A last look at 2014 - South Jetty (subscription)
Parent and school patron Jana Snow went head-to-head with an attorney for the Port Aransas ISD during a controversy stirred by a grievance filed against former Superintendent Dr. Sharon Doughty by district nurse Melissa Ramsden. Doughty announced she would retire in January 2015, a year before her contract was to expire, but left the district in January 2014 with pay their her retirement date. Certain bird “species of concern” had done a good deal more nesting at the Port Aransas Nature Preserve since the 1,200-acre area became a preserve about five years ago, according to a bird expert who has done studies in the area. That’s true for Wilson’s plovers, snowy plovers and least terns, said David Newstead, the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program’s coastal birds program manager. Researchers found 11 nest- ing attempts by Wilson’s plovers. Ten years ago, Newstead saw evidence of six nests during a visit there. Researchers also found 13 nesting attempts by snowy plovers in 2013. Newstead said he saw none 10 years ago. Source: www.portasouthjetty.com
