On the Horizon: Hire Our Veterans!

Many of our veterans are returning to civilian life but what are they returning to? Jobs that had been promised to them just aren’t there. I’m not sure really how employers are getting away with that. Yes they did hire someone to replace that man or woman who willing placed themselves in harm’s way for our freedoms but shouldn’t they have been told this is a temporary hire and as soon as that brave soul returns from wherever they have been stationed, the job will be theirs. Now yes, that would displace them, but if they were told upfront that it was only temporary, they would be expecting it and have a chance to begin looking for another job as soon as they heard the veteran was returning.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case and in this economy, jobs are scarce. So what’s a veteran to do? Well a group of Oklahomans was concerned about that very problem and decided to do something about it. The Oklahoma Department of CareerTech partnered with several other state agencies and entities across the State of Oklahoma to create a one of a kind hiring event geared towards Military personnel preparing for separation from active service, Guard & Reserve members and veterans (anyone who has ever served in the U.S. Military and received an honorable discharge).

In this week’s video blog, see how they are helping those who served our country and sacrificed all they had, including their jobs, to do so.
Alisa Hines

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On the Horizon: Dust to Dust

I am really looking forward to the upcoming Ken Burns PBS film on the Dust Bowl. I grew up hearing the stories of the “Dirty Thirties” from my parents who lived through what is referred to in the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name as the “worst hard times.”

While such hardships are a lifetime away, I believe we can learn valuable lessons from the Dust Bowl. The calamitous dust storms did wreak havoc, but the great migration depicted in “The Grapes of Wrath” was just as much about the economy as it was the environment.

In truth, less than seven percent of the migrants who moved to California did so because of the wind-ravaged Dust Bowl; the majority were refugees of a changing economy. A recession in farm country had farmers borrowing on the easy credit of the 1920s. Then in the 1930s, landowners began phasing out tenant farming and the sharecroppers it supported in favor of seasonal wage labor.

With unemployment during the Great Depression hovering around 30 percent, there were just no jobs to be had. Such an unforgiving economy had little room for the downtrodden, let alone an environmental disaster. We slipped into one of the bleakest moments in our nation’s history.

Today, we face our own set of challenges — probably nothing as severe as we saw in the 1930s, but still a transitioning economy. Jobs that once supported entire families on a single income have been blown away by the winds of change. A global economy and the rapid rise in technology have made today’s workplace quite different than the one I entered not that long ago.

As we continue to emerge from what was the worst recession since the 1930s, I can only hope we rise to the occasion as Americans, dust ourselves off, and face the challenges of today with the same character our forefathers showed.

In this week’s video blog, I want to share my family’s personal story of the Dust Bowl. My parents still inspire me. I hope they will inspire you too.
Rob McClendon

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On the Horizon: Chicken or the Egg

There’s a natural gas boom under way – and an interesting dilemma comes with it.
The United States produced a record amount of natural gas in 2011 – twenty-three trillion cubic feet — largely because of hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling. Pennsylvania more than quadrupled its natural gas output between 2000 and 2010 to 573 billion cubic feet – enough to heat every home in the state for eighteen months. Shale gas well output grew faster still, quadrupling nationwide between 2007 and 2010.

For the first time in my lifetime, it is possible that our country could become energy independent. American natural gas has the potential to fuel our cars and heat our homes. At less than half the price of imported gasoline, it will be a welcome relief at the pump.

But here is the dilemma. Which comes first, the cars that run on CNG or the gas stations that will carry it? CNG must be piped in rather than trucked, so every CNG pump along the side of the road needs significant infrastructure to get fuel. Oklahoma is leading the way in making the transition. With 90 fueling stations statewide, the state has per capita more than anyone else.

In this week’s video blog, we look at how state government and private industry are working together to take some of the pain out of the pump.
Rob McClendon

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One Perfect Day. Or Seven.

Today when Mick and I were driving to church, we spied two hot air balloons floating peacefully toward the ground. The colors juxtaposed against the robin egg blue sky were brilliant, it was 49 degrees with no wind, and the sunlight glinted against everything it struck.

Later today I was power walking down the road in front of our house and I noticed that as my center of gravity lifted with each step, then struck against the asphalt, my hair bounced to a rhythm that best matched the tune to “How do you Solve a Problem Like Maria?” As I step-step-stepped, the tune looped over and over in my head:

Many a thing you know you’d like to tell her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay
And listen to all you say
How do you keep a wave upon the sand

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

Earlier today we had lunch with my younger daughter. Later this afternoon I cooked a roast. First thing this morning, it was doughnut Sunday at church. Late tonight I pulled a perfectly cooked roast and vegetables from the crock pot for meals this week. Sometime mid-evening an old neighbor of ours stopped by the house and took Mick to the Thunder game for a dude night out; I got to stay at home, code research, and watch three episodes of Alli McBeal on Netflix.

And right now? I’m writing a prayer to God, telling Him how grateful I am for the weather we’ve been having, the leaves that are turning, my legs that can walk, balloons that fly, a church that cares, children whom we love and songs in my head.

Peace to you.

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Five Thanksgiving Menu Solutions for Unexpected Surprises

Being thrown for a loop during a meal or party preparation is never awesome, but it happens. If there are people involved, and cooking food for those people is also involved, unexpected surprises are almost guaranteed.

Twists or turns for a meal on Thanksgiving are especially tricky because the grocery stores are closed, and you find out about these surprises many times right before meal time.

If a few extra people show up, the solution could be as easy as opening an extra can of corn.

Sidebar: Every time I hear, “Can o’ corn” I think about this scene in The Longest Yard:

However, most Thanksgiving meals are so large a few extra people isn’t usually the problem. But other possibilities DO exist. So, I’ve developed a “crisis management” list for you to handle many of the possible, random or even probable surprises lurking in the wings for the upcoming holiday. Here we go…

1. A few days, or even hours prior to your meal, you get this message: “Okay, truth, no one in our family likes dressing. Can we PLEASE forego the dressing?” Great. It’s your turn to cook. You even called for your aunt’s dressing recipe because that’s what has always been served, and no one likes it? Here’s a great substitute that’s easy, it uses your cornbread mix, the big foil pan you had prepped for the dressing, and (in my opinion) tastes better:

Jalapeno Cornbread

In a large bowl combine four packets of cornbread mix (not corn muffin mix). Quickly clean/core 20 jalapeno peppers and shred them in a food processor. Add the peppers, a small bag of frozen corn [thawed], one extra egg over what the mixes call for, two bags of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (16 total oz.), and use buttermilk for the mix rather than regular milk. Please use about 10% extra buttermilk over what the mix calls for as it’s a little thicker. Mix thoroughly (don’t overmix; just until all the ingredients are wet and well blended), transfer to your large foil pan you had prepped for dressing (make sure and coat with non-stick spray prior to filling), and bake in a 390F oven for about 35-40 minutes. Check at 30 minutes. The edges should be nicely brown and pulling from the pan, and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. This recipe feeds 25 people easily, takes less than an hour from beginning to end, costs about $8.25, and is about .34 cents or less per serving. One other thing – it’s delicious.

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Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.