Arrest report

Several community leaders and supporters of Parent Promise/Prevent Child Abuse Oklahoma have come together to provide their testimonials of support for home-based parent education and support programs that help vulnerable families provide a safe, stable and nurturing home for their children.

Parent Promise is embarking on a multi-week fundraising awareness campaign to educate the community about how parent education and support programs are providing positive results in keeping families together and out of the child welfare system. The campaign, called “Mission: Possible,” aims to raise money for the organization since Parent Promise’s 2020 fundraising events were canceled due to COVID-19, including the organization’s largest Melody Lane fundraiser that typically takes place in August.

“Having to cancel our fundraising events has definitely been a challenge; however, we also believe this awareness campaign is an opportunity to let the community know just how important home-based parent education and support programs are to our community,” said Cindy Allen, Parent Promise external relations director. “For the next several weeks, you will be hearing from our donors, our partners, our staff and our families about how Parent Promise ischanging lives and working toward helping families raise healthy and resilient children.”

The campaign begins with an online auction, which starts Friday, Aug. 21 at noon and runs through Friday, Aug. 28 at noon. Anyone can register to participate in the auction by going to the Parent Promise awareness campaign site at parentpromise.ejoinme.org/melody

lane.

“Particularly in this time of COVID19, Parent Promise programs are more important than ever to families who face many challenges, including poverty and isolation,” said Parent Promise Executive Director Sherry Fair. “Our programs work one-on-one with parents, helping them strengthen their bonds with their children. This pandemic has placed an extra burden on families who already face difficulties in meeting the demands of parenting.”

In addition to the online auction, the Carl. C. and Marie Jo Anderson Foundation is offering a matching opportunity for those who donate to Parent Promise during the Mission: Possible campaign.

“This is a great opportunity for supporters to have their donations doubled during this campaign,” Allen said. Donations can be made by going to the Parent Promise web site at parentpromise.org.

Over the next several weeks, Parent Promise will be rolling out videos, stories and testimonials from partner organizations, client families, staff and community leaders, including Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.

“Every positive outcome we want in the state of Oklahoma begins with raising healthy and resilient children,” Allen said. “Parent Promise is on the front lines of those efforts.”

Sponsors of the Mission: Possible campaign include The Exchange Club of Oklahoma City, Paycom, BancFirst, PSA Consulting Engineers, Bobby Abel - Edward Jones, Echols & Associates, Allen and Jacque Wright, The Downtown Exchange Club, Crowe & Dunlevy, Edstrom Law, Dr. Ankur and Melanie Rughani, White & Weddle, Edmond Exchange Club and Matthews Funeral Home.

Editor’s Note: The following reports are obtained from the Edmond Police Department. Guilt or innocence is determined in a court of law.

August 17

Michael Angelo Smith, 31, Edmond, arrested for driving while privilege is canceled, suspended, denied or revoked.

Dusty Cole Collier, 37, Crescent, Okla. arrested on failure to appear.

Cristian Aldar Antunez-Perez, 24, Edmond, arrested public intoxication.

Aaron Matthew Duehning, 28, Edmond, failure to appear.

Diana Elizabeth Carranza, 24, of Oklahoma City, larceny of merchandise from a retailer, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession CDS.

August 18

Logan Jay Cuddy, 22 of Edmond, CDS possession and operating motor vehicle under the influence of chemical or controlled substance.

Stephanie Rae Teuscher, 34, Edmond, public intoxication.

Kian Kimberly Lemaster, 46, Oklahoma City, larceny of merchandise.

August 20

Caleb Michael Bogges, 20, Moore, public intoxication.

Aaron River Fulton, 20, Edmond, minor in possession of low point beer and public intoxication.

August 21

Austin Matthew Burton, 31, the village, public intoxication.

Anthony Lee Farrow, 33, Oklahoma City, operating a vehicle without a valid driver’s license and felony DUI/APC

Breanna Page Riley, 23, Oklahoma City, public intoxication.

Calvin Maurice Owens, 40, Edmond, insection violation, driving with license suspended or revoked and contributing to the delinquency of minors.

Jacob Timothy Wasson, 23, homeless, misdemeanor warrant, felony warrant, and possession CDS.

August 22

Jera Leann Hancock, 28, Edmond, failure to appear.

Vincent Abraham Marquez, 22, Edmond, Driving while privilege is canceled, suspended, denied or revoked, reckless driving and no proof of insurance.

Sergio Fermin Becerra, 20, Oklahoma City, operating vehicle DUI or APC.

Billy Kalin Johnson, 35, homeless, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to appear.

Jennifer Sue Strother, 38, Oklahoma City, embezzlement.

Chase William Ervin, 37, Edmond, operating vehicle DUI or APC.

Jill Amber Finley, 45, Edmond, operating vehicle DUI or APC.

PHOTO PROVIDED Heritage Hall debaters Saif Salim and Sam Ring and head coach Bryan Gaston display the team's Harland B. Mitchell National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) policy debate national championship trophy.

Heritage Hall debate team A national championship

Heritage Hall is celebrating the addition of its first Harland B. Mitchell National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) policy debate national championship trophy to an already impressive collection of awards and recognitions.

A perennial powerhouse, the School’s debate program has racked up numerous awards, including 18 6A OSSAA state championships (10 since 2004). This year’s historic national championship run by the team of senior Saif Salim and junior Sam Ring was made even more memorable because the National High School Debate Tournament was held virtually for the first time.

“The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but due to the coronavirus pandemic had to be moved online to host individual debate and speech rounds,” explained Heritage Hall Debate Coach Bryan Gaston. In what was the largest national competition (attendance-wise), Gaston said the competition included 193 policy debate teams from states around the country and one international team.

This year’s debate topic focused on whether the United States government should substantially reduce its foreign military sales and/or direct commercial sales of arms from the U.S. During each round, teams defended a different side of the question, either making a case for reducing sales or for the program’s benefits.

Over the course of five days, Salim and Ring debated 16 rounds, with one loss to Taipei American School (Taiwan), a team they later defeated in the semifinals. On their way to the championship, Salim and Ring also recorded wins over teams from California, Kansas, Iowa, Oregon, Nevada, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Texas.

“Going into the tournament, Sam and I anticipated doing well, but had no idea we would advance to the final round, let alone win. The School has done so much to support our program, so, though I have yet to fully process it, winning the championship for Heritage Hall was a cathartic way to end my four-year high school debate career,” Salim stated.

Ring also found the win to be a meaningful moment, “We’d had some tough calls at a few of the tournaments this season, so it felt nice to finish our partnership on a big win,” Ring said.

The NSDA, formerly known as the National Forensic League, was established in 1925 and held its first high school speech and debate national championship in 1931 at Ripon College in Wisconsin. A team from Miami High School in Oklahoma won the first policy debate national championship. Since then, the last state team to win the prize was in 1966 with the team of Richard Bernard and Brad Rice of Edmond Memorial High School.

Upon reflection, Salim observed, “Winning the championship reminds me that we are standing on the frontier of a long legacy that was forged before us, going all the way back to 1931. Even locally at the School, the win gives me so much more appreciation for the exceptional work alumni debaters did before us, and has inspired me to do everything I can to support Heritage Hall debate and high school debate more broadly in the future.”

Having crossed paths with and coached many successful debaters and teams, Gaston said of Salim and Ring, “Saif and Sam had a very special run at nationals and solid practices in the weeks leading up to the tournament. They are both very committed to competitive debate, eager to listen to coaching, and have the ability to adapt and execute a variety of argument strategies in rounds. I’m very proud of their performance.”

While two-person teams compete together at tournaments, Gaston said it is worth noting the contributions of the program’s entire team. “We had an exceptional team of varsity debaters across the board this year. That’s important because the overall strength of the team contributes to everyone’s success –practices are better, team research is better, and strategy sessions are all improved when you have a strong overall debate squad,” Gaston explained.

Also recognized at the tournament was Gaston, who received the Ted W. Belch Award presented to the coach of the national champion policy debate team. A permanent replica trophy displaying the names of each recipient on its base is housed in the NDSA national office.

Gaston called it an honor to have his name listed among the nation’s top coaches.

Aeronautics Commission grants record amount of $335,400 for aviation & aerospace ed funding

This spring and summer have marked some of the most challenging times the aviation and aerospace industry has ever experienced.

The industry has been knocked down and behind the power-curve before: pre-WWII aircraft technology and readiness, the early days of the space race with the Soviet Union, 9/11 and the effects on commercial aviation, and the 2008 Great Recession. In all those downtrodden moments for the industry, however, there are two great things that standout, first, aviation and aerospace has always turned things around and come out on top for the better, and second, a high-quality, well educated workforce was the main source behind that turnaround.

This workforce, and the need to attract new talent is the reason why the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission (OAC) believes this is the perfect time to invest in our future and inspire today’s youth to become pilots, engineers, mechanics, astronauts, and scientists. The Commission is determined to focus on vectoring young minds towards the exploration of aviation and aerospace through their nationally recognized and award winning education grant program.

This year, thirty-eight different entities were awarded Aerospace and Aviation Education Program grants totaling over $335,400 from the Commission. The record amount of funding will be used to bring more students in Oklahoma to STEM careers, particularly those in aerospace and aviation. The funding was approved by the Commission at its most recent meeting.

Grants are awarded for targeted learning programs that have a direct application to aerospace and aviation for primary through post-secondary education. The grant funds are part of the agency’s initiative to give more Oklahoma young people access to STEM careers in the aerospace and aviation industry.

Among those receiving funding was the GuthrieEdmond Regional Airport, which received $1,150.