U.S. No 1 HARD RED WINTER WHEAT: 22 to 25 cents lower. 6.25-7.07
Davis 6.25, Lawton 6.59, Frederick 6.60, Temple 6.70, Shattuck 6.73,
Clinton, Weatherford 6.74, Hobart 6.80, Eldorado 6.85, Miami 6.86,
Buffalo 6.88, Banner, El Reno, Geary, Okarche, Okeene, Watonga 6.90,
Alva 6.93, Cherokee 6.94, Medford 6.97, Manchester 6.99, Perry,
Ponca City, Stillwater 7.00, Keyes 7.02, Hooker 7.07, Gulf 8.30.

MILO: 21 to 31 cents higher. 6.57-8.14
Weatherford 6.57, Eldorado 6.83, Miami 7.73, Shattuck 8.01,
Manchester 8.02, Hooker 8.07, Alva, Buffalo 8.08, Ponca City 8.10,
Medford 8.13, Keyes 8.14, Gulf 9.75.

SOYBEANS: 42 to 58 cents lower. 10.61-11.52
Shattuck 10.61, Hooker 10.70, Medford 10.77, Ponca City 10.79, Alva,
Buffalo 10.86, Stillwater 11.07, Miami 11.52, Gulf 12.59 1/2.

CORN: 16 cents lower. 5.05-5.30
Keyes 5.05, Miami 5.06, Manchester 5.10, Ponca City 5.15, Hooker 5.30,
Gulf 5.90.

Grade 41, Leaf 4, Staple 34 Cotton in Southwestern Oklahoma Averaged
60.75 cents per pound F.O.B. railcar or truck.

The event is set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes a ribbon-cutting and refreshments.

Two tractors were busy mowing the grounds when I was there Friday morning and a handful of pictures had yet to be hung on the walls. Some planes landed so it’s business as usual there.

Two cut-off shirttails — a piloting tradition to mark a student’s first solo flight — had already been tacked up.

For a photo preview of the terminal and its amenities, click on the PHOTOS tab above to view the gallery.

Goodwell, Okla.— With the new school year bringing excited students back to Goodwell, the Oklahoma Panhandle State University rodeo teams wasted no time in preparing for the upcoming season.On the weekend of Aug. 16-17, rainy weather proved no issue for the women’s team. Held in Robert Etbauer’s indoor arena, Lari Dee Guy showed the entire group the way to breakaway rope.

Participants from all around came to take in the great weekend of roping. Much was accomplished and at the end a jackpot was held, allowing students to show what they had learned.

The following weekend, Troy Pruitt came into town to help the men with calf roping. With much drier conditions, the Doc Gardner arena was the site for some exciting roping. After two days under the Oklahoma sun, the men gained much knowledge and practice that will help them now and in the future. With the first college rodeo coming up fast on the second weekend in September in Colby, Kansas, both the men’s and the women’s teams seem excited and ready to compete. Thanks to the help of Lari Dee Guy and Troy Pruitt, it should be a season to watch.

Don’t forget — this Monday, Sept. 8, at 4 p.m., the OPSU Rodeo Team will be honored at a reception in the Noble Center Game Room. The public is invited to attend the event and enjoy free hamburgers. Help us celebrate Krista Johnson’s Breakaway Roping national title and the men’s perfect 10-0 season last year!

Wind generation is in the news in our area frequently. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear at least one question about it myself. I would like to publicly answer a few of the more common questions we receive about wind generation. In addition, I make myself available to anyone whose question is not answered here. Our door is always open for our members at Tri-County Electric.

Is Tri-County Electric opposed to wind generation?

This question is the one heard the most often by Tri-County Electric employees. The answer is a resounding no — Tri-County Electric is not opposed to wind generation. I can’t stress this enough. We support wind generation wholeheartedly.

Will Tri-County Electric purchase the energy produced by my wind generator?

Due to contractual obligations, Tri-County Electric cannot purchase energy from any source except the Purchase Power Agreements currently in place. The Purchase Power Agreements were necessary to finance the generation resource owned by Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Southwestern Public Service Company d/b/a Xcel Energy Inc. The coal-fired, natural gas-fired, and diesel-fired generation resources that currently meet our members’ energy needs were financed based on these agreements.

Can Tri-County Electric get out of the agreements?

The simple answer is no. In order to eliminate these obligations, Tri-County Electric would be required to pay its remaining portion of the debt related the future purchases by Tri-County Electric or to sue. Both processes are expensive, in terms of millions of dollars, which would have to be paid by the members.

Is Tri-County Electric purchasing wind energy?

Yes. Both Purchase Power Agreements include wind generation resources as a piece of their generation mix. The amount of the wind component in the mix, at any one time, is difficult to identify because of the nature of wind generation. The wind component changes on an hourly basis. Wind generation is dependent on the wind blowing and, contrary to popular sentiment; the wind does not blow all the time.

On the hottest day of the year, when air conditioners are running full throttle and usage is at its peak, the amount of wind generation available will be zero or very close to zero.

During times of average wind speeds, the percentage of wind generation is currently about 20 percent of the overall generation mix. This percent is increasing steadily.

Some of the developers indicate that wind is available 40 to 45 percent of the year. In 2007, the two 10 MW wind farms on the Tri-County Electric system were available 32 percent of the year.

If 20 percent of the generation is based on wind and the wind is free, why is my bill so high?

The wind energy is free, but the wind generators themselves are not free. The cost of the wind generator must be recovered through the energy produced. That means that the capital cost of the generator and the infrastructure necessary to connect to the electrical grid are recovered over a shorter time than a normal generator that would run closer to 100 percent of the time.

Is there capacity on the transmission system owned by Tri-County Electric?

Yes. The available capacity is dependent on where the interconnection is made. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Southwest Power Pool require that utilities perform a “transmission interconnection study” to determine the limitations of the transmission system before an interconnection is approved. Capacity is allocated on first-come/first-serve bases.

Is the interconnection study the only requirement?

No. This interconnection study is only the first step and the only study that is conducted by Tri-County Electric. Following the transmission interconnection study all other studies and decision follow under the control of the Southwest Power Pool. The Southwest Power Pool is the regional electric reliability council governing our area of the United States.

If the interconnection study shows a favorable result the next step is to conduct a transmission impact study. The transmission impact study will be conducted by the Southwest Power Pool. This study examines the impact that electrical energy, also known as power flow, from wind generation will have on the transmission system within the Southwest Power Pool and what upgrades may be require to facilitate the power flow. The result will determine if further studies are required.

Wind generation is a complicated process. The answers above only briefly outline the resource from Tri-County Electric’s perspective. Again, if you have a question not answered here, please call or come by. We will be glad to speak with you and help however we can. Above all, we are here to serve you, our members.

The carrier card for the duck stamp should list 1-800-782-6724, instead it has 1-800-872-6724. The first number spells out 1-800-STAMP24, while the second number spells out 1-800-TRAMP24.

Of course, you know that stamp is required to hunt migratory fowl, but the feds say the mistake is too costly to reprint so no fix until next year.

To read the AP story on the mixup, click here: http://newsok.com/duck-stamp-error-sends-callers-to-sex-line/article/3293046/?tm=1220567087

The hunting seasons are currently open for dove, geese and squirrels. However, a federal waterfowl stamp (that’s the one with the typo. See related story.) is still required of goose hunters. 
  
7: Woodward Archers 3-D Shoot. For more information, contact Ed Kinney at (580) 256-3320 or Frank Patterson, Jr. at (580) 256-6613. Memberships available; shoots are open events. Sign-in begins at 7:30 a.m. and closes at 2:30 p.m.
 
13-28: September Teal Season.
 
13: Sooner Retriever Club Training day. For more information contact Bill Blochowiak at labske@aol.com or (405) 279-1288.

There’s a 40 percent chance today of scattered showers and thunderstorms as the front approaches the Panhandles with mostly cloudy skies otherwise. Some thunderstorms may be strong to severe in the afternoon and evening with large hail and damaging winds being the main threats. Gusty winds will be possible as the cold front nears the region. Winds will be out of the east winds from 10 to 20 mph today switching to northeast tonight from 10 to 20 mph as the chance for precipitation increases to 50 percent.

Saturday’s potential for storms drops to 30 percent across the Panhandles and Saturday night across the eastern Panhandles. Sunday through Tuesday a 20 percent chance of storms remains and then pops again for Thursday and Thursday night. These thunderstorms are not expected to become severe at this time, the NWS adds.

Highs through Tuesday should approach 80 with overnight lows in the low to mid 50s.

Goodwell, Okla. — One of the art classes at Oklahoma Panhandle State University is busy learning as well as displaying their talents as they prepare a mural at the Guymon Wal-Mart.

Doug Quarles (an accomplished muralist from Tucumcari, New Mexico) is guiding the students through the project. Quarles is a very interesting man to talk with and says he greatly enjoys working with the students. His mural specialty is landscapes with animals.

Quarles has many of his murals on display in several areas of the south and southwest, including 30 of them in the Tucumcari area.

The mural is in the break room of the Wal-Mart facility and measures approximately 10 feet high by 14 feet wide. It is a work in progress and a photo depicting the finished mural will be published soon.

(It would be here now if I had moved some tables yesterday. — DB)

U.S. No 1 HARD RED WINTER WHEAT: Steady. 6.49-7.31
Davis 6.49, Lawton 6.83, Frederick 6.84, Temple 6.94, Shattuck 6.97, Clinton,
Weatherford 6.98, Hobart 7.04, Eldorado 7.09, Miami 7.10, Buffalo 7.12,
Banner, El Reno, Geary, Okarche, Okeene, Watonga 7.14, Alva 7.17,
Cherokee 7.18, Medford 7.21, Perry, Stillwater 7.22, Manchester 7.23,
Ponca City 7.24, Keyes 7.27, Hooker 7.31, Gulf 8.54.

MILO: 3 to 7 cents higher. 6.86-8.41
Weatherford 6.86, Eldorado 7.12, Miami 8.01, Manchester, Shattuck 8.30, Keyes,
Hooker 8.35, Alva, Buffalo, Ponca City 8.39, Medford 8.41,
Gulf 10.03 1/2.

SOYBEANS: 16 to 26 cents lower. 11.19-12.10
Shattuck 11.19, Hooker 11.28, Medford 11.35, Ponca City 11.37, Alva,
Buffalo 11.44, Stillwater 11.65, Miami 12.10, Gulf 13.00.

CORN: 2 to 4 cents higher. 5.21-5.46
Keyes 5.21, Miami 5.22, Manchester 5.26, Ponca City 5.31, Hooker 5.46,
Gulf 6.06.

Grade 41, Leaf 4, Staple 34 Cotton in Southwestern Oklahoma Averaged
63.50 cents per pound F.O.B. railcar or truck.

I guess this means that the Behne Construction crews have finished installing drains and ramps on the westbound side and are ready to work on eastbound. Fortunately, all of this is prep work for when the real fun begins — paving.