The Nov. 8 General Election is approaching and one of the races on the ballots is for the office of Okmulgee County Treasurer.

The incumbent, Vonna Lampkins, is seeking re-election to the post.

Following is her announcement: Vonna Lampkins, Okmulgee County Treasurer, is asking the citizens of Okmulgee County for their continued support in her re-election campaign.

I have lived in Okmulgee County for 55 years and have lived in Beggs since 1991. I graduated from Beggs High School in 1969 and attended Oral Roberts University, majoring in Business Administration and Elementary Education.

I have 29 years proven experience in the Treasurer's Office with a total of 31 years in County Government.

I am triple-certified by OSU courses and attend OSU 'Continuing Hours' courses to maintain certification. These courses keep me and the office staff up to date on the Oklahoma Statutes and Guidelines that we must follow.

I am a member of County Officers and Deputies Association; served on OSU Treasurer's Educational Training Advisory Board and also the board for the N.E. District County Treasurer's Association.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the treasurer being the one who calculates the amount of taxes on properties here in Okmulgee County. The Assessor's field deputies go out and assess the properties. The Assessor applies a formula to each property and that amount is rolled to the Treasurer's computer program that will create the dollar amount to be collected.

Tax collections are based on several things and one of them is the amount of levies approved for collections taken from each School District's Budget along with other budgets within the county. These budgets are filed each year with the state and following a 15 day protest period, then the treasurer begins the preparation of a tax statement to be mailed out for collection.

The treasurer does not have the ‘authority’ to lower the tax amount on anyone's property.

Everyone is welcome to drop by the office anytime to visit about the day-to-day operations. There are a lot of duties to perform on a daily basis as treasurer for Okmulgee County and I will continue to do these as I try to get out and meet as many of my constituents between now and the Nov. 8 General Election.

I am the most qualified candidate running for the office of County Treasurer.

I am asking for your continued support and let me serve you as your Okmulgee County Treasurer for the next four years!

Oct. 8, 1970 is the birthdate of Karma Wilson, American author of humorous, rhyming picture books for young children.

She also writes outrageously silly but philosophic poetry books for older children on the order of Shel Silverstein books.

Wilson was raised by a single mother, who was a professional writer and who believed her daughter would do something great.

She grew up in the wilds of north Idaho with no cable TV or computers.

She learned to read and play outdoors at an early age and by age 11 she was reading one novel a day. She loved fantasy and historical fiction books.

Wilson has written more than 40 books, some on the bestseller list. Her books have been translated into dozens of languages and some have received state and national awards.

Her first book, “Bear Snores On” was published in 2002.

Wilson lives on a ranch in Montana with her husband Scott who is a professional photographer. They have three grown children, Michael, David and Chrissy.

Her hobbies include reading, photography, baking and being a grandmother to Chloe.

Henryetta Public Library has two of her books, “Dinos on the Go!” and “Mr. Murry and Thumbkin.”