Archived News 2013

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Tuesday, Dec 31. NEW YEARS PARTY ON SCHEDULE FOR TONIGHT

The doors open around 6 pm this evening for the second New Year's Eve party since the Center moved into the Legion Building three years ago. Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks will be the feast of the end-of-year fete. Bring a bowl for others to enjoy. Games, visitation, and entertainment are on tap. The evening will last as long as folks are enjoying themselves

Friday, Dec 20, BAD WEATHER FORECAST FORCES DANCE CANCELLATION.. AGAIN

Waking to a dire weather forecast for the immediate area, ice and icy rain, the Killin' Time Band members caucused and decided, with great regret, to call off tonight's Friday Night Dance. With that decision, though, the band encourages folks to come out to the Legion Building on Friday, December 27th and January 3. The band happily is not taking a holiday break, so, weather permitting, there will music and merriment each of the upcoming Fridays.

Monday, Dec. 16, DIRTY SANTA PLAYS TONIGHT AT POTLUCK CHRISTMAS PARTY

Late announcement for tonight's Christmas party and pot-luck dinner. Ham and Turkey and whatever the folks bring are the menu fare. The Dirty Santa game will be played immediately after the dinner, with serving starting at six pm. Gifts for Dirty Santa should be around $5.00 each. Lots of Fun. Everyone invited.

Thurs, Dec 5, FOUL WEATHER CAUSES DANCE CANCELLATION AGAIN

Tomorrow's Friday Night Dance is cancelled due to the freezing rain and snow that is being experienced in all of Southwest Oklahoma. With both the band and the dancers coming to the Legion Building from all over the area, the band decided that discretion demands that common sense prevail. We are requesting that folks who read this announcement please tell others who come to the dances but do not do computers that the dance is called off for this week only. Some have said that if the Legion Building is kept as cold as it was last week, there might be a dramatic drop-off of attendance. While the heaters were working on Tuesday of this week, center personnel will re-check the ballroom heater to ensure they are working properly. Also, we will begin to heat the building at Friday noon for the dance that night.

Sun, Nov 24. MONDAY POTLUCK AND TUESDAY ACTIVITIES CANCELLED

With the predicted ice and snow for the Lawton area, center president, Eva Williams, has announced the cancellation of both the Monday night potluck dinner and all Tuesday activities. The Friday Night Dance is still scheduled for the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, and the normal schedule will resume next week.

Fri, Nov 22, FRIDAY DANCE CANCELLED DUE TO FREEZING PRECIPITATION

With the prediction of sleet and freezing rain in the area as darkness approaches, the Killin' Time band put out the word that there would be dance on this Friday night. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol suggested that everyone stay home and off the streets and highways. The planned birthday party that was to have been a part of the evening was postponed to a later date (hopefully not until the next birthday!) The safety of the regulars on the road to and from the Legion Building was paramount in the decision

Sat, Oct 26, HOPE REFORMED BAPTIST CHURCH TO USE LEGION BUILDING

Pastor A J Johnson and the leaders of the Hope Reformed Baptist Church came searching for a larger venue to hold their Sunday services and found the Legion Building fit their requirements perfectly.The three-year-old church originally met in the homes of its members, but quickly found that they needed a larger meeting room. For the past year or so, they rented a banquet room at the Best Western Motel. That arrangement failed to meet their needs for a place to congregate after their 11 am service, eat a pot-luck meal, and visit. Someone suggested to the pastor that they look at the Legion Building and see it it could be made available to them. The first visit to the ballroom in early October convinced the church leaders that the building would fit their needs exactly until they increased their memership and their building fund to buy or build their own church building. The group will pay the standard fee for the use of the building, helping the Senior Citizen Center meet its ever increasing costs and meeting the needs of the church.

Tues, Sep 24, WATER LINE BREAK REPAIRED ASSISTED BY FIBER OPTIC COMPANY

The Fiber-optic cable company that damaged the Legion Building water line several months ago and claimed to have repaired it properly, returned to the leak site this morning and carefully removed the mud around the broken pipe, which was damaged in several places along a 5-foot length. With Leo Whitley watching and furnishing the repair parts which he, himself, installed; "This time with a good repair that will last!" He exclaimed. Water was off for the members who were participating in the Tuesday activities; dominoes, quilting, lunch, and yoga until around 2:30 pm. After he watched the backhoe return the dirt and mud to the hole, Leo returned to the center and helped Clarence Shaak and Gary Howell clean the building. Normally, Alon Williams, now on vaction, and Tom Spears, now on post-surgery light duty would be there to help, but those circumstances cannot be avoided.

Mon, Sep 23, WATER LINE BREAK RUNS UP MASSIVE WATER BILL, DRIES BUILDING

With Monday's phone call from Water District #1 warning the Seniors that their water usage is highly unusual, volunteers jumped to action. Gary Howell hurried to the water meter, located six-tenths of a mile north of the building, turned it off, and stopped the water flow to wherever the spill was happening. Searching for unusual buildup of water, first on Legion Park where previous water line breaks have been found and then along the route toward the water meter, Clarence (Skip) Shaak found what is certainly the site of the break. Water in excess of that expected from recent rains was pooling in a ditch on the north of State Highway 49, the north boundary of the park. Skip, at the leak location, and Gary, at the water meter, confirmed, by Gary opening the water valve and, a half-mile to the south, seeing the water begin to flow from the ground. Leo Whitley, busy at his farm until that time, and Tom Spears, in a back brace and on extremely light duty due to recent back surgery, arrived at the leak site to contrive a solution to the problem. The leak is at the approximate location where several months ago a fiber-optic cable operation had cut and repaired the same water line while entrenching to bury the fiber-optic cable. Puddin McKensie contacted Southern Plains Cable Company, got the phone number of the company involved in the previous installation of the fiber-optic cable. The company, based in Chickasha, promised to resolve the problem on Wednesday.

Tues, Aug 25, DISHMAN TO GIVE FLU SHOTS AT POTLUCK DINNER, OCTOBER 7

Bob Dishman confirmed today that he will be at the Monday potluck dinner on October 7, and will provide inoculations for flu and pneumonia between the hours of 5 and 6 pm. This has become an annual occasion for Bob since he sold Dishman Pharmacy and retired a couple of years ago. Dinner will be served at 6 pm as always. The shots will be given without charge to seniors on Medicare. See Flyer.

Thurs. Aug 1, GOSPEL SINGER OFFERS FREE CONCERT AT LEGION BUILDING

Well known 15-year-old gospel singer, Brittany Loyd returns to the Lawotn-Ft Sill area in August and invites the public to a free gospel concert at the Legion Building at 4:30 pm on Sunday, August 11. From Carmi, Illinois, Brintany has toured all over the south, enthralling audiences with her "grown-up" voice, enchanting stage presence, and her glowing faith. She sang in this area in June to wonderful reviews and many are anxious for her return. Center members are encouraged to attend the concert and spread the word through their churches and aquaitencies. Visit her web page at http:// brittanyloydministry.com/.

Tues, Jul 16, ASCOG ASKS FOR VOLUNTEERS

Ken Jones, Director of ASCOG's Area Agency on Aging posted this notice on his Blog this morning: Volunteers are needed for ASCOG's Medicare Assistance Program; email Von at salt_vo@ascog.org for more information.

Sun, Jul 14, EIGHTY-SIX ENJOY INDIAN TACOS

Starting early and coming in all day long, a total of 86 patrons showed up at the Legion Building for the monthly Indian Taco Sale fundraiser. With Ray Koegn providing delightful dining music, many lingered long after their feeding to enjoy the rest of thee day.

Fri, Jun 13, 2013 - LOCAL PAPER REPORTS ON FRIDAY DANCE NIGHT

Today's Lawton Constitution carried an article and picture featuring the Legion Building's

Friday Dance Night. Ty Albin, Lawotn Constitution country music reporter interviewed several fo the Killin' Time band members and the Wichita Mountains Area Senior Citizens Public Relations Officer, Tom Spears, earlier in the week. Alice Law, female singer for the group stated afterward, "We hope that this additional exposure will bring additional people out to enjoy our music."

The article can be found <here>.

Credit:

Michiel D. Pope, Photographer, Lawton Constitution

Sat, Jun 29, 2013 - CLEANING CREW SWITCHES TO TUESDAY AFTERNOON

After more than a year of meeting at 10 AM each Thursday for several hours of sweeping, mopping, and wiping the Legion Building ballroom, kitchen, and rest rooms, Alon, Clarence, and Tom will move their cleaning operation to Tuesday late afternoons. The move is an attempt to save cost of electricity for the building.

Thurs, Jun 13, 2013 - POLE FALLS IN LEGION PARK, LOSES WATER

Sometime after Tuesday evening, perhaps along with the strong southern wind that night, a light pole along the first-base line on Legion Baseball Field, North, crashed down, breaking the bottom shunt on the field water faucet and allowing a full stream of water to flow through the attached water hose. Andre Wilson, pee-wee coach and Roughneck Vice President, found the damaged waterline and notified center personnel at 5 pm on Wednesday. Today, Leo Whitley, Alon Williams, and Tom Spears dug out the damaged pipes and repaired the line, suffering in the day's 99 degree heat. The Legion Building was without water for the day, interfering with the Thursday cleaning and maintenance day. Clarence Shaak, the lone volunteer in the building, swept and cleaned but couldn't accomplish the usual mopping and scrubbing.

Sat, Jun 8, 2013 - CROWD CONSUMES EVERY INDIAN TACO, DESSERT

Although there was never a serious surge of folks crowding the serving counter, the constant arrival of Indian-taco loving patrons pushed the kitchen to the limit. Recent experience had been between 75 and 90 people coming to the monthly fundraiser, allowing for the center to feel comfortable planning and purchasing for around a hundred and twenty meals, feeding the volunteers and all the paying customers. The Saturday crowd, though, never waned and ended up being a greater number than there was food to feed them. As usually happens the fifteen or so volunteers ate heartily when the flow of guests slowed around two pm, but individuals and families continued to wander in, ready for a feast. Even though all the road signs directing people to the Legion Building were quickly removed as the pots emptied and the dough dwindled, there still appeared three groups of nine people who could not be served. Even the scrapings of the bean pot was not enough to offer a taste. Each left, however, with a promise of another chance to dine on the second Saturday of next month.

Fri, May 31, 2013 - FRIDAY DANCE SKIPPED DUE TO VIOLENT WEATHER

With several of the Killin' Time band hailing from the Norman and Moore area and the forecast weather for that area looking questionable, the band decided that discretion was the better part of playing, and cancelled Friday's dance at the Legion Building. As it turns out, the decision was likely most wise. A number of tornadoes tore through their area during the early evening. No alerts were sounded for the Lawton area, but the homes of the band members were in the threat area. No report of damage to their property has been received.

Fri, May 17, 2013 - NO CAJUN FOOD FEED IN MAY, NOR THROUGH SUMMER

The center board has voted to cancel the scheduled 4th-Saturday-of-the-Month Cajun Food Feed. Concern that the Cajun food, considered by most to be better consumed in cold weather, would not attract sufficient diners to provide a sufficient funds beyond the costs to justify the effort and expense required. Appreciation was expressed to Richar Rushing for the April feed and his contribution of the "makings" for the event.

Sat, April 27, 2013 - CAJUN FOOD DRAWS 57 DINERS

Richard Rushing stands over his steaming pot of Jambalaya on a cold breezy morning in April, readying the mixture for the center's first Cajun Food Feed. He has just poured 5 pounds of rice into the pot containing his special recipe of boiling liquid, spices, and meat. As the rice boils and expands, the mixture must be scrapped from the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching. "Although a little bit of scorching is necessary," Instructed Rushing, "to get the true Louisiana Cajun flavor." Volunteers had brought cornbread and desserts, and Puddin McKenzie cooked white beans to complete the day's menu. The Center had decided to test Cajun Food as a fundraising attraction after Richard had volunteered to provide the makings, the equipment, and most of the labor for the menu's main attraction. With only 57 patrons coming by the Legion Building, the center leaders decided to schedule a Cajun Food Feed on the fourth Saturday in May and see if word-of-mouth and a little more advertising would draw a larger number of diners. From this time forward, the center will reimburse Richard for the cost of the Jambalaya ingrediance, so the response must be greater to make the fundraiser worth the cost and the labor.

Wed, April 3, 2013 - APRIL ONLY, FREE YOGA CLASSES EACH TUESDAY

Yoga leader/instructor, Susan, will be at the Legion Building each of the remaining Tuesdays in April to introduce the fundamentals and benefits of yoga to seniors and others who might want to participate. During the three Tuesdays, Susan will emphasize yoga positions, mind exercises, muscular relaxation that improve balance and facilitate stretching and movement. The class will begin at 9:45 and last thirty minutes. Next Tuesdays Class topic will cover seated stretching. Susan explained, "Why do we start with stretching? First of all, it makes you feel good. It decreases muscle stiffness; increases your range of motion; improves your posture, thus your breathing; enhances muscular relaxation, and promotes circulation." After the April introduction classes, Susan plans to continue to offer yoga on Tuesdays at the Legion Building, but will include a nominal fee for the class.

March 30, 2013- LEGION FIELD READY FOR LEAGUE PLAY

The Lawton Roughnecks (ages 8 through 18) baseball club are finishing up the restoration of the ball diamonds at the south-central part of the Legion Park, readying the field for the league's baseball season, which starts Monday. Coaches and players have mowed and smoothed the area, repaired fences and dugouts, and recreated the dilapidated infield, making Legion Field ready for the two-month season. The Lawton Roughnecks play in the Caddo-Comanche Baseball League. The club schedule and use of Legion Field can be tracked at http://www.allprosoftware.net/caddocomancheleague/aplsteam20.htm (Currently the 2012 schedule is displayed. Current schedule is pending)

March 27, 2013 - NEW FUNDRAISER - CAJUN FOOD FEED - SLATED

The center board met with Rush Rushing to finalize plans for April's Cajun Food Feed. Rushing has volunteered to bring his cooking rig to the center, cook up a large pot of Jambalaya and see if local folks might be interested in feasting periodically on the unique flavors of south Louisiana. In addition to Jambalaya, the menu will include white beans and cornbread, drinks, and dessert. The fundraiser is scheduled for the fourth Saturday of the month.

March 11, 2013 - STAR PROMENADORS CANCEL REST OF SUNDAY LESSONS

At the end of yesterday's 4-hour lesson, leaders of the Star Promenadors Square Dance Club announced that the three remaining lessons would not take place. The sparse number participants and the lack of assurance that the few students that did participate would join their club at the end of the lessons apparently prompted the decision. The Star Promenadors had rented the building for the free lessons for six weeks starting February 24, skipping Easter Sunday on March 31, to end on April 7. The group had expected a much larger number of the public to take the lessons and join the club at the end of the last lesson, but seniors from the center made up the largest number of the students, and they never had an intention of fully participating with the activities of the square dance club.

March 9, 2013 - CENTER DROPS JAM SESSION, BAND TAKES LAST FRIDAY

The senior center has terminated the long-running An Evening of Country Music jam session and is expanding their Friday Dance Program into the last Friday of the month. The decision to stop the last-Friday-of-each-month fundraiser came after after a 7-month review of the income being realized from the event when the costs of the program were compared to the funds donated, and the results of that review were disappointing. That, tied to the decline in the number of musicians participating in the jam session, convinced the center board of directors to cancel the program. Another fundraiser program is being considered and will be announced later. Friday, February 24th, was the last of this now-traditional center activities.

The center held the first An Evening of Country Music, in January, 2010, when 145 curious citizens came to the almost-finished Medicine Park Community Center and enjoyed burger-in-a-baskets and three hours of well-played country music. The format of the evening was patterened after the monthly jam session in Tipton, Oklahoma. Jim and Alice Law, from Roosevelt, organized the local musicians, acted as master of ceremonies, and developed the show into a popular monthly event.

February 24, 2013 - SQUARE DANCE LESSONS SWING INTO LEGION BUILDING

A dozen first-time and returning long-ago square-dance hopefuls waltzed into the Legion Building at 2 pm on Sunday with the intention of becoming skilled square dancers by the end of the 6-week course. Joined by the instructor-caller and a group of the sponsoring Star Promenadors club, the newbies haltingly learned the intricacies of western square dance. The second session will be held next Sunday March 3d and will repeat much of the primer lessons for review of those returning and to start students who come for the first time. From that time until the end of the course, the classes will progress to produce skilled square-dancers. A change to the schedule was announced, having the last class slipped to April 7th, delaying the class that was scheduled on Easter Sunday. The flyer has been updated.

February 14, 2013 - QUILTERS WELL UNDERWAY WITH CURRENT PROJECT

The cover for the latest quilt project underway at the Legion Building on Tuesdays has been mounted on the quilting frame atop the batting and bottom fabric. The next step will begin during the next session; the hand stitching of the quilting pattern. The top cover is a squares in a square motif; which used lots of the materials that have been donated to the Seniors Quilting Group over the past three years. The detailed and tedious task of placing the quilt pattern of carefully measured stitches through the top and bottom covers and the sandwiched batting will take several weeks, and then the edging will be added to finish the quilt. When finished, the quilt will be raffled at an upcoming Evening of Country Music jam and dance night. The proceeds of the raffle will go into the general fund of the Senior Center to fund building expenses.

February 9, 2013 - NINETY-THREE ENJOY INDIAN TACOS ON SATURDAY

Another successful Indian Taco Sale was concluded earlier today with a total of 93 paying guests. Ray Koehn, again showing the strength of his vocal cords and endurance of his nature, added his unique entertainment to the dining guests' experience by singing non-stop from eleven AM untill three PM. All who commented were very happy with their visit to the Legion Building. The next Indian Taco Sale at the Legion Building is scheduled for the secons Saturday in March, March 9th.

February 1, 2013 - DELTA WILL NOT OPEN CENTRAL KITCHEN THIS FISCAL YEAR

ASCOG-AAA Manager, Ken Jones, announced Thursday that Delta Nutrition Program, headquartered in Duncan, will not complete construction of the central kitchen in the Legion Building any time this fiscal year (ending June 30, 2013). Ken posted the following on ASCOGAAA Blog: "The Delta Nutrition Program received significant budget cuts in State Fiscal Year 2013. In order to balance its budget, Delta had hoped to develop a central kitchen in Lawton: but because of construction delays they were not able to realize enough savings to make that happen this year." The Legion Building is under the management of Wichita Mountains Area Senior Center, with Delta paying a portion of the building's operating costs in return for use of the pending kitchen location. Current use, while the kitchen is under construction, includes temporary bulk storage of food and expendables as well as storage of their kitchen equipment. Senior Center President, Eva Williams, stated that "We are sorry to hear about the delays in Delta moving into the Legion Building. Center members will help in any way we can to help with Delta's interim operation and their finishing up getting the central kitchen into operation."

January 18, 2013 - OLD COUNTRY BAND LEAVES SAD FOLLOWING

To tune of The Party's Over, Old Country band played their last dance at the Legion Building, "At least, for now." said Rick Hill, the leader of the band. Attendance that had never risen to expectations, the distance that they had to drive, and a health issue of one of the band members caused the band to decide that they would stop playing the regular Friday Country Dance in Lawton. Sixty-four folks who have come to love the music and personality of Old Country expressed their appreciation and admiration to the band. Rick announced that the Friday Country Dance is not ending, that the Killin' Time band is moving its play dates from two Thursdays a month to the every Friday (except the last Friday of the month when the country jam session, An Evening of Country Music, takes the ballroom. The senior center is proud to have had Old Country gracing the hall for the past six months and encourages all the Lawton area country music fans to travel to Duncan of Tuesday nights to the Duncan Senior Center, where Old Country regulary plays to crowds of more than a hundred.

The local square dance club, The Star Promenaders, introduced the Friday Country dance with a 50-minute demonstration of square dancing, while the country dance fans were coming into the ballroom, encouraging those interested to come to a 5-week series of square dance lessons beginning on Sunday, February 24. The very entertaining and instructive demonstration showed how much fun and how much exercise square dancing can be, and ended by getting several of the crowd onto the dance floor and receive their first introductory square dance lesson. The club anticipates offering another demonstration closer to beginning of the lessons.

January 15, 2013 - SQUARE DANCERS TO GIVE DEMONSTRATION, LESSONS

Members of the Star Promenaders, an area square dance club seeking a place to offer square dance lessons to the public, met with members of the senior center board after the pot-luck dinner on Monday night. The result of the discussion has the Star Promenaders scheduling the Legion Building on Sunday afternoons from 2 to 6 pm for six weeks beginning February 24th for their classes. Dale Sims, the dancers president, and the others in his group were enthusiastic about the potential of the Legion Building for other future uses by the group for their festivals and conferences. To help publicize the lessons, the square dance club will demonstrate their talents during the hour before the Friday Country Dance. on January 18.

KILLIN' TIME BAND WILL MOVE FROM THURSDAY TO FRIDAY

With the decision of Old Country band to stop playing the Friday Country Dance Night, the center board asked the Thursday Dance Night band, Killin' Time, if they would want to change their play dates from two nights a month on Thursday night to all available Fridays. Alice and Jim Law canvased the other band members, and all were agreeable. The first playdate for Killin' Time on Friday is February 1.

January 11, 2013 - OLD COUNTRY BAND ENDS FRIDAY DANCE GIG

Rick Hill, leader of the Old Country band, announced tonight after the Friday Dance that next Friday's appearance will be the last time Old Country will play at the Legion Building. He said that disappointing numbers of people coming to the Friday event is the primary factor in the decision. The band usually plays to a crowd of a hundred to a hundred and twenty on Tuesday nights at the senior center in Duncan, and plays there, as in Lawton, for a share of the attendence fee. When they started playing at the Legion Building last July, the band said that they would want to attract at least that number in Lawton. The average attendance has been sixty-five, insufficient to reimburse the band members their expenses. Tom Spears, center Public Relations officer, said that the center is disappointed that the attendance levels never reached the numbers to satisfy the needs of the band members nor to cover the actual expenses of the center in sponsoring the dance night. "We feel that holding a weekly dance with good country music in a place without smoke and alcohol is a valuable service to the community, and we hope we can somehow fill the void left by the departure of Old Country. A lot of people will truely miss the great music provided by the band.

(2012 news can be found on Archived News 2012)