| Sports
Highlights Mabank Texans take third
in Mildred
By Sam Epps
Monitor Sports
MILDRED–The Mabank Texans 7-8 year-old boys machine pitch
baseball team competed in the District 12 playoffs in Mildred
last week.
The Texans beat the Palmer Bulldogs, 21-6, in the first game,
but lost to the Athens Xpress, 23-14, in their second game.
Courtesy Photo/Trinia Guttuso
The Mabank Texas 7-8 year old boys machine pitch baseball team
took third in the District 12 playoffs in the Mildred last week.
Pictured are, (from left, front row) Coy McManus, Andrew
Sullivan, Paul Guttuso, Ismael Maltos; (middle row) Caden Smith,
Travis Donnell, Cole Gaddis, Wade Kemp, Darion Peace, Hudson
Fraser; (back row) coaches Gary Kincade, Scott McManus, Chris
Kemp and Sean Donnell.
They beat and eliminated the hosting Mildred Longhorns, 20-10,
and eliminated the Palmer Outlaws, 20-3, in the nightcap.
On Friday, the Texans played the Athens Rangers for a chance to
face the Athens Xpress in the championship game.
The Texans stayed close in the game, but fell just short, losing
to the Rangers 18-14, finishing third in the tournament.
Mabank racked up a 14-1 regular season record, earning them a
spot in the playoffs.
As a playoff-bound team, the Texans had the opportunity to draft
three players from other teams in the American League to assist
them in the playoff games.
They chose Ismael Maltos of Eustace, Darion Peace of Malakoff
and Hudson Fraser of Scurry.
Keep boats clean to help
prevent spread of invasive species
Special to The Monitor
AUSTIN–During boating season this year, the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department (TPWD) is urging boaters to take extra
caution against invasive species such as giant salvinia and
zebra mussels. The best thing any boater can do to prevent the
spread of these harmful species is by keeping their watercraft
free of the small but insidious invaders.
“Zebra mussels were first documented in Lake Texoma in 2009, and
we’ve got to try to keep them from spreading any farther in this
state,” TPWD Inland Fisheries regional director Brian Van Zee
said.
The TPWD have implemented a public awareness campaign, “Hello
Zebra Mussels, Goodbye Texas Lakes: Clean, Drain and Dry” to
better educate boaters on the dangers zebra mussels pose to the
state’s aquatic ecosystems, private property and water-related
infrastructure such as water supply systems.
“Our message is simple,” Van Zee said. “If you keep or use your
boat or personal watercraft on Lake Texoma, or have operated in
out-of-state waterways already infested with zebra mussels,
clean, dry and drain your vessel before heading to any other
body of water in Texas.”
Of immediate concern in North Texas, he said, are lakes such as
Lavon, Ray Hubbard, Lewisville, Grapevine, Possum Kingdom,
Granbury and others.
These lakes are on the Trinity and Brazos River systems and they
are heavily used by recreational boaters.
“In their larval form, zebra mussels are impossible to see with
the naked eye,” Van Zee said. “This is why it’s particularly
important to clean, drain, and dry boats, even when the boat
appears to be clean,” he explained.
TPWD recommends this simple, three-step procedure for anyone
transporting a watercraft that has been used on Lake Texoma to
another water body:
• Clean all vegetation, mud, algae and other debris from the
boat and trailer before leaving the lake.
• Drain all water from the motor as well as the livewell, bilge,
bait buckets and any other compartments or systems that hold
water before leaving the lake.
• Dry the vessel and associated equipment for a minimum of seven
to 10 days during the months of May through October or for 15 to
20 days from November through April.
These drying times are approximations, and conditions such as
cooler air temperatures, higher humidity and whether or not the
vessel is kept in dry storage should be considered.
While these are the easiest preventive measures boat owners can
take to help prevent the spread of zebra mussels, boats and
other vessels that have been kept on Lake Texoma for an extended
period of time and are infested with zebra mussels may require
additional cleaning procedures.
Power-washing with water at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit and
flushing the motor, bilges, live-wells and other water intake
systems with 140-degree water will kill zebra mussels. To be
effective the water coming out of the flushed systems needs to
reach 140 degrees to ensure the entire system was exposed to
water hot enough to kill the mussels.
If it is not possible to clean the internal systems or
compartments using 140-degree water, the use of either straight
vinegar or a chlorine bleach and water solution (one-half ounce
bleach to one gallon water) can be effective at killing zebra
mussels as long as the mixture is kept in contact with the
mussels for 20 to 30 minutes.
Clean water should be used to flush the chemicals and dead
mussels from the boat following treatment. Boat owners should
check with their manufacturer to be sure using these chemicals
will not void their warranty.
Large vessels with complex water intake systems such as those
used for cooling the engine, air conditioning or personal
sanitation may require decontamination by a boat mechanic or
marina.
For more information on zebra mussels and other invasive species
see the texasinvasives.org
website.
Getting the hits right
Monitor Photo/Sam Epps
Kemp incoming high school girls work on serving at the Kemp Lady
Yellowjacket high school volleyball camp Tuesday. Next week,
volleyball camp for girls entering grades five through seven
will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, and from 1 to 4 p.m. for girls
entering eighth and ninth grades.
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