Ranch able to continue its ‘rollercoaster’ year

Sep 25, 2020 | 9:54 AM

The O’Keefe Ranch will be able to continue its season a little longer than originally expected.

The heritage attraction, which is owned by the City of Vernon, has announced it found the means to stay open for weekends through October and possibly for its operations in December.

Recent support from the City of Vernon has alleviated some of the financial stress and the ranch saw much of the community step up for the Fill the Steer Fundraiser.

At its Sept. 14 meeting, Vernon council voted to wait until the end of December 2022 to receive a $70,000 promissory note from the ranch and Interior Heritage Society. Council also voted to forgo all annual property insurance recoveries from 2019 to 2021.

“We want to give a public thanks to the city for granting our requests,” Bruce Cummings, chair of the board of directors said. “We have been contacted by the public, volunteers and the staff on ways to keep operations moving along. We need to make sure the ranch has enough funds to open again next season but we also understand the positive impact of keeping up momentum and keeping a presence in the community.”

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The Field of Scrams won’t run this year due to COVID, but the ranch will be keeping the family corn maze open and some ranch activities through October for admission by donation.

“With a large open space, the ranch can provide families a safe place to enjoy outdoor activities which may prove difficult in other settings this October. The support received to keep the animals on site has ensured all the critters will remain and can be enjoyed by visitors in October. Ghost Tours will also be returning for some select dates in October,” a news release from the ranch said.

by Pete McIntyre

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