As having been recently elected to the city council and appointed as mayor of Waurika, I am hearing good things about our town and some things that people think should be done differently or areas where we are falling short.
The purpose of this letter is to point out some things that I think are being done to help our community grow. Many of you are watching the progress of the Sorosis Park renovation at Main and D St. The mural is finished and the sculptures of cows and horses donated by local farmers and ranchers will soon be returned to the wall. Watch for more progress in the coming months. This is made possible by having fund raisers and receiving donations from citizens interested in making our community a more attractive and user friendly place to live.
Recently a family from out of town who came to attend the Ranch Rodeo said, “Waurika has one of the prettiest Main Streets we have ever seen”. They noticed Veterans Park, the beautiful flowers in pots and the Yaupon trees and shrubs in the brick planters. Our beautiful Main Street is made possible by Craig Williams and community volunteers.
As we search for new business and industry to come to our community, they invariably ask about our medical care and our school system. The Jefferson County Hospital and Waurika Clinic are great assets for our community. We have a very good school system with excellent administrators and teachers and are very fortunate to have easy access to the Red River Technology Center in Duncan. We all want our students and young adults to have every opportunity for a great future.
Prospective businesses also ask about the city’s financial condition and residential areas. Our city financial situation is good. We have a great group of city employees, led by strong management who are willing and able to make good decisions, develop excellent budgets and stay within those guidelines to assure we have emergency funds to deal with unforeseen issues.
Our police force is very effective and aware of the drug issues and burglaries we have in our community. They are working diligently along with the county sheriff’s department on these problems. We also have employees making residents aware of city codes pertaining to tall grass, weeds and trash on properties.
Yes, we do have some issues! We have been told by consultants who have helped in our efforts to bring more business to Waurika and create a better place to live that we need to clean up our town. We are working hard on this and making progress. I have talked with people from Comanche, Anadarko, Ardmore and Nocona and they have all stated they had to clean up their town before they could grow.
Venable Pipeline Company has been here for almost a year and are extremely pleased with the way they were accepted and treated like family in Waurika. The superintendent noted they were treated fair on everything they needed in our town and this was very different than other towns where they had headquartered. This makes me proud of our town and its people.
Do we have it all worked out? No, but we have a beautiful Main Street, the best Veteran’s Park, a mural depicting the Chisholm Trail in what will be a park that we can all enjoy. We also have a large group of citizens willing to work for community improvement. Are we making progress? Absolutely, because so many have the vision ingrained in their mind and the possibilities for our little town are great!
I ask for your support in working toward an even better community to be proud of and to be seen that way by anyone who chooses to locate here. Waurika Proud!
Sincerely,
Gary “Lebo” Duncan,
Mayor, Waurika, Oklahoma
