BringBackBolivar.com - Bring back the Bolivar Peninsula and Crystal Beach, Texas

Beach Out and Help Someone

Beach Out and Help Someone
by Stephanie Johnson
Saturday, October 11, 2008

"Beach Out and Help Someone", the first coordinated clean-up event for Bolivar Peninsula, has been scheduled for Saturday, October 18.

District Judge Bob Wortham (Jefferson County) was able to obtain verbal approval from Galveston County Judge, Jim Yarbrough for this event to take place. Judge Wortham indicated that Judge Yarbrough will allow volunteers to enter the peninsula without proof of property ownership.

We are asking that those interested in volunteering visit www.rebuildbolivar.com or send an email to bolivarpeninsula@gmail.com for more information. Please be patient as we work to update the website with all of the necessary details and information.

Additional clean-up days are being planned so there will be multiple volunteer opportunities available. Please also visit www.restorebolivar.com for additional information.

Stephanie Johnson

Read story at source: http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000012807

Meeting Alert

Meeting Alert

An informative meeting of citizens concerned
about the rebuilding of Bolivar Peninsula.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
Jefferson County Courthouse, Jury Impaneling Room
1001 Pearl, Beaumont (The new part of the courthouse)
Be there early to get a good seat.

Speakers to be announced

Youtube video

Bolivar Peninsula videos at YouTube.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_slhrNpO5s

Return to Crystal Beach

Return to Crystal Beach
by Vance Redden
Saturday, September 27, 2008

I was one of the first ones in at 6 am. It was dark, but the destruction was too visible even in the lights of the RV I was driving.

I saw all of the photos prior to my reentry, but this was real. Fields of debris. I had to drive around a slanting electric pole. I barely missed it. I found the truck I had left behind parked in the Post office lot.

It had been blown back into a ditch with other vehicles and had three to four inches of mud on the seats, in the glove compartment, back of the truck etc. A total loss. I managed to salvage a rod and reel that I figure can be cleaned off, oiled and used again. That's it.

For the locals that didn't make it back, the Eagle's Club is more or less gone. The ballroom caved in, all windows blown out, and not much to look at. I was the last guy to win a pool tournament there. My name was on the wall. American Caf� did not fare well as the photo will attest to. Bob's Restaurant looks like it was hit by a bomb and travel trailers behind the restaurant wrecked and mangled. I had friends there.

Nature's Best RV Park wiped clean. Dick and Dottie must be devastated just like their property. Main building gone too. Foundation left behind to mark the spot, but covered with so much mud and sand that you still can't see it. Cars and trucks everywhere, turned on their backs asking for mercy. Miles of what looks like open land with debris scattered as far as the eye can see. Pilings are plentiful but nothing sits on top of them. I had to slow down for a wandering cow to cross the road.

Bolivar RV Park seemed serene. Main building looked fine if you didn't look too close. A couple of trailers rolled, but the lake was looking good, and I saw a couple of ducks strolling around wondering where all the people went. I bet you that George Vratis will be back. He's the owner and the kind of guy you would want at your back in a pinch.

Service trucks everywhere: their crew's job: to get electricity back up. To what? No customers. Coming back toward Winnie, traffic was backed up all the way to Spindletop Bayou. Maybe 20 miles or so. I am still skellshocked. Rebuild? That's what people are saying. Forget it. Nothng to rebuild. Starting from scratch is a better term. I drove all the way back at about 40 miles an hour. Nobody passed me. I had tears falling most of the way. Wondering about all the people. Where did they go? What will they do now? Businesses gone, homes gone; lives changed forever. It's not about the buildings. It's about the people. Neighbors. Friends. Where are you? What now?

Vance Redden for Guidry News Online
www.vanceredden.com

Read Story at source: http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000012396

GLO Post Ike Emergency Rules summarized

Ike Emergency Announcements

Texas General Land Office
News Release
Thursday, September 25, 2008

GLO Post Ike Emergency Rules summarized

AUSTIN - The day Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson issued emergency rules that allow coastal property owners to immediately begin work to stabilize and repair structures damaged by Hurricane Ike.

A brief summary of those rules follows:

* For 120 days after Sept. 12, local governments may issue permits for repair of residential structures without regard to the proximity of those structures to the line of vegetation (LOV).
* Repair permits are valid for 180 days
* Repairs may be made to protect public health safety and welfare, and to prevent further damage to the structure
* Local governments may authorize repair of a septic system landward of the LOV if the system complies with TCEQ and local government rules

PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES:

* Repairing or constructing a slab of concrete, fibercrete, or other impervious material
* Placing material other than beach quality sand on the beach
* Repairing or constructing an enclosed space, including a space with breakaway walls below the base flood elevation
* Increasing the footprint of the structure

PLEASE NOTE:

At the present time, LOV determinations are not needed for emergency repairs except for dune restoration or septic system repairs.

This is a summary. Please refer to the complete rules at www.glo.state.tx.us (select "Ike Hurricane Response").

Contact the local permitting authority before commencing any activity. A permit detailing specifically what is to be done will need to be issued.

Bolivar Peninsula �not a pretty sight�

Bolivar Peninsula �not a pretty sight�

By Corey Roepken
The Daily News

Published September 24, 2008
LEAGUE CITY � Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said Wednesday Bolivar Peninsula is facing a recovery time period that �will be longer than we ever imagined.�

Speaking candidly at the county commissioners meeting at Walter Hall Memorial Park, Yarbrough said it may be six months until power is restored in High Island and as long as one year on the West End.

It�s a situation he said that is not conducive to economic development. Yarbrough said if people live in High Island it will be a quality of life categorized by hardship.

�Bolivar Peninsula, that�s a tough one,� Yarbrough said. �It is not a pretty sight. Unfortunately, there will be people who don�t stay long because they will see they have nothing left.�

The committee extended a curfew in High Island and expected to start re-entry into the area Friday. He said the county health district will be on hand Friday in High Island to give free tetanus shots. The Red Cross and FEMA both will have representatives there, too.

High Island will remain under curfew. Areas further west on the peninsula will remain under an order to vacate.

Read story at source: http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=9182d26e3685b46f

Return to Bolivar Peninsula

Return to Bolivar Peninsula
by Jim Guidry
Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Residents and property owners will be allowed to return to the BolivarPeninsula for a �look and leave� visit beginning at 6 a.m. on Friday.

�Finally we have been able to get all the pieces in place to have a re-entry to BolivarPeninsula,� said Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough. �A lot of hard work has been done by TxDOT and our road department to get that bridge at RolloverPass accessible. We are working with the State to bring other resources to the residents.�

�We�ve got the road bridge finishing up this afternoon,� said Commissioner Patrick Doyle. �Tomorrow, we will be getting all the PODs (Points of Distribution) all in place; portapots, all the supplies, water, ice all those sort of things.�

Although County officials are working to supply the PODs in time for the Friday re-entry, Doyle advised returning residents and property owners to bring supplies, such as water, ice and mosquito spray, �because we may not have supplied all our PODs by then.�

Residents and property owners will be permitted to drive across the bridge between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day; and will be asked to leave at 4 p.m. Law enforcement will be present to maintain order and to assure that all persons leave after 4 p.m.

PODs with ice, water, portable toilets will be set up at CrenshawSchool and the FaggardCenter, as well as at HighIsland. People are urged to have tetanus inoculations before returning to the Peninsula, but the Galveston County Health Department will be giving shots at the POD at the HighIslandSchool.

Registration forms to facilitate re-entry will be posted on GuidryNews.com prior to the beginning of the program.

Many people have expressed concern that the forms have not yet been posted, but Doyle stresses that they can be filled out on the scene.

�No one will be turned away,� Doyle said. �We just need proper identification.�

Read story at source: http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000012311

Return to Bolivar Peninsula Update

Return to Bolivar Peninsula Update
by Jim Guidry
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Galveston County officials met this morning to discuss the logistics to allow residents and property owners to return to the Bolivar Peninsula, to check their property and leave.

Commissioner Pat Doyle said that the plans now will allow residents and property owners to drive their own vehicles across the bridge at Rollover Pass.

Read the story at the source: http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000012280

KHOU Poll to bring back Bolivar

http://www.khou.com/perl/common/surveys/display_full.pl?poll_id=20389&site=khou&vaction=voting&thissite=khou
I can't believe it's so close (obviously the people voting no have never been to Bolivar).

Also this article:

Officials vow to 'Bring Back Bolivar'
11:27 AM CDT on Monday, September 22, 2008
Daily News staff report
BOLIVAR PENINSULA � Ann Willis has lived on the Bolivar Peninsula for 48 years. She loves the �Jimmy Buffet way of life� so much that she made a living selling and leasing homes on the peninsula to others who wanted their own slice beachfront heaven.

Hurricane Ike, though, turned much of the peninsula and its communities of Crystal Beach, High Island and Gilchrist into a vision of hell. Many worry that the peninsula won�t come back.

From across the nation via the Web, though, thousands are chanting �Bring Back Bolivar.�

Read full story at source: http://www.khou.com/news/local/galveston/stories/khou080922_tnt_bolivar_peninsula.9f83cc0d.html

Officials committed to rebuilding Bolivar

Officials committed to rebuilding Bolivar

By TJ Aulds
Correspondent

Published September 22, 2008
BOLIVAR PENINSULA � Ann Willis has lived on the Bolivar Peninsula for 48 years. She loves the �Jimmy Buffet way of life� so much that she made a living selling and leasing homes on the peninsula to others who wanted their own slice beachfront heaven.

Hurricane Ike, though, turned much of the peninsula and its communities of Crystal Beach, High Island and Gilchrist into a vision of hell. Many worry that the peninsula won't come back.

From across the nation via the Web, though, thousands are chanting �Bring Back Bolivar.�

Despite rumors that the peninsula would be taken over by the government and turned into a national park, state and local officials have all echoed the mantra that indeed Bolivar Peninsula will return.

DPS: High Island residents given limited access

By Chris Paschenko
The Daily News

Published September 18, 2008
HIGH ISLAND � Authorities began Thursday allowing residents to return to High Island to retrieve their belongings and survey damage to their homes.

Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brad Crone said the order allows only High Island residents to return from dawn to dusk.

Crone was stationed at a roadblock just north of state Highways 87 and 124, prohibiting anyone but emergency responders south into Gilchrist, Crystal Beach or Port Bolivar.

�It�s High Island residents only as of right now,� Crone said. �And you have to have property identification.�

Plan for Bolivar in works

By Sara Foley
The Daily News

Published September 17, 2008
BOLIVAR PENINSULA � County officials are developing a re-entry plan for residents of the Bolivar Peninsula.

Officials will start escorting residents to the area community by community, allow them to stay long enough to assess damage and gather belongings, and then have them leave again, County Judge Jim Yarbrough said.

Some homes on the peninsula are salvageable, Yarbrough said.

Officials estimate 200 to 250 residents are still on the peninsula, and evacuations of those residents are ongoing.

Copyright � 2008 The Galveston County Daily News