Friday is a big day for Heavener and LeFlore County.
July 1, 2011 marks the beginning of a new era as the Friends of the Runestone take over operation of the historic park.
In case you missed it over the last few months, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department washed its hands of the Runestone and six other state parks.
To the OTRD, good riddance. They didn’t want the park so to heck with them.
Now, the park will be run by people who actually care about it. The Friends of the Runestone and city of Heavener will be operating the park.
It has taken a lot of hard work by a lot of people to keep the park gates from closing for good and taking away the major tourist attraction for Heavener, and one of the main ones for the county.
Mike Kennerson, city manager for Heavener and president of the Friends, deserves a lot of credit. So do a lot of others.
But for all those who love the park and want it to be there for the future generations, your help is needed. Heavener does not have the funds to keep the park operating. Neither does the Friends of the Runestone.
That is where all of you can and need to help. We need to support this financially and any other way, by volunteering or getting the word out to the world about the beauty and historical significance of the park.
Here is a link to a story Kennerson wrote about the Park with a link to a membership form.
There are various membership amounts available for individuals and businesses. The Runestone will not get any help financially from the state so our tax dollars are being used for other purposes, which will not benefit the citizens of LeFlore County.
It’s not about sticking our thumb (or other finger) out or up at the OTRD, lieutenant governor or the governor. But this is a great way to show everybody, especially those government goobers who made the decision to close the state parks, what can happen when people work together and hopefully we can make the park even better than it was before.
We will miss Vicky Hurst and Lester Rowland and thank them for all they did for the Runestone, and also wish them the best in the future.
And I hope all of you will do what you can for the Heavener Runestone Park.
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I am also glad it is in the hands of Heavener and out of the hands of the OTD. Now, let's make sure it's not used as a political front for some of those people who write blogs and make sure their picture is in every paper in the county. We see right through you and look forward to your announcement for whatever it is you plan to run for. It will be the day we start campaigning hard and heavy AGAINST YOU. Thank you HEAVENER citizens for stepping up to the plate.
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