The sound of music and the savory smell of barbecue filled downtown Enid this weekend during the sixth annual Roberts Ranch Smokin’ Red Dirt Barbeque.

A student art show and arts festival, music and other entertainment all took a back seat to the 67 cooking teams vying for $12,000 in prize money.

The competition, judged by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, attracted teams from Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Colorado, as well as Oklahoma.

In its six years, Roberts Ranch Smokin’ Red Dirt Barbeque has put Enid on the map in the world of competitive barbecue.

Thumbs up to all who worked on the event and all who enjoyed the food and festivities.



The Humvee, the workhorse successor to the Jeep widely used in today’s military, is a four-wheel drive vehicle used to carry troops and weapons.

With budget concerns and shortfalls at both the state and federal levels, buying more Humvees will be more difficult in the future.

That makes the recent theft of a Humvee from the Enid National Guard armory an expensive crime, indeed.

According to an Enid Police Department report, someone stole a $37,000 Humvee from the armory sometime between last August and earlier this month.

The vehicle was found at the Miller EMS building in Medford. A suspect in the theft serves in the National Guard and works at Miller EMS.

Thumbs down to whoever stole this vehicle. This was not simply a property crime, but a crime against the people of Oklahoma.



When a crime happens, police investigate and make an arrest. A trial is held, resulting in conviction or acquittal. When the trial is over, everyone involved moves on, but who helps the victims move on and get on with their lives? And if the victim is killed, who assists their families as they work through their anger and grief?

This past week was National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, and as part of that Enid YWCA held its 20th annual victims’ rights vigil. The vigil was held to remember victims lost to crime throughout the years, and their surviving family members.

In addition, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. As part of that observance, the YWCA held its second annual A Day Without Violence event in conjunction with the Roberts Ranch Smokin’ Red Dirt Barbeque. The event was hosted by the Garfield County Domestic Violence Task Force.

Thumbs up to both events, which put the focus on victims of domestic violence and other crimes.



When many of today’s parents of teenagers were teens themselves, they remember parties where someone’s older brother provided beer or hard liquor.

They think parties attended by today’s teens are the same. PreventionWorkz APRC is out to show them they are wrong.

The group held a Reality Party Friday night, during which young actors staged scenes that could happen at a teen drinking party, including drinking games that encourage teens to consume dangerous amounts of alcohol in a short time, sexual promiscuity and law enforcement involvement. The party was designed to show parents of high school and middle school students the dangers of underage drinking at parties, and why they need to do everything they can to stop it.

The event was sponsored by Youth Opportunity Task Force Drug and Alcohol Subcommittee and PreventionWorkz, with the help of Federal Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program.

Thumbs up to this effort to open the eyes of adults to what is going on with underage drinking in our community.