Editor's Notebook

Fourth District United States Congressman Tom Cole was in Purcell October 7 for several meetings.

He spoke to community leaders in the community room of First United Bank for a coffee and donut outing.

He later met with school personnel and still later attended a ribbon cutting at the new FEMA Safe Room and gymnasiuim at Purcell Junior High.

Cole told the gathering at First United there are 700 House Bills that have been voted on and approved by the House of Representatives that are sitting in the Senate chamber awaiting their approval or disapproval.

The Congressman said the Senate isn’t going to pass any bills that may assist the presidential administration or members of his party in any form or fashion.

The appearance of Rep. Cole at the ribbon cutting for the new FEMA Safe Room at the junior high school is fitting.

That’s due to the fact that Purcell Superintendant Dr. Sheli McAdoo reported Cole was responsible for getting the FEMA funding “across the goal line” for the project.

Thanks to the 90 percent federal funding, the gym and safe room project, that cost north of $3 million, got the go-ahead.

As a safe room, the facility will hold just under 700 people on the gym floor and around 240 in the stands that are on the south side of the room.