Deer Creek CD Holds Groundbreaking for Cobb Creek Site 1

December 16, 2010

image of groundbreaking participants — Among those participating in the groundbreaking ceremony were (from left) state Rep. Harold Wright; Weatherford Mayor Mike Brown; OCC/CP Director Robert Toole, OACD Executive Director Clay Pope, SWOSU President Randy Beutler, and Deer Creek CD Directors Bertha Miller, Alveta Taylor and Carol Gaunt.

Deer Creek Conservation District, in cooperation with Southwestern Oklahoma State University, held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Cobb Creek Site 1 dam rehabilitation project on Nov. 29. Work on the site, which is Crowder Lake State Park south of Weatherford, is slated to begin after the first of the year. The structure has exceeded life span of its original design and is now classified as a high hazard dam due to development that has occurred downstream since it was built. When the rehabilitation project is complete, the structure will continue to protect life and property for another 100 years.

image of people standing near lake state park — **More than 20 people attended the event at Crowder Lake State Park.**

Among those attending the ceremony were Deer Creek CD Directors Carol Gaunt, Alveta Taylor, Bertha Miller and John Flaming; SWOSU President Randy Beutler; Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts Executive Director Clay Pope; Oklahoma Conservation Commission Executive Director Mike Thralls; OCC Conservation Programs Director Robert Toole, State Rep. Harold Wright, Congressman Frank Lucas’s Field Representative Garrett King; OCC Watershed Technician George Moore; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service District Conservationist Steve Kelley; Weatherford Mayor Mike Brown; NRCS District Conservationist Ron Schmidt; Crowder Lake staff, Deer Creed CD staff and other SWOSU representatives.