Ada HUB Magazine

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ToRNAdo Autism: My Master Puzzle Storm Spotters APRIL 09

VOL. 3 ISSUE 1

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APRIL 09

CONTENTS PUBLISHER MARKETING CONSULTANT ART DIRECTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Jason Bolitho David Elliott (580) 235-5722 Layers Media, Inc. www.layersmedia.com Guillermo Martinez

GUEST WRITERS

Kelli Booher Roy Deering Cassidy DeLisle

STORE MANAGER

Miranda Elliott

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A PUBLICATION OF BOLITHO VENTURES, INC. © COPYRIGHT 2009

FREE SUBSCRIPTION:

If you are a Pontotoc County, OK resident, you are eligible to receive a free subscription of the Ada Hub community guide. Email us at info@adahub.com to request your free subscription.

features 10 AUTISM: MY MASTER PUZZLE

departments 6 EVENTS 9 HEALTH

15 THE BROOK TORNADO

12 BOOKS

17 STORM SPOTTERS

19 CLASSIFIEDS

Disclaimer: The Ada Hub community guide is published monthly by Bolitho Ventures, Inc. Copies are distributed FREE throughout the Pontotoc area. The publication is also available online at www.adahub.com. It may be viewed online or printed from our website for easy use. All rights reserved, none of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without the written consent of the publisher. Neither Bolitho Ventures, Inc. or the advertiser will be held responsible or liable for typographical errors, misprints, misinformation, etc., herein contained.

APRIL 09

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■ 7 Karaoke - Cliff Taylor @ The MIX. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 7 Pool Tournament- @ The MIX 9pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 8 Foam Party - @ The MIX. Hosted by Cliff Taylor. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914

■ 9 Thirsty Thursday College Crash 6

- @ The MIX. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 10 Pool Tournament - @ The MIX 9pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 14 Karaoke - Cliff Taylor @ The MIX. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 14 Pool Tournament - @ The MIX 9pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 16 Thirsty Thursday College Crash - @ The MIX. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 17 Bikini Bash & Wet T-Shirt Contest - @ The MIX. Hosted by Eric Henson. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 17 Pool Tournament - @ The MIX 9pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 21 Karaoke - Cliff Taylor @ The MIX. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 21 Pool Tournament - @ The MIX 9pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 23 Thirsty Thursday College Crash - @ The MIX. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914

■ 30 Thirsty Thursday College Crash - @ The MIX. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 5/1 Live Music - Kill the Silence @ The MIX (Hard Rock). 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914 ■ 5/1 Pool Tournament - @ The MIX 9pm. For more info call 580.320.2914

ART

■ 18-25 The Ada Artists Association’s 2009 Spring Art Show @ the Ada Public Library (McKeel Center, 2nd Floor). Art will be open 10am-6pm. The Reception will be held @ the Ada Public Library (McKeel Center, 2nd Floor). Awards will be presented from 6-8pm.

For more information please call Charlotte Harris 580.436.2882 or Loretta Yin 580.332.3830

ECU

■ 2 Scissortail Creative Writing Festival ■ 3 Scissortail Creative Writing Festival ■ 4 Scissortail Creative Writing Festival ■ 7 Softball, 2 & 4pm, Ada ■ 7 Intercultural Fair, 6:00-8:00pm, Ballroom

■ 24 Pool Tournament - @ The MIX 9pm. For more info call 580.320.2914

■ 9 Mental Health and Disability Awareness Fair, 11:00am-2:30pm, University Center

■ 25 Hollywood Knockouts Oil Wrestling - @ The MIX. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914

■ 17 Baseball, 2 & 4:30 pm Baseball, 1 & 4 pm Men’s Tennis, 10 am & 2 pm

■ 25 MHPBO Horse Show Bldg. #3 For more info call 580.235.2891

■ 18 Women’s Tennis, 10 am & 2 pm

■ 26 MHPBO Horse Show Bldg. #3 For more info call 580.235.2891

■ 22 Men’s Tennis 1 pm Women’s Tennis 1 pm

■ 28 Karaoke - Cliff Taylor @ The MIX. 8pm. For more info call 580.320.2914

■ 23 Earth Day / Water Festival, all day

■ 28 Pool Tournament - @ The MIX 9pm. For more info call 580.320.2914

■ 25 Black and Orange Football Game, 2 pm, Norris Field ■ 5/9 Commencement Ceremony, 10am & 2pm, Kerr Activity Center

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health

AUSTISM

by Kelli Booher repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities: • Insistence on sameness, resistance to change • May flap their hands, or make odd hand and body gestures • May be preoccupied with a narrow range of interest • May line up or spin toys and objects; focus on a small part of a toy; sustained odd play There are different terms used to describe individuals within this spectrum, such as autistic tendencies, autism spectrum, high-functioning or low-functioning autism, but more important than the term used to describe autism is to understand that whatever the diagnosis, children with autism can learn and show improvement with appropriate treatment and education.

What Autism is NOT • It is not a mental illness • Individuals with autism are not unruly, who choose not to behave, nor are they a product of bad parenting. Many times the child has truly lost control for a valid reason. What we are seeing may be the result of a sensory overload (too much noise, too much visual stimulation, too much body contact as in crowds) rather than lack of discipline or not teaching their child how to be sociable, respectful and how to act in public.

• Autism is not a “savant/genius” capability.

Although the occurrence of savant abilities is higher in the autistic population than in the non-autistic population, not every person with autism displays extraordinary mathematical calculations, memory feats, artistic abilities, and musical abilities.

What Causes Autism?

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is that no one knows. There is not a single known cause of autism, and although there are many theories the question of what causes autism is highly controversial. Some of the theories include genetic factors, environmental factors, vaccines, food allergies, atypical brain development, and/or a combination of these and others. These are just a few of the many theories of what causes autism, all of which have strong supporters.

Although autism is a lifelong disability, early intervention and good educational programs can help children develop skills and reach their potential.

Research shows that early intervention can result in significant improvements for many young children with autism spectrum disorders. As soon as autism is diagnosed, early intervention should begin.

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Autism has become the fastest growing developmental disability. Today 1 in 150 individuals, mostly children, are diagnosed with autism, making it more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. If you don’t already know someone who has autism, chances are a friend or family member of yours does, and with the annual growth as high as 17%, chances are you will in the near future.

Let’s take a look at these numbers and put them into perspective. The results of a growth comparison by the U.S. Department of Education during the 1990s showed: • U.S. population increase: 13% • Disabilities increase: 16% • Autism increase: 172% With these alarming statistics it is important to become more aware of what autism is, whom it affects and what it may look like.

What is Autism?

Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person’s lifetime. It is a spectrum disorder, meaning just like a spectrum of colors there are not a set amount of colors, but many different shades of each blending one into the other. Although it is defined by a certain set of characteristics, both children and adults with autism can exhibit any combination of these ranging from mild to severe. Two children, both diagnosed with autism, can act completely different from one another and have varying capabilities. Individuals with autism differ as much from one another as all people do.

Someone with autism may have problems interacting with people: • May have average or above average verbal, memory, or spatial skills, yet find it difficult to be imaginative or join in a game of softball with their friends.

• Preference to being alone; aloof manner • Little or no eye contact • May not understand social cues Someone with autism may have problems communicating: • May exhibit only mild language delays, while others may have no functional speech.

• May have unusual or odd speech patterns (repeating words or phrases) • Difficulty in expressing needs, using gestures or pointing instead of words.

• Non-responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf, although hearing tests are within normal range.

Someone with autism may show restricted,

9

Autism:

My Master Puzzle

by Cassidy DeLisle

www.adahub.com

W

10

hen I was a kid I loved a good puzzle.

They were fun, challenging, occasionally frustrating and sometimes seemed impossible to solve. Remember Rubick’s cube?

I learned persistence is the key to solving puzzles. Mom always said “start with the outside pieces first and then work your way in and pretty soon it starts to come together.”

However sometimes you get a puzzle with missing pieces. Where did they go? Were they even in the box? Did I lose them? Regardless of where they went, the search is on until you find them.

My son Weston has autism and he is my master puzzle. He is very funny, so smart, often challenging and sometimes impossible to figure out. As his mother, getting this diagnosis was heartbreaking. But through a lot of prayer I was able to get my heart right and my head clear so that I could find my missing pieces.

The beginning was overwhelming. If you have ever Googled “autism,” you know what I mean.

I started with the outside pieces. First, I got Weston approved for TEFRA, a type of Medicaid based on his income, not the house hold income.

This paid for occupational therapy, speech therapy and counseling for Weston as well as the family.

Then I started working my way in by researching and beginning biomedical treatment. This included a very strict glutencasein-free diet, vitamins and supplements to fill in nutritional gaps and detoxification. We also use a lot of visual schedules to provide him with as much consistency and predictability as possible.

Then we battled the school system until his IEP (individual education plan) was free and appropriate.

This road was incredibly long and hard but totally worth it because today, we are looking at a very different little boy. Don’t misunderstand.

We still have a long way to go. But for now we are looking at a little boy who has a very funny sense of humor and calls us mom and daddy, which we thought would never come. We watch him read Bible stories and participate in memory challenges (scripture memorization) at church. His favorite is, “With God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26. I believe he is right.

Autism has taught me to never take things for granted, to relish the little things and to never give up. Because of our persistence, our little boy is coming together.

Q&A Q: What symptoms did you first notice and when?

A: Weston had just turned one when I noticed he wasn’t using words or pointing.

Q: In what aspects did your life change after the diagnosis?

A: Every aspect changed. I stopped working outside the home. Daycare was not an option. My relationship with God changed the most. I did not realize how dependent on him I would become.

Q: What experiences have you had when out in public?

A: Weston doesn’t appear as though there is anything wrong. This misleads the majority of people to believe he is simply an undisciplined child. These experiences have caused me to pray the most. It is very tough not to allow the ignorance of others harden your heart towards them.

Q: What were some of your favorite “first” moments with Weston and how did you feel?

A: My favorite moment is when Weston actually called out my name “mom” for the first time. He was 4 years old. It’s so hard to describe with words. It’s one of those things that you totally take for granted if you haven’t had to wait or work for it for 4 years. However, I feel lucky because I know mother’s whose children are much older and are still working.

Q: What types of things does Weston like to do?

A: He loves animals, the alphabet and reading bible stories and scriptures.

Q: What would you tell a parent who has had their child recently diagnosed with autism?

A: Never forget that YOU know your child best and you have the authority to make all the final decisions. Do your own research with everything. Don’t underestimate your child because they will surprise you. Never give up even when its more than you can bear, tomorrow will be better.

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Written by John Grisham

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John Grisham is back where he belongs with The Associate, a legal thriller that will remind some fans of earlier works. Grisham has written twenty-three novels and one non-fiction book, The Innocent Man, published in 2006.

Like some of his popular works, The Associate focuses on a young Yale Law School graduate being recruited by a highpowered New York City law firm. Kyle McAvoy has grown up with his father in his small-town law firm, has excelled in law school, and is now looking forward to practicing law, but not necessarily at the law firm that will pay him the big bucks.

There is just one incident that happened while he was in college that involved him and several friends. This incident becomes tied up in a threat that suddenly changes Kyle’s future, and the future of his family and friends.

Wabi Sabi is a curious cat in Kyoto, Japan. When a visitor inquires about the significance of her name she curiously seeks to find the true meaning. Her journey takes her to Snowball the cat, Rascal the dog, to a wise old monkey and finally back home.

Uniquely illustrated with a textured collage technique and woven together with clever haiku poetry this story unfolds to share the promise of beauty in unexpected things. As a complement to the story young readers are invited to explore Japanese haiku poetry.

Ed Young has illustrated over 70 books and has been honored with the coveted Cadecott Medal. This is Mark Reibstein first picture book for children.

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ToRNAdo

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t doesn’t seem possible that it’s been nearly been developed before that spring storm season.

30 years, but I remember the day a twister Because my mother’s home was located at a high ripped through the Brook Mobile Home elevation southwest of the city, we were actually Park as if it happened last week. The brief able to watch the storm as it passed directly over terror of the storm, the incredible devastation Ada a few moments later. and the tragedy of the county’s last storm fatality I still remember seeing the small, whiteare etched in my mind – as well as the memories colored funnel as it dropped out of the sky for of so many Pontotoc County residents who were just a few seconds before disappearing back into around that frightening spring afternoon. the clouds. At that time, I had no idea what had I was an 18-year-old high school senior who taken place in those “few seconds.” had recently moved into a mobile home owned by Driving back into town a short time later, I one of the young men I worked with at a local fast heard a radio news report about the damage at foot restaurant. On that particular day – March the Brook, and drove as quickly as I could across 15, 1982 – I was off work town to check on my trailer. and decided, for whatever Travel along North Country Nearly 40 trailers were reason, to drive out to my Club Road was blocked destroyed that day and 36 by Oklahoma High Patrol mother’s house southwest of Ada for a short visit. troopers, as emergency people were treated for The weather was workers responded to the various injuries. extremely warm that day, scene. I was forced to go with temperatures inching north on Broadway to the up toward 90 degrees. It was another typical Ada Municipal Airport, where I drove across the Oklahoma spring day that often brings about back runways to a fence that bordered the mobile severe weather, as afternoon heating combined home park. When I climbed across a barbed wire with a dry line that moved across the state, fence to gain entry to the park, I was stopped by spawning thunderstorms throughout the a trooper who eventually allowed me in when he afternoon. Weather forecasters had warned learned I was a Brook resident. us that strong to severe storms would move The Brook, at that time, contained through Pontotoc County in the late afternoon, approximately 60 mobile homes, all of them and those predictions were right on the nose as arranged around an oval drive that entered and a strong storm developed southwest of the city exited the park from the east side off County just before 6 p.m.

Club Road. There were trailers along the north As the storm neared my mother’s house, and south edges of the drive, as well as a dozen television stations issued a tornado warning or more that sat in the middle of the oval. My because of “circulation” detected by radar. I later trailer was located along the south drive, near learned that this was the first time in history that the middle of the park, and suffered no damage a tornado warning had been issued because of whatsoever. the brand new “Doppler” radar system that had But the overall damage was incredible. >

15

continued from pg. 15

I’d seen television news footage of tornado damage before, but had never been among such devastation in person. Pieces of twisted metal and insulation littered the ground and decorated what trees were left standing. Water shot up out of pipes where trailers had once been, and clothes, dishes, furniture and other belongings were everywhere.

Residents of the park walked around in a daze, hugging and crying with one another as they surveyed the damage and looked to salvage anything of value. Directly across the street from our lot, two other trailers that had once been home to our neighbors were simply gone. There was nothing left except an open spot where their trailers had once been.

Three spaces west on our south side of the street, one trailer was heavily damaged but remained in place, while the one next to it had been flipped upside down and had apparently flipped over a motorcycle that had been parked outside the front door. Incredibly, the motorcycle was still in place, sitting on its kickstand as if nothing had happened.

Nearly 40 trailers were destroyed that day and 36 people were treated for various injuries.

I was not aware until the next morning that one man, whose name I do not remember, lost his life in an apparent attempt to escape the storm in his car.

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StormSpotters

by Roy Deering

P

between the clouds and the ground,” he said.

“That’s why field spotters are crucial, so we can have the entire sky covered to protect the public.”

That system has been remarkably successful.

Pontotoc County hasn’t had a tornado fatality since March 1982, when an EF3 twister struck the Brook Mobile Home Park, killing one and injuring 36 others.

Many spotters - like Rector - have years of experience, while others are still relative “newcomers” to storm spotting. Each spotter goes through extensive National Weather Service training before joining the “field team.”

“The training is crucial,” said Linton, a longtime veteran of storm spotting. “It not only keeps the field spotters safe, which is one of our major concerns. It also ensures that they go into the field knowing what to look for, and that ensures that the information we relay on to the National Weather Service is accurate.

“When you boil it down, our job as storm spotters and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) people is to protect and to warn the public, and to do that it’s vital that our information from the field is 100 percent accurate,” Linton said.

Members of the storm spotters’ team begin receiving cell phone calls on days that present the elements for severe weather for the Ada area.

Those calls often come early in the day, as EOC officials put together a list of what spotters are available for service that afternoon and evening.

“When we get those calls, we let them know whether or not we’re going to be available to go out in the field that evening,” said Rector. “Then, whenever the EOC directors back at headquarters determine it’s time for us to go out, they send us to predetermined locations – usually on the >

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hil Rector doesn’t play golf. He doesn’t fish.

He doesn’t even remember the last time he went hunting. But he loves the outdoors – especially during Oklahoma’s “storm season.”

Rector is a storm spotter. He has kept his eyes on the southern and central Oklahoma skies for more than three decades. He works most frequently with emergency management officials in Ada and Pontotoc County and teaches classes on storm spotting every year. He also does storm spotting for KSBI television Oklahoma City and has extensive radio weather experience.

“I love it,” Rector said. “I absolutely love weather and have been fascinated by it since I was a kid.

“It’s something I do – something the people on our storm spotters’ team do – because we like the idea of helping to protect and inform our community. I don’t think a lot of people understand just how critical it is to our storm warning system in Oklahoma to have spotters in the field.”

Working under the direction of local emergency management officials, the network of Pontotoc County storm spotters is made up of community volunteers. Ada Emergency Management Director Gene Linton said many Oklahomans simply don’t understand the crucial need for field spotters – even in this day of sophisticated weather radar systems.

“We do have terrific radar, the best in the world,” Linton said. “But what many people don’t know is that even the best radar doesn’t cover the entire sky. Because of the curvature of the earth, there is about a 3,000- to 4,000-foot window from the ground up that isn’t seen by radar.

“And, when you think about it, an awful lot of bad weather can take place in that 4,000 feet

17

continued from pg. 17

south and west sides of the county – and we keep our eyes on the sky as the systems approach.�

Most of Oklahoma’s severe storms come in the spring and summer, although fall and winter storms are not out of the question. Oklahoma’s storms also tend to move from southwest to northeast, but that pattern can also change depending on conditions. “We try to be ready for just about anything when it comes to weather,� said Rector. “In 30 years, I’ve learned one thing about Oklahoma’s weather patterns – they don’t always follow the pattern. You have to stay alert, because things can change really quickly.�

While storm spotters are in the field watching the skies, Linton and Chad Letellier work from the downtown EOC offices, watching the latest National Weather Service radar. Keeping in constant radio contact with spotters, Linton and Letellier are able to make decisions about when to sound the tornado sirens and when to notify the National Weather Service, which then can issue a “tornado warning.� “A lot of times, television stations and the National Weather Service will issue a tornado warning based only on radar, and that’s okay to a point,� said Linton. “It’s certainly not a bad idea to let people know radar has indicated a possible tornado, or circulation inside a storm, so people can move to a safe location.

“But what confirms a tornado is a trained spotter in the field telling us he or she actually sees a storm and then we can let people know for sure that a tornado has, in fact, developed and it’s now urgent that they seek shelter,� Linton said.

Although many people toss around the term “storm chasersâ€? to refer to people like Rector, he says the idea behind that specific label is misleading. “They say ‘storm chaser’ and they have a picture of people like in the movie ‘Twister,’ running out into the middle of the storm without regard for their own safety or the safety of anyone else, Rector said. “That’s not at all what a spotter is. They are trained people who take very seriously the need to keep themselves safe while they go out to alert people to the immediate weather situation. There’s a huge dierence.â€?

In his three decades spotting, Rector said there were a number of specific storms that he will never forget. One of those involved the “twin tornadoes� that struck Pontotoc County and Ada in 1991. One twister did significant damage west of Ada, hitting Pickett and then swinging northwest of Ada. The other, one that many Ada residents remember well, traveled directly over Ada, damaging several houses in town before hitting the brand new Science Building on the East Central University campus.

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