It’s very hot and dry around here.  I am thankful that I have an indoor job. I don’t think I could stand to be outside in this heat. 

I attended the city council meeting last Tuesday evening.  There were several younger folks that attended that had been placed on the agenda for the evening.  Sherry and Eddy Pewitt were there to discuss some points of interest with the council.  Dylan Sheffield and Johnny Kimbro also discussed some points of interest to benefit our town’s appearance.  They got together some folks to do some cleaning up of our local business district.  They were working hard this Saturday afternoon. They cleaned the debris from around the pipes under the ramps out here on Washington Street.  They did a lot of work on the flower garden located under to mural on the highway.  They cleaned the area around the drain at the corner in front of the mural. They filled in some pot holes located in our alley behind the north side of Washington business area. They all worked so hard and during the hottest part of the day.  Thanks to all of the folks that participated during this cleaning event.  It was so good to see that there are young people that are taking pride in our community.  Things can get done when there are groups of people that can all work together to better our communities. The city council also approved Macy Wright setting up a firework stand within the city limits.  The council also discussed the need to hire a part time employee during the summer months.  They said this job would pay $10.00 per hour and would allow up to 20 hours per week.  Anyone interested in part time employment, go in to Ryan City Hall and fill out an application. 

This Sunday is Father’s Day and also the day set for the Ryan Cemetery dinner fund raiser.  There are tickets being sold at City Hall for a Yeti cooler and cap, and 2 rifles.  The tickets for the raffle are $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00.  Go into City Hall if you would like to purchase some tickets.

There will be another sidewalk sale in downtown Ryan on July 6th.  If you missed the first one, then folks will have another chance to check out our local merchants sale items. 

Our Methodist Church members got to meet our new pastor, Christy Clark and her husband Mark,  and son Conrad this past Sunday.  This was Christy’s first Sunday as pastor in our church.  She also preaches at Temple Methodist Church.  We look forward to having her as our pastor. 

I took Brionna back to the Ranch Sunday after church.  She had a little longer stay this time.  I picked her up Saturday evening a week ago so that she could go to church and see Sandy  for the last time serving as our church pastor. She was also wanting to get to meet our new pastor, so, I just let her stay all week so she would be home for both occasions. She got to go to lunch with Terri and Chuck this past Thursday at Circle Dee’s. 

Kim’s news for this week:

Foxy and I have been riding Ruffy Tuffy every day.  They both got their baths on Sunday.  Every morning I’m still able to drink coffee at the Cowboy College Table.  Everyone have a blessed week.

Have a Happy Father’s Day and hope a lot of folks will come out to the school for lunch on that day to help support our Ryan cemetery.  Have a blessed week.  Pray for rain and for each other.

What a great week we’ve had. It was a hot week. No rain for the week, but, Sunday started out very cool, then Monday followed suit. We had a little shower today, and hoping and praying to be blessed with more. 

Tuesday morning last week, we learned that someone had tried to break into the ATM machine inside the First State Bank. They have some video footage of the person trying to gain access into the machine and they are also aware of the vehicle he was driving, but, hopefully they will find the person involved in this crime.  

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty quiet days around town, but, then Friday came along and we started our sidewalk sales around town.  It was great to see folks out in town shopping the local merchants. It was pretty exciting to see downtown Ryan was still alive and capable of bringing folks in to shop, even from areas outside of our local area. We had a few folks that traveled from Duncan. There were several garage sales around town, too. It was a great day. Maybe we should do this more often! 

The time is approaching that we will be having the dinner to raise money for our Ryan Cemetery.  A lot of money is required to keep our cemetery maintained during the months that the lawn is mowed.  This fundraiser takes some of the financial burden off of our town’s expenses. The dinner is set for Father’s Day, June 17,  at the Ryan School Cafeteria.

Kim’s news for this week:

Dustin, I want to thank him for giving Ruffy Tuffy a trim. I was by Ruffy Tuffy’s side when Dustan saw Foxy ride. Dustan has his own chicken market. I’m saving him egg cartons.

Ronnie had fun hanging with his grandson. 

Everyone have a blessed week. Pray for rain and for each other.

We’ve been blessed with another great week and we got 2.2 inches of rain on Thursday.  This was quite a downpour.  It was wonderful to have gotten any.  There is more just around the corner looks like on Sunday and Monday.  We are beginning to expect highs each day around the 90 degree area.  Get ready for Sunday, though, the high is expected to be 79.  Please be sure to keep yourselves well hydrated if you go outside on these hot days.  There have been a lot of folks that are experiencing low blood pressure, that, come to find out, their problem was associated with dehydration. 

I attended Brother Bob Waitman’s funeral, or better referred to as the celebration of his life, last week.  There were law officials out directing traffic off of Hwy 81.  Cars were being parked across from the church, and folks were being shuttled in local church buses.  There was a great attendance.  I would guess there to be close to a thousand attended his service.  What a tribute it was to him.  There were 3 folks that got up and preached–Mark Kunkel, Bubba Clark, and his son, Bobby Don Waitman.  All three of them had such fine things to say about Brother Bob.  He was loved by so very  many around this community and far beyond. You could tell what an impression he made on folks by the number of people that attended his service. 

This coming Friday, May 11th, will be our Ryan United Methodist Church UMW annual Mother’s Day Bake Sale.  The sale will start at 10:00am in front of the Ryan Drug Store.  Any donations would be greatly appreciated. 

This Saturday, the Ryan Seniors will be having their graduation ceremony.  I am going to pick up Brionna Thursday so that she can attend it with me. 

This Sunday is Mother’s Day.  I am going to pick Mom up Saturday morning for Sherry to fix her hair, then, on Sunday, bring her back over for church.  I haven’t brought her to church with us lately.  I think she will be glad to get to get out of the home for an outing, anyway. 

The town of Ryan will be chopping wood on Saturday, May 19th, from 8:30am to 9:30am out at the Ryan dump grounds, west of town. This is a free service offered to folks from our community.  It is also weather permitting.

The Ryan Cemetery committee will be meeting at 5:00pm on May 14th at Ryan City Hall.  This will be to finalize plans for the fund raising dinner being planned on Father’s Day.

There is a blood drive at the Ryan Senior Citizen Center on Tuesday, May 15th from 3:00pm to 6:30pm.

Kim’s news from the Cowboy College this week:

Brother Bob’s passing away was sad, But, I’ll see him in Heaven and I am glad.

Ronnye–Dustan did care that you brought your lawn chair.

Thanks for the knowledge from the Cowboy College.

Everyone have a blessed week and a Happy Mother’s Day.  Please pray for rain and for each other.

 It’s been another awesome week and we did receive a bit of rain on Wednesday and nearly again on Thursday. Our temperatures are nearly where they should be at this time of year, but, as we Okies know, that can change at any minute. We have still seen some lows nearing the very low 40s, but, those might be behind us now. We have some pretty good chances for rain this week before the paper goes to print.  

I was sorry to hear about the passings  of Billie Johnson and her brother, Weldon Fuller. Prayers to their families during this time of loss.  

I picked up Brionna Thursday and she got to spend some time Friday morning with her friends Kim, Foxy, and Ruffy Tuffy. Brionna got to spend a few minutes in the store Friday, but, the rest of the day she spent it visiting at the bank, or with Crystal and Tammy, or with Morgan. She got her hair cut Friday morning by Morgan. She did a good job. Saturday we went to Wichita Falls and ate out, did some shopping, went to see the movie A Wrinkle in Time, then headed to Nocona to spend some time with Mom. Sunday morning we got ready for church and stopped and picked up Ben Arneson so he could go to Sunday school and church with us. I made a loaf of bread for Communion, and the remainder of the dough, I made cinnamon rolls. It was Ben, Brionna, and myself attending class. Edna called that she wasn’t going to make it because she had to go help Natalie and Ken with some cattle. Butch had told me earlier in the week that he wasn’t going to be in town for the weekend. He and Lily went to Oklahoma City to see family members up around the City. Dana wasn’t at church or Sunday school because she had made a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Lolly came in around 10:30 and told me that she had gotten a phone call that Brother Bob Waitman had passed away that morning.  I was so sorry to hear that news, but, it sounded like he passed peacefully from this life.  He has been a very well respected and loved man in and around and beyond our community.  Prayers to all of the Waitman family during this difficult time. The Crossbrand Cowboy Church had their church service as planned, but, they had a pastor that filled in for Brother Bob on this particular Sunday. 

Brionna and I attended the wedding shower for Morgan Good and her fiancé, Jim Roberts. They received a lot of nice gifts and there was a good crowd there that attended their celebration. 

Sunday evening, Brionna and I attended church in Terral at the Assembly of God Church.  The First Baptist Church of Terral and Terral Assembly of God Church met together for food and fellowship. They meet together when there is a 5th Sunday.  I had been asked to attend this service, first by Cecilia Harnois, and next by Keith, the Terral Assembly of God Pastor. There was a lot of good food, then we met in the sanctuary for fellowship. There was a lot of really good music. Terral has a lot of really talented folks that are willing to get up there and share their talents with a pretty large group of folks. Geneva played the piano for the congregational singing. It was very enjoyable and we can look forward to the next 5th Sunday get-together in August, where the meeting place will be at the Terrap First Baptist Church.  I took Brionna back to Bowie after the service. 

Kim’s news for this week:

When I rode Sunday, it was time for fly spray. Ruffy Tuffy wouldn’t mind, he was shaking his head all the time. So, today, I did spray. It was beautiful weather, Ruffy Tuffy did better. 

Everyone have a blessed week. Pray for rain and for each other.