This Friday, July 4th, our county will celebrate our 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Each year, around the Fourth of July, we Americans direct our attention to the country’s crucial founding document, the Declaration of Independence. Whether we are Republican, Democrat or Independent, some will say that loyalty to the values expressed in the Declaration is what makes us American. President Gerald Ford connected the Declaration to the importance of freedom and independence as a unifying force for our county when he said, “We are bound together by the most powerful of all ties, our fervent love for freedom and independence, which knows no homeland but the human heart.” Each year, we want to remember what the people who came before us…from the Revolutionary days to the present…have given of themselves in order to preserve our freedoms. No matter our political ideals, we need to honor those freedoms for everyone and keep them alive for those who will come after us. Benjamin Franklin said, 'Where liberty dwells, there is my country.' I pray that will be our standard also.
Recently a few Laneites were discussing the 50th anniversary of the 48 Hours in Atoka, held on Labor Day 1975, and wondering if I had gone. I did not go. I remember all of my friends complaining about their kids wanting to go and I am pretty sure my kids were there although they were not supposed to be… they still won’t confess.
Have you encountered any of the local rattlesnake hunters with their latest record snake in the back of their pickup lately? I usually encounter them at one of the Lane Handy Marts in town or at church, showing off their newest, best ever, big rattler. In Oklahoma, rattlesnake season typically runs from March 1 to June 30. However, I have found that no one is in charge of notifying the rattlers that their season is past, so go home. If you are out hunting those vicious critters, you will be glad to hear that there is no daily limit for hunting them, according to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Remember, snakes eat rodents, which host ticks that carry harmful zoonotic diseases such as Lyme, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, and more. Rattlesnakes help keep the rodent population down, which in turn reduces those tick-borne illnesses. So, venomous snakes have value to our well-being and need to be left alone if they are not threatening you.
