Week 13 is upon us, starting with a very somber tone. I attended the Oklahoma Workers Memorial Vigil at the State Capitol. This memorial is to remember the fallen workers within out state government. It was a sad reminder as to the families that are left behind.
Monday, I also presented House Concurrent Resolution 1015, which commemorates the 90th anniversary of the formation of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, which we recognize today as the Natural Resources and Conservation Service. It’s a different name but the same mission. The service was born in the aftermath of the great dust storms, which were some of the worst days in the drought years and dust bowl days in the early 1930s. The other sad part of this equation is that the country was experiencing a financial depression, while our famers where unable to harvest any crops. This combination led to the great migration of families to the west coast. Folklore has it that some of the dust generated in Oklahoma reached Washington D.C. on the day the president signed the order creating the Soil Conservation Service.
A couple of my House Bills – House Bill 1183 (excise tax on vehicles) and House Bill 1126 (truth in labeling on meat products) – have made their way through the Senate committee process and are eligible to be heard on the Senate floor. We will see.
This past weekend, I attended the groundbreaking for Lemmer Lee’s Place, a project headed by Jamie R. Wright to provide housing for victims of domestic abuse. I also attended the retirement celebration for Janet Wansick, president of Eastern Oklahoma State College. I wish to congratulate both of these women on jobs well done. I anticipate in the near future we will have a new president for our local college.
As always, thank You for allowing me to serve you. I can be reached at (405) 557-7381 or by email at jim.grego@okhouse.gov.
Jim Grego serves District 17 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Latimer County and part and Pittsburg County.
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