Oklahoma Headlines 2012, Year in Review – JULY

Screen Shot 2013-01-18 at 1.17.39 PM(Photo by Sarah Phipps)

July 2012 was a hot, hot month.  The state had been drying up for a while, but emergencies were finally being declared.  Check out the headlines that made Oklahoma history last year around Independence Day…

  • Oklahoma Hispanic population continues to grow
  • Concerns about State Capitol building and art displays mount
  • OKC Thunder and Scott Brooks come to a coaching contract agreement
  • Robin Leander Howard died four days after police used force to arrest him
  • Agritourism and Oklahoma vineyards work together for growth and development
  • Six athletes from the University of Oklahoma are London-bound for the Olympic games
  • Judge upholds Edmond man’s 15-year prison sentence for an Iraqi civilian killing
  • Higher education leaders worry about shrinking state funding
  • Oklahoma City district is set to launch a free online school this fall
  • An audit of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church reveals $110K missing
  • Mother is sentences for her part in fire that killed three children
  • Celebration of what would have been Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday are held across the state, nation and world
  • Shannon Miller reflects on her multi-medal Olympics 20 years ago
  • 10,000 attend American Idol auditions in Oklahoma City
  • Gene Stipe dies at age 85
  • Drought worsens across the state; Fallin declares states of emergency
  • Olympics in full swing, Oklahoma City Thunder players enjoy playing time

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On the Horizon: Oklahoma’s Emergency Medical Services are in Crisis Mode

Recently, a legislative interim study was done to look at Oklahoma’s emergency medical system. What is known is that it’s hard to keep an EMS system funded. Many communities have lost their EMS system due to lack of funds and that puts lives in danger. Funding our EMS system is something that many people agree upon but little has been done to do so. A bill was put into place that should have helped but unfortunately, before it reached the governor’s desk, the funding mechanism was stripped from the bill so there is a mandate to fund it but no way to do so.

In steps Senaca Scott with the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He was able to put together an interim study where all concerned could voice their concerns in the attempt of finding a solution. There were a few solutions presented and even some good examples where communities have combined their resources to create their own EMS system that seems to be working. It’s ideas like that, that the upcoming legislature will need to look at in the attempt to shore up our failing EMS system.

In this week’s video blog, we explain the problem and talk about some solutions.
Alisa Hines

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Oklahoma Headlines 2012 – Year in Review, JUNE

Screen Shot 2013-01-10 at 9.59.40 AM(left – cover of the Daily Oklahoman when the Thunder was defeated in the last NBA championship playoff game)

Well, June of 2012 was arguably some of the most extreme emotional highs and lows for many Oklahomans as the OKC Thunder beat SanAntonio in the Western Conference finals and advanced to the NBA Championship series against the Miami Heat.  But what else took place in our state last June?  Check it out…

  • Governor signs DHS reform bills
  • Long time OKC nemesis, Charles Barkley, gets to know the City
  • OKC police chief reports needing 200 new officersOU student Casey Cooke falls to her death from a fire escape on campus
  • The Thunder win the Western Conference Championship – prepare for Miami
  • Oklahomans do well at the CMT Music Awards
  • Reba McEntire received the Annie Oakley Society Award
  • Western art exhibits and the Red Earth Festival keep Oklahoma culture awareness high
  • Report shows behavioral health prescriptions for foster children in OK growing
  • Legislators and defense counsel testify in “Prater smear campaign” charges
  • Cleveland county decides to quite releasing mug shots
  • “Thunder Pride” impacts entire state as Miami closes in on the Championship
  • Miami wins series against Thunder 4-1, and takes NBA title
  • The Edmond senatorial campaign heats up; Blair files suit against Jolley
  • Oklahoma City rated as U.S.’s “Manliest” metropolis
  • Trains collide in Goodwell; three train employees killed
  • Barry Switzer vies for a spot on the NCAA football playoff work committee
  • Meth rings continue to be raided and disrupted, while more spring up
  • U.S. Supreme Court upholds health care measure; OK impacted in several ways due to not accepting money to set up insurance exchange
  • Pawnee Wild West show continues annually, drawing larger crowds

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Oklahoma Headlines 2012 – Year in Review, MAY

westbrook v san antonioWhen looking back through the 2012 headlines, for some reason May seemed like a “bummer” month. Usually, the good and icky news balance out, but this month seemed solemn.  Maybe you’ll have a different take?  Here we go…

(Photo: R. Westbrook reacts to the game situation in playoffs versus the San Antonio Spurs – Brett Deering, Getty Images)

  • State’s top court rules personhood bill unconstitutional.
  • Ponca City area hit with flooding, locals spent time and manpower searching for cattle swept away.
  • Chesapeake asks Aubrey McClendon to step down as chairman of the board; seeks independent chair to replace him.
  • An A-F grading system is approved for Oklahoma public schools.
  • Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure ordered to repay state $70K in adoption fraud money.
  • Miss Oklahoma, Betty Thomson’s, crown is stolen from her car.
  • David Tyner pleads guilty to killing six people in “Cathouse” case.
  • OKC Thunder sweeps Dallas Mavericks to win the first step in the NBA playoff series.
  • The Cheyenne and Araphaho Tribes ask a federal judge to “un-freeze” 6.4 million dollars in assets from a bank in Clinton.
  • Barry Switzer celebrates a 40-year affiliation with the Special Olympics of Oklahoma.
  • Christopher Dunham is found guilty of neglect in the fire-related deaths of three children, left locked inside a mobile home.
  • Governor Fallin signs the open carry bill.
  • Conner Mason enters a guilty plea in “Bicycle Bob’s” death.
  • Post-game gun attach close to Thunder Alley stirs a debate about watch party events held in open, public places.
  • Legislative session ends with no deal on income tax cuts nor repairs for the Capitol.
  • Thunder wraps up month of May down 0 games to 2 in the third round of NBA playoffs against San Antonio.

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How Georgie Came to Life

Yesterday I experienced a small personal celebration as I officially began announcements that “Georgie the Giant” was now complete and ready to order.

My feelings around this project have been simmering for some time, as ‘Georgie” actually began to take shape when I was not yet ten years old. There are pieces of influence floating through time and space that eventually settled into a cohesive story about love and fear. And for that settling, I’m very grateful. After all, Georgie was only “a ghost of a Giant” as late as fall, 2012.

But he’s here now. And I thought with the announcement of this book, I would share the “how” of his existence.

Georgie was first incubated when my cousin Gina Weaver told a story to me and a few other cousins that included the phrase, “cookies as big as wagon wheels.” That phrase caught my attention, and obviously has stuck with me for a very long time.

Also influencing this book were the thousands of words, interactions and behaviors I witnessed while growing up in the 60s and 70s related to racism, discrimination, judgmental attitudes, and harsh criticism of people groups. I can remember times when people around me received the brunt of intense hate or cruelty, and even recall feeling physically ill because of what I saw and heard.

Other times, I believe I reflected and acted out some of those same behaviors, and was occasionally the recipient of hate as well. Hate is most often Fear in disguise, and for this reason Georgie was born as a story I began to tell my children when they were fairly young.

As they grew, the story grew. But it was most greatly expanded when my eldest called me from the campus of the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) and asked for help. Her education there consisted of 9-week rotational workshops and she was working on a calligraphy project. She asked me to write George into manuscript form so she could transcribe it into a handmade book, written in her chosen calligraphy font.

Wow, what a job that was. For me? Yes, indeed! But for her? A crazy big job. Truly, an extra-super duper crazy intense job. Want to know how the scribes felt during medieval times? Do what she did. Rachel still has her handmade book; it’s a one-of-a-kind treasure and I love it:

 

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Continue reading How Georgie Came to Life

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Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.