By John Sutter
For this morning’s paper, I wrote a story about scattered rain that’s fallen recently on the drought-ridden Oklahoma Panhandle — nourishing one couple’s hope that they’ll be able to keep their cattle, and their ranch.
I left out a fun detail, though.
There’s a newsman in Boise City named C.F. David. He’s the publisher/owner/editor of The Boise City News, a weekly paper that’s been prodding Gov. Brad Henry for two years to visit Cimarron County, at the western end of the Panhandle.
David has a $50 “bounty” out for anyone who can prove the governor has been to Cimarron County before. The governor’s spokesman says Henry’s never visited. You’d think the newsman would be thrilled that the governor now says he’ll visit the Panhandle soon (although he’s yet to set a date), to take a look at drought conditions that locals are comparing to the 30s Dust Bowl.
But David’s got his doubts.
If the governor comes, David said he will hand him a $50 check: an answer to his bounty. But until that happens — and this is the part I left out — David is telling locals to send the governor Oklahoma maps. He asked them to circle Boise City on the map, and trace the 6-hour route from Oklahoma City to the Panhandle for him.
Maybe he just doesn’t know the way.
