The Equalizer
Sabine District Transportation Club
Member of Traffic Clubs International
Please keep our troops and their families in your thoughts and prayers.
Volume 10 Issue 03, March 2010 S.D.T.C., PO Box 20103, Beaumont, TX 77720
It’s that time of year for our annual shrimp boil! The committees are ready, the plans are complete, and we are ready for some fun! The menu consists of boiled shrimp, potatoes, corn, drinks, and desserts. Door prizes are going to be raffled as well.
Gather your friends, family and co-workers. Reservations can be made by calling any board member or a member of the calling committee, faxed, or e-mailed.
The calling committee: Gene Landry – 350-7017, Mike Garza 724-8853, Joe Ochoa- 791-3255, or Sherry Eckerle-791-3259. Fax number (409)842-5154., e-mail address: Sherry.Eckerle@sbcglobal.net
No cancellations can be made after April 9, 2010 at 3 pm.
Event information:
What: Sabine District Transportation Club Annual Shrimp Boil
When: April 13, 2010
Where: Elk’s Lodge,
11431 N. Hwy 90 (College St.), Beaumont, TX. 77713, Ph: (409) 866-4318
Time: Doors open at 5:30 pm; Serving begins at 6:45 pm
Cost: $25/person
Reservations: preferred in advance (limited number of tickets available at the door)
Note- tickets cannot be mailed after 4-2-2010 to ensure arrival – they can be picked up at the door
Reservation Form for April 13, 2010 Shrimp Boil
Please make reservations for _________persons at $25/ea.
Check is attached (___)
Bill me (___)
Will pay at the door (___)
Signed_______________
Date _________________
Firm____________________________________________
Phone________________
Address_________________________________________
Clip and mail to S.D.T.C., PO Box 20103, Beaumont, TX. 77720,
fax (409) 842-5154,
Ph 350-7017 Gene Landry, or
Sherry Eckerle (409) 791-3259,
Or Joe Ochoa (409) 791-3255
You can also e-mail your reservations to: Sherry.Eckerle@sbcglobal.net
Cancellations cannot be accepted after 3pm on April 9, 2010.
National Transportation Week Raffle
Drawing: May 11, 2010
Cost: $2/ea. or 3 for $5
Need not be present to win!
4- Astros tickets and parking pass – Sponsor: Clark Freight Lines
Golf packages at:
Kosatti Pines – Sponsor:-Coushatta Casino
Bayou Din – Sponsor: Bayou Din
Brentwood Country Club- Sponsor: Brentwood Country Club
Sam Rayburn Country Club – Sponsor: Sam Rayburn Country Club
Gift Cards from:
$50 – The Cattle Company – Sponsor: The Cattle Company
Oil change from Meinke – Sponsor: Meinke
Overnight stays from:
MCM Elegante – Sponsor: MCM Elegante
Hampton Inn – Sponsor: Hampton Inn
Hilton-Gardens – Sponsor: Hilton Gardens
Bayou Din Sam Rayburn Kosatti Pines Brentwood
Spring Golf Outing May 11, 2010
Be sure to mark your calendar as this will be our only golf outing for 2010!
Date: May 11, 2010
Location: Bayou Din
Time: 1:00 tee time
Cost: $65/golfer (includes fee, carts & dinner)
Four Man scramble – everyone welcome
Dinner following the golf outing at Bayou Din
Great prizes, fellowship and fun planned for this event!
You can register your team at the Shrimp boil or by calling Bubba Metz at 299-0301, Gene Landry at 350-7017 or Sherry Eckerle at 791-3259.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
National Transportation Person of the Year: Each year our club recognizes one of our members who have made outstanding contributions in the field of transportation. This year our committee consists of Joe Ochoa, Sherry Eckerle and Gene Landry. Should you have a nominee, please get in touch with this committee or fill out the form below & submit it to one of these committee members
Please fill in the name of a current member of the Sabine District Transportation Club that you feel has made significant contributions towards transportation, logistics and our club. This nomination will be kept confidential and the winner will be announced at the awards dinner on May 11, 2010.
Please fax this form to 842-5154, e-mail Sherry.Eckerle@sbcglobal.net, or phone 350-7017 Gene Landry or 791-3255-Joe Ochoa or 791-3259- Sherry Eckerle.
Many thanks to Marc Sheppard of the Texas Department of Transportation for being our guest speaker at our March meeting.
Good news, the corridor of IH10 under construction from Beaumont to Louisiana will soon be through! However, we heard it first from Marc; 2012 is the start of some major traffic delays with the beginning construction of a new Neches River bridge. A much needed bridge is going to cost travelers some major down time. TXDOT estimates that morning rush traffic should clear each day around 11 am.
One of the most unanswered questions for TXDOT is how to solve the Texas Transportation funding crises. While motor vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient, the less fuel is purchased- the less fuel tax/surcharges are made to TXDOT at the pumps to fund new roadways or repair to old ones.
Some asked why the new Trinity River bridge was so high when there is no ship channel activity under it. Well, it has to do with a Coast Guard ruling on how high the bridge had to be built in accordance with their ship channel regulations.
Marc is available for any questions you may have and he also maintains the Beaumont TXDOT blog, The Center Lane.
Be sure to visit their website:
http://www.txdot.beaumont.blogspot.com/
National Transportation Week
May 16 thru May 22, 2010
Calendar of Scheduled Events:
April 13, 2010 – Annual Shrimp Boil
May 10, 2010 – National Transportation Week
National Transportation
Person of the year
Spring Golf Outing
NTW raffle drawing
June 8, 2010 – Out for Summer! – No Meetings
July 13, 2010 – Fish Fry at Rich Courville’s
Board Meeting Announcement:
There will NOT be a Board of Director’s meeting in April.
We will reconvene in May.
We invite you to come and be a part of NTW celebrations beginning with the Spring Golf Outing, & ending with the raffle drawing that night!
Mayoral Proclamation for National Transportation week to be given by Mayor, Becky Ames, on May 4, 2010.
Watch for pictures of this event in the next Equalizer
National Transportation Week
May 16 thru May 22, 2010
Keep informed!
Visit the regional web site: www.ntwhouston.org
To see events scheduled throughout the week in the region.
Celebrate!
Web Site Update: To reach the web site from the Internet: http://www.txsdtc.org
To retrieve the Equalizer from the server: http://www.txsdtc.org/equalizer/march/2010/ or from the web site: txsdtc.org
Be sure to visit our sponsors listed both in the Equalizer and on the Web Site…
The Easter Celebration
As with almost all "Christian” holidays, Easter has been secularized and commercialized. The dichotomous nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not necessarily a modern fabrication. Since its conception as a holy celebration in the second century, Easter has had its non-religious side. In fact, Easter was originally a pagan festival.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity. They did so, however, in a clandestine manner.
It would have been suicide for the very early Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.
As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.
The Date of Easter
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Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. However, a caveat must be introduced here. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.
The Lenten Season
Lent is the forty-six day period just prior to Easter Sunday. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is a celebration, sometimes called "Carnival," practiced around the world, on the Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday. It was designed as a way to "get it all out" before the sacrifices of Lent began. New Orleans is the focal point of Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. Read about the religious meanings of the Lenten Season.
The Easter Bunny
The Easter bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.
The Easter Egg
As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.
From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.
Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter Baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.
Remember to celebrate this Easter in the church of your choice. Have a safe and Happy Easter!
