Page 7 - 2023NovDec

GAME BAG

A COLLECTION OF LETTERS

TO THE WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT
We’d like to hear from you! Send your letters
to Outdoor Oklahoma Letters, P.O. Box 53465,
Oklahoma City, OK 73152, or send e-mail to
donald.brown@odwc.ok.gov.

Dear Wildlife Department,
I just want to commend
ODWC Wildlife Techni-
cian Jesse Handke for the
help he provided. My wife
and I are 75 years old, and
I have a heart condition.
We were out by Osage Darrin Hill, Todd Craighead, Blake Podhajsky: Producers of Outdoor Oklahoma TV Show
Plains Park at Copan
Lake and had a flat tire hood. I’m not a big fan of all the new, commer-
in 105-degree tempera- cialized hunting shows. “Outdoor Oklahoma” is
tures. We watched many Jesse Handke still my favorite.
vehicles go by before Ron Smith
Handke stopped and asked if he could help. He assist-
ed us to his truck with the air conditioner running while EDITOR’S NOTE: Approaching its 50th consecutive
he proceeded to fix our flat tire. We offered to pay him, year on the air, ODWC’s television program can
and he refused. We just wanted someone to know that be seen at 8 a.m. Sundays on the statewide OETA
Handke should be commended for his actions of saving public TV network. An extensive catalog of previous
us. We are very thankful for his help. episodes is available free for viewing on the Outdoor
Dole Carr Oklahoma YouTube channel.

Dear Wildlife Department, Dear ODWC Social Media Team,
We just wanted to I just wanted to give
say thank you to Tim huge kudos to Social
Campbell, Game War- Media Coordinator
den based in Oklaho- Sarah Southerland and
ma County, for coming others on the team for
to save a little bird at your social media work.
our school! Wonder My 25-year-old daugh-
Nature School is so ter forwarded me over a
appreciative of him dozen memes, all post-
going out of his way, ed by the Oklahoma
doing what he normal- Tim Campbell Department of Wildlife Sarah Southerland
ly doesn’t, to help our Conservation. She found these all on Tumblr. Her
students feel like the bird was going to be safe. comment to me is, “Oklahoma is knocking it out of
Kaylynn Vandenakker the park with these memes!”
You definitely hit her demographic. I’ve got to
admit, most of them that she shared with me prompt-
Dear “Outdoor Oklahoma” TV Crew, ed me to chuckle. I shared your hard work with the
I started watching “Outdoor Oklahoma” and Missouri Department of Conservation’s media team
“The Wallace Wildlife Show” with my Grandpa as to let them know what you all were up to. Nice job!
far back as I can remember. We were fortunate to And thank you for advancing conservation in a cre-
have Don Wallace film a number of quail hunts on ative and memorable way.
and around our land in Harmon County. We even Justine Gartner, State Forester/Forestry Section
allowed arch rival Barry Switzer in the neighbor- Chief, Missouri Department of Conservation

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 5