Ad2OKC seeks to assist non-profit organizations

Those of you working for non-profits in need of no-cost advertising services, the Ad2OKC club is looking for you!

Ad2OKC – a young professionals ad club that is affiliated with Oklahoma City Ad Club and American Advertising Federation - is inviting non-profit organizations to submit a proposal for marketing needs within their organization through June of 2010.

Ad2OKC will provide all creative and design work, along with specified media. To qualify for this service you must be a non-profit organization that does not have a marketing budget or advertising agency currently in place.

Please include in the proposal: name of organization, mission statement, years in place, areas of service and a brief summary of your marketing needs. Please submit all proposals, by June 26, 2009, to:

Ad2OKC
P.O. Box 16110
Oklahoma City, OK 73114

or service@ad2okc.com 

Was the pharmacist justified?

About 10 minutes before 6 p.m. May 19, Chickasha resident and disabled veteran Jerome Ersland, 57, shot and killed a would-be robber at Reliable Discount Pharmacy in Oklahoma City.  Ersland, an employee of the pharmacy, said two suspects entered the store with guns drawn demanding cash and drugs.  He told reporters they began shooting after entering the store, one shot having grazed his hand.

"And that’s when I started defending myself,” Ersland said.

Ersland fired upon the suspects, hitting one in the head.  Ersland then chased the second suspect, who subsequently fled the scene, but was unable to apprehend him.  Ersland walked back into the store, grabbed another gun from behind the register and emptied five rounds into the first suspect, who at this point was incapacitated, according to the medical examiner.  After all was said and done, Antwun Parker, 16, lay dead on the scene.

The whole incident took under a minute.

Ersland later defended his actions by stating that this is what the Second Amendment is for.  He praised his efforts to protect the other employees. 

“I was able to return fire and protect the girls’ lives,” he said.  “God was helping me.”

Prosecutors, however, disagreed.  They allege Ersland shot an unconscious, unarmed robber, five more times after he had incapacitated Parker with a shot to the head, and Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater has since filed first degree murder charges on Ersland for the death of Parker. 

Prater said in a press conference “though Jerome Ersland was justified to shoot Antwun Parker during the robbery attempt, Mr. Ersland is accused of exceeding that lawful authority to employ deadly force when Ersland shot Parker five times in the abdomen with a .380-caliber pistol after the failed robbery.  It is alleged that Parker was unarmed, lying on his back, unconscious but alive, when he was shot in the abdomen by Ersland.”

It was also stated there was no evidence at the scene that the robbery suspects ever fired a round inside the pharmacy, which directly contradicts Ersland’s account of events.

Crime scene photographs indicate that Parker was shot five times while he was on his back with his palms up.

And despite State Rep. Randy Terrill, having told the Associated Press that the charges against Ersland are “absolutely wrong, wrong wrong,” or the fact that the Oklahoma County District Judge overseeing the case has received two death threats, or even the flood of support and letters from pastors and concerned citizens in Ersland’s defense — District Attorney Prater has made the correct decision in filing murder charges.

Almost nothing in Ersland story matches up with the surveillance video, crime scene photographs or ballistics tests.  Ersland has invoked God in his defense and willingness to fire upon Parker.  And so far, it is evident that though Ersland did have the right to protect himself, which the Second Amendment grants, he also neglected to take into consideration the element of responsibility that act grants.  Ersland made a grave miscalculation in the heat of the moment, and fired upon Parker not out of fear or self-defense, but out of an angry, emotional response to being robbed.  The last five shots were not reasonable, logical or protected by the Stand Your Ground law or the Second Amendment. —Tyler Branson

Swine Flu tips from experts

With the concern about the swine flu spread, the OU College of Medicine has provided some expert information. Here is what Gary Raskob, Ph.D. and Michael Bronze, M.D. want to share:

Swine Flu: What you can do to stay healthy
The recent outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and in the United States underscores the importance of maintaining a strong public health emergency response system. It also reminds us of the critical role that each and every one of us plays in helping to control the spread of infectious disease. 

Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by influenza (flu) viruses known as type A – this strain of influenza is different from the usual type of influenza virus that spreads through our community regularly. It regularly causes infection in pigs but rarely in people.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that a particular strain of swine flu virus type A called H1N1 is contagious and spreading from person to person.

The symptoms are similar to seasonal human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting. People who exhibit these symptoms should be tested for influenza by their primary care provider. However, if you seek medical attention, make sure that you inform the clinic personnel of your symptoms in advance of your arrival so that they can take the appropriate precautions to prevent spreading the virus to others. 

This swine flu, like regular flu, is spread mainly by coughing or sneezing, and sometimes by touching something with flu virus on it and then touching the mouth or nose. Infected people may be able to infect others beginning one day before symptoms appear and up to seven days or more after becoming sick.

What can you do to keep from getting this flu? First and most important - wash your hands often with soap and warm water for 15 to 20 seconds, especially after you cough or sneeze.  When soap and water are not available, alcohol-based hand gels containing at least 60 percent alcohol are effective. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Try not to touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the virus. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Get adequate sleep, drink plenty of fluids, eat nutritious foods, be physically active and manage your stress. Finally, avoid unnecessary travel to areas with outbreaks.

To help prevent spreading the virus to others, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and throw the used tissue in the trash. If you don’t have a tissue, cover your cough or sneeze with your shirt sleeve and again wash your hands frequently.

If you get sick with flu, limit contact with others. Additionally, you should notify your primary care provider, who may recommend treatment with antiviral drugs.

Sound public health and infection control require a community effort, but it begins with each one of us making a commitment to take these personal steps, which can go a long way to limiting the spread of flu.    

Gary Raskob, Ph. D., is dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Public Health. Michael Bronze, M.D., is chairman of the OU College of Medicine’s department of internal medicine.