Recently, I was elected to the Salvation Army Advisory Board of Directors. This past Saturday, we had a planning retreat, and during it I gleaned some information which shows the impact this non-profit agency has on this area. Majors Mike and Lori Barnhouse have been here for just about a year now.
Lori pointed out that in 2008, this agency served 25,555 total meals. Of those, 3,900 were served to students attending the Boys and Girls Club.
The agency provided 4,579 nights of shelter last year and $29,600.82 in rags were sold by the local Salvation Army. To the surprise of several new board members just coming on, the Salvation Army is the world’s largest dealer in rags.
The local shelter serves an evening meal seven days a week, and the two majors point out that volunteer groups assist in serving many of these meals each week which helps out tremendously.
During the recent backpack distribution, more than 1,100 backpacks were distributed not only in Shawnee, but also in Wewoka this year. A bean supper coordinated by Shirley Madden and the women’s auxiliary generated about $3,000 to help with the purchasing and filling of the backpacks.
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Folks in the Dale area are holding a bake potato fund raiser for Jim Doolin this Sunday, Aug. 30, from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. in the old gym at Dale School.
Doolin reportedly has been provided the opportunity to travel to South Korea for some type of stem cell research and the fund raiser is to help cover expenses not picked up by his insurance.
The Dale FFA, boys basketball program and faculty from Dale School will be helping with the event. Doolin is in his second term on the Dale School Board.
Tickets are $5 for all you can eat, plus drink and dessert. Checks also may be made out to Doolin’s church, Faith Christian Outreach.
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Gordona Rowell, executive director of the Shawnee Convention and Visitors Bureau, passes along this bit of information. She writes “the rest of the world now knows what those of us from Shawnee have known for years: Hamburger King is one of the best in the west!
“Writer Johnny D. Boggs released his Top 10 Burger Empires Out West in True West Magazine’s ‘Where’s the Beef,’ July 2009. Boggs ranked the hamburgers at Hamburger King No. 9 stating, ‘Any burger good enough for Bob Wills to sing about is good enough for me, cooked the old-fashioned way since 1927.’”
Hamburger King joined rankings with restaurants from Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and California. The Meers Burger from Meers, ranked No. 5 and the Oklahoma City based Irma’s Burger Shack received honorable mention for their Chipotle Poppers side dish, she said.
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This is a final reminder about State Game Warden Mike France conducting a hunter education safety education course at the McLoud Public Library this Saturday, Aug. 29, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. France, who is assigned to Pottawatomie County, said there is limited seating for this course so those planning on taking the course should pre-register.
He said to pre-register for the free course call 405-521-3855. That is headquarters of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation in Oklahoma City.
France noted the course is being held just prior to the opening of the statewide dove season, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 1.
He said several courses are being held across the state at that time, so those pre-registering should designate the Aug. 29 course at the McLoud Public Library.
France also said he will conduct another safety hunter education course Oct. 10 at Gordon Cooper Technology Center. That will begin at 9 a.m., last until 6 p.m., and pre-registration is encouraged for that class as well, he said.
According to the new state 2009-10 hunting guide, people are exempt from hunter education requirements if they are: 36 years of age or older; honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces; currently on active duty; or a member of the National Guard.
Hunters 9 or younger must be hunter education certified to hunt deer or any kind of big game.
My suggestion is that someone interested in hunting should pick up a copy of the state hunting guide. It’s free, and most outlets that sell hunting and fishing licenses have copies.
The guide is full of information related to hunting.
It contains a list of hunter education courses around the state scheduled prior to its printing, and the answer to most any question can be found regarding seasons, regulations, requirements, public lands and other pertinent topics.
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Tom Terry, Shawnee’s beautification expert, is making a request regarding the free trees handed out last fall. He states “to see how the trees are growing, the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee would like to have pictures of some of the nearly 18,000 trees that were distributed to Shawnee area residents last fall. Photographs can be e-mailed to clantz@shawneechamber.com. If more convenient, a printed photo can be dropped off at the Chamber of Commerce office, 131 N. Bell Street. The committee will share these with the Oklahoma Tree Bank Foundation and the Apache Foundation, the organizations that made this project possible.”
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If you have ideas or something of interest for this column, call 214-3922 or e-mail michael.mccormick@news-star.com. Include name and phone number for contact purposes.
SHAWNEE, Okla. —
