Blowout this Saturday...

A little snippet of what you have to look forward to this Saturday afternoon... :0)

Big Daddy

Mrs. Brenda Kankey had the biggest catch last night... Look at the size of those chompers!

Mike Cochran, Brenda and Larry Kankey, Skip and Angie Dechau, Josh Simpson, Pat Godwin, Bob Gunkel and Matt were the catching crew last night. Click here to see all the pics from the crawdad hunt. (Oh, and check out the snapping turtle Josh caught while looking for crawdads... He was awfully feisty.) Remember, the boil is tonight, 7:00, at the pavilion in the park. Anyone and everyone is welcome. Bring a chair. Bring a beverage. Bring a dessert (if you want!!), but it's not necessary. Just come down and have fun!

Doggie Doo

I was just looking back at some old blog posts, and I noticed a comment from (I believe) a few weeks ago! I apologize for not responding to this sooner... An anonymous person commented that some folks are not cleaning up after their pets leave a "mess" on the new dock. Please, please, please take care of this if your pet does this. There are 84 boat owners sharing that space. Allowing your pet to leave presents for your neighbors and then not cleaning it up is not a nice thing to do. And that goes for any person on any dock, not just the new dock.

Crawdad Boil this Thursday night!

Mike Cochran is home! At least for a little while... He is set to leave again August 9, to head back to Iraq. If you haven't seen him and hugged his neck, I suggest you do so asap! He just stopped by my office and informed me the crawdad boil is THIS WEEK! Everyone is going to the river Wednesday night to catch them. If you want to help catch them meet at the dock around 8:00 Wednesday night to carpool and caravan over there. If you plan to get in the water don't forget to bring a towel and maybe a change of clothes. If you have a mask/goggles and a dive light, bring those, too. The boil is Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the pavilion in the park. For those of you who haven't been before... the boil includes crawdads, corn on the cob and potatoes. If you'd like to bring another side or dessert, please do so. Also, BYO beverages and a lawn chair. Mike says if you can't help catch, and you don't have time to make a dish or dessert... it does NOT matter! Please come anyway! The more the merrier. And if you think you're anti-crawdad, at least give them a try. They really are quite tasty.

WATER, WATER, WATER!

The electric problem on the new dock is fixed! The water will be back on first thing tomorrow morning. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you so much for your patience.

New Faces

Okay, so I don't have pictures to post at this time... But I'm sure you're wondering who some of the newbies are pumping your gas at the dock this summer. The tall blond-headed young man is Spencer Wade. A-ha! Another Wade! Yep, he is Matt's first cousin. He is a student and plays baseball at York College in Nebraska. He'll be with us through mid-August. You all know Sam... he's been with us for several summers now. (He is a sophomore at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, in case you didn't know.) His younger brother, Lucas, is new at the dock this year. He has curly hair and looks like Sam! The other new young man helping us this year is Rice Voss. His family has been enjoying the lake since before he was born! He and Lucas are both high school students at Gainesville. And finally, Jana Engstrom is a brand new employee. She is Aaron's older sister -- Aaron has been with us a few summers now. Jana is picking up a few shifts a week -- she already has a full-time job! So... there are their names! I'll try to get them to let me take their pics, and I'll post them here soon.

Body of Keith Akridge found

I just heard this morning... Apparently divers recovered the body of Keith Akridge last night. Click here to read about it.

28th Annual Blowout!

I've been working on a summer newsletter, which includes details on our upcoming customer appreciation party, among other things. And I'll have it in the mail by tomorrow. However, I thought I'd go ahead and let you know the date and details so you can mark your calendar and plan to be there.

The Blowout is set for Saturday, August 4. As many of you know, we changed things up a bit last year by moving it out of the sweltering park to a lakeside location. The turnout was great, the feedback even better. Almost all of you came by boat and stayed in the water all afternoon. We provided meat and beverages, along with music by a local D.J. It was an afternoon event that ended by 7-ish. Since we had the Blessing picnic in the park back in April this year -- when it was cool enough to enjoy it -- we've decided to have the Blowout lakeside once again this year. We'll give you the exact location a little later. Just plan to spend the day with us on August 4. If you'd like, you may drop your side dish at the dock Saturday morning, and we'll transport it to the site so you don't have to try to bring it by boat. We suggest you use disposable dishes, and please bring a serving utensil if your dish requires one.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Questions? Ask me. Cheers!

Sad news...

As far as I know the body of Keith Akridge, the missing person from Saturday night's boating accident, was not recovered today.

Click here to read an update on KTLO's website. Douglas Rogers (Mammoth Spring, Ark.), the passenger in the bass boat that was involved in the accident, died this morning at St. John's Hospital in Springfield.

Well folks, I still don't really have anything new to report on the boating accident that happened Saturday night, or the search for Keith Akridge. This afternoon David Catanese, a reporter for Springfield television station KY3, and a cameraman came by the dock looking for answers about it. We really couldn't help them because we don't really know what is going on except that the search is still on. We suggested they go to Oakland, which is where, as we understood it, is the base for the investigation. However, they came back later looking to rent a pontoon to get out to the accident site, and Josh (boat dock employee) offered to drive them. David reported live at 5:00 from the road above the launch ramp at Pontiac. Based on his report, apparently some of the other victims involved in the crash were out on the water today assisting divers and others in pinpointing the exact place where the two boats collided, perhaps to better determine where they might recover the body.

That's really all I know. Keep the family and friends of Keith Akridge, and the other victims, in your thoughts and prayers.

Update

Click here to read an update on KTLO's website about the boating accident Saturday night.

Boating Accident

There was a boating accident on Bull Shoals Lake last night at the Missouri-Arkansas border near Pontiac. One boat involved was a bass boat carrying a father-son fishing duo. The other was a ski boat carrying at least six people. The driver of the ski boat is still missing. Search and recovery efforts are under way. A Pontiac first responder said five helicopters responded to the accident -- I believe four were Air Evac helicopters and the fifth was involved in the search of the missing man. I found this story on KTLO's website -- KTLO is a radio station based in Mountain Home, Ark. Click here to read what the radio station reported. I'll keep you posted as I learn more details.

Ooooh.... Ahhhhh....

This is from the Pontiac fireworks Sunday night.

And the winner is...

The fireworks were awesome last night! I've heard several people comment that they were the best ever. Great job to everyone involved. And those of you who made donations over the past year... you can pat yourselves on the back, too!

We drew for the $500 gift certificate to the marina, and the winner is Don Malter. He is a new dock customer this year. So congratulations to Don!

We also drew for 2-night stays to Roo-B-Doo, Cactus Ridge and Pontiac Lodge. Sonny and Dottie Stroud won TWO of those! Rich Delassus won the third.

And finally, we drew for the patriotic quilt that was made and donated by Cheryl Mattingly. Micky Iseminger won that! She is a lucky gal. (You might recall she also won a $100 gift certificate to Just Jackie's at the Blessing.)

Helpers Wanted

We are lucky to have a good group of folks helping set up the fireworks display this afternoon. Bill Bauer, Jerry Conner, Skip & Angie Dechau, Brenda & Larry Kankey, Dennis Kroeker... and I know I'm forgetting a few... Anyway, if you would like to help clean up tomorrow you can check in at the marina in the morning. It doesn't take long if there are several people helping. So, if you're bored, it might be something REALLY fun for you to do! All helpers are much appreciated.

2:45 p.m. Fireworks a go.

Fireworks are ON!

It is now 12:45 p.m., and I've just been told the fireworks are still a go. Puhleeeeeaaaase let the rain stop and the sun shine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rain, rain go away...

As of 7:45 this morning the Pontiac fireworks are still on for tonight! Well... a group of volunteers are getting ready to start setting up anyway. Optimism. It's dreary and rainy, and the radar doesn't look great this morning. BUT, it's early. We're a little less than 14 hours from go time. (The fireworks are scheduled for about 9:30 tonight.) A lot can happen between now and then! Stay positive. And stay tuned.