texascavers Digest 10 Oct 2011 01:10:03 -0000 Issue 1406
Topics (messages 18736 through 18749):
Re: missing guy in Indiana
18736 by: David
18742 by: Mallory Mayeux
18748 by: Nico Escamilla
Huautla book prices
18737 by: David
18738 by: Herman Miller
Re: Huautla book prices - beware
18739 by: Jim Evatt
October meeting of the PBSS
18740 by: J. LaRue Thomas
PBSS October meeting I forgot...
18741 by: J. LaRue Thomas
Rod Goke Memorial
18743 by: Butch Fralia
18746 by: Mark Minton
18747 by: Butch Fralia
Beetle causing headache for NEISD
18744 by: Joe Ranzau
TCR!
18745 by: Allan Cobb
TCR hot tub
18749 by: pstrickland1.austin.rr.com
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--- Begin Message ---
This is part 2 to my previous post on the story about the alleged
missing spelunker.
Disclaimer: The post below is pure speculation and I am only posting it for
someone who might be really curious about this missing caver's personality.
The moral to this post is that if you ever end up missing, your
web-postings are going
to be scrutinized with a magnifying glass, by somebody.
Out of curiosity I dug all thru Kevin Eve's Facebook page looking for
a needle in a haystack,
to see if there was any hidden clue to this young man that might tip
off to something.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=70805114&sk=info
I see very little to indicate he is really into caves, other than a
few really lame photos from
one trip in 2007 and another in 2010, to a cave not far from the town
he lives in.
None of his friends appear to be cavers and I did not see that any of
their friends appeared
to be cavers, ( just skimmed thru a few selections, though ).
His last post was Sept. 20th, which might be considered odd for a 25
year old male, but he does not appear
to be an avid Facebook user. ( Maybe he was too busy caving ?? )
That post indicates that October is
going to be a busy month, and he is looking forward to Expo 5.
http://www.expofive.com/1024_upcoming.html
And especially a concert of October 16th ( 9 days from now ).
So that would seem to rule out suicide. Right ?
He comes across as a dorky guy for being 25 and had few real friends (
that used Facebook ). I looked at a sample of his
176 Facebook friends, and very few mentioned anything and those that
did, only forwarded the news-link to
the newstory, and offered no sense of worry or added concern.
It is clear that he doesn't take Facebook seriously and his writings
are an attempt
at sarcastic humor. Possibly a sign of immaturity for a 25 year old guy.
( like I am some kind of psychologist ! )
His Facebook account seems wide open, meaning that he doesn't care
that anybody like me, can
dig thru his personal stuff. You would think a 25 year old, would
not be so naive.
But still nothing obvious stands out. He doesn't seem to be a
full-scale loner,
but does post, on Sept. 17th, that he "was cleaning out the house," and getting
rid of his vinyl music collection. Why would a non-married man do
such a drastic thing ?
That could be a red-flag. He does not seem to be involved in any
hobbies or associated
with any social clubs. If true, that might lead to speculation that
he was a loner,
and unhappy.
On August 10th, he wrote, "I wonder if the human race is going to succeed,"
indicating disappointment with the riots in London.
His favorite music band is the one below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlDbqbLFqk&feature=related
Music is subjective, but listening to that band, made me wonder if the
human race would succeed.
He doesn't seem to show up anywhere else on the web, and certainly not
anywhere that mentions caves or grottos.
In summary, after all that, I found nothing suspicious that would say,
"hey take a look
at this."
In today's era, a young person going off solo for a hike in the woods,
would have a cell-phone,
and communicate with their friends on the web, by letting them know
that they went hiking,
or post a photo or something. His silence seems odd to me. And
who would leave
a BMW out in the middle of nowhere for several hours unattended ?
I sense there is
more to this story than a young man lost in a cave.
David Locklear
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
David, you need to get underground. That's all there is to it. If you applied
the time you have to psychoanalyze this random guy's life to actual
cave-related activities, there is no limit to what you could accomplish.
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 8, 2011, at 12:39 AM, David <[email protected]> wrote:
> This is part 2 to my previous post on the story about the alleged
> missing spelunker.
>
>
> Disclaimer: The post below is pure speculation and I am only posting it for
> someone who might be really curious about this missing caver's personality.
>
> The moral to this post is that if you ever end up missing, your
> web-postings are going
> to be scrutinized with a magnifying glass, by somebody.
>
>
>
> Out of curiosity I dug all thru Kevin Eve's Facebook page looking for
> a needle in a haystack,
> to see if there was any hidden clue to this young man that might tip
> off to something.
>
> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=70805114&sk=info
>
> I see very little to indicate he is really into caves, other than a
> few really lame photos from
> one trip in 2007 and another in 2010, to a cave not far from the town
> he lives in.
>
> None of his friends appear to be cavers and I did not see that any of
> their friends appeared
> to be cavers, ( just skimmed thru a few selections, though ).
>
> His last post was Sept. 20th, which might be considered odd for a 25
> year old male, but he does not appear
> to be an avid Facebook user. ( Maybe he was too busy caving ?? )
> That post indicates that October is
> going to be a busy month, and he is looking forward to Expo 5.
>
> http://www.expofive.com/1024_upcoming.html
>
> And especially a concert of October 16th ( 9 days from now ).
>
> So that would seem to rule out suicide. Right ?
>
>
>
> He comes across as a dorky guy for being 25 and had few real friends (
> that used Facebook ). I looked at a sample of his
> 176 Facebook friends, and very few mentioned anything and those that
> did, only forwarded the news-link to
> the newstory, and offered no sense of worry or added concern.
>
> It is clear that he doesn't take Facebook seriously and his writings
> are an attempt
> at sarcastic humor. Possibly a sign of immaturity for a 25 year old guy.
> ( like I am some kind of psychologist ! )
>
> His Facebook account seems wide open, meaning that he doesn't care
> that anybody like me, can
> dig thru his personal stuff. You would think a 25 year old, would
> not be so naive.
>
> But still nothing obvious stands out. He doesn't seem to be a
> full-scale loner,
> but does post, on Sept. 17th, that he "was cleaning out the house," and
> getting
> rid of his vinyl music collection. Why would a non-married man do
> such a drastic thing ?
> That could be a red-flag. He does not seem to be involved in any
> hobbies or associated
> with any social clubs. If true, that might lead to speculation that
> he was a loner,
> and unhappy.
>
> On August 10th, he wrote, "I wonder if the human race is going to succeed,"
> indicating disappointment with the riots in London.
>
> His favorite music band is the one below:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLlDbqbLFqk&feature=related
>
> Music is subjective, but listening to that band, made me wonder if the
> human race would succeed.
>
> He doesn't seem to show up anywhere else on the web, and certainly not
> anywhere that mentions caves or grottos.
>
> In summary, after all that, I found nothing suspicious that would say,
> "hey take a look
> at this."
>
>
>
> In today's era, a young person going off solo for a hike in the woods,
> would have a cell-phone,
> and communicate with their friends on the web, by letting them know
> that they went hiking,
> or post a photo or something. His silence seems odd to me. And
> who would leave
> a BMW out in the middle of nowhere for several hours unattended ?
> I sense there is
> more to this story than a young man lost in a cave.
>
> David Locklear
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
At least he goes underground unlike other people who just talk about it on
cavetex
On Saturday, October 8, 2011, David <[email protected]> wrote:
> This is part 2 to my previous post on the story about the alleged
> missing spelunker.
>
>
> Disclaimer: The post below is pure speculation and I am only posting it
for
> someone who might be really curious about this missing caver's
personality.
>
> The moral to this post is that if you ever end up missing, your
> web-postings are going
> to be scrutinized with a magnifying glass, by somebody.
>
>
>
> Out of curiosity I dug all thru Kevin Eve's Facebook page looking for
> a needle in a haystack,
> to see if there was any hidden clue to this young man that might tip
> off to something.
>
> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=70805114&sk=info
>
> I see very little to indicate he is really into caves, other than a
> few really lame photos from
> one trip in 2007 and another in 2010, to a cave not far from the town
> he lives in.
>
> None of his friends appear to be cavers and I did not see that any of
> their friends appeared
> to be cavers, ( just skimmed thru a few selections, though ).
>
> His last post was Sept. 20th, which might be considered odd for a 25
> year old male, but he does not appear
> to be an avid Facebook user. ( Maybe he was too busy caving ?? )
> That post indicates that October is
> going to be a busy month, and he is looking forward to Expo 5.
>
> http://www.expofive.com/1024_upcoming.html
>
> And especially a concert of October 16th ( 9 days from now ).
>
> So that would seem to rule out suicide. Right ?
>
>
>
> He comes across as a dorky guy for being 25 and had few real friends (
> that used Facebook ). I looked at a sample of his
> 176 Facebook friends, and very few mentioned anything and those that
> did, only forwarded the news-link to
> the newstory, and offered no sense of worry or added concern.
>
> It is clear that he doesn't take Facebook seriously and his writings
> are an attempt
> at sarcastic humor. Possibly a sign of immaturity for a 25 year old guy.
> ( like I am some kind of psychologist ! )
>
> His Facebook account seems wide open, meaning that he doesn't care
> that anybody like me, can
> dig thru his personal stuff. You would think a 25 year old, would
> not be so naive.
>
> But still nothing obvious stands out. He doesn't seem to be a
> full-scale loner,
> but does post, on Sept. 17th, that he "was cleaning out the house," and
getting
> rid of his vinyl music collection. Why would a non-married man do
> such a drastic thing ?
> That could be a red-flag. He does not seem to be involved in any
> hobbies or associated
> with any social clubs. If true, that might lead to speculation that
> he was a loner,
> and unhappy.
>
> On August 10th, he wrote, "I wonder if the human race is going to
succeed,"
> indicating disappointment with the riots in London.
>
> His favorite music band is the one below:
>
> Circa Survive "I Felt Free" (Acoustic)
>
> Music is subjective, but listening to that band, made me wonder if the
> human race would succeed.
>
> He doesn't seem to show up anywhere else on the web, and certainly not
> anywhere that mentions caves or grottos.
>
> In summary, after all that, I found nothing suspicious that would say,
> "hey take a look
> at this."
>
>
>
> In today's era, a young person going off solo for a hike in the woods,
> would have a cell-phone,
> and communicate with their friends on the web, by letting them know
> that they went hiking,
> or post a photo or something. His silence seems odd to me. And
> who would leave
> a BMW out in the middle of nowhere for several hours unattended ?
> I sense there is
> more to this story than a young man lost in a cave.
>
> David Locklear
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Check out these prices for Bill Steele's book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0939748703/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used
Note that is the "used" price.
Amazon still has 5 new ones in stock for $ 25.00
I believe AMCS has it for only $ 23, so check with them at TCR.
David Locklear
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
This is a great book about the glory days of caving and is a turbulent
account of both the early explorations in Huautla and Bill Steeles (aka
Mannov Steel) life. A great read, a real life Tom Sawyer if you will.
Herman Miller
On Saturday, October 8, 2011, David <[email protected]> wrote:
> Check out these prices for Bill Steele's book:
>
>
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0939748703/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used
>
> Note that is the "used" price.
>
> Amazon still has 5 new ones in stock for $ 25.00
>
> I believe AMCS has it for only $ 23, so check with them at TCR.
>
>
>
> David Locklear
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
A heads-up for internet book buyers:
A number of internet sites specialize in buying and reselling other
bookseller's books, to order, at a staggeringly inflated price. They do not
have the listed book in stock, instead they get an order from someone, buy
the book from a bookseller who has the volume in stock, and resell it for a
markup that often exceeds 1000%. The listings at the website that David
mentioned may, or may not, fall into this category.
Know who you are buying from!
Jim Evatt
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
All,
The next meeting of the Permian Basin Speleological Society is Tuesday October
11 at 7:00 p.m. We are still at Murray's Delicatessen in Midland, Texas.
Murray's is is located at 3211 West Wadley in Midland. We meet in the back room.
We have officer elections in November and so far have no nominees. Bill Bentley
is not available for another round. So bring your nominations to this meeting
or email your suggestions to an officer. (Nominees don't have to be NSS members
but officers sure do.) We have to set up ballots before the November elections.
We have an upcoming (Hallowe'en) trip to ESS and a Veteran's Day weekend dig
trip to Sonora to discuss.
Any and all are welcome! For further infomation about the Permian Basin
Speleological Society contact: Jacqui Thomas [email protected], or Bill
Bentley [email protected], or Patrick Ray [email protected]
PBSS web page:
http://www.caver.net/pbss/pbss.html
The Permian Basin Speleological Society was founded in October 1983 and was
chartered as the 300th grotto of the National Speleological Society on January
18, 1984. The Permian Basin Speleological Society is an affiliated grotto or
Caving club with the Texas Speleological Association and the Southwestern
Region of the National Speleological Society and supports the cave conservation
ethics of the National Speleological Society.
National Speleological Society web page:
http://www.caves.org/
Texas Speleological Association web page:
http://www.cavetexas.org
Southwestern Region of the NSS web page:
http://www.caves.org/region/swr/
_______________________________________________
PBSS mailing list
[email protected]
http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/pbss_caver.net
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
We have Murray's back room starting at 6:00 pm so plan on coming early for
dinner or at least a beverage.
Jacqui Thomas
President, PBSS
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I've added a Rod Goke Memorial to the TSA website. It can be found at:
http://www.cavetexas.org/memorial/RodGoke.html. If you'd like me to add
your comments or you have photos to add, please send them on.
Regards,
Butch Fralia
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
According to previous postings and the funeral page, his
first name was spelled Louis, not Lewis... The NSS just listed him
as L. Rodney.
Mark
At 03:27 PM 10/8/2011, Butch Fralia wrote:
I've added a Rod Goke Memorial to the TSA website. It can be found
at: http://www.cavetexas.org/memorial/RodGoke.html. If you'd like
me to add your comments or you have photos to add, please send them on.
Please reply to [email protected]
Permanent email address is [email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I've corrected the spelling. I had no idea his first name was Louis and
copied and pasted from the funeral home page. Someone must of spotted the
error and told them as someone did here and told me.
Regards,
Butch
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Minton [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2011 1:17 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Rod Goke Memorial
According to previous postings and the funeral page, his
first name was spelled Louis, not Lewis... The NSS just listed him
as L. Rodney.
Mark
At 03:27 PM 10/8/2011, Butch Fralia wrote:
>I've added a Rod Goke Memorial to the TSA website. It can be found
>at: http://www.cavetexas.org/memorial/RodGoke.html. If you'd like
>me to add your comments or you have photos to add, please send them on.
Please reply to [email protected]
Permanent email address is [email protected]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]
For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Beetle causing headache for NEISD
By Jennifer R. Lloyd
[email protected]
Updated 12:30 a.m., Sunday, October 9, 2011
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Beetle-causing-headache-for-NEISD-2209744.php
It's brown, eyeless and lives in a cave.
Though this creature may sound like a fairytale villain, it's actually
an endangered ground beetle — Rhadine exilis — whose habitat is
threatened by Bexar County's urbanization and population growth,
according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Black Cat Cave, which lies under Bulverde Road south of Evans Road, is
one of the few caves in the world thought to be the home to the tiny
invertebrate. It's close to the 81-acre site of a proposed middle
school that North East Independent School District plans to build if
voters approve a $399.4 million bond proposition on Nov. 8.
The school district and a real estate development company with
property nearby have asked the government to remove Black Cat Cave
from the beetle's critical habitat list, claiming the beetle does not
live in the cave and possibly never did.
USFWS officials said they'll consider that information before issuing
a ruling in February.
The beetle measures less than half the diameter of a dime and eats
cave crickets' eggs or small organisms that live on cave cricket
feces. Changes to the vegetation around the cave could impact the
crickets' foraging area, and thus reduce the beetles' food supply,
according to the USFWS.
The beetles' habitat — limited to about 50 limestone caves in north
and northwest Bexar County — faces threats from the filling of caves
during development, capping and sealing cave entrances, human contact,
and changes to drainage patterns and native plants that live on the
surface. Another threat is contamination from runoff, pesticides and
sewer leaks.
“(The endangered invertebrates) are part of the state's natural
history and they represent a unique ecosystem in the Texas Hill
Country,” said Adam Zerrenner, an Austin-based USFWS field supervisor.
Proposed expansion
Last winter, the USFWS proposed expanding critical habitat areas for
nine Bexar County invertebrates, including this beetle.
The 250-foot-long Black Cat Cave also is part of the Edwards Aquifer
recharge zone, said Bill Seawell, a USFWS biologist.
“If that area is a clean, well-functioning ecosystem for these
species, then there's a good chance that it's also good for the
Edwards,” Zerrenner said. “If the water is clean, then it would be
good for people.”
The proposed expansion would increase the 40-acre critical habitat
area around Black Cat Cave to 187 acres, which would overlap part of
the district-owned site for the proposed school. The critical habitat
designation doesn't require restoration or recovery measures unless
the project uses federal dollars or is on federal property.
If voters approve the bond, the school would not be built with federal
dollars. The district designed the site plan to use culvert bridges
across a creek bed without touching it because the bed is considered
federal property and touching it would trigger those additional
federal requirements.
“Our construction plan is well thought-out and will have no impact on
the Black Cat Cave area or any endangered species in this area,”
Garrett Sullivan, the district's executive director of construction
management and engineering, said in an email.
The $65 million building, one of 18 projects in the bond proposal,
would alleviate overcrowding and likely would be the last middle
school the district will construct, according to officials at the
area's second-largest district.
Anthony Athens, the district's director of planning, said enrollment
at the closest middle school to the bond project, Tejeda Middle, has
been capped since 2009.
School crowding
Athens said 180 students in Tejeda's attendance zone have to attend
Bush, Driscoll and Lopez middle schools. By 2020, the district
projects another 850 middle school students will live in Tejeda's
attendance zone.
“Without this new middle school, we just do not have the capacity
north of 1604, and we will be forced to change boundaries,” North East
Superintendent Brian Gottardy told the school board during a recent
meeting.
The nearly 209,000-square-foot school would accommodate 1,250 to 1,500
students and incorporate green building features such as a water
reclamation system. It might achieve LEED Silver rating, the second
step up on the LEED scale for school construction, Sullivan said.
The district also strives to preserve “natural vegetative zones” at
school sites, he said.
Zerrenner said he had not received any information about the possible
school and could not comment on whether it would threaten the beetle.
He said the district could approach USFWS to discuss whether the
district should create a habitat conservation plan.
Richard Heilbrun, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist,
said those building near an endangered species habitat could come to
both Texas Parks and Wildlife and the USFWS for guidance on whether
modifying the construction plan or mitigating harm by preserving land
elsewhere would be necessary.
“People tend to hear endangered species and become alarmed,” Heilbrun
said. “But there are almost always opportunities to make small changes
for the benefit of both the project and the natural resource.”
If a property owner harms an endangered species without such an
agreement, that person could face civil penalties, such as fines or
forced mitigation, said Eric Jumper, a USFWS special agent.
Development planned
Capital Foresight Limited Partnership, a real estate development
company based in California, owns about 30 acres of commercial
property within the beetle's critical habitat. It petitioned USFWS to
remove the critical habitat designation from the company's land.
In April, an attorney for the North East ISD filed a letter of support.
Gil Berkovich, a partnership manager, said the company plans to
develop single-family homes in the area.
The petition, submitted by SWCA Environmental Consultants on behalf of
the company, states that despite multiple surveys of the cave, no one
has seen or collected a specimen since the 1987 initial report of the
beetle in Black Cat Cave. The petition suggests that the beetle
labeled Rhadine exilis was actually a different species.
“If they don't remove the designation, for somebody like me it makes
it extremely difficult to obtain financing or sell it,” Berkovich
said. “You can't understand how much money and delay this has caused
us.”
The petition also claims road construction on Bulverde has compromised
the cave's integrity. The city is widening the road from two to six
lanes, which will be done by 2013, said Roland Martinez, spokesman for
the city's Capital Improvements Management Services.
The city's consultant surveyed the cave and found no beetles,
according to a statement from the department. The city continues to
send survey results to USFWS annually.
“If the cave was a real problem, they wouldn't be building a
(six)-lane road,” Gottardy said.
Allan Cobb, president of the nonprofit Texas Cave Management
Association, said the debate over the status of Black Cat Cave
emphasizes the importance of protecting the area's biological
diversity.
“While this one cave, in the grand scheme of things, may be fairly
insignificant, it's part of the overall picture,” said Cobb, who has
seen some caves destroyed while others were developed around with
minimal impact. “Any cave where you have endangered species living,
they're competing for our resources. ... People want to build. People
want to live there. ... Oftentimes, those two things are at odds.”
Staff Writer Colin McDonald and News Research Director Michael Knoop
contributed to this report.
Read more:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Beetlecausingheadachefor-NEISD-2209744.php#ixzz1aHrg0tjE
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Howdy y'all,
In a week, TCR will be over. That means lots of things will be
happening over the next few days to make TCR happen. I hope all of you
can come out to Flat Creek Ranch (www.oztotl.com/tcr for directions).
I was hoping for rain and it looks like it is happening. Next week and
next weekend look like they will be dry. This weekends rain means that
there should be plenty of fresh water in the pond! It should also help
cut down on the fire danger a little. We still won't be able to have
ground fires because of the burn ban.
Everything is coming together and hope to see y'all there!
Allan
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I am planing on getting to TCR Thursday afternoon, and could use some help
putting the hot tub together that evening, before dark, so it can be filled
with well water that night. There will be lots more to do Friday like setting
the cool pool and sauna etc. If you can help call me 512-897-9235 Pete
--- End Message ---
