Archives of old news articles
Mychaiela McGee of Dewar won the 2009 Okmulgee County fifth grade poster contest and recently proceeded to also win first place in the OACD Northeast Oklahoma Area contest as well. The poster competed against winning posters from all over Northeast Oklahoma. Mychaiela's poster, which depicted a horse grazing in a green pasture and entitled "All Life Rides on Soil" will now proceed to the state contest which will be held in February, 2010 in Oklahoma City.
Morris Student Takes Second at Area Contest
Jamie Malone, Morris High School Senior competed in the northeast Oklahoma area speech contest of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts with her speech entitled "What is the Secret of Life?" taking second place. All the speeches in the contest were required to follow the OACD theme of "Dig It! The Secrets of Soil!"
Miss Malone, the daughter of Sam & Dalena Malone and is a member of the Morris FFA. Jamie's speech covered the early days of conservation and the many programs of the Okmulgee County Conservation District such as the Locally Led Cost Share Program and the operation and maintenance of Okmulgee County's 19 flood clontral structures.
Also competing in the OACD contest was Cody Currin a Freshman at Okmulgee High School. Cody is a member of the Okmulgee FFA Chapter. Cody's speech explained the partnership of the Okmulgee County Conservation District and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and their processes of reclaiming abandoned oil fields and mine lands.
The Okmulgee County Conservation District would like to thank Jamie and Cody for all their hard work on their speeches and representing Okmulgee County so well. We are very proud of you. We would also like to thank the ag teachers, parents and sponsors for all your support with our contests.
Janet Koziol of Morris has been declared elected to a three year term on the Okmulgee County Conservation District Board of Directors by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. Janet has served on the Board for 9+ years and served 6 of those years as the vice-chair.
Janet was raised on the Dillingham Ranch in Northwest Okmulgee County as the ranch manager's daughter. Janet and her husband Buddy currently run a commercial cow-calf operation on 230 acres. With Buddy working off the ranch, Janet stays involved with all parts of the operation. Her experiences in ag related fields include the ownership/operation of two commercial grenhouses in the Okmulgee and Henryetta area..
Janet's father Bob Bell worked for the Soil Conservation Service (later renamed NRCS) later served on the district board. Mr. Bell also sculptured in bronze. One of his works are in the fountain at Okmulgee City Hall.
The Okmulgee County Conservation District has announced that funds are available for cost-share assistance on selected conservation practices benefiting soil and water conservation. The State of Oklahoma has provided limited funds to our conservation district to help landowners implement measures that protect soil and water resources.
Conservation practices available for the cost-share assistance through the Okmulgee County Conservation District include new pond construction, critical area planting, diversion, fencing (where fence was destroyed by flood), grade stabilization structure, grassed waterway, obstruction removal, pasture and hay planting, range planting, streambank and shoreline protection, nutrient management (restrictions apply), terrace . The district will be accepting applications from November 2, 2009 through November 20, 2009 with the exception of November 10 and 11 in which the District offices will be closed. For more information contact the Okmulgee County Conservation District, 918-756-8111. The district office is located at 819 East 8 th Street in Okmulgee and office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Click the following link to download the Cost Share Program Application. You may print out the form and mail it or bring it to the Conservation District office between November 2 and November 20, 2009.
Okmulgee County Conservation District participates in the Locally Led Cost Share Program of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. This program is funded through the Oklahoma Legislature for the purpose of putting conservation practices on the ground in Oklahoma . For program year 10 the Oklahoma legislature provided Okmulgee County $24,000.00 in cost share assistance for pond construction, pasture planting, brush management and pest management. The sign-up period for program year 10 was February 2 - 13, 2009.
Funds are obligated to the land owners/users through a process that ranks the level of need from a conservation perspective. The funding process for the Locally Led Cost Share Program includes an interview process, a site visit and a ranking process by a soil conservationist of the Natural Resource Conservation Service. Once the property is scored and ranked, the highest ranking property is then the first on the list for funding obligation. Income level of the property owner is not a factor for funding.
Applicants in the Locally Led Cost Share Program must become District Cooperators. A District Cooperator agrees to cooperate with the district to develop a conservation plan for his/her land. Additionally the District agrees to provide the Cooperator with technical assistance for developing a conservation plan based on a soil and plant inventory of the land. The District and NRCS work closely with the Cooperator to determine the Cooperator's goals for their property and its conservation needs.
If you are interested in participating in future Cost Share Programs, please contact District Secretary, Rhnea Stoy at 918-756-8111.
