A little BLESSING reminder...

Hey all! I hope you're having a good week and planning to spend your weekend with us at the Blessing of the Fleet this Saturday! The Blessing ceremony begins at 2 p.m., which means you should be in your boat outside the breakwater by 2 p.m. When the ceremony begins you will pass single file by the end of the new dock, where Father Paul will douse you in holy water. Just kidding... it's just a sprinkle. :)

A happy hour/blessing celebration will follow on the dock for a bit, where we'll be selling Blessing tees for $10 each - proceeds benefiting the Pontiac Firework Fund. Then we'll make our way up to the Pontiac Park pavilion, where the Pontiac Relay for Life team (the "Pontiac Lake Bums") will start selling food at 5:30 -- it's a pig roast/fish fry, and they'll have hot dogs too. Plus sides, desserts and beverages. They're also selling plastic souvenir cups - $2 each. And PCM is providing beer... hopefully it will last all night, but in case it runs out, you should have a back-up in mind. :)

And finally, for your listening (and dancing) pleasure, we are so excited to announce the Original Uncivil Servants Reunion are playing from 6 to 10 p.m. at the park.

It isn't too late to RSVP! Remember, it isn't mandatory to RSVP. It just gives us a better idea of what to expect. Thanks.

Let's just hope we are blessed with nice weather this year! Looking good so far... See you Saturday!

Nice Fish

Zack Lawrence, Florissant, caught these fish a couple weeks ago... The largemouth on the left weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces.

Beautification

These two have been working away today to make the dock look nicer. Angie has applied a sealer to the whole building, and she's working on the deck around it. Roger is tacking a rubber bumper around all the gas dock slips. It is a beautiful day!

Mike's New 'Do

Mike shared this photo with us. Apparently he just got a haircut! Looks pretty good...

Remembering David Relyea

On Monday David Relyea (pictured left at the Pontiac Lake Cleanup last fall), of Mountain Grove, was killed in a plane crash south of Ava. Dave and his wife, LouDonna, are long-time customers and friends of Pontiac Cove Marina. I looked back at some old records today and found that they have been stall customers at least since 1985, if not earlier than that. So you probably know his face, and you've surely heard his voice come across your marine radio on behalf of the Goldfire, the sailboat they keep at the boat dock.

The best way I know to describe Dave is as an always cheerful, fun-loving world traveler who truly lived his life to the fullest. And he was a great storyteller. Among many other things, he really loved Bull Shoals Lake. He enjoyed flying, and anytime he was in the area he liked to "buzz" the boat dock. In fact, I had been meaning to ask him to take a new aerial photo of the marina. The one we have is so old, it doesn't even show the new dock... I never got the chance.

Based on what was reported on KY3 (click here) and what I have heard from other people, Dave and a friend were on their way back from lunch at Gaston's on Monday when the plane crashed into a ravine in a heavily wooded area south of Ava. The passenger was able to walk away from the accident and call for help. Details about the cause of the crash are unknown at this time.

David is survived by his wife, LouDonna, a daughter, Heather, and a granddaughter, Savannah. And many, many friends. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 21, at the Mountain Grove YMCA. Call 417-926-6737 for directions. Also, the family has requested that any donations should be made to the Mountain Grove YMCA.

In other sad news... Judy Kirgan, a Pontiac resident and long-time customer of Pontiac Cove Marina, died on Monday at the Baxter County Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 19, at Clinkingbeard's Funeral Home in Gainesville. A dinner at the Pontiac firehouse will follow.

And finally, I'd also like to mention we lost another dear friend and boat dock customer last month, Helen Beard. Helen and her husband, Ron, have lived in Pontiac for many years. Helen is the sister of Pontiac resident Chris Geroff.

Our condolences to the families and friends of David, Judy and Helen.

Fishing Tourney Results

Sixteen teams fished the Verne D. Cubbage Memorial Buddy Bass Tournament Saturday out of Pontiac , despite the cold and morning drizzle. And fishing was pretty good. Twelve teams weighed a total of 72 fish—a total weight of about 160 pounds. James Henning and Richard Taber (pictured above), both of Theodosia, placed first (a payout of $530) with 27 pounds, 3 ounces. Mark Sanders and Randy Lawrence, both of Ava, placed second (a payout of $300) with 25 pounds, 13 ounces. Bobby Comstock and Tommy Skinner, both of Protem, placed third (a payout of $200) with 21 pounds, 14 ounces. Ray Richardson, Hardenville, and Jerry Coleman, Mountain Home, placed fourth (a payout of $150) with 20 pounds, 14 ounces. Mike Guidorzi, Fenton, and Matt Wade, Pontiac , placed fifth (a payout of $100) with 19 pounds, 14 ounces. Mark Sanders and Randy Lawrence also weighed the big bass and won $160. Several door prizes were handed out. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. There is already talk of the tournament becoming an annual event. We'll keep you posted.

Howdy Paul!

In addition to Mike Cochran... another friend and neighbor is currently working as a civilian in Iraq. Paul Sturgeon headed over a couple weeks ago, and he'll be there for about three months doing telecommunications for the United States government. I received an e-mail from him last week, and it went something like this...


"i am doing fine... been working too many hours.... as far as being in the desert it is not hot here should have brought my coat. had to buy a sweat shirt to keep warm in the am. i think it is going to get hot real soon though. anyway have to go take care be home soon.
paul"

Paul and his wife, Carol, are currently developing Lost Cove Resort about a mile from the marina up Highway W. We'll keep you posted on their progress, and what Paul is up to as well.

Ohhh... just tie it back together...

This walkway was also dangling in the water after the wind gust yesterday. So there were actually two breaking points... here... and the one in the pic in the previous post. There are a few broken boards, as you can see in the top left corner of the pic... Repair work under way today.

Bye-bye dock...

This is the uncovered dock situated in the back of the cove... don't worry... it's attached now. :) There are a couple pontoons on the dock, and they are fine, as far as we can tell.

This was spooky...

That's an ominous sky... wow. We had a little wind today. One of the docks broke loose... the one situated in the back of the cove. It's going to need a little repair work, but nothing major. Craig Mincke and Frank Mellenger were on the dock at the time, and when it broke loose they were stuck! They were nice enough to stay and help Tim, Josh, Matt and Angie patch things up for the evening. As far as we can tell there was no damage to any boats. Here are a couple sky pics.

Happy Easter!

It was a cold one. A few folks went fishing, and the good news is fish are still being caught, despite the cold. Crappie, bass and even a walleye or two.

Another call from Mike...

Mike Cochran called today. He is doing well. The weather report from Iraq is that it has been cool enough in the evenings that he has been wearing a jacket. It must be cooler there than it has been here! That's hard to believe.

This week he saw ruins of a structure that was built by Alexander the Great sometime between 400 and 300 B.C., which he thought was pretty cool. I asked him to e-mail me some pictures so I can post them on the blog. He said he's waiting for his digital camera to arrive. Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll be receiving pics from him and can share them with you.

Also, he said to let Jackie (Just Jackie's restaurant on the hill above the marina) know he would be calling to order another pizza, but he would appreciate it if the jalapenos weren't cold this time.

:)

Still feels like summer in Pontiac... but for how long?

It's been a beautiful couple of days here in Pontiac. Yesterday the temp hit about 85, and it sure did feel like summertime. Today is about as warm, but the wind seems to be picking up, and everyone keeps saying we're going to get storms. Let's hope not. The temp is supposed to drop, so Easter weekend probably won't be quite as warm as we might like, but it may still be close to 60 degrees and the sun will (hopefully) be shining, according to weather.com. That's not so bad, huh? For you out-of-towners, you can always check out the local radar at ky3.com. Or just click here for the latest forecast from Springfield station KY3.