As far back as I can remember, my mother would have me down by the bed at night with her, praying. I can still hear her voice calling my name to God and telling Him that she wanted me to follow Him in whatever he called me to do. – Charles R. Swindoll
TERRAL CITY HALL NEWS- Our regular city council meeting will be on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018 at the City Hall Meeting Room beginning at 6:00 p.m.
COMMUNITY CENTER ANNUAL DINNER – The Terral Community Center will have its fund raising dinner on Saturday, February 10th at the Terral Community Center from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. We will be serving Chili, Beans, Stew & Cornbread. Dessert and Drink will be included. Cost will be DONATION ONLY! We will also have carry out beginning 4:00 p.m by calling 940-366-4501. As always we will be asking our local cooks to help with donated desserts. All proceeds will go to the upkeep of the Terral Community Center.
Make plans to join us!
FBC Girl in Action Group – The GA T-Shirts are in and if you ordered a T-Shirt from a GA they will be delivered this week. We are open for new orders if anyone would like to oder a T-Shirt. Please call Shirley at 437-2337. We are still taking recipes for our Community Cookbook until Feb. 14th. You may drop them by City Hall or to Shirley or Mary Alice Kunkel. Thanks!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – Geneva Fulton partied on Feb. 4th.
Happy Anniversary – Donna & Jimmy Wesberry celebrated their second anniversary on Feb. 2, 1018.
COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST – Cindy Day, Tony Rodriguez, Brenda Bryant, Scotty Day, Tom Baysinger, Sue and Avery Linton, Martin Villarreal, Sr., Joe Martin, Faye Tanner,
Adam White, Mary Loo Duke, Florita Villarreal, Glen Martin, Robert Harness, Esther
Grimes, Marie Pollan, Virginia Tanner, Darlene Hall, Carrie Sheffield, T.K. Delaney, Manuel Villarreal, Shanna Reed and our military stationed around the world. May God Keep you in His loving care.
Jimmy W. Kinder of Walters, Governor Fallin’s Agriculture Environmental
Stewardship Award
The award presented to Kinder recognizes Oklahoma agriculturalists who are leaders in developing and adopting outstanding environmentally innovative agricultural practices. This award highlights the efforts of an Oklahoma agriculture producer who is a steward of the environment and is dedicated to conserving the natural resources of Oklahoma while helping to ensure a continued supply of food and fiber.
Kinder is a fourth-generation farmer and rancher from Cotton County and an early innovator in Oklahoma agriculture. His family farms 5,500 acres of wheat, canola, sesame, and grain sorghum. They grow 2,500 acres of grass and run stocker cattle.
Kinder has implemented the agricultural production methods of no-tillage cropping, crop rotation, cover crops and stocker cattle grazing. His agricultural production system offers superior economic, agronomic, environmental and social benefits.
Some 20 years later, Kinder’s production system has become an inspiration to other farmers and ranchers.
“We live in exciting times,” Kinder said. “A conservation renaissance is happening on farms and ranches across Oklahoma. God willing, this generation has the capability to begin repairing soils, soils that were damaged almost 100 years ago during the dustbowl. Today, using novel sustainable practices that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable, the next generation will inherit better soils than we received. Never in history have we had this opportunity.”
Kinder’s production system uses less to get more, and the benefits go beyond production. Kinder says using no-till rather than conventional tillage reduces runoff and keeps the soil in place so the county doesn’t have to clean bar ditches. He also says the soil captures carbon dioxide and acts as a carbon sink, taking in more carbon than it emits, and he adds that no-till keeps nutrients in the soil.
Kinder has always had a presence in the agricultural community, but in recent years he has elevated his profile, maintaining a presence in the media to educate and promote environmental stewardship. Kinder has shared his production methods at national No-till on the Plains and No-till Oklahoma meetings. TheKinders farming operation was featured in a 2008 New York Times article, The Food Chain: Fields of Grain and Losses.
Kinder participated in the Farm Foundation Forum on Soil Renaissance at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. in 2014. Created in 1933, the Farm Foundation is an agricultural policy institute that connects leaders in farming, business, academia, organizations and government who collaborate on how to meet society’s needs for food, fiber, feed and energy. In 2016, the prestigious Foundation invited him to become a roundtable member.
Kinder recently returned from Washington, D.C. where he worked with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition to advocate for funding for soil conservation programs and research.
He is a member of the Soil Health Institute, created by the Noble Foundation and the Farm Foundation in 2013. He participated in the Institutes’ Soil Renaissance resulting in Enriching Soil, An Action Plan for Soil Health, unveiled in May 2017. The Institute’s mission is to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of soil through scientific research and advancement.
Kinder and his wife Margaret Ann have been married for 38 years and have three children and three grandchildren. He said the rich soil he has created using emerging technology and his multi-faceted production system is the true inheritance he will leave to his children.
Kinder, a graduate of Cameron University, has served as the Cotton County Rural Water District secretary, the Cotton County Farm Services Agency chairman, and the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association board director. He participated in the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program from 1984-1986 and received State Master Agronomist recognition from Oklahoma State University in 2009.
Kinder has served Oklahoma Farm Bureau at every level, serving as the Cotton County Farm Bureau president from 1990-2011, before becoming a state board member. He has served on the OKFB board of directors from 2011 to the present, with part of that time as vice president. Kinder also represents rural water interests on the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality board. As a board member, he has oversite over most of the state’s environmental policies and programs. He served as a Nonresident Fellow at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore from 2009-2017. As a Fellow, Kinder performed independent critical reviews of programs, processes and procedures for the Foundation.
“I am overwhelmed to be the recipient of Governor Fallin’s Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Award,” Kinder said. “To me, this award recognizes a family tradition of over four generations to feed consumers from the land that God allows us to manage.”
You might expect when a sports writer is asked to write a tribute to someone the focus would be on that person’s accomplishments as a coach or player.
But, this article will be focused more on the person than his accomplishments.
Last week a large crowd gathered at Ryan’s First Baptist Church to say goodbye to legendary Ryan coach and principal, Raymon West.
Most anyone that has been under the instruction of Mr. West would probably choose to focus on the man because
his contribution to the lives of people went farbeyond the football field, basketball court or baseball diamond if they were tasked with writing a tribute.
As Bro. Mark Kunkel, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Terral, said numerous times while conducting the service, everyone was mostly there to honor the man Mr. West and not Coach West.
However, well over half the crowd identified themselves at one point in the service as having been coached by Coach West.
And certainly his coaching ability is not to be overlooked, but each person who has come under the influence of Mr. West would probably be quick to agree with Bro. Kunkel and this writer that his greatest achievements were what he poured into our lives.
You see the goal of Mr. West was not really to produce great athletes – although that did happen. His goal was to prepare high school students for life.
And, for the most part he was a master at teaching life lessons.
Mr. West was tough. He was a disciplinarian. However, he correctly knew that making life a bit difficult in the athletic arena would serve each person well when they began to tackle life as a young adult.
And, some of those lessons not only served us well as young adults, but throughout our life time.
As was noted in the funeral service, Mr. West cared deeply for people. He endeared himself to most every athlete he ever coached and those he taught.
The compassion Mr. West had for people carried over to his retirement years as he served people through his church and was frequently present when a need had to be met in the community.
Everything Mr. West did was with great passion – his family, ranching, teaching and coaching.
Mr. West’s accomplishments in the coaching profession should not go without mention. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Girls Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1988. Most everyone knows he coached the 1965 Cowgirl squad that won the Class B state championship – the only state title in school history. He coached the Cowgirls for a total of 13 seasons.
He coached the Cowboy basketball team for 15 seasons and took the 1962 squad to the state tournament – one of only two boys’ teams to advance into the state tournament.
Mr. West’s contributions to the football program are more notable than most people might think. He coached football on three different occasions – in 1958, 1962-1963 and 1977-1980. The 1962 squad just missed out on a district title and finished 8-2 which tied the 1929 football team for the second most wins in a season up to that time.
It is likely that one of the key decisions made by Mr. West while serving as principal and head football coach at Ryan was moving from 11-man football to eight-man football following the 1977 season. The decision probably saved the football program and he coached the Cowboys to the playoffs in the first year of eight-man football.
Mr. West also coached baseball in the early years at Ryan.
In the four sports coached by Mr. West, he led squads to 14 conference championships, three county championships, seven bi-county championships, 10 district titles, three regional crowns and one state championship.
No tribute, however, would be complete without personal stories because Mr. West had a profound impact on my life.
Late during my eighth-grade year and Mr. West’s first year back at Ryan after having coached at Burkburnett, Texas and Duncan, he noticed right away that my athletic genes were just about non-existent.
Mr. West came to me and asked me if I would be interested in being the student trainer, which I did after football season that year. He sent me that following summer by bus to Baylor University to attend the National Athletic Trainers Association annual convention.
I was definitely way out of my league (can you imagine a kid who just completed eighth grade going on a trip like that alone?), but I learned a few things and spent the rest of my high school days helping with all sports. Mr. West saw potential in me that I did not see in myself and giving me that responsibility helped me stay connected to sports.
As you can imagine we spent a lot of time together during basketball practices. During that time I learned a lot about basketball, but did not fail to pick up one or two life lessons along the way.
One of those came one afternoon after Ryan had suffered a loss in a game that was not well-officiated. And, as I have a tendency to do even today, I was griping about how poorly the officials called the game the night before.
I suppose Mr. West had heard enough and he looked at me and said, “You worry about the things you have control over. We have no control over the officiating.”
That little tidbit has remained with me through the years and has been invaluable in my life’s journey.
In the years following whenever I would make my way to Ryan I would try to make sure I came in contact with Mr. West.
A side note – most anyone coached by Mr. West were all afraid to ever call him anything but Mr. West or Coach West. It was always difficult to address him as “Raymon.” But, that is the kind of respect he commanded and deserved.
Many others and in particular his family could share similar stories about how Mr. West impacted their lives. I am just fortunate I had the opportunity to be the one to write this article.
I believe it is pretty easy to come to one conclusion – there will never be another Raymon West.
“And Our Mothers Cried” Vividly Brings to Life Native American Experiences During the Indian Boarding School Era of the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
ADA, Okla. — The Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honored “Winter Fire—And Our Mothers Cried,” with an EMMY® Award in the Documentary – Historical category.
“And Our Mothers Cried” vividly brings to life the Indian boarding school era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For several generations of Native American children, including some Chickasaws, attending boarding school meant separation from their families and indoctrination into a culture that wasn’t their own. The schools, which were guided by the infamous slogan, “Kill the Indian. Save the Man,” prohibited most students from speaking their own language and emphasized labor-intensive trades that would assimilate them into white culture through military-type institutions.
The documentary presents a stark contrast between these schools and schools established and operated by the Chickasaw Nation, which were designed to prepare Chickasaw children to compete in a rapidly changing world. “And Our Mothers Cried” presents compelling stories from some of the Chickasaw elders who lived through the boarding school era. Their experiences weave a complex story of sorrow and survival, but also one of hope and resilience from a time when tribal governments and culture were under attack.
“Winter Fire,” part of Chickasaw.tv’s original programming lineup, is a documentary series about Chickasaw history, culture, people and present-day tribal issues. Each episode documents the Chickasaw stories and oral histories that have been passed down through the generations about topics such as removal, the revitalization of the Chickasaw language, traditional medicine, and Indian boarding schools, as in the episode “And Our Mothers Cried.”
“Our intention with Chickasaw.tv was to create a repository—a digital Smithsonian, if you will—to document our culture, legacy, and traditions for future generations,” said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. “We believe it is vital to tell the stories of the Chickasaw people and the role the Chickasaw Nation has played in history from our own point of view because we believe it adds important context to the historical narrative.”
Chickasaw.tv is a high-definition, a video-rich network focused on emphasizing the culture, legacy and continuing contributions of the Chickasaw people. Originally launched in 2010 under the leadership of Governor Anoatubby and relaunched in 2017 on a dynamic, new, multi-device platform, it is the first online video network of its kind by a Native American tribe. The interactive, high-quality content is available on mobile, tablets, desktop, Apple TV and Google Chromecast, with enhanced functionality and a user-friendly experience. The expanded original programming and the release of the Chickasaw.tv app on Apple TV and Google Chromecast reflect the Chickasaw Nation’s continued commitment to technological innovation and cultural preservation.
Click here to watch the EMMY® Award-winning “Winter Fire—And Our Mothers Cried.”
Easton Barnes, Landon Brackett, Oat Wyler and Ace Dyer earned the Arrow of Light award (This is the highest rank you can achieve in Cub Scouts. It’s like getting your Eagle Rank in Boy Scouts.)
It’s been a really awesome week. We’ve had more rain, our grass is green, and lawns are in desperate need of being mowed (at least my lawn is). I got on my riding lawn mower Sunday afternoon and mowed a 15 foot strip beside my driveway before the mower died. I couldn’t get it started again after numerous tries. It would turn, but, it just wouldn’t start. So, it is still sitting where it died. I moved it about 4 feet off the patch of grass it was sitting on so that I could mow it with my trusty push mower. It makes from a 3 hour job riding to an 8 hour job pushing. I will call Sears and get them to come out and get it going, but, that usually takes about 2 weeks to get that scheduled and I would have a jungle before then.I am getting it done, anyway.
This weekend is the wedding day for Macie Wright and Austin Masoner. Their wedding is to take place just outside of Marlow on Saturday evening.
Ryan has lost another one of our great legends. Raymon West passed away Sunday morning. Raymon was a part of our community for I don’t even know how many years. He served in the military, taught school, and became an administrator in the Ryan Public School, then was employed at ASCOG after he retired from his job as the superintendent of Ryan Public School. Raymon had some very interesting things to tell about what all he went through regarding his life. He fits into the same highly respected class, along with Bob Givens, in my opinion.Even after Raymon’s mind had been invaded by the Alzheimer’s disease, I had gone to visit him while he was a resident of the Cherry Street Assisted Living Facility in Nocona, and he had a photo album in his room that he showed me. He was so very proud of all of his accomplishments and his children and grandchildren, and great grandchildren. His celebration of his life will be Wednesday this week at the First Baptist Church in Ryan. Prayers to the West family during their loss.
I am still being hopeful that someone might want to come into this community and take over my pharmacy so we won’t even have to close our doors at the Ryan Drug Store. I will ask for folks to please be in prayer that the Lord will take care of this situation for this little community. I keep moving the date of closing, thinking that there will be an answer to my prayers, and I will continue to be patient during this time.
Kim’s news for this week:
This week I can’t complain, because of all the needed rain.
Every morning Foxy & I go to the barn together and ride in the nice cool weather.
Summer weather has almost parted and shorter days and longer nights have started.
Everyone have a blessed week. Pray for rain and for each other.
Editor’s Note: This year’s Chamber Banquet requires more room than we have in this edition. Therefor, this is the first part of a two-part story.
Part two will be in next week’s paper.
It was a year to remember.
2018 was prosperous and successful for the city of Waurika.
Those who attended last Saturday evening’s Waurika Chamber of Commerce Banquet were treated to a sample of those accomplishments.
Chamber President Jon Waid served as master of ceremonies and with class and dignity recognized various individuals and businesses who have contributed to the betterment of Waurika during 2018.
Duncan Regional Hospital catered the Italian meal.
Local video production specialist and videographer Tyler Griffin showed two videos he produced.
Roy and Monica Bartling were honored for the tireless leadership during the Smithsonian Exhibit in 2018 and contributions to the advancement of Waurika.
The first video was of the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition, “The Way We Worked,” that was held in Waurika during this past summer.
Monica Bartling, the organizer and coordinator of the Smithsonian tour gave a presentation that recognized those who worked so hard to make it such a resounding success.
Although Monica humbly gives credit to others for the success of the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition, many have expressed that it would never have been a success without her Roy’s faithful leadership.
The Smithsonian venture began in 2014 when Amy Watkins—who was the Library Director at the time—wrote a grant application to the Oklahoma Humanities Council.
The representative from the council fell in love with Waurika and the depot.
Monica Bartling presents an award for Jerry and Virginia Wallace for all their hard work during the Smithsonian Exhibit. Adam Wallace is not pictured.
Ann Thompson, director of the Oklahoma Humanities Council suggested that it would be good to combine the Smithsonian Exhibit with the 150th Anniversary of the Chisholm Trail.
Waurika was one of the five cities in Oklahoma chosen to display the Exhibit. The other cities were Perkins, Broken Arrow, Grove and Poteau Oklahoma.
The April before the event, Johnny and Rinda Griffin, Pat and Kristie Gaines, Gary and Jane Carter, Gary and Lauren Nitschke, Gary and Becky Gerken, and Everett and Ann Hodges all pitched in by cleaning windows on Main Street, reworking the parking area at the library and cleaning up trees and sidewalks, documenting the history of downtown and adding new life to storefronts that had been covered in white paper or tarps for years.
Glen Hobbs awarded appreciation for his hard work during the Exhibit Photo by Curtis Plant
Another feature of the Exhibit was what became the “Story of the Boot” that illustrated the history of thirty families who have rich farming and ranching roots in Jefferson County. The stories of these families were on a featured display within the depot alongside the exhibits provided by the Smithsonian.The display was provided by Bobby Taylor, owner of Taylor-Made Welding, who donated his time to create it.
In addition to the Smithsonian Exhibit was the restoration of the Caboose at the depot.
A special thanks was given at the banquet to Jerry, Virginia, and Adam Wallace.
They worked tirelessly on the project.
Their efforts saved $2000 on the original quote. They were also responsible for the building of the stage for the melodrama and provided the farm equipment for the Antique Farm Exhibit as well as securing the chuckwagon for the Saturday event.
The Wallaces also provided the equipment to clear the trees behind the Presbyterial church.
Virginia donated a quilt for a fundraiser to raise funds for all events. Through their efforts $500 was raised.
The opening weekend of the Exhibit there was an “invitation only” celebration on the Friday evening before the big opening of the Exhibit on Saturday.
Thanks to the able talents of local druggist, Biff Eck, there was a Melodrama performed the night of before the Exhibit opening.
Darrel and Carolyn Beaver have been welcoming diners to the Chamber Banquet for years. Photo by Curtis Plant
Eck coordinated the play and recruited the actors. The play added to the entertainment and the flavor of the Exhibit.
The actors included Biff Eck, Mary Abernathy, Jessica Coody, Cindy Walker, Gene Chesley, and Brad Scott.
Clay and Lindsey Forst spent two years making a twenty minute video that featured interviews of citizens that recounted the history of Jefferson county. Originally they had 12 hours of interviews and spent a year taking pictures and video throughout the county.
Before the celebrations ever began Glen Hobbs was on hand when the Smithsonian Exhibit arrived in 12 huge trunks. Along with Lodge Scott, Glen was able to put together the exhibit material in eight hours.
Hobbs also assisted with the food preparations. When he discovered that the attendance scheduled for the opening night went up from 150 to 350, he assisted the chuckwagon crew by smoking briskets and helped serve during the event. He also built the rope making machine that the youth used during the display on Saturday.
During that Saturday celebration there was a gospel singing at the First Presbyterian Church. Those who led the singing was Belinda Bohot, Gaye Leseny and Claudine Smith. Belinda Bohot and Starr Herron cleaned the inside of the church from top to bottom.
A new sign for the church was created by Lauren Nitschke. The new sign was put up by Mike Gaines and Gary Gerken.
Other people who helped immensely were Tammy Moss Cox and Cross Brand Cowboy Church for providing free water for the Saturday event. The temperature that day was 105 degrees. The water was available at all downtown locations including the Presbyterian Church and the depot. Tammy volunteered her time to get the water, all the ice and the containers in place.
Fire Chief, Stephen Dyer and the Waurika Fire Department helped with every stop of the process and volunteered to cook hotdogs and hamburgers for the Saturday event.
On the day of the opening night, it was discovered that there was not going to be enough tables and chairs.
The Waurika Methodist Church, The First Baptist Church, David & Lisa England and the Waurika Fire Department suppled the tables and chairs.
After awards and thank yous were given, Monica told those at the banquet that the community wanted to keep the energy moving forward.
The Waurika Development Trust is undertaking a series of actions to make Waurika a better place.
She mentioned that Craig Williams had suggested the planting of wildflowers at the entrances and roadways coming into Waurika.
There is also talk of creating a Disc Golf Course at Harman Park.
After Monica’s presentation Jon Waid presented various awards.
One of the new business is “The Shedd Man” portable business downtown. Rev. Jonathan Hunt, the owner, was presented with a plaque.
The new Red River Fine Art Gallery downtown was also recognized. Owners, Jerry and Dee McMahan were on hand to receive a plaque of congratulations.
Although the session was cut short by COVID-19, we did get nearly 200 bills signed into law. I’ll be discussing some of these measures in the coming weeks as well as providing updates as our state’s economy works to recover.
One bill that will help our state tremendously in the future is HB 4018 creating the Rural Broadband Expansion Act. Under the new law, a council will be assembled to study rural broadband access around the state and determine the costs for improving access to all Oklahomans. Stakeholders from various industries, officials from both the executive and legislative branches and rural stakeholders will be responsible with devising a plan to help get this basic 21st century need to all Oklahomans.
Sadly, Oklahoma currently ranks 47th in rural broadband access. This has caused tremendous problems, especially the last few months when students couldn’t access their online studies, unemployed individuals couldn’t file their weekly claim or access their benefits, and families couldn’t order food online. We are a digital nation. Everything you need is on the internet but many Oklahomans don’t have access to it so this council will work to change that. The council will be assembled and must hold its first meeting by the end of July.
Just as it was vital to have a land line in the past, it’s now imperative that families be connected to the internet. The health crisis changed many aspects of our lives including how government services are provided. While many changes will be temporary, how government services will be provided may be more permanent given the necessary budget cuts that had to be made this year due to low energy prices and the pandemic’s effect on our state’s economy.
One example of how state agencies are modernizing their services while also protecting their staff from furloughs or layoffs is the Department of Human Services (DHS) announcing they’ll be closing offices and allowing their staff to telework. These include the Jefferson and Tillman County DHS offices. There has been some concern over this, but I met with DHS and was assured that they are working through every single issue that may arise following this change. Everyone’s jobs are safe, and this will help the agency continue providing services while making the required 4% budget cut in the coming fiscal year.
Some agencies are still teleworking out of abundance of caution regarding COVID-19. Given that most state agencies received 4% budget cuts, teleworking may continue to be used in the coming year to help cut costs and protect jobs.
Lots of changes have occurred at the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC). This small agency is tasked with distributing unemployment benefits and prior to the pandemic only received an average of 1,800 unemployment claims a week but have reached as high as nearly 94,000 in one week. The historic number of Oklahomans filing for unemployment (more than 500,000) uncovered some major problems with the agency’s outdated technology and website.
My heart goes out to those of you who have been unemployed and waiting for assistance the last couple of months. Hopefully, you were able to find assistance from other organizations and charities to help get you through this difficult time.
I’m pleased to say that OESC hired a new executive director and have major tremendous strides in resolving the backlog of cases, especially for those who are self-employed and have been waiting on the federal PUA, FPUC and PEUC benefits. Major technological, website and program upgrades helped OESC successfully resolve more than 70% of the backlog cases leaving only around 3,000 more to address. Everyone should have their benefits in the next couple of weeks.
Again, if you haven’t received any benefits please contact them to get an update on your case. If you need further help, please don’t hesitate to contact our office and we’ll assist however we can.
Thank you again for the privilege of serving our district and the State of Oklahoma in the Senate. If I can be of any assistance, you can reach me at (405) 521-5563 or Chris.Kidd@oksenate.gov.
