September 20, 2023 Issue, Page 1 of 8

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yd Serving Western Oklahoma Since 1901 Wednesday, September 20,2023 Rotarians Get Updates from City Manager Ta = ee City Manager, Tom Ivester and Basil Weatherly. Staff photos by Sheryl Ponce. By Sheryl Ponce million. The highway department is going to start the road proj- ect that runs from Main and Third St. to the railroad tracks at ‘The Elk City Rotary Club held their regular weekly meeting, ‘7th St. Thursday, in the Elks Lodge. President Lake Carpenter called “They're going to bid it in January. They are probably going Charlie McGee. the meeting to order, while treasurer Damon Butcher passed to start in April or May. It’s going to be a pretty large disrup- out boxes of dictionaries that will be distributed to area schools’ tion to downtown. We set the pace of how to do it with the wa- Pointers for the Public by third graders. This is an annual project for the group. ter replacement project, which was basically a block at a time, Basil Weatherly introduced the program for the day, which trying to get minimal disruption to the downtown businesses. was City Manager Tom Ivester. He gave the club a rundown on We certainly don’t want to interrupt the holiday season which is projects that have been going on around the city, as well as those ‘Thanksgiving through the New Year. It is where they get a major- coming in the near future. He started by passing out a paper with ity of the revenue, or a sizable portion of the revenue, so we've Dream League Parent comparison sales tax receipts with other towns comparable to made special compensation for that in the contracts,” Ivester ex- Elk City. The only town that brought in more tax dollars was Yu- plained, By Sheryl Ponce kon. He added that they will be replacing the water mains about “We generate our income through sales tax and utility sales every other year. It will take 20 to 30 years to complete the proj- As the Dream League took the field this past weekend, one which is water and sewer. We get some revenue from our landfill. ect. He said that the cost is at $8 million. The next subject he parent took the time to reach out about how individuals can We do get some revenue through our rock yard, but the over- spoke about was the landfill. Elk City has one of the few landfills help children and adults with disabilities. Many times people whelming majority of it is through sales tax and water or sewer in Western Oklahoma. Most towns do not have their own land- do not understand nor know how to approach someone with and garbage fees,” Ivester explained. fills now, they contract it out. Because Elk City has their own, the a disability. It may be uncomfortable for some, while others He went on to talk about the Main Street streetscape project. cost rates for water and trash are lower than other towns. are welcoming and engaging. ‘The project has been in the works for several years. It started “Although we have made strides in recent years to raise with the water main project at the cost of approximately $1.7 See Rotary page 2. awareness and promote acceptance of children and adults with special needs, much can still be done to educate our so- ciety,” this parent said. One thing that was pointed out was that there are many different ways a person can be affected. A person may be af- fected physically, cognitively, emotionally, or neurologically. Some are affected from birth, at birth, or anytime after. “We are hoping that more education will foster empathy and understanding. It can promote inclusion and acceptance that each person with a disability or not is a human being with feelings that can be hurt, a desire to be accepted, want- See League page 2. Homecoming King and Queen Cathy Lewis and Glenda Ivins.; Joyce Roberts and Candace Habekott. Fifth Annual Fall Festival of the Arts Deemed Success Elk City High School Homecoming king and queen were crowned prior to the game Friday evening in their By Sheryl Ponce had plenty of food truck choices, and a variety of booths to shop. battle against Carl Albert. Pictured are queen Anna Prizes were awarded and shoppers were able to find the Galloway and king Cooper Garbarino. Other candidates With fall-type weather and a plethora of vendors, the Elk City unique, unusual, and artistic items to purchase. Most seemed to were Adyson Cupp, Holden Dixon, Maelee Hunter, Tayte Chamber of Commerce's Fall Festival of the Arts concluded Sun., be carrying out bags of goodies that added to the success of the Shelton, Remi Murray, Rylee Boyd. Courtesy photo Sept. 17th. Executive Director Susie Cupp and chairman Ronda event. Smith worked all weekend to make sure both venders and visitors See More Photos Page 8. See More Photos page 8. 8 IM i 9 Weather tomorrow /70 Vol. 120, No. 75 75 cents, 8 pgs. Mail delivery 580.225.3000 View online elkcityoknews.com