Okmulgee on the Rise The

Transcription

The
A Community Newspaper - Jan/Feb 2015
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Onward and Upward Okmulgee Rising 2.0
Q & A Presentation held at Creek Council House
By Valerie Rice
In June of 2014 Ron Drake was hired
by Main Street for a 3-day consultation
that began with a presentation in the second floor of the Creek Council House.
Drake shared a dream about transforming old buildings in a downtown area by
building loft style living upstairs, while
refurbishing and opening vital businesses
downstairs. It did not take long for this
dream to catch hold and Drake moved
from 3-day consultant to 3 day a week
consultant. In 18 short months over 23
buildings have been purchased in the
downtown area, several new businesses
have popped up and many are in the
construction phase and loft living is now
available in several buildings already.
OSUIT purchased a half a city block of
buildings on Fifth Str. and the Bell building on the corner of Sixth and Morton
with plans to invest 7 million dollars.
Okmulgee was well on the rise and has
been, so it was time for a second meeting
to share what has changed and what is to
come. A public meeting was scheduled
and once again held in the Warrior Room
of the Creek Council House in a presentation called OkmulgeeRising 2.0.
Ron Drake interviewed four panels
of guests, in front of a large audience, that
began with the “big three” representatives from OSU-Institute of Technology,
the City and Creek Nation. Mayor Steve
Baldridge represented the City, Director
of the Muscogee Creek Nation Cultural
Center & Archives Justin Giles represented the Creek Council House, and OSUIT
President Dr. Bill Path represented the
college.
Mayor Baldridge shared how all entities are working together for the common
goal and how they have been able to cross
bridges like no other time in history.
Giles said Creek Nation and the resSee Okmulgee Rising on Page 8
Okmulgee’s Own
Stewart Martin
Kubota is #1
By Betty Anderson
Photo by Allen Gardner - ONN
The “Big three” representatives from OSU-Institute of Technology, the City and Creek
Nation on the panel during OkmulgeeRising 2.0. L-R: Ron Drake, Mayor Steve Baldridge,
Director of the Muscogee Creek Nation Cultural Center Justin Giles and OSU-Institue of
Technology President Dr. Bill Path.
Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store breaks Ground
By Valerie Rice
Love’s Travel Stops (Love’s) is coming off the busiest year of store openings in company history, opening 27 new locations and adding more than 2,000
truck-parking spaces. 2016 will be even more active
with plans to open more than 40 new locations across
28 states, which will be the most Love’s has opened in
a given year in our history,” according to Frank Love,
co-CEO of Love’s.
Alex Fuller, Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store
Real Estate Project manager shared the plans for their
new location during groundbreaking the first week of
January. The weather was drizzly, but a large crowd
showed up to see city officials turn over the first shovel of dirt.
Fuller said the Okmulgee location is the first of
one of their smaller tier 3 store venture they are undertaking this year. “We are excited to get started and
open.”
See Loves cont. on Page 7
According to the Stewart Martin Kubota website, the early story of Stewart Martin goes like
this…. In 1929, Stewart Martin and a partner started selling John Deere pull behinds. In 1932, Stewart
Martin decided to open his own tractor dealership
in downtown Okmulgee. Mr. Martin decided to
sell International tractors and trucks. Stewart Martin continued to sell International tractors, which
turned into Case International, until 1994. In 1974,
Stewart Martin became the first Kubota tractor
dealer in the state of Oklahoma.
Stewart Martin Kubota is now very successfully
run by the Newton Family. Kubota representatives came to Okmulgee to present Stewart Martin
Kubota with an award as having the top sales in
equipment and parts in the United States.
They have been the proud recipients of this
award for several years in the past, but this is the
first time they have received it in both Sales and
Parts and they are very proud of that.
When asked what he felt contributed to the success of sales here in Okmulgee, Joey Newton said, “I
tell everybody, it is the Lord first and the second is
the staff that we have built around us. We have the
greatest people you could have in the work force.”
Newton was proud to say, “Our motto is to treat
people like you want to be treated.” He added that,
“The friendliness and the concern we have towards
each individual customer, I think that has a whole
lot to do with it.” Their spotless showroom floor disSee Stewart Martin on Page 2
Photo by Paul Orosco - ONN
Officials threw the first shovel of dirt at the Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store the first week of
January. L-R: John Fiddler, State Sen. Roger Thompson, State Rep. Steve Kouplen, State Rep Jerry
Shoemake, City Manager Roger Ballenger, Okmulgee Mayor Steve Baldridge, Main Street Director
Heather Sumner , Alex Fuller Loves RE Project Manager and Fred Harlan.
Joey Newton proudly holds awards
Pg. 2 Okmulgee County on the Rise
January/February 2015
Okmulgee News Network
Stewart Martin cont...
from Page 1
plays Kubota proudly and a beautiful Surrey in the
corner. The yard has orange Kubota Equipment as
far as the eye can see.
He feels very strong about advertising. He said,
“When we took this place over in 2008, they did no
advertising at all. I believe to be good, you have to
advertise. We spend a lot of money each year on
advertising. “
When Newton made the decision to move here,
he was told he was doing something crazy as all getout to move to Okmulgee. But he said, “It wasn’t in
my plan, it was in God’s plan.” He said in 2011 is
when they starting winning awards, and that along
with his staff, the other part of his success goes to
the people of Okmulgee. He said, “This community
has really supported us. They are so nice and have
Photos by Betty Anderson - ONN
gone the extra mile for us.”
Above: Stewart Martin Staff at the Okmulgee location. Below: Okmulgee ShowStewart Martin Kubota now has three stores in room and awards.
the area, Okmulgee, Tulsa and Muskogee. They
started with 6 employees but they are now happy to
say they employ 45 full and part time workers.
They just opened the store in Muskogee in
March and have already doubled the sales in that
area in the first year. They are in the process of duplicating the front of the store to look like the one
in Okmulgee.
He said his customer base is about an 80 mile
circumference of Okmulgee. We are the strongest
Kubota dealer in McAlister and Tulsa is real good
to us. When we first started here we had a 20%30% market share and now we run a 74% market
share.
Joey Newton and his wife live here in Okmulgee, loves this city and feels it was a great move for
them.
Photo by Paul Orosco
Okmulgee the City of Opportunity
by Okmulgee Mayor Steve Baldridge
lice Department is shaping up so stay tuned.
On December 18th I was able to attend the 25th
Anniversary Recognition Night for the 1991 Okmulgee Lady Bulldogs State Class 3A Basketball Champions. It was an honor to recognize the coach and players.
Dear Citizens of Okmulgee,
We experienced another great Christmas and
New Years in Okmulgee. I hope everyone was able to
spend time with your friends and families during the
Holidays. The City of Okmulgee wants to thank you
for spending your dollars locally. I am looking forward to a bright 2016 for Okmulgee and Okmulgee
County.
The December City Council agenda was very
light. We did approve moving the Animal Control
from Public Works to the Okmulgee Police Department.
The Council approved adopting the 2015 International Codes these updates are used to protect the
public and they will also help with property insurance
rates. This will keep the City in line with State Law.
We also approved the engineering for Okmulgee Downtown Streetscape Phase V this will build
sidewalks from the railroad tracks on Main Street to
Wood Drive/Hwy 75. They will match the other sidewalks in our business district. The new Okmulgee Po-
I was so excited to be part of the ground breaking ceremony of the Love’s Country Store located at
the corner of Box Ave. and Hwy 75. Construction
starts this week and they plan to employee around 30
people. I think the most exciting part for my family
is the IHOP Express that will be in the store offering
seating for 68. Potential grand opening in the summer
of 2016.
The new First Family Federal Credit Union is
making progress and is located right behind Walgreens on the east side off of 20th street.
Harlan Ford’s new construction is on schedule
and plan to be open for business Spring 2016.
I would like to thank the Okmulgee County Violent Crime task force for all of the long hours they had
to spend in pursuit of at least 3 high profile crimes
in Okmulgee County. I want to thank every police
department, Henryetta, Dewar, Morris, Okmulgee,
Beggs, Okmulgee County Sheriff Department and the
Okmulgee County D.A. and Investigators. I also want
to thank the D.A. and his Office for creating this Task
Force. My condolences go out the families that were
affected by these crimes. We, as leaders, are working
hard to increase funding and staff to help fight crime
in our community.
Downtown Streetscape
Phase V Project
The City Council voted to approve a Funding Agreement with Oklahoma
Department of Transportation (ODOT) and authorized payment of $14,619.00
as the City’s 20% matching funds. This is regarding the Sidewalk Grant for
sidewalks on the East End.
The City applied for this grant in 2010 and are just now receiving it. The
sidewalks will start at the Okmulgee Creek Bridge and go across the RR Tracks
to Highway 75. The contract is awarded to R.L. Shears Company, P.C. for engineering services; however, the city will contract with ODOT who will pay for
the services.
We are four short weeks away from an election for
Mayor of Okmulgee. I have had the privilege of serving as your mayor for the last three years. Before that
you elected me your city councilman. I served on the
council for 5 years. During that time I learned about
the ins and outs of how our government operates. I
was pleased by everything we have been able to accomplish in the past eight years. Many people think
I’m crazy for wanting to hold these public offices that
provide no monetary pay. In fact I am so thrilled with
the opportunity to see positive changes in Okmulgee,
that is all the pay I need. As a child I lived in Okmulgee till my 10th grade year, my dad was a pipefitter so
we moved around often, ending up in California. We
came back for visits to family in Okmulgee frequently
over the years. I could not wait to move back here.
Fifteen years ago the opportunity for a job in Oklahoma opened up, I jumped on it. I have great love for
the city of Okmulgee and all its citizens. There are
still projects we are working on, things I would like
to have a part in developing and seeing come to fruition. I hope everyone will go to the polls on February
9th. I look forward to the next 3 years and the exciting
times in Okmulgee’s future.
Sincerely,
Steven Baldridge
Mayor, City of Okmulgee
Join the Movement...
#OkmulgeeRising
At The Orpheum
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Okmulgee, Ok
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visit:
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The Okmulgee News Network is a Digital Broadcasting Company
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1043 Okmulgee, Ok 74447
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Valerie Rice Publisher
Paul Orosco Chief Photojournalist
Betty Anderson Reporter / Editorial Assistant
Allen Gardner Photojournalist
Kelley Love Sales Associate
Okmulgee Co. on the Rise is published once a mo. (mid month)
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Bulldog Rising
Okmulgee Public Schools is Making Lemonade
out of Lemons with the Recent Budget Cuts
By Betty Anderson
Board of Education
The State of Oklahoma cut the school budget
by 47 million dollars and
the Okmulgee School
Board is working hard to
overcome this financial
pitfall.
In light of this drastic cut back, Rene Dove,
Deputy Superintendent
of Okmulgee Public
Schools, said, “All of the
cuts have put a heavy
burden on public schools
and as a result of these
cuts I’ve spent a lot of
time researching ways
to reduce the spending in Okmulgee Public
Schools. I’ve done a lot
of extensive research and
I wanted to redesign our
facilities to help with the
costs and make it consolidated as far our staffing
is concerned; with staff
we have traveling back
and forth between our
schools.”. The changes she
is recommending are:
Dove’s recommendations for the framework
of administrative positions for Fiscal Year 2017
are:
• Superintendent
• Director of Programs
and Operations
High School
• Principal
• Athletic Director
New Tech High School
•
Principal
Junior High School
•
Principal
High School / New Tech
High School / Junior
High School
•
Dean of Students
Elementary
•
Principal
•
Dean of Students
/ Instructional Coach
Primary
• Principal
• Dean of Students /
Instructional Coach
The new schools will be
referred to as follows:
OHS - Traditional Environment
New Tech High School
– Personalized Environment
Okmulgee Junior High
School – Grades 7-8
Okmulgee Elementary
Schools – Grades 3-6
Okmulgee
Primary
School – Grades PreK-2
Dove’s recommendations
for Fiscal Year 2017 are as
follows:
• Okmulgee
HS
housed in its current
facility
• New Tech HS housed
in the current HS fa-
#BulldogRising
cility
• Okmulgee Junior HS
housed the former
freshmen academy.
• Okmulgee ES housed
in the current Oklahoma Middle School
facility.
• Okmulgee PS housed
in its current facility.
Regarding the closing of the current Elementary site, Dove said,
“We are currently in the
process of researching
avenues through education grants and partnerships with OSUIT, Green
Country Vo-Tech, and
the Okmulgee Area Development Committee
(OADC). This will allow
us to repurpose the current Elementary site to
create a learning environment with is technology
centered and career focused. This will be a facility that will benefit adult
and student learning. It is
my belief, that given time,
these changes will have a
positive impact on our
district and community.
As hard decisions are being made, we are forced
to think outside the box.
This will bring exciting opportunities to our
District and I look forward to exploring these
possibilities.
Okmulgee Public Schools will
be the school choice in
Okmulgee County.”
“Life has two rules: #1 Never quit #2 Always
remember rule # 1.” – Unknown
Photo by Allen Gardner
The Okmulgee Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting
in honor of the recent opening of the Truly Yours Salon and
Boutique @ Vintage Way in December. Chamber Ambassadors welcomed the new business owner Julie Logue as a new
Chamber member. The shop is located at 112 E. 6th Street.
The boutique offers clothing and gifts for women and children and a full hair salon. Hours are Tuesday through Friday
10 to 3 p.m. on Saturdays (hours vary) Pictured L-R: David
Fetgatter Ambassador, Raymond Kennedy Ambassador, Hailey Ward, Dezarai Persinger, owner Julie Logue, Bobbie Powell Ambassador, Alicia Patterson and son Brazen, Jill Rhodes
Ambassador and Jim Martin Ambassador.
#OkmulgeeRising
Okmulgee County on the Rise Pg. 5
Blossom Shop Artist is All About Sweethearts
She went to art school in San Francisco and
studied textiles which she did for a long time. She
It’s about time to think about your sweetheart then moved back to Tulsa and due to the changwith Valentine’s Day just around the corner. The ing environment of computer based graphics for
Blossom Shop is busy getting ready and has invited textiles, she then moved to mixed media with her
a multi-talented Artist this month to the shop, who favorite being acrylics and oil pastels. She loves to
will be providing homemade Valentine’s Day cards incorporate texture into her art.
which can be viewed and purchased.
Kristen said, “We are a transfer from Tulsa and
Kristen Branham, the mother of 8 year old twins, have been in Okmulgee for four years.” She has puris a mixed media artist who has a studio in down- chased the Old Copy Depot building and has plans
town Okmulgee. Kristen is busy preparing for a to turn the upper area into lofts.
Gallery Show which will be in the Kennedy BuildShe is busy helping 102 Ristorante get ready for
ing ballroom soon.
their big opening by working on their wine bar. She
When asked how long she has been painting, has done three mosaics, an awning, a window and
she replied, “Since I was old enough to hold a paint a sign and is also working on a wine cork sculpture.
brush.”
The talent in Okmulgee is “On the Rise!
By Betty Anderson
Kristen Branham
Photos L-R - Kristen Branham Daugter outside her studio, Mosaic table and cards with an Okmulgee personalized touch. -- Photos by Betty Anderson - ONN
Valentines Day Crossword
ACROSS
DOWN
1. Often follows “taken”
6. Common inquiries
9. Tibetan monk
13. Shakira’s soccer-playing partner
Gerard
14. Down Under bird
15. Female fox
16. Greyish brown
17. *Romantic destination
18. Unable to move
19. *Valentine and the like
21. *a.k.a ____ Awareness Day to some
23. Found on grass some mornings
24. *Lover of Aeneas
25. *Special celebratory drink
28. Preakness, e.g.
30. Release of gas
35. Baker’s baker
37. “In the ____”
by Village People
39. Sound of battle
40. “Nana” novelist
41. West African
storyteller
43. ____-do-well
44. *Keep nuptials a secret
46. Alternative to truth
47. German mister
48. Nine voices, pl.
50. Seaside bird
52. Chester White’s home
53. Lack of clarity
55. Workout unit
57. *Woo
61. *Popular Valentine shapes
64. Defendant’s excuse
65. Cook’s leaf
67. Torn down
69. Imitate
70. Grave acronym
71. Treeless plain
72. *Chaucer or Poe
73. Sierra Nevada, e.g.
74. An end zone is 10 of these
1. Address abbreviation
2. Objectivity preventer
3. Greenish blue
4. *Expert archer?
5. More keen
6. Come clean, with “up”
7. Unit of electric current
8. To some degree
9. End of “traveling”
10. Figure skating jump
11. Mother in Provence
12. “Hardworking” insects
15. Relating to wine
20. Nasality in speech
22. *Words of commitment
24. Stray from the accepted
25. *Rose amount
26. Convex molding
27. Cantaloupe, e.g.
29. *Form of greeting
31. Hyperbolic tangent in math
32. Songs sung by three or more voices
33. Deflect
34. *”Love means never having to say
you’re ____”
36. Back of neck
38. Bygone era
42. To the point
45. Like Thai cuisine, e.g.
49. Cul de ____
51. Just about
54. Monochromatic equid
56. ___-____-la
57. Freeway exit
58. Hodgepodge
59. Play charades
60. Slightly
61. Hoopla
62. Russian autocrat
63. *Seal with a kiss and do this
66. Be ill or unwell
68. “____ and don’ts”
Answers on Page 8
by STATEPOINT CROSSWORD
Update on school bond improvement
in Special School Board meeting
New buses arrive!
By Valerie Rice - ONN
The
Okmulgee
School Board met in a
special meeting Monday
Jan 11.
“The Board requested
that January’s and February’s board meetings be
moved to Monday so that
they would not miss any
of the basketball games,”
said Supt. Tod Williams.
A short agenda was
covered. The consent
agenda was approved.
Williams reported on the
new motor coach buses
that were picked up this
month.
“This is one of the
best things we have
done with the bond issue money. A brand new
bus would cost $550,000,
but these are 2000 model
reconditioned buses and
only cost $139,000 each.
A brand new yellow bus
cost $92,000, so the bang
for the buck is fantastic.
These buses are 9 times
the machine and will last
20-30 years, whereas a
yellow bus wears out in
about 10-12 years. So
this is stretching our dollars as far and wide as it
will go,” said Williams.
Three yellow buses
were also purchased. The
“bus bonds” approved in
the school bond was a total of $900,000. Recently
$500,000 of those bonds
were sold in August to
facilitate these purchases.
The remaining $400,000
of “bus dollars” will be
used in two years.
“We spaced the sale
of those bonds that way
on purpose so the buses
don’t all wear out at the
same time. So in two
years we’ll get another
three or four buses,” said
Williams.
The two coach buses
have brand new engines
and all the surfaces, inside and out are brand
new which include new
upholstery, carpet and
paint.
Board member Mark
Tuggle presented the
OEF with a check for
$500 from PSO.
There was no site report.
The board met in
exec session, then approved these two items:
Item 7(A): Adjustments to Elementary
Basketball Coach assignments; approved David Dunlap and Candi
Padfield as sponsors for
Youth League Summer
Ball Program. Hired
Kristin Arnold as 4th
grade classroom teacher
and Deaf Educ Teacher.
“She is Oklahoma
State Certified,” said Renee Dove. “This will be a
huge asset to our school
system to help with deaf
and hard of hearing students.”
Item 7(B): Employment was approved for
several substitutes and
support staff complete as
follows:
1) Kristin Arnold –
4th Grade teacher
2) Jesse Eugene
Mitchell – noncertified
substitute
3) Mary Elizabeth
Tawfik – noncertified
substitute
4) Jason Arnold –
noncertified substitute
5) Pocahontas Meyer
– substitute bus driver
Supt. Tod Williams
also reported to ONN
that the smartboards and
projectors have all been
repaired and installed
prior to the first day of
school.
“Of course, as any
others break down we
will repair as needed. If
I remember right, it was
over 50 projectors that
was purchased back in
August,” said Williams.
Williams said the
school anticipates breaking ground on the Band
Room and other projects
in March or April. They
will do all of the construction projects together as one bid in order to
save money.
Photos Provided
Okmulgee Public School now has two new Activity Coach Buses in their fleet. Marked with the new Okmulgee Bulldog logos,
students will travel in style and all lots of Bulldog Pride! Bulldogs
Rising!!
Take a tour of the new buses in a video on our Okmulgee
News Network Facebook Page
Pets up for Adoption and Fostering
Presley... is a male, grey and URGENT~AT THE SHELTER...
white Tabby cat. approx 2 years
old. He likes to be held and petted for a few minutes, then he
wants down to explore the room
and meet the other cats. Presley
is over 10 lbs. and very healthy.
FOSTER OR ADOPT!
Whitney Female Pit Bull was brought
to the shelter on 1/14. Claimed to
have found her at Walmart . She has
obviously been way overbred!! This
girl is so sweet and loving. She deserves to be loved and pampered.
Foster or Adopt.
Peggy
...female cat Very
friendly. Came in 11/18 from N
Sherman. FOSTER OR ADOPT!
Fostering is free or Adoption fee
is $65, includes spay, deworming,
vaccinations and flea control.
Call 981-759-2000 to inquire about these pets and others available
Love’s...continued from Page 1
New location for Loves at Wood Drive and Box Ave. in Okmulgee
Think About Sending Financial
Valentines to Loved Ones
Terry Dillsaver
Edward Jones FinancialAdvisor
Americans
spent
nearly $19 billion in
Valentine’s Day gifts last
year, according to the
National Retail Federation. Much of this money went for gifts with
short shelf lives, such
as candy, flowers and
restaurant meals (and
about $700 million was
spent on gifts for pets).
There’s certainly nothing wrong with giving
chocolates or roses. But
this year, think about
going beyond the classic
gifts. Instead, use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to determine how
you can make gifts with
long-lasting
impact
to your circle of loved
ones.
Here are some suggestions:
For your spouse or
significant other … As
long as your spouse or
significant other has
earned income, he or
she may be able to contribute to a traditional
or Roth IRA. So, consider giving a check to
be used for that purpose. A traditional IRA
can grow tax deferred,
while contributions are
usually tax-deductible.
(Taxes are due upon
withdrawal, and withdrawals prior to 59½
may be subject to a 10%
IRS penalty.) While
Roth IRA contributions
are not deductible, any
earnings growth can
be distributed tax free,
provided the account
owner doesn’t take
withdrawals until age
59½ and has had the account at least five years.
For 2015 and 2016, the
IRA contribution limit
is $5,500, or $6,500 for
those 50 or older.
For your children …
You don’t have to be rich
to give your children
a gift worth $1 million
– you just have to help
them through school.
College graduates earn
about $1 million more
over their lifetimes than
those without a degree,
according to research
from the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York. Still, college isn’t
cheap: The average annual cost – tuition, fees,
room and board – for a
private four-year college
is more than $42,000,
according to the College Board, while the
comparable figure for a
public four-year school
is about $19,000. Of
course, if financial aid is
available, you could get
some help. Nonetheless,
you may want to start
putting away money
for college. One popular college savings vehicle is a 529 plan. Your
529 plan contributions
may be deductible from
your state taxes, and any
earnings growth can be
withdrawn
tax-free,
provided it is used for
qualified higher education expenses. (However, if you take withdrawals from your 529 plan,
and you don’t use the
money for these higher
education expenses, you
may be subject to both
income tax and a 10%
penalty on the earnings.)
For your parents …
If you have elderly parents, you may want to
find out if they’ve got
their retirement and
estate plans in place. If
they’ve already taken
care of everything, you
may not need to get involved – but if they’ve
left some “loose ends,”
your help could be a
valuable gift. So, ask
them if they have drawn
up the necessary legal
documents. Do they
each have a will? Have
they created a durable power of attorney,
which allows them to
name someone to make
financial and health care
decisions on their behalf
if they become incapacitated? If it appears they
have much work to do
in these areas, you may
want to offer to arrange
a consultation for them
with a legal advisor and
a financial professional.
None of these ideas
are “traditional” Valentine’s Day gifts – but
all of them can prove
of great value to your
loved ones.
Fuller said Love’s purchased a little
under 12 acres and will be developing
about 7-8 acres. He listed the following features and amenities that would
include an 8,300 sq. ft. building with
an IHOP Express. The location will
include: 4 diesel bays for trucks, 4 gas
islands for cars, 59 truck parks, 69 car
parks, a CAT scale and 5 showers for
professional drivers. They have now
started moving dirt and they are projecting their open date for July.
“It has been a pleasure to work with
everyone in Okmulgee, from the city
officials, to the economic development
committee to the land owners. And
trust me, it is not always like that. Myself and Love’s do projects all over the
country and there are some cities that
are a little more difficult to work with,
but that has not been the case here.”
Mayor Steve Baldridge said,” We
want to thank Love’s for making a large
investment in Okmulgee, these are exciting times and we are making a difference in Okmulgee increasing the quality of life for our citizens.”
Land owner Fred Harlan said, ”We
are very pleased to be able to make this
property available to Love’s. It is exciting to see all of the development in this
area including Holiday Inn Express and
Tractor Supply. We are seeing a new
day in Okmulgee with all this development.”
“From the City’s standpoint, we
have worked real hard with OADC to
increase the interest along this corridor
from 6th Street out to the loop,” said
City Manager Roger Ballenger. “The
fortunate thing for Okmulgee, with
Love’s coming in here, which may not
be a big deal to some communities, but
by opening this spot, it’s going to change
the whole look of this corridor. Property values are looking good, people are
interested in building other retail outlets. We are blessed and fortunate they
have come here. Hopefully soon these
other retailers will start popping.”
Fuller shared with ONN the fact
that Taco Beuno had contacted Love’s
to purchased some land in order to follow them to Okmulgee. Though he said
they have not made any negotiations he
feels confident they will find some land
and follow suit with opening a loccation.
In addition to expanding along
busy interstates, Love’s will open more
than 20 locations along state and federal
highways to provide services to drivers
in more areas. All new travel stops will
offer amenities such as showers, truck
parking, DEF, quick-service restaurants
and other driver services.
“We remain committed to providing more safe places for our Customers
to fuel, park and rest, and these newly
constructed locations will add more
than 3,200 truck-parking spaces to our
network,” said Frank Love.
Love’s will begin working with
three new restaurant concepts in 2016,
bringing Love’s total number of quickservice restaurant partners to 19. Okmulgee will be a few of the very first
IHOP Express to open with the first
one scheduled to launch in Sidney, Nebraska, this spring, and the company’s
first Taco John’s will begin serving customers in Liberal, Kansas, and Love’s
first Dunkin’ Donuts will open later
this month in Canaan, New York. The
IHOP is called Express because there
are no servers. The estimated wait time
for a meal is only about five minutes.
Love’s interstate hotel business also
continues to expand. The company currently operates four hotels. Ten additional locations are scheduled to open
adjacent to Love’s stores this year.
Photo by Paul Orosco - ONN
The corner of 6th and Grand in the Kennedy building will be the
new location for the Okmulgee Main Street Office. Construction has
begun and hopes are to have the office open by Orangefest in April.
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OkmulgeeRising 2.0 continued from Page 1
toration of the Council
House fits right into the
big scheme of things and
as other cities have named
their town’s the “home
of a famous individual,
Okmulgee too has a huge
icon in actor Will Sampson who created a great
legacy coming from Okmulgee. “We should have
a big sign that says, ‘The
Home of Will Sampson’,”
Giles said.
Dr. Path shared a
power point presentation
of the plans and renderings of the new student
housing that will be constructed in the buildings
purchased on Fifth Str.
which included a large
OSU Cowboys mural to
be painted on the east side
of the east building. Path
shared how the lot on the
east of the buildings and
another piece of property
to the southeast had been
purchased for parking.
This would more than accommodate the student
needs for parking and
could possibly be shared
with the public.
The next panel was
new owners of buildings
in downtown Okmulgee.
They were Margaret and
Rob Hess who purchased
the McBeyer building,
also known as “The Mac”,
on 7th and Morton and
the Horton on Morton,
Mary and Gene Lewellen,
who purchased the Parkinson Building now
Park on the Square and
the Kimbley building and
banker/building
owner
Mark Mabrey who purchased the building that
is now M-Squared Bistro
and the Torbett building
where offices and lofts are
now under construction.
The Hess’s said they
purchased the Mac before the Okmulgee Rising
movement even began
and later purchased the
Horton. Both are in construction phases and the
whole experience has been
a crazy ride, but they love
it!
The Lewellen’s, although Gene admitted he
was skeptical at first, ended up making an offer on
the Parkinson immediately after Gene crunched the
numbers, after hearing the
first presentation. Since
the renovation of Park on
the Square has been complete every loft has rented
and they get calls every
day for openings.
“The hand of God is
on Okmulgee like never
before,” said Mary. “For no
other time has every entity
in this town cooperated
and in been on the same
page moving in the same
direction. It is just amazing.”
Mabrey said his lofts
in the Torbett building
should be ready the middle of February and the
downstairs has already
been rented to Mays home
health.
The third panel was
an interesting group representing people living
downtown, the Larabee
family, Richard, Chrystal
and their son Parker, Sheryl Hail and twins Olive
and Calder children living
in lofts.
Chrystal Larabee said
she loves being a part and
teaching their son what
it is like to be a part of a
Mural to go on the East side of the Student Housing
building on Fifth Street
community, while Richard
enjoys walking to work
just a block away.
Sheryl Hail said living
downtown was the safest
choice as she commutes
and works in Okmulgee
during the week. Her arrangement has worked out
beautifully and her husband has peace of mind.
The last group to bring
up the end was those representing Main Street and
the Okmulgee Chamber.
2015 Main Street President Rusty Milroy who
serves on the State Main
Street Advisory Board,
State Main Street Director,
Linda Barnett and 2015
Chamber President Chris
Azbell.
Milroy said he is
proud of what Main Street
has done and choosing
good leadership has been
the biggest success during
his time as president. He
said hiring Heather Sumner was a great decision
and she is doing a fabulous
job.
Linda Barnett said
this is the first time she
has ever seen a city move
so fast in such a short
amount of time. She has
watched Okmulgee Main
Street as a leading community in the state program and knows they will
continue to be the ones to
watch.
“They have so many
things going for them and
a solid leadership group,”
said Barnett.
Barnett will be retiring this year, but will be
watching Okmulgee.
Chris Azbell ended
with,“What it comes down
to is this, it is all about people, having trust in each
other, putting our differences aside and personality traits that drive each
other nuts sometimes. But
those things are trivial. At
the end of the day, we all
get along and we are all
pulling on the rope in the
same direction and that is
what is going on in Okmulgee. It’s not just one or
two groups. It is everyone
cooperating together.”
Keep watching Okmulgee as it truly is on the
Rise.
Oklahoma 4-H’ers make memories
at Denver Western Roundup
By Trisha Gedon
STILLWATER, Okla.
– A group of Oklahoma
4-H’ers, Oklahoma State
University Cooperative
Extension county educators, volunteer leaders
and state staff traveled
recently to Colorado to
take part in the 96th Denver Western Roundup.
Over 900 youth from
more than 30 states, along
with Alberta, Canada, attended this year’s event,
which took place Jan.
6-10 in Denver. The conference takes place annually in January and coincides with the National
Western Stock Show. The
theme for this year’s Denver Western Roundup
was Mission I’mPossible:
License to LEAD, and the
goal of the conference
was to have delegates go
home with the necessary
confidence and skills to
be successful leaders in
their self-determined future.
Attending from Okmulgee County was Ember Ennis who is a member of the Beggs 4-H
Club.
The 4-H Program
is known for providing
its members with many
different opportunities
to experience personal
growth and continue
the development of their
leadership and citizen-
ship skills, said Tracy
Beck, Oklahoma State
University Cooperative
Extension 4-H events coordinator.
“Through the innovative workshops and
competitions,
Denver
Western Roundup is a
great opportunity for our
club members to learn
new skills while continuing to work on others,”
Beck said. “While in Denver, our members learned
about new careers and
shared personal experiences with others regarding their own growth and
development, all while
making new friends.”
Denver
Western
Roundup also serves as
a platform for youth to
compete nationally and
encouraging teamwork
and
self-confidence,
while focusing on the
4-H mission mandates
of science, healthy living
and citizenship.
Denver
Western
Roundup also featured a
number of competitive
events. Susan Weckler,
Karen Weckler and Claire
Ringer, all 4-H’ers from
Payne County, brought
home top team honors
in the FCS Skill-A-Thon.
The trio also placed as
the top three individuals
in the competition.
Kay and Grady counties were represented in
the livestock team and
Answers to Crossword Puzzle on Page 5
meats team judging competitions, respectively.
The Oklahoma 4-H
Youth Development Program offers many opportunities for youth to
travel, and taking part in
Denver Western Roundup gives the state’s delegates a chance to see
a different part of the
country.
“One of the great
things about traveling
to events such as Denver Western Roundup
is that our youth get an
opportunity to do some
sightseeing and experience the local culture,”
Beck said. “Some of the
side trips included skiing at Winter Park Ski
Resort, visiting Colorado
Springs or Greely with a
tour of JBS Five Rivers
Feedlot. The educational
tours and entertainment
provide service learning
and community based
learning opportunities
for all delegates.”
Ennis is the daughter
of Steve and Melody Ennis of Nuyaka.
“Oklahoma 4-H’ers
are extremely fortunate
to be able to participate
in such quality experiences as Denver Western
Roundup,” Beck said.
Funky
Fact:
Oklahomans Got
There Sooner
An out-of-towner is likely to wander why the word
“Sooner”
keeps
popping up in Oklahoma. It originates
from the people
that entered the
area earlier (sooner) than they were
supposed to, in order to make claims
of land during the
land rush of 1889.
2016 Calendar of Events:
March 21 Creek Capital
Swap Meet will be held
on the Okmulgee Fairgrounds.
Father Daughter Dance at the YMCA
By Betty Anderson
What would be a very special moment for a father and daughter to share? A
Father ~ Daughter Valentine Dance and the Okmulgee YMCA is providing just
that.
On February 6, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm the fathers and daughters will be
gathering to have a great time at this annual event in the YMCA gym. The tickets
for members cost $25.00 for one child and $10.00 for each additional daughter.
The non-member cost is $30.00.
The gym will be decorated and they will have refreshments with punch and
cookies. There will be a DJ providing the dance music and they will be taking pictures to commemorate the event.
Felicia Barron of the YMCA told ONN that they have a really good turnout
for this event. Barron said, “They seem to just have a blast, the little girls get all
dressed up, they just eat it up and they enjoy it with their daddies.” She also stated,
“They also have some Grandpa’s that bring their granddaughters.”
The YMCA welcomes all fathers and daughters to come to the event and the
deadline for purchasing tickets is February 1, 2016.
Midwinter BBQ Dinner and Basket Raffle
St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church Altar Society is presenting a BBQ Dinner and Basket Raffle as one of their fundraisers for the year. A great 2 meat barbecue dinner with Ribs, Pulled Pork, Potato Salad, Baked Beans and all the fixins’,
plus a beverage and dessert. Big Wranglers (adults) $10.00, Lil’ Wranglers (12 &
under) $6.00.
Plus a great opportunity to buy raffle tickets to win one of our Beautiful Specialty Baskets full of wonderful items. Raffle Tickets $1.00 each or 6 tickets for
$5.00. Basket winners do not need to be present to win.
St. Anthony Church Activity Center “Chuck Wagon” 601 So. Morton, Saturday, January 30th 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Reservations not needed but can be made
by calling Reservation Chairman: Betty Anderson, 918-752-1100. Pay at the door.
TO GO ORDERS CALL: 918-756-9042 (on January 30th). All proceeds benefit St.
Anthony Altar Society projects.
Roundup your pardner’s, buckle on your spurs and mosey on down!!
Valentines Day Bake Sale to support the
Okmulgee Animal Shelter
Join the Okmulgee Humane Society Saturday Feb
13, from 10am-2pm at the Okmulgee Animal Shelter
for their annual Valentines Day Bake Sale. All proceeds benefit the Okmulgee Humane Society.
They will have a variety of sweets from individual
servings of cookies, brownies, cupcakes to whole pies
and cakes to take back to your sweetheart.
Also drop by and meet some of our foster pets available for adoption.
They would love to be “Your Valentine”! Or if you are interested in fostering a pet with us stop by and we will answer any questions you might have.
Enter to WIN...Everyone that spends $5 at our bake sale is automatically entered in our drawing for Valentine’s Prizes!
The Humane Society is always looking for volunteers to donate goodies to their bake sale. Please contact Jaime at 918-403-9252 or the shelter at
918-759-2000 if you would like to bake.
March 26th Voices of
Okmulgee - Are you musically talented?
The
“Voice of Okmulgee” is
your chance to share your
talent with the Okmulgee
community. The competition will be held in the
historic Orpheum theatre.
The top 3 winners will perform in Downtown Okmulgee during the OrangeFest on Friday April 8.
Contact Main Street Office
for details. 918-758-1015
April 8th- OrangeFest Okmulgee tradition hosted
by the Main Street Association and OSU Institute
of Technology. This twoday community homecoming festival includes
free, family-friendly fun.
A 5K run, chalk walk, live
music, food trucks, alumni
cruise, kid zone, Live Music & Concert, Auto Show,
KiteFest, Lineman Rodeo,
Trade show, Video Gaming & Robotics, Culinary
Tailgate party. Visit:
www.orangefest.osuit.edu
for upcoming details.
May 26th- Food for
Thought- Mural Project
June 9-11th Pecan Festival – Mocklahoma and
BBQ Cook Off – Lots of
food fun and activities for
the whole family – Watch
for more details on this
event! They are bringing it
back big. Contact the Okmulgee Chamber at 918
Nation Festival and Art &
Food Market – dates to be
announced
July 4 – City of Okmulgee Fireworks Extravaganza
August
13-14
Roy
LeBlance
Invitational
Rodeo at the Bob Arrington Arena
August 13th- Big Brain
Trivia Night Join us for a
fun night of TRIVIA! Buffet
of heavy Hor d’oeuvres,
cash bar, complimentary
candy bar, and Silent
Auction! Trophies will be
awarded for Best Table
Theme & Team Academic
Bowl Champions!
Advanced purchase required
(no tickets sold at the door)
Contact Main Street Office
for details. 918-758-1015
Sept. 23-24 Okmulgee
County Fair Okmulgee
Fairgrounds
September 15th- 6x6
Event - Purchase a 6”x6”
canvas board from Okmulgee Main Street Office
for $6.00. Paint, draw,
macaroni art.... anything
goes.... All submissions
will be auctioned at the
6x6x6 Canvas Art Show,
Saturday, June 6th at
6:00 p.m. All proceeds
benefit Okmulgee Main
Street Restoration Grant
Program. Categories for
young and old! Contact
Main Street Office for details. 918-758-1015
June 11 – Rescue Ride
Poker Run – Okmulgee
State Park
June Muskogee Creek
October 22nd- Harvest
Spoon Chili Festival &
48 Hour Film Festival
Bring your friends and
family to beautiful, historic
Downtown Okmulgee for
this family focused an-
Elks Lodge Bingo
701 South Mission
Every Tuesday Night
7:00 pm
Doors Open at 5:00 pm
Food Available
Lunch at First Baptist
Church
311 W. 5th St.
Every Tuesday 12:00 noon
Public Welcome to Attend
$8.00 (no take outs)
nual event. Taste delicious chili, see fantastic
cars, purchase crafts at
the marketplace, watch
short films at the 48-Hour
Film Festival, and have a
blast! See who will be the
newest owner of Sterling
Bass (the Big, Amazing,
Sterling Spoon) Award!
The Okmulgee Arts & Humanities Council is hosting a 48-Hour film festival
in conjunction with the
2015 Harvest Spoon Chili
Festival. The Okmulgee
Main Street 48 Hour Film
Festival (Main Street 48),
film makers from across
the state will be competing
in a short film challenge.
Contestant will have 48
hours to produce a short
film for a chance to win
cash prizes, one of which
is the Audience Choice
Award. After the Chili Festival Awards come and
support local filmmakers
in an evening of entertainment at the historic Orpheum Theater.
December 15th- Festival
of Lights Parade. This is
a sight you will not want to
miss. Are you a business,
church, organization, club
or individual that would
like to be in the parade?
There is no better time to
plan your float entry early. Lots of categories to
be judged in. This event
was the largest ever in
2015 and we expect it to
be even bigger for 2016.
Join in and make it spectacular!!
December 20th- Sparkle
Spree Giveaway - Shop
local, collect tickets to win
cash prizes and maybe
even be the Grand Prize
Winner!
Supporting the Lion’s Club
Open Gate Meals
213 N. Seminole
Every Wednesday
4:30 pm to 5:45 pm
Episcopal Church
OCA Barrels Sun. 31 Jan, 2016 (3:00 pm - 6:00 pm)
Flat Track Racing Fri. 5 Feb, 2016 6:00 pm - Sat. 6 Feb, 2016 6:00 pm
Singer/Songwriter Night Sun. 7 Feb, 2016 (6:00 pm - 10:00 pm)
Tipsy Artist Tue. 9 Feb, 2016 (6:00 pm - 7:00 pm)
Singer/Songwriter Night Sun. 14 Feb, 2016 (6:00 pm - 10:00 pm)
LRRA Clinic Sun. 21 Feb, 2016 (2:00 pm - 3:00 pm)
Silverado Steakhouse - 918-267-9000 RV Park - 918-267-9000 option 6
option 3 Thursday - Saturday Amusement Park - 918-267-9000
5pm - 10pm and Sunday Brunch option 6 Winter Hrs: By appointment
10am - 3pm
only
The Saloon - 918-267-9000 option 5
Call RV Park Office to set up apThursday - Karaoke
pointment - closed when under 55
Friday & Saturday - Live Music
degrees
Do you have a Community Calendar Item you would
like to share? Email it to [email protected]
Lighting
the Path
Ahead
A Column
by Dr. Bill R. Path, the fourth
president of OSU Institute of
Technology
A Series of Q&A’s
Part VI
These are exciting
times for Okmulgee, Oklahoma. In recent months,
our town has seen a flurry
of new business startups.
Traffic seems to be picking up all over town, real
estate is moving again,
and sales taxes have been
up—all signs of economic
prosperity.
Additionally,
there
has been a noticeable
increase in the level of
cooperation
between
community groups and
organizations of late.
There is a renewed sense
of unity in this town and
community pride. Okmulgee does not seem to
be at odds with itself anymore. This town is experiencing a time of peace and
prosperity—the perfect
ingredients for growth!
It’s always been a curious thing to me, but when
a new shop or restaurant
first opens, there always
seems to be crowds of
people who show up during the first few days or
weeks. I guess everyone
wants to be among the
first to try something new.
But wouldn’t it be wonderful for business and
for our community if this
level of support was sustainable?
I want to comment
on a familiar subject, but
one that is always good
for us to remind ourselves
about.
Q: Tell me why I should
buy from shops here in
town?
We must remember
that the primary source of
revenue for cities in Oklahoma is from the sales
taxes off of the purchase
of goods and services
within their community.
When sales occur in Okmulgee, the City of Okmulgee brings in revenue.
In turn, cities spend their
money on improvements
within their purview and
on services for their citizens. We want to see roads
and utilities improved in
town, but this requires
money—this requires local sales transactions.
When you travel out
of town to purchase something, you are supporting
another town with your
purchase. When you buy
a product online, you are
likewise avoiding local
sales taxes. If you truly
want to support your
hometown, you need to
make your purchases locally whenever you can.
The other thing to
consider is the importance
of helping local business
owners remain in business. It’s hard enough to
run a business, but without customers, no business will last very long.
If we want to see more
businesses in Okmulgee,
we need to first support
the businesses we already
have with our patronage.
Among the objectives
of the Okmulgee Rising
campaign is the desire to
help existing businesses
thrive and to attract new
businesses to town. None
of this will happen without you and I doing our
part to support local business owners. These are
individuals who have invested in Okmulgee and
are just trying to make a
living. The least we can do
is to invest in them too.
~~~
Families are becoming ever more concerned
about the rapidly rising
cost of a college education. Many find it difficult
or impossible to pay the
full price for a child to attend college today, so an
increasing number of students pursue some sort of
financial assistance.
While many students
receive grants or scholarships, which do not have
to be paid back, many
other resort to taking out
school loans, resulting in
student debt after graduation. Astonishingly, last
year, the national student
loan debt actually surpassed the national credit
card debt in the United
States.
So, affordability of
higher education is a legitimate concern and one
that I would like to address in my response to
the following question:
Q: How affordable is it
to attend college in Oklahoma, and how does OSUIT compare?
Higher education in
Oklahoma continues to
be one of the country’s
best bargains. According to the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, Oklahoma
higher education is the
fifth most affordable in the
nation. While other states
have had double-digit
tuition increases, public
colleges and universities
in Oklahoma have averaged only a 4.5 percent
It’s happening!
Architects and designers presentation to OSU-Institute of
Technology team depicting student lofts set for construction in downtown
buildings on Fifth and Grand in Okmulgee.
of anticipation.
~~~
increase since 2009. At
I am thankful to call
OSUIT, the increase was
No one is trying to Okmulgee my home. As
In a recent online compare downtown Ok- most of you know, my
even less acute. The average tuition increase at OS- posting, Okmulgee Main mulgee to Disneyland, but wife and I moved here
UIT was $127.50, or 3.5 Street requested input the marketing principles from out-of-state only
percent, for the 2015-16 from the general public are quite similar. So, how four years ago, but this
fiscal year. The increase is to help name our historic about an example that is community has embraced
used to cover mandatory downtown. This was one much closer to home. In us with open arms and
costs such as increased of the recommendations the early 1980’s, few would made us feel like we beemployee health insur- made by Roger Brooks, a have guessed that aban- long. A genuine willingance premiums, increased community image consul- doned warehouse build- ness to accept newcomers
utility costs, upgrades to tant, when he visited Ok- ings in one of the oldest is a relatively rare thing
information technology mulgee earlier this year.
and most rundown dis- in most communities
An email address has tricts of Oklahoma City around the country, but I
infrastructure and addibeen dedicated specifi- could be transformed into can say from firsthand extional library materials.
Oklahoma has been cally for your name sub- a popular entertainment perience, that a welcomable to curb large tuition missions. So here is your destination filled with ing nature is one of the
increases even though chance to help name our trendy shops and restau- many charms of Okmulannual funding from the downtown; just email rants, but that is exactly gee.
state legislature for high- nameourdowntown@ya- what has happened. With
I am thankful to work
er education has steadily hoo.com with your ideas! a little imagination and with such a remarkably
decreased. In the last 35 All suggestions will be planning, this farfetched talented faculty and staff
years, higher education’s considered.
vision has become a real- at OSUIT. It has been
share of state appropriaity known as “Bricktown.” my honor to work at six
tions has declined from Q: We have always just The developers all agree different institutions of
18.6 percent to 14.4 per- called it downtown Ok- that the name has con- higher education over the
cent, and state funding mulgee. Why does it tributed greatly to its suc- course of my career, but I
has gone from making need a name?
cess. After all, how many would certainly put this
up 74.2 percent of colbusinesses and visitors group of professionals up
To adequately discuss would it attract if it was alongside any others for
lege and university’s total
budgets to just over 35 this topic, we could get still called the Oklahoma the sake of comparison.
percent. This funding re- into an in depth conver- City warehouse district?
OSUIT does not lack for
duction is often passed on sation about the merits of
proficiency or dedication
to students who take on strategic destination marThe fact of the mat- among its employees. In
student loans to cover the keting or the commercial ter is that nearly every every department, this is
rising cost of their educa- viability of successful ur- town, large or small, has simply the finest group of
ban branding. But I see no something they refer to as people with which I have
tion.
Fortunately, student reason to overthink this “downtown.” This desig- been privileged to work.
debt at Oklahoma’s public because each of us inher- nation is not a distinction.
I am thankful to be
institutions is 33 percent ently knows that names If we want our downtown associated with Okmulbelow the national aver- are important. They help to be distinct from ev- gee Main Street. While
age, and nearly 50 percent us identify, distinguish, ery other downtown, it Okmulgee has many acof students in Oklahoma and remember many of needs a name. If we want tive groups and organizagraduate with no debt. In the different things and downtown Okmulgee to tions—many membership
fact, Oklahoma has the places we encounter in become a micro destina- clubs and associations
fifth lowest student debt life.
tion, it must have a name that are each engaged
You have to admit that will attract business in noteworthy efforts, it
level in the country according to the Institute that travel plans would be and visitors. The shorter took one special group
for College Access and much more difficult with- the better. The clearer, the of people to remind all
Success’ report “Project out names associated with better. The easier to say of us about community
on Student Debt.” The our favorite destinations and type, the better.
pride and what can be
average student debt at on the map. Continents
accomplished when we
OSUIT is $8,700, and the and islands have names,
work together. When this
~~~
university was recognized as do countries and states.
town had all but given up
by U.S. News & World County and city names
If you will indulge me, on itself, Okmulgee Main
Report as the top West help us narrow our focus, I would like to respond Street launched an inspiregional school with the but sometimes travelers to the most presumptive rational campaign and
least amount of student need a name to help at- holiday question of all.
declared that Okmulgee
tract them to a micro desdebt.
is far from dead, it is “risEach student’s situ- tination within a city.
Q:For what are you ing.”
For instance, sup- thankful this year?
ation at OSUIT is differ~~~
ent. Some don’t borrow pose a friend told you
at all, relying on family she had recently visited
Community
pride
For the past seven
support, grants, scholar- a nice park in Anaheim? months, I have been pub- begins with you and me.
ships, or industry spon- Your first response might lishing this newspaper Economic growth is not
sorships, while others be, “So what? Don’t most column. To my great de- someone else’s job. Every
rely on borrowed funds towns have parks?” The light, many of you have dollar we spend in Okto live on while pursuing description provided was made a conscious effort to mulgee helps Okmulgee
their education. OSUIT’s adequate; it told you what personally thank me for in some way. In the end,
unique trimester format she visited and where my words of explanation Okmulgee will either
that requires the majority it was located but did and encouragement. Your rise or fall depending on
of students to attend dur- not leave you overly in- thoughtfulness is appreci- us—on our actions or ining summer months may trigued. But, if she told ated more than you will actions—our support or
initially increase borrow- you the name of the park know. Thirty weeks ago, lack thereof. This holiday
ing levels, but it ultimately in Anaheim was “Disney- I had no idea if anyone season, let’s remember
reduces the total amount land,” you would probably would care about what to shop locally and keep
of time spent enrolled at be much more interest- I would have to say or Okmulgee Rising! Please
the university. This means ed—same place but a very even read a column that continue to send your
students enter the work- different reaction. In this I would produce, but so questions for me to osuitforce earlier since they case, the name of the park many of you have made it [email protected].
complete their degree in triggers your imagination very clear that you do care
and conjures up all kinds and are paying attention.
less time.
Road Construction Projects
around Okmulgee County
Plans are in the works to rebuild several bridges between Henryetta and
Okmulgee and about a mile of new concrete roadway to be replaced which
started January 4, 2016 under contract with Sherwood Construction.
“Where the new cable rail ends by the Wildlife offices this section will be
rebuilt,” said Mike Perkins Road Superintendant. “The contract is set for 309
days and we hope to shave off maybe 60 days.”
In the end of January construction will begin on the Indian Nation Turnpike and the intersection of I-40. “So there will be a lot of construction going
on,” Perkins said. This job is estimated at 200 days according to Perkins.
Photos by Allen Gardner
New Okmulgee Jail Annex Construction
Photos by Allen Gardner
Fourth Street Bridge in Henryetta
PROGRESS
Scenes from the Okmulgee New Jail
Annex being constructed
Phases of New Bridge going in.
“Three things you cannot recover in life: the WORD after it’s
said, the MOMENT after it’s missed and the TIME after it’s
gone. Be Careful!” – Unknown
“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone
can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard
The planned expansion for the new Jail Annex, located to the northwest
corner of the court house at the corner of 7th and Okmulgee Street is beginning to take shape. The new jail will be a dormitory style facility. The structure
of the building will comply with the Okmulgee Historical District.
The jail will hold 234 inmates and will eliminate the overcrowding situation in the current jail that can handle around 154 efficiently. The annex will
incarcerate non-violent offenders and an area will be used to house juveniles
safely. The construction is projected to be finished around August of this year.
“I’m Sorry”
Apologizing doesn’t come easy to many of us, and in some cases, copping
to blame or fault can downright awkward. But experts told Psychology Today
that the specific words you use to apologize are less important to the person
you’ve upset than the act itself. In other words, if you’re not exactly sure what
to say, a simple heartfelt ‘I’m sorry’ can go a long way. (But make it genuine:
Not surprisingly, research shows that insincere apologies can be worse than
none at all).
WE
Precinct meetings set
for Okmulgee County
Republicans
The Precinct meetings for the Okmulgee County Republicans will be held
on Tuesday night, February 9, 2016. The Precinct meetings will begin at 7 pm
“We” -- Couples who used more collective pronouns, such as “we,” “our,” at the Student Union building on the campus of Oklahoma State University
and “us” had more positive interactions and showed fewer signs of stress dur- Institute of Technology in the conference room in Okmulgee, OK.
ing fights than those who used more individual ones, such as “I,” “me,” and
Precinct meetings are an opportunity for every registered Republican to
“you,” according to a University of California, Berkeley study. “The use of ‘we’ participate first hand in grassroots politics. These meetings are open to all
language is a natural outgrowth of a sense of partnership, of being on the same registered Republicans in the precinct, and we encourage all Republicans to
team, and confidence in being able to face problems together.”
participate. In Oklahoma, attending a precinct meeting is the first step in the
election of delegates to the Oklahoma Republican State Convention to be held
in Moore, OK, on Saturday May, 14, 2016.
Do you have questions or comments
For more information, please contact Okmulgee County Chair Marsheila
for the Okmulgee News Network?
Prior at [email protected].
Email them to
[email protected]
Are You Prepared for
Financial Disasters?
Financial Advisors James D. Remington and Kyle Brooks
“Be prepared” is the
Scout motto, and it’s also
pretty good advice for
anyone seeking to guard
against various disasters – including financial
ones.
Here are some events
that can have serious financial consequences,
along with suggestions
on preparing yourself:
• Loss of employment – If you were to
lose your job, your family might have to struggle financially to make
it until you’re employed
again. To protect against
this potential threat, try
to build an emergency
fund containing three to
six months’ worth of living expenses. That’s a lot
of money, of course, so
it will be challenging to
build such a fund – but
try to contribute something each month to a
liquid, low-risk account.
Without such an emergency fund, you might be
forced to cash out your
401(k) or other retirement plan to pay for your
living expenses during
your period of unemployment.
• Loss of health – If
you were ill or injured,
you might be out of work
for weeks or months.
Your employer may of-
fer you some type of disability insurance as an
employee benefit, but it
might not be sufficient.
So you may also want to
purchase an individual
plan to cover as much
of your after-tax income
as possible. You’ll have
the flexibility to create
a policy that is tailored
to your needs, budget
and overall financial
goals. However, policies
vary widely in cost and
benefits, so you’ll want
to shop around for the
coverage that best meets
your needs.
• Loss of life – Death
may be an uncomfortable
topic to discuss. However, if you were to pass
away, it would be emotionally devastating to
your loved ones – but it
could also be financially
catastrophic. Would your
family still be able to pay
the mortgage? Could
your surviving spouse
afford to send your kids
to college? Without life
insurance, your death
could leave your family without the ability to
cover financial obligations. The exact amount
you require depends on
a variety of factors, such
as your family’s expenses,
size of family, savings
needs over time, and so
on. Generally speaking,
you can choose between
two broad categories of
insurance: term and permanent. Term insurance,
as the name suggests, is
designed for a specific
number of years and only
provides a death benefit.
Permanent insurance is
typically more expensive,
because, in addition to
the death benefit, it offers
a savings component. A
financial professional can
help guide you through
your options to determine which one is appropriate for your needs.
• Loss of property
– If you own a home,
you already have homeowners insurance, but
it doesn’t hurt to periodically check your policy
to make sure it’s kept up
with any improvements
or additions you’ve made
to your house or other
property. If you’re undercovered, and had to pay
out-of-pocket for some
major damage, you might
be forced to dip into your
long-term investments.
And while you’re making sure your property is
covered, you might also
want to consider adding “umbrella” coverage,
which can provide extra
protection to you in case
someone is injured at
your home, or even at an
event at which you may
be in charge, such as a
Scout meeting.
With luck, you can
avoid all the threats to
your financial security
and that of your family.
But you can’t count on always being lucky – so you
need to take “financial
disaster preparedness”
measures soon.
January/February 2015 Inspirational Page
Service above Self
Rotary Past President Blanche Evans presents a pen to speaker Mayor Steve
Baldridge, who was guess of Rotarian of the Day Bob Hess. It has been 3
years since Steve had spoken to the Club, and he reviewed the progress the
City has made during that time. He stressed the improvement in communication at City Hall, as well as amongst all the major stakeholders in the community, which has resulted in much progress during the last 3 years.
Rotarian of the Day Lori Jones (left) and President Terry Dillsaver (right) are
shown with Stormy Howell, Skyleen Willingham, Malcom Johnson and Anastasia Adamson of the Okmulgee High School Speech Team. Skyleen has
been the speech teacher and coach for the last 2 years. She participated in
the speech program in the 1970s, following her mother’s footsteps, Doris Lowery, who participated in the 1940s. The team has grown from just a couple of
student qualifiers the first year to up to as many as 22 in recent competitions.
Skyleen says other schools love OHS’s Clell Warner auditorium because of
the superior acoustics of the stage and she hopes to host the first speech
completion at OHS since the 1970s in the near future, but competitions are
expensive to host, and she hopes the community can help by underwriting
the trophies. The Club was then entertained by a performance from Stormy
in original oratory, a piece she wrote about the teaching profession, followed
by a humorous duet from Malcom and Anastasia from “The Actor’s Games”.
Volunteerism can benefit your family
Why should your family
lend a helping hand?
President Terry Dillsaver and Rotarian of the Day Dolph Hayden present
guest pens to speakers Katie Meller and Angel Parsons. Katie is a personal
fitness trainer and Angel is the programs director for the YMCA. The Y offers
a variety of programs, with participants from age 4 to 90, including all levels
of fitness classes, gymnastics, yoga, karate, spin and water aerobics (summer). They also offers team sports in soccer, basketball and swim team. In
February, they will host the annual father-daughter dance to be followed in the
summer with the mother-son luau. Katie is available for one on one fitness
training and personal fitness assessments. A town the size of Okmulgee is
fortunate to have a YMCA. Its prices are lower than most other fitness facilities.
It feels good. The satisfaction and pride that
come from helping others are important reasons
to volunteer. When you
commit your time and effort to an organization or
a cause you feel strongly
about, the feeling of fulfillment can be endless.
It strengthens your
community. Organizations and agencies that
use volunteers are providing important services
at low or no cost to those
who need them. When a
community is doing well
as a whole, its individuals
are better off, too.
It can strengthen
your family. Volunteer-
ism is a great way for
families to have fun and
feel closer. But many people say they don’t have the
time to volunteer after
fulfilling work and family commitments. If that’s
the case, try rethinking
some of your free time as
a family. You could select
just one or two projects
a year and make them a
family tradition.
What Kids Can Learn
From Volunteering?
A sense of responsibility. By volunteering,
kids and teens learn what
it means to make and
keep a commitment and
that we’re all responsible
for the well-being of our
communities.
That one person can
make a difference. A
wonderful, empowering
message for kids!
The benefit of sacrifice. By giving time this
tells kids that there are
important things besides
ourselves and our immediate needs.
Tolerance. Working
in community service
can bring kids and teens
in touch with people of
different backgrounds,
abilities, ethnicities, ages,
and education and income levels.
Job skills. Community service can help young
people decide on their
future careers.
How to fill idle time
wisely. Community service can be a wonderful
alternative.
Leadership Okmulgee
Leadership Okmulgee is a great way to learn about Okmulgee, meet new
friends, and network with other business leaders and become involved in your
community. If you are interested in attending the next Leadership Okmulgee
program, please contact the Okmulgee Chamber of Commerce office at (918)
756-6172.
Return to the Potter’s Hand
Rev. Joshua E. Litwack - St. Anthony’s Catholic Church
Hosea 6:1-3.
1 Come, let us return
to Yahweh. He has rent us
and he will heal us; he has
struck us and he will bind
up our wounds;
2 after two days he
will revive us, on the third
day he will raise us up
and we shall live in his
presence.
3 Let us know, let us
strive to know Yahweh;
that he will come is as certain as the dawn. He will
come to us like a shower,
like the rain of springtime
to the earth.
Old house windows
are distorted, that is, the
glass panes of house windows roughly a hundred
years old or older appear
to have ripples and rolls.
They are fascinating and
entertaining in how they
twist, bend, and curve
images that appear in
them, creating wholly
new images to observe.
Move your head and the
view changes. Stand up.
Sit down. Look at them
from the floor. The window seems to be alive.
They are on the move,
they are returning, returning to a form of their
earlier self. It is in this
journey, this transition,
this slow conversion that
we survey them, we witness them, we take note
of them; glass in route to
a new creation.
How do they do that?
Originally crafted clear,
flat, and smooth, the
glass of this bygone era
tends to move, migrate
slowly over generation
and generation south to
the bottom of the pane,
where after a few hundred or thousand years
would eventually end up,
some say, as mounds of
iridescent, mottled knobs
on the floor. Slowly moving, the once sleek glass
follows the call of gravity where it is pulled and
tugged, to the ground,
to the floor, where it reforms and returns to the
molten mass it began as,
like Silly Putty, like memory foam pillows, like the
human soul.
The word that came
to Jeremiah from Yahweh
as follows,
2 ‘Get up and make
your way down to the
potter’s house, and there
I shall tell you what I
have to say.’
3 So I went down to
the potter’s house; and
there he was, working at
the wheel.
4 But the vessel he
was making came out
wrong, as may happen
with clay when a potter is at work. So he began again and shaped it
into another vessel, as he
thought fit.
5 Then the word of
Yahweh came to me as
follows,
6 ‘House of Israel,
can I not do to you what
this potter does? Yahweh
demands. Yes, like clay in
the potter’s hand, so you
are in mine, House of Israel (Jer. 18:1-6).Return
assumes we were once
where we now hope to
be. It somewhat makes
one wonder why we ever
left? Why is it we leave
some places, some people? Is it a slow transition
sliding across a polished
glossy plane, being pulled
and tugged to places far
away? Or do we purposefully just get up and
leave? Whatever the case,
our leaving says a lot
about us, but not as much
as our returning. Our return has a way of being
life changing, transformative. We know where
we came from, but for
some motivation, purpose we return. This New
Year is crammed with
excuses, reasons, inspirations to return to our
God, return to a form, a
vessel, of an earlier self of
which we have memory,
a self that finds contentment, joy, peace in the
Potter’s Hand. In our migration across the panes
of our life we find distor-
tion, when in search of
clarity, ripples and rolls,
while needing calmness,
and twists, bends, and
curves in moments of
desperation. And so we
often come to the conclusion, this is not working,
this does not “fit”. We
want an answer, clarity,
calmness, security. We
want to return where
we last felt this, in the
hands of our God, the
Potter. Our leaving says
a lot about us, but not as
much as our returning.
To return prodigal, to return doubtful, to return
reminiscing, to God, it
is our retuning that that
Jeremiah tells us will heal
us, bind up our wounds,
revive us, raise us up and
will shower us with God’s
very real presence like
rain in the spring. Distortions, ripples and rolls,
twists, bends and curves,
may seem disconcerting
and traumatic for us, but
it is the destiny and path
in the evolution of the
human soul -transition
and conversion, gravitating away from and to
God, remembering what
we had and hungering
for it again. How true it
says St. Augustine, “You
have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our
heart is restless until it
rests in you.”Is this not
what we really want? To
return from chaos to
sanctuary, from ill-fitting
vessels to again and again
be reshaped, reformed in
the Master’s hands, until
one day at last it all fits,
all is clear and our gravitating, migrating days are
done?’House of Israel,
can I not do to you what
this potter does? Yahweh
demands. Yes, like clay
in the potter’s hand, so
you are in mine, House
of Israel. To be Lord’s disciple, to be the Father’s
vessel is our search, our
destiny, our life’s work,
only which is possible if
we return, return to the
Potter’s hand.
Are these Truth’s alive in you?
Pastor Steve Gallagher - Second Baptist Church
In season 6 of Star
Trek, The Next Generation, there is a two part
episode called “Birthright.” In this episode,
Worf, the Klingon character played by Michael
Dorn, encounters some
survivors of the Khitomer Massacre – there
were reported to be none
(the Khitomer Massacre
was a Romulan attack
on the Klingon colony
on Khitomer in 2346).
These survivors were
both Klongon and Romulan and there were
those of subsequent generations that were of both
races. This was shocking
to Worf who only knew
of hatred and animosity
between the two races,
resulting in a large part
from the Khitomer event.
Yet here were Romulans
and Klingons living together and happily ever
after.
From the point of
view that Worf brings to
the encounter, there were
several things that were
conspicuously
absent
from this new culture.
While Worf was versed
and rehearsed on the literature and dogma of the
Klingon people, there
was no one telling these
stories to the young. No
one was telling them of
their proud heritage.
They were instead mixing
theirs with the Romulans
and clouding the picture.
Worf begins to tell the
stories. Though he is met
with some resistance, he
is allowed to continue.
Enter Ba’el. Ba’el
is young girl, of mixed
blood, who is taken by
the stories of Worf. She
listens to them. She remembers them. She
meditates on them. She
asks questions about
them. Her curiosity has
been awakened and she
wants to know more, because the teller of those
stories has a passion and
eloquence in telling these
stories like none she has
ever heard. As the episode nears conclusion,
Ba’el questions Worf:
Ba’el: “These stories
you tell, are they true?”
Lt. Worf: “I have studied them all my life and
find new truths in them.”
How often do you
find an audience for the
timeless truths in the immutable Word of God?
Are those truths alive in
you? Have you “Studied
them all your life?” Are
they fresh enough for
you to tell them any time
the moment allows? Are
they so much a part of
you that you can’t possibly allow them to be
January/February 2015 Inspirational Page
absent? And, perhaps
more importantly, is
the “Truth” of the most
grand story ever uttered,
the reality of redemption,
so real that you can find
new “truths” as God reveals the deeper things of
scripture to you?
Teach me, O Lord,
the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to
the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep
Your law; Indeed, I shall
observe it with my whole
heart. Make me walk in
the path of Your commandments, For I delight
in it. Incline my heart to
Your testimonies, And
not to covetousness. Turn
away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in Your
way. Establish Your word
to Your servant, Who is
devoted to fearing You.
Turn away my reproach
which I dread, For Your
judgments are good. Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me in Your
righteousness.
(Psalm
119:33-40 NKJV)
What Realy Matters Most?
by Kelley Love
Love
What really matters
most? Life is all about
love… Because God “is
love”, the most important lesson he wants us to
learn on earth, is “how”
to love. It is in loving that
we are most like him, so
Love is the foundation of
every command he has
given us. As the Bible
teaches “love others as
you love yourself ”.
In heaven, we will enjoy God’s family forever,
but first, we have some
work to do here on earth
to prepare for eternity.
I want to challenge you
in the weeks to come
with these three important points:
1. Life without
love is worthless: often we act as if relationships or something
to be squeezed into our
schedule.
2. Love will last forever: there are three
things that continue
“FOREVER”: faith, hope
and “love”. The greatest
of these, being love. Life
minus love, equals zero.
3. God measure spiritual maturity by the quality of your relationships.
In heaven, God won’t
say “tell me about your
career, or bank accounts
or hobbies, instead he
will review how you have
treated others. Jesus said,
“truly I say into you, just
as you have done it and
to the least of these you
have done it unto me.”
Prayer for the day:
God, whether I get anything else done today or
not, I want to make sure
I spend time loving you
and others, I don’t want
to waste this day. Amen
2016 - It’s a New Year
Pastor Richard Manning - Calvary Baptist Church
2016…..It is here and for them and they need say we believe?
we face challenges and to repent of their sins and
As evil grows, people
opportunities that can accept Jesus to have eter- around the world have a
prepare many for eter- nal life?
hatred for the truth and
nity and others will scoff
2. Will we live by God. Or they have creand laugh. I re—read a the words found in the ated their own version
book by Dr. Billy Gra- Bible and the truths it of God and want to force
ham, ‘Storm Warning’ teaches us or do what we their evil beliefs upon
recently and it is as true want?
others and if we do not
today as when first wrote
3. Will we stand up accept their evil, they
it in 1992. In fact, some to evil and not be willing want to destroy us. Loved
of what he wrote is now to accept the lies of ‘dif- ones, God is not mocked
in front of our eyes and ferent lifestyles are nor- nor blind to what is gohe based what he wrote mal’?
ing on in this world and
on one book, the Bible.
4. Can we forgive He will bring righteous
I am fully convinced those who sin against us judgement upon those
that in 2016, the church when they seek forgive- who oppose Him.
I
as we know it will be chal- ness?
know that he is God and
lenged to take a stand;
5. Will we teach our in control. In 2016, chose
one that will challenge children and grandchil- to obey, trust, tell of who
us to believe and live out dren that God is God and He is and most of all, love
what God has called us to man is to worship and Him and His promises
or we will see more and obey Him?
made to us. This is the
more turn from the truth
6. Will we live in year that we must be bold
and live lives of selfish- the proper ‘fear of God’ telling others of who Jeness and disrespect per- or go about our daily sus is and showing them
taining to His Word and lives as if He is there and by living in faith of who
Truth.
we are here?
He is.
1. Are we willing to
7. Will our life—
Amen
tell others that Jesus died choices match what we
A NEW YEAR FEAR
Pastor Ray Moffeit -FBC Morris
But notice the comblock
So how do you break ma in the sentence. It
through your great- was in the midst of his
est fear? To answer this greatest fear that Isaiah
question, I want to look saw the Lord. He saw the
at a passage from the Bi- Lord on His throne and
ble that has challenged he realized that He was
me over the past month. still in control. That He
It is found in Isaiah 6. was not caught off guard
This verse maybe famil- by the death of King Uziar to you, but maybe it ziah. In fact, the same
can be said for you, no
is not and that is okay.
matter what your fear
Isaiah 6:1 HCSB – In may be, God is still in
the year that King Uz- control. No matter what
ziah died, I saw the Lord obstacles you may face
seated on a high and this year, God is still in
control.
lofty throne…
So instead of letThis passage takes ting your fears for the
place during an uncer- year be a road block
tain time in the king- in your life, choose to
dom. King Uzziah see God high and liftreigned for fifty-two ed up. Choose to say
years in Jerusalem; now along with the Psalmist
the nation was unsta- that; even though I walk
ble and unsure of what through the valley of the
would happen. The in- shadow of death, I will
stability and unknown fear no evil, for you are
factors of what would with me.
Your greatest fear, happen created a sense
is your greatest road of fear in Isaiah’s life.
I am a planner by
nature. I love everything
about planning. That
means that I started
to think about 2016 in
December. I started to
think about my goals for
the year. I started to plan
messages and events for
the youth group. However, it wasn’t too long
before I started to think
about how it was all going to come together.
I started fearing the,
“what ifs?” that could
happen.
This got me thinking
that we all have a fear
when it comes to the
new year. For some it’s
the fear of giving up that
habit. For others it may
be the fear of graduating or the fear of taking
the necessary steps in
breaking that addiction.
Whatever your fear may
be, I believe this:
By Lion Dean Craig
What another enlightening program on
one of Lions International’s major projects, Sight
Conservation, given by
Lion Tom Cummings,
Cushing, regarding the
latest development called
the Spot Vision Camera.
Tom serves on the Board
of Directors for this new
project, geared basically
for ages 6 months to 6
years, but actually is for
ages 6-66. The entire club
was bubbling over with
enthusiasm and anxious
to get started in this and
surrounding communities detecting potential
eyesight problems before
they become a problem.
And the best thing is it’s
free.
Between the age of 6
months and 6 years old a
child’s brain learns how
to use his or her eyes. If
a child has a correctable
eye problem that goes
unnoticed, the child may
Lion’s
Roar
Highlighting the great programs of the Lions International
~Sight Conservation~
never develop good
vision for a lifetime. But as you
know, a child that
young does not know letters or numbers. A child
that young often does not
have the attention span
or understanding to do
a regular eye exam. Our
program only requires
the child to look at the
camera for a few seconds
to capture and evaluate
the child’s eyes which is
wirelessly transferred to
the printer and printed
out to be sent home to
the parents.
The Lions of Oklahoma now own 5 eye
screening kits (screening
camera with a wireless
printer) that can screen
a child in just a few seconds. With this equipment, we can ensure
that the young children
in our community can
develop good eyesight
during these development years. Doctors say
that by the time a child
enters kindergarten, it
may be too late for this
important brain devel-
opment to take place.
Severe nearsightedness
(Myopia),
farsightedness (Hyperopia), lazy
eye (Amblyopia), astigmatism (blurred vision),
anisometropia (unequal
refractive power), strabismus (eye misalignment), anisocoria (unequal pupil size), and
other eye problems can
prevent good eyesight
development.
There are hundreds
of children between the
ages of 6 months and 6
years old in our community. At some point during the next few years,
more than half of these
children will attend Preschool, Daycare, Public
or Private Schools, or
Home School. By performing an eye screening at the facilities in our
communities, we are able
to identify a good number of these children.
Our screening device
also provides meaningful
screening information to
eye care professions in
the event of “Referral”.
The averages show some
I.O.A. Ranch (Individual
Opportunity to Achieve)
as a way to help these
young wards of the court.
The boys attended school
in Perkins and each was
assigned chores, such
as caring for the farm
animals and tending the
gardens. Mr. Donnelley,
himself a Lion, sought
help from the Oklahoma
Lions to help sponsor the
I.O.A. Ranch, which they
did, along with the Oklahoma Lions Eye Bank.
Over time, changes in
the law and DHS involve-
ment, the Ranch could
not be used as a “farm
operation” using labor
from the boys, so now
has basically changed to
foster home settings with
house parents. And the
Ranch is no longer just
for boys because of the
“cottage home” setting
for families. One of the
main goals is to keep siblings together in a family
setting. Thus, the name
change to Meadows of
Hope, a community of
families with three homes
at present and another
Photo by Dean Craig
Lions enjoy a demonstration by Tom Cummings Lion who
demonstrated the new spot vision camera to detect eyesight
problems.
8-10% of our children
may require correction
during these early years.
Our club already has
a number of Lions certified to operate the camera and they are anxious
to begin this amazing
project for our community. Several Lions Clubs
(Bartlesville,
Sapulpa,
and Ponca City) have
purchased their own
cameras--the rest of us
have to share and schedule dates that we can use
the cameras, which cost
between $5,000-$8,000.
The Okmulgee Lions
would like to purchase
a camera for our use, so
if any person/business
would like to contribute
to this effort, please let us
know. We have already
heard many success
stories and these stories
reinforce the value of this
system and this program
and helps charge our volunteers that donating our
time has made a difference in a young child’s
life. And isn’t that what
it’s all about--making a
difference in people’s lives
because “WE SERVE”.
one to open soon. Kids at
Meadows of Hope range
in age of 23 months to 17
1/2 years, however, they
are not “booted” out because of age. They leave
when ready. Transition
phase for high school
graduates, pending grant
approval, includes apartment, college, jobs, and
family support.
House parents are
trained through, and answer to, DHS. They pay
$1.00 rent, have well water, pay their own utilities,
cable, etc. Approximately
30% of the resources for
the Ranch comes from
the Lions of Oklahoma.
The Okmulgee Lions
Club has always been a
continuous
supporter
of the Oklahoma Lions
Boys’ Ranch. July 1, one
of our own members, 1st
Vice President Lion R.C.
Morrow, has been elected
to serve a 3-year term on
the Boys’ Ranch Board
of Directors. This is another example in keeping with our motto: “WE
SERVE”.
~~~~~~~
Oklahoma Lions Boys’ Ranch club state project explained
By Dean Craig
The final program of
this calendar year for the
Okmulgee Lions Club
was provided by Colleen
Fowler, regarding one
of the Lions Club’s state
projects, the Oklahoma
Lions Boys’ Ranch in
Perkins. The Boys’ Ranch
was founded in 1952 by
H. F. Donnelley, an educator in Stillwater, who
was appalled that a 13
year-old was sentenced
to “big boy jail” by the
court. Thus, he began the
Photo by R.C. Morrow
Pictured (left to right) Colleen Fowler, director of Meadows of Hope; Program Chairman Lion R.C. Morrow; and
Bob Fowler, Communications Director.
The Okmulgee Lions
meet each Tuesday at
noon for a meal, songs,
games and always a great
program from a guest
speaker. You can join in
any time. Visit:
www.lionsclub.org
Authorized and Paid for by the Elizabeth Dearmore Campaign Fund

Okmulgee on the Rise The

Transcription

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