Beckham Co. Treasurer talks property taxes

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Published on Friday, 03 February 2012 13:54

By Janette Cornelius

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home this year, we have a few points you should make note of while in your final closing. Your closing agent will probably pro-rate the property taxes for you and tell you how much each of you owe. You should pay extra attention to whether the buyer or seller will be credited for the other person’s part of the tax. Doing this could prevent that “shock” you might have when your property tax statement comes in December. Even though you may have only owned the property a couple months, the tax statement will reflect the entire year. The statement is not pro-rated. If you have any questions of who (either the buyer or the seller) is responsible for the tax, we advise that you contact your closing agent. 

Also when buying a home, you can choose to set up an escrow account with your mortgage company for your property taxes. A specified amount will be included with your mortgage payment each month, and set aside in an escrow account. The mortgage company will pay your property taxes from this account. Your mortgage company will then contact the treasurer’s office and request the amount of your taxes. If you choose this option, you will not receive a tax statement for the mortgaged property when we mail statements in December. Your statement will be sent directly to the mortgage company. Please remember if you do not select this option, your mortgage company will not request your taxes and you will be responsible.

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Morris continues Kopp hearing aid legacy 30 years later

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Published on Friday, 13 January 2012 15:00

Dale Denwalt
Daily Elk Citian

Thirty years after it opened, the Elk City Hearing Aid Center has a new owner.

Until a few months ago, Wayne Morris travelled nationally to train clinicians to become hearing aid specialists.

In 2010, he found out that Allen Kopp, owner of the Elk City Hearing Aid Center had passed away, leaving the business to his son, Brennan. The Oklahoma Hearing Aid Association called Morris with the news.

"They asked me if I would donate my time to help the son become licensed," he said.

Morris then called Brennan and at the end of that call, he offered to buy the business.

"It was really kind of on a whim. It wasn't a strategy, it wasn't thought through. In fact, after I said it I thought, 'Why'd you say that?' My wife'll kill me," said Morris.

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Nighttime feeding of heifers, cows may inhibit nighttime calving

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Published on Friday, 06 January 2012 14:25

STILLWATER, Okla. – It is generally accepted that adequate supervision at calving has a significant positive effect on reducing calf mortality, which has been of increasing importance with the use of larger beef breeds and cattle with larger birth weights.

“On most ranching operations, supervision of first-calf heifers and more mature cows will be best accomplished in daylight hours while the poorest observation typically will take place in the middle of the night,” said Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension emeritus cattle specialist.

The easiest and most practical method of inhibiting nighttime calving at present is by feeding the expectant mothers at night; the physiological mechanism is unknown, but some hormonal effect may be involved.

Selk said rumen motility studies indicate the frequency of rumen contractions falls a few hours before parturition. Intraruminal pressure begins to fall in the last two weeks of gestation, with a more rapid decline during calving.

“It has been suggested that nighttime feeding causes intraruminal pressures to rise at night and decline in the daytime,” he said.

In a Canadian study of 104 Hereford cows, 38.4 percent were fed at 8 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. and delivered calves during the day.

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Richardson Homes to open Clinton office

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Published on Friday, 23 December 2011 14:29

Richardson Homes, an Oklahoma building company that prides itself on it’s reputation for building custom homes on the homeowners land for $77 dollars a square foot, is expanding to the Clinton area. 

According to Richardson Homes President Dennis Lee, the Clinton market has been a strong one for the company.

 “We have found a new niche in the outlying rural areas and have had an increase of building activity in Weatherford, Clinton and Elk City as the result of the oil field industry and the need for new homes,” he said.

Lee adds that there is a demand for larger homes in the rural areas and his company can bring down the price point because of volume. Transportation and staffing cost will command an $85 dollar per square foot price tag on the customers land. The new Clinton office will provide the same services Richardson Homes has provided in the market for the past twenty years.

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Producer elected to serve on County FSA Committee

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Published on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 15:02

According to Brian Pritchard, County Executive Director for the Beckham County Farm Service Agency, the County Committee election for LAA #1 is now complete.

This year’s election was for a new member as the current representative for LAA #1 has served the maximum allowed number of contiguous years on the county committee, which is nine.

Chris Anderson has been on the Beckham County COC for the last nine years and has done an excellent job for the farmers and ranchers of Beckham County. 

There were three candidates on this year’s ballot, which turned out to be a very close election.  

The winner of the election was Kent Jackson from Elk City, followed by Robert O’Hara of Elk City and Dale Cornelius of Willow.

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Costello calls labor rules “attack” on farm life

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Published on Friday, 02 December 2011 15:10

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello voiced opposition to rules the U.S. Department of Labor is proposing to the Fair Labor Standards Act regarding child farm workers.  Costello charged that the proposed rules are a “frontal attack on the rural family, farm life, and the family farm or ranch as a small business operation.”

The U.S. Department of Labor proposes that the family farm or ranch, when its legal structure is a partnership or corporation, is not allowed to employ children, 16 years of age or younger, in farm work deemed hazardous.  Costello asserts under the new rules “young teens are barred from riding on a tractor, herding and branding cattle, and grandparents are barred from having their grandchildren work on the family farm. I would much rather defer to the authority of a parent to manage the safety of their child than a distant bureaucrat.”

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