Jim Ross served his country with honor while risking his life every day on a foreign battlefield and in a war that seemed senseless to many Americans. A veteran of the Vietnam War, the Arcadia resident is author of a new memoir, Outside the Wire: Riding with the ‘Triple Deuce’ in Vietnam 1970, which tells […]
Tim Farley
Posted inNews
Building brains
Credit: Shannon Cornman The idea was generated in December 2010 when the school district’s board of education approved funding for the pre-K teachers over a four-year period. Sixty have been hired so far, with an additional 60 slated to be added by the 2014-2015 school term. A report from the district last year shows full-day […]
Posted inNews
Fashion statement
The issue arose last August when Cooper Barton, then a kindergartner at Wilson Elementary, wore a University of Michigan T-shirt to school. The 5-year-old Wolverine fan was told to turn his shirt inside out since it violated the district’s dress code policy. Wearing clothing that depicts athletic teams, except for Oklahoma colleges and universities, is […]
Posted inNews
Tobacco road
Credit: Mark Hancock Currently, Oklahoma and Tennessee are the only states that fully bar local governments from ordinances that restrict tobacco. And therein lies the rub. State Health Commissioner Terry Cline is on the side of local control. “We expect big opposition from this multibillion[-dollar] industry,” he said. “There are plenty of paid tobacco lobbyists […]
Posted inNews
Dog’s best friend
The Fisher family with Rookie Credit: Mark Hancock Fisher, who was on duty that night, received a call about a dog that had been thrown off a bridge along Interstate 40 between Choctaw and Anderson roads in eastern Oklahoma County. When the trooper arrived at the scene, she found a German Shepherd by the name […]
Posted inNews
Bearing arms
Credit: Shannon Cornman But that wasn’t all. Miles Hall, owner of H&H Shooting Sports Complex in Oklahoma City, said public demand for firearms, ammunition and gun safes came quickly following the news. The rush to buy guns was partly provoked by comments from President Barack Obama, who hinted at renewed guncontrol policies at a Dec. […]
Posted inNews
Finding common ground
Jack McMahan addresses the city’s Parks and Recreation Committee Credit: Mark Hancock Jack McMahan, Wilderness Matters’ executive director, made an hour-long presentation at the Dec. 19 commission meeting, trying to ease fears voiced by groups such as the Sierra Club and Friends of Martin Park Nature Center. An outdoorsman who has used a wheelchair since […]
Posted inNews
Wildlife strife
The adamant opposition from Friends of Martin Park Nature Center stems from a proposal by nonprofit group Wilderness Matters, Inc., which seeks to add two new handicapped-accessible trails, a treehouse, a boardwalk across the lake and a sensory garden. The projects would require a large amount of construction and could destroy trees, rare plants and […]
Posted inNews
Citizen wane
Those two findings were part of the 2012 Oklahoma Civic Health Index, which was developed by a team of faculty and student researchers at the University of Central Oklahoma in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship. The research team presented its report Dec. 4 to Oklahoma Secretary of State Glenn Coffee. According to the […]
Posted inNews
A new hope
When it finally opens, the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, located at Interstate 40 and Eastern Avenue, is expected to become an international tourism destination. Securing additional funds, however, continues to be the last major hurdle to completing construction that began six years ago. NACEA Executive Director Blake Wade said he’s counting on $40 […]