Houston Police bust unexpected underage drinkers at the Houston Rodeo during spring break.

Year after year the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo attracts hundreds of thousands of people and for most it’s not their first time. Sandra Burton, 40-year-old Houstonian, has been to the rodeo more times than she can count.

“I’ve lived in Houston my whole life,” Burton said, “and I’ve been coming to the rodeo for as long as I can remember, sometimes a few times a year, and now I even bring my kids.”

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo brings people of all ages and all different walks of life. Spring Break is one of the rodeo’s biggest weeks and attracts all ages of students including college kids who come to town to see old friends from home and have a few drinks. This spring break was no exception with concerts like Eli Young Band and Brad Paisley.

Spring break at the rodeo also means a heightened alert for the Houston Police Department. More students mean more concern for underage drinking. Police officer JK Burton said this year was one of the worst he’s seen in awhile.

“In the past two nights I’ve been out here, I’ve personally busted 17 underage drinkers, and a few of those were taken to jail.” Burton said.

So where did these kids get alcohol? Burton couldn’t say, but with alcohol venders at every corner selling $8.00 beers and $12.00 margaritas there’s plenty of suspicion. Bags and purses were checked at the gate to prohibit any outside food or beverage coming in.

Randy Lim, a 22 year old junior from University of Texas at Austin, was almost one of Burton’s unexpected victims. Lim met a girl early on at the carnival and naturally offered to buy her a drink.

“One of my buddies is dating her friend and all the girls she was with were 21, so I assumed she was too,” Lim said. “I offered to buy her a beer and she took it. I had no clue she was only 19 or I wouldn’t have bought it for her.”

Officer Burton confronted Lim and the underage girl as soon as he handed her the beer. He asked for her ID and the embarrassed 19 year old immediately started crying.

“I didn’t even know what was happening when she started crying, then the officer came up to me and asked if I’d bought the beer,” Lim said, “Then I knew what was happening.”

Burton only gave him a warning, but wrote the crying young girl a ticket. A Minor In Consumption ticket can leave you a hefty fine and a suspended license, but a ticket for providing for minors can put you in jail. Lim got away lucky, and said he’ll definitely be more careful with who he offers a drink to next time.

Laurin Hoffpauir wasn’t so lucky. She used a fake ID to buy several beers while inside the rodeo. It wasn’t until her and her friends got back outside to the carnival that she got busted with her own MIP ticket. Burton got two for one when he found the girls.

“I’ve been using my fake for like two years and never got caught,” the 20 year old from Houston said, “I’m only a few months away from 21 so it sucks that I got caught now.”

Two of her friends also got MIPs at the same time, one of whom also had a fake ID. The girls used the fake IDs to buy their third friend a margarita. The IDs were taken away, and they left right after that.

There are consequences for underage drinking, and the rules are being strictly enforced at the rodeo.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will continue to run until the last weekend of March, ending with Justin Bieber.

Kite Festival Soars Into Town this Spring Break

Hundreds of kites flew overhead at Zilker park Sunday, March 14 during Austin’s 82nd annual Kite Festival.

Organized by The City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department and The Exchange Club, the popular festival usually takes place the first Sunday in March, but was postponed this year due to rain. Although the wind was not very strong, thousands of people came to enjoy the competitions, food, music, and fun.

Katie Hammen, senior at Texas Tech, stared into the sky kite with her kite string in hand.

“ I am not very good at this, but I love coming every year to see everyone else’s kites,” said Hammen.

Every year the festival holds a homemade kite flying competition, open to anyone who wants to enter. Events include steadiest, strongest pulling, most unusual, smallest and largest. Participants have to follow one basic rule; nobody is allowed to cut another's kite strings.

Erin Todd, fourth grader at Oak Hill Elementary, brought her homemade kite to the festival Sunday.

Unfortunately the low wind conditions took a toll on Erin’s blue and yellow paper kite.

“ It flew once before, but today I can't get it off the ground,” said Todd.

For those who did not bring a kite there was plenty of other activities to enjoy. Ruthanne Shobe, mother of three, watched as her children play on the moonwalk.

“This festival is a great opportunity to spend time as a family,” Shobe said, “And we can be here all day without spending too much money.”

Free admittance to the festival seemed to be popular perk among the crowd.

“This year I didn’t have enough money to go to the beach for spring break, so I have just been enjoying Austin events like this,” said Hammen, “SXSW is next on the list for me.”

Each year since 1929 the Austin Kite Festival has entertained Austinites and inspired creativity in children, with hopes to do so for many years to come.

Spring Break at home can still be fun

Spring break translates to trips to Cancun, Acapulco, and South Padre for many college

students, while for others it translates to a trip back home.

Spring break is a time where all students can relax and not worry about the hassles of schoolwork and exams. Some students take this opportunity and go somewhere fun and exotic, while others head back to their hometowns.

Although the connotation of going home for spring break sounds dull and uninteresting, many college students find ways to make a simple trip home full of fun activities.

Texas State University graduate Taylor Kleimann found ways to make her spring break a memorable one even though all she did was go home.

“I took my boyfriend and my best friend home with me to my ranch in Willis,” Kleimann said. “Watching my best friend fish for the first time was an experience I’ll never forget.”

Now not everyone lives on a ranch where not only can you fish, but ride horses as well, so others had to find more creative ways to have fun.

Texas Christian University sophomore Spencer Requa was invited to a color themed party thrown by one of his high school friends.

“Each person invited to the party had to wear a specific color and there were games and contests to see who would win the rainbow jar of jelly beans,” Requa said. “It was so random, but I had tons of fun.”

Many times the choice of student’s spring break destinations depends on their available funds, and in the present economy those funds can be hard to find.

Kailin Bennett, sophomore at Texas Women’s University, knew that a trip for spring break was not a feasible reality this year.

“I’m actually saving my money for a mission trip to Cuba this summer, so I didn’t have any extra money to go towards taking a trip for spring break,” Bennett said.

Other students decided to work over the break to make some extra money that could be used for trips later on.

Even with the responsibility of having to go to work, students found ways to make the most of the little time they did have to relax and have fun.

Katie Stapleton, sophomore at Texas State University, worked for most of her break, but was still able to find little things that brightened up her break.

“My mom and I visited the Fort Worth Zoo and the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens,” Stapleton said. “Just being able to go do things that I hadn’t done in a long time made it feel like I was on vacation somewhere else.”

Spending spring break at home with family might not sound like the best college experience, but there are always things you can do to have fun wherever you are.

Lake Amistad Welcomes Spring Break Anglers

It’s a mild march weekend in Texas. Spring break has started for many and there is no doubt college students are migrating to Texas’ many beaches and lakes. That’s a pretty easy prognostication to make. However, Spring Break welcomes more than just students ready to have a good time and enjoy their week off, it starts off some of the largest bass fishing tournaments in the country, bringing in hundreds of fisherman ready to catch big fish for big prizes.

According to March always produces more big Texas largemouth bass than any other month, a function of the fishes’ physiology and the bass anglers’ behavior. Most of the heavy fish are more commonly females. As spring approaches and water temperature begins its steady climb from winter lows, female largemouths that spent the winter developing eggs that add to their heft, begin moving out of their deep-water winter quarters and into warmer shallows to lay them. This means fishing time for bass anglers.

About a 200-mile drive from San Marcos, straddling the Mexican and American border, lies a true gem in the desert, Lake Amistad. With over 850 miles of shoreline and 68,000 acres of sparkling water, it's one of the largest and most popular lakes in Texas. According to www.nps.gov, boaters and fishermen at Amistad enjoy one of the longest and warmest lake seasons in the country with a boating season that starts earlier in the spring, and goes later in the fall than most other lakes in the US.

“It's just plain warm and wonderful most of the year,” said local business owner Debbie Hunter. "Lake Amistad's lake level is currently the highest it has been in 17 years, so all the businesses and visitors are loving the high waters,” said Hunter.

Lake Amistad boasts some of the best lake snorkeling and scuba in the state, the best bass fishing in the world, and one of the largest collections of archaeological sites anywhere. According to the U.S. Department of Interior on their website, “The Amistad National Recreation Area is home to dramatic 4,000 year-old rock art.” These mysterious paintings adorn rock shelter walls in the upper reaches of the Amistad Reservoir. Boaters can usually access Panther and Parida Caves, depending on lake level, and hikers can go on a guided tour at nearby Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site. University of Texas A&M Corpus Christi student, Anna Bruns, was asked about the cave paintings

“I camp here almost every year with my family for spring break! Lake Amistad provides a lot of historic areas that were inhabited tens of thousands of years ago and it is just hard to find place like this often with such beautiful surroundings.”

It is an appealing occasion for spring breakers. But most importantly for locals and newcomers alike, is the start of the annual Bass Masters tournament. Bass Masters welcomes different fishing clubs to participate in a largemouth bass fishing tournament with the top three places receiving cash and gift prizes.

When asked about the tournament, fisherman Ronald Carter had this to say. “I come every year to try and win this thing; even if you don’t win the heaviest fish gets its own $500 prize, fat cash for fat fish I like to say,” said Carter.

Many other tournaments for different groups are held as well. There are so many that the press is always on location ready to film and reveal results. In an opinon piece on Amistadbass.com, BASSMASTER Magazine writer, Tim Tucker blogged about the lake,

“It is simply the hottest big bass lake in America,” said Tucker.

With everything from world-class fishing, miles of shoreline dotted with private coves, ancient rock art sites and seemingly endless water sports, it's tough to choose just how to spend your spring break here at Lake Amistad whether you are an angler or a student.

The Tanning Fever

Spring break cries bikinis, flip-flops, short skirts and of course a matching deep dark tan to go along with it all.

Students were packing the salons the week before spring break, trying to get their last minute preparation in for the holiday week. At the local San Marcos tanning salon called Darque Tan the lines were out the door all week long.

Session numbers for the salon were anywhere between 200 to 300 people a day and with only 12 beds in the entire store.

“It was slammed! 30 to 45 minute waits for a bed, these kids wanted a tan and they were not leaving until they got it,” said Katie Davis, one of the employees at Darque Tan.

With session counts climbing, the employees said they welcomed the profit of last minute lotion sales and upgrade bed purchases.

The district manager Nicole Lieser commented that it is one of the busiest times of the season and one of the most profitable ones.

“People want to get that extra kick of color right before bikini time so let the kicking begin,” Lieser said.

Students appear to be going the next mile during this time to get their beach look down just right.

One tanner named Liz Alborne said she was going in for a “cocktail”. Now before the Texas Department of State Health comes busting down Darque Tan’s doors, a cocktail is not an alcoholic beverage. It is a combination of a UV tanning session and a Mystic Tan; a cosmetic spray to give the appearance of a real tan.

Alborne added that she had been so busy with last minute mid terms and papers that she was doing everything she could to get tan and fit right before the holiday.

“If you can’t tone it, tan it,” Alborne said was her philosophy.

Tanning has the ability to give some people more confidence about their bodies. Having tan skin has become like putting on makeup for some women.

“You don’t feel like a pasty ghost, you feel sexy and good about yourself, that’s what this industry is all about,” Davis said.

However, indoor tanning has long been a controversy with the accusations of the links of UV light to skin cancer.

This past year UV light was labeled a carcinogenic. A new law was even put into effect to ban tanning for all ages 16 and a half and under.

“It’s ridiculous. They are putting natural sunlight that you get every day in the same category as arsenic and mustard gas,” Lieser said.

The tanning industry has definitely been put on the “hot seat” and taken a hit to business since all of the recent negative press, but spring break has proven that there is still high demand for what is behind Darque Tan’s doors.

So if you want to get “that extra kick” Darque Tan is located right off Edward Gary Street and offers a free week to new customers. For more information, check out their web site at www.darquetan.com.

Greek students raise money for St. Jude

Texas State Greek students helped raise money for St. Jude by participating in the annual Texas State Four Square Tournament on Sunday.
The 90 teams were made up mostly of Greek Students. According to Ryan Spencer, director of recruitment, the number of teams has tripled since the tournament began in 2003.
Each team paid $20 for the entrance fee. the tournament raised around $2,000 just from these entry fees alone.
The Greek community at Texas State is very involved in philanthropy events. Cassie Richards, president of Chi Omega, notes that the whole purpose of the Greek system is to support one another and to help with great causes.
"We jump at every chance to help out someone in need," Richards said. "While we didn't win the tournament we did win most spirited and that means more than anything."
Sigma Nu won for the men's division, and Delta Zeta won for the women's division.
Pi Kappa Alpha member Blake Shorken agrees with Cassie and also believes that there is nothing more exciting than being part of a community.
"It is important to be involved in other philanthropy events because it helps you build chracter, and it gives you a sense of community and belonging," Schorken said.
Donta Gonzales, also a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, draws attention to the fact that it is not just about helping other Greeks, but also helping the San Marcos community.
"We also help with school sponsored events, and other non-Greek community service projects," Gonzales said. "The biggest one is Bobcat Build which is school wide."
Brittany Pennick, an Alpha Delta Pi member, points out that people don't realize that Greek students are dedicated to philanthropy.
"We help out with every philanthropy event we can," Pennick said. "From Make-A-Wish to the Susan G. Koman race for a cure, you name it and we are there."
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, located in Memphis, Tennessee, "is one of the world's premier pediatric cancer research centers", according to the website. Most research is directed at understanding diseases in children; identifying cures for those diseases, and promoting prevention for diseases.
Cassie Richards knows that most philanthripy events could not be successful without the help of other Greeks.
"I truly believe that this event was so successful because of the wonderful support system we have here," Richards said. "It makes me proud that I am Greek."

STORY 4: The Good and Bad of Lake Travis

It is March and spring break 2010 is here, the boats are out once again to ride the waves of Lake Travis, after a long drought kept many of the lake lovers running for the hills.

Located northwest of Austin, Lake Travis’ last public boat ramp closed Aug. 2009, which led to growing concerns about one of Austin’s main water supplies.

Karen Bondy, Lower Colorado River Authority’s manager of Water Resources Management, is in charge of the operation of Highland Lakes, which includes Lake Travis and providing water to Austin, industry and farmers.

Bondy received public and political pressure from the surrounding communities as the lake levels dropped to dangerous levels, the third lowest in the lake’s almost 70-year history.

“I would say the biggest ones were the communities around the Highland Lakes that had to spend money to reach the water level with their raw water intake. They didn't like how their lake levels were dropping because it was costing them money. The second one was the farmers,” said Bondy.

Unfortunately, for the ones who don't have direct access to the lake, such as Lake Travis resident and boat owner Ryan Zonana, there was no other option but to wait patiently for the lake levels to rise.

“The drought definitely impacted my ability to take our boat out. For starters, our cove was no longer full, and along with the rest of the ramps on the lake, ours was all dried up. But that didn’t stop me, luckily I know some people with boats on Lake Austin, which is right next door and is a constant level lake,” said Zonana.

Luckily for retired couple Tommy and LeAnne Worsham, having Lake Travis in their backyard gave them more opportunities to go out on the water despite its low levels.

“Well, in a sense, it was kind of better for us. So, there are pros and cons about living on the lake,” said Tommy Worsham.

Appreciating the beautiful weather spring brings is now here, Tommy couldn’t wait to take his boat out for a ride.

“Yeah, how about today!” said Tommy Worsham commenting on a day full of sunshine.

Recent heavy spring rains granted Worsham’s wishes. Lake Travis is officially back in action for locals and vacationers alike to relax, have some fun and explore what the lake has to offer.

Twenty-five-year-old Ryan Penny as well as many other Lake Travis residents seemed eager to get back on the lake after tolerantly waiting for the lake levels to stabilize subsequent to Austin’s most recent drought.

“I was definitely not expecting the lake levels to be were they are now. It’s a miracle! I am certainly looking forward to going out on my friends’ boats and wake board again,” said Penny.

To all vacationers, locals and spring breakers in Austin, now is the time to take advantage of one of the most popular recreational lakes in Austin!

Links:

lcra.org

laketravis.com