Oklahoma House of Representatives
Mike W. Ray, Media Division Director
April 8, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: State Rep. Leonard E. Sullivan
Capitol: (405) 557-7357
Oklahoma City: (405) 755-5250

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Changing the name of the North Canadian River through downtown Oklahoma City will help Oklahoma finally shake its 'Dust Bowl' image, Rep. Leonard Sullivan contends.

The seven-mile segment of the river that flows through downtown Oklahoma City, between Meridian and Eastern avenues, would be renamed the Oklahoma River in Senate Bill 1259 by Sullivan, R-Oklahoma City.

Sullivan predicts the river will be a major tourist draw because of the $54 million project to rehabilitate the waterway. For example, the river could now host televised rowing contests, the legislator related.

The waterway can be seen from the vicinity of the Interstate 35/40 interchange in downtown Oklahoma City, which is traveled by approximately 120,000 vehicles each day, Sullivan observed.

"This could change the image of Oklahoma from an arid 'dust bowl' to what it really is: a state blessed with ample water supplies," Sullivan said.

SB 1259 flowed through the House, 71-26, on Thursday. Sen. Bernest Cain, D-Oklahoma City, is the principal author of the bill.

Sullivan suggested that opponents of the proposed name change ought to do a little historical research.

The North Canadian River is the principal tributary of the Canadian River in the south-central United States.

The North Canadian starts in northeastern New Mexico and flows east for 800 miles through the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, through Oklahoma City, and joins the Canadian River at Lake Eufaula. The Canadian River starts in Colorado and flows southeasterly for 760 miles to its mouth on the Arkansas River 20 miles east of Canadian in Haskell County.

Several sources attribute the Canadian River's name to early explorers and trappers who (mistakenly) thought it flowed into Canada.

"Designating the seven-mile section as the 'Oklahoma River' could have quite an impact on our economic development efforts," Sullivan asserted. "We shouldn't get hung up on nostalgia." He recalled that there have been several efforts to improve the river and change its name over the past several years, the most recent being a proposal to create a series of lakes through the metro area which would have been known as the 'string of pearls'."
-30-  ¶ 8:30 PM