By Anthony Hauck – Communications Manager, Audubon Conservation Ranching,
Waurika, Oklahoma — The Circle N Ranch, home ranch of Nitschke Natural Beef, owned and operated by Gary and Lauren Nitschke, has received a Bird-Friendly Habitat Certification from the National Audubon Society. Nitschke Natural Beef products and promotional materials can now carry the Audubon Certified bird friendly seal, which recognizes their origin on lands managed for birds and biodiversity.
The Nitschkes’ entire ranch is enrolled in Audubon Conservation Ranching, a sprout up habitat program working to stabilize declining grassland bird populations in Oklahoma and across the U.S. Uniquely, Audubon Conservation Ranching connects consumers to conservation through the marketplace, distinguishing products that come from lands actively managed for wildlife through rotational and regenerative grazing practices. At the Circle N Ranch, this means the Nitschkes are using their cattle beyond beef production, but also to create a mosaic of habitat for priority birds, including flagship species such as the Northern Bobwhite, Eastern Meadowlark, and the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – Oklahoma’s state bird.
For the Nitschkes, the habitat partnership with Audubon is the next step in an evolution of stewardship dating to 2003, when they became second-generation ranch owners.
“Audubon Conservation Ranching provides our ranch with another level of distinction, as well as program standards that align with our lifelong values of caring for the environment and animals,” Lauren Nitschke said. Lands must meet program standards in the areas of habitat management, environmental sustainability, and animal health and welfare to receive Audubon’s bird-friendly certification.
Thomas Schroeder, Audubon Conservation Ranching Manager in Oklahoma and Texas, said the Nitschkes’ ground-up philosophy, long focused on building organic matter and putting health back into the soil, is the base for good grassland habitat. “Healthy soil makes for healthy grass, and healthy grasslands make for healthy wildlife,” Schroeder said. Added habitat enhancements, including the conversion of some cropland back to grasslands, will benefit pollinating insects and a host of other grassland-dependent bird species, including the Bell’s Vireo, Dickcissel, Field Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, Sedge Wren, and Upland Sandpiper.
Nitschke Natural Beef specializes in custom, family-sized cutting orders with a Dallas-Fort Worth and north Texas delivery area. The Circle N Ranch is also a producer for the Grassfed Livestock Alliance, which supplies locally-produced grassfed meats to the Southwest Region of Whole Foods Market. For more information, contact Nitschke Natural Beef.
Once upon a time, a powerful ruler publicly humiliated a simple woman. He invited her as a guest of honor to an annual celebration, but instead of honoring her, the ruler heaped ire and abuse upon her, attacking her character, honor, and integrity. She helplessly endured it in silence while her friends and colleagues silently watched. No one spoke up or even stood beside her. Her seat of honor at a celebration was instead a seat of scorn.
Those same friends and colleagues privately came to her afterwards and affirmed their love and support for her. The ruler also visited the woman and apologized very sincerely for his hurtful and unfair behavior and invited her to another celebration. She was not attacked this time, but the previous injustice was ignored, and she left more wounded than ever, because private praise rarely heals public wounds, and neither do secret apologies. Such a broken heart simply festers.
I share this little parable because I am often asked how people can affirm support for their local educators, and I believe it is how we choose to respond when someone sits defenseless in the seat of scorn. Like the simple woman in our parable, local educators often sit alone and humiliated in the public eye, but this is not just happening to school staff. Police officers and healthcare workers have been targeted mercilessly, and likewise, volunteer elected officials like school board members and city council members. Still yet, the seat of scorn is not limited to these leaders or professions.
Ask the men and women at the drive-thru windows and convenience store counters how often they are cussed or insulted lately. Ask your bus drivers, your cooks, your custodians, or your school secretaries how people often treat them. Ask the tellers at the bank, your servers, your pastors. Ask your friends and family, and ask the person in the mirror, for you probably have felt it, too. Yes, local educators currently feel isolated and humiliated at the seat of scorn, but they are not alone in regard to feeling so alone.
Such treatment is often face-to-face, but nowadays, anyone can be abused publicly by petty tyrants on social media. Simple folks retreat to social media for a celebration with friends and family, but they quickly find themselves sitting ducks in the virtual seat of scorn. Despite dozens and dozens of “friends” looking on, people rarely stand beside them publicly. An avalanche of support may pour in privately, but private praise and secret apologies never heal public wounds; they just make it worse.
I am often asked what our local educators need, and it is the same thing everyone else needs right now: someone . . . anyone . . . brave enough to stand beside them at the seat of scorn. Whether online in social media or in line at the store, people should not suffer alone when someone browbeats them for the higher cost of a fountain drink or for simply being a healthcare provider, police officer, or educator. We should never return bad behavior with worse behavior, but we can always walk across the room and stand beside them, so they know they are not alone. I wonder how many times I have personally been guilty of being a bystander.
When schoolkids receive anti-bully training, they learn that being a bystander simply fuels the bad behavior. As a result, children learn to be upstanders. Simply standing up with the person often neutralizes the bully, and the person is no longer alone. Instead of silently watching when someone is humiliated in the seat of scorn, we should be like our children. We should stand beside them, whether online or in person, because private praise and secret apologies afterwards never help. We all know the hot seat of scorn, so let’s be upstanders rather than bystanders when it happens in our communities. Please pray for restored civility in our communities, the courage to stand with each other, and above all, the safety of our schools this Second Sunday of the Month.
By the time you read this, I am sure that most of you know, we lost a true icon of our little town of Waurika.
Mary Ruth Brown (or MRB as Brad Scott called her) passed away peacefully in her home Sunday afternoon surrounded by family. She had such a profound impact on the youth in our area, always helping and offering support and encouragement. She sometimes dished out some iron-willed advice, not only to Dick, Pat and I, but also to many others as they grew up in our little town of Waurika.There were many others but to name a few, you would certainly have to include, along with the Gaines boys, Steve Snider, Phil Scott, Hank Bradley, Robert Beavers and Jimmy Biffle. I am sure many would certainly add their names to this list!
Growing up, Mary Ruth or “Poo-Tye” as we called her back then, (I have no idea where that came from), taught us how to catch crawdads, fish, shoot doves and the occasional plover and offered tips on riding calves. To say she grew up a tom boy is an understatement, she probably could beat most of them.
As we grieve along with her daughter Toby Ann Walker and brothers Rusty and Chuck Brown and her many grandchildren and great grandchildren and of course her many friends in our hometown, we can rest assured that she, George, Margaret Bradley, Jerry and Thyriza Shelton, Toby and Bettye Gaines, Don and Vella Howard and others are having quite a party in Heaven!
“Mary Ruth Enjoying Rockin H, Last Summer!”
I remember the summer I was working at Woods Elevator, while sitting out on the loading dock, having a coke during a break, a green and white car whipped in the parking lot and sped toward the elevator honking its horn in a cloud of dust!
It skidded to a stop and Mary Ruth stepped out, tossed me the keys and said “I hope you like your car!” Needless to say I did! A green ’55 Chevy with a white top. Wow! My Dad had decided I didn’t need a car but Mary Ruth decided otherwise!
What follows is a story of Mary Ruth’s life that she helped me write for the Smithsonian opening, I hope you enjoy it.Mary Ruth Gaines Brown
Mary Ruth Brown was born on December 8, 1920 in Waurika Oklahoma, to Laster and Abbie Gaines of the Claypool Community. She was the only daughter and had an older brother Laster Gaines Jr (Toby). She attended school at Claypool Consolidated School District No. 52 where she graduated in 1938.
Upon graduation she attended Brantley Draughton Business College in Ft. Worth, TX. After completion she returned to Waurika to a job at the local tag agency. Shortly after, she got a job at Walters, OK at Farm Security Administration, which was civil service and is now the Farmers Home Administration.
“Vintage Mary Ruth And Billy Smith!”
In December 1941 she moved to Duncan where she went to work at Oklahoma National Bank.
She was married to George Brown in August 1944, and moved to Altus Air Force Base where George was stationed as a Air Force pilot.
After George’s discharge he enrolled college at Oklahoma A&M and transferred to Oklahoma University the following year where he graduated in 1951.
They moved back to Waurika and purchased Denny Drug in April 1951. Upon purchasing it they changed the name to Brown Drug, where it stood until 1984, on the corner of Main and Broadway.
Mary Ruth’s youth was spent as any rancher’s daughter of that time would be, working hard and enjoying a rural life that in this day and age is lost to many. It is thought by many that she was much tougher than her older brother and most of the other kids in that area. She could ride with the best of them and stood out when it came time to ride calves, hoping her dad didn’t find out they were doing it! In 1932 she won the Jr Calf Riding Championship by beating eleven boys her age! Her cousins Glen and Ray Keith Gaines said they wouldn’t let her play basketball because they were afraid she would hurt the boys!
In 1973 she was elected as President of the Waurika Chamber of Commerce and was the first woman elected to that post in the state of Oklahoma.
She retired from the Jefferson County Election Board at the age of 85.
As her nephew I can attest that her accomplishments pale to the kind acts that she gave the many youth of this area. She certainly taught us Gaines boys the art of crawdad fishing at an early age!
Duncan Regional Hospital is fortunate to have many passionate people serving on its boards who are willing to share their time and talent. We are pleased to announce the addition of Brad Scott to the DRH Board of Directors.
A fifth-generation Jefferson County resident, Brad graduated from Waurika High School in 1990. He attended Oklahoma State University graduating with a degree in agricultural economics. He returned to Waurika where he owned the Farmers Insurance Agency for 19 years. Three years ago, he sold the business to devote his time to running his and his family’s ranching business.
It was through his grandfather’s legacy of serving in the Oklahoma legislature for 30 years (the longest-serving member) Brad learned the importance of service. He ran for state representative while at OSU. “I won 3 out of 4 counties and lost the overall election by 117 votes,” said Scott. “It was a great learning experience for me.”
His commitment to service continues through his role as City Manager for Waurika. He has held this position for two terms and will serve in the role as long as he is needed. “I love our community,” shared Scott. “Our town looks as good as it has in 20 years. Main Street looks phenomenal as does the new Veterans Park.”
Additional boards, he has served on include the Oklahoma AgCredit, Jefferson County Hospital Authority and First Christian Church of Waurika.
Brad has been married to Elizabeth for 22 years, and they have two sons, Lodge, a freshman at Oklahoma State University and Houston, who is in 8th grade.
While welcoming a new member, it is also time to say thank you to Scott Stone as he steps off the Board of Directors. Scott, a Duncan attorney, has served on the board since 2009. During this time Scott served on several board committees including Compliance, Governance, Institutional Development, and Professional Affairs. Additionally, he served as Board Secretary for two years and as Chair for two.
“It’s truly an honor to welcome Brad to the DRH Board of Directors. He brings a lot of different talents and a passion for Jefferson County to the board that we need in our growing organization. As well, we want to thank Scott Stone for all his work, direction, guidance and dedication to DRH over the past 9 years. It was an honor to have him on our board,” said Jay R. Johnson, President and CEO, Duncan Regional Hospital.
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.
Well, the warm early spring weather continues throughout our area. A cool down is forecast for this week, which may slow the fishing for awhile, but we are close to the magic time of the year.
The high winds we have endured in March have made it rough on local anglers. But my fishing buddy, Hoot, called last Thursday and we decided to give it a try. So, late that afternoon we were prowling the banks of one of his favorite ponds.
With winds approaching 30mph, fly fishing wasn’t practical, so we went the traditional route with rods and reels using swim baits. While the conditions weren’t optimal the results were great! While Houston landed the biggest, we both caught well over 20 fish with a mix of bass and crappie. I had to leave early but he continued to reel them in ‘til nearly dark. My, that boy loves to fish!
Houston “Hoot” Scott
Last week we looked at the use of a fly rod for bass and panfish, so let’s continue exploring it.
Many beginning fly anglers seem to think bass pay little attention to their safety and feed with total abandon. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Maintaining stealth during your approach and your presentations can often determine whether or not you find success on ponds. Move slowly and quietly at all times, and make your first presentations count. Pay attention to the distance of your casts and the water you’re targeting. Work a section of water thoroughly and then move down the bank so that your next cast has your fly landing into fresh water. This will ensure you’re not spooking fish.
Always make multiple casts to your target water before moving on. Bass aren’t always convinced on your first cast. Sometimes it may take a dozen attempts before you convince the bass to eat your fly. Keep your confidence and believe every cast is going to the be the one that ends with big bass on the end of your line.
Wind plays just as much of a role on ponds as it does on big lakes. It creates current, pushes and concentrates bait and influences bass to feed more in certain areas. If you’re fishing a pond and you’ve had consistent winds for a period of a couple hours or more, you should first focus your fishing on the downwind side of the pond. Generally, in this situation, the majority of the fish will prefer to position themselves and feed on the downwind side of the pond.
Just like in trout fishing, bass fishing also demands that you retrieve your fly in the correct water column or depth of where the fish are located. Bass are not always going to be willing to come to the surface to feed. Particularly if they’re positioned stationary in ambush points in deeper water. Start out by working your flies on or close to the surface and then continue to move them deeper if you’re not getting bites. Pause to let your fly slowing sink to help you control the depth of your flies. Also slow your retrieve down if you feel your flies aren’t getting deep enough.
Look Close, That Is Half a Catfish Sticking Out Of His Throat!
Retrieving your flies with a stop and go retrieve often works better than keeping a steady or constant retrieve. Doing so, your fly will resemble a dying or injured baitfish and it also can trigger reaction strikes by triggering the predatory instincts in bass. A stop and go retrieve also works great for keeping your fly in the strike zone longer, where sometimes a few extra seconds is the key to getting a strike.
Many anglers lose their confidence when the water is murky or stained. It’s actually a good thing most of the time, because it pushes bass into shallow water, close to cover and also provides added stealth for you. Just remember that dirty water limits the distance bass can see, and they will rely more heavily on their hearing and lateral line to locate and zero-in on food. Choose flies that push water, make noise (rattles or surface commotion) and in a color that’s easier for the bass to see in stained water.
During the summer months or when there’s lots of smaller baitfish available in the pond, you often can have more success if you downsize your fly patterns. If you’re not having luck with your larger fly patterns, try matching the size of your fly with the size of the most common food source.
Swim baits paid off for us!
As the weather warms there is nothing like casting a popper bug to the calm water, letting it set and then start short retrieves followed with a pause! Be ready for the explosion that could happen at any time. Another great choice during this time of year is a deer hair frog or mouse pattern.
Remember, if you’re not getting any strikes, try something different, bass can be very fickle!
Relax, it’s just another way to get out and enjoy our great Oklahoma outdoors!
Wow, what a difference eight weeks make! I hardly remember how to open up “Word” on my iPad.
We are into dove season now and from the reports I’ve gotten the birds are definitely here, I have not been out but have heard of many limits being taken in the first two weeks.
Waurika’s football teams are on a roll with both high school and junior high being undefeated at this point. The Lady Eagles softball team has certainly been busy these last few weeks.
With Waurika playing in Carnegie last weekend, my wife Jana and I ventured to Ringling last Friday night to watch the Blue Devils play, under new head coach Phillip Koons. Jana had worked with his wife Shelly years ago and while they had a chance to catch up, I was able to watch my old rival “Blue Devils” take on Marietta high school.
Years ago the Waurika and Ringling game probably meant more to me than most! Having grown up in Claypool and attending school there till the 7th grade , it was the dividing line when Claypool lost their school in 1957. My good friends the Howards and everyone east went to Ringling and the Dickeys, Smiths and Gaines and the rest went to Waurika.
The line was drawn! I lost my first girlfriend and half my school buddies to the Blue Devils!
The Eagles and Blue Devils always had a great rivalry, but times change, with Waurika’s decline in enrollment over the years and dropping into 8 man they are now worlds apart!
Ringling’s success over the last couple of decades is well documented and if Friday’s game is any indication it will not be slowing down anytime soon!
Summer is almost over.
New head coach Phillip Koons has his team playing at a very high level and I don’t see them slowing down anytime soon.
The great play of the Blue Devils was highlighted by quarterback- Vanbuskirk #9, runningback-Lyle #23 and the defense was anchored by the hard hitting of linebacker-Johnson #32 along with a host of other talented players! I expect them to make a deep run into the playoffs.
Get out and support our local football teams! Enough of my ramblings, fall deer season is quickly approaching and now is the time to be preparing for the upcoming season.
Spend a few days going through all your gear, including clothing, boots, jackets and everything. Replace laces if needed, patch holes and rips in clothing, get everything ready no, don’t wait till the morning of opening day! Same thing with your favorite deer rifle or bow, clean and check them out thoroughly to avoid problems later, that could cause you to miss that buck of a lifetime.
Trail cameras are a great advantage and allow you to see what’s happening when you’re not around. But don’t rely completely on them alone. Spend some time with your boots on the ground. Spend time with a quality pair of binoculars, set up some distance from your hunting area and observe deer movement and their direction of travel. You will learn much more doing that, than just viewing trail camera pictures!
Plan for success, decide what you will do the deer you harvest, whether you plan on having it processed or doing it yourself, get your game plan down so that it all goes smoothly!
You can bet Jaxton Simmons will be ready!
Next week we’ll look at the upcoming fall hunting opportunities coming up and in meantime get out and enjoy your Oklahoma, whether it’s high school football, hunting or fishing or the new disc golf course, there’s a lot going on in Jefferson County!
