Rylie Park... a dream fulfilled

Just behind the old Megs farm home at 2900 S. Aspen Avenue, is a beautiful 2.5 acre private park not visible from the road. Seven months earlier, it was a virtual jungle so thick from more than 30 years of overgrowth that it prevented access by foot, and a haven for all kinds of undesirable critters and snakes.

The project, known as Rylie Park Private, is the handiwork of WCHA member David Griffin, who now owns the property. After seven months of back-breaking work, he knows firsthand the meaning of the words, "blood, sweat and tears."

David made the mistake of looking over his back fence one morning into what he thought was a neighbor's back yard. Curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to take a closer look. Neighbor Bernie Jones, long-time WC resident, spotted him through the thicket and yelled to get his attention. She thought he was the owner of the property whose tree limbs had smashed her chain link fence. "David brought in a skip loader and cleared all that dead wood off of, and away from my fence. Before that, I couldn't let my dog go out in my back yard because of all of the snakes."

Intrigued with the possibilities of the property, he tracked down the out-of-state owners, and after several phone conversations, was able to make the purchase. Today, there is a walking trail around the perimeter that follows the creek for several hundred feet. There are also two old farm outbuildings, one of which has been refurbished, and a tennis court that was hidden by poison ivy vines. They have been removed, and resurfacing the court is one of David's future projects.

"My wife Angie and I named the property after our three-year-old son. To me it is a little bit of heaven right here in the city, a place where our family can come and enjoy the peace and quiet." Congrats, David and Angie for job well done

Families or groups interested in using of the park may contact David Griffin at 633-3312.

How to Keep Your Plants Looking Good with Pat & Bruce Barrios

Anyone who has visited Pat and Bruce Barrios' home and yard can attest to the fact that she is one of Wolf Creek's premiere gardeners. Here are some of her secrets for keeping your plants healthy and looking good, even in the dog days of summer.

• Keep your plants well watered-especially potted plants. They need water twice a day due to high temperatures and hot winds.

• Water in the early morning and/or late afternoon

• Osmokote pellets seem to be the best and easiest fertilizer to use when planting. After that, fertilize every three weeks with MiracleGro liquid in a garden sprayer

• Take a survey of your yard, and determine what parts hold water for longer periods, and areas that dry out more quickly

• Place plants in the right spots in your yard according to moisture or dryness

• Don't try to force a plant to survive in the wrong part of the yard-you're wasting your money

Wolf Creek resident, Jean Scrivner, has been named the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Oklahoma Registered Interpreters for the Deaf

Scrivner, who holds the highest nation certification in her profession, has been interpreting professionally for more than three decades. Youngest of six children, three of which were deaf, she grew up learning American Sign Language (ASL) along with spoken english. It is a skill that served her well in her childhood, helping deaf siblings to communicate at a time when there was little understanding of, or tolerance for, deaf people

In the early 1980's Scrivner was called on by Tulsa Junior College to help write and establish an interpreter training curriculum. Today, the TCC program is nationally known, and provides well trained students whose vocation is to assist those who are hearing impaired, and or profoundly deaf.

A 1993 graduate of the University of Tulsa, she has taught classes periodically ar Oral Roberts University, the University of Tulsa and Tulsa Community College for several years.

Scrivner serves as lead interpreter for two services weekly at Church on the Move, and is active in the deaf community at the local, state and national levels. She is secretary/treasurer for the 200 member Oklahoma Registered Interpreters for the Deaf, an organization serving the needs of interpreter profesionals.