Salute To Subs

Will submarine U.S.S. Dallas find a final resting place near downtown?

The City of Dallas' namesake submarine has returned from sea for the last time. The U.S.S. Dallas docked in Connecticut on November 25, ending a deployment that began in 1981. If Mayor Mike Rawlings and the City Council get their way, the U.S.S. Dallas will be the centerpiece of the Dallas Maritime Museum.

The proposed 30,000-square-foot museum would be located at 1501 S. Riverfront Blvd., just off the Trinity River in the Cedars neighborhood with a view of downtown Dallas to the north. Of course, those plans depend on the city raising $80 million in donations. The dates for groundbreaking or opening of the museum have yet to be announced, but officials are aiming for sometime in 2016 or 2017.

If the U.S.S. Dallas sounds familiar, that's because it's had a role in several pop culture pieces, most notably as the American submarine used to search for Russians in Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October. The sub, which is 362 feet long and 33 feet wide, would occupy one of three maritime vessel berths at the museum.

U.S.S. Dallas was the seventh out of 61 total Los Angeles-class submarines built. It was commissioned in 1981 and has deployed to every operational theater around the world ever since.

The submarine circumnavigated the globe, transited the Panama Canal and participated in Operations Desert Shield/Storm in the ’90s. Crewmember William D. Williams said the 32-year-old vessel has a unique spirit that is hard to define. The crew called it "the Dallas difference."

"You have to be part of it to experience it," Williams said in a statement. "Our crew is certainly one of the finest I have ever served with."

Officials hope the U.S.S. Dallas will be the centerpiece of the proposed Dallas Maritime Museum.

Coast Guard News Flickr

Officials hope the U.S.S. Dallas will be the centerpiece of the proposed Dallas Maritime Museum.

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Avian Flu News

Wildlife authorities now find avian flu in mammals in Texas Panhandle

Photo by Katie Oxford

Raccoon in a trap.

The avian flu creeps closer and closer: According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), recent testing has detected Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in mammal species in Texas including foxes, raccoons, striped skunks, and domestic cats located in the Texas panhandle in Deaf Smith, Hansford, Lubbock, Ochiltree, Parmer and Randall Counties.

These detections were found via a collaboration between TPWD, the Department of State Health Services Zoonosis Control branch, and the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab.

They follow similar discoveries in wild birds across Texas, with recent detections in Amarillo, El Paso, Galveston, Harris, Lubbock, Potter, Travis, and Wharton counties.

HPAI has now been detected in all 50 states across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It's a highly contagious zoonotic virus that transmits easily among wild and domestic birds. It can spread directly between animals and indirectly through environmental contamination.

For mammals, transmission occurs primarily through consumption of infected animal carcasses, although mammal-to-mammal transmission is possible.

Signs of HPAI in mammals can vary based on species but can include ataxia (incoordination, stumbling), tremors, seizures, lack of fear of people, lethargy, runny or crusty eyes and nose, coughing and sneezing, or sudden death.

TPWD recommends wildlife rehabilitators remain cautious when intaking wild animals with clinical signs consistent with HPAI to limit the potential for exposures to other animals within the facility.

They're still insisting that the risk of avian influenza from infected birds being transmitted to people remains low, but people should take basic protective measures (i.e., wearing gloves, face masks and handwashing) if they must make contact with wild animals.

animals health