STIRring ceremony

By TEDDYE SNELL

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS May 09, 2008 12:41 pm

— People came from all over Northeast Oklahoma Thursday night to attend the Save The Illinois River Edmondson Awards Dinner at the Tahlequah Armory Municipal Center.
Special guest speaker for the evening was Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, whose family has been dedicated to preserving the Illinois River for generations – particularly his father, Ed, who worked with STIR in its early years.
Kurt Robinson, president of STIR, introduced Edmondson, saying the organization fully supports the state’s lawsuit against the poultry industry.
“STIR stands shoulder to shoulder with you in this fight,” said Robinson. “Your success is critical to the future of this river.”
Edmondson said he was touched by the program and the introduction of those who had been remembered for their contributions in preserving the watershed. He took time to give an update on the status of the state’s suit.
“I’m as certain as a lawyer can be,” said Edmondson. “I feel pretty good that at the end of this fight, we’ll have a result that will do justice to the memory of those who’ve come before us.”
Edmondson thanked Robinson for taking on those who oppose the action in the press. “I can count on you to knock one out of the park on the op-ed pages whenever someone like [OSRC Commissioner] Rick Stubblefield writes a piece against us,” said Edmondson. “You stand up and tell the truth.”
Edmondson said he’d hoped to have a result from the federal judge on the injunction against the application of poultry waste by the time the event rolled around, but it was not to be.
“We did win a couple of critical decisions, however,” said Edmondson. “The judge denied a motion filed by the defendants requesting that testimony of two of our expert witnesses be stricken from the record.”
Edmondson said one of the experts – Dr. Valerie Howard, of Florida – conducted DNA testing on the bacteria from the river and testified that what she examined came about exclusively from poultry waste.
“Not cattle, and not humans, as some would have you believe,” said Edmondson. “We’ve farmed cattle in this area for generations, and we’ve had modest population growth. Neither have affected the river as much as the geometric growth of the poultry industry in this area. I don’t know what the judge will decide, but I do know that the testimony of these two witnesses is critical to proving our case next year in federal court.”
Edmondson said that, as a result of the bacteria created by poultry waste in the watershed, one in 100 visitors to the Illinois River will become ill simply by swimming in the river.
“Since so many people come from other areas, they’ll leave the river, get sick, and think the illness they suffered is from something they ate, which is why it is so difficult to get any sort of reading on the epidemic the bacteria causes,” he said.
He encouraged those attending to continue their work in preserving the watershed, and became emotional when he paraphrased the St. Crispin’s Day speech from Shakespeare’s play, “Henry V.”
“You are my brothers,” he said. “We fight this fight and when it’s over, we’ll yearly gather together on this day and show our scars and say we fought this fight together to save the Illinois River.”
The event also included STIR awards presented by Ed Brocksmith. Among those awarded for their work in preserving the Illinois River were Dr. D.I. Wilkinson of the Sequoyah Outing Club, Andy Anderson of the Wauhilla Outing Club, Terri Ussery of the Greater Tenkiller Area Association, to name but a few.
Musical guests were local artists featured on the CD “Songs For The Illinois River,” including Dan Garber, Scott Lawrence, Dennis Tibbits, Rickey Ray and Kelly Anquoe. Tibbits and his wife, Kathy, presented STIR with a check for $1,000, the first “clear profit” from the CD, which was designed as a fundraiser for the organization. Artists performing on the CD signed a guitar, which was auctioned at the event to benefit STIR, along with a donated painting by local artist Murv Jacob.

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