Published: November 08, 2008 09:39 pm         

75 percent turnout at polls was great for Garfield County

Give yourselves a thumbs up if you voted in last week’s election.

Too often, people don’t get out and exercise one of the most basic and important rights: the right to vote for their leaders.

That wasn’t the case in Garfield County with last week’s election. More than 75 percent of registered voters in the county cast ballots either absentee or at the polls.

That’s a great turnout, but not the highest the county has seen. For the 2004 presidential election, 76 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

Good job Garfield County.



Thumbs up to the good people who organize Oklahoma Mennonite Relief Sale each year.

And, thumbs up to the people who attend and spend so much money for a good cause. The most popular part of the event always is the quilt auction.

The event annually raises thousands of dollars for the benefit of worldwide hunger relief and community development programs of the Mennonite Central Committee.

We’re glad to see so many people involved, either organizing or contributing.



You always can count on volunteers from Vance Air Force Base to pitch in when something needs to be done.

That was evident again when several Vance personnel on their own went to Main Street Enid and volunteered to help set up for the annual Enid Lights Up the Plains celebration.

The main mover was 1st Lt. Matt Gjertsen, an instructor pilot at Vance. He wanted to help out in the community and decided Main Street would be a good fit. Then, he gathered other people at Vance to help him.

This type of generosity happens all the time, and we commend those people at Vance who volunteer helping out in the community.



Thumbs up to all the organizers who worked on Saturday’s tribute to local veterans. Enid always has shown strong support for the military and veterans.

As always, we are glad to see that support and glad to see the community take the opportunity to say thank you again to the men and women who sacrificed so much to give to their country.

Thank you.



Thumbs down to the recent rash of car vandalism and thefts that has occurred.



In September and October, nearly two dozen instances of stolen vehicles were reported to authorities in the county. In most of the cases, the cars were unlocked and the keys were in them.



In a more recent report, five vehicles were vandalized in Enid. In a couple of the cases items were taken, while in the others only damage was the result.



Authorities are seeking help in catching those responsible. When they do, we hope there is some stern punishment to put an end to this nonsense.