SAVE OUR WATER
GEARING UP
TO PROTECT THE QUALITY AND BEAUTY OF OUR SHORELINE AND WATER
Save Our Water is gearing up to save the quality of our shoreline and
water by encouraging all residents and guests of the Lake Eufaula area to
begin/continue recycling and to pick up litter – urging all people to preserve,
protect and keep our Lake area beautiful!
MEDIA ALERT: July 18, 2008 Contact: Karen Weldin
For Immediate Release 918-605-7405
(Eufaula) – Save Our Water is gearing up to save the
quality of our shoreline and water by encouraging all residents and guests of
the Lake Eufaula area to begin/continue recycling and to pick up litter –
urging all people to preserve, protect and keep our Lake area beautiful!
During the
first two years of existence, SOW focused efforts on working with the U.S.
Corps of Engineers and Southwestern Power Administration to come to a consensus
on an improved lake management plan.
They also proposed and submitted federal legislation that eventually was
added as an amendment to Senate Bill 728 that called for a Federal Advisory
Committee for Lake Eufaula, to recognize recreation as a project purpose of
Lake Eufaula and to perform a reallocation study of the lake. This legislation passed in November, 2007.
SOW’s primary focus has been water up to this point.
“SOW”s
goals are to continue to work to do what we can to preserve and protect our
greatest resource – water,” said Karen Weldin, President of Save Our
Water. “We are now including, in our
mission, objectives to increase awareness and educate people about the need to
preserve and protect the quality of our water. We have established a volunteer water testing program and are
ready to expand our efforts.”
SOW now
plans to focus attention on clean water by means of educating people about the
need to keep Lake Eufaula shore lines and surrounding community areas clean and
litter free. “One way we can accomplish
these new goals,” said Charlie Everett, SOW Board Member, “is to work to reduce
litter through successful recycling programs in our communities around Lake
Eufaula.
On Friday,
August 1st at 8:30 a.m. at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 3 High St,
Eufaula, SOW will meet in order to discuss how all of us can work together to
help educate and increase awareness about the importance of recycling programs around
Lake Eufaula in order to cut down on litter.
Representatives from the Muskogee Recycling Center, Options, Inc. (a
recycling program in Checotah) and city officials from McAlester, Eufaula,
Checotah and Stigler have been invited to attend. Guests include: Kevin Priddle, McAlester Mayor; Mark Roath,
McAlester City Manager; Larry Godfrey, Stigler Mayor; Pete Bass, Stigler City
Manager; Dean Smith, Eufaula Mayor; Marvin Nichols, Checotah Mayor; John Tyler
Hammons, Muskogee Mayor; J. Gregory Buckley, Muskogee City Manager; Mike
Cummingham, Options, Inc; Francie Martin, Muskogee Recycling Center; and Bryce
Hulsey, Department of Environmental Quality.
This is the
first of two meetings SOW has planned to discuss cleaning up the Lake Eufaula
area. (September 5th we will
meet to discuss current litter laws with state and local officials and how we
can enforce these laws.) If you are concerned about the beauty of Lake Eufaula and the
quality of the water, you are encouraged to attend these important meetings.
Save Our Water is a group of community leaders,
business owners, lake area residents and concerned citizens across the state
who have organized to preserve and protect the quantity and quality of Lake
Eufaula and all Oklahoma’s water resources.
For more information, go to www.saveourwaterlakeeufaula.com
or call 918-605-7405.