August 30, 2019 Issue, Page 1 of 22

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a y Serving Western Oklahoma Since 1901 Weekend Edition School districts’ enrollments drop, increase as classes begin Rhett Beutler, general manager and co-owner of Beutler and Son Rodeo Company, herds some horses Wednesday morning. Beutler loaded some horses into trailers to be hauled to his property north of Elk City in preparation of the rodeo running in Elk City today through Sunday. Staff Elk City Elementary School third-grade teacher photos by Don Munsch. Bridgette Shelton, right, talks to her students about a lesson Tuesday. Above, this classroom at No horsing around: Rodeo the elementary campus sits empty now except for preparation in full gallop storage but could eventually be transformed into a classroom with students one day. Staff photos by By Don Munsch, Editor “Outside!” Rhett Beutler bellowed from atop his horse} Don Munsch. as horses, one at a time, strode past him on their way to the} By Don Munsch, Editor outside pen. Elk City Public Schools opened the school year with a few Beutler looked at each horse to determine which would] dozen more students than at the end of school last year. be selected for the rodeo pen. When Beutler yelled “to- The end of school in May enrollment was 2,152, with the deo,” they meant that horse made the cut. They moved into} start of school enrollment in August being 2,195, according the rodeo pen and will participate in this week’s Elk City] to data provided by Elk City Superintendent Rick Garrison. Rodeo of Champions, running from today though Sunday.| Classes began Aug. 15. Horses not selected are by no means not fit for the rodeo;] Beutler merely rotates the horses among the rodeos that he} Broken down, the elementary school had 825 students, while the intermediate school had 467 students, the middle ties and sound academics. He also lauded the district’s fac- works. school had 305 and the high school had 598. ulty and staff, but he was quick to praise other area schools Selection of horses for the rodeo is but one glimpse off ithe behind-the-scenes events occurring in the days before} “It’s always a positive thing if you’re growing, or you feel and their performance, as well. the rodeo. like it is,” Garrison said, reflecting on the increase this year “We definitely feel like we hold our own in that,” he said. While oil and gas has tapered off here a little, for the dis- “There’s about 60 head of horses over here, and there are} over last year. “You feel like you’re doing a good job and trict to still have growth in that environment is a positive. about 15 or 20 off of this set that go,” Beutler said on the| people want to be at your school and we just feel like that’s “Our economy in our area is a little more diversified than drive to the property outside of town. “We’re just going to} pretty positive.” it once was and we can take on a little bit of a downturn and sort through the ones that go for the rodeo and then haul In May 2016, the district had 2,017 students, and that fig- still show some growth,” he said. them in to the pen.” ure was prior to the opening of the new elementary building. “We feel like we’re moving in a good direction, I guess,” The district has been over 2,200 students before, although Beutler, general manager and co-owner of Beutler and Garrison said, adding that he thinks that is from both an edu- Garrison was not sure what enrollment numbers were dur- Son Rodeo Company, prepared the horses for their even-| tual journey from his property on Highway 73 northeast| cational standpoint and a numbers perspective, explaining ing the oil boom of he 1980s, but he thinks the district is lof Elk City to his property on Highway 34 to the rodeo} on the latter part that more students means more funding for close to its “fighting weight” now. “T think we’re pretty level,” he said. “I think if we can grounds. The Beutler family has brought livestock to Elk| the district in most all revenue streams. City since the rodeo began in 1929, according to the rodeo} Garrison said the district probably had more than 120 new maintain where we’re at, that’s a pretty healthy enrollment website. students this year, but the district lost some students before for us. We added several new staff just this last year.” The rodeo will use about 70 bucking horses and about 40} the school year began. Overall, when a district is growing, that’s a positive devel- head of bulls, Beutler said. For the bit of growth the district has had, Garrison attri- opment, but when a district loses enrollment, it has to start “Then you’ ve got about 30 roping calves, 30 bulldogging| butes that increase to the new elementary school, calling it a financial downsizing, of course. But Elk City is growing and steers and about 20 team roping steers,” said Beutler, who} “great investment” for the district. He also pointed to the ap- the district is able to do some improvements, Garrison said. lives in Canute. peal of the district overall, such as its extracurricular activi- ‘See Enrollment page 2. See Horsing page 2. Photo by Elk CityConvention & Visitors Bureat The 2019 National Corvette Caravan stopped Monday morning at Elk City’s National Route 66 Museum. More than 20 Corvettes arrived around 10 a.m. and were greeted lwith coffee and donuts provided by the Elk City Conven- ition & Visitors Bureau, said Julie Lenius, director of the Elk City Convention and Visitors Bureau. As the Caravan trav- els east, other Corvettes will join the group along the route, making their final destination in Bowling Green, Kentucky, for the 25th Anniversary of the National Corvette Museum. Hosted once every five years, the National Corvette Cara- van is often referred to as the world’s largest moving auto- motive event, Lenius said. Q N A ! ¥ ae Lynn Chevenka, presi- Sandy Bledsoe, left, and Sally Beck are ready for the Elk City Rodeo of Champions parade dent of the Canute Saturday and will have a 1960s theme this year for their yard float: Age of Aquarius. The two school board, stands on friends have been doing the float each year since 2012. Stafff photo by Don Munsch. property near the Canute By Don Munsch, Editor the Kentucky Derby, the 1950s and Alice in Wonderland. school building where This year marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, and Beck and Bledsoe invite people to Beck’s yard on the day a new event center in the two Elk City senior citizens who turn a Broadway Av- of the parade for food and conversation. Doing the float has enue home front yard into a “float” for the last several years been a way for the two women to spread some cheer. Canute would be be during Elk City Rodeo of Champions parade want to look “T’ve been in the parade before two or three times — it’s built with passage of a back at those times in the 1960s. not really fun,” Bledsoe said, explaining the hot weather school bond set to go The yard float’s theme this year will be the Age of Aquar- and having to borrow a vehicle to be in the parade are two before voters on Sept. ius, which refers to “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in,” a song aspects of the parade that participants have to deal with. 10. A town hall meeting from the 1967 musical “Hair.” The parade kicks off at 2 Beck and Bledsoe wanted to do something that people on the bond will be held p.m. could enjoy. Their float is on the last block before the parade Sally Beck, who lives in the house in the 500 block of ends. So when people have reached the Beck home with the at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Broadway that will have the front yard decorated with col- yard float, they know the journey is over. + Heritage Center in Ca- orful objects similar to those on a float, and friend Sandy They said the selection of Age of Aquarius was just coin- nute. Staff photo by Don Bledsoe and volunteers have been dressing up the yard with cidental to the Woodstock anniversary. They decided on the | Munsch. different themes since 2012. Other themes have included See 1960s page 2. Weather Vol. 117, No. 70 Mail delivery View online . TS * tomorrow / 69 75 cents, 10 pgs. 580.225.3000 elkcityoknews.com