By:  Galloway                                          S.R. No. 132
    1-1                           SENATE RESOLUTION
    1-2        WHEREAS, Port Arthur Day will be celebrated at the State
    1-3  Capitol on February 6, 1995, and the Texas Senate is pleased to
    1-4  join its citizens as they gather in Austin to express their pride
    1-5  in their beloved city and extol its notable assets; and
    1-6        WHEREAS, The community spirit displayed during this happy
    1-7  occasion is understandable as Port Arthur is one of the state's
    1-8  busiest ports whose cargo tonnage annually averages 23,000,000;
    1-9  nearly a million barrels of crude oil are refined in the area
   1-10  every day; and
   1-11        WHEREAS, Located in Jefferson County nine miles from the
   1-12  Gulf of Mexico on the northwest shore of Sabine Lake, Port Arthur
   1-13  was named for Arthur E. Stillwell, president of the Kansas City
   1-14  Southern Railroad, who was instrumental in bringing the railroad
   1-15  to the townsite in the late 1800s; and
   1-16        WHEREAS, With the discovery of oil at Spindletop in 1901,
   1-17  the facilities at Port Arthur were used for pumping the oil
   1-18  into sea-going vessels, refineries were built, and the town's
   1-19  population mushroomed; and
   1-20        WHEREAS, Port Arthur's proximity to the Gulf of Mexico
   1-21  makes the city a fisherman's paradise with more than 25 varieties
   1-22  of excellent saltwater and freshwater fish available year round;
   1-23  and
    2-1        WHEREAS, The McFaddin and Texas Point National Wildlife
    2-2  Refuges south of the city are home to a large waterfowl
    2-3  concentration, including snow and Canadian geese and 23 species
    2-4  of ducks, that reaches 100,000 in number; and
    2-5        WHEREAS, Visitors and tourists to Sea Rim State Park and
    2-6  Pleasure Island enjoy observing the wildlife, taking pictures,
    2-7  hunting, fishing, crabbing, and camping; and
    2-8        WHEREAS, Sabine Pass Battleground State Historical Park marks
    2-9  the site of a Civil War battle between a Union fleet numbering 20
   2-10  ships and 5,000 men and 42 Confederates whose fire from six cannon
   2-11  devastated the gunboats and forced the Federals to retire to
   2-12  New Orleans; and
   2-13        WHEREAS, The citizens of Port Arthur are to be commended for
   2-14  their magnificent efforts to provide an excellent community to
   2-15  raise their families while developing a sound economic environment;
   2-16  now, therefore, be it
   2-17        RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
   2-18  74th Legislature, hereby recognize the important contributions the
   2-19  City of Port Arthur has made to the citizens of Texas and join its
   2-20  residents in paying tribute to their city on this special day; and,
   2-21  be it further
   2-22        RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for the
   2-23  City of Port Arthur as a memento of this notable occasion.
   2-24                               ______________________________________
   2-25                                       President of the Senate
    3-1                                    I hereby certify that the above
    3-2                               Resolution was adopted by the Senate
    3-3                               on February 1, 1995.
    3-4                               ______________________________________
    3-5                                       Secretary of the Senate
    3-6                               ______________________________________
    3-7                                        Member, Texas Senate