Lawton Town Crier

Open Door Policy – November 12, 2009

***(Editor’s Note: Joe Dorman is the Oklahoma House District 65 Representative and ‘The Lawton Town Crier’ appreciates Mr. Dorman’s many contributions to our site, most notably his “Open Door Policy,” and his guest appearances on the “Lawton Town Crier” podcast. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the Lawton Town Crier, or other contributors.)***

There have been many events going on over this past week. We had about 30 legislators show up at the State Capitol for a rally to restore funds to the Senior Nutrition Sites around the Oklahoma. Those of us present spoke to the crowd, which filled the entire second floor of the Capitol, and answered questions from the audience. Secretary of State Susan Savage also addressed those present on behalf of Governor Henry, while Lt. Governor Askins had her chief of staff on hand to assure them of her support.

Senator Kenneth Corn, one of the legislators who spent the night on the Capitol steps in protest, let the crowd know the Governor stated he would replace the cut funds if the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate would work with him to replace the funds in the legislative session. We have not heard yet what decision Speaker Benge and Senator Coffee have made. I hope they agree to this so we can get the centers open every day and serving hot meals to our seniors.

There were also several activities involving students over the past week. The Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature met at the State Capitol and I had the chance to speak to them, along with Governor George Nigh and Speaker Chris Benge. Several students at Elgin hosted a blood drive and it looked like a great turnout while I was there. I also had the chance to speak to a school assembly at Sterling to their 7th though 12th graders.

Thursday night was the Grady County Democratic Party Annual Barbecue. There were almost 150 in attendance at the fairgrounds and they were served great brisket and heard music from the Bean Supper Band out of Canadian County. Several candidates for office were present and spoke about their campaigns. One update is that Senator Susan Paddack announced for State School Superintendent and one Democrat, Randall Gorman, decided to drop out of the race and support her in that endeavor.

On Friday night, Oklahoma 4-H celebrated their Centennial year with a banquet. It was great to see many of my friends from 4-H there, including the Rust and Filippo Families of Rush Springs, former Rep. Ryan McMullen, and Jonathan Smith, formerly of Duncan, who delivered the keynote address on how this program influenced his life. It was a fantastic evening for all present!

This week, we have several Veterans Day events, including gatherings at Chickasha, Elgin, Rush Springs and Fort Sill which I will attend. Please remember our veterans and especially keep those families of soldiers who lost their lives at Fort Hood this past week in your thoughts and prayers.

Bentley Smith with Rep. Joe Dorman at the Elgin High School Blood Drive

There are also Education Committee interim studies at the Capitol on Tuesday and Thursday discussing potential changes in policy and looking at where cuts have been made to this point with the budget shortfall. I will try to update you more on this in next week’s column.

It is an honor to represent your views at the State Capitol. If you wish to contact me and discuss one of these or another issue, I can be reached at my office in Oklahoma City toll-free at 1-800-522-8502, or directly at 1-405-557-7305. My e-mail address is joedorman@okhouse.gov at work. My mailing address is PO Box 559 , Rush Springs , OK 73082 and my website is www.joedorman.com on the Internet. Thank you for taking time to read this column and I look forward to seeing you soon.