U.S. Department of the Interior Announces More Than $170 Million in Conservation Funding for States and Tribes to Reclaim and Repurpose Abandoned Coal Mines, Including $2.8 Million for Oklahoma

Join us for special free preview screenings of Ken Burns’ new documentary THE DUST BOWL:      Nov. 1 Guymon,      Nov. 5 Stillwater,      Nov. 8 OKC,      Nov. 12 Tulsa.

More than 500 people turned out for a special preview screening of the Ken Burn’s new documentary THE DUST BOWL at Altus. The “Screening and Community Conversation” event, featuring excerpts from both episodes of the film, was held at the Western Oklahoma State College on Oct. 4, 2012. The complete documentary will air on Public Broadcasting System (PBS) stations on the evenings of Nov. 18 and 19 beginning at 7:00 p.m. In Oklahoma, member stations of the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) are the PBS network stations.

The public was invited to the Altus preview screening of THE DUST BOWL, sponsored by OETA, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC), USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD). Comanche County, Harmon County Jackson County and West Caddo Conservation Districts had display exhibits along with displays from OCC, NRCS and OETA.

Mark Norman, OETA acting executive director, welcomed the audience and introduced the film screening. Following the 45-minute excerpted preview, Pauline Hodges, a Dust Bowl survivor from Beaver, Okla., participated in a panel discussion along with Mike Thralls, OCC executive director, and Clay Pope, OACD executive director. At the end of the discussion questions were taken from the audience that included more than 20 individuals who experienced the Dust Bowl growing up in Oklahoma.

More preview screening events for Ken Burns’ THE DUST BOWL are planned for other locations around the state leading up to the November broadcast of the documentary.