Although mot of Oklahoma is getting plenty of rain, the draught at the western end of the Panhandle has been escalated to a "exceptional" drought rating.
By Ron Jenkins
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gov. Brad Henry will face some fence-mending when he flies to the Oklahoma Panhandle Wednesday to tour drought-stricken areas of Cimarron County and visit with local ranchers.
Henry’s schedule calls for him to land in Boise City about noon. After a visit to town square and the courthouse, he will begin a driving tour of area ranches. He will be accompanied by Agricultural Secretary Terry Peach.
A “bounty” of $50 was put out on Henry in 2006 by C.F. David, publisher of the Boise City News. David offered the money to anyone who could show that Henry had visited Cimarron County since taking office in 2002.
David and others also have questioned if Henry was too slow in seeking federal disaster aid for farmers and ranchers in Cimarron County and eight other counties in northwestern Oklahoma. The severity of the drought in the area has been compared to the Dust Bowl days of the 1930’s.
“To some extent, we’re having fun at his expense,” but at the same time, no one likes to feel neglected, the publisher said Wednesday.
He said to his knowledge, Cimarron County is the only one of 77 counties that Henry has not visited since he was first elected six years ago.
David plans to present Henry with the $50 bounty check on Wednesday.
Paul Sund, spokesman for Henry, said the governor plans to drop by the Boise City News and will accept the $50 and give it to charity.
Sund said there was “no official record” that Henry had visited Cimarron County since he became governor, although he has been to the Panhandle on several occasions.
David remembers another Democratic governor getting into hot water with Cimarron County residents — former Gov. George Nigh.
“He (Nigh) made the remark that when highway patrolmen need to be punished, they are sent to the Panhandle — Cimarron County,” David said.
Nigh made a public relations effort in the Panhandle after that and later drew praise for his roadbuilding efforts in the area.
David said when Nigh came to Boise City “they served him a chicken dinner and called it eating crow.”
In the 2006 general election, Henry got 66 percent of the statewide vote in smashing Republican Ernest Istook. The three Panhandle counties — Cimarron, Texas and Beaver — were the only ones he lost.
Last week, U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn and Rep. Frank Lucas announced that the Department of Agriculture had listed Texas and Cimarron counties as a disaster area, making residents eligible for low-interest loans and aid.
Better farming practices have been credited for preventing a repeat of the Dust Bowl during the lengthy Panhandle drought.
“It’s incredible,” David said. “I grew up in the 1950s, which we called the second Dust Bowl. We’ve had less rain than we did in the 1930s.”
Loading ...
All Articles