Holiday 2000, Sea-sons Greetings!

When he took over the helm of the Seafarers’ Center of Beaumont, in August, one of Chaplain Bill Peterson’s first priorities was helping to get sailors ‘on line.’

The Seafarers’ Center, at the Port of Beaumont, now has a computer bringing Internet and E-mail access to travelers.

Peterson, a retired Air Force sergeant, is also seeking donations to bring video games, monitors and workout equipment to the facility.

As part of Peterson’s mission to attract more people to the Center, he’s also opened its doors to anyone who does work at the port. The Seafarers’ Center is open from noon to 8:00 P.M. Monday through Fridays. On Sundays, the Center’s van is available to transport seafarers to worship services. Peterson also provides a protestant church service at the Center on Sunday mornings.

The new administrator brings a special fervor to his ‘new’ job. “I had a 20 year career in the air force, followed by careers in carpentry and contracting,” explained Peterson. “But, since studying the ministry in high school, I’d always felt a special calling.”

Late last year, Peterson was encouraged by a Methodist minister to answer that call. He enrolled at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas and landed the job at the Seafarers’ Center shortly after being licensed as a local pastor.

The hours are long, but the Center’s new administrator says he has never been happier. Each year, the Port Chaplain and assistant Paula Guillory minister to the spiritual, moral and physical needs of about 4,500 sailors. That ministry includes daily ship visitation, and transporting seafarers to shopping and medical facilities, bus and airport terminals. A small shop at the Center sells toiletries, snacks and souvenirs.

The Seafarers’ Center also features a pool table, free books, magazines, puzzles and bibles. “We have a great need now for bibles printed in foreign languages,” said Peterson, “especially in Tagalog (Philippines).”

The State of Texas chartered the Seafarers’ Center of Beaumont as a non-profit corporation in January 1973. Nearly a decade ago, the Port of Beaumont donated housing for the center in a former office building at the Harbor Island Marine Terminal. Area churches provide primary funding. The International Transport Workers Seafarers’ Trust has donated recreation and office equipment, along with the Center’s new van.

The Rev. Will Stambaugh, former chaplain and administrator of the Seafarers’ Center of Beaumont, bid bon voyage to the Port of Beaumont at an August retirement party. For 16 years, Stambaugh personally ministered to more than 71,000 seafarers. He distributed thousands of books and Bibles, assisted with countless long-distance telephone calls, and wore out a couple of vans driving his charges to the mall. Port Commissioners and the City of Beaumont paid special tribute to Stambaugh for his ‘many contributions to the success of the maritime industry.’

Port Commission Vice President C.A. “Pete” Shelton, left, unveils a gift to Will Stambaugh, right, retiring chaplain of the Seafarers' Center of Beaumont, during a reception at the port’s administration building.

On the eve of a congressional vote that would permit the sale of food to Cuba, an envoy from the island nation talked trade in Beaumont.

In September, Pedro Alvarez, president of the Cuban agency responsible for buying most of that nation’s agricultural commodities from abroad, toured the Port of Beaumont and visited with Southeast Texas rice farmers.

Alvarez said he was ready to sign a contract to buy American rice, immediately. Before the 37-year-old trade embargo, Cuba bought 80 percent of Southeast Texas’ rice production.

The Texas Farm Bureau, which strongly supports lifting the embargo, arranged Alvarez’s visit.

The Port of Beaumont seeks to be part of a renewed Cuban market. Port Director Donald Allee spoke in Spanish to the Cuban delegation about the port’s desire to enter into trade agreements.

In October, President Clinton signed into law the Agricultural Appropriation Act for FY 2001, which lifts sanctions on the sale of food and medicine from the U.S. to Cuba. Under the Act, shipments to Cuba could begin as early as February.

September 14 through 18, six ships that make up Mine Countermeasures Squadron 1 attracted thousands of Southeast Texans to the Port of Beaumont for the third annual U.S. Navy Days celebration.

Sailors aboard the USS Pioneer, USS Osprey, USS Heron, USS Pelican, USS Falcon and USS Champion rolled out the red carpet offering free public tours of the state-of-the- art mine hunters.

Navy Days provides a ‘resting point’ for sailors and an opportunity for them to express community spirit.

This year, sailors from Squadron 1 also displayed that spirit by volunteering time and labor to perform community service projects. More than 100 crewmembers helped out at Boys Haven; others joined the Trinity Army of the Trinity United Methodist Church in making yard and painting improvements to a home at Franklin and Amarillo.

MCM Squadron 1 shares special ties with the Golden Triangle area. During World War II, more than 500 Navy ships were built and commissioned in Southeast Texas. The first four vessels built in Beaumont were mine sweepers.

In March of 1995, local businessman David W. Hearn Jr. decided it was time to renew the area’s historic ties to the Navy and sought to have a U.S. Navy ship commissioned at the Port of Beaumont.

The Secretary of the Navy granted the request and the Mine Hunter USS Pelican was commissioned at the port in November 1995. Since then, the USS Pelican has revisited Beaumont several times.

The last two port improvement projects approved by voters in 1997 should be completed in the New Year. Improvements will have a total estimated value of $28.2 million, including engineering and construction management services.

In Progress

• Harbor Island Wharf Improvements-The wharf will measure 1,880 feet long when a 680- foot extension is finished in Spring, 2001. Construction began on the $11 million extension in December 1999.
• Orange County Development-$3.2 million in improvements to the port’s Orange County property is laying the groundwork for future development of general cargo wharf facilities on the east bank of the Neches River. The roadbed for road and rail access was established in February 2000. Construction crews began laying water and sewer lines beneath the Neches in April. A month later, crews began driving sheet piling to construct the first 650 feet of bulkhead. Part of this port improvement project is being financed by a $1 million grant from the Economic Development Administration.

Completed

• Grain Elevator Improvements-Finishing touches to the port’s refurbished grain elevator have boosted its receiving capacity by 60 percent, from 50,000 to 80,000 bushels per hour. The first phase of the $10 million construction project, which increased the elevator’s railcar unloading capacity, was launched in March 1998 and completed ten months later. Phase 2 of construction commenced December 1999 and concluded in the summer of 2000 with installation of computer controls for new equipment.
• Railroad Track Improvements- Construction began in April 1998 and ended in October 1998 on the $2.3 million project. Improvements have helped increase the speed and efficiency of rail service to the port’s grain elevator and bulk-handling facilities.
• Roadway/Utilities Improvements- Also completed in October 1998, this $1 million project allowed for increased traffic flow in areas developed for bulk and general cargo.
• Lot #9 Box Culvert- Development of the former Neches Park Housing project property included extending the drainage box culvert under Lot 9. Construction on the $700,000 project began in July 1999 and was finished a month later.

As we approach the New Year, my staff and I are excited about the prospects for the coming year. One of the most promising developments is the potential for trade with Cuba. Legislation to lift the long-standing embargo on commerce in certain commodities – namely food and medicine – between the United States and this island nation was approved by Congress in October.

This international issue was brought home to Southeast Texas when Cuban diplomat Pedro Alvarez toured our port in the fall. The account of his visit is contained inside this issue of Welcome Aboard.

Before the ban, Cuba bought 80 percent of local rice production. Officials of the U.S. Rice Producers Association estimate Cubans could consume 400,000 to 600,000 tons of U.S. rice every year – that represents virtually the entire Texas crop.

Local rice millers tell us economics certainly favor Southeast Texas rice to serve the island nation. In 2000, Cuba spent about $100 million, or $43 per ton, to import rice. The imports, usually from Asia, took six weeks to arrive. The same shipments from Southeast Texas would cost about $14 to $15 per ton. The trip from the Port of Beaumont would take just a couple of days.

The benefits of rice trade with Cuba would be felt throughout the Southeast Texas economy. Each ton of rice shipped would provide not only employment in the growing, milling and production of rice, but would also generate jobs, revenue and economic impact for the Port of Beaumont.

We are closely monitoring this important issue, and hope to see the first shipments of Cuba-bound rice cross our docks in 2001.

And speaking of the coming year, it gives me great pleasure to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Donald R. Allee
Executive Director