Moore: Lots of experience in disaster recovery

MOORE -- With less than 150 residents without power, Moore is "recovering well" from the county's ice storm, its city manager said this week.

Two weeks ago, more than 6,000 in Moore were without electricity.

"By and large, everyone is back up in the community," said Moore city manager Steve Eddy. "To the best of my knowledge we're pretty much back to normal."

And while Eddy described the storm as "the worst ice storm Moore has ever had" city officials, he said, were well prepared for the problems.

"We have the knowledge and we know what to expect," he said.

Eddy said Moore officials are accustomed to dealing with federal emergency management officials. "We speak FEMA," he said. "You have to learn to speak it and know what they are doing. We do."

With services restored, Eddy said city crews will begin hauling away tree debris Jan. 7.

"We wanted to give people a chance to get their debris out to the curb," he said. "We know there are a number of people who are going to need help."

Tree limbs placed for pickup should be placed within 12 feet of the curb or edge of roadway and must be cut in lengths of no longer than 10 feet.

Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis said the city has also set up a location where residents can haul their own tree limbs from the ice storm.

"There won't be any charge for the service," Lewis said.

Lewis said residents who wish to haul their own tree debris can take it to the Moore Animal Shelter at 4000 S. I-35 Service Road. To dump debris, a resident must show proof of residency, either a driver's license with the current address or a copy of a recent utility bill.

Proof of residency also may be obtained at City Hall.

"We are committed to getting the city cleaned up as soon as possible and getting back to normal," Lewis said. "I would like to thank the residents for their patience and their resilience in this time of recovery."

Lewis said the drop-off location will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week (except Christmas Day and New Year's Day) until further notice. Only tree debris will be accepted.

Both Lewis and Eddy said the clean up process should go quickly.

"Once we get started our contractors will be working on it daily. It shouldn't take too long, less that a couple of months."

Residents seeking more information can check the city's Web site at www.cityofmoore.com. Information also will be made available via the city's CodeRed emergency notification system.

Residents who are not in the CodeRed database, should sign up on the City's Web site or call 793-5171 to make sure that they receive the CodeRed calls.

COMMENTARY: So this is Christmas...

“So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young...”
— John Lennon

Driving down the Broadway Extension, being passed by the reindeer-decorated Hummer, it’s pretty obvious that Christmas is close.

Very close.

The stores are well decorated, and a least one radio station is playing wall-to-wall Christmas carols. BC Clark has dusted off the jingle and we’ve already had snow and ice and winter isn’t even officially here yet.

Yeah, call it Christmas in Oklahoma.

But, to borrow a line from the late John Lennon, “what have we done?”

I wish I knew the answer to that question.

All across the state people are making plans, shopping and generally celebrating the Yuletide. Children — from 1 to 92 — are trying their best to behave and the rest of us are finding it difficult to focus at work.

Christmas does that.

Still, what have we done?

For a brief time, we’ve let go of the normal and found refuge in the silly, the fun and the sacred. With one breath we pause to celebrate a 2,000-year-old miracle and, that same day, find ourselves singing “Grandma’ got ran over by a Reindeer.”

We wrap ourselves against the cold by opening our hearts to others.

For a short time, the poor have souls and those who suffer are remembered. We allow ourselves to care and, briefly, we reach out to others.

All because of Christmas.

Many find comfort in movies and Christmas specials. We smile as the Grinch and English brethren, Ebenezer Scrooge, both find redemption through Grace.

Charlie Brown may always be a blockhead, but he does know how to choose Christmas trees and, yes, Burl Ives will always be a first-class snowman.

But what have we done?

Sure, we see daily examples of anger, spite and meanness. We see bigotry disguised as policy and hear hatred spoken of as justice.

But we also see faith.

And hope.

And love.

Across this state you’ll find thousands who truly care about their fellow man. You’ll find gentle, decent people who want to help and who seek to share what they have with others.

You don’t have to look hard.

I’m always amazed by Oklahomans when we run a story in the paper about a family’s struggle. The ink is barely dry on the newsprint before the telephone is ringing with offers of help.

I still smile as I remember the attorney — whose pledge of secrecy I continue to honor — who offered to help a Norman woman “for as long as she needs or wants it.”

This same attorney is known by several other names — most of which are unprintable — by those who have locked horns with him in court.

So, this is Christmas and what have we done?

We’ve lived, my friends.

We’ve recognized that there is something out there greater than ourselves and, many of us, have opened our homes and our heart to those fellow passengers we share this world with.

We’ve also loved.

For some, Dec. 25 my be just another day.

But for many others, the Christmas holiday is that time to reaffirm our faith in humanity and in our Creator. A time, again, to say “I love you.”

Yes, this is Christmas.

And may yours be bright, warm and filled with hope.

New jail could cost $30 million

Cleveland County’s new jail could be a two-story, 85,000-square-foot facility designed to house more than 500 inmates in a series of “pods,” segregation units and holding areas, tentative plans for the structure show.

Those plans — while still far from complete — were reviewed Monday duirng a meeting of the Cleveland County Justice Authority. The county’s three commissioners, George Skinner, Rod Cleveland and Rusty Sullivan, are the authority’s trustees. The authority was created in October to build and operate the jail.

Documents reviewed Monday include designs of three jail “pods” for housing minimum, medium and maximum security inmates, a separate section for juvenile offenders, a medical facility, several padded cells, a unit for segregating inmates and a central booking area.

Cost for the facility could be “in the $30 million range.”

The jail is expected to occupy an eight-acre section of a 28-acre plot of land along Franklin Road and U.S. 177, near the Johnson Controls-York International plant. The county purchased the land earlier this year for $1.2 million.

And while county officials stress the jail’s design is not yet locked down, Sullivan said he believes that design is close to being complete.

“There’s still more to do, but we’re moving right along,” he said. “But I’d like to be putting a shovel in the ground sometime in the spring.”

Designed to house 528 inmates in an 85,330-square-foot area, the jail “makes terrific use” of space and includes state-of-the-art security and video features, Sullivan said. “Our goal is to be cost effective and construct a secure facility. I don’t want to get Buck Rogers and spend all the money in the world on this.”

Current design documents include plans for a 32-bed maximum security unit for male inmates, 112 beds for medium security male inmates and 192 beds for minimum security male inmates. For females, the plans include eight maximum security beds, 32 medium security beds and 48 minimum security beds.

A 27-unit area would allow for the segregation of inmates, while a medical facility would contain six beds. Another 20 beds are set aside for weekend prisoners, and additional 28 beds are earmarked for trustees — 20 for males, and eight females.

The jail’s intake area would house another 15 inmates.

“It’s a very effective use of space,” said Cushing jail consultant Donald Jones. “It also includes state-of-the-art security and video conferencing systems.”

The video system, Jones said, would allow inmates to remain in secure areas and communicate with their attorneys, bondmen or family members.

Sullivan said the video technology would allow law enforcement officials to better control inmates.

“If we’ve got them in control, if we control them in the pod … and an inmate loses his mind, if they are in the pod they are easier to control,” he said.

In addition to its video conferencing system, the jail would include a second-floor mezzanine level, which will allow county law enforcement officials to monitor the jail’s inmate population. Skylights in the building’s pyramid-style roof would provide lighting.

“It’s progressing very well,” said Norman architect Ben Graves. Graves, a partner with the firm Architects in Partnership, who is designing the jail. Earlier this year, Graves said he hoped to have the jail’s plans completed in mid-November.

And though commissioners didn’t make that late fall deadline, Sullivan said he expects the jail’s design to be settled soon. “We’re still working on the food service, administrative and laundry areas,” he said. “But I don’t think it will take that much longer. We’re working hard to get this done.”

Stadium expansion approved by OU Regents

The University of Oklahoma’s Board of Regents approved a policy which — at a later date — could allow OU to sponsor a charter school, endorsed a $15 million expansion of the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, and made major changes to its retirement policy during its December meeting.

The board met Wednesday at the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

With all seven regents attending, the group endorsed phase four of a multi-million dollar expansion project of the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

That project, athletic director Joe Castiglione said, would include renovation and improvements to the football team facilities; including the locker room, shower and restroom areas located in the Barry Switzer Center.

“This will allow us to address the need for additional space for sports medicine,” Castiglione said. “We also anticipate building a team room.”

Castiglione said the project includes refurbishing the west mezzanine of the stadium. An area, he said, “that’s been abandoned for a number of years.”

“With that we can expand offices, and add some to space to take care of our fans,” he said.

Total budget for the project, documents show, is $15 million; of that figure, $12.5 million is the “guaranteed maximum price” for construction.

University officials also took the first step toward sponsoring a charter school with the adoption of four-page policy, by a quick, 7-0 vote.

“The policy is required to allow the university, if we were to decide to, to enter into an agreement to sponsor a charter school,” OU president David Boren said. “But any such agreement would be brought back to the board.”

That policy, he said, would “open the door” to the possibility of a charter school sponsorship.

“This would give us an opportunity to help meet some special needs,” Boren said. “To go into areas of education where there are particular areas of specialty and implement new ideas in education. This would allow us to receive applications.”

State law allows charter schools in districts which have an “average daily membership” of 5,000 or more and which are located in counties having more than 500,000 in population.

Only Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, Boren said, are eligible for charter schools.

“Clearly, an application would have to come from Oklahoma City or Tulsa county,” he said. “And we would bring it to you at that time.”

Acknowledging the high cost of health care, the regents approved major changes to the university’s retirement policy.

Recommended by OU’s Contribution Strategy and Health Insurance Options Committee, the new policy is the first “in a series of recommendations” proposed by the group.

Under the proposal, new employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2008, would be responsible for 100 percent of the cost required to participate in OU medical and dental plans upon reaching retirement.

“The employees, upon meeting retirement eligibility, would continue to be eligible to participate in the university’s medical and dental plans at retirement,” the proposal states, “... but would be responsible for 100 percent of the cost, less any applicable Teacher’s Retirement System contribution.”

Those employees would “continue to be eligible for other retiree benefits currently listed in the Retirement Policy,” including free parking and library privileges.

The university picks up “a majority” of the cost of health benefits for its retired employees.

The new policy, Boren said, was necessary because of the rapidly escalating cost of health care. “This is no way changes our current responsibility to current employees or retirees,” he said.

Boren said the change was reflective of “what is happening in the private and public sector.”

“We are simply not able to guarantee new hires ... that when they retire, we will pay virtually the whole cost of their participation in their health insurance benefits. By taking this action today, we protect ourselves with new employees from undertaking obligations that we might not be able to meet.”

In other action, the regents approved:

• A resolution honoring Andrea DenHoed, who was named a 2008 American Rhodes Scholarship recipient, the university’s 27th Rhodes Scholar. DenHoed, Boren said, is a letters and international studies major from Aurora, Colo., and plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Oxford in England.

• Awarding a posthumous Doctor of Philosophy degree to Dr. Monty Menhusen.

• A professional service agreement with HCA Health Services of Oklahoma for $2,513,400 per year.

• A professional service agreement with Academic Physicians Insurance Company for $918,666.

• Spending $7,506,000 for renovation of the Basic Services Education Building for Medical Student Education Facilities.

• An $850,000 advertising contract with BVK Advertising Services of Westmont, Ill., for a collaborative advertising contract with the OU medical Center and the Health Sciences Center on behalf of OU Physicians.

• $134,630 contract with Midwest Towers, Inc., for cooling tower repair.

• $175,000 to Central Oklahoma Parking and Transportation Authority for the purchase of three buses.

• Choosing the architectural firm of McFarland, Davies Architects PLC to plan, design and oversee construction of OU’s North Tulsa Clinic project.

• Spending $296,800 to purchase a flow cytometer from BD Biosciences of California.

• Authorizing OU administrators to acquire property located at 1420 Lincoln to use for parking space “for the foreseeable future.”

• Spending $141,300 with the Segal Company of Chicago for benefits consulting.

• Hiring Oklahoma City’s Elliott+Associates Architects to provide professional services for the university’s Boat House project.

• Spending $126,643 with Lumenate, Inc., to provide Sun Microsystems hardware, software and maintenance services.

• Spending $190,000 for sports video production services with Oklahoma City-based Visual Image, Inc.

• Changes to the Regent’s Fund Statement of Investment Policy.

In Norman: Voting in the dark

Wrapped in blankets and huddled around a portable kerosene heater, Pat Collins, Laura Wilcox and Corene Siglin sat in the dark at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church’s Parish Center.

They arrived at 6 a.m.

They came prepared — coffee, snacks and things to work on if they got bored.

And they’ll be at St. Joseph’s for a while; at least 12 hours.

Still, for the trio — precinct workers for the Cleveland County Election Board — Tuesday was just another day; there was an elction to work and Collins, Wilcox and Siglin each had a job to do — that is, inspector, clerk and judge.

They welcomed voters, checked names against the precinct list, handed out ballots and answered questions.

Only this time they did their jobs in the dark and cold.

The weekend’s ice storm may have downed power lines and left more than 25,000 Norman residents without power, but it didn’t change the world for the employees of the Cleveland County Election Board. Tuesday was election day, and the vote went on.

“People are voting, the election is happening,” Collins said. “Even without power. It shows us we can survive.”

With about 80 pecent of the election board’s precincts without power, election board staffers did things “the old-fashioned way,” said Paula Roberts, Cleveland County’s election board secretary.

“People voted,” she said. “They voted in the dark, but they voted.”

Sure, the ballots are the same. And there’s a big blue voting machine in the lobby. But for this election, Roberts and her staff hand processed a majority of the ballots.

With flashlights.

And portable heaters.

A lots of coffee.

“We’ve stored the ballots in the voting machines at each precinct and then brought the ballots here, to the election board office, and counted them.”

Once at the election board office, the ballots were hand fed into three voting machines stationed at the lobby to tablulate results.

Those machines, Roberts said, were powered and working, thanks in part to a loaned electric generator.

Roberts said Cleveland County District 3 Commissioner Rusty Sullivan brought her office a gas-powered generator, which provided some heat, light and powered the voting machines, allowing workers to process Tuesday’s election results.

“We do have some power,” she said. “We’ll be able to count the ballots with three machines we’ve got set up in the lobby.”

But at the vast majority of the county’s 70 precincts, electricity was Tuesday a rare commodity Tuesday.

“We did things by hand,” Roberts said. “But each precinct had a cell phone. They all know the procedure. Things went pretty smoothly.”

Back at St. Joseph’s, Collins, Wilcox and Siglin took the storm and the problems it caused in stride.

“It’s not that bad,” Wilcox said. “We watched it rain and tried to stay warm.”

As she spoke, the precinct’s 10th voter walked through the door.

Using a flashlight, Siglin showed the woman where to sign her name in the precinct book; Wilcox handed her the ballot.

A few minutes later, another ballot was cast.

“We set up close to the door to take advantage of the light,” Collins said. “But there wasn’t much at 6 a.m. this moring.”

As the woman left, Collins handed her an “I voted” sticker.

“Here’s you a sticker,” she said. “You earned it today.”

So did the staff of Cleveland County’s Election Board.

“It’s been a weird day,” Roberts said. “But we’re going to make it.”

Collins agreed.

“The post office isn’t the only one who works in rain, sleet, snow and hail,” she said.

Church responds to former pastor's lawsuit

MOORE -- Dr. Jimmy Lady, the former associate pastor of the Moore's First Baptist Church, was fired from his job for "unacceptable ministerial services, disruptive conduct, interfering with other employees' work and excessive unexcused absences," and not because church officials thought he was bipolar, recently filed court documents charge.

Those documents are the latest filed in a civil lawsuit against the First Baptist Church of Moore.

In his suit, Lady claims he was fired because church officials believed he was bipolar. Additionally, Lady said church leaders spread "false rumors about his mental health through the community."

"Although a man of God, Dr. Lady cannot ignore the dramatic, adverse effects these untrue and unfair accusations have had on him and his family," Lady's attorney, Andrew Hicks said.

And while Lady's suit said the former associate pastor is seeking $10,000 in actual damages and $10,000 in punitive damages, at least one court document puts the figure much higher.

In an Aug. 17th letter from Hicks to church officials, Hicks says settlement in the case "will require the Church to pay Dr. Lady $2 million in compensation for his lost wages, retirement benefits, mental anguish and attorneys' fees."

Church officials continue to deny Lady's allegations.

In a 156-page motion to dismiss filed Nov. 17, the church -- through attorney Steven Lewis of Edmond -- claimed Lady was fired from his job for poor performance.

"During his third year on staff, some church members and employees began complaining about Pastor Lady's ministry," the church's motion said. "The complaints continued to grow and after several months of seeking the Lord's will, church leaders decided that it was necessary for Lady, as well as for the church, that Pastor Lady be directed to seek other employment."

Lady, First Baptist's senior pastor Kevin Clarkson concluded, was "a double minded man and unstable in all his ways."

Lady's accusation that church officials spread "false rumors about his mental health" also was denied by Clarkson.

However, in a sworn statement, Clarkson acknowledges using the word "bipolar" in meetings with Lady and his wife, but claims he was "ministerially reaching out" to the couple.

"I did use the word bipolar in my meeting with both Pastor Jim Lady and his wife," Clarkson said. "But it was in the manner of non-physican, pastor ministerially reaching out to them, asking them in they thought Jim Lady might need help or counseling."

Clarkson said he did not use the word (bipolar) in "a defamatory or derogatory manner" and did not use it with intent to "harm" Lady.

"I used the word as a simple statement of Christian concern to encourage Pastor Lady to consider seeking help."

Clarkson also denied church officials defamed Lady in public.

"All ministers, personnel team members and staff who were aware of the personnel decision were directed to keep the matter confidential," Clarkson said. "There were instructed not to tell anyone about Pastor Lady's departure."

But Clarkson did acknowledge speaking about Lady and using the word "bipolar" in meetings with some church staff members.

"I made a similar comment in a private discussion of the personnel team, but the statement was not made outside of a very small core group of fewer than seven church leaders," Clarkson said. "I also mentioned the term at a staff devotion meeting, since they were the ones who had been experiencing the direct conflicts with Pastor Lady and who had been observing his behavior and performance up close."

In their motion, church officials asked the court to dismiss Lady's suit and quash his efforts of discovery.

"The relationship between the plaintiff as a former ministerial staff member and as a member of the defendant church is a constitutionally protected relationship which is protected from discovery and judicial intrusion as a religious freedom under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution," the motion says.

A hearing on the motion is set for 2 p.m. Dec. 19 in Cleveland County District Court before Judge Bill Hetherington.

COMMENTARY: About those "anchor babies..."

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent the past several weeks at the hospital, dealing with an infant with a cardiac problem.

Or, it could be because I like being a father.

Or maybe it’s because my wife is a public school teacher.

Whatever the reason, I’m sick and tired of a human child being referred to as an “anchor baby.”

Anchor baby.

The very phrase is a grating, cynical term meant to dehumanize the child of non-resident.

Anchor baby.

A political catch phrase used by those “round ’em up and ship ’em out” politicians.

Anchor baby.

A racist phrase that needs to go away.

Whether a child is a blond haired, blue eyed Christian, a Muslim, Jew or Hispanic the fact is they are simply, a child.

A human with a soul.

And they, too, have the right to a spot on this earth.

But some would change their status.

State Rep. Randy Terrill’s latest proposal to deny children born on U.S. soil American citizenship is an affront to human dignity and our country’s Constitution.

Now, I’m sure the ink won’t be dry on this paper before I hear from Rep. Terrill and the rest of the American First crowd.

Heck, I get blasted by those guys all the time. Big deal.

Because I stand with Tulsa Catholic Bishop Edward J. Slattery.

Slattery recently issued a pastoral letter — only the second in his tenure — in which he said Mr. Terrill’s anti-immigration legislation, HB 1804, “creates an atmosphere of repression and terror designed to make it impossible for those illegal immigrants who have settled here to find a stable, secure life for themselves and their children, many of whom are native born citizens with civil rights equal to our own.”

Now for the record this isn’t some wild-eyed, tree-hugging liberal (which is what those who have opposed HB 1804 are usually called) writing. This is the Catholic Bishop of Tulsa.

And the good Bishop Slattery is right.

Oklahoma’s new immigration law — and Rep. Terrill’s newly announced changes for the next session — are morally wrong.

I find it ironic that Rep. Terrill and some of his GOP cronies will gladly wave the banner of Christianity when it’s important to one of their pet ideas, then without pausing for a breath, run the other way when Christian leaders dare to disagree.

Further, Terrill’s statements that Oklahoma Catholics were just trying to protect their growing Hispanic base — language only a politician would use — by complaining about HB 1804 are disingenuous and show a deep misunderstanding of the Christian faith, at best.

But, remember, we were talking about anchor babies.

And a baby — whether its parents are here legally or not — born on U.S. soil is an American citizen, end of story.

Sorry, you cannot change that fact.

By dehumanizing the children of immigrants, Rep. Terrill is hoping that he can sell some modern day snake oil to a crowd frightened that another 9/11 type incident will occur here in Oklahoma.

I understand their fear.

But focusing it on babies is, quite possibly, one of the lamest ideas to come down the pike since Jim Crow laws.

By making immigrants the cause of all our problems — they are draining our resources, stealing our jobs, keeping our kids from going to college, responsible for the Seven Deadly Sins, the primary reason for global warming, and the reason there isn’t prayer in school — Rep. Terrill and his buddies are simply exploiting the politics of fear.

Don’t buy it.

All this group has done is to distill fear down into a single, caustic phrase: anchor baby.

Randy Terrill — and here, I include Gov. Brad Henry, because I hold him responsible for signing this stupid immigration law to begin with — should have to spend an afternoon volunteering in the pediatric ward of the OU Children’s Hospital.

Maybe there, after they sat with the parents of an infant struggling to survive, or helped the nurses in the intensive care unit, would they begin to understand.

I wonder if after such a visit we’d see the term “anchor baby” any more.

I wonder if both men would step out of their political skin long enough to understand the human side of the immigration issue.

I hope they would.

But then again, maybe not.

Commissioners create trust to finance, operate new jail

Cleveland County Commissioners recently have created a trust to finance and operate the county’s new jail to be constructed on Franklin Road, east of U.S. Highway 77.

Records indicate a new public trust — the Cleveland County Justice Authority — was created by a unanimous vote on Tuesday, Oct. 9, during a regular commission meeting.

“A resolution...establishing the Cleveland County Justice Authority as an Oklahoma Public trust, accepting the beneficial interest in the Cleveland County Justice Authority created by a trust indenture for and on behalf of Cleveland County, Oklahoma,” county records show.

The justice authority joins at least two other county trusts, including public facilities authority and the home loan authority. The county also has “two or three other trusts” which are inactive, county bond attorney Glenn Floyd, said.

Trustees for the authority are the county’s three commissioners: Rusty Sullivan, George Skinner and Rod Cleveland
Sullivan will serve as chair of the new trust, while Skinner will serve as vice-chairman. Denise Ellison, an administrative assistant in the commissioner’s office, was named as secretary and county employee Brenda Wakeman will serve as assistant secretary.

Floyd said the trust was necessary because county officials plan to fund the new jail with revenue bonds.

“Those revenue bonds could be issued over a long period of time, maybe 30 year bonds,” he said.

The county’s current jail — located downtown — was built with ad valorem tax revenue. But that option, Floyd said, probably wouldn’t fly with county voters for the new facility.

“The consensus that I’ve gotten from the commission over the last three or four years is that they feel that there’s too many people against it,” he said.

That feeling apparently extends to members of the commission itself.

Earlier this year, during his campaign for the District 1 seat, commissioner Rod Cleveland’s platform included the statement “no new ad valorem tax increases.”

However, with costs for the jail being estimated in the $20 to $50 million range, county officials say they must have the ability to raise revenue for the facility.

“For a county, without having a general obligation election, the only way to finance a new jail is to have an authority that issues debt,” Floyd said.

By creating the trust, Floyd said, the county had “a mechanism for issuing long term debt that’s payable from a revenue stream other than ad valorem taxes.”

Those funds could come from the county’s general fund or from a sales tax, he said.

A sales tax increase would require a public vote.

“If they decide to finance (the jail) with sales tax backed issue, there would be a vote of people,” Floyd said.

However, the amount needed for the jail and the way those funds will be raised has yet to be decided.

Currently, county officials are working with Norman architect Ben Graves to finalize the jail’s design. Graves and members of his committee said earlier they hoped to have the jail’s design completed by mid-November.

Registration deadline Dec. 2 for political hopefuls

Come Dec. 2, if you don't change, you can't run.

Potential political candidates -- and those who are sure about their political plans -- have until Sunday, Dec. 2 to change their voter registration or register to vote, state election officials confirmed today.

Fran Roach, assistant state election board secretary, said state law requires candidates to be a registered voter of a political party six months prior to the filing period.

Filing period for the 2008 election cycle is June 2 through 4.

Candidates who don't register by the deadline or who don't change their registration by the deadline, would not be eligible to run for state office.

Cleveland County Election Board Secretary Paula Roberts urged potential candidates to compete their registration now.

"If they want to make sure, they should get their registration done by Nov. 30 at the county election board office," she said.

Changes also can be made at tag agencies, public libraries and the post office.

"People should make sure they have their registration date stamped while they are standing there," Roberts said. "That's the date we go by."

The rule is part of state law governing elections.

"To file as a candidate for nomination by a political party, to any state or county office, a person must have been a registered voter of that party for the six month period immediately preceding the first day of the filing period," the law states.

Political hopefuls wanting more information should call the election board at 366-0210.

Centennial Project A Success

M. Scott and Karen Carter are pleased to announce the complete of their Centennial Project, Kenneth Zachary Clark Carter. Zach was born at 8:45 a.m. Monday, Nov. 12 at OU Children's Hospital. He weighted 6 pounds 13.5 ounces and was 19 inches long. Zach and his mother are doing fine.

Zach — a red head — may have been born breech, but he came out full of piss and vinegar, having whizzed all over his doctor at the age of about 5 minutes old — in fact, he was encouraged to pee on the doctor again, by his nurses.

Zach's arrival has bent a few deadlines and delayed some work here at the Red Dirt Political Report, but rest assured we'll be back in a few days.

Hope each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

M.Scott, Karen & and the latest Carter, Zach.

STATEHOOD IN GUTHRIE: Oklahoma kicks off its second 100 years

GUTHRIE — With a gunshot marking the event, Guthrie once again became the state capital of Oklahoma.
But just for the weekend.

As the rest of the state — along with a good portion of the world — watched, the city of Guthrie re-created Oklahoma’s birth with parades, music and re-enactments of the series of events that saw Oklahoma join the union.

Like it was 100 years ago, Guthrie’s bash was big and noisy with lots of people, animals and plenty to eat.

State officials — including Attorney General Drew Edmondson and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins — attended the event.

“We all have a responsibility to take this excitement and stir all of our imaginations as today we take our next step toward our next 100 years,” Askins said.

At 9:16 Friday morning, Hugh Scott Jr., grandson of the man who made Oklahoma’s birth announcement 100 years ago, fired a pistol in the air and yelled that “Oklahoma is now a state.”

Scott, dressed in period attire, stood on the steps of the State Capital Publishing Company building and waved as a crowd of more than 1,000 cheered.

“I felt like I was retracing my grandfather’s footsteps,” he said later. “I was honored to participate. This isn’t something you get to do every day.”

But Scott wasn’t the only Oklahoman who spent the day reconnecting with the past.

“I came here because I wanted to celebrate history,” said former Norman resident Teresa Black.

“Both my great-grandfathers were in the run of ’89 and this was a way for me to get back to my roots.”

Black, an assistant U.S. attorney in Oklahoma City, said she’d been looking forward to the once-in-a-lifetime celebration.

“That’s why I’m wearing this,” she said, waving toward her Edwardian-style dress. “That’s what was in.”

After Scott’s announcement, the crowd walked several blocks east to Guthrie’s Carnegie Library for the “wedding” of Miss Indian Territory and Mr. Oklahoma Territory and the inaguation of the state’s first elected governor, Charles Haskell.

Following the wedding, Haskell’s great-grandson portrayed his grandfather’s oath of office, using the same Bible Haskell used a century ago.

Both ceremonies lasted more than an hour and finished with a parade which stretched from the Masonic Hall to Mineral Springs Park.

The state’s second Centennial Parade featured a collection of the weird, the fun and the historic.

Along with bands and groups from across the state, the parade included a mobile square dancing unit, several groups of motorcycles, hundreds of of horses, members of the military and at least two cement trucks.

“This is great, they’ve got a little of everything — just like our state,” said Hannah Blighton, a resident of Nowata. “This was much better than the parade in Oklahoma City. It was more fun, more real.”

And with a crowd estimated at close to 70,000, Guthrie, once again, briefly returned to its original glory.

Terrill, Morrissette lock horns over immigration law

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The principal author of the state's new immigration law and one of the measure's chief critics debated the new law Thursday during a meeting of the state's political scientists.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Oklahoma Political Science Association, state Reps. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, and Richard Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City, spent the better part of Thursday afternoon arguing the pros and cons of House Bill 1804 -- the state's new immigration bill.

The event, billed as a roundtable discussion, also included Linda Allegro, a professor from the University of Tulsa, and Carol Helm, a representative of the group Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now.

The discussion drew a full crowd to the House of Representatives chamber and was, at times, tense.

Terrill defended his bill saying it "wasn't any big secret that the federal government had fallen down" on its responsibility to protect the nation's borders.

"Illegal immigrants are coming this way at a rate of many thousands per day," he said. "And I can assure you that not all of them are out putting roofs on your house."

Since the government has failed to act, Terrill said, "no one should be surprised that lawmakers like me should step forward."

"All you're seeing here is federalism in action," he said.

Terrill, a law school graduate, also criticized the law's opponents for using the courts to challenge the law.

"They don't like HB 1804, and they've used the court from the very beginning," he said. "So what have they done, they've taken the fight to the court, to the judiciary. They want the unaccountable judiciary to decide it. They are attempting to accomplish through the judicial process what they couldn't accomplish through the legislative process."

Morrissette disagreed.

"This bill was driven by politics," the Oklahoma City Democrat said. "Because Carl Rove in the White House did a poll of conservative, GOP voters."

Undocumented workers, he said, are already prevented from receiving benefits by federal law and HB 1804 is nothing more than a duplication of existing federal statutes.

"All this is already illegal. This is a terrible state issue. The state doesn't have the authority to pass citizenship statutes. You have to go through a federal process to become a U.S. citizen, it's cumbersome, weary and time-consuming."

The country, Morrissette said, "is big enough to follow the law. If you work, pay taxes and go by the rules, then you should be given a reasonable chance to become a U.S. citizen."

Responding to Terrill's complaints of opposition groups filing suit over the bill, Morrissette said he hoped the courts "would do something" about the bill. "I suspect they will. I suspect the federal court will take some action."

Echoing Terrill, Carol Helm, a representative of Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now, said Oklahoma was facing an "invasion" by illegal aliens.

"Our group is non-partisan," she said. "The thing that brings us together is one issue: the illegal alien invasion."

The states, she said, have every right to enforce immigration laws.

"Why are these laws not being enforced? There are many, many laws on the books that are being overlooked."

The forum's fourth speaker, University of Tulsa professor Linda Allegro, said the bill has generated many unanswered questions.

"We don't have all the answers yet. We don't know if it will be more costly to enforce this law."

Allegro said other issues have been absent from the debate over the new law.

"We have to look at how the global economy is reshaping labor availability," she said. "The North American Free Trade Agreement has created a paradox, a borderless movement of goods, services and capital and, at the same time, more limited immigration."

And HB 1804 had made things worse by creating "racial divisions."

"It's contributed to more tension between whites and Hispanics; where the former are viewed as racists and the later as criminal," she said.

The Oklahoma Political Science Association annual conference continues through today at the State Capitol building.

Indian Gaming - a good news, bad news thing

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Indian gaming will generate more than $100 million for the state's budget, employ thousands of Oklahomans, and plow millions of dollars into health care, education and other social services for the state's Native American tribes, two former state lawmakers said Thursday.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Political Science Association, former state Reps. Phil Ostrander and Tommy Thomas said Oklahoma "is fortunate" to have Indian gaming.

"If the state is going to have gaming, then it's very fortunate to have Indian gaming," Ostrander, a lobbyist for the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, said. "Indian gaming is a nonprofit enterprise. It generates revenues, not profits. And those revenues go right back into Oklahoma."

Native American tribes, he said, have had a major impact on rural Oklahoma.

"It's much more than what anyone anticipated. In Miami, people are talking about how the tribes had turned around the economy."

Like Ostrander, Thomas touted revenue generated by the tribes' gaming operations.

"The tribes create jobs with benefits," he said. "They help drive the economies of rural Oklahoma. Native American gaming ventures employ Native Americans and non-Native Americans."

Yet, despite the influx of additional state revenue, some operations are causing problems for local and state governments.

"There are lots of detractors of Indian gaming," said University of Oklahoma professor Aimee Franklin. "Many detractors came into the market and talked about the gambling addiction."

Other issues, she said, involved the tribe's "heritage land claims."

"In Kansas City, they have one casino on the river," she said. "The tribe wanted to have another on the other state line so they made a heritage claim, saying they had previously owned the land."

Those claims, Franklin said, often use imminent domain laws to take land.

"Governments are being forced to look at the costs and long-term consequences," she said. "Some governments are experiencing financial losses because of these operations."

Ottawa County Undersheriff Bob Ernst agreed.

"We have jurisdictional issues," he said. "We're funded by sales tax. And, obviously, Indian tribes on trust land don't contribute sales tax."

The sheriff's department, he said, could "use more people and resources" to service the county's 35,000 residents.

"We will see an increase in some crimes," he said. "And we could use more resources to get out there. But that's something that isn't happening."

Expired Driver's License: You've got trouble

MOORE — Kenneth Pricer just wanted to renew his driver’s license.

Pricer, 81, was shopping with is wife Tuesday, when a clerk pointed to his license said it had expired.

“No big deal,” Pricer thought. The last time he renewed his license, the trip took about 15 minutes; and because he was retired, it didn’t cost him a thing.

So Pricer and his wife, Marlane, finished their shopping and traveled to the Moore Tag Agency for, what they thought at the time, would be a quick errand.

Six hours — and four trips later — Kenneth Pricer got his license.

But the process required traveling from the tag agency to home, then to Norman, then to the bank, then to Oklahoma City and, finally, back to Moore.

“It was crazy,” Pricer said. “I had no idea.”

Pricer was one of hundreds of residents caught in a web of problems caused by the state’s new immigration law, House Bill 1804.

The law, authored by state Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, went into effect Nov. 1.

Terrill said the bill is supposed to curtail illegal immigration and prevent undocumented residents from obtaining state-issued identification.

To prevent undocumented workers from receiving state benefits, state and local agencies are required to verify the citizenship status of applicants before authorizing benefits and public employers are required to enter job applicants into an electronic immigration database to verify legal status.

Those rules also include drivers licenses.

And the changes apply to any resident — lifelong or not — who lets that license expire.

“We went to the tag agency, but they said, ‘because of the new law you have a problem,’” Pricer said. “They said ‘you have to go to the Department of Public Safety and take either your passport or birth certificate and get it okayed to get a drivers license.’ Then they said to ‘bring it back and they would issue the license for you.’”

For Pricer, the new law meant traveling a total of more that 100 miles and spending about five hours to get his license renewed.

“We couldn’t find our visas,” he said. “So we went home and got a copy of our birth certificates. We took them and went over went to Norman. We finally found the place, but they said, ‘sorry these are not notarized and we can’t used them.’”

Frustrated, Pricer and his wife drove from Norman back to their bank, where they retrieved certified copies of the same birth certificates. From there, the couple went to another DPS testing station — this one in Oklahoma City — to prove their identity.

“We went back to get different, certified, copy,” he said. “Then we went the testing center on I-240. We got there about 3 p.m., got a number and sat down. We were about the next to the last one. The place closes up at 4:45.”

The Pricers were the 154th in line.

The experience, he said, was “real stupid.”

“I guess what bothers me is there was nothing out that warned a person about this. We thought the bill was all about immigration, we didn’t think it applied to us.”

Under HB 1804, Oklahoma residents must prove their citizenship before they can get their driver’s license upgraded — or in the case of an expired license — renewed.

Previously, an expired drivers license could be renewed at a tag agency without the extra documents or a visit to a DPS driving examiner.

But residents, Pricer said, “didn’t know” about how the law would effect them. “Everybody thinks it’s just about immigration. Well, it’s not.”

According to a Department of Public Safety message e-mailed to state tag agents — on Nov. 2, the day after the law went into effect — “any individual whose driver’s license has expired (even one day) must appear before a driver’s license examiner” to show proof of legal presence.

The message said the tag agent’s computer “will not prompt you to send them to the examiner at this time. You will have to look at the expiration date on the license. Computer programming will be in place on Monday with a prompt which will read ‘this license has expired and driver must see a DL examiner.’”

DPS officials confirmed the new policy, but added that most residents will only have to show their citizenship proof one time.

“If a resident has an expired driver’s license, they will need to go to a DPS examining station,” Department spokesman Captain Chris West said. “The will need to see the examiner and let the examiner look at their forms, then they can go back to their tag agent and get their license renewed.”

West said the law “wasn’t that complicated” and only required residents to provide documentation one time.

“Once they’ve shown their documents to a driver’s license examiner, that’s the last time they are going to have to do that,” he said. “DPS now maintains that data on file.”

That may be so, but tag agency officials say the law is confusing residents, and causing agents major problems.

“We are turning people away by the dozens,” said Cindy Virgin, the owner of the Moore Tag Agency. “On Saturday, we had about 15 people we couldn’t help and yesterday it was probably 30 to 40.”

Along with upset customers, Virgin said in many smaller towns, there are no DPS testing stations. And those stations are not open on weekends.

“The stations are understaffed; the lines are incredible. They are not open on weekends so our customers just have to wait and in many places the testing station is in another town.”

The end result, Virgin said, is a “very upset customer.”

Kenneth Pricer agrees.

“It was very inconvenient,” he said. “It was frustrating. We were lucky we were retired. It would be almost impossible for someone who has a job.”

Still, even with all the difficulty, Pricer said he did learn something from the process.

“I’m gonna make sure every knows. I’m gonna make sure all my kids and grandkids check their driver’s license. I want them to be legal.”

COMENTARY: How one city councilman did the right thing

Moore city councilman Dave Roberts is an easy going, standup guy.

Blessed with a voice that’s a cross between James Earl Jones and Barry White, Roberts could have made a fortune in the soul music industry.

But Dave is more than a smooth talker.

Having watched him in council meetings, and as a member of the Moore Rotary Club, I’ve been impressed by his level-headed approach to municipal problems and his desire to make Moore a better place to live.

It’s obvious he cares.

It’s also obvious he wants to do the right thing.

What’s not so obvious is what Dave did last week.

Following a recent speech by Republican state Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson, Roberts offered a rebuttal.

Wilcoxson, it seems, used a speech with the Moore Rotary Club to denigrate Oklahoma’s public school system, its teachers and administrators.

And Dave Roberts became angry.

He did a slow burn for about a week.

Then, the following week, Roberts did something that’s almost unknown by public officials any more — he stood up publicly and announced he disagreed with Sen. Wilcoxson; he she was wrong he said and her speech was “intellectually dishonest.”

He wasn’t worried about the fallout.

He made his point simply and elegantly without negative rhetoric or name calling.

He stood and spoke softly about why he disagreed.

It was the right thing to do.

Because for months now, Wilcoxson has paraded around the state blasting public schools and those involved with them.
She’s trotted out failed political candidates and dubious experts who all say the same thing: our schools are horrible and the system needs to be destroyed.

A couple of weeks ago, the good Senator brought her dog-and-pony show to the Moore Rotary Club where she proceeded to tell Rotarians this same, tired story. Prior to her speech, she even issued a press release announcing she would be speaking.

Being the gentleman that he is, Roberts sat quietly and listened.

But, like many others in the room, he knew he was being misled.

Consider this:

• Just last week, a Moore teacher was named a Milken Foundation Award winner — the Academy Award of the teaching profession. The honor comes with a $25,000 stipend. And while many Moore and state officials — including Lt. Governor Jari Askins — cleared off their schedule to attend the entire ceremony, Wilcoxson came in late, made a brief appearance at a reception and left early.

• Last year a Moore elementary school was named a Blue Ribbon School.

• Earlier this year, a Moore student received a $100,000 Intel prize for her performance at a national science fair.

• The average GAP for a Moore senior is 3.0.

• 72.4 percent of Moore’s 2005 senior class participated in the ACT test — well above the state average of 66.5 percent.

• Moore’s average ACT score was 21.5 — almost a full point above the state average of 20.6.

• Moore spends $5,816 per pupil with an 18 student per teacher ratio.

• Moore’s schools consistently rank high — usually exceeding the state average — in API and other educational performance rankings.

• Moore is the state’s third largest school district with more than 20,000 students.

But, if we listened to Sen. Wilcoxson, we would think our district is failing. If we bought the negative, we’d light the torches and head for the administrative building.

Thankfully, someone like Dave Roberts saw the truth.

Don’t let anyone kid you, the Senator’s recent speeches are being delivered as a platform for her eventual campaign for state school superintendent.

They are political.

They are designed to inspire fear and distrust.

They are supposed to divide.

She’s been in office for 12 years — she’s served on the education committee and currently is its co-chair. If Oklahoma’s schools are as bad as she believes, then Wilcoxson is partly responsible — because she and her comrades have had more than a decade to make a difference.

Running around the state, talking smack about teachers and schools may score her points on the political front.

But here in Moore, one thoughtful, genuine public official didn’t by the rhetoric.

And a wise man told the rest of us not to buy it either.

Which is why, my friends, councilman Dave Roberts did the right thing.

Attitudes the biggest problem for disabled professionals, speaker says

Jason Price's biggest barrier isn't brick or steel or wood.

It has nothing to do with construction or even equipment.

Jason Price's biggest barrier is people.

More specifically, their attitude.

Price, a graduate of Northeastern Oklahoma State University, and a professional with the State of Oklahoma, has cerebral palsy.

And he uses a wheelchair.

And it's what people think about his disability, he says, that causes most of his problems.

"People with disabilities face tremendous barriers. The biggest barriers to employment for people with significant disabilities are attitudinal barriers -- they are even more profound than the architectual ones we still face."

Disabled professionals, he said, have a "very difficult time" getting on equal ground in the search for employment.

"Despite a degree, it took me from May 1997 until September of 1999 to find employment," he said. "And I had a good resume. I was a straight-A student and did an internship at Channel 9 in Oklahoma City."

An avid sports fan, Jason had hoped to use his degree to pursue a career in sports journalism.

But the attitude toward his disability derailed his plans.

"I would send in my resume and people would call back for an interview. They would be ready to interview me and it never failed, I showed up and everything about the individual changed."

From words, to downright shock, he said.

He blames the problem on a what he calls "the grocery store incident."

"The grocery store incident is that moment each of you had when you were at the grocery store with your mom and you saw someone with a significant disability," he said. "Your jaw dropped to the floor and you stared. You probably had a lot of questions for that individual."

However, Price said those questions were left unasked because, "your mom would not let you and you got into trouble for staring."

"On your way home, your mom told you what her mom told her and the misinformation continued. It continues to this day," he said.

Along with the fight to overcome the attitude.

"People with disabilities are regular people," Price said. "There is nothing different about our wants or desires. We are exactly the same."

As an example, Price described his own life.

"I've been married 10 years, I own my own home and have a 5-year-old son," he said. "I like to watch football on the weekends. There is nothing out of the ordinary."

Too often, Price says society looks at disabled professionals as "super crips."

"I refer to it as 'super crip.' Where we are exalted for doing things considered normal. When the fact is, we are normal."

Speaking at a recent reception for human resource professionals at the Sarkey's Foundation, Price, a Social Security Administration vocational rehabilitation coordinator for the state's Department of Rehabilitation Services, said the best way to deal with disabled professionals was simple respect.

"Don't assume all disabled people know each other," he quipped. "I've had it happen where people will see me at, say, Subway and they'll say 'hey, do you know David?' and I'll say, 'who?' and they'll say, 'you know, David. He's that guy in a wheelchair, too.'"

"Well," Price said. "I hate to break your heart, but disabled people don't all get together in the evening."

Using humor and a well-honed, comfortable speaking style, Price urged business and industry leaders to ignore the myths about hiring disabled employees.

"People with disabilities are perceived to be a risk to hire," he said. "That's wrong. They are perceived to be an insurance risk or to need extra accommodations. Well, the truth is, there are a lot of things out there that help with the architectural barriers, but there are not that many which help with the attitude barriers."

Disabled employees, he said, "are constantly in a state of proving our worth."

"None of the myths are true," he said. "People with disabilities just want a tiny piece of the American Dream."

To help overcome those barriers, Price said professionals should interact with disabled professionals on an equal level.

"For example, with me, please be seated if you are going to talk with me at length. And while assistance is appreciated, please ask before helping."

Many times, some people will "literally run me over," Price said, by trying to open the door. "We call those people good deed vampires. They are trying to suck the good right out of me."

A native Oklahoman, Price said disabled professionals just seek a "fair chance" to succeed in the business world.

"I consider my disability a part of me," he said. "It's who I am. I believe I am exactly how God wanted me to be. And there are many, many others just like myself. We're all seeking the same thing. We all want the same things. People need to see that."

Moore teacher earns Milken Award

MOORE — Shelly Unsicker didn’t suspect a thing.

Surrounded by about 800 students in the Central Junior High School auditorium, Unsicker thought she’d come to Wednesday morning’s assembly to celebrate the school’s recent API score increase.

On stage, she heard Moore superintendent Deborah Arato brag on the students and the school’s faculty.

She listened as state school superintendent Sandy Garrett talked about the district’s accomplishments.

And she applauded when Richard Sandler, the executive vice president of the Milken Family Foundation, talked about the need to recognize great teachers.

But she had no idea.

Yet Wednesday, being Halloween, had at least one trick — and one great treat — in store for Unsicker, an English and Pre-AP English teacher at the school.

As she sat among her students, Unsicker, a seven-year veteran of the district, listened as Sandler told the crowd that a teacher in Moore was going to be honored with a 2007 National Milken Educator Award.

Her expression never changed.

At least not until Sandler said her name.

And even then, she wasn’t sure whether to sit or stand.

“I ... I ... really didn’t know exactly what to do,” Unsicker said. “My students had to tell me to get up and go on stage.”

Encouraged by her students to stand, Unsicker did, and eventually she made it to the stage where she said the award wasn’t about her, but about the school.

“It’s about you,” she said, pointing to the student audience. “It’s about critical literacy. It’s about the future. I work with the best principal in the United States, the best faculty and the best staff. I’m inspired by all of you.”

As one of only two 2007 Milken Award winners in the state, Unsicker joins a select group. Only 18 state teachers have received the award, Garrett said. Nationwide, the foundation has honored 2,300 K-12 educators since the awards began in 1987; about 80 teachers across the country received the award this year.

“It’s considered the Academy Award of teaching,” Garrett said.

Teachers, Garrett said, don’t apply for the award.

“The Milken Foundation goes looking for them. They ask us to send them a list of our best teachers, then they decide. There is no application process.”

Winners have no idea they’ve won, but discover the fact during a surprise all-school assembly.

“I’m still kind of shocked,” Unsicker said. “It’s amazing.”

In addition to the recognition, a trip to California for the award ceremony and a chance to discuss education ideas with other winners and education policy experts, Unsicker will receive a $25,000 stipend.

Money which, she said, she isn’t quite sure what to do with.

“I have no idea what I’ll do,” she said. “Except ... well, I’ll probably buy some books for my classroom library. I think it’s important for kids to read for pleasure, so I’ll add to my library.”

Named Central’s Teacher of the Year for 2006-07, Unsicker holds National Board certification. A native of Lawton, she taught in Lawton and Frederick before coming to Moore.

She also participated in the National Writing Project, the Oklahoma Writing Project and has sponsored Central’s Writing Art Club since 2002.

Peace Protests Scheduled this weekend

The group United for Peace and Justice has announced several peace protests scheduled for this weekend.

In Oklahoma City, an End the War Rally is scheduled 11 to 12:30 a.m today at the intersection of the Northwest Expressway and Meridian Avenue.

On Sunday the Church of the Open Arms will hold a Peace Music Concert 5 to 6:30 p.m. The church is at 3131 N. Pennsylvania Ave., in Oklahoma City. The concert, “An Artful Call For Peace,” features singer-songwriter Tracy Feldman.

Oklahoma City also will also host its 21st annual Peace Rally from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10 at the Civic Center Music Hall’s “Hall off Mirrors” in downtown Oklahoma City. Admission is free.

For more information, call Nathanel Batchelder, director of The Peace House at 524-5577 or visit www.peacehouseok.org.

Tom Cole on the 2008 election

WASHINGTON — While he said he wouldn’t make a political issue of his belief that violence had decreased in Iraq, U.S. Congressman Tom Cole said improvements in the Iraq war could help Republicans’ 2008 election efforts.

“We will have a better chance if the number of American troops over there is smaller,” he said. “There’s no question that’s helpful politically.”

But Cole, the chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, said next year’s elections will be more about “the post-Iraq world” that the current war.

“I believe people will be thinking about health care, taxes and the economy,” he said.

Cole, who returned his week from a four-day fact-finding visit to Iraq, Kuwait and Germany, predicted the 2008 presidential race to be “a close election” which, he said, would work to Republicans’ advantage.

“I think a lot of Democratic members will have cast tough votes. But that’s the nature of politics. Still, I think we’ll have issues and a better political environment.”

And though the GOP’s position is stronger than last year, Cole said that environment “has to get better” before Republicans can regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“We will need a strong presidential candidate,” he said. “If not it could cause trouble.”

With his seat considered safe by most political experts, Cole has seen his share of controversy.

He denied a rumor that incumbent Sen. Jim Inhofe wouldn’t seek re-election, and he, instead, would run for the seat.

“I have not heard that,” Cole said. “I’d be shocked if he (Inhofe) didn’t run. He’s our senior Senator and he’s been very effective in getting Oklahoma $130 to $140 million more in road money. No, I haven’t heard that.”

Cole also faced criticism over the NRCC’s recent fundraising efforts.

The program — which he said has since been stopped — involved calls from National Republican Congressional Committee staffers who told donors they’ve received the group’s National Leadership Award.

Callers were told they had received the award, then asked to contribute money to support a “media blitz” announcing the honor.

The program quickly became controversial, generating hundreds of web blog listings, e-mails and complaints to the Better Business Bureau.

Cole said the program was in place when he became NRCC chairman and once he became aware of the complaints, the program was changed.

“Some of that stuff was inherited,” he said. “And I thought it went a little beyond pale. Since then things have changed.”

Cole said it “took a while” to stop the fundraising calls, because the NRCC was “locked into several contracts.”

“We have made some changes,” he said. “We’ve got a new finance crew and I have a very different idea about raising money.”
To win, he said, Republicans need strong candidates, a strong message and a good image.

“I try each day to go to the floor and earn back the mantle of a fiscally responsible, free enterprise Congressman,” he said.
“And that’s what it takes. The rest is a mechanical process and good mechanics never trump a strong message and a good image.”

Cole: Things are better in Iraq

WASHINGTON — Violence in Iraq is down, U.S. soldiers are upbeat, and the Sunnis are turning against al-Qaida, U.S. Congressman Tom Cole said Wednesday.

Cole, who returned from Iraq this week following a four-day Congressional fact finding mission, said the war-torn country is undergoing “remarkable changes.”

“It was an amazing trip,” he said. “And they’ve seen quite remarkable changes over the past year. Our group was the first group to go into Ramadi. No other group has been able to do that, it’s a genuine measure of the progress.”

Cole, R-Moore, said he traveled overseas to look at three areas: the logistics and movement of material and people in and out of Iraq; the quality of medical care and the medical installations; and the changes happening inside of the country.

The trip was Cole’s seventh visit to the country.

“I saw a lot of the country,” he said. “I talked to everyone from shopkeepers to Iraqi soldiers and I talked to many, many U.S. soldiers. And their moral is very high. They are great believers in their mission and they have confidence in General Petraeus as compared to a year ago.”

The biggest change, he said, was a reduction in violence.

“When I was there in 2004, I couldn’t go outside the Green Zone,’ said. “And we didn’t go into Ramadi.”

At that time Cole said, “you couldn’t go 10 feet in Ramadi without being hit by an IED (improvised explosive device) or small arms fire.”

And though the area is “still a dangerous place” for those soldiers stationed there, Cole said the number of U.S. causalities had dropped.

“It’s nice to see the violence decreasing,” he said. “When you can walk into places like Ramadi without armor, and you get outside the Green Zone, well, all those tell me things are getting better.”

Additionally, Cole said Sunni Muslims’ awakening “is a real thing.”

“They are sick of the violence and al-Qaida,” he said. “The Sunnis have realized they can work with us.”

Current estimates show about 35 percent of Iraq’s population is made up of Sunni Muslims. “And they have turned on al-Qaida,” he said.

Cole said the reduction in violence also has encouraged the country’s reconstruction efforts.

“I spoke with a military unit from Tulsa,” he said. “Their job is to help get civic services going again. And they are very popular. Things are changing.”

Yet while he remains optimistic about the war’s pace, Cole said the situation in Iraq is “still very fluid and very fragile.”

“Iraq can break your heart, but it’s still a very dangerous place. I can see the level of American involvement going down. But only if the Iraq people can take advantage of the situation.”

COMMENTARY: Rep. Duncan should shut up

Few men of first class ability can afford to let their affairs go to ruin while they fool away their time in Legislatures; but your chattering, one-horse village lawyer likes it, and your solemn ass from the cow countries, who don't know the Constitution from the Lord's Prayer, enjoys it; and these you always find in the Assembly; the one gabble, gabble, gabbling threadbare platitudes and 'give-me-liberty-or give-me-death' buncombe from morning to night, and the other asleep, with his slab-soled brogans set up like a couple of grave-stones on the top of his desk.
— Mark Twain, June, 1866

The sage of Missouri was right.

From the one-horse village lawyer, to the solemn ass from cow country, the idiotic actions of some state lawmakers never cease to amaze me.

And here, in the land of Red Dirt, the small mindedness of some members of our government, has now taken on epic proportions.

Take for example, Rep. Rex Duncan.

Duncan, a Sand Springs Republican, is all bent out of shape because he received a Centennial copy of the Quran from the Governor’s Ethnic American Advisory Council.

“I object to the use of the state Centennial Seal and the state Seal all in an effort to further their religion,” he said to the Associated Press this week.

Rep. Duncan also wrote his colleagues, telling him them he has rejected the gift because, “most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology.”

Okay, I admit I don’t know much about the Muslim faith. But I do believe there is room enough for both Muslims and Christians in our state.

Religious tolerance is a cornerstone of our government.

Except for dudes like ’ol Rex.

The chairwoman of the Governor’s Ethnic American Advisory Council said she received a call from Duncan wondering whether state money was used to buy the books.

She told the Tulsa World newspaper that members of the Muslim community paid for copies of the Quran.

“We are not trying to force anything on anyone,” she said. “This is a peaceful, thoughtful project to introduce ourselves to leaders.”

Not a bad idea.

Send ’em some information which they, hopefully, will read. Then some members of our esteemed legislature just might learn a little more about a different faith.

Or, in Rep. Duncan’s case, you could cuss and spit and throw up your hands and get quoted saying “my comment is that we never hear those 30,000 to 50,000 Muslims opposing the practice of violence on innocent people.”

Smart. Real smart.

Earlier this year, lawmakers received a copy of the Bible sponsored by The Baptist General Convention in Oklahoma.

Duncan didn’t complain about that.

“Mine is proudly on my desk in the Capitol and I don’t think I ever read a part of it that condones the killing of women and children in furtherance of God’s word,” he said. “It’s one of the nicest things I’ve received in my three years in the Legislature.”

Good for him.

He probably needs to re-read that part about love thy neighbor, and the other part about the “do unto others” thingy.

Then, when he’s finished, he just needs to sit down and shut up.

Martin among those who refuse Quran

OKLAHOMA CITY — Saying he had no “spiritual or scholarly need” for it, Norman state Rep. Scott Martin confirmed Tuesday that he refused a copy of the Quran, the Muslim world’s holy book.

On Monday, a “Centennial” copy of the Quran was offered to all members of the Oklahoma Legislature from the Governor’s Ethnic American Advisory Council. And while many lawmakers accepted the book, at least eight legislators refused the gift, citing religious reasons.

Martin, a Republican, joined at least five other state representatives and two state senators — David Derby of Owasso, Guy Liebmann of Oklahoma City, Mark McCullough of Sapulpa, Mike Reynolds of Oklahoma City, Susan Winchester of Chickasha, Rex Duncan of Sand Springs and Senators Randy Brogdon of Owasso and David Myers of Ponca City — who refused to accept copies of the Quran.

“They (the Governor’s task force) sent us an e-mail, asking if we wanted a copy,” Martin said. “And since it wasn’t something that I needed, I kindly declined the offer.”

Martin said he turned down the book for religious reasons.

“I’m a Christian,” he said. “And there’s lots of other religious documents that I don’t have a copy of. But I appreciated them giving us more of a choice.”

State Rep. Rex Duncan, who announced his refusal publicly, said he turned down a copy of the Quran because it advocated killing women and children.

“Most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press. Duncan said he objected “to the use of the state Centennial Seal and the state Seal all in an effort to further their (Muslims’) religion.”

However, one religious scholar said the action could be viewed as an insult to the Muslim community.

University of Oklahoma religious studies professor David Vishanoff, who specializes in Islamic studies, said lawmakers were making a “quick judgment” about the Islamic faith and probably haven’t read the book.

“I think they are making the mistake of identifying what they perceive as some Muslims’ belief as what’s in the Quran,” he said. “I don’t think they can find it advocating ‘killing innocent women and children.’”

The Quran, Vishanoff said, condemns infanticide, has a system of rules about the taking of life and urges restraint and forgiveness. And while some parts of the Quran are “hair raising,” Vishanoff said they are subject to interpretation. “It’s a Seventh Century Arabian book. You can say the same thing about the Bible … it’s all in there.”

By refusing the offer, Vishanoff said lawmakers were sending a negative message to the Muslim community.

“If I were in their shoes, I think I would get the message that we don’t really want Islam in our community,” Vishanoff said. “And that’s what they are trying to overcome.”

Oklahoma Muslims have “been making a real effort” to have a visible relationship with Oklahoma’s business and community leaders, he said. “They are an integral and respected part of the Oklahoma community. They are voters and supporters. And they matter.”

But while a few lawmakers passed on their copy of the Quran, at least one Cleveland County lawmaker said he accepted his copy.

Norman Democrat Bill Nations said he, too, was offered a copy of the Quran and he accepted it.

“I did receive a copy,” Nations said. “I fact I already had one.”

Nations said he wasn’t offended by the book, adding that he owned a copy of the Book of Mormon and “about 20” Bibles.

“It’s a matter of an intellectual exercise,” he said. “And understanding what’s going on the world. All Muslims are not our enemies, just some radical ones, which are the problems.”

While he said he had not received the e-mail about the Quran, state Rep. Wallace Collins, D-Norman, said he would accept a copy if offered. “I didn’t see an e-mail about it, but I would accept one if offered,” Collins said. “I have several friends who are Muslim.”

The controversy comes on the heels of a recent Ramadan dinner hosted by Gov. Brad Henry at the governor’s mansion.

Henry’s spokesman, Paul Sund, said the governor had hosted the dinner for several years. “Like President Bush, he’s hosted a Ramandan dinner for many years.”

At this year’s dinner Henry was presented with a copy of the Quran, Sund said. “No, he didn’t refuse it,” he said. “He accepted it warmly.”

Fewer students attending Moore Norman Career Tech

While there were more than 138,000 secondary school enrollments in some type of career tech program over the last year — and even though statewide, enrollment is growing — figures at the Moore Norman Technology Center are trending the opposite direction.

And that trend has school officials concerned.

Recent figures from the area’s four main high schools — Norman High School, Norman North High School, Moore High School and Westmoore High School — all show steep declines in secondary enrollment from 2004 to today.

“It’s not an easy solution,” said Susan Gladhill, Moore Norman’s director of educational services. “We don’t think we’re at the point of alarm, but we are concerned, certainly, about addressing this issue.”

During a last month’s Moore Norman Technology Center board meeting, Gladhill presented figures which paint a gloomy picture of the center’s secondary student enrollment over the past few years:

• Westmoore High School — from 90 students in 2004 to just above 50 students last year.

• Moore High School — 150 students in 2005, 200 students in 2006, 160 in 2007.

• Norman North High School —130 students in 2004, less than 100 in 2005, about 115 in 2007.

• Norman High School —140 students in 2003, about 120 in 2007.

And though Gladhill was hesitant to point a finger at any specific reason for the decline, she did say a number of factors contributed to the decrease, including new academic standards passed by the Oklahoma Legislature; the state’s ACE (student exit) test, which goes into effect next year; difficulty with school schedules, and athletics added back into some school’s daily schedule.

“It’s a combination of several things,” she said. “For example, some new legislation limits the number of electives that students can have.”

Because students are required to take more core classes, the number of electives has been reduced and fewer students can take career tech classes. Even so, career tech officials, Gladhill said, “support and encourage” academic rigor in their students.

“We want that academic rigor,” she said. “We support that fully.”

The difficulty seems to lie in scheduling.

When school officials in Moore put athletics back into the school day, the options for those students, Gladhill said, decreased. “It has made it more difficult for some students who want to come here.”

However, Moore school administrators say the change was requested by parents and needed to give students time with their families.

“That change was made at the request of our school patrons,” said Moore Superintendent Deborah Arato. “Before we changed the schedule, we had students who weren’t getting home until late in the evening. They had no family time.”

New curriculum and testing requirements have put public school and career tech officials “between a rock and a hard spot,” Arato said.

“We really need to be sure that we’re sending students out who are prepared for a post secondary education. We know for a fact that students need post secondary education. The onus is upon us. We have to make sure our students have the right education.”

And the issue, she said, is not going to be easy to fix.

“We have people working with career tech officials right now. But we don’t have a solution yet.”

Career tech officials praised the effort.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with how they (Moore officials) are working with us for a solution,” Gladhill said. “And we’re certainly not putting anything on the Legislature, but we’re trying to address the fact that it’s becoming more difficult for students to have a variety of options.”

Paula Bowers, a spokesman for the state Department of CareerTech, agreed.

“We know that that all technology centers are concerned about giving students the opportunity of coming to the center,” Bowers said. “But as students choose and look at what they have to do to graduate, they find more requirements placed on them.”

And despite the changes, statewide enrollment figures are showing an increase.

In 2005, the department recorded 135,359 secondary enrollments in some type of career tech program. Those figures increased to 138,444 in 2006 and 142,804 in 2007.

“Some of the tech centers are doing innovative things,” Bowers said. “Some are going to high schools and others have reduced their three-hour classes to two hours.”

The schools, she said, are working closely with the state’s higher education and common education systems and officials in their local districts.

“Each of our technology centers, hopefully, has a relationship with their area high schools. They are asking what would be advantageous for your child. Career tech is a great option for many students, but they know it’s not for everyone.”

House passes Cole's water study bill

The House of Representatives passed a proposal by Fourth District Congressman Tom Cole Monday to authorize $900,000 to administer a water feasibility study in order to find future water sources for Norman, Midwest City and Del City.

Now it’s on to the Senate.

“This was a critical step in the process of securing water resources for cities in central Oklahoma,” Cole said in a prepared statement. “Because these areas are growing rapidly, the demand for additional water is only going to get greater as time goes on. I believe it is vital that these needs are anticipated early so that Oklahomans will have access to water as they need it. I am pleased that this legislation has passed the House, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law.”

H.R. 1337 directs the commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation to conduct a feasibility study of the amount of water used by the Central Oklahoma Master Conservatory District and the cities served by it.

The study would include possible proposals for drilling additional wells, increasing the storage capacity of Lake Thunderbird and transporting surplus water from outside sources. The primary source of water for the COMCD is Lake Thunderbird.

Over the past several years, the City of Norman has exceeded its annual share of allotted water from the lake.

Cole said he hopes the study will enhance the current and long-term water needs of COMCD and the cities it serves.

The bill is expected to be voted on in the Senate in the near future, officials in Cole’s office said.

Off to Iraq: 2nd Lt. Jeremy Spearing

Second Lieutenant Jeremy Spearing is ready.

He spent this week saying his good-byes, celebrating his birthday and Thanksgiving early, and packing his bags.

Because Jeremy Spearking is going to war.

Spearing, 25, and 2,399 other soldiers from the state’s 45th Infantry Brigade leave today as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On Friday, the 45th will move to Fort Bliss, Texas, for “about 12 weeks” of intense, mission specific training. Early next year, they’re expected to be deployed to Iraq.

Spearing will return next October.

“Serving in the military is something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “It’s something I’ve always believed in. I was raised with the idea that you are supposed to serve your country in some way.”

A 2000 graduate of Norman High School, Spearing has served his country since he was 17. He enlisted because of the influence of his cousin and his uncle, General Miles Deering.

He also earned a degree in Criminology from the University of Oklahoma in 2006, attended two years of ROTC and served as president of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity in 2005.

And he’s more worried about his mom than the tasks ahead.

“I just plan on doing my job effectively,” he said. “The Army has trained me unbelievably well. I’ll follow the rules and make sure everyone comes home safe.”

But his mother, he said, “is worried to death.”

“I know she’s scared. But she’s very supportive. She’s helped out other families by sending supplies. She knows this is something we have to do.”

Understanding is one thing, concern for a son is a different matter.

“You just have to learn to toughen up and pray a lot,” Jeremy’s mother, Debbie said. “You have a lot of confidence in your son and the people he’s with.”

A single mother of two, both of Debbie’s sons followed the same path.

Both graduated from Norman High, were members of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity and attended the OU.
And both serve in the military.

Her youngest son, Allen, recently enlisted.

But like her son, Debbie Spearing has prepared herself; and, like her son, she’s upbeat about his trip and return.

“You have to be strong for yourself and your son,” she said. “You do worry. When he was first activated, well...it was the worst feeling in the world. But the role of parent is to be strong and I will do anything and everything to make it easier for him.”

And that includes, cards, letters, care packages and “anything” to remind her son that he’s missed, loved and respected.

“I always want to love and support them and always want to be positive. I send lots of letters and cards, whatever needs to be done, just count me in.”

For Jeremy, that simple act speaks volumes. “There’s nothing like a letter from home,” he said.

And while he acknowledges the difficulty of leaving home, Oklahoma and his friends and family, Spearing plans on taking a little of Oklahoma with him.”

“I’ve lived in Norman all my life,” he said. “Oklahoma is the best place to be. And, yeah, I’ll definitely miss my friends and family. But I’ll be back home in October of next year.”

To make the trip shorter, Spearing said he would take two souvenirs with him: a photo of his family and friends and an OU flag.

“The photos are to remind me of home,” he said.

And the OU flag?

“I plan to fly the flag somewhere that’s unique in the land. I want to make it a keepsake.”

Cops, jail architect meet

Area police officials want Cleveland County’s new jail designed so officers can book prisoners in the facility and then “get out in a timely manner,” one participate in a jail design meeting confirmed last week.

Moore Police Chief Ted Williams said jail architect Ben Graves met with “several” of the area’s chiefs of police recently to discuss issues such as booking procedures, prisoner unloading and processing for the new facility.

“Mr. Graves wanted to know what issues they should look into in the new jail,” he said. “And we were all petty much in agreement, we wanted to get our officers in, get the inmates processed and get the officer back out on the street as quick as possible.”

Williams said he urged Graves to include additional work stations for police officers and a secure booking area in the jail’s final design.

“We need several work stations,” he said. “It streamlines things if officers can complete their reports and do some of that stuff at the jail.”

Last week’s meeting was the latest in a series of meetings about the jail’s design.

In September Cleveland County commissioners voted unanimously to build a second county jail on a site along Franklin Road, east of U.S. 77. The county purchased the 29-acre plot of land south of the York-Johnson Controls plant for $1.3 million earlier this year.

Since then, Graves and several other county officials have held a series of meetings to gather information and make decisions about the jail’s design.

Those meetings — which include Cushing jail consultant Don Jones and Cleveland County sheriff Dwayne Beggs — are expected to continue until early November.

Once the process is complete, Graves said he would take the information collected and use it to finalize a jail design.

However, before that design can be built it must be approved by state Fire Marshall Robert Doke and Don Garrison, supervisor of jail inspections for the Oklahoma State Department of Health.

In 2006, Garrison told Cleveland County commissioners they could face heavy fines or the closure of the jail if they didn’t take steps to reduce the inmate population.

Garrison’s office has continued to monitor the county’s progress.

“We feel like these guys are moving as fast as they can,” he said. “But it wasn’t like that a few years ago. As far as I was concerned, then, they weren’t making any progress at all.”

Since then, Garrison said county officials have worked hard to develop a new jail and get that jail built.

“As long as they continue to make the progress they are making, we’re probably not going to be too involved.”

Still, Garrison’s office must sign off on the jail’s design. “Our job is to review the design and make sure they meet jail standards,” he said. “We will thoroughly examine it.”

And while Garrison said he didn’t know when he would see the jail’s final plans, he did express confidence in Graves, the jail’s architect.

“I don’t expect any problems with Ben Graves or AiP,” he said. “We’ve got four or five architects in the state that we don’t worry about at all. But it hasn’t always been like that. When we began to push to get new jails built, we had some architects that had never built a jail, and we had a few problems.”

Garrison said he stayed in “frequent contact” with Graves and with jail consultant Don Jones. “I’m real aware of what they are doing,” he said. “I talk to Ben (Graves) and Don (Jones) nearly every day.”

The big issue with the jails, he said, is inmate population.

“We’ve got eight jails under construction,” he said. “And when they are finished, we will have completed 48 county jails which are either brand new or have been remodeled. But they are short of staff and overcrowded. Even most of the new ones are full and to be honest, I don’t know what they are gonna do about that.”

Commentary: Doing the right thing a moral, not political judgement

It doesn’t take an act by the Oklahoma State Legislature to know it’s wrong to steal. Nor do we need a gubernatorial proclamation that lying, cheating on your spouse or killing someone are not the best of ideas.

Because, long before members of the Oklahoma House and Senate convened in their marble chambers at 23rd and Lincoln there were rules of conduct.

The Bible’s 10 commandments were a pretty good start.

From there, society was given the “Golden Rule” — based on Matthew 7:12. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

That simple idea has been the basis for our modern concept of human rights since the time of Christ.

But right now it’s taking it on the chin.

Especially here in Oklahoma.

With state Representative Randy Terrill’s anti-immigrant bill now law, Oklahoma has set aside its moral principals and, in the process, lost its humanity.

Terrill’s recent blast at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority is the perfect example: Terrill criticized the OHCA for allowing women who may or may not be in the country illegally — but who will be giving birth to a United States citizen — to offer treatment to the mother and the child.

In story after story, Terrill called the move “an attempt, by tugging at the heart strings, to backdoor an expansion of government-run health care.”

Terrill went on to say that we “cannot allow Oklahoma to subsidize illegal activity” and the OCHA’s action “would encourage other women to illegally cross the U.S. border.”

He added that the proposal creates a “slippery slope” and called on the OHCA board members to withdraw the proposal.
Thankfully the OCHA passed the rule 6-1 and Gov. Henry signed it.

But what seems lost over this ongoing, almost vitriolic debate over illegal immigration is our collective humanity. An attitude that — for decades — would inspire one Oklahoman to help a neighbor — no questions asked.

We have survived Dust Bowls, tornadoes and terrorists. We have suffered and seen thousands of strangers ride to our defense. And we have done the same for others. Those simple facts has always made me smile.

But now, we’ve embraced the god of Mean.

Now, we have taken the Golden Rule and, in one legislative act, thrown it away.

Today, thousands of our fellow humans, living here now, live in fear.

Today, we have declared war on a race of people simply because of language as “legal status.”

We’ve forgotten the fact that these people — whatever that status, skin color or country of origin — are our brethren.
Like us, they too bleed red.

And like us, they, too, are human.

When Rep. Terrill first offered his immigration proposal, I questioned the idea. I said it was mean spirited.

I still believe that, today.

And since that first column ran, more and more people have done the same. Several state lawmakers had the courage to ask Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson whether the idea was sound.

Others are planning legal challenges.

Many have protested.

Good.

Because when you finally get through all the politics, the rhetoric and the blizzard of press releases, what you have in this legislation is simply, a lack of compassion and humanity.

There has been no “come let us reason together” and regretfully, few members of the faith community have stood in opposition.

That, too, is a sad statement about our current social climate.

Oklahomans don’t need advice from members of the legislature on how to do the right thing.
We simply need to act.

Norman companies help rebuild vet's '79 El Camino

Since he was a little kid, Jeffrey Anderson Jr., loved El Caminos.

His dad, Jeff senior, drove one.

His granddad, Tom, drove one, too.

And Jeffrey “bought one to fix up” when he was 17.

The El Camino — sort of a combination truck and car made by Chevrolet — has a special meaning for the Air Force staff sergeant.

“I remember a long time ago, working at my granddad’s roofing yard,” Anderson said. “and he would pick me up and drive me there in his El Camino.”

That connection stayed with him.

The years passed, but Anderson’s desire for an El Camino didn’t.

A native of Southern California, he would eventually get married, join the Air Force and have children. His Air Force career would bring him to Oklahoma, to Tinker Air Force Base, and a home in Moore.

In Oklahoma, he’d find his El Camino.

“One day, I was looking around on the Internet and this guy was selling one,” he said. “It was the right time and the right price.”

The car happened to be in Mustang, for $1,350. But it wasn’t in the best of shape — in fact, it was pretty much dead.
“It was the guy’s working car,” Anderson said. “It had just about every problem under the sun. It was pretty much ready for the salvage yard.”

The windshield was broken.

One wheel was close to coming off.

Only about five of the motor’s eight cylinders were firing.

The quarter panels were beat up and filled with expanding foam.

The paint job was “primer red, primer gray and primer black.” Anderson called the color “primer rainbow.”

But, still, it was an El Camino.

And for Jeffrey Anderson, it was a project, that — when he had time — planned on slowly restoring.

Then came the war.

Anderson was sent to Iraq but the El Camino, along with his wife, Shawna, and the couple’s two children remained in Oklahoma. And he put his restoration project on hold.

Or so he thought.

Because while he was overseas, his wife — along with more than 40 of her newfound friends — would join forces to do what he couldn’t; they would rebuild his car.

•

Built by Chevrolet until 1987, the El Camino was Chevy’s response to Ford’s wildly successful Ranchero. Both vehicles seem to be a combination of a truck and car, but are actually classified as trucks.

And they haven’t been made for more than 20 years.

But that didn’t matter because Anderson’s goal was to rebuild the car and reconnect to his past.

“I knew it wasn’t going to happen overnight,” he said. “I knew it would probably take 10 to 15 years, doing it myself.”

So he began working and then, shipped out.

But the car stayed in this thoughts.

“I told my wife before I left that she would have to start it and drive it a little to keep it from deteriorating,” he said. “And she said, ‘yeah, OK.’”

What he didn’t know is that his wife had other plans.

Shortly after he left, she contacted the Pedal Down El Camino Club of Oklahoma City. From there, members of the club contacted several local auto enthusiasts, including Larry Pennington, owner of Norman’s Body Works Inc., and Floyd Kelley, an automotive instructor at MetroTech.

When Pennington heard about the project, he agreed to help.

“They told me it was a pretty straight, clear car,” he said. “That it probably just needed to be prepped and painted.”

It was an optimistic assessment.

“It was pretty rough,” Pennington said. “But I signed up to do it and I was gonna do it.”

Enlisting the help of staff members at his three locations in Edmond, Norman and Oklahoma City, Pennington and company spent “about three months” rebuilding the El Camino.

“We had to remove the body from the frame because the bushings were so worn. In fact some of the bolts had rusted through.”

When they finished, the car was a show piece.

The interior was gutted and replaced with black leather and enough chrome accents to please the toughest auto critic — even the silver paint was matched to Anderson’s motorcycle.

The rear differential displays an eagle and American flag; a new 350cc motor sits under the hood.

“I was dumbstruck,” Anderson said. “I had no idea that was my car.”

Using donated parts and the labor of his staff, Pennington’s company took Anderson’s $1,350 investment and transformed it into a $45,000 ride — all for a man they’d never met.

“Well, it’s kinda like this,” Pennington said. “They are over there sacrificing for us, so we can make some sacrifices for them.”
Pennington said he offered to help because he understood what members of the military go through when they serve overseas.

“My brother is a 20-year military member. And I helped him when he came back. I told him he’d been over there fighting for our country and I’ve been here making a living. We wanted to help. All my guys felt the same way.”

•

So just how do you return a serviceman’s newly restored El Camino to him when he has no idea that its been restored in the first place?

The answer involved some deceit, chicanery and a ruse or two.

In short, a full-fledged conspiracy involving Anderson’s wife, parents, Pennington, some military brass and dozens of others.

“When I got back, my wife picked me up at the airport,” Anderson said. “But she didn’t have the kids. I wasn’t too happy about that.”

Anderson’s wife told him the kids had “been a handful” so they were with her sister whom the couple would meet for dinner.
Anderson wasn’t too happy about that, either.

“Instead of driving home, we drove to Edmond, to go to some ‘quiet little place’ my sister-in-law had, supposedly, discovered.”

That quiet little place turned out to be a barbecue and auto show where Anderson’s newly restored El Camino was waiting.

After being led through the crowd by his kids, Keiran, 7, and Chase, 5, Anderson saw several El Caminos.

But none of them, he thought, were his.

“It took me a little while before I figured it out. Then I was dumbstruck.”

Instead of his “primer rainbow” beat-up El Camino, Anderson was looking at a shiny silver and black, ’79 model with new tread, chrome mags and a tag that said ‘vrynice’.

He also was looking at dozens of people whom he had never met, all standing and applauding for him.

“It’s great,” he said. “But what’s really wonderful are these people. How they all came together to do this. I could take or leave the car, but the people — that’s what’s wonderful.”

Since then, Anderson has claimed many friends. He went to Body Works to say thanks and talk to those staff members involved in rebuilding his car.

“What really meant a lot was when he went to the garage and talked to the guys,” Pennington said. “He told them he wished something like this could happen to everyone.”

Proof of that new friendship will soon be found in Anderson’s garage. Once it’s painted and signed, the El Camino’s original hood will hang on the wall, adorned with the signatures of everyone involved in its restoration.

Under it will sit Anderson’s motorcycle and the El Camino — the gift of a loving wife and several dozen people who just wanted to make life a little better for one soldier.

“We understood the sacrifice of people being without their family,” Pennington said. “My son is currently in India, serving as a missionary. I know what that sacrifice is like and, besides, I needed something to keep me busy.”