Waurika first grade students are participating in the Oklahoma City Thunder Reading Challenge. We are proud to announce Landon Brackett and Juan Garcia are the winners for the month of January!
Waurika Snake Hunt April 12 – April 15
The Annual Waurika Rattlesnake Hunt will kick off on April 12th through April 15th.
Thurs., April 12th- Armbands $20 each from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Bring one can good per Armband and receive $5 off. (Thurs. only)
Fri., April 13th- Armbands $20 each 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm, There will also be a live band from 6:45-10:00.
Sat., April 14th- tickets will be sold
Sun., April 15th- Armbands $20 each 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
You may also purchase tickets for the carnival rides on Friday before Armbands go on sale at 6:00 pm. The rides will be open.
Sat., April 14th- sacking contest starts at 4:00 and there will be a live band from 6:45-10:00
Sun., April 15th- The king and queen contest will start at 3:00 and the sacking contest will start shortly after that.
The Snake Handlers will have shows Friday- Sunday.
There will be a caravan Friday at 1:00, Saturday at 11:00, 2:00 and Sunday at 12:00.
Contestants for this years Mr. and Mrs. Rattlesnake Hunt:
Blaikley Taylor – age 3
Landon Perry – age 5
Jason Chumley – age 5
Aspen Fox – age 5
J.T. chumley – age 7
Kaitlyn Cast – age 7
Sage Mayfield – age 9
Roxy Cathey – age 10
Annalynn Lewis – age 11
Please support our kiddos by purchasing a $1 chance to win $500 cash.
Crowning will take place Sunday afternoon.
If you have not signed up to run, and your child is not listed, please make sure you have returned the application back to Ashley Taylor or drop it off at the Waurika Fire Depot.
Sara Ballard Receives Scholarship from OCU
Sara Ballard was recently awarded an Academic Scholarship from Oklahoma Christian University.
She has a 4.0 GPA
As a senior she is involved in many activities.
Oklahoma College Savings Plan offers gift kids won’t outgrow
OKLAHOMA CITY – As holiday shopping gets underway, State Treasurer Ken Miller is encouraging Oklahoma parents and grandparents to consider a gift that kids won’t outgrow—contributions to an Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan account.
To make that gift even more attractive, the Oklahoma College Savings Plan (OCSP) is offering a special bonus promotion from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. New accounts opened Nov. 23-26 and set up for automatic contributions will receive a bonus $50 from OCSP. For details, visitwww.ok4saving.org/offer.
Miller, board chair for OCSP, said the benefits of college savings last for years to come.
“Kids will outgrow clothes and lose interest in even the trendiest toy, but the benefits of higher education will last for the rest of their lives,” Miller said. “Setting aside even small amounts regularly over time can make a big difference when it’s time to attend college.”
Miller said OCSP contributions are a gift that children will appreciate more as they get older.
“Taking even a portion of what you’re going to spend on gifts this year and putting it in an OCSP account is a worthwhile investment,” Miller said. “College graduates have more job opportunities and make more over their lifetimes, so OCSP contributions, and the educations they help pay for, really are the gifts that keep on giving.”
Parents, grandparents, relatives or friends who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and at least 18 years old may open an OCSP account on behalf of a beneficiary, and the minimum initial contribution is only $100. Once an account is open, anyone can contribute, making an OCSP account a great gift idea for all family and friends.
The $50 bonus contribution for new accounts will be deposited after six months of automatic contributions.
The OCSP website, ok4saving.org, provides gift-givers with an eGifting option where contributions can be made to an OCSP account online, and “Gift of Education” certificates can be created to show the contribution to a loved one’s account.
For those hoping family and friends will contribute to an existing plan, OCSP has created an option to allow account owners to send a tactful, prewritten email inviting others to contribute to their existing OCSP account.
Through September 2018, more than $961,000 has been contributed through the OCSP eGifting program, representing more than 1,000 gifts. Last year, 39 percent of all eGifted dollars were received in November and December.
“The eGifting program gives an extended family the opportunity to contribute to college savings,” Miller said. “Grandparents, aunts, uncles and anyone else can help their loved ones reach their college savings goals.”
More information about opening an OCSP account can be found at www.ok4saving.org.
About the OCSP
Introduced in April 2000, the Oklahoma 529 College Saving Plan (OCSP) is Oklahoma’s direct-sold 529 college savings plan. It is designed for families who want to direct their own 529 college savings accounts. The plan is managed by TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. Introduced in March 2009, OklahomaDream 529 Plan is offered through financial advisors and is managed by Allianz Global Investors. As of September 30, 2018, combined assets in both plans exceeded $1 billion.
Oklahoma taxpayers may deduct, from their Oklahoma adjusted gross income, up to $10,000 in contributions to the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan for individual taxpayers and up to $20,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return with a five-year carryforward. Read the Disclosure Booklet carefully.
Consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing in the Oklahoma College Savings Plan. Please visit www.ok4saving.org or call toll-free 1-877-654-7284 for a Plan Disclosure Booklet containing this and more information. Read it carefully.
Check with your home state to learn if it offers tax or other benefits such as financial aid, scholarships and protection from creditors for investing in its own 529 plan. Investments in the Plan are neither insured nor guaranteed and there is the risk of investment loss.
Consult your legal or tax professional for tax advice, including the impact of the new federal tax changes. If the funds aren’t used for qualified higher education expenses, a 10% penalty tax on earnings (as well as federal and state income taxes) may apply.
Funding for OCSP prizes comes from the marketing budget of the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan; no state funds are used.
TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc., Program Manager. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC, distributor, and underwriter for the Oklahoma College Savings Plan.
Ryan Graduation 2020
Ryan Seniors celebrate by tossing their hats in the air after graduation Saturday evening at the Ryan Football Field.
More pictures and profiles in the Special Graduation Edition to be published July 9th. The edition had to be pushed to next week due to circumstances beyond our control. Thank you for your patience.
Local girl returns home to care for patients at JCH
Waurika High School alumnus, Randi Berry, has returned home to provide rehabilitation care at Jefferson County Hospital. She attended Midwestern State University (Wichita Falls, TX) and then transferred to the University of Oklahoma where she earned her Physical Therapy degree.
“My first job out of school was with Duncan Regional Hospital,” said Randi. “I then worked for a home health care in Wichita Falls and now I am back.” As a physical therapist, Randi works with a wide range of patients. For those recovering from knee replacement surgery to those requiring reconditioning after a long hospital stay.
Therapy services offered include:
• Exercises focused on improving strength and mobility
• Instruction on safe and correct use of walker, canes, braces and artificial limbs
• Improving everyday living skills including dressing and eating
Randi and her team are here to help those who have suffered functional loss due to a disabling illness or injury. “Our goal is to get you moving again,” shared Randi.
Randi is married to Josh, a firefighter for Wichita Falls, and they have two children.
About Duncan Regional Hospital
Serving Stephens and the surrounding counties since 1977, Duncan Regional Hospital has a state-wide reputation as one of the premiere Oklahoma hospitals for medical excellence, advanced technology and nationally recognized high levels of patient satisfaction and is a 138-bed nationally accredited hospital. To learn more visit www.duncanregional.com
“My first job out of school was with Duncan Regional Hospital,” said Randi. “I then worked for a home health care in Wichita Falls and now I am back.”
Waurika Cemetery Board Meeting
The Waurika Cemetery Board had their meeting recently at Waurika City Hall.
Jim Gibson presided over the meeting.
America Dudley read the minutes from the previous meeting.
Jim began the meeting by announcing that there were two new members added to the board.
The new members are Mary Abernathy and Loretta Richardson.
Next, Jim said that they had recieved two bids for mowing the Waurika Cemetery but that it still needs to run one more week in the newspaper.
America said the Treasurer report was the same as it was at the previous meeting.
Mary Abernathy said she wants the cemetery to continuously look good. She said that was very important to her.
The possibility of donations was discussed.
Another question asked was how much it cost to operate the cemetery on a yearly basis.
Someone asked if an itemized statement of income and expenses could be presented at least once year to those who attend the yearly meeting.
The board voted to do this in the future.
The estimated yearly expense discussed was somewhere around $26,000.00.
The question arose again about transparency and that led to what was spent in 2017. The board responded that the only real major expense that year was the building of the fence. Someone else asked it if would ever be finished and painted.
The board said they would like to have gates at the cemetery where it can be locked.
Another question asked was how to assist those who come in from out of town looking for the graves of their loved ones, especially on holidays.
The Board said that at the moment, the Insurance Commissioner had all those records.
It was also noted that maps of the cemetery were located at the Dudley Funeral Home in Waurika. However, it was also stated that it was not very readable.
Someone suggested that volunteers could get together to map the cemetery and produce a new map that could be available to visitors to the cemetery.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Montandon Pavilion History
A letter dated January 2, 1980 from Glendora Montandon Hill to a Mrs. Davis contained an inquiriry into the possibility of a memorial in Waurika for the Rev. Charles Clay Montandon and his wife Myrtle who had once pastored the Nazarene church in Waurika and then later returned with plans to live out the rest of their days in this comunity they enjoyed.
Unfortunately, Charles came down with Bright’s disease and heart trouble and passed away on December 31, 1941.
His wife, Myrtle, continued to raise their children here.
Charles Clay Montandon was born in McMinnyville, Tennessee.
Myrtle Taylor was raised in Texas.
According to a paper supposedly drafted by the family found in files at Waurika City Hall, the couple didn’t meet until after Charles had been ordained as a minister in the Congregational Methodist Church.
They were married at her parent’s home at Gouldbusk, Texas.
The couple had 8 children 7 of those survived. Carlos, Nina, Faye, Charles, Glendora, Pat and James.
Source: “Oh the Glory of it All” by Sean Wilsey
Myrtle once made the remark that they had children in school for forty-two years beginning with Carlos, the oldest, and ending with Jim, the youngest.
Their ministry together consisted of revival meetings in communities where there were no churches. Once a church was established Charles would find a pastor for the congregation then move on to another community.
Charles was known as a competent contractor and builder. He often built the new church buildings or surpervised their construction.
According to the letter from the family, the couple were instrumental in establishing more than 31 churches of the Nazarene in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
According to family history, the Montandons pastored the Nazrene church in Waurika for a several years before continuing ministry in Texas.
Charles believed in the church being available to people of all races. This got him into trouble in Texas.
After allowing African Americans to attend services one week, the KKK burned the church down then set fire to a cross on the lawn of the church parsonage. The church board felt this was too much heat for their small congregation and asked the Montandon’s to leave.
This event lead the Montandon’s to retire from Ministry and move back to Waurika. Waurika was chosen because they had many friends here and it was by far the best place they had ever lived according to Pat Montandon’s memoir, Oh the Hell of it All.
More than once in her book, Pat refers to “growing up” in Waurika, Oklahoma.
The family arrived in town just before WWII. Pat Mondandon can remember the time period because someone from Waurika was nice enough to loan the family a Philco radio so they could listen to news about Hitler bombing Poland.
The death of Charles later on December 31, 1941 had quite an impact on the family. He was only fifty-six.
Myrtle stayed in Waurika to raise the three youngest who were still at home.
The people here were always good to the Montandons.
After Charles passed away, someone in the community purchased them a small home.
An accidental fire burned the house to the ground. Within two months friends in the community found them a much nicer home in a better part of town and even furnished it.
Myrtle would eventually pass away in 1979 in California. She had moved there to be near family, including her daughter, Pat, who had become somewhat of a celebrity by then.
January 1980.
City Manager Stan Patty was given the letter Glendora had written and wrote her back about the possiblity of building the pavillion in their honor.
According the the letter several options had been considered, but the city commissioners decided on remodelling and expanding Harmon Park. Part of the improvements planned for the 22 acre park was to build two pavilions.
Source: Waurika News-Democrat August 14, 1980
Members of the city commission at the time were Mayor Terry Kirkland, Vice Mayor Earl Swanson, H.C. (Jack) James, Bill Fechtel and Ceburn Lovett. The city clerk was Billie Helm.
In the letter Patty advised the cost to build one pavilion was only $2000.00.
In a forthcoming letter Glendora advised they would be happy to have a Pavilion named in her father and mother’s honor and promised a donation to cover the cost.
The plan was to have a permenent marker attached to the pavilion which would read,
“In Memory and the Honor of Reverand C.C. and Mrs. Myrtle C. Montandon.”
According to a picture in the Waurika News-Democrat (see front page), construction was well underway on August 14, 1980.
The contractor for the project was Ron Kerley.
The Montandon family left their mark on Waurika in more ways than one.
Some may recall the fame of their daughter Patricia “Pat” Montandon,
who made a name for herself in San Francisco, California.
Pat left Waurika when she was around 16 or 17 to pursue a career in modeling. Her brother-in-law Cecil Antrim (married to Faye) took money from his juke boxes and candy machines he had located around Waurika in order to pay for her trip to Dallas so she could work for Neiman-Marcus as a clothes model.
Later she migrated to San Francisco, California.
She worked as a columnist for the Sacramento Examiner and hosted her own televsion show.
Montandon published several books including How to be a Party Girl,The Intruders, Whispers from God: A Life Beyond Imaginings, and Oh the Hell of it All. Her memoir Oh the Hell of it All was a response to her son, Sean Wilsey’s book Oh the Glory of it All.
In it she talks about dating Frank Sinatra for a summer. Though she found him charming she didn’t want to marry him.
Later she met and married Melvin Belli, the attorney known as the King of Torts, and the famous attorney who defended Jack Ruby. Their marriage, however, was short lived, lasting only a few days.
Photo by Catrina Watters
Over the years Pat Montandon left her mark on the world. She fought for the rights of women, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times, met with 26 world leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet President, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India.
Some would consider her a force of nature.
During here lifetime she overcame many trials and tribulations.
In 1987 she received the UN Peace Messenger award.
The Montandons did more than leave their name on a Pavillion in Harmon Park. Through their lives and the lives of their children they left their mark on the world.
A special thank you to Catrina Watters for obtaining the files in the archives from Waurika City Hall and for the pictures of the pavilion.
Waurika Resident, Michael Floyd, Witnesses New Mexico Fire
It was dry windy morning, May 31st (my sisters birthday) I was in the southern Colorado Rocky Mountains trout fishing when I noticed, over the tops of the mountains south of me, a column of smoke hanging in the air like a thick wall cloud. With no telephone or radio reception I hoped for the best and continued to fish.
Photo by Mike Floyd
After i wrangled my limit of trout to the shore, on my stringer and in the ice chest, down the mountain and into town I went to call my sister and wish her Happy Birthday.
Once in town, I picked up the local news on my radio to find out that smoke I saw earlier was in the high country of Northern New Mexico, in the Ute Park Mountains.
This is were things get exciting… My Elderly Aunt and Uncle own a cabin in those mountains along with several of their friends (also from Oklahoma). I immediately made a call to them and was able to get through. My uncles voice was calm when he answered his phone, which relieved me. I asked if the fire was close and what he was doing? His reply was… “Well, we are just sitting on the porch watching the helicopters drop water on the fire” and that they didn’t feel they were in danger. I told them I was just an hour and a half away and that I would come help evacuate them if they needed me to. He assured me he would call and we hung up.
Photo by Mike Floyd
The next morning, June 1st, I woke to see the smoke was more intense and covered a larger area…the fire was now a out of control wild fire. I immediately called my uncle, it went straight to voicemail with each call attempt. Thinking he wasn’t up yet, I went ahead and hopped in my truck and headed to Ute Park so that I could sit with them until this fire was out of their area.
The closer I got, the worse it looked, I started to get concerned and so I mashed down on that pedal to get there as soon as I could. As I approached Cimmeron New Mexico, the smoke was thicker in town and air quality was “poor”… Once in town it was an eerie feeling, the only traffic were fire bush trucks that where extinguishing fire ambers in town. I got on highway 64 west ( the only road into Ute Park), at the edge of town I rolled up on a road block stationed by the State Highway Patrol (impossible to negotiate with) and due to trees down, they did not allow me to proceed to Ute Park.
Photo by Mike Floyd
I then got my hunting maps out that showed every back road in that area… After several attempts, I was unable to get through even on back roads, the fire was too large and intense. Ute Park was surrounded by fire and there were no evacuation routes open, my Aunt and uncle had to ride it out!
Fire is right around the bend in the road, north of Cimmeron (back road).
Photo by Mike Floyd
I later found out through a news crew on the scene that the cell tower melted and collapsed. I returned to Cimmmeron only to find the town was in mandatory orders to evacuate the entire town, instead of getting closer to my family in need, I was forced to move further away, miles away to Raton New Mexico (on the only open route out of Cimmeron). As I was in line of evacuating cars on the highway, I spotted another dirt road leading back into the mountains, I whipped it in there and headed back through the fire to Ute Park, the smoke got thicker as I drove, so I stopped for my own safety and just watched. I then noticed a antelope with three babies come running out of the smoke.. I didn’t know they could even have three babies, so I assumed, she was leading the other two to safety that for some reason got separated from their mothers. As I sat there, I received a call that my aunt and uncle were safe and being evacuated.
Photo by Mike Floyd
It was perfect timing because the game warden pulled up with sirens and lights a blaring, so I mashed down on that pedal and raced him to the gate outa there…. He locked me out.
I returned back to Colorado to my fishing hole, thanked Jesus for a the safety of my family and to watch over the men and women that risk their lives making ours safer! He replied, your welcome, by filling my stringer again with Rainbow trout!
Cowgirl Softball Squad Drops Two Contests at District Tourney
It was a quick exit for the Ryan Cowgirl slow-pitch softball team at the Class 2A District Tournament last Thursday in Sterling.
The Cowgirls dropped the opening game of the tournament to Sterling, 12-0, and lost to Geronimo in the second game, 10-3.
Ryan finishes the slow-pitch softball season with a 6-10 record.
The Cowgirls could get nothing done at the plate in the tourney opener against Sterling.
Ryan had only four base runners in the game shortened to four innings because of the run rule.
The Lady Tigers scored three runs in the first inning and added two more in the third inning before exploding for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.
In the elimination game against Geronimo, the Lady Blue Jays scored early and often.
Geronimo plated six runs in the first inning and added four more in the second inning.
The Cowgirls managed one run in the third inning when Samantha Good drove in Carter Combs to cut the Geronimo advantage to 10-1.
The Cowgirls added two more runs in the fifth inning with Lindsey Reake and Brooke Charmasson crossing the plate for Ryan.
In the sixth inning the Cowgirls put three runners on base but could not score and in the seventh inning the Cowgirls also had three runners on base but failed to cut into the Geronimo lead.
Central High claimed the district title with two wins over Sterling last Thursday night.
SEASON ENDING NOTES: The Cowgirls’ 2019 record is a slight improvement over last year’s 4-8 mark…The six wins is the most for a slow-pitch team since 2004 when the Cowgirls won seven contests…Up to five of those years Ryan did not field a slow-pitch team….The school record for most wins in a season is 19 accomplished by the 2001 season…The first slow-pitch team at Ryan was fielded in 1998…In district tournament play the Cowgirls have now lost six straight games…Ryan has won only eight district tournament games since beginning the sport in 1998…The Cowgirls won two games in 2017, but you have to go back to 2008 to find another district tourney win for the Cowgirls….Slow-pitch softball has never won a district title.
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