“A Dad’s Point-Of-View”

LESSONS OF A BIG BROTHER AND MENTOR

One of the clichés about volunteerism is the fact that you often get more than you give. In my case, it was in ways and means I least expected. I’ve just become a Big Brother, again, to a 7-year-old boy and a Mentor to a 22-year-old young man. As these relationships are new, I don’t yet know what lessons I will learn. But, I know well the lessons I learned the first time around.

I became a Big Brother, long before I was married or a parent. My life, at that time, was pretty heady. In my early 30’s, I had a successful showbiz career in which I was paid way too much for having so much fun, I lived in a lovely home in a chic part of town, had two cars, and no one to worry about other than myself.

Go To Top

Slinging a Smooth Stone

The U.S. Still Should Look Out, Not Within, for Trouble

Just over 93 years ago, on March 9, 1916, there was a revolution in Mexico that spilled over the U.S. Border. At Columbus, N.M., some 60 miles east of El Paso, Texas, Poncho Villa, and more than 400 men crossed the border into the U.S., (they cut a border fence).

They then rode and walked to Columbus and attacked, looking for supplies, ammunition and weapons.

Before the raid was complete, 100 or more Villiaistas, and 10 civilians and eight U.S. Soldiers lay dead.

Go To Top

The Boise City News Honored by Oklahoma Press Assoc.

Paper Snags Three Awards for Features, Editorials and Community Leadership

The Boise City News was honored by the Oklahoma Press Association during it’s winter conference Feb., 6, 2009, in Tulsa.

The paper brought home a third place certificate for Community Leadership. This award was for keeping pressure on Governor Brad Henry to visit Cimarron County. The Governor visited in the summer of 2008, bringing aid for farmers and ranchers caught in a drought.

The paper brought home a Third place for editorial comment. Editor, C.F. David, through his “Slinging a Smooth Stone” column took on personal racism and apathy by public entities.

The paper took fourth for feature writing, specifically C.F. David’s article on Duane Ferguson’s battle with alcohol, and his being honored as 2008, citizen of the year.

Conservation Day at the Capitol 2008

Awards Presented for Conservation, Education and Communication

Owners of The Boise City News, Publisher/Editor C.F. and Office Manager Linda David, were honored by Oklahoma Press Association V.P. Mark Thomas on Wednesday, March 25, in the Blue Room, of The Oklahoma State Capital. The Boise City News was the only paper honored by the Conservation Service for Excellence in Communication. The paper was nominated by The Cimarron County Conservation District for continuing support of conservation communication. The award is sponsored by The Oklahoma Press Association and the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts.

*****************

Go To Top

“A Dad’s Point-Of-View”

    

TATTOOS, RAP AND SAGGY PANTS by Bruce Sallan

The journey from child, to teen, to young adult to parent seems to have similar stops along the way for most everyone. My college years were during the “age of stupidity,” as a man I greatly respect refers to the ‘60s and early ‘70s.  As a love-child and soon-to-be yuppie, I was thoroughly convinced that I would be a different parent to any children I might have than my parents were to me.

Go To Top

“A Dad’s Point-Of-View”

   IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID,

   I MEAN SON,

   by Bruce Sallan

   With the Dow entering territory not seen in a decade and housing prices declining to pre-WWII levels (okay, a little exaggeration), I can’t quite elude the concerns I’m feeling about our country and our future, specifically its impact on my boys. Till now, they’ve lived in the relative lap of luxury and convenience.

Go To Top

Sen. Ellis Pleased Feds Upheld His Second Amendment Protection Law

   State Senator Jerry Ellis called Wednesday’s ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a major victory for second amendment rights and the rights of Oklahomans.  The federal panel’s ruling upheld state law that allowed workers to have legal firearms in their locked vehicles.  Ellis, D-Valliant, filed the original legislation when he was a freshman member of the House of Representatives.

   “Having a gun for hunting or for protection is simply a way of life for most people in rural Oklahoma.  When a major employer in my district started firing people for having their firearms in their vehicles, I was outraged,” Ellis said.  “I was elected to the Legislature soon after this happened, and I knew I had to do whatever I could to stop this assault on our second amendment rights.”

   Shortly before Ellis’ legislation was set to become law, it was challenged by various corporations who had argued against the statute claiming it was a workplace safety issue.  A lower court had ruled that safety rules established by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act trumped state laws, but the 10th Circuit Court disagreed.

   “I see this as a major victory for Oklahoma citizens.  We’ve succeeded in protecting their second amendment rights, and this has also been a victory for states rights as well,” Ellis said.  “When all is said and done, I believe this will have been one of the most important measures I will have passed in my legislative career.”

O.W.I. Officers Bring Legal Histories to Young Wind Power Company

by C.F. David

In looking at Oklahoma Wind Investors LLC, the Boise City News has found that Randle Taylor, whose business card names him as Executive V.P. and Marketing Director has a lawsuit pending against him in DuPage County, Illinois.

Taylor’s connection to Lev-Tek, an Illinois company was discovered during a routine background check by The Boise City News. Taylor’s name was connected to two companies at the same address, (apparently Taylor’s home), in Katy, Texas, a Houston suburb.

Taylor was listed as Director and President of E/Z Clean Aquariums and as a contact for Wrangler Energy.

A Google search on Wrangler Energy led to Lev-Tek, and a suit filed against Taylor and his wife Elena (Naydenova) Taylor.

The suit begins in September of 2008, shortly after Mrs. Taylor, who according to court documents had returned from Russia along with Louis Castronovo, the Executive V.P. and Chief Operating Officer of Lev-Tek.

The documents indicate that Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Castronovo had made the trip trying to sell technology to Russia. The project was aptly named, the “Russian Projects”.

Go To Top

On Cultural Encounters and Tangents

  Lowering our Standards – I once read in Reader’s Digest “Life in these United States” that a husband was on his third trip to the refrigerator to see what he could find to snack on. His annoyed wife looked up from her ironing and said, “Fred, you didn’t find anything worth eating in there during your first two trips. You haven’t seen me put anything new in there since. What makes you think you’re going to find anything worth eating in there now? He answered, “I’ve lowered my standards”.

Go To Top

Slinging a Smooth Stone

       With the death of the scenic by-way we’ve all lost.

     The scene at the Cimarron Heritage Center was grim last Thursday.
The crowd was stacked against Richard Andrews, of ODOT, Pam Lewis, of OU, and Cimarron County’s own Phyllis Randolph.
   Andrews, Lewis and Randolph, were there in what was a futile effort to save a project they’d been working hard for, for nearly five years.
   The Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway, was to meander through Cimarron County and join up with a similar trail in Union County, New Mexico, alas, neither is to be.
   The group, landowners in Western Cimarron County, and Eastern Union County were there to protest and stop the byway. They had already been successful in Union County a few days before.
   The landowners in the Dry Cimarron, an independent lot, were concerned that the byway was moving hand in glove with Pinon Canyon, a land grab that Baca County, Colorado has been fighting for several years. (The Boise City News has ran several articles about this atrocity.)

Go To Top

Coburn Report Highlights Worst Waste of 2008

Report Includes More Than $1.3 Billion

in Pet Projects, Frivolous Grants

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, (R-OK), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, today released the oversight report “2008: Worst Waste of the Year.”  The look back on 2008 features absurd federal spending from beltway bureaucrats and elected officials.  To view the entire report in a PDF file  click here.
“As we look back on federal spending for 2008, American taxpayers will laugh, and then cry at how their elected officials spent their hard-earned dollars.  Not even these tough economic times have dulled Congress’ ability to find new and creative ways to waste taxpayer dollars,” Coburn said.

Go To Top

A Letter To The Editor

Dear Editor,

Driving east into the Oklahoma Panhandle from New Mexico a few days before Election Day, I paid attention to the political signs I saw driving back home to Oklahoma City. Save for some signs supporting some local Democrats on the local and state level, there was not a single sign along the roadside touting support for Democrat candidates Andrew Rice, Jim Roth or Barack Obama, at least until I got into Oklahoma County.

I thought this said a lot about rural Oklahoma and the conservative values they hold dear. The sanctimonious rantings of Robin Meyers would lead one to believe that there is an army of liberals here in the Sooner State that have somehow been disenfranchised by know-nothing conservatives. The simple fact is that the majority of Oklahoma voters paid attention to the campaign and saw that Obama, Roth and Rice held views counter to their own. With that in mind, Oklahomans voted accordingly.

Go To Top

Dear Editor:

Dear Editor:

(In response to Slinging a Smooth Stone, Oct. 1)

What I do not hear much talk about is the rapid deforestation and the destruction of the Rain Forests. There is also not much talk about destroying sea vegetation. Those three things do more for reducing carbon dioxide than anything else on earth. We are producing more air pollutants and destroying more air cleaners than ever before.

As far as the cattle argument, I can understand it. You can grow A LOT more vegetables on the land that it takes to raise cattle than the meat you get from the cattle. Also there is concern that the cattle that are being force grown with stimulants are transferring those same stimulants to people causing earlier puberty along with a myriad of other medical problems.

You forgot to give me credit for evanescent, but I forgive you.

Mr. Gilland receives my column by e-mail and often gives me hints for the word of the week-Ed.

Go To Top

Frankly Speaking

by Congressman Frank Lucas

My Concerns with the

Bailout Bill

Today, I voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. This was one of the toughest decisions I have made in my 14 years as a United States Congressman, and I know that many of my constituents will be disappointed with my vote. They, like myself, are concerned about the state of our economy and the impact the turmoil on Wall Street may have on their retirement savings, pension fund, or even bank account. However, as concerned as I am about our economy, the cost and significance of this bill coupled with the haste in which it was crafted was of greater concern to me.

Go To Top

What do you think of this ????????

This is an E-Mail I got the other day, sounds very logical to Me !

I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.
 
 Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a ‘We Deserve
 It Dividend’.
 
 To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S.
 Citizens 18+.
 
 Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child.
 So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
 
 So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

Go To Top

The Constitution Is the Issue

“In America, the law is King. For as in absolute governments, the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other.”-Thomas Paine

As usual, the contenders for the White House are making a lot of promises about what they will change if elected. They’re singing the siren song all politicians adopt by telling us exactly what we want to hear: reduce taxes, lower gas prices, reform Social Security and provide us with more and more benefits. In other words, they’re going to give us something for our vote-maybe. But reading between the lines, its what Barack Obama and John McCain aren’t saying that should cause voters to pause.

Go To Top

Letter to Editor

Hello, CF:

 Two more months to go on this presidential circus; at this house we had been hoping for a female candidate for president; we were thinking a Margaret Thatcher type and we believed Hillary perhaps would be the one.

But that didn’t happen so as a consolation prize we do have a female candidate for vice president.  The jury is still out on her qualifications but at first blush we have been impressed.  If she and McCain are elected her performance will tell us a great deal about what kind of a president she would make.  Given the sorry performance of the Bush administration over the past seven years we are certainly ready to try something different.

Go To Top

Letter To Editor About Wind Energy

From

Jack L. Perkins

Chief Executive Officer, TRI-County Electric

Dear Editor,

 

Wind generation is in the news in our area frequently. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear at least one question about it myself. I would like to publicly answer a few of the more common questions we receive about wind generation. In addition, I make myself available to anyone whose question is not answered here. Our door is always open for our members at Tri-County Electric.

Go To Top