
question
As Roy and Jan are no longer officers or representatives
of FOR, are any of the members of the board of directors
or the Environmental team actively doing any onsite
monitoring of the shrimp boat leaking diesel fuel into
the San Bernard River?
Al & Colleen Roco have been more active than anyone else
on the river when it comes to the leaking shrimp boat.
In fact if it were not for their actions on 10/25 , we
would still be experiencing the political ping-pong game
we witnessed Saturday, 10/25. River's End residents had
complained repeatedly about the shrimp boat leaking and
by the time the authorities made their way to the vessel
the tides and winds had changed and no visible evidence
remained.
Tom Valliere, Environmental Co-chair is investigating
possibilities of using F.O.R. volunteer hours with
a matching grant to get the boat removed, if permission
is granted. Bruce Barner & I meet with Doc Adams,
Brazoria County Emergency Management and he also
provided additional avenues we will investigate. Either
of these will be a long, and burdensome process and
would be better if the owner would come forward and
take responsibility for his property.
The continuing on-site monitoring is being performed by
the Brazoria County environmental crime investigator,
who, by the way, is doing an awesome job and we are
lucky to have someone so dedicated looking out for our
river!
October 19, 2009
question
Do you not answer the questions asked of you? Frank
Yes, we try to answer all questions asked of the board
in a timely manner. We have experienced difficulties
with getting some of our submitted answers posted. We
are working on this as I write. Sorry you feel we are
not accessible to you. Frank you are more than welcome
to call me or any board member at any time to further
discuss an item of interest. My cell phone number is
979.487.5189. We are all here for you and welcome your
call. Kind regards, Nancy Kanter
October 12, 2009
Question
When are you
going to update the new officers on the website? Dawn
These
should be updated now.
Question
I thought from the meeting
you had that the environmental easement would be
completed by the end of September. Have heard nothing
else about it? What's going on and when will you update
the public about this - or are you trying to hide
something? Tommy G.
The
contract is written that the easement will be owned by
Ducks Unlimited's Wetlands America; however they must
vote to add the new acreage to the existing
easement. Wetlands Ameria meets twice annually and we
anticipate final closing will be in February, 2010
immediately following the DU meeting. Thank you for
your interest. Nancy Kanter
Question
Saw in the paper this weekend that
Conoco-Phillips plant in Sweeny might become a victim of
downsizing. Someone told me they own 100% of the water
rights on the San Bernard River. What is FOR doing to
make sure we do not have problems with what happens with
the water rights? In the wrong hands this could be
devestating to our little river's life. Frank
Answer:
ConocoPhillips owns a vast majority of the water rights
to the San Bernard River, but not 100%. Water rights
are not dependent on a specific number of employees. If
Conoco-Phillips has a downsizing of personnel it
would not impact the San Bernard River from that
standpoint. Nancy Kanter
October 05, 2009
Question
We heard that
this is the last year the barges will be going up and
down the San Bernard river and was wondering if the
board had any knowledge of this. Sincerly Charles Wenzel
Answer:
According to ConocoPhillips Sweeny Refinery Public
Relations, barge transports remain vital to the Sweeny
Refinery operations and they will continue to navigate
the San Bernard River. Nancy Kanter
September 23,
2009
Question
I noticed on
the website in News that the news articles stopped July
31. What happened? There were no articles about the boat
parade or the Board of Directors election meeting. Jean
Answer
"Dear Friend of the River. You are correct Jean, there
has been a lapse in our posting of the newspaper
articles on the Website. Our all-volunteer-staff changes
from time to time and some shoes are hard to fill. Thank
you for bringing this to our attention. We appreciate
your visit to our Website and look forward to seeing you
on the River. If you are not an active member of F.O.R.,
and would like to volunteer, please contact any F.O.R.
Board or Committee member--or just 'show up' at any
F.O.R. sponsored function." Best regards, Marie
Breakiron VP F.O.R. Board of Directors
Question
What flooding of the San Bernard River did Hurricane
Carla cause? How far up the river did the storm surge
cause flooding?
Answer
One of the river residents that owned property during
Hurricane Carla, Bill Swatloski indicated he returned to
the San Bernard River three days after Carla hit to
find a water line 12" inside his house, which was built
on blocks and set up about 16". He said the water was
from the surge, not from rising water. The water
receded as fast as it arrived. Fred & I live between
the bridges, upriver from Dido's. When we purchased our
home we were told the surge water from Carla did not
come close to the house. As is the case today, flooding
on the San Bernard River depends where you live, your
elevation and if you are on the high bank.
Thanks for your question. Nancy Kanter
10/4/09
Question -I was
just wondering when the FOR website was going to be
updated to show the current board positions (president,
vice-pres, sec, etc) and current board members. It
currently shows 16, is this correct? I can't remember.
9/07
Answer - Pat Webb is still the
acting president of FOR until the October board meeting,
even though he is no longer a board member. That's the
16th person & probably the source of the confusion. At
the October 11th board meeting new officers will be
elected and shortly thereafter will be posted on the
web.
Thanks for asking the question. If you need additional
clarification, please don't hesitate to give any one of
the 15 board members or Pat a call or e-mail. Nancy
Kanter