For more than 20 years, McLennan County Constable Travis Bailey has been helping to redefine what “disabled” means.

If you’ve ever attended his Fishing Event for Really Special People, which takes place Jan. 30 at the Heart O’ Texas Fair Complex Fine Arts and Exhibits building in Waco, you’ll know that Bailey has designed the party to highlight people’s abilities rather than their limitations.

The fishing party gives physically and mentally disabled people the chance to enjoy a day of music, food, drinks, dancing, carnival-style games, karaoke and trout fishing in a supportive and fun environment.

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. All activities, as well as food and drinks, are free.

Begun as a cooperative effort between the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Lone Star Brewery and the Governor’s Committee for People with Disabilities, the annual event is organized by Heart of Texas Industries/MHMR and Constable Bailey. The original trout tank was actually an old brewing tank donated by Lone Star.

Individuals and groups with special health care needs or disabilities are welcome, and people from across the Lone Star State make the annual trip to Waco. Last year’s crowd, including participants and volunteers, was estimated at more than 4,000 people.

Volunteers from Baylor, the Young Marines, Fort Hood, Texas Parks & Wildlife and a number of other organizations, as well as individuals who volunteer, make the event possible. Each participant has a designated volunteer to accompany them for the day.

Organizers recommend dressing warmly, as the building is kept cool to accommodate the fish.

There’s a limit of three trout per participant. Fish will be cleaned and bagged by volunteers.

In addition to the fun, families and caretakers can also learn about organizations and resources that support and offer services to disabled people.

Groups of five or more should call early to secure a time slot for fishing. For more information, call 752-8361.

Reunited with turtle

Waco angler Mark Fallon was at the Cameron Park Zoo’s Brazos River Country Exhibit during feeding time one day recently, and spent a little time watching the zookeeper feeding the fish and other creatures in one of the aquariums.

He paid special attention to the way the blue catfish were feeding, trying to glean a little extra knowledge about how to better catch them, when he saw the big snapping turtle move into the open.

Fallon asked the worker if that was the same turtle that had been at the old zoo by the Waco Regional Airport, and the guy told him that it indeed was the same one.

The keeper asked him how he would know about that, to which Fallon replied that he was the person who caught and donated the monster turtle back in 1963.

“It was before the new dam was built,” Fallon said, “and we were walking along a creek when I saw something that looked like the back of a turtle sticking out of the water. I got a stick and poled at it, and it sure was a turtle.”

The water erupted like a crocodile attack was taking place, causing Fallon and his friends to scramble for safety. Once they regained their faculties, they removed the snapper and took it to the zoo.

It only weighed 50 pounds back then, but nearly five decades later, it now tips the scales at nearly 160 pounds.

Fallon said he worked at the zoo for a while, and one of his jobs was to transport animals to the set of the Harley Berg television show, where the host would introduce creatures of the wild to his local audience.

“One day, we took the snapping turtle, along with a Galapagos turtle, to be on the show,” he said. “On the way over, I was in the back with the turtles trying to keep them from killing each other. The snapping turtle was trying to bite the head off of the other turtle, and all I could do was push them apart with my feet.”

Fallon said it was unclear whether the giant snapping turtle recognized him through the thick glass.