Members of Pushmataha County gathered together for the Ground Breaking  Ceremony for the Pushmataha County Hospital and Home Health Care Center's Expansion and Renovations on Thursday, August 26, 2010.  Pictured are local, county, and state officials along with Congressman Dan Boren holding golden shovels as they “break ground” for the project.

By Tracy Steffenson
Staff Writer
On Thursday, August 26, 2010, individuals gathered together for the Pushmataha County Hospital and Home Health Center's Expansion and Renovations Groundbreaking Ceremony.  The program started out with Antlers Mayor Brent Franks giving the invocation and then Bill Hunt introduced the County Commissioners, Jack Matthews, Jerry Duncan and introduced Jimmy Long.  Bruce Lawless, Pushmataha County Hospital Board President, introduced the members of the board and also did an honorable mention of a former board member Robert Jullian. 

Ryan McMullen, of the USDA's Rural Development, spoke about how the USDA uses most of the rural resources in Pushmataha County and that the ceremony should be more of a celebration of leadership and commitment because without those two things the funds wouldn't find their way to Push. Co.  McMullen ended his speech by saying that he looks forward to many more ground breakings in Pushmataha County.

The event was full of important speakers as R.C. Pruett and Jerry Ellis were the next two up.  Pruett said that this was a very special day for Pushmataha County and wanted to thank the hospital, their staff, and their board members for their leadership and dedication.  Ellis thanked everyone for what they do behind the scenes' that no one sees or normally gives credit for.  Ellis also said that we have over 8,000 Military Veterans that live in the Tri-County area and within the next two years we can look forward to having a VA Primary Care Facility in Idabel.
 
The last speaker for the event was U.S. Congressmen, Dan Boren.  Boren spoke about the hard times that everyone is going through and that this is a bright spot for the county.  Boren also said that this is proof that our elected political figures are working hard for us and with determination are getting things accomplished.  Due to the heat, the speakers delivered short and sweet speeches and then moved on to the ground breaking.