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Elected officials tour flood damage in Dewey CountyCongressman Frank Lucas, Senator Schulz and Representative Sanders get up close view of rural infrastructure needs Oklahoma Oklahoma 3rd District Congressman Frank Lucas, state Sen. Mike Schulz and state Rep. Mike Sanders had a 'first hand' look at damage to the infrastructure of rural Dewey County resulting from the floods of 2007 and 2008. The recent tour was sponsored by the Dewey County Conservation District and the Dewey County Commissioners. "We are very pleased that Congressman Lucas, Sen. Schulz and Rep. Sanders had the chance to see this damage in Dewey County," stated Clay Pope, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts. "This tour provided an up close look at the impact of flooding not only to the conservation infrastructure, but also to the roads and bridges in this rural area." Heavy rains in 2007 and 2008 resulted in extensive damage to roads, bridges and farm ground throughout Oklahoma, including the flood damaged area in Southern Dewey County that was toured by the elected officials Nov. 25. According to Jimmy Emmons, Chairman of the Dewey County Conservation District, this area highlights not only the damage that these floods caused, but it also shows how future damage can be reduced or eliminated if new flood control dams were to be built. "We showed Congressman Lucas and our state legislators how a handful of dams could have greatly reduced or eliminated this damage," Emmons said. "I've always heard that an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. I think that is the case in this instance. The cost of building a new dam would be far less than having to pay to repair this kind of damage every other year or so." OACD's Pope agreed. "This tour helps highlight not only the needs of Dewey County, it also shows how flood control dams help the whole state," Pope said. "Every year Oklahoma's 2,100 plus dams save our state over $75 million in flood damage that does not happen because of the protection they provide. If we could get the dollars to build new structures like those needed in Dewey County, we could save the taxpayers even more in the long run. We are glad that these state and federal officials had a chance to see this today. We are especially excited that Congressman Lucas was here because of all the hard work he has done for conservation in the past and all the ongoing discussion of new infrastructure spending taking place in our nation's Capitol. We know he will carry the message back to Washington D.C. about the importance of conservation infrastructure and we hope to see this kind of work included in any future infrastructure funding measures." ==CUTLINE=== Oklahoma 3rd District Congressman Frank Lucas and Coleta Bratten, secretary of the Dewey County Conservation District, review information concerning damage from the floods of 2007 and 2008 in Dewey County and plans for flood control structures to prevent future damage. (Courtesy photo.)
Date: 12/19/08
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