Great Plains Journalism Awards 2015 by Great Plains Awards

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Letter From the Tulsa Press Club President

elcome to Tulsa!

We are proud of our city, and we are proud of the journalistic excellence that the Tulsa Press Club helps to achieve with the 2015 Great Plains Journalism Awards. With eight states represented and more publications competing than ever before, this year’s contest is truly the best yet. The Tulsa Press Club’s mission is to promote the highest standards among journalists and encourage the exchange of ideas between members of the media. We hope that you will learn, encourage and just have fun doing that today. Since 1906 the Tulsa Press Club has been actively promoting high journalistic values in our community. This book will also show just what outstanding journalism our region is capable of. We hope the important issues that contestants have covered and shared will also help other contestants with similar projects. Please share with others what was won here and help move our country forward in an unbiased, truthful coverage of your local communities. Tulsa is a wonderful city that I call home. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Cheers, Tom Gilbert President, Tulsa Press Club 2015

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2015 Distinguished Journalist Judy Woodruff Woodruff is the managing editor and co-anchor of PBS’ national “NewsHour” nightly newscast. She is a longtime member of American Women in Communications and is founder of the International Women’s Media Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting and encouraging women in communication industries worldwide. She serves on the boards of trustees of the Freedom Forum, the Newseum, the Duke Endowment and the Urban Institute. Woodruff has been with PBS since 1983 and previously worked as White House correspondent for NBC News. Woodruff, a native of Tulsa, was a trailblazer for women in media when she worked with the “Boys on the Bus” media pool of reporters who covered Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign that led to the White House. She also was NBC’s on-the-scene reporter the day President Reagan was shot in 1981 as he left a Washington hotel. She has covered many other international and news events over the years and has been chosen to moderate presidential debates. She is well respected by her peers in Washington and by viewers alike.

Meet the presEnters

Maria Carrillo

Jason Collington

Joe Hight

Jenni Pinkley

Carrillo is a senior editor at the Houston Chronicle in charge of enterprise and investigations. She was previously managing editor at The Virginian-Pilot, and under her leadership, the paper cultivated a reputation for narrative journalism and won dozens of national awards, including twice being named finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. Stories she edited at The Pilot have inspired six books. She has been a visiting faculty member for the Poynter Institute, the Nieman Foundation, API and others, and has been a Pulitzer juror four times. She is a 1985 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Collington is the web editor for the Tulsa World Media Co. He works on tulsaworld.com and the company’s digital products. He was a staff writer for eight years for the Living and Scene sections before going to the web department in 2006. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, where he also taught classes on digital communication. He is a former adjunct instructor at Tulsa Community College. He writes about fantasy football on the Fantasy World blog.

Hight is the co-owner of Best of Books Inc., writes a weekly column and consults on digital and media. He was editor in 2014 when The Gazette in Colorado Springs won the Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting for its multimedia series “Other Than Honorable.” Before The Gazette, he was The Oklahoman/NewsOK. com’s director of information and development. In 2013, he was named to the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame. Hight serves on the Associated Press Media Editors board Executive Committee, among others, and has taught and lectured at several universities and media organizations around the world.

As the senior multimedia producer/editor for the StarTribune, Pinkley is responsible for producing and managing broadcast‐quality multimedia designed to engage and retain audience. She works with visual journalists and reporters to find the strongest multimedia targets and strategize about the best approach. She manages not only the daily news video operation but also develops original programming for the StarTribune. She has been the recipient of four Upper Midwest Regional Emmy awards, three National Edward R. Murrow awards and other awards over the years.

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Meet the emcee Kristin Dickerson

Dickerson anchors Tulsa’s Channel 8’s 4, 5, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts. As an Emmy-nominated solo video journalist, she shoots video, writes and edits stories about unique members of her community. For five years on Good Morning Oklahoma and Good Day Tulsa, she could be found skydiving, rock climbing, noodling for catfish, or most often on horseback. When not at work, she volunteers at The Little Light House and serves as a committee member for The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges.

Meet the Judges • Charles Apple, managing editor for visuals, Victoria Advocate • Pat Bagley, editorial cartoonist, The Salt Lake Tribune • Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, associate professor of journalism, Department of Communication and Media Innovation, Columbia College Chicago • Jennifer Brown, projects reporter, The Denver Post • Kelly Brown, editor, BryanCollege Station Eagle • Addie Broyles, food writer, Austin American-Statesman • Maria Carrillo, senior editor, Houston Chronicle • Sharon Chapman, features editor, Austin AmericanStatesman • Lane DeGregory, feature writer, Tampa Bay Times • Matthew Dolan, Midwest staff writer, The Wall Street Journal

• Lisa Falkenberg, metro columnist, Houston Chronicle • Diana Fuentes editor of community publications, San Antonio-Express News • Aileen Gallagher, assistant professor, magazine, Syracuse University’s Newhouse School for Public Communications • Ken Goe, sportswriter, The Oregonian • James Gregg, deputy director of video and photography, Austin American-Statesman • Mito Habe-Evans, lead video producer, NPR Music • Sandy Hingston, deputy editor, Philadelphia magazine • Debbie Hiott, editor, Austin American-Statesman • Rodney Ho, entertainment blogger, Atlanta Journal Constitution • Tom Johanningmeier, deputy

sports editor, Fort Worth StarTelegram • Sean Kennedy, online producer, The Virginian-Pilot • Ben Kesling, U.S. news reporter, The Wall Street Journal • Louise Kiernan, associate professor, Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University • Erik Lukens, editorial and commentary editor, The Oregonian • Ben Montgomery, enterprise reporter, Tampa Bay Times • Joel Odom, college sports editor, The Oregonian/OregonLive • Josh Penrod, presentation director, digital and print, Minneapolis Star Tribune • Jenni Pinkley, senior multimedia producer/editor, Minneapolis Star Tribune • Winthrop Quigley, public

affairs and policy columnist, Albuquerque Journal • Monica Richardson, managing editor/digital, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Monica Rhor, narrative writer and investigative reporter, Houston Chronicle • Zach Ryall, digital managing editor, Austin AmericanStatesman • Derek Simmons, assistant managing editor for visuals, Minneapolis Star Tribune • Tina Smithers, web strategist • Scott Strazzante, staff photographer, San Francisco Chronicle • Anne Tallent, senior editor/ features, The Baltimore Sun • Jennifer Thomas, features managing editor, Pioneer Press

With appreciation Great Plains Journalism Awards and Distinguished Lectureship committee Jerry Wofford Shaun Lee Nicole Amend, co-chair Brian Sittler Michael Overall Ashley Parrish, co-chair Kevin Armstrong Vanessa Pearson John Clanton Marcia Brookey James Royal Matt Clayton Christopher Smith Amanda Clinton

Saint Francis Health System for printing our booklet Tom Gilbert and Tulsa World for printing our gallery Tulsa Press Club Foundation

Agenda 8:30 - 9 a.m. Registration

9 – 9:45 a.m. The Pulitzer Experience/ Garnering the Ultimate Prize Speaker: Joe Hight Getting the most out of your web writing Speaker: Jason Collington, Tulsa World

The Tulsa Press Club Great Plains Journalism Awards and Distinguished Lectureship 2013 1:30–1:40 p.m. 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. 9:45–10 a.m. BREAK Awards Luncheon BREAK Crystal Ballroom 1:40–2:30 p.m. • Welcome and 10–11:15 a.m. Question and Answer introduction Writing great stories on session with Judy • President’s remarks deadline Woodruff • Awards Presentation Speaker: Maria Carrillo, (Lunch served during the Houston Chronicle 2:45–4 p.m. awards) Multimedia storytelling • Distinguished Speaker: Jenni Pinkley Lectureship Speaker: 10–11:15 a.m. Judy Woodruff Roundtable multimedia • Presentation group of Distinguished Speaker: Jenni Pinkley Lectureship Award • Presentation of final awards

2:45–4 p.m. Roundtable writers group Speaker: Maria Carrillo 4–6 p.m. Reception The Boiler Room at The Mayo

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Table of Contents Great Plains Newspaper of the Year........... 6-7 Great Plains Newspaper of the Year Finalists...8

Great Plains Student Website of the Year Finalists................. 48-49

Great Plains Writer of the Year....................9

News Package Winner............................. 50

Great Plains Writer of the Year Finalists....... 11

News Package Finalists............................ 51

Great Plains Newspaper Photographer of the Year..................... 12-13

Project/Investigative Reporting Winner........ 52 Project/Investigative Reporting Finalists...... 53

Great Plains Newspaper Photographer of the Year Finalists.......... 14-15

General News Reporting Winner................. 54

Great Plains Newspaper

Narrative Story/Series Winner................... 56

Great Plains Designer of the Year............... 16

Narrative Story/Series Finalists.................. 57

Great Plains Designer of the Year Finalists.... 17

Beat Reporting Winner............................ 58

Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year..................... 18-19

Beat Reporting Finalists........................... 59

Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year Finalists.......... 20-21

Feature Writing Finalists.......................... 61

General News Reporting Finalists............... 55

Feature Writing Winner........................... 60

Great Plains Magazine Writer of the Year...... 22

Business Reporting Winner....................... 62

Great Plains Magazine Writer of the Year Finalists....................... 24

Business Reporting Finalists...................... 63

Great Plains Magazine of the Year.............. 25

Business Feature Finalists........................ 65

Great Plains Magazine of the Year Finalists........................... 26-28

Sports Reporting Winner.......................... 66

Great Plains Website of the Year................ 29 Great Plains Website of the Year Finalists........................... 30-32 Great Plains Student Photographer of the Year......................... 33

Business Feature Winner.......................... 64

Sports Reporting Finalists......................... 67 Sports Feature Winner............................ 68 Sports Feature Finalists........................... 69 Sports Column Winner............................. 70 Sports Column Finalists........................... 71

Great Plains Student Photographer of the Year Finalists.......... 34-35

Review Winner...................................... 72

Great Plains Student Editor-in-Chief of the Year....................... 36

Food Winner........................................ 74

Great Plains Student Editor-in-Chief of the Year Finalists......... 37-38

Entertainment Feature Winner.................. 76

Great Plains Student Designer of the Year..... 39

Entertainment Feature Finalists................. 77

Great Plains Student Writer of the Year.... 40-41

Specialty Feature Winner......................... 78

Great Plains Student Writer of the Year Finalist........................ 42

Specialty Feature Finalists....................... 79

Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year............................ 43

Special Section Finalists.......................... 81

Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year Finalists............. 44-46 Great Plains Student Website of the Year...... 47

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Review Finalists.................................... 73 Food Finalists....................................... 75

Special Section Winner............................ 80 News Page Design Winner......................... 82 News Page Design Finalists....................... 83 Feature Page Design Winner..................... 84 Feature Page Design Finalists.................... 85

Table of Contents Sports Page Design Winner....................... 86

Magazine Photography, Multiple, Winner......121

Sports Page Design Finalists...................... 87

Magazine Photography, Multiple, Finalists....122

Graphics/Illustration Winner..................... 88

Magazine Feature Photography Winner........123

Graphics/Illustration Finalists................... 89

Magazine Feature Photography Finalist.......124

Editorial Cartoon Winner......................... 90

Magazine News Writing Winner.................125

Editorial Cartoon Finalists........................ 91

Magazine News Writing Finalists................126

Editorial Portfolio Winner........................ 92

Magazine Feature Writing Winner..............127

Editorial Portfolio Finalists....................... 93 Personal Column Winner.......................... 94 Personal Column Finalists......................... 95 Headline Portfolio Winner........................ 96 Headline Portfolio Finalists....................... 97 Photo Illustration Winner......................... 98 General News Photography Winner............. 99 General News Photography Finalists...........100 Spot News Photography Winner.................101 Spot News Photography Finalists...............102 News Photography, Multiple, Winner..........103

Magazine Feature Writing Finalists.............128 Magazine Profile Writing Winner................129 Magazine Profile Writing Finalists..............130 Magazine Column Writing Winner..............131 Magazine Column Writing Finalists.............132 Magazine Page Design Winner...................133 Magazine Page Design Finalists.................134 Magazine Cover Winner..........................135 Magazine Cover Finalists.........................136 Spot News Video Winner.........................137 General News Video Winner.....................138 Feature Video Winner............................139

News Photography, Multiple, Winner..........104

Feature Video Finalists...........................140

News Photography, Multiple Finalist...........105

Sports Video Winner..............................141

Feature Photography, Single, Winner..........106

Sports Video Finalist..............................142

Feature Photography, Single Finalists..........107

Multimedia Project or Series Winner...........143

Feature Photography, Multiple, Winner.......108

Multimedia Project or Series Finalists.........144

Feature Photography, Multiple Finalist........109

Best Website Page Design Winner..............145

Feature Photography, Multiple Finalist........110

Best Overall Website Design Winner...........146

Sports Action Photography Winner.............111

Best Overall Website Design Finalists..........147

Sports Action Photography Finalists............112

News Blog Writing Winner.......................148

Sports Feature Photography Winner...........113

News Blog Writing Finalist.......................149

Sports Feature Photography Finalists..........114

Entertainment/Specialty Blog Writing Winner..............................150

Portrait Photography Winner....................115 Portrait Photography Finalists..................116

Entertainment/Specialty Blog Writing Finalists.............................151

Magazine Portrait Photography Winner........117

Sports Blog Writing Winner......................152

Magazine Portrait Photography Finalists......118

Sports Blog Writing Finalists.....................153

Magazine Photo Illustration Winner............119

Web Special Section Winner.....................154

Magazine Photo Illustration Finalists...........120

Web Special Section Finalists...................155 greatplainsawards.orgâ&#x20AC;&#x192; |â&#x20AC;&#x192; 5

Great Plains Newspaper of the Year Less than 75,000 circulation Publication: The Wichita Eagle

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Great Plains Newspaper of the Year Greater than 75,000 circulation Publication: Omaha World-Herald Judges’ Comments: The Omaha paper features clean design and bright and engaging writing. There were good examples of bringing international issues home such as the disaster relief story. The paper does smart special sections and lively features sections. I love the balance of investigative and news feature on both Sunday fronts (education & state taxes vs. Rembrandt/Doug McDermott and prisons vs. pitching arms). Overall, the paper features ambitious enterprise and strong daily news coverage. The writing is consistently good in every section, standing above the competition. APRIL 6, 2014 • SUNRISE EDITION • LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1885

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

ENDANGERED ARMS

This is the ﬁrst in a series of stories that will appear during the College World Series about the pitching injury epidemic in baseball.

Excess pitching fuels explosion of elbow injuries BY DIRK CHATELAIN WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

DOUG McDERMOTT SPECIAL SECTION

Every award you can think of. And 18 pages of nothing but Doug in today’s paper.

Mitch Ragan walked into the doctor’s ofﬁce wearing his favorite sweats, his Red Sox hat and his Millard West letter jacket. Mom and dad were at his side, sharing words of encouragement. Good news was coming. Ragan was one month from the start of baseball season, a critical point for a junior who’d targeted college or pro ball since seventh grade. He couldn’t wait to take the mound. At 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, he

Wins for Anteaters, Commodores

was pushing 90 mph on the radar gun. And his mechanics were better than ever. He just needed Doc to check his elbow. Two weeks earlier, an early February night at an indoor Omaha baseball facility, Ragan winced during a bullpen session. He’d battled sporadic elbow pain for three years. This time, he felt a clicking sensation. His pitching instructor feared the worst. Across the country, the most valuable elbows in professional baseball were breaking down, See Pitchers: Page 6

RYA N S O D E R L I N / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

A big eighth inning helps UC Irvine beat Texas 3-1 in Saturday’s opener. In the second game, Vanderbilt takes advantage of Louisville’s wildness, winning 5-3. Complete coverage in our CWS section. Follow all the action at Omaha.com/cws.

JUNE 15, 2014 • SUNRISE EDITION

A WORLD-HERALD SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

Wooden Award? Check. National Player of the Year? Check. Robertson Trophy? Yep. Creighton’s three-time All-American is one of the best to ever play the college game. Today, we honor him with a keepsake special section. Section DM

PRISON DOORS OPEN TOO SOON Killers. Gun thugs. Child rapists. Drug dealers. They’re all getting prison terms shortened due to miscalculations by the state. Now prison officials are moving to fix the missteps. BY TODD COOPER AND MATT WYNN COPYRIGHT©2014 OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

Convicted killer Marvin Buggs could sniff freedom. The 53-year-old had found himself within two years of release from prison after his manslaughter conviction in the December 2000 strangulation of a mother whose body was left on a snowbank in east Lincoln. He shouldn’t have been. A World-Herald investigation showed that Nebraska prison officials — using a flawed formula to calculate sentences — had wrongly shaved five years off the sentence Buggs received. They had him set for release in June 2016. His actual release date: June 2021. The examination of prison records of Buggs and scores of other inmates also revealed that Nebraska Department of Correctional Services officials had released or were set to release dozens of prisoners years before their sentences were supposed to end. All told, state officials had carved at least 750 years off the collective sentences of more than 200 of the state’s worst criminals. The problem: The department was using a formula that doesn’t square with how sentences should be calculated. After The World-Herald revealed its findings Friday to Corrections Director Michael Kenney, he immediately directed staff to recalculate the sentences. He said he had been unaware of the problem. See Prison: Page 4

THE AYES HAVE IT Experts conﬁrm that “Portrait of Dirck van Os” was painted by Rembrandt himself, not one of his students.

JOSLYN FINDS REMBRANDT IN ITS ATTIC BY C ASEY LOGAN

• ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

t went into storage a painting. It’ll come out a Rembrandt. Joslyn Art Museum is preparing to unveil a painting by the 17th century Dutch master — one of history’s most famous and revered artists — that has been in the museum’s possession for 72 years but was out of view for the past decade. The reason for its exile: The museum believed it had a work from the “School of Rembrandt,” meaning it might have come from the artist’s studio, perhaps painted by one of his many students, but

not from the hand of Rembrandt van Rijn himself. Now that’s changed. One of the world’s foremost authorities on Rembrandt, Ernst van de Wetering, says the painting, “Portrait of Dirck van Os,” is the real thing. “It’s unusual that it goes this way,” said Jack Becker, executive director and CEO of Joslyn Art Museum. “It usually goes the other way. So that’s exciting.” Joslyn will reintroduce the paintSee Rembrandt: Page 4

REMBRANDT NEAR AND FAR EXPERT OPINIONS VARY, but there are roughly 300 known Rembrandt paintings in the world. MOST REMBRANDTS are in Europe, but a few dozen are spread around U.S. museums, including notable collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. OTHER REGIONAL REMBRANDTS are at the Art Institute of Chicago, Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY When children are in business with Dad

Missing the man who instilled love of CWS

Retracing Dad’s service in WWII

Lessons learned from his father and his kids

We introduce you to several people who followed their fathers into the workplace and now share a special partnership. Money

Eddie Bailen, who died last month, raised his kids on CWS baseball. They honor him by extending his attendance tradition. Living

Reporter Steve Jordon and his brothers visit airstrip in England where their dad took off for 30 successful missions. Midlands

Former NFL player and current morning show host Michael Strahan tells how they have — and continue to — shape him. Parade

2014 FORD ESCAPE SE LEASE FOR

DOWN

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Today’s forecast High: 84 Low: 64 Full report: Page 10B On Omaha.com: Find the latest weather updates.

Celebrations.................6E Jobs Listings.............5-9D Obituaries.................... 7B Opinion ...................8&9B Puzzles..........................5E 98 PAGES

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No child left in a bind

puppet in “War Horse,” requires laborious handcrafting and three actors to operate it onstage. Living

‘Do-overs,’ dedicated teachers help keep Gretna students on track

McDermott adds another award to the trophy case

After two seasons as a ﬁnalist, the Creighton star ﬁnally wins the Naismith Trophy as the men’s college player of the year. Sports

After injury, she’s stretching her way to a full recovery

BY JULIE ANDERSON

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

LINCOLN — Early last month a group of police ofﬁcers sat inside Tavern on the Square in Lincoln’s Haymarket, picking bar owner Matt Taylor’s brain about a piece of artwork on the wall. The framed blue poster morbidly shows a skull resting against a headstone, with a marijuana joint and a syringe laid into crossbones. “People ask about it all the time,” Taylor said. “They’ll say, ‘That’s pretty cool. What is it?’ ” The customers who ask get a lesson in an obscure piece of the Nebraska tax code inspired by the war on illegal drugs. The artwork is a replica of Nebraska’s $100 drug tax stamp. Nebraska began issuing the

Jacob Novak sat down in a math classroom just after 7 a.m. one recent morning at Gretna High School. He was among about a dozen students who were in before the first bell rang to retake a quiz they’d failed in Algebra 2, get help before a math test or make up missing work. Math teacher Jami Ewer and a student teacher moved from desk to desk, answering questions, explaining equations. Novak, a junior who plans to get a business degree and take over his grandfather’s business, had failed the algebra quiz. He had gone over his responses in a study hall the day before, figured out where he’d gone wrong and was ready for a do-over. “It’s nice because you don’t just fail,” he said. “You get another chance.” The Gretna school district, in fact, requires each of its students to complete every assignment, project, quiz and test and to get at least a passing grade: 70 percent. A student who doesn’t meet the mark the first time must

See Stamps: Page 3

KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD

Jacob Novak, 17, works on his math early one morning before classes at Gretna High School in Gretna, Neb. If a student fails an assignment or test, he must redo the work before or after school or even over breaks and summer holidays, if necessary.

NOT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL: Other school districts have their strategies to ensure students are learning. Page 2A

See Gretna: Page 2

Anna Kolbeck, a UNMC med student, becomes a yoga instructor after ﬁnding it helped ease pain. LiveWell the Magazine

Mickey Rooney, legendary movie star, dies at 93

The pint-sized actor enjoyed a more than 80-year career, a tenure likely unmatched in the history of show business. Living, Page 2E

MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014 • SUNRISE EDITION

24/7 ON OMAHA.COM

SENATE RACE 2014 BEN SASSE

Sasse says he can whip the government into shape The GOP opponent of the federal health care law paints himself as a conservative who can solve crises BY ROSEANN MORING WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

JAMES R. BURNETT/THE WORLD-HERALD

Ben Sasse says his time working in Washington taught him that the government spends too much and doesn’t work well.

Ben Sasse says he knows how to ﬁx a broken institution — and the federal government, he says, is broken. In his campaign for the Republican nomination for Nebraska’s open U.S. Senate seat, Sasse is running on his conser-

vative vision, a sharp critique of the federal health care law and his background in crisis management, including his recent role in the recovery of Midland University in Fremont. Sasse, 42, presents himself as a ﬁfth-generation Nebraskan who would be a bold outsider in the Senate, someone who can sweep into Washington, D.C.,

and whip the federal government into shape, just as he did at Midland. “I really do view this campaign as just a project to talk about a constitutional system that I think is under assault,” he said. He is also a former Washington bureaucrat who worked in three federal agencies. His campaign is supported heavily by out-of-state donors and organizations. And, in fact, the See Sasse: Page 8

#J70440

45 years after Vietnam, reunion helps vets heal

Memories of the war, and especially of one really bad ﬁreﬁght in 1969, haunt Nebraskan, fellow Marines. Michael Kelly, Midlands

Golf’s majors season almost ready to tee off

The ﬁrst big one, the Masters, starts this week. We’ve got players to watch, storylines and more. Sports, Pages 8&9C

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Around & About .......... 3E Celebrations................5A Jobs Listings..........5-11D Obituaries....................7B Opinion .................. 8&9B TV ...............................10E

High: 62 Low: 43 Full report: Page 10B On Omaha.com: Find the latest weather updates.

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The State of Nebraska wanted its drug tax stamp to look scary, to deter illegal drug possession.

Where in the Seven Kingdoms is everyone? A refresher before the start of the fourth season of “Game of Thrones.” Living

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OMAHA.COM/ELECTIONGUIDE The World-Herald’s 2014 Election Guide has candidate biographies, campaign ads, in-depth proﬁles and more.

EDUCATION

Preschool suspensions locally are last resort

HAGEL IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Military’s other job: disaster relief During the defense secretary’s trip, he has made humanitarian aid coordination a priority

TYPHOON HAIYAN: NOVEMBER 2013

District officials say they prefer to try to teach good behavior and help kids having a hard time

BY JOSEPH MORTON WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

BY ERIN DUFFY WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

A watcher’s guide to get back into the ‘Game’

MEET THE CANDIDATES

This week we will proﬁle Nebraska’s Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate. TODAY: Ben Sasse TUESDAY: Bart McLeay WEDNESDAY: Sid Dinsdale THURSDAY: Shane Osborn

A national report that stirred up concern over preschool discipline shows that suspensions are happening in Omaha-area preschools. The numbers are small, representing just a fraction of local enrollment numbers. Eleven preschoolers in the Omaha and Millard school districts were suspended in 2011-12, the first year the federal Office for Civil Rights collected data on preschool discipline. The local suspensions generally included outbursts that involved kicking, hitting or biting that could jeopardize other students in the class, officials said. Local educators agreed that suspending a student is typically a last-resort measure tied to aggressive behavior. Teachers and parents should instead try to establish clear, consistent rules and behavior plans that can head off the need for harsh punishments like suspensions. Laurie Janecek is a veteran special education pre-K teacher at Ashland Park-Robbins Elementary at 51st and O Streets. She’s never suspended a student and said instilling good behavior in young children starts early. “For many of the children, this is their first experience in a classroom environment, so it’s important to establish rules and expectations on the very first day of school,” she said. “We talk about keeping our feet and See Preschool: Page 2

ON MOMAHA.COM

See what parents are saying about this story on momaha.com, The World-Herald’s parenting website. Also, read blogger Tunette Powell’s post “Is my black preschooler just another statistic?”

U . S . N AV Y

Following last year’s massive typhoon in the Philippines, U.S. military aircraft, such as this MH-60S Seahawk, delivered rice, water and medicine to the decimated areas, then helped transport refugees out. Thousands were killed in the storm and millions were displaced.

“It was kind of eye-opening because you don’t see that kind of devastation back home. And the people there handled it with such grace.” Cpl. Kristyn Hyland, an Omaha native and crewmaster of one the planes bringing in supplies after typhoon Haiyan

WESTSIDE’S SHARE: Westside schools will get $2.6 million in federal money to prepare students for college or careers. Page 2A

Obama to impose workplace ideas on federal contractors WASHINGTON (AP) — Lacking congressional support to raise wages or end gender pay disparities, President Barack Obama is again imposing his policies on federal contractors, in keeping with presidents’ tradition of exerting their powers on a fraction of the economy they directly control. Obama will sign an executive order Tuesday barring federal contractors from retaliating against employees who discuss their pay with each other. The

order is similar to language in a Senate bill aimed at closing a pay gap between men and women. That measure is scheduled for a vote this week, but it is unlikely to pass. The president also will direct the Labor Department to adopt rules requiring federal contractors to provide compensation data based on sex and race. He plans to sign the two executive orders during a White House event where he will be joined by Lilly Ledbetter,

whose name appears on a pay discrimination law that Obama signed in 2009. The moves showcase Obama’s efforts to seek action without congressional approval and demonstrate that even without legislation, he can drive economic policy. At the same time, they show the limits of his ambition when he doesn’t have Congress’ support. Republicans say Obama is pushing his executive powers too far and should See Obama: Page 2

TOKYO — The U.S. Marines had rice, water and medicine packed into the plane’s cargo hold, but what they were really delivering was hope. Cpl. Kristyn Hyland, a 23-year-old Omaha native, was a crewmaster on one of the planes bringing in supplies last November after typhoon Haiyan laid waste to parts of the Philippines. Another Marine from Omaha, 25-year-old Lance Cpl. Dillon Kilawee, was running a forklift helping unload the supplies. Once the planes were emptied, up to 150 refugees at a time — elderly and injured first — would board and be flown to safety. “A lot of refugees, once they figured out that we were transporting them out of there, were lining up at the airstrip and just waiting for days while it rained on them,” Kilawee said. The storm had been devastating — wrecked buildings, See Disasters: Page 2

Omaha weather

Today’s forecast High: 61 Low: 36 Full report: Page 6B On Omaha.com: Find the latest weather updates.

Index

Advice ........................3E Classiﬁeds................ 4D Comics.......................4E Movies .......................3E Obituaries................. 3B Opinion ................4&5B TV ...............................6E

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SUPPLYING THE HORSEPOWER Joey, the life-size

44 PAGES

Nebraska gets a cut of illegal drug revenue, in an artful way

greatplainsawards.org | 7

great Plains newspaper of the Year Finalists greater than 75,000 circulation Publication: Tulsa World SPortS: Vote for top OU football moments. B1

Publication: The Oklahoman

SCeNe: Local band warms up for COTU festival. d1

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Paths to death

Randy Brogdon Other Don’t know/refused

38%

41% 16%

3% 2%

(Numbers have been rounded)

Lankford, Shannon run close in polling By RANDy KREHBIEL World Staff Writer

Fifth District Congressman James Lankford held a narrow lead over former Oklahoma Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon heading into the final week of their U.S. Senate primary campaign, according to the latest Oklahoma Poll. Lankford led Shannon 41 percent to 38 percent in a survey of 415 likely voters in Tuesday’s election. The survey was conducted June 14-18 by SoonerPoll.com and has a 4.81 percent margin of error. Former state Sen. Randy Brogdon See SeNate A8

Coming Monday

FATAL FLAWS: How Oklahoma’s lethal injection system went wrong This is the first story in a three-part series on problems with Oklahoma executions revealed in the wake of the April 29 botched execution of Clayton Lockett. While the execution caused an outcry over pain Lockett may have felt, this article tells the story of Lockett’s victim and the heinous crime that led to his death sentence. The story was compiled using the transcript from Lockett’s murder trial and other public records, his 1999 police interrogation video, archived news reports and interviews. Jane Doe is a pseudonym for the female victim who was raped by Lockett. The Tulsa World does not identify victims of sex crimes. Coming Monday: Problematic protocol Tuesday: Autopsies rare

BY SILAS ALLEN

PORTER — An Oklahoma National Guard veteran who was hailed as a hero for his actions in fighting off a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan was arrested Tuesday, accused of shooting and

Follow the path of a murder Watch a video that traces the path Stephanie Neiman’s killers took from Perry to Kay County and see Clayton Lockett describe his crimes in cold detail.

tulsaworld.com/executions one of the two pickups used to drive their three young victims to his “old stomping grounds” between the oil refineries and ranches of Kay County. This is where they planned to kill and dump Stephanie and her friends, Bobby Bornt and Jane Doe. Somewhere along the 30-minute drive out there, the killers changed their minds See PathS A7

By BARBARA HOBEROCK

“I done shot her twIce; I aIn’t goIng to shoot her agaIn.” CLAytoN LoCkett, oN the NIght he Left StePhANIe NeImAN BuRIed ALIVe

See vote A8

Inside today’s Tulsa World Ask Amy .......... D5 Books ................ G4 Celebrations.... D5

Get more weather coverage and check out our weather blog at tulsaworld.com/weather

Follow the World online

Crosswords ..... G5 editorial ............. G1 Horoscope ...... C17

Letters .............. G2 Money Power .. e3 Movies.............. D6

Obituaries.......A18 Outdoors......... B10 Tech .................... e2

Sunday - $2.00

• Breaking news at tulsaworld.com • facebook.com/tulsaworld • twitter.com/tulsaworld

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killing a relative. Maxx Robinson, 23, is accused of killing his uncle, Bill Cline, 58, during an altercation Tuesday at Cline’s home in Porter. Robinson was being held Friday at the Wagoner County jail with no bail. According to a court affidavit, a Wagoner County deputy was at an intersection when he

JAY — A Delaware County woman who bragged about being honored by the state for her work as a foster parent was charged Friday with multiple counts of child abuse. Included in the charges are accusations that the woman failed to seek medical attention after her daughters were repeatedly bitten by pet monkeys. Deidre Anne Matthews, 46, of Jay, is charged in Delaware County District Court with three counts of child abuse by injury, child endangerment and child neglect. Matthews told Delaware County sheriff’s deputies during their investigation that her family was chosen by DHS in 2008 as Adoptive Family of the Year, sheriff’s officials said. According to a court affidavit, Matthews’ mobile home was covered in filth, she was overly medicated and she depended on her eldest children to care for her younger children and a variety of exotic animals. State Department of Human Services spokeswoman Sheree Powell said agency officials have not seen the charges “and are waiting to view the documents.” The children are eight girls ranging in age from 4 to 17 and a 10-year-old boy, court records show. Delaware County deputies removed a 14-year-old girl from the home after DHS failed to remove the teenager after investigating

Top left: Jack Mitchell won a GMC Sierra truck in October 2012. Top, right: Jim Stanley, of Oklahoma City, won a 2013 red Cadillac at a Barons game a year ago. PHOTOS BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

Above, left: Cynthia Hughes shows the $40,000 Jeep Wrangler she won from the Barons in December 2012. PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Above, right: Linette and Steve England stand behind their children beside their new Jeep Cherokee. PHOTO BY K.T. KING, THE OKLAHOMAN

SEE DELAWARE COUNTY, PAGE 2A

OKLAHOMAN.COM/ THEDEADLIESTDAY

For some Barons fans, a night at a hockey game turns into the ride of a lifetime

WHAT’S AHEAD OKC Barons vs. Charlotte Checkers 7 p.m. Saturday at Cox Convention Center. One fan will win a Volkswagen.

INSIDE • It’s ‘do-or-die time’ for Barons • Team tries different approach PAGE 2B

SEE BARONS, PAGE 3A

MEDIEVAL FAIR TIME ➤ The 38th annual Medieval Fair opened Friday at Reaves Park in Norman. The fair continues through Sunday.

A R K A N S A S ’ N E W S PA P E R

In the news m Rep. Vance McAllister, the Louisiana Republican caught on camera kissing a married female aide, said in a statement that he has failed his family, let down his constituents and doesn’t intend to run for re-election this fall in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District. m Bob McDonnell, the Republican ex-governor of Virginia who is awaiting trial along with his wife, Maureen, on federal corruption charges, has a new job as a visiting professor at Liberty University, the school founded by the late Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell. m Maria Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, who belong to a Russian punk band whose members have been arrested on several occasions for protesting against oppressive rule, will attend Monday’s PEN American Center Literary Gala in New York, joining authors Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie and Robert Caro. m Max Clifford, 71, a celebrity publicist who has represented O.J. Simpson, David Beckham and Simon Cowell, was found guilty by a London jury of multiple counts of sexual assault dating back almost 50 years. m Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney general, said in a video message that the Justice Department plans to collect data on police stops, searches and arrests to study racial bias in law enforcement. m Megan Huntsman, 39, was charged in Utah with six counts of first-degree murder in the killing of her six babies over a decade but cannot face the death penalty if convicted because the deaths occurred before Utah made murder a capital offense if the victim is younger than 14. m J.D. Winteregg, 32, the Tea Party activist mounting a primary challenge against House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has lost his teaching job at a small Christian college in Cedarville over a racy Web video that parodied erectile dysfunction advertisements and went viral last week. m Eileen Battisti, a widow, lost in her bid to reverse the September 2011 sale of her home outside Aliquippa in western Pennsylvania after a judge in Beaver County ruled that she was given ample notice before her $280,000 house was sold at a tax auction over $6.30 in unpaid interest. m Gary Deming,, 34, of Cranston, R.I., was arrested on robbery charges, accused of wielding a potato disguised as a gun during robbery attempts last week at a convenience store and a dry cleaner.

WEATHER LITTLE ROCK

Today Partly cloudy skies. High Mid-70s. Southwest winds increasing to 20 to 25 mph. Tonight Partly cloudy. Low Upper 40s. 1B 1D 1F 4E 4E 4B 6B

Day after, state takes inventory of damage KENNETH HEARD ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN

Residents and rescue workers Monday comb through the remains of destroyed homes in the Parkwood Meadows neighborhood of Vilonia.

Dazed residents of Vilonia again feeling the loss ‘Just, there was nothing’ CHAD DAY AND CLAUDIA LAUER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

VILONIA — Don Mallory was on the phone with his younger brother, David, when the tornado hit Sunday evening. David’s lights had flickered, and Don told him to get a flashlight and take cover. “He said, ‘All right.’ That’s the last I heard from him,” Don said. When he couldn’t reach David after that, Don immediately took off for his brother’s home. He found David’s house demolished. David’s pickup was 50 yards away in a pond. “I was hollering for him, and I couldn’t get an answer. It was dark,” Don said Monday with tears in his eyes, standing in the splinters of what remains of David’s home. “A neighbor found him.” David Mallory, 58, was one of at least 11 people — two children and nine adults — killed in Faulkner County on Sunday by a tornado that mangled businesses and leveled homes to their slabs. Most of the deaths were in Vilonia, where a tornado nearly three years ago claimed five lives. Authorities said they had no estimates about the number of people injured or buildings damaged, but dozens of homes

final home edition

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BY ADAM KEMP

Heroes of Pearl Harbor

Staff Writer akemp@opubco.com

seventy-three years ago, the sunday morning peace was shattered by Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl harbor. it was a day of infamy and of heroism. • Garlen eslick was a young sailor from Bristow who survived the sinking of the uss oklahoma. A2 • two local men, Joe allsup and Gene meeker, were at a naval air station at Kaneohe, the first site hit by the Japanese. A8

Inside today’s Tulsa World

mostly cloudy. More weather on A18

ask amy .......... d8 Books ................ G4 Bus. People ....... e2

Get more weather coverage and check out our weather blog at tulsaworld.com/weather

Celebrations.... d5 Crosswords ..... G5 horoscope ......C16

obituaries......a20 outdoors.......... B11 tech .................... e5

• Breaking news at tulsaworld.com • facebook.com/tulsaworld • twitter.com/tulsaworld

Oklahoma on Thursday joined with Nebraska in filing a lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court

and businesses were destroyed. “I’m not sure people are even bothering to count that,” Faulkner County spokesman David Hogue said. On Monday, authorities set a 7 p.m. curfew for the damaged parts of Vilonia. Only emergency crews and law enforcement officials were allowed to continue to work there, Hogue said. Nonresidents were asked to leave by 7 p.m., and residents who chose to stay were asked to remain inside their homes until 7 a.m. today. The tornado, tentatively rated as an EF3 with wind speeds

Amid ruin, on trail of life before storm 3 kin dead, survivor sifts what’s left CATHY FRYE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

PARON — A day after a tornado killed her father and two of her sisters, Emily Tittle, 17, knew she had to be brave. Sunday’s tornado ripped the family’s home from its concrete slab. Huge piles of debris and fallen trees littered the yard Monday. Emily could still see her dad’s bloodstains on several pieces of rubble. But Emily was determined. She held back her tears and, with the help of a family friend and a neighbor, spent hours digging through piles of soggy wreckage with the See VILONIA,, Page 5A hope that she could salvage

OKC narrowly lost to Golden State on Thursday. Find game coverage on Page 1B.

the things that couldn’t be replaced — like her mom’s stuffed tiger, the one she’d saved from childhood, or mud-coated pictures of herself and her eight siblings. The tornado stole her home and three family members. But it didn’t take everything. It didn’t take Emily’s faith in God or her parents’ wedding photo or the family Bible. The twister seemed to pop up out of nowhere Sunday night. Panicked, the older children pulled things out from under the stairwell so that everyone could fit. But just as Emily tried frantically to cram See PARON,, Page 5A

COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

THUNDER, WARRIORS COLLIDE IN CALIFORNIA

See STORM,, Page 4A

TUPELO, Miss. — At least three fatal tornadoes splintered homes and businesses in Mississippi and Alabama on Monday, part of a powerful storm system that threatened large areas of the South with more twisters, severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and flash floods, authorities said. In Mississippi, officials said up to seven people had been killed. Mississippi Department of Health spokesman Jim Craig said Monday

night that officials were working with coroners to confirm the total. Earlier Monday, Lee County Coroner Carolyn Gillentine Green confirmed a woman died Monday in a traffic accident during the storm in Verona. Green said it wasn’t clear yet what caused the wreck. In northern Alabama, Limestone County Emergency Director Rita White said the coroner’s office had confirmed two deaths in a twister that caused extensive damage west of AthSee SOUTH,, Page 6A

S U N D AY Technical knockout

A classic shot

Portis scores 24 points as Razorbacks throw ‘T’ party at Verizon. — Sports, 1C

State gun-maker, Beretta team up to upgrade the military handgun — Business, 1G

to deem Colorado’s recreational marijuana law unconstitutional. The states argue that Colorado’s Amendment 64 runs counter to federal law, has created a dangerous gap in the federal drug control system and places an un-

due burden on neighboring states that have seen an increase in the amount of Colorado marijuana flooding across their borders. “Federal law classifies marijuana as an illegal drug,” Oklaho-

ma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a written statement announcing the lawsuit. “The health and safety risks posed by marijuana, especially to children and teens, are well documented.” Marijuana distributed in Col-

orado is being trafficked across state lines, injuring Oklahoma’s ability to enforce the state’s policies against marijuana, “draining their treasuries, and placing SEE LAWSUIT, PAGE 3A

BUSINESS WRITER

see Ceo a6

Governor’s office agrees to settle suit By RANDy KREHBIEL World staff Writer

AND BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Mary Fallin’s office has agreed to pay $125,000 to settle a wrongfultermination lawsuit brought by the former director of her Tulsa office. Wendy Gregory, who was fired in 2012 after the Internal Revenue Service sought to garnish her salary, also agreed to drop an open records suit against Fallin. The settlement was reached see fAllin a6

Sunday - $2.00

Several hundred residents turned out Thursday evening to hear from an oil company that wants to drill on the southern shore of Oklahoma City’s Lake Hefner. Pedestal Oil Co. Inc. is in discussions with the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust to drill up to six wells about 600 feet west of Stars and Stripes Park at Lake Hefner. A draft of the proposed lease would give the trust a 21 percent royalty rate, with the proceeds going to recreational improvements at city lakes. The proposal, which would still need approval by the water trust and the city council, drew sharp opposition from some nearby residents and recreational users of Lake Hefner. Chanting “Stop fracking now,” scores of protestors also showed up for a rally before the meeting at the Ed Lycan Conservatory at Will Rogers Gardens in Oklahoma City.

Above: A resident who lives near the proposed site asks a question during the Lake Hefner oil drilling proposal presentation Thursday at the Ed Lycan Conservatory at Will Rogers Gardens.

ONLINE Scan the QR code to see more photos from Thursday’s presentation on the Lake Hefner proposal.

Left: People line up to try and attend the presentation Thursday in Oklahoma City. PHOTOS BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

SEE DRILLING, PAGE 2A

Police honored with purple heart recount fatal shoot-out BY JONATHAN SUTTON

Staff Writer jsutton@opubco.com

The barrel of the gun looked a foot wide. Standing outside a room at a rundown and crime-ridden motel, Oklahoma City

Printed at Little Rock • December 21, 2014

In the news

pmonies@ opubco.com

As federal authorities were investigating whether he committed fraud while operating Arrow Trucking Co., former CEO Doug Pielsticker wasn’t exactly lying low in Texas. Pielsticker continued his ties to the trucking industry while living in Dallas, leaving more unpaid bills in his wake, records reviewed by the Tulsa World show. Companies associated with Pielsticker were

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OKLAHOMAN.COM

Paul Monies

World enterprise editor

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NEWSOK.COM

PROPOSAL WOULD DRILL WELLS ON LAKE HEFNER SHORE

By ZIVA BRANSTETTER

REACHING MORE THAN 475,000 PEOPLE EACH DAY

Residents voice concerns about lake plan

Pielsticker kept ties to trucking industry

Follow the World online letters .............. G2 money Power .. e3 movies.............. d6

RULES HAZY for drone use recording damage. Page 1D.

Residents survey damage along a street Monday in Tupelo, Miss. Tornadoes flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks on highways and killed numerous people in Mississippi and Alabama.

STATE SEEKS TO SNUFF OUT COLORADO MARIJUANA SALES

The battleship USS Arizona belches smoke as it topples over into Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941. aP file

Today High 55, Low 37

WAL-MART, Tyson giving supplies, meals to victims, helpers. Page 1D.

A R K A N S A S ’ N E W S PA P E R

HITTING HOME: homelessness and mental health in tulsa

see MenTAl a10

MAYFLOWER RESIDENTS confront the damage, snags in cleanup. Page 6A.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MELISSA SUE GERRITS

Emily Tittle, 17, finds on Monday her graduation cap, which she had planned to wear at a coming celebration with her family and friends for completing high school through a home-school program. Emily’s family home was destroyed when a tornado passed east of Paron, killing her father and two of her sisters.

AP/THOMAS GRANING

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014 75¢

Morgana Blevins reads in bed at the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless last month, several days before moving into her new home.

MANY IN El Paso didn't wait for twister to hit. Page 5A. WHERE to get help. Page 6A.

Police beat 2B Sports 1C Stocks 3D Style 1E Television 2E Voices 7B Weather 6D

December 7, 2014

Struggling with mental illness, many homeless count on downtown services to get by

On the inside WHERE and what to donate. Page 4A.

National Weather Service officials estimated Monday that the tornado that killed at least 15 people Sunday night had wind speeds of up to 165 mph as it carved a 40-mile-long path of destruction through central Arkansas. Gov. Mike Beebe declared Faulkner, Pulaski and White counties state disaster areas. On Monday afternoon, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate visited Mayflower and Vilonia, and Beebe sought a federal disaster declaration for Faulkner County. In Vilonia, where many of the deaths occurred, the storm flattened a wide section of town. Authorities set a 7 p.m. curfew Monday for the damaged areas of the city whose population is just over 4,100 people, Faulkner County spokesman David Hogue said. Nonresidents were asked to leave Vilonia by 7 p.m., and residents who chose to remain were asked to stay inside their homes until 7 a.m. today. U.S. 64 through the city was closed to all but emergency personnel. Arkansas 89 east of Mayflower was also closed Monday. Sunday evening’s tornado — after touching down in Pulaski County — crossed Interstate 40, mangling recreational vehicles and flipping over 80,000-pound tractor-trailers. On Monday, traffic crept on I-40 as motorists slowed to survey the damage, state Highway and Transportation Department spokesman Danny Straessle said. At one point, traffic was backed up for nearly 20 miles between the Maumelle exit and Conway. “We had reports of a few fender benders Monday, but nothing major,” Straessle said. Weather service meteorologists assessed the damage Monday, tracking the twister’s path from western Pulaski County northeast through Mayflower and Vilonia. They have yet to determine whether the tornado continued into northeastern Arkansas or whether a second tornado formed and traveled an additional 40 miles from northern White County into Jackson County. Farther north, numerous county roads were closed Monday because of flooding. Emergency off icials

More fatal storms hit Mississippi, Alabama

ONLINE

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Tornado deaths reach 15

more than $102 inside.

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few days before Thanksgiving, Morgana Blevins packed up the flowered hatbox holding her treasures, fetched her three cats from a pet shelter and moved into her own place. For the past few months, she’s lived at the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless. This was not the first time in her life she’s lacked a place to call home. Blevins has struggled TulsawOrld.cOM with bipolar disorder, anxiety and co-deContinuing pendency her whole life. Her mental health coverage issues have made Read other stories everything harder for in the hitting home her, including keeping series. a steady job, holding tulsaworld.com/ a lease and maintainhittinghome ing relationships with family. Spending the past For more few months at the Day Stories of two people Center and advice fighting to find a way from her caseworker, home. A11 Bailee Hutchinson, Opinion: The Rev. have helped steady her Stephen McKee, forand keep her focused mer City Councilor on getting a place to Thomas Baker and live, she said. the Tulsa World take While staying at the a look at the issues Day Center, Blevins of homelessness and relied on several mental illness. G6 downtown nonprofits, churches and services for help. You might have seen her waiting at the bus station to go visit her beloved cats at the Humane Society of Tulsa. Or perhaps in line for lunch at Iron Gate. (Her hatbox was rescued from a Dumpster near Trinity Episcopal Church.) Downtown Tulsa’s homeless population tends to live and congregate in the city’s

62 Pages • 8 Sections

PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

WEATHER

BARONS’ RUN TO COME TO END WITH SEASON

Fighting A to make it

ArkansasOnline.com

Home delivery 378-3456 Outside Pulaski County 1-800-482-1121

PAGE 9A

Volume 123, 90

By CARy ASPINWALL | World staff Writer PHOTOS By MIKE SIMONS | tulsa World

Secretary of state spokesman on leave after Election Commission exit. — Arkansas, 1B

Printed at Little Rock • April 29, 2014

Arkansas Business Classifieds Comics Crossword Deaths Editorials

Norman business owners and residents expressed concerns about a widening project along W Lindsey Street.

PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN

Morgana Blevins is reunited with her cats Jassmin (left) and Mr. Jeremiah Jones (right) at the Humane Society of Tulsa on the night before moving into her new apartment last month. Blevins wouldn’t go to the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless until she found a place for her cats. The Day Center couldn’t help her until she came in. The Humane Society of Tulsa provided a place to keep her cats while she was receiving help from the Day Center.

Reed off job

INDEX

ROADWORK STIRS WORRIES

PAGE 1C

Bedlam ssTunner

Maxx Robinson’s Afghanistan exploits were chronicled in “The Deadliest Day,” a threepart series published last year in The Oklahoman.

SEE VETERAN, PAGE 2A

Travelers’ best friend?

vinGS

BACKGROUND

heard four gunshots nearby. The deputy was driving toward the area where he’d heard the shots when Robinson and his older brother, Skyler Robinson, flagged him down, the affidavit states. Maxx Robinson told the deputy he’d shot Cline, according to the affidavit.

IGH SCHOOL music Mike teacher Jack Mitchell Baldwin retired early because mbaldwin@ of his good fortune. opubco.com After Jim Stanley won, people asked him if he owned Oklahoma City’s Triple-A hockey team. STAFF WRITER Living a real-life Daily Double, Asberg Mahanti’s lottery-like luck arrived the night after he was married. Mitchell, Stanley and Mahanti are among two dozen people who have had their lives turned upside down after they won a car or truck at an Oklahoma City Barons game. When the American Hockey League regular season ends in two weeks, Prodigal LLC, which operates the Barons, will have

Ponca City residents Jenna Ross and her 11-month-old son, Cooper, pet Sophie on Friday as therapy teams with HALO wander the concourse at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City to provide comfort and stress relief to travelers and visitors.

Osu shocks Ou in overtime to become bowl eligible . S1

ONLINE

For The Oklahoman

World Capitol Bureau

Today High 91, Low 71

OKLAHOMAN.COM

BY SHEILA STOGSDILL

Stephanie Neiman was shot twice by Clayton Lockett and buried while still alive near this gravel road in Kay County. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World

Partly sunny, humid. more weather on a16

NEWSOK.COM

WINNING WHEELS

Foster mom is charged after claims of monkeys biting kids

tuLSAWoRLd.Com

Voters to pick favorites on Tuesday Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to consider a host of primaries, including hotly contested Republican races for U.S. Senate and state superintendent. Polls statewide are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In a high-profile statewide race, 5th District Congressman James Lankford faces former House Speaker T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Tom Coburn. Also on the Republican ballot are Jason Weger, of Norman; Kevin

REACHING MORE THAN 475,000 PEOPLE EACH DAY

Staff Writer sallen@opubco.com

Read the state schools superintendent poll results.

THE OKLAHOMAN

National Guard veteran faces murder complaint

hen her muddy grave was ready, one of the killers held down a barbed-wire fence so Stephanie Neiman could climb over it, down into the shallow hole where she would die. From his perch on the dirt road’s shoulder above the fenced pasture, Clayton Lockett loaded the sawed-off shotgun and fired. Kickback caused the gun to flip out of his hand and the shot to stray; shell fragments blasted into Stephanie’s shoulder. Forced to her knees, her mouth still duct-taped, she cried as Lockett dug for the weapon in the waist-high Johnsongrass lining the gravel road. He darted back to the truck to find a tool to unjam the shotgun. Lockett reloaded, leaned over the fence and fired again. Stephanie stopped wailing. Lockett told his two accomplices: “It’s done, I think she dead.” He racked the shell out of the shotgun and put it back in

T U E S D AY Russia sanctions added

U.S. restrictions target senior officials, 17 linked companies. — International, 2A

SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2014 75¢

By CARy ASPINWALL | WoRLd StAff WRIteR ANd ZIVA BRANStetteR | WoRLd eNteRPRISe edItoR

Clayton Lockett left Stephanie Neiman to die in a ditch off a dirt road. Fifteen years later, Oklahoma led Lockett to his own death.

COMING SUNDAY:

Despite a Thunder loss to the Rockets, Kevin Durant stretched his streak of scoring at least 25 points to 40 games, matching Michael Jordan.

June 22, 2014

POLL

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

police Sgt. Cody Koelsch found himself feet from a longtime felon as the man spun around and started firing wildly. Moments earlier, Koelsch, Sgt. Grant Brooks and officer Clint Music knocked on the door of Room 167 at the Plaza Inn motel, 3200 S Prospect Ave., near Inter-

state 35 in south Oklahoma City. The officers came to the motel room to investigate whether a woman was being held and beaten inside. Koelsch and Brooks left with bullet wounds. “When the barrel of the gun is pointed at

you, it looks a foot across,” Koelsch said. “Your training kicks in. I don’t remember drawing my gun; I don’t remember rolling out of the room and getting cover.” The shoot-out that began in the motel SEE POLICE, PAGE 2A

m Pope Francis named French Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran as the new camerlengo, the person who takes over the day-to-day running of the Holy See after a pope dies or retires until a new pope is elected. m Brian Chellis, 23, of Cedar Grove, N.J., was charged with drunken driving after police say they found him wearing an Elf on the Shelf costume, asleep in a van with its engine running, lights on, music blaring, and with an open can of beer nearby. m Sasha Webb, 26, of Prattville, Ala., a former medical-records clerk at a state prison in Elmore County, was sentenced to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay $529,000 in restitution in the theft of inmate identification data that were used to file more than $1 million in fraudulent income-tax returns. m Samantha Shaw, the state auditor in Alabama, decorated two Christmas trees outside her office with ornaments bearing the names of hundreds of Alabamans who served in the military, and said the names were sent to her by people from all over the state. m Sharon Wise, 65, a worker at the Maine Street Museum in Augusta, Maine, said she was watching a man, who was acting strangely, when he snatched up a 2-year-old girl and attempted to flee the museum, adding that she was ready for a “big fight” when she stood in front of him and said, “Don’t you touch her; you let her go!” m Tony LeClaire, with the Washington County, N.Y., sheriff’s office, said a woman who had just applied to be a Meals on Wheels driver was arrested on drunken-driving charges after she got into a pickup outside a social services agency and attempted to drive away. m Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, 63, who New Jersey prosecutors said had styled himself as “the Robin Hood of kidneys” and was the first person convicted in federal court of profiting from the illegal sale of human organs, was released from prison after more than two years. m Gen. Mohammed Farid el-Tohamy, Egypt’s intelligence chief, who was considered a hard-liner in the government’s crackdown on Islamists and secular dissidents, was removed from office and replaced by his deputy, Khaled Fawzy. m Frank Corvino, an animal services official in Riverside County, Calif., said a microchip scan on a stray black dog revealed that the animal was actually Coco, a reddish-brown pit bull that had been dyed and was missing for a month.

WEATHER LITTLE ROCK

Today Mostly sunny. High 52, light southeast winds. Tonight Mostly cloudy. Low 40.

INDEX SCAN IT

TODAY’S PRAYER

Scan the QR code at right for articles and related multimedia in this section.

Lord, tempers sometimes get the best of us; help us control our emotions and our words. Amen.

Business Classified Comics Crossword Opinion Sports

1C 1E 10E 10E 8A 1B

WEATHER

CLOUDY H: 47

L: 37 PAGE 6C

Arkansas Business Classifieds Crossword Deaths Editorials High Profile Movies

1B 1G 1F 6H 4B 4H 1D 3E

Perspective 1H Police beat 3B Sports 1C Stocks 3G Style 1E Travel 4E Voices 5H Weather 12C

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474 Pages • 44 Sections

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U.S. petitions China to help slap N. Korea

Grief and counterstrikes

Response to Sony hacking focus of myriad meetings COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

AP/MOHAMMAD SAJJAD

Pakistanis mourn their slain children Saturday at the gate of the Army Public School in Peshawar where Taliban gunmen killed 148 people Tuesday. A U.S. drone strike killed at least five Taliban fighters Saturday in a hideout in northwestern Pakistan, officials said, while Pakistani forces reported killing five “terrorists” outside Peshawar. Article,6A

Bound and punished Pepper-spray, Wrap combo ‘barbaric’ CHAD DAY ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Sitting in the restraint at the Yell County Juvenile Detention Center, the girl could barely move. Her hands were cuffed behind her back, her legs bound and her chest strapped in a harness. A strap connected the harness to her feet. Even tied up, an employee thought the girl was “bellig-

erent,” and that’s why a sheriff’s deputy pepper-sprayed her, an internal report shows. The girl’s case is one of more than 100 since 2011 in which detention center staff or local law enforcement officers who assisted them used restraints, pepper spray and sometimes a combination of both in dealing with youths who misbehaved by not following directions, banging on

walls, kicking doors, yelling or name-calling, an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette investigation found. Internal incident reports obtained from the youth lockup under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act reveal a facility where top administrators authorized, and in some cases participated in, extreme punishments for See PUNISHED,, Page 8A

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s administration has sought China’s help in recent days in blocking North Korea’s ability to launch cyberattacks, the first steps toward the “proportional response” that Obama promised to make the North pay for the assault on Sony Pictures. The response is also part of a campaign to issue a broader warning against future hacking, according to senior administration officials. “What we are looking for is a blocking action, something that would cripple their efforts to carry out attacks,” one official said. North Korea, meanwhile, on Saturday proposed a joint investigation with the U.S. into the hacking attack against Sony, warning of “serious” consequences if Washington rejects an inquiry that it believes would prove that Pyongyang had nothing to do with the cyberattack. So far, the Chinese have not responded to the U.S. request. Their cooperation would be critical, since virtually all of North Korea’s telecommunications run through Chinese-operated networks. It is unclear whether China will help, given tensions over computer security between Washington and Beijing since the Justice Department

AP/EUGENE TANNER

President Barack Obama and his family arrive Saturday at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for their annual Christmas vacation in Hawaii, where Obama will consider the U.S.’’ options on North Korea. IN CHINA, some losing patience with North Korea. Page 11A.

in May indicted five hackers working for the Chinese military on charges of stealing sensitive information from U.S. companies. The secret approach to China came as U.S. officials convened a half-dozen meetings in the White House Situation Room last week, including one with the top national security team See HACKING,, Page 11A

Schools rethinking gifts to lawmakers Even UA parking passes, invitations for coffee, dessert raising red flags MICHAEL R. WICKLINE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Nearly two weeks after voters approved a constitutional amendment barring state elected officials from accepting certain gifts from lobbyists, a lobbyist for the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville urged 33 lawmakers, who received free parking permits in October for football games, to consult their attorneys about the matter. The value of each parking permit was $20 per game, wrote Randy Massanelli, the school’s vice chancellor for governmental relations. One of the games was played against the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Oct. 25 before the Nov. 4 vote on Issue 3; two other games were played against Louisiana State University on Nov. 15 and the University of Mississippi on Nov. 22 after the gift restrictions passed. The lawmakers were al-

ready required to pay for their own season tickets because UA doesn’t provide free tickets to them, according to a UA spokesman. Season ticket-holders who qualify for parking through the Razorback Foundation receive parking passes at no additional cost. “With the effective date of Nov. 5, 2014, for [Issue 3] and no clarifying language set forth yet by the appropriate governing commission on how/when gifts are to be defined (date given or date of actual use), we felt it prudent to inform you that we feel you should consult with the legal staff or your respective body and make your own determination in deciding your authorized use of the parking permit for the 11/15/14 and 11/22/14 games,” Massanelli wrote. State Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, and Rep. Warwick Sabin, D-Little Rock, sponsored the measure See GIFTS,, Page 9A

AP/RAMON ESPINOSA

Ramon Labanino (from left), Antonio Guerrero and Gerardo Hernandez, members of the “Cuban Five” spy ring freed from U.S. imprisonment last week, are welcomed to Cuba’s parliament Saturday. At the session, President Raul Castro vowed to uphold his country’s communist system. Article, 10A

A foot in door — literarily speaking Hemingway fans hope someday to visit his Cuba home SARAH D. WIRE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

WASHINGTON — Some fans of Ernest Hemingway said they hope the new policy on Cuba announced Wednesday will mean a chance for more people to visit the Nobel Prize-winning author’s most well-known home. President Barack Obama

announced that the United States will ease restrictions on remittances, travel and banking relations, and will restore full diplomatic relations with the communist country, opening an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than 50 years. Under the new policy, it will be easier to travel to

Cuba for certain reasons including family visits, government business and professional research, as well as for educational, religious or humanitarian trips. Federal law still prohibits any other travel to the country, including tourism. It is up to Congress whether to lift See FINCA VIGIA,, Page 10A

Whistleblowers say fear of reprisal thwarts proper care for vets SHARON LAFRANIERE THE NEW YORK TIMES

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — At any hospital, patient safety and quality of care depend on the willingness of medical workers to identify problems. The goal is for medical workers to be free to speak bluntly to — and about — higher-ups without being ignored or punished.

In interviews and email exchanges, many doctors, nurses and other medical workers said military hospitals fall short of that objective, describing how they were brushed off, transferred, investigated, passed over for promotions or fired after they pointed out problems with care.

During an examination of military hospitals this year, The New York Times asked readers to recount their experiences via a private electronic portal. Among more than 1,200 comments were dozens from medical workers about how the system thwarted efforts to deliver superior care. At Fort Bragg, investiga-

tors last March had a special task beyond conducting their periodic evaluation of Womack Army Medical Center, one of the military’s busiest hospitals. A medical technologist had complained of dangerous lapses in the prevention of infections. The inspectors planned to follow up.

But Teresa Gilbert, the technologist, said supervisors excluded her from meetings with the inspectors from the Joint Commission, an independent agency that accredits hospitals. “I was told my opinions were not necessary, nor were they warranted,” said Gilbert, an infection-conSee CARE,, Page 10A

Great Plains Writer of the Year Publication: Tulsa World By: Cary Aspinwall Judges’ Comments: Cary is a talented storyteller who keeps the reader engaged. The parallel construction of the story on the botched execution and the murder that preceded it was enthralling, leading the reader through a tale of essentially two botched deaths - one criminal and the other state-sanctioned. In her crime writing, Cary saves just enough for the ending, one final, heart-wrenching tidbit.

“Paths of Neiman, Lockett crossed on fateful night”

Editor’s note: This is the first story in a three-part series on problems with Oklahoma executions revealed in the wake of the April 29 botched execution of Clayton Lockett. While the execution caused an outcry over pain Lockett may have felt, this article tells the story of Lockett’s victim and the heinous crime that led to his death sentence. It was compiled using records and interviews, including the transcript from the murder trial of Clayton Lockett, his 1999 police interrogation video, archived news reports, interviews and public records. Jane Doe is a pseudonym for the female victim who was raped by Lockett, because the Tulsa World does not identify victims of sex crimes. When her muddy grave was ready, one of the killers held down a barbed-wire fence so Stephanie Neiman could climb over it, down into the shallow hole where she would die.

From his perch on the dirt road’s shoulder above the fenced pasture, Clayton Lockett loaded the sawed-off shotgun and fired. Kickback caused the gun to flip out of his hand and the shot to stray; shell fragments blasted into Stephanie’s shoulder. Forced to her knees, her mouth still duct-taped, she cried as Lockett dug for the weapon in the waist-high Johnsongrass lining the gravel road. He darted

back to the truck to find a tool to unjam the shotgun. Lockett reloaded, leaned over the fence and fired again. Stephanie stopped wailing. Lockett told his two accomplices: “It’s done, I think she dead.” He racked the shell out of the shotgun and put it back in one of the two pickups used to drive their three young victims to his “old stomping grounds” between the oil refineries and ranches of Kay County. This is where they planned to kill and dump Stephanie and her friends, Bobby Bornt and Jane Doe. Somewhere along the 30-minute drive out there, the killers changed their minds about shooting Bobby and Jane. Jane was raped repeatedly by the men,

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and she and Bobby were badly beaten. But both were parents to babies and had promised not to tell. They would live. Stephanie would promise no such thing. Lockett told Shawn Mathis and his cousin, Alfonso Lockett, that since he had to shoot her, he wasn’t going to bury her. “I ain’t gonna take care of everything,” Lockett said. Shawn and Alfonso climbed over the fence to drag Stephanie’s body into the hole they had carved out of the ruddy soil. The two men soon jumped back over: “She’s not dead, she’s not dead!” Stephanie was still breathing, kicking and moving, they told Clayton Lockett. “I done shot her twice; I ain’t going to shoot her again,” Lockett said. Go get the shotgun and finish her, he scolded. “They was like: ‘Naw, Naw!’ ” Lockett told police. All right, then, just bury her. She hadn’t gotten up and tried to run, so she must be dying, he told them. They started dumping dirt on Stephanie, and she began to cough. “I could see the dirt coming in the air as she was coughing,” Lockett later told investigators. They heaped soil on top of her, until it muffled the sounds of her coughing and they could no longer hear her choking, still trying to live. Execution chamber Nearly 15 years after Stephanie’s murder, Lockett lay dying as her family watched along with a gallery of law enforcement officials, prison administrators and journalists through the window of Oklahoma’s execution chamber. State officials had promised in court records and interviews that Oklahoma’s new execution protocol would dispatch him swiftly and painlessly. They were so confident in this assurance that Gov. Mary Fallin ordered Lockett to be executed April 29, the same night another convicted killer was set to die. DOCUMENT: Read Gov. Mary Fallin’s executive order on Lockett stay Lockett’s death didn’t go as planned. The execution began nearly 25 minutes late. After he was declared unconscious from an injection of midazolam

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overseen by an unnamed physician whose credentials remain secret under state law, he began to writhe, strain and mumble as the final two drugs were pushed into his IV. That night, Oklahoma was using a combination and dosage of midazolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride that had never been used in a U.S. execution. His right leg kicked; his head rolled to one side. His body started bucking, as if he were trying to get up from the gurney. He grimaced, grunted and mumbled something unintelligible. “Man,” he groaned. Witnesses said he appeared to be in pain. Prison officials quickly lowered the blinds before ushering the witnesses out of the room. The witnesses couldn’t see what was happening under the white sheet that covered Lockett: The femoral IV that was supposed to deliver the drugs to kill him was either leaking into his groin tissue or spilling the drugs out of his body. On a land-line phone yanked into the hallway outside the viewing area, Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton asked the warden and the presiding doctor, both behind the curtain with Lockett: “Have enough drugs been administered to cause death?” “No,” the doctor answered. Is another vein available, and if so, are there enough drugs remaining to finish the execution? Patton asked.

“No.” The doctor reported that Lockett was unconscious with a faint heartbeat. Patton called off the execution. Ten minutes later, Lockett was dead. State officials initially claimed he died of a massive heart attack, and that the problems with his execution were due to a “collapsed vein.” They ordered an investigation and an autopsy to be performed out of state, with Gov. Mary Fallin later declaring that Lockett’s 43-minute death simply “took too long.” An independent autopsy requested by attorneys for other death row inmates revealed what many experts had suspected: There was no collapsed vein. The body revealed numerous failed attempts to start an IV. The IV likely never delivered the drugs properly. In a 2010 lawsuit over the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ execution protocol, state officials admitted “that it would be painful to receive a concentrated dose of potassium chloride without first receiving an anesthetic.” This echoed what the U.S. Supreme Court said in 2008, in a separate challenge to death penalty protocols, saying it was “uncontested” that without a proper dose of anesthetic administered to the inmate “there is a substantial, constitutionally unacceptable risk of suffocation” from the final two drugs in lethal injections. Read the full story at tulsaworld. com/executions.

Great Plains Writer of the Year Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman By: Adam Kemp

Publication: Oklahoma Watch By: Clifton Adcock

Excerpt from “Free on the Plains”

Excerpt from “Questions of Oversight: Inmate Violations at Halfway Houses”

MEDFORD — A handful of “old-timers” sit in a downtown cafe tucked between vacant buildings as old as they are and gossip over a pot of coffee. With just shy of 1,000 residents, it seems everybody knows everybody in Medford and everybody loves to know everybody’s business. On this day, the caffeine-fueled dialogue among the regulars at Make Your Mark Coffeehouse and Deli on Cherokee Street is about the quiet, young stranger that’s come to town. “He was a soldier,” one man offers. “He was just released from prison,” another chimes in. “I think he’s here to help for harvest,” a third ventures, before offering the tidbit everyone seems most interested in. “I heard he killed somebody.” Miles away, on the far side of Grant County, in an open pasture, the stranger is running. A bull with a length of barbed wire wrapped around a leg is sprinting full speed and Michael Behenna is racing to catch up. Behenna is surprised by the agility of the 2,000-pound animal. Despite any pain or restriction, it seems to run without effort and jump with ease. The bull plays keep away, hurdling back and forth over a shallow, muddy creek. Uneven terrain and a recent rain storm make for treacherous footing. As he advances on the bull, Behenna’s foot sinks into mud to his knee. He manages to pull out his foot, but his boot stays planted in the muck. He stoops to retrieve it, balancing a sock-covered foot precariously in the air like an awkward flamingo. Behenna looks up to find himself face-to-face with the bull. “I think even he was wondering what I was doing out here,” Behenna recalled later while walking on the northern Oklahoma ranch where he now lives and works. “But these are the kind of moments I love. This is what I had been missing out on.” Today, Michael Behenna, 31, focuses on being the best ranch hand he can be. It’s what he can control. Behenna says he no longer thinks much about his time in Iraq as a 24-year-old platoon leader. Nor does he dwell on the long-ago events that altered his life and cost him a half-decade behind bars. Instead, four months after being released from the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth for killing an unarmed Iraqi man, former Army 1st Lt. Behenna is trying to free himself from his past entanglements.

Serious violations by inmates plagued Oklahoma’s two largest halfway houses for three years before the state took action in January by removing all inmates from one and later demanding a corrective plan at the other. State data analyzed by Oklahoma Watch show that from 2010 to 2013, the rates of serious “misconducts” by male offenders quadrupled at the Avalon Correctional Center in Tulsa, run by a for-profit company, Avalon Correctional Services Inc. After a video of an alleged guard-sanctioned fight there came to light in January, the Department of Corrections pulled out all 212 inmates. Ten months later, more than 200 inmates again are in the facility. Violations also spiked at the Carver Transitional Center in Oklahoma City, also operated by Avalon. The rate of serious misconducts nearly tripled from 2010 to 2012 before slipping last year. In March, the corrections department gave surprise random drug tests to 153 Carver inmates, and more than half tested positive. The state ordered an action plan to fix the problem, and since has added offenders to the facility. A prison watchdog group, OK-CURE, questions whether the state Department of Corrections should place so many inmates in Avalon-run facilities given the history of oversight problems. Avalon Correctional Services, based in Oklahoma City, now houses more inmates in its two male halfway houses than it did two years ago, when serious violations were climbing. Corrections Director Robert Patton said Avalon has taken steps to address concerns of oversight at Avalon Tulsa and is paying for a corrections department monitor to stay at the facility. The department also is monitoring the Carver facility, corrections officials said. Preliminary data show that in recent months serious violations by inmates have dropped at the Carver and Avalon Tulsa halfway houses. A big reason the state wants to reduce violations, such as drug use, at halfway houses is because the rise in serious misconducts has hampered the state’s ability to shift more inmates from overcrowded prisons to halfway houses, Board of Corrections minutes show. Inmates with egregious violations are usually moved back to higher security levels, taking up beds that might be filled by other inmates eligible to be gradually moved down into halfway houses. To ease the problem, the state earlier his year revised its policies to expand the pool of offenders eligible for placement in halfway houses.

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Great Plains Newspaper Photographer of the Year Publication: Tulsa World By: Mike Simons Judges’ Comments: Most well-rounded portfolio. Very nice singles and well-developed story.

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Great Plains Newspaper Photographer of the Year Finalist Publication: The Oklahoman By: Bryan Terry

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Great Plains Newspaper Photographer of the Year Finalist Publication: The Oklahoman By: Sarah Phipps

Great Plains Designer of the Year Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Tim Parks 10DM • OMAHA WORLD-HERALD • SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD • SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014 •

FILM STUDY AND ANALYSIS BY DIRK CHATEL AIN

LAYUPS AT THE RIM If we compiled McDermott’s career shot chart, the ﬁrst thing you’d notice is the high number of baskets within ﬁve feet of the rim. Defenses have tried and tried, but they can’t keep him away. Rim layups is a broad label, but primarily it consists of plays in which McDermott caught the ball and laid it in without a post move. Doesn’t mean they’re always easy shots — many are highly contested.

Fr.

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Jr.

CUTS TO THE BASKET McDermott’s movement without the ball may be his defining trait. But early in his career, he used it mostly to gain superior position inside. As he diversified his skill set and became more of a perimeter scorer, he found a new weapon, catching the ball on the move and scoring. These cuts to the basket produced 36 field goals as a senior. “A lot of teams in the Valley switched our ball screens,” Creighton assistant Darian DeVries said. “So we would roll Doug into the block on 6-foot guys all the time. As he’s gotten older, because he’s so good down there, teams haven’t switched nearly as much. They keep the 6-7, 6-8 guy on him. It’s more advantageous for us to have Doug moving and having a 6-7, 6-8 guy try to chase him around than having him try to muscle them down on the block.”

Sr.

140

Cuts Passes Dribbles

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Jr.

DUNKS

3,150

8 Fr.

Why was Doug McDermott so difficult to defend? It comes down to versatility. Without extraordinary size or quickness, McDermott became one of college basketball’s greatest scorers. He did it with a skill set so polished, it’s hard to narrow down what he does best. You can decide for yourself. Here is a breakdown of all 1,141 of McDermott’s career field goals. We charted them over the past two weeks after studying video of all 145 games.

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Why did McDermott return to Creighton for his senior year? Forget 3,000 points. Eight career dunks weren’t enough! He exceeded that this season alone, showing a little extra bounce. Beware, Dwight Howard. 3 2

The ‘automatic layup’

FREE THROWS

Senior night. 2:15 left. Doug McDermott had already eclipsed 3,000, but he was one point shy of his career high, 44. How would his father get him one more bucket? Call the oldest and best set play in the book, a play Doug jokingly labels “the automatic layup.” “I went the wrong way on the cut actually,” McDermott said. “I went over it instead of under. It works a lot better if you go under it. I just happened to kinda make a ridiculous shot there.” The first time he scored on it was against BYU his freshman year. In his career, McDermott would score 22 baskets on it, most uncontested. “What makes it so effective is how fast Doug can catch it and get it off,” assistant Darian DeVries said. “So if the defender doesn’t play it perfectly, it’s hard.” McDermott’s second most prolific set play? The ball starts on a wing. McDermott starts at the opposite elbow and accepts a cross screen from a fellow big man, usually Gregory Echenique or Ethan Wragge. He has the option to curl around the pick and dive to the rim, or pop out to the top of the key for a 3. The play first appeared in McDermott’s sophomore season. Since then, he scored 18 baskets on it, including 14 3s.

Great scorers have a way of quietly accumulating 20plus points. How? The free-throw line. Doug McDermott is no exception. Nineteen percent of his 3,150 points came at the charity stripe. McDermott’s career free-throw percentage was 83.1. Just for fun, let’s say he would’ve shot 90 percent. How many career points would he have scored? 3,200 on the dot.

Jr.

206 178

Sr.

594

of 715 ft attempts

MID-RANGE JUMPERS

Freshman

75% 80% 88% 86%

40 20

Sophomore

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So.

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Junior

Sr.

Senior

3-pointers 6

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10 Jr.

17 Sr.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS

Layups and dunks unks 21 14 8

McDermott grabbed 84 offensive rebounds his sophomore season. More than half, he followed with a bucket. McDermott was a glass-eater in his first All-American campaign, outworking opponents for loose balls, exhibiting his soft hands and quick release to score. His total offensive boards dropped significantly the past two years (58 and 57 as a senior). His field goals from offensive rebounding fell, too.

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They called it the “Nowitzki” because, well, who else did it besides Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki? A fallaway jumper off one foot, usually off the dribble, carries a high degree of difﬁculty. But in the summer of 2012, McDermott and Creighton assistant Darian DeVries were looking for a new weapon — an edge on bigger, more athletic defenders. They drilled it day after day, perfecting the footwork. “When you go off your back foot like that, everything you’ve ever been taught as a shooter is now off balance and different,” DeVries said. “You’re jumping off your back foot fading away from the basket, where everything you’ve ever been taught is inside foot going toward the basket. There aren’t a lot of guys that can do that.” McDermott used the Nowitzki shot a few times as a junior. As a senior, it became one of his go-to moves. He scored on the one-foot fall-away 19 times.

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McDermott started changing his game as a junior, stepping away from the basket more often. But not until Creighton joined the Big East did he embrace the midrange jump shot. As a sophomore, he was primarily a back-to-the-basket scorer. He made only seven jumpers all year from inside the arc. As a senior, McDermott preferred to post up 12-18 feet from the rim, then face up, where he could rise and ﬁre. “As a face-up player,” Creighton assistant Darian DeVries said, “you have so many more options than if you just have your back to the basket.”

The stepback jumper

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Jr.

Sr.

126

Fr.

So.

Jr.

If you had to pinpoint McDermott’s best spot on the floor, you might focus on the block. His ability to get the ball in the basket from seemingly impossible positions was uncanny. McDermott’s post-up game combined touch, tenacity, footwork, core strength, body control and a left hand among the best college basketball has ever seen. McDermott’s release was so quick, sometimes you wondered if he saw the basket before he let the ball go. Sophomore season, back-tothe-basket post-ups accounted for 105 of his 307 field goals. Junior season, it was only 58. Senior season, it was 47. For McDermott’s career, the split between right post and left post was 146/163. But no matter what side, he preferred to turn baseline, partly because he was so adept at shielding his defender on the high side. Posting on the right block, he scored 79 career field goals turning to his left shoulder and using his right hand — he was a master of the baby hook. On the left block, he scored 100 times turning to his right shoulder. But 33 of those came with the left hand. In fact, the signature shot of his sophomore season was a post-up on the left block, turn to the right shoulder and, with a hand in his face, he drained an 8-to10-foot left-handed shot off glass. Go try that in the driveway.

3-POINTERS

Sr.

POST-UP GAME

133

So.

Fr.

CAREER POINTS

Free-throw percentages

TRANSITION BASKETS KETS Few big men at any level of basketball run the ﬂoor like McDermott. Combined with Creighton’s commitment to an accelerated tempo, this is a recipe for easy baskets in transition. McDermott scored 55 2-pointers on the fast break. But notice how he used transition the past two years — for open 3s. McDermott loves the transition 3, especially from the top of the key. He made 17 treys in transition his senior year.

216 167 189 126

The ‘automatic layup’ begins with a box set. One guard, Grant Gibbs (10), pops out from the opposite block to the corner. As he’s catching the ball, the guard on the near block — usually Jahenns Manigat (12) — sets a back screen for McDermott (3), who slashes hard to the rim.

RIGHT BLOCK

Jumper 0

Fr.

So.

Jr.

11 Sr.

Right shoulder, left hand 5 5 4 2 Fr.

So.

Jr.

Sr.

Right shoulder, right hand 7 Fr.

So.

Jr.

Sr.

Left shoulder, left hand 4 3 1

Fr.

So.

Jr.

Sr.

Left shoulder, right hand 31 17 Fr.

15 So.

Jr.

Sr.

146

LEFT BLOCK

The shot to beat St. John’s. The shot to beat Butler. The shot to put him over 3,000 points. The shot to bury Louisiana in the NCAA tournament. What do they have in common? They came from 3-point range. McDermott was an excellent high school shooter, but early on at Creighton, he spent an overwhelming majority of his time around the basket. In McDermott’s freshman and sophomore seasons, his 3s were mostly unguarded. He set high screens, then popped to a place on the arc and waited for a pass. Or he simply spotted up. Defenses didn’t key on his jump shot. Junior season, however, McDermott’s outside stroke ﬂourished. He not only hit 49 percent of his 3s, he made most with a hand in his face. His release was noticeably quicker. As a senior, McDermott added another element to his 3-point arsenal — range. Roughly half of his 3s came from NBA range. His favorite spot on the ﬂoor? The top of the key. Forty percent of McDermott’s career 3s came from straight away.

Zone 1 8

Fr.

So.

Fr.

So.

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS

It was the second high court ruling in 10 years expressly telling prison ofﬁcials the proper way to calculate release dates for some of Nebraska’s worst offenders. And it essentially informed prison leaders they were violat-

ing the law by releasing inmates anywhere from six months to 15 years early. Yet it was met with doubt, even deﬁance, from the prison records manager charged with setting inmates’ release dates, according

to emails obtained exclusively by The World-Herald. The emails to her supervisors — combined with memos and legal briefs — paint a picture of a Nebraska Department of Correctional Services that ignored

the law despite two Nebraska Supreme Court rulings, a lower court decision and prosecutors’ alarms that two prisoners were on the streets early. On Feb. 8, 2013, just ﬁve hours after the Nebraska Supreme Court spelled out the state’s sentencing law in no uncertain terms, the longtime Corrections records manager ﬁred off an

email to her supervisors. Prison ofﬁcials were “asked if we would ... go with what the Supreme Court says,” wrote Jeannene Douglass. “I said ... we would do what is in the inmate’s best interest, that being, continue calculating the sentences the way we have always done it.” Douglass gave a few explanaSee Prisons: Page 6

JULY 27, 2014 • SUNRISE EDITION

A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE

Now based in New York City, and with a hectic schedule that involves world travel, the former football player ﬁnds peace and calm in his photography. Outdoors in Sports, Pages 10&11C

17 Fr.

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IED kills 2, including Nebraska soldier

LOOKED LIKE SANTA CLAUS.

For the ﬁrst time since June 2012, a Nebraskan — 30-year-old Staff Sgt. Benjamin Prange — has been killed while serving in Afghanistan. Midlands

Closing a church, keeping a memory It wasn’t about raising money at the recent auction at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, it was all about remembrances. Living

Do the Huskers need Pelini’s bark back? Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini’s image has seen a dramatic overhaul in the last year. Tom Shatel examines what that means for the now off-the-radar Huskers. Sports

HE WAS HEAVYSET, BALDING, BEARDED AND, IN A FACT LOST ON NEITHER OF THEM, OLD. “I’M OLD ENOUGH TO BE YOUR GRANDPA,” HE TOLD DAWN, WHO HAD JUST TURNED 15.

Comic-Con salutes Omaha comics store Legend Comics & Coffee shares the award for best comic book shop in the world with an Australian store. Living, Page 2E

NEXT SUNDAY Metro Guide 2014: Art of the city Discover the iconic works of art in the metropolitan area in our annual guide to Omaha and surrounding communities.

DAWN WAS DISGUSTED AND SCARED. AND SHE WAS TRAPPED. THE DOOR WAS LOCKED. THE WINDOWS BARELY OPENED.

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2 So.

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NEARBY WERE THE PIMPS WHO FORCED HER INTO THIS JUST HOURS AFTER DAWN HAD LANDED AT THEIR HOUSE THINKING IT WOULD BE AN ESCAPE FROM HOME.

Omaha forecast Today’s forecast High: 82 Low: 61 Full report: Page 10B On Omaha.com: Find the latest weather updates

Index Around & About ............. 5E Celebrations..............4&5B Jobs listings.................5-9D Obituaries..................6&7B Opinion ......................8&9B Puzzles............................ 8E TV .................................. 10E 90 PAGES

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The story continues on Page 4

COMING MONDAY: A new mother struggles to break free from her pimp.

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The ﬁeld-goal numbers don’t add up to McDermott’s career total of 1,141, because there is crossover in a few categories. A cut, for instance, also may lead to a rim layup.

DRIVES McDermott’s dribbling will never be confused with Steph Curry — or even 6-10 Kevin Durant. And as a sophomore, you could count McDermott’s dribbles in a game on two hands. But his handle has improved. He doesn’t need a teammate to assist him anymore. As a senior, McDermott scored 46 buckets on the drive, most of which he drove the ball left.

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P H O T O I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y R YA N S O D E R L I N / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

SENIOR LINEBACKER

CETHAN CARTER

SENIOR RECEIVER

SOPHOMORE TIGHT END

Perhaps he’s Nebraska’s secret weapon. The potential is there. Husker coaches, players and many of the program’s hardcore fans know this to be true. NU even had a special package of plays designed specifically for Turner before he was injured last year. But little is on film. Thing is, these new-age offenses designed to create mismatches are all looking to utilize guys with Turner’s skill set. The senior receiver fits the mold of a versatile X-factor — a nightmare assignment for safeties and linebackers because he can make you obsess over fly sweeps and bubble screens before blowing by you on a deep post route. That’s the future Turner is working hard for. — Jon Nyatawa

Carter is ready to make opponents remember him in the future. He can post up smaller defensive backs with his big frame, and if opposing defensive ends think they can sleep on him, he’ll show them a mean block. Carter’s future should include lots of catches up the seam of a defense — if Husker quarterbacks can ﬁnd him. Until then, he’ll stay versatile and ready for whatever offensive coordinator Tim Beck throws at him. — Sam McKewon

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122

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THE TWO-PART SERIES: Traditionally seen as criminals, prostitutes often are viewed now as victims, held against their will and forced to do as they are told. Law enforcement and community groups are stepping in to help.

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Right shoulder, right hand

He shuttled around at different positions for the first three years, but Cooper found his home last year at strong safety, leading the team in tackles. For Cooper, a future career in the NFL will be forged this season. He’s shown he can make tackles when it counts, like his game-saving one late in the Gator Bowl. Can he become a top-flight ballhawk, too? Cooper is a late bloomer at the college level, but now that he’s arrived, he can make a statement for the Huskers — and himself. The future is what he makes of it. — Sam McKewon

JAMAL TURNER

Sr.

7 Fr.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 2034

ZAIRE ANDERSON

Jr.

Right shoulder, left hand

They told her she owed them because they had given her a spot to crash. The pimps made her put on lingerie. They made her pose for suggestive online ads. And after Dawn had spent a terrifying night job-shadowing a prostitute named Montana and bawling with a fellow runaway who was just 13, the pimps brought her to this apartment near Hanscom Park. They told her it was go time.

The sport’s future, with offenses fully in an innovative advantage, would presumably feature much less of the point-of-attack slugfest that half of the Big Ten currently prefers. The 220-pound Anderson can certainly handle that style of play — he brings a cutthroat physicality that keeps him productive in those 60-minute, fullpadded brawls. But Anderson is at his best when maneuvering about in space, using his well-reﬁned instincts to track down ballcarriers and drop them to the turf with force. He’ll have to show some discipline to stay in position for throwback screens or weakside back-cuts. But if left unblocked, he’ll do damage. — Jon Nyatawa

Sr.

Jumper 0

Fr.

ERIN GRACE

••• We are starting to hear more about people like Dawn who are trapped in an underground sex market. Once called prostitutes, they are now considered victims of sex trafficking if they are forced, coerced or tricked into providing sex for money — money they often don’t see. Technology facilitates “the world’s oldest profession,” pushing prostitutes off street corners and into perfectly legal online classifieds where, on a recent weekday, some 30 “escorts” in Omaha were awaiting your text message. These victims are hidden in plain sight whether online or squirreled away in an apartment on the quiet street where Dawn and her 13-year-old friend were held captive. Yet the victims are hard to help and the traffickers hard to catch. Dawn got lucky and got out rather quickly. But it was not quite fast enough.

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SENIOR SAFETY No matter what the future of football turns out to be, teams will always need that big-bodied intimidator who forces opposing offenses to question whether their breadand-butter plays will maintain their normal effectiveness without paying extra attention to the mammoth inside. Valentine has slimmed down a bit. But he’s still a beast. And if he’s able to embrace the intricacies of the position and familiarize himself with schematic principles, Valentine could be making an impact on an NFL roster at some point down the road. For now, though, the improving sophomore will focus on terrorizing Big Ten offensive lines. — Jon Nyatawa

Zone 5 9

COREY COOPER VINCENT VALENTINE SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Sr.

20 4

LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1885

HER FIRST JOHN

Jr.

Zone 4

Coach Bo Pelini has stocked his roster with next-generation players on both sides of the football.

SEX TRAFFICKING: A BELLEVUE TEEN IS PULLED INTO PROSTITUTION OVERNIGHT

5 Sr.

INSIDE Ex-Husker Rimington ﬁnds solace through the lens of his camera

Jr.

Zone 3

A WORLD-HERALD SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

Emails show that Nebraska prison officials knew that inmate release dates were flawed but failed to act

Zone 2

Corrections ignored repeated warnings BY TODD COOPER AND ALISSA SKELTON

11DM

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Great Plains Designer of the Year Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Tammy Yttri

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Amy Cavenaile

HUSKERS GET SCHOOLED IN BASICS AGAIN

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Brady Jones

PLAYERS VENT ON TWITTER

NO SEARCH FIRM

BO IS OWED $7.9 MILLION

Meeting with A.D. fails to relieve the sting of their coach’s firing.

Eichorst will go solo in hiring new coach as speculation ramps up.

A.D. says the athletic department can pay Pelini from reserves.

TOM SHATEL: Minnesota, like Wisconsin, punishes NU the way the Huskers used to win games. Seven pages of coverage in Postgame

LIVING

MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2014 • SUNRISE EDITION

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MAYOR’S LABOR PAIN

City unions resistant to restructured pension plan

NOVEMBER 23, 2014 • SUNRISE EDITION

History buffs’ analysis of Iwo Jima photo challenges a long-assumed truth

If Mayor Jean Stothert is going to dramatically cut employee costs in her ﬁrst term, she has to do it now. Stothert campaigned on a promise to corral city spending, and the current round of labor negotiations could be her only chance to substantially cut into pension and health care costs. But the negotiations have proved difﬁcult. Some of the unions have balked at Stothert’s offers, saying her proposals are too extreme. The police union took the city to court and even put Stothert on the witness stand. Two other contracts are on the brink of moving to the state labor court. Meanwhile Stothert, a Republican, is under pressure from taxpayer groups and others to go further in exacting concessions from unions. The city has been negotiating new contracts with the city’s four major unions for nearly all of Sto-

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Something for every movie lover Let reviewer Bob Fischbach get you up to speed on all the holiday movies opening from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. Living

Holiday Book: Ideas and events Our 40-page special section features not only gift suggestions but also a robust listing of holiday events.

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SIX NAMES ETCHED IN STONE?

On Feb. 23, 1945, war photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped one of the most iconic images in American history. Since 1947, the military has said the six men pictured below were the ﬂag raisers (one of the six is not shown in the photo above). But new evidence raises a question: Are these the correct six men?

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This remake of the ﬁlm and Broadway classic sees Quvenzhané Wallis as the adorable little orphan. PG

SIX PAGES OF COVERAGE IN SPORTS

MATTHEW HANSEN

See Negotiations: Page 2

Eric stands at the front of a classroom and points at the blown-up image of a famous photo. He’s pointing because he believes the photo has long concealed a lie. He’s pointing because he believes the same photo can also be used to reveal something else. “Have we ever looked at this photo?” he asks the handful of people who have gathered to view his research, including a Creighton University expert on American history and a military historian. “Have we really looked at it?” You have seen this photo, perhaps seen it depicted on stamps you licked or on the covers of magazines you read or on a 60-foot-tall bronze statue you looked up at before entering Arlington National Cemetery. You have seen this photo because on Feb. 23, 1945, in the middle of one of the fiercest battles of World War II, a group of U.S. Marines carried a flag up the highest peak on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. As six men struggled to plant the flagpole into the ground, an Associated Press photographer, who was worried he would miss the shot, clicked his shutter without even looking through his viewfinder. You have seen this photo because it’s one of the most famous photos in American history. Eric has stared at this photo for hours. He has zoomed in on the black-and-white image until he can see the creases in the men’s helmet covers and can study the unique shapes of their noses. He has combed through dozens of other photos taken that day atop Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi. He has watched a film clip of the famous flag raising so many times he has each frame memorized. Eric is an amateur history buff, a World War II enthusiast, a 39-year-old so into the Marines that he maintains a website celebrating the history of the Marines Corps’ famed 5th Division. He has stared at the photo for the better part of a year, and he’s convinced that he and another amateur history buff have discovered something that has apparently eluded military leaders, World War II experts and historians for nearly seven decades. Since 1947, the identities of the half-dozen young men raising this flag have been undisputed, six names known to the Marine Corps and to military historians in the same way the rest of us know that the flag they are raising is red, white and blue. But disputing the undisputed is exactly what Eric is doing. After months of research, he is standing in this classroom and arguing that a famous medic, long identified as the Navy corpsman standing smack in the middle of the famous photo, is in fact not in the photo at all.

Bo Pelini is fired as big-game losses overshadow his nine-win seasons

ARE YOU TAKING THE WHOLE FAMILY ALONG?

WILD

History will show that Nebraska called a press conference Nov. 30 to discuss the firing of its football coach. His record: 9-3. The coach: Frank Solich. Eleven years later, there was another press conference to discuss the firing of Bo Pelini, who was also 9-3. Nebraska football history majors can tell you what happens next. Does Shawn Eichorst know anybody in the NFL? I don’t know what Eichorst will do. I have no idea whom he knows. I don’t have a clue if he’ll hit a home run or a brokenbat single. But one thing I know: This isn’t 2003 all over again. Not even close. You’re worried about another fishing expedition that goes into January, a line of coaches who won’t answer their phone because NU fired a good man who went 9-3? Don’t. It’s not the same. Unless you get an autograph from Nick Saban or Urban Meyer on a contract, hir-

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“I’m not going to lower our standards,” NU Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst said at his press conference Sunday. “I don’t think Nebraskans want that.” At top, Bo Pelini trots off the ﬁeld for the last time after Friday’s overtime win at Iowa.

Lee Barfknecht peers into A.D.’s mind

Dirk Chatelain on risks and rewards

NU regents were in the dark on ﬁring

Don’t believe names you’ll hear — Tressel, Frost, Fitzgerald, et al. — until you hear from Eichorst. Sports, Page 1C

Eichorst gambled in ﬁring Pelini, but he also sent notice to the football world: NU won’t settle. Sports, Page 1C

Some wonder why they didn’t get advance notice of the move, which includes a big contract buyout. Page 2A

HUSKER TITLE DROUGHT Of the 64 schools playing football in the power conferences, 43 have won conference championships since Nebraska won its last in 1999. Find a breakdown of that streak, and several other Nebraska program measurables — including All-Americans and NFL draft picks — in Sports.

See Pelini: Page 2

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Big names star in this Stephen Sondheim musical about what happens after the fairy tale. PG

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Going to the movies without leaving the house

The Start Center gives people with motivation guidance for their ﬂedgling businesses. Money

A look at how a few Midlanders have created their very own mini-theaters. Living

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ART OR SCIENCE?

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A single mother battles her son’s fear of a terrifying monster, though we’re not sure who the scary one really is. UNRATED

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PEOPLE

BIG HERO 6

A robotics whiz and his plus-sized inﬂatable robot ﬁght a masked villain with their friends. PG

PENGUINS

Bilbo Baggins returns — along with dwarves, elves and wizards — to ﬁght Smaug and a bunch of other baddies. PG-13

PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR The four penguin spies from the “Madagascar” franchise get their own silly story. PG

A professor with a gambling problem (Mark Wahlberg) just can’t help himself from putting more on the line. R

A LOT

LIKE THOSE BRITISH ACCENTS?

NO YES

THE IMITATION GAME

UNBROKEN

The sort-of, kind-of Old Testament story of Moses (Christian Bale), including the parting of the Red Sea. PG-13

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A LITTLE

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EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

COMEDY OR DRAMA?

NO A LITTLE OR A LOT?

YES

PEOPLE OR PENGUINS?

Polishing entrepreneurial diamonds

INTO THE WOODS

ANIMATED?

YES

Ben Stiller’s Larry is back to save the museum exhibits when the magic that brought them to life starts to fail. PG

“We just — for whatever reason — weren’t good enough in the games that mattered. ... I didn’t see that changing at the end of the day.” – Shawn Eichorst, Nebraska athletic director

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DRAMA Reese Witherspoon takes a 1,100-mile solo hike in this ﬁlm adapted from the book by Cheryl Strayed. R

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Don’t expect A.D. Eichorst to flounder as Pederson did in ’03

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COLUMNIST

BY SAM MCKEWON AND HENRY J. CORDES

GOODFELLOWS

COMEDY Chris Rock wrote, directed and stars in this movie about a comedian trying to make it as a serious actor. R

[ START HERE ]

TOM SHATEL

LINCOLN — Nebraska Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst said he ﬁred Husker football coach Bo Pelini Sunday after assessing the “totality” of the program’s performance — on and off the ﬁeld. But it didn’t take long for Eichorst, in the midst of his half-hour press conference at Memorial Stadium, to get to his core reason for dismissing a coach who’d won at least nine games in all seven of his seasons at Nebraska, including a 9-3 campaign this year. It’s a reason that will be familiar to fans, boosters and observers who have followed Nebraska in the Pelini era: When the Huskers had to win a big game against a top team, they too often lost, many times by a large margin. “I didn’t see enough improvement in areas that were important for us to move forward and play championship-caliber football,” Eichorst said. “We just — for whatever reason — weren’t good enough in the games that mattered, against championship-caliber-quality opponents. I didn’t see that changing at the end of the day.” Since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2011, Nebraska is 4-9 against opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. NU lost eight of those nine games by double digits. In Nebraska’s lone appearance in the Big Ten championship game, it suffered a traumatic 70-31 loss to Wisconsin.

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Going to the movies on Christmas Day is a time-honored tradition, but it’s tough to decide what to see. Will you pick the dark fairy tale “Into the Woods”? Or a war film like “Unbroken”? Whether you take the kids or leave them at home, use our flow chart to figure out which flick to take in.

ANNIE

NEW MYSTERY ARISES FROM ICONIC IMAGE

BY ROSEANN MORING WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

B R E N D A N S U L L I VA N / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

Stothert eyes 401(k)-type benefit to help dig out of $825 million budget hole

NO THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY — PART 1

ART

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

Amy Adams is painter Margaret Keane, whose husband claimed credit for her work. PG-13

Another true story follows Louis Zamperini, an Olympic track star who survives a plane crash and POW camps. PG-13

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing, who broke the Enigma code during WWII, then was prosecuted for homosexuality. PG-13

SCIENCE

BIG EYES

After the last Hunger Games, Katniss ﬁnds herself in District 13, deciding whether to be the Mockingjay. PG-13

This movie shows both the love between physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife, Jane, and his decline due to ALS. PG-13

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Dr. Doug Armstrong’s job at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium sees him draw blood from the tails of lions, give ultrasounds to tigers and ﬂy as far away as Asia, all with the goal of species survival. As the zoo’s director of animal health, Armstrong plays a hands-on role as he heads a department responsible for the health of the animals in the zoo and for improving the survivability of select species around the world. “For me, it really is about

the conservation,” Armstrong said. “We’re helping prevent extinction.” When he started at the zoo in 1985, Armstrong’s job was that of the lone general veterinarian and researcher. Now, in addition to heading the expanded animal health department, he has also held leadership positions with the Species Survival Plan for tigers and the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. “That stuff is above and beyond what most veterinarians would do,” said zoo COO Danny Morris. “He’s a brilliant See Zoo: Page 2

Brooks packs a lot into album, but little will stick with you BY KEVIN COFFEY WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

H E N R Y D O O R LY Z O O

Dr. Doug Armstrong is the director of animal health at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium.

Though memories of Garth Brooks’ current return to the stage will persist in the minds of many fans — who could forget him belting out “The Thunder Rolls” or “Friends in Low Places”? — it’s doubtful that anyone will forever recall the first time she heard “Man Against Machine.” Brooks’ new album is his first in 13 years. It’s a pleasant listen full of the classic country tropes of love, regret, rodeo, fishing, cowboys and soldiers, but almost nothing will remain with you when it’s over.

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Men” 2007

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WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

scar owns December. Comic-book heroes have May. • But October belongs to scary movies. • From the earliest days of cinema history, people have lined up and paid good money to be frightened half out of their wits. • We don’t pretend to know why. • So we asked director-editor Tom Elkins of Omaha (“The Haunting in Connecticut,” “Annabelle”). • “What’s great about scary movies is they’re like roller coaster rides,” he shot back instantly. “They allow us to experience our greatest fears in a safe, communal environment. It’s that thrill — being on the edge of your seat — but you’re safe. A lot of people love that experience.” • Agreed. In a salute to October’s favorite film genre, we asked Elkins to help us draw up a family tree of horror. We soon realized there were so many branches and famous titles, we’d need a giant sequoia to display them all. • Here’s our best effort. Add your own favorite branch (campy comes to mind) and that stray title that got your adrenaline pumping. And happy Halloween.

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“The Fly” 1958

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The minimum wage is going up on Thursday, but employers are more worried about Round II in 2016. Money

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Paychecks will get bigger for some

Lee Barfkneckt and Steven Pivovar assess men’s hoops as NU and Creighton prepare to start conference play. Sports

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•

ys Da

Lower expectations for Jays, Huskers

W-H editors recap the region’s biggest stories and the best of the theater, music and book worlds. Midlands and Living

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No matter the genre, these horror films will scare you to your roots

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Donations provide assistance year-round with emergency expenses as well as meals during the holidays and clothing for needy schoolchildren. The World-Herald covers the administrative costs. To make donations: World-Herald Goodfellows 1314 Douglas St., Suite 125, Omaha, NE 68102 or at Omaha.com/goodfellows Donations to date: $564,559.85 See donations list on Page 6B

» A timeline on rise of Ebola at Omaha.com/ midlanders » Past coverage at Omaha.com/ebola

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BAY LEAF TIPS AND RECIPES Because dried bay leaves are brittle and dull green, their efﬁcacy is best judged not by appearance but by aroma. Open a fresh jar, and the smell is pronounced, whereas bay leaves kept for more than six months may have a muted aroma. Break one or two of the leaves into pieces; if they are not more aromatic than the leaves still in the jar, it’s time to restock your supply. Rye breadsticks, a rub for ﬁsh or chicken and even a chocolate pudding all call for bay leaf. Page 2E

“C arrie ” 19 76

09 20 9”

It sounds like the stuff of urban food myths, except the story’s true: Wife simmers a pot of spaghetti sauce with a dried bay leaf in it. She neglects to extract the brittle herb before dinner is served. Husband swallows the leaf and chokes on it, prompting a 911 call. (He survives; eventually, the marriage does not.) “Gosh, it must have been 38 years ago, but it’s not something you forget,” said Connecticut resident Ellyn Broden, who was living in Laurel, Maryland, at the time

daily basis. They are put into much more frightening situations than what I was walking into. So I took a deep breath, I reminded myself that I was extremely well trained for the procedure that I was about to go do. ... I said two prayers, took another deep breath and I walked in. “Once I actually made eye contact with the patient and saw that this is a human being who needed my help, I was ﬁne.” Johnson, a critical care physician and anesthesiologist, is a member of the team of 22 nurses,

and had to take care of her neighbors’ children when their mother (the cook) and father (bay leaf victim) were whisked to the emergency room. Bay leaves do not typically incite drama. In fact, the dried kind are dull green and inspire no agreed-upon description. Ask a home cook, and he or she might say a bay leaf is added for ﬂavor, or as an aromatic. Others say, sure, they toss a bay leaf in when a recipe calls for it, but they can’t tell you why. The leaves have been described as “earthy,” “ﬂoral,” “minty,” “like cinnamon spice,” “subtle” and “assertive.” How can that be? See Bay leaves: Page 2

“The

THE WASHINGTON POST

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GOODFELLOWS The 2014 drive continues through Wednesday.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Meet some members of the team that treated three Ebola patients. Pages 8&9A

00 20

BY BONNIE S. BENWICK

e” pir m e Va th of

wave of anxiety hit Dr. Daniel Johnson as he walked toward the Ebola patient’s room. Johnson needed to place a multiline IV in the patient’s neck to allow caregivers to draw blood and administer medicine, nutrition and ﬂuids. As procedures go, Johnson said, this one has a higher risk than most for the physician because of the potential for exposure to the patient’s

blood. With the often-deadly Ebola virus, less than a teaspoon of blood can contain enough viral particles to infect millions of people. By that day in early September, 240 health care workers in West Africa had contracted Ebola. More than half of those had died. The patient Johnson was going to see, Dr. Rick Sacra, had himself been infected while performing cesarean sections in a Liberian hospital. Johnson stopped. He thought about his wife and their two children, ages 3 and 2. Then, choking up, he recalled: “I thought about what our military personnel are asked to do on a

Frightful family tree

A SUPPORTING FLAVOR

Bay laurel leaves have been prized for culinary use for thousands of years

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“The

‘The whole world was watching’ BY BOB GLISSMANN

C. D.

22 nurses, 10 lab workers, 6 respiratory therapists, 5 care techs and two dozen physicians WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

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The poll comes as supporters of same-sex marriage prepare to challenge the state’s gay-marriage ban in court. The ACLU of Nebraska and others ﬁled a lawsuit in federal court last month, arguing that the 2000 ban violates the constitutional rights of gay people to marry. It also comes as Nebraska ﬁnds itself in a shrinking minority of states — 15 in all — where gay marriage bans are still in place or where they have survived legal challenges. Al Riskowski, a longtime opponent of gay marriage in Nebraska, said the World-Herald Poll under-

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BY ROBYNN TYSVER WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

When it comes to gay marriage, Omaha is out of step with the rest of Nebraska. And when it comes to the rest of Nebraska, the state is out of step with national polls that show a growing acceptance of same-sex marriages. A majority of Nebraskans — 54 percent — oppose the legalization of gay marriage in the state, according to a World-Herald statewide poll. In Omaha, however, more people supported than opposed gay marriage: 46 percent in support, 41 percent opposed.

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F L O W C H A R T A N D I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S A R A Z I E G L E R A N D B R A D Y J O N E S — T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

“Frankenstein” 1910, 1931, 1994, 2015 “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” 1920, 1931, 1941, 2015 “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” 1923, 1939, 1956, 1996 “The Phantom of the Opera” 1925, 1943, 2004 “The Mummy” 1932, 1999, 2016 “King Kong” 1933, 1976, 2005 “Godzilla” 1954, 2014 “The Host” 2006

Garth Brooks, “Man Against Machine” (XL Recordings) Available now Rating: ½ (out of four) Easily the album’s best song, “All American Kid” is a ﬁddlefueled tune about football and soldiers that’s sure to tug on heartstrings and make you feel the most patriotic of feelings. Brooks also delivers a few more pleasant songs such as “Wrong About You,” a fun and simple “I miss her so much” See Brooks: Page 2

S TA RT Y O U R D AY LIKE A HUSKER. 1 0 % O F P R O C E E D S S U P P O RT U N L AT H L E T I C S

SCOOTERSCOFFEE.COM/HUSKERCOFFEE

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Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year Publication: Freelance By: Shane Bevel Judges’ Comments: Excellent portfolio of well-shot images filled with humanity.

18 | greatplainsawards.org

greatplainsawards.org | 19

great Plains magazine Photographer of the Year Finalist Publication: Slice Magazine by: M.J. Alexander

UP FRONT | Wanderlust

77 Counties: ‘Nothing Makes Me Sad’

THE OLDEST OKLAHOMAN

APPROACHES 114 IN CANADIAN COUNTY By M.J. Alexander

AUTUMN RAIN IS FALLING ON THE WINDOW OF ORA REED HOLLAND’S ROOM IN A NURSING HOME IN CANADIAN COUNTY. It’s the hour after lunch and she has nestled back into her brass bed for a nap, her second since breakfast. The rest is well-deserved. On this September day, Mrs. Holland is 113 years, 263 days old. Ora Reed Holland is the oldest Oklahoman ever documented, the ninth-oldest living American and 15th-oldest person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group. She has lived 996,864 hours since she was born in Rosebud, Missouri, on December 24, 1900, the third of 12 children of Nathan and Stella Reed. This Christmas Eve will be her 114th birthday. This is the second time in two days I have stopped by. The day before, she was sound asleep. She sleeps a lot. Today she is very tired, and about to drift off again. It used to be I would visit on her birthday, or just after, to see what she had to say and make a new portrait. Since she moved to the nursing home, I have come by more often. We were introduced in 2006, when she was 105. She was living independently in Tulsa, cooking for herself and cutting the lawn with a push mower. She told me then her longevity was a surprise. “I had bone troubles. When I was five, they didn’t think I’d live to be 10. When I was 10, they said I wouldn’t live to be 15. Boy, they’d be surprised now.” She married twice. Divorced twice. Had one child, a daughter, survive to adulthood. Her first car was a 1918 Model T. Her last was a Buick Century, in which she received a speeding ticket at age 99. On her 112th birthday, she remembered, “I always worked hard. You can tell by looking at me I worked hard ... I had to work to live.” She staffed the counter at Kress department store in Tulsa. In Dallas, she founded one of the first professional baby-sitting services. During World War II, she worked in the office at a Texas shipyard. Afterward, she owned and operated a hair salon. Her memories are fading now, as are her hearing and sight. On some visits she’d be disappointed when I showed up. “You’re M.J.? Humph! I thought you’d be a man!” She enjoyed the company of men, so I learned to bring one along whenever I could. She was sharp-witted and outspoken, critiquing the gifts I would bring: roses were not a favorite. Candy was a hit. Cookies were the best. She is often asked about her secret to a long life. She has no easy answers. On her 112th birthday, she said, “Well honey, I lived long because that’s what God wants. It’s not what I want. It’s what he wants. I think everything about me’s what he wanted. I don’t have any much to say about myself ... That’s just the way I look at it. I don’t know why he wants me in this condition, but he does.” On her 113th, she refused to believe the number of birthdays she’s seen, and insisted. “I’m not a day older than 99.”

Editor’s Note: This installment is part of author M.J. Alexander’s “77 Counties” series, chronicling her travels across Oklahoma. The full series is available at sliceok.com/travel/

36 SLICE // NOVEMBER 2014

NOVEMBER 2014 // SLICE 37

City of Statues

UNLIKE MOST OF HIS NEIGHBORS, CHRIS BARBEE’S MAILBOX IS TOPPED BY A TROPHY AND BALANCED ON THREE BOWLING BALLS.

The Romantic Dreams of Alfred Marland

Of Jaxon and Mackie, Winter and Sage

Towering statues cast sh over the rolling hills and streets of Ponca City, a t 25,000 that sits 18 mile of the Kansas border, 10 north of Oklahoma City largest settlement in an plain-spoken that voters keep the temporary “Co designation even after s adding two more letters the name Kay County.

On the southeast side o Oklahoma’s tallest statu heroic 22-foot tall bronz Standing Bear – extends against a sky marked wi of smoke from the state refinery, founded by E.W and now operated by Co subsidiary Phillips 66.

Ernest Whitworth Marland sprang from a line of optimistic British men.

Downtown, on Grand Av statues memorialize oil E.W. Marland and Lewis Near the entrance to Cit a larger-than-life homes astride a horse at full ga memorates the centenn 1893 Cherokee Strip La

His father, Alfred Marland, had a romantic nature and a soft spot for lost causes. As a 17-year-old solider,

At the base of the hill be Marland Mansion is the cast bronze Pioneer Wo

20 | greatplainsawards.org

Great Plains Magazine Photographer of the Year Finalist Publication: Edible Tulsa By: Brooke Allen

good sanitation.” But this is all not without reason. Wickizer says he has tasted multiple wines from different wineries where you could smell or taste the bacteria or mold, and he refuses to let that happen. “Life is too short to make crappy wine,” he said. Another advantage to opening a winery in Muskogee is an opportunity to give back to the community. The way Wickizer sees it, he could invest his money in something else with a much better return for a whole lot less work. But what does that contribute to the town? Pecan Creek is a new business that is already contributing to employment, local arts, teaching and even organized events. This is a living lesson in showing people with money that it is November/December 2014 • Issue 2 • Gratis OK to invest in their community and maybe make a difference. In 2014 Pecan Creek will release six wines including the dry Coyote Red, a sweet Chambourcin, two Rieslings, a Vignoles and a ros«. Later they will also be releasing a pear dessert wine and a blackberry dessert wine. Though still in its infant stages, this winery is setting the bar high for local wine. To even Eating. Drinking. Thinking. Local. the most casual observer it is evident that everyone from Wickizer to the pruners babying the newest of vines has a passion for what they are doing and a commitment to see the entire process through. This dedication is even more evident when you taste Pecan Creek Wine. As their wine label says, “We are proud of our Oklahoma grapes… We are passionate about creating outstanding local wines that will make you proud too.” These wines are something any Oklahoman can be proud to say came from their home state. For Wickizer, Pecan Creek is about people enjoying a product and being pleased that it came from their community. “I like to see the reaction on people’s faces when I tell them that a wine came from Oklahoma,” said Wickizer. He knows from experience that great wines are possible in Oklahoma and people are often pleasantly surprised when they hear where it came from. “That’s a real plus for me.”

The Canebrake’s Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Tart and essential ingredients. Recipe on page 29. September/October 2014 • Issue 1 • Gratis

edible

Tulsa

Eating. Drinking. Thinking. Local.

TRIPLE TAKE Words by Valarie P. Carter Photography by Brooke Allen

Labor of Lunch • Wide-Eyed in Ft. Gibson The Best of What’s Around • Roll Out the Barrels Member of Edible Communities

ith apple season just around www.EdibleTulsa.com | 23 the corner, our Edible kitchen couldn’t help but utilize these pommes d’Oklahoma. Promising eternal youth and fertility (but mostly deliciousness) this forbidden fruit will always be welcomed in the Edible Tulsa kitchen. In each issue this “Triple Take” series will feature an ingredient, technique or dish presented by not only the Edible Tulsa kitchen but also by a skilled home cook and a food professional. To kick things off in style we 24

EDIBLE TULSA | HOLIDAY 2014

recruited legendary apple pie maker Kari Tyree of Owasso as our home cook and Pastry Chef Amber Ortez of the Canebrake Resort and Spa in Wagoner, a native Tulsan, as our pro. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, we’re going to be physician free for a very long time. We hope that adage includes apples dolled up with butter and sugar.

Get the Party Started • Big Plans on Tap in Tulsa Vineyard

Top: left to right Gary Ketcham, D. I. Wilkinson, M.D., Stainless • The Science of a New The Reverend Bob Wickizer; Middle: Bottles of white Member of Edible Communities wine, Vignoles, in the tasting room; Bottom: The Reverend Bob Wickizer draws a sample of wine from a tank.

EDIBLE TULSA | FALL 2014

greatplainsawards.org | 21

great Plains magazine Writer of the Year Publication: St. Louis Magazine by: Jeannette Cooperman Judges’ Comments: Once I started reading, I didn’t want to stop. Propulsive, compelling, humane.

excerpt from “seeking Justice” Frank Bowlin had started calling his grandson Dusty when the boy was 4 and rode a sheep at the little Britches rodeo, rode him hard but finally fell and lay there happy in the dust, spread-eagle, making angels. so in February 2012, when his grandson came out to help put siding on an old barn, Frank had to remind himself that Dusty—matthew Pellegrini—was 18 and headed fast toward manhood. one evening, he held out his phone to his grandma, sliding through photos of two girls, asking what she thought. “Well, they kind of look like hoochie mamas,” Fay Bowlin said tentatively. “that’s what I like,” he told her, and burst out laughing. Now, as they nailed the last strips of siding in place, Frank teased the boy: “You got girlfriends? Nah, Dusty, you don’t have no game.” “I’ve got game!” Frank turned serious. “You can bring a girl out here anytime, matty,” he said, switching to the family nickname. “Your friends are always welc—” matty’s cellphone rang again. maybe not those friends, Frank grumbled to himself. matty’s mother was worried—she said one of them was in his twenties. What did he want hanging around with an 18-yearold kid? Frank had finally asked the boy straight out if he was gay—which wouldn’t be a problem, mind, they’d love him no matter what—but he’d said no, definitely not. He’d told his mother they liked him because he knew lots of teenage girls to invite to parties.

seeking

justice After her 18-yeAr-old son wAs shot in the heAd for no good reAson, tAmi inkley wAs told the cAse couldn’t go to triAl. she stArted looking for her own Answers. By Jeannette Cooperman | Photography by whitney Curtis

122 FE B RUaRy 2014 |

22 | greatplainsawards.org

| F EB RUa Ry 20 14 123

Frank sighed. matty was growing up in a lot of ways at once. at least he was talking about community college again, and instead of teen wisecracks and monosyllables, he was carrying on real conversations. “He’s getting to where he sounds sensible when you’re talking to him,” Fay had told their daughter just that morning. “We’re really enjoying him.” matty hung up. “Pop, I’m gonna go into st. louis for mardi Gras.” It was thursday, February 16, and the celebration would start the next night. Frank cocked his head: “How’re you gonna get there?” matty only had a learner’s permit, not a driver’s license; he had aDD, and he’d told his mom he was afraid he’d hurt somebody if he weren’t paying attention. “Jerry’s gonna come get me tonight.” “all the way out here?” the farm was in Rosebud, more than an hour west of the city limits. “Yeah.” matty’s blue eyes were bright—even though he’d announced

when he arrived, “Pop, I’m not going back to st. louis again.” He’d said he was “tired of that city life.” matty lived with his mother and little sister in Ballwin, but since august, he’d been spending long stretches in south st. louis, trying to get to know his biological father. When matty was 9, carter Inkley, the stepfather he’d loved like a father, died of lung cancer. Frank’s heart nearly broke for his daughter, she grieved so hard. But tami Inkley walled out pity, drew her kids close, and made their brick four-bedroom home on Pleasant Grove avenue as warm and safe and happy as she could. In July 2011, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. matty was blind-angry— scared, really. He blew off college and sought out the parent he’d never known, angelo Pellegrini. and that’s when fate twisted the knife. angelo was struggling with stage IV prostate cancer. matty kept going to south city all that fall and winter. He made friends,

among them Jerry Brindel, an affable 26-year-old who partied like a frat boy, called him “Lil’ Fella” and let him stay over when Angelo was going through treatment. The cellphone rang again. Jerry couldn’t find the house. “I’m going to walk to the end of the road,” Matty said. “I’ve got my flashlight.” ***** Mardi Gras fell on Tuesday, February 21. At 11:30 p.m., Tami Inkley stood at her front door in a long sleep shirt, her right arm shielding her chest from the police officers’ sight. She was braless, and cancer surgery had left a slight indentation she was self-conscious about. “I’ll just go get dressed,” she said hurriedly. They told her not to bother, and their weary impatience carried an unspoken warning: Their message was about to dwarf any other concern. She folded her arms tight. “The hospital’s been trying to reach you,” one officer said. “My phone hasn’t even rung!” she told him. “What is it?” Her son Matthew Pellegrini had been in an accident. Was there someone who could drive her down to Saint Louis University Hospital? Tami just said no, not wanting to waste time calling somebody. She threw on jeans and a hoodie and sneakers, no socks, and zoomed out of the driveway. At the first stoplight, she called her exhusband, told him what she knew, and said she didn’t have time to come get him; he’d have to get there on his own. She merged onto Highway 40, praying, “An arm or a leg—let it be an arm or a leg.” When she pulled up to the emergency entrance, a man was standing outside, broad shoulders stretching his suit jacket. He introduced himself as a police detective and told her Matthew had been shot. “How bad is it?” “Let me get the doctors.” Inside the emergency department, Tami went cold with fear, then felt the brief warmth of urine soaking her jeans. She didn’t even care. Detective Wallace Leopold guided her toward a physician, whose sentences slipped away before Tami’s mind could fasten onto them. “I don’t know what you’re saying,” she blurted.

It’s bad, he told her. “Call my family bad?” Yes. Tami’s sister and brother-in-law picked up Matty’s younger sister, Alyssa, and met the Bowlins at the hospital. Angelo Pellegrini came with a clutch of people from his church. Resentment burned Tami’s throat—this was private. But when she saw how hard they were praying for her son, gratitude washed away the anger. Another doctor came up and squatted in front of her. “Mrs. Inkley,” she said, her voice gentle but her eyes holding Tami’s steadily, “Your little boy is gone.” A bullet had entered his temple and ripped through his brain, destroying function. If they kept him on life support, it would only prolong his death. “I don’t want him to suffer,” Tami choked out. The doctor told her that Matty had signed his learner’s permit, donating his organs. Tami nodded, eyes unfocused. That was just like Matty, tenderhearted. Go home and get some sleep, the doctor urged, and come back at 10 a.m. tomorrow. A coordinator from Mid-America Transplant Services was in the operating room with Tami, Alyssa, and Angelo the next morning. They asked for Matty’s favorite music—’50s and ’60s rock—and somebody supplied a playlist. They kissed Matty’s bandaged face over and over and begged him not to be afraid, not to try to hang on. Tami kept thinking of all the stories she’d heard about sudden deaths and people unable to leave their bodies. “Go on, baby,” she whispered between sobs. “Go toward the light. Go.” A minute later, the transplant coordinator touched her arm and whispered, “Are you listening?” It was the original recording of “Last Kiss”: “Oh where, oh where, can my baby be? The Lord took her away from me…” ***** Matty could tease relentlessly—blasting “Ohk-la-homa” at the top of his lungs after his mother dragged him to The Muny—but he was always gentle with anyone who was vulnerable. “The mother of one of my best friends had Alzheimer’s,” Tami says, “and she would

tell Matty the same story 10 times in an hour, and every time, he would laugh and giggle with her.” If Matty could be an angel, he could also be annoying as hell. “School didn’t have a label for it,” Tami says, just a blurry “social disorder” that went along with his ADD and left him impulsive, goofy, and tactless. It made growing up harder—he always seemed younger than his years, and his mother stayed strict to protect him. “He trusted too easily,” she says. “He thought if you extended your hand to him, you were his friend. I kept telling him, ‘It’s a big, ugly world out there.’ I’d call his dad—‘Where is he?’ ‘Oh, he took off with somebody.’ ‘Well, did you meet them?’ And of course he didn’t, so then we would fight. He thought I was overprotective.” Her grin’s shaky. “I know I was like that”—she presses her thumb down on the table and turns it back and forth. “So what? That was my job. Matty knew that.” He did, but he brushed off her warnings. He wanted friends desperately. The grid of school, with its cliques and teams and compartments, made it easy to shut him out, especially when he got pulled out of classes for special education. Small for his age, he got teased, with the usual lack of mercy, whenever he played sports—but he kept trying. He could be scrappy, quick to provoke and quick to defend. He longed for a girlfriend, but all Tami ever heard were long, one-sided phone conversations: “The teenage girls would call him with all their drama, and he’d be on the phone all night.” At 18, he craved the kind of freedom he found in the city. He’d just gotten his braces off, Tami says, and her eyes well up. A minute later, a smile tugs at cheeks stiff with dried tears: “He would drive me and Alyssa crazy, holding his arms up and saying, ‘Do you see it?’ We were so sick of looking at his underarms! But that kind of happened for him. This”— she gestures to her chest, where chest hair would be—“never did. And he still had this smooth little baby face. He never got to shave.” He died one month before his 19th birthday. She had to understand why.

greatplainsawards.org | 23

Great Plains Magazine Writer of the Year Finalists Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: William Powell

Publication: Arkansas Life By: Nick Hunt

Publication: Slice Magazine By: M.J. Alexander

Excerpt from “No Shelter”

Excerpt from “On the Water”

Excerpt from “An Affair to Remember”

The Rev. Larry Rice isn’t sticking to the script. Tonight marks the annual Evening with the Homeless at his downtown shelter, the New Life Evangelistic Center. An ambulance, lights flashing, sits outside the front door, greeting the few visitors who show up on this dreary Friday in September. While it’s chilly on the street, it’s stifling here in the worship studio. Rice promises to have someone turn on a fan, but no air moves, and the hot TV lights exacerbate the discomfort. This room is made for TV, the front wall adorned with wood paneling and fake plants, an oasis in the dingy building. Despite the disappointing turnout, the rows of folding chairs are packed. Up front sits the staff, mostly homeless folks who volunteer their labor in exchange for longer-term stays. Behind them are the people who have come for emergency shelter. A war is coming, and tonight, Rice rallies his troops. His son, Chris, also a pastor at NLEC, has set the tone, playing his guitar and leading the crowd in singing “I’m on the Battlefield for My Lord” and “Be Still, God Will Fight Your Battles.” Now, Larry delivers his sermon. The man’s a gifted preacher, the sort who makes such impassioned, pithy pronouncements, everyone around feels compelled to call out “Amen!” He speaks at a driving, delirious pace that makes you feel sorry for the poor chap who has to type out the closed captioning for this broadcast on his station, KNLC Channel 24. His message, titled “The Beloved Community,” centers on how the rich, by neglecting and even showing disdain for the poor, prevent us from truly living together in Christian unity.

I can see the gust of wind before it hits me. It rushes up the river, painting fractal patterns on the water’s surface. It dances through the bare tree limbs. It is strong, and when it hits me, it turns my kayak sideways, throwing me off balance. I haven’t seen a soul since I slipped my boat into the gentle current at the Tyler Bend Visitor Center near St. Joe. I’m paddling in the offseason, and with no one around for miles, that cold jade water is the last place I want to end up. Fighting the wind with a few hard backstrokes, I bring the boat back around in time to take the next set of rapids head-on. Sitting low on the water, buried deep between the Buffalo’s towering red bluffs and hemmed in by its winding bends, I feel small. I forget just how massive this river is—from tip to tail, from the Boston Mountains’ Hailstone region in the west to the White River in the east, it flows freely for more than 150 pristine miles—and instead I let my mind wander, taking in only what I see and thinking of nothing in particular, except when the rapids claim my undivided attention. Once through the whitewater, another thought comes to mind. Earlier in the day, Ben Milburn, the owner of Buffalo River Outfitters, as well as the kayak I’m in, told me that due to its proximity to U.S. Highway 65, yearround floatability and well-maintained river access points, this 6-mile section of river from Tyler Bend to Gilbert accounts for some 80 percent of his business. I try to imagine what America’s first National River must look like chock-full of boaters on Memorial Day weekend when Milburn and the 11 other National Park Service-sanctioned concessioners rent out every one of their allotted boats.

The sky over the rolling prairie of Eastern Oklahoma is the color of pewter. The smell of campfire smoke hangs in the air. Confederate battle flags fly above men in uniform who cluster near white canvas tents. Union cavalry officers trot by on matching chestnut horses. The Confederates around the fire ignore them, laughing and talking of events that transpired 150 years ago in the present tense, as if they had just happened … because they had. It’s the Saturday before Veterans Day, 2013. Every third year, history buffs from around the country gather north of Checotah like so many chess pieces, acting out parts assigned long ago by the hand of fate. They are there to re-enact a Civil War battle, the largest military clash within the borders of modern-day Oklahoma. The names used to describe what happened on the site July 17, 1863, have a whimsical ring. Those from the North called it “The Engagement at Honey Springs.” Southerners would call it “The Affair at Elk Creek.” But there was nothing romantic about that rainy Friday, two weeks after the Battle of Gettysburg. The forests and fields in the old Creek Nation would see the most important and deadliest fight of the 107 documented Civil War “hostile encounters” in Indian Territory. The stakes were high. The issue being decided, in handto-hand combat, was whether the land west of the Mississippi would be controlled by the Union or the Confederacy.

24 | greatplainsawards.org

Great Plains Magazine of the Year Publication: Sauce Magazine Judges’ Comments: Conveys passion and knowledge of food and dining without being beholden to the industry. Shows that there is diversity in the region. Strong editorial voice and food photography.

greatplainsawards.org | 25

Great Plains Magazine of the Year Finalist Publication: St. Louis Magazine

26窶ポ窶トreatplainsawards.org

Great Plains Magazine of the Year Finalist Publication: Arkansas Life

greatplainsawards.org | 27

Great Plains Magazine of the Year Finalist Publication: Lawrence Magazine

28窶ポ窶トreatplainsawards.org

great Plains Website of the Year Publication: TulsaKids Magazine, TulsaKids.com by: Abby Rodgers Judges’ Comments: This website is very cleanly designed and offers multiple entry points without being overwhelming. The use of consistency from section to section and the inclusion of calendars and event information throughout makes for easy navigation. Use of white space rather than cramming every design element or icon into the experience is refreshing. The inclusion of “popular articles” from as far as many years past keeps the utility of the website front of mind rather than a one-and-done venture. A well organized and presented site.

greatplainsawards.org | 29

great Plains Website of the Year Finalist Publication: The Oklahoman, NewsOK.com by: NewOK.com staff

30 | greatplainsawards.org

great Plains Website of the Year Finalist Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, ArkansasOnline.com by: Arkansas Online staff

greatplainsawards.org | 31

great Plains Website of the Year Finalist Publication: St. Louis Magazine, stlmag.com by: St. Louis Magazine staff

32 | greatplainsawards.org

Great Plains Student Photographer of the Year Publication: The Oracle (Oral Roberts University) By: Austin St. John

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great Plains student Photographer of the Year Finalist Publication: The Collegian (University of Tulsa) by: Sara Douglas

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The Collegian is the independent student newspaper of the University of Tulsa. It is distributed Mondays during the fall and spring semesters except during holidays and final exam weeks. The University of Tulsa does not discriminate on the basis of personal status or group characteristics including but not limited to the classes protected under federal and state law in its programs, services, aids, or benefits. Inquiries regarding implementation of this policy may be addressed to the Office of Human Resources, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-9700, 918-631-2616. Requests for accommodation of disabilities may be addressed to the UniversityĂ&#x2022; s 504 Coordinator, Dr. Tawny Taylor, 918-631-3814. To ensure availability of an interpreter, five to seven days notice is needed; 48 hours is recommended for all other accommodations. Advertising Policy: Advertising appearing in this publication does not imply approval or endorsement by the University of Tulsa or The Collegian for the products or services advertised. For advertising information, email The Collegian at collegian@utulsa.edu or elizabeth-cohen@utulsa.edu. The 34 | for greatplainsawards.org deadline advertising is 12 p.m. on the Friday prior to the publication. Editing Policy: The Collegian reserves the right to edit all copy submitted by all writers. This editing may take place in many forms, including grammar corrections, changes in paragraph structure or even the addition or removal

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ter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dr. ness class for Muslim women on campus ""+ 2+ ))"! #,/ ,**"+10 : 7*& 0 &! students reported being assaulted has pos who may not be comfortable participating of his time in Tulsa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Consistent interaction and having their head coverings family c in the classes our security staff currently of- with certain people (causes) those barriers to therapy torn off. Collegian staff writers fers.â&#x20AC;? break down.â&#x20AC;? Mahayni noted that, alongside ing even Caitlin Woods and Oscar Ho *"/ 7*& + *"/& + 20)&* $/ !- %/&01& + %2/ %"0 %,20"0 *,0.2" uate student, was disturbed by news of these TU remains a culturally diverse campus report. attacks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I get a real sense of cowardiceâ&#x20AC;? that welcomes Muslim students, both do %" #< " ,# *-20 " 2/&16 /" "+1)6 /"- from the attackers, he said. mestic and foreign. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Being a Tulsan, I am ported two instances of assault in which a â&#x20AC;&#x153;I feel really bad for those victims. For familiar with PhDs in Geology who gradustudent had her head covering ripped off. them to live life like they did before is going ated from TU in the late 1970s who are %" </01 &+ &!"+1 ,+ "-1 % --"+"! +" / 1, " *2 % *,/" !&#< 2)1 +! 4% 1"3"/ !&0- Muslims, and who have lived and worked 7th and Lewis. The victim was assaulted by tance is in place between American culture in Tulsa, and Between the Sheets many other places in the US, a middle-aged white woman who, accord- and this religion is, at least for them, going ever since, and are now grandparents,â&#x20AC;? said ing to Campus Securityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report, â&#x20AC;&#x153;tried to to be much larger.â&#x20AC;? % 6+& &1&+$ ;0 ")&$&,20 &3"/0&16 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hodgepodge lighting, mismatched rip (the studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s) head covering off.â&#x20AC;? Tulsa Though disturbed by the news of ! the as- Policy, he added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The culture at TU over- The TU â&#x20AC;? ,)& " 4"/" +,1&<"! +! 1%" 00 &) +1 &002"! 0 2)10 7*& 4 0 +,1 02/-/&0"! 7*& !&! whelmingly supports freedom of religion.â&#x20AC;? receive a citation. not deny that Muslims in the Western world â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think our campus has a great potential an und The second incident happened on campus are generally viewed negatively. He has had to be an environment that celebrates and valunisex. on Sept. 6. Campus Security reported that to deal with people who view him and his ues the diversity of our student body,â&#x20AC;? said questio another student was assaulted in Mayo Vil- religion with suspicion. Gabriella Pierce, a Muslim student involved lage by two Maria men. Both were described as Although certain people are more toler- with International Student Services. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the cha Buttons answers being in their late teens or early twenties, ant than others, he said, he has received his more steps should be taken to promote un- discom one white and one black. share of inappropriate comments. To deal derstanding of racial, ethnic, and religious Comm Maria Buttons answers greatplainsawards.orgâ&#x20AC;&#x192; |â&#x20AC;&#x192; 35 In their daily activity report,IUDsCampus Se- with this kind of verbal abuse, â&#x20AC;&#x153;you have differencesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but I think those steps need to Giselle SCHOLARSHIP curity said that â&#x20AC;&#x153;one suspect grabbed the 1, " 1%" "01 1% 1 6,2 + " : 7*& 0 &! be taken by students themselves.â&#x20AC;? studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hands while the other ripped (the

Featured student artwork

is Chuyi Wen. Chuyi is a !

a minor in photography. as part of her Photography I class.

Left: A cicada carapace sits on a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hand. Below: A man waits for his girlfriend at a rest stop in

editions of the Collegian, contact Variety Editor Abigail LaBounty at abigaillabounty@utulsa.edu. We accept photography, drawings, graphic design, cre ! or poetry

$.+ $:18' #9'9+ '/7 @ '>8 4, <+ 842+ A 45+3+* #+59 '3* )148+8 )9 Tickets are available online or at the gate.

Students assaulted, head coverings removed Concerts and Events 43)+798 </11 (+ 8.4<3 43 9.+ 01'.42' $.+ $:18' #9'9+ '/7 @ '>8 4, <+ #9'-+ '11 <++0 7'3-/3- ,742 )4:397> '79/89 842+ A 45+3+* #+59 '3* )148+8 )9 Jon Pardi to pop singer Bridgit Mendler to Tickets are available online or at the gate. rock legend Bret Michaels. +3*1+7 (+89 034<3 ,47 .+7 89'77/3- 741+ Concerts and Events 43 /83+> .'33+1B8 @ 44* :)0 .'71/+ A 43)+798 </11 (+ 8.4<3 43 9.+ 01'.42' </11 (+ 5+7,472/3- '9 9.+ '/7 43 #+59 '9 #9'-+ '11 <++0 7'3-/3- ,742 )4:397> '79/89 5 2 /).'+18 </11 (+ 5+7,472/3- 43 )9 Jon Pardi to pop singer Bridgit Mendler to

'9 5 2 rock legend Bret Michaels. "4*+4 +;+398 </11 (+ .+1* /3 9.+ +3*1+7 (+89 034<3 ,47 .+7 89'77/3- 741+ Pavilion, including Bareback Riding and 43 /83+> .'33+1B8 @ 44* :)0 .'71/+ A Steer Wrestling. Jerrod Niemann and the </11 (+ 5+7,472/3- '9 9.+ '/7 43 #+59 '9 '8+> 43'.+< '3* </11 (49. 51'> /3 9.+ 5 2 /).'+18 </11 (+ 5+7,472/3- 43 )9 !';/1/43 /+2'33 5+7,4728 )9 '9

'9 5 2 5 2 '3* '8+> 43'.+< '3* 5+7,4728 "4*+4 +;+398 </11 (+ .+1* /3 9.+ 43 )9 '9 5 2 Pavilion, including Bareback Riding and Steer Wrestling. Jerrod Niemann and the Competitions '8+> 43'.+< '3* </11 (49. 51'> /3 9.+ $.+ '/7 /8 (7/3-/3- (')0 /98 :8:'1 '7 !';/1/43 /+2'33 5+7,4728 )9 '9 ray of competitions. The Fair hosts livestock 5 2 '3* '8+> 43'.+< '3* 5+7,4728 )425+9/9/438 '3* .478+ 8.4<8 ' :3 ":3 43 )9 '9 5 2 '3* )425+9/9/;+ +=./(/98 C **1/3- )42 petitions and the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Competitions #.4< $.+ '/7 /8 (7/3-/3- (')0 /98 :8:'1 '7 Richard Gebhart, a statistics professor at ray of competitions. The Fair hosts livestock the University of Tulsa, is the superintendent )425+9/9/438 '3* .478+ 8.4<8 ' :3 ":3 4, 9.+ +7+,47* '991+ #.4< 9./8 >+'7 '3* )425+9/9/;+ +=./(/98 C **1/3- )42 petitions and the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Rides #.4< &.'9 <4:1* ' ,'/7 (+ </9.4:9 7/*+8 @ Richard Gebhart, a statistics professor at '>8 4, <+842+A .'8 7/*+8 ,47 '11 '-+8 00 #&(%, * *) Student the University of Tulsa,Writer is theMeagan superintendent#+) $ ) *1 5 $ )* " ( % * '+ (* * /**/+ 7/*+8 /3)1:*+ 9.+ #5++*<'> )'7 7') Collins visits jazz brunch 4, 9.+ +7+,47* '991+ #.4< 9./8 >+'7 Gregory Fallis (rightly dubbed a at The Phoenix and digs upride.2/%+$ ((/ %$$ ! ( 3 )* (* ing ride and the rotating Bumblebee Rides for families include the Tilt-A-Whirl, * 00 (+$ - * (*/ Rides tion on the Gregory 9.+ 7'-897/5 :3 #1/*+ '3* 9.+ Daniel 411/545 2 "" % 3 $ )#%%* *(%# &.'9 <4:1* ' Quartet, ,'/7 (+ the </9.4:9 bone solo. brunchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s7/*+8 fea- @ #</3-8 47 5+451+ 1440/3- ,47 ' 1/991+ 247+ '>8 4, <+842+A .'8 7/*+8 ,47 '11 '-+8 Their 4 years of experience tured band. of a thrill, the Tulsa State Fairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s optionsshowed as they seamlessly moved /**/+ 7/*+8 /3)1:*+ 9.+ #5++*<'> )'7 7') , ( )* (* ) %%" $ include everything from highfrom one song to the next. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fly before? Yeah, the I did Yo-Yo too. Never ing ride and the rotating Bumblebee ride.Me to the Moonâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bye Bye 8</3-8 94 !.'7'4.B8 :7> 94 9.+ 85/33/3- " ! ( 3 $ & ( &) "" 5 ** - $* ( %( *-% %+&" +$ Rides for families include the Tilt-A-Whirl, dred bucks, best feeling in the Tempest. A Mega RidethePass can be pur-but worth the trip back to exam9.+ 7'-897/5 :3 9.+ 411/545 world, #1/*+ and then'3* it falls apart like ).'8+* ,47 your grades did when it started. So free memory lane, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Summertimeâ&#x20AC;? #</3-8 47 5+451+ 1440/3- ,47 ' 1/991+ 247+ - ( +)* - % * *+$ ) * * for the rock star life. of a thrill, themuch Tulsa State Fairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s options This is not what happened to Food include everything from the Yo-Yo high * ( %(/ $ " + (* * / The Tulsa State Fair maintains the time& )) * ( & ) - * 6 / 8</3-8 94 !.'7'4.B8 :7> 94 9.+ 85/33/3- honored tradition of deep frying ing colors and made theiranything way to Tempest. A Mega Ride Pass can be purrestaurants, bars and regular gigs. +*/(1+ (:9 9.+ '/7 '184 .'8 3+< 459/438 ,47 ).'8+* ,47 What started with a drummer and 9.48+ </9. 85+)/'1 */+98 1:9+3 ,7++ ,44* 00 +& * % $ . guitarist turned into a bassist, voThe Phoenixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s atmosphere was </11 (+ ';'/1'(1+ '9 9.+ '/7 '8 <+11 '8 49.+7 cals and trombone and other rotat- & ( * %( * (%+& % &% Food healthy options.ing instruments and people with lighting, mismatched seating, a The Tulsa State Fair venue.maintains the time-wall of book spines and windows For the moreeach intrepid eaters, the Scorpion honored tradition (%# of 00 *% "+ ) *% +$! $ deep frying anythingand the faint trace of incense from !/??' '3* 9.+ the +'1<472 !/??' '7+ 3+< occasional reggae song, the * /% )*+ % $ .* %%( 5 * * +*/(1+ (:9 9.+ '/7 '184 .'8 3+< 459/438 ,47 Gregory clad in plaid, pink 9./8 >+'7 '143- </9. group, 9.+ *++5 ,7/+* 7:/9> personality of the low-key quartet. 9.48+ </9. 85+)/'1 */+98 1:9+3 ,7++ ,44* and periwinkle, made Sunday $ " *4) $%* %( * * + " +# Pebbles. brunch from 11-2 at the Phoenix </11 (+ ';'/1'(1+ '9 9.+ '/7 '8 <+11 '8 49.+7 For more information about the Tulsapink sofa and tribal artwork. Nevhealthy options.easy as Sunday morning. The ertheless, like other downtown 00 (+$ *(+ <+(8/9+ *% *) $ # '9 #9'9+ '/7 ;/8/9 9.+ - ) '/7 cafĂŠs, the small, trendy, industrial For the moreasintrepid the of Scorpion there waseaters, not a piece sheet space was swallowed up in drums tulsastatefair.com. !/??' '3* 9.+ +'1<472 !/??' '7+ 3+< 9./8 >+'7 '143- </9. 9.+ *++5 ,7/+* 7:/9> Pebbles. For more information about the Tulsa #9'9+ '/7 ;/8/9 9.+ '/7 <+(8/9+ '9 tulsastatefair.com.

Student quartet jazzes up brunch

" " !

" " in the menstrual cycle, hormonal shots tend ! to result in high variations in period severity

'3* ,7+6:+3)> <./1+ 5/118 '3* /251'398 )'3 eliminate periods for a longer period of time. Birth control options can be separated into The 1/0+1/.44* 4, ,'/1:7+ /8 /3 ,47 9.+ three distinct categories. Hormonal birth 5/11 5'9). '3* 7/3- /3 ,47 9.+ +54 in the menstrual cycle, hormonal shots tend control options block the release of an egg !74;+7' 8.49 '3* 1+88 9.'3 /3 ,47 9.+ to result in high variations in period severity from the ovaries, eliminating any chance for implant. '3* ,7+6:+3)> <./1+ 5/118 '3* /251'398 )'3 ,+79/1/?'9/43 397':9+7/3+ *+;/)+8 47 % 8 eliminate periods for a longer period of time. block the movement of sperm and make it Intrauterine devices are small T-shaped deBirth control options can be separated into The 1/0+1/.44* 4, ,'/1:7+ /8 /3 ,47 9.+ .'7*+7 ,47 ' ,+79/1/?+* +-- 94 /251'39 /3 9.+ ;/)+8 51')+* /3 9.+ 14<+7 :9+7:8 (> ' *4) three distinct categories. Hormonal birth 5/11 5'9). '3* 7/3- /3 ,47 9.+ +54 uterus. Barrier methods block the entrance 947 $.+7+ '7+ 9<4 )42243 9>5+8 4, % 8 control options block the release of an egg !74;+7' 8.49 '3* 1+88 9.'3 /3 ,47 9.+ of sperm into the uterus. and copper IUDs. Hormonal from the ovaries, eliminating any chance for hormonal implant. Most birth control methods advertise fail,+79/1/?'9/43 397':9+7/3+ *+;/)+8 47 % 8 % 8 7+1+'8+ 14< 1+;+18 4, 574-+89+743+ 94

$ )) + * ( * * # ) * / were heavy handed on the harmony, which made the space more of a concert venue than a relaxed cafĂŠ. The trombone and lead guitarist were suitably mellower for The Phoenix, but The Gregory

$ " + (* * *) " -%+" , been more appropriate at night %( ) $ %+* %%( %$ (* , ( "" snapping, clapping and certainly tipping were much appreciated as they rocked Sunday lunchtime. For those church, mosque,

and synagogue bound on Sunday afternoons, Tuesday nights from 7â&#x20AC;&#x201C;9 pm at the Classic Cigar Bar is the place to be. The Gregory Daniel + (* * &" /) * ( ( +" ("/ $ * ( / (*) )*( * *4) $%* * ( %$"/ , $+ % % /%+4"" ")% 5 $ * # * /% and Cork Wine Cafe, to name a few. Make sure to sit in the back and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be the best restaurant quartet youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever heard.

shaft. The testicles and the scrotum, when sucked lightly, can intensify the overall experience. Most guys do not suggest doing * ) $ (%+ # $$ ( ")% * hole on the tip of his penis (the Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never given a blow job. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m terminus of the urethra) is another concerned that my boyfriendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s area that is super sensitive. You can try sticking your tongue on the top of it with medium pressure. It mouth. Any tips? I would suggest some daily ) )& 5 &" * * /%+ # / $%* #%+* . ( ) ) *% +)* /%+( know is stimulating, so it will sur - *% .& $ $ (%+$ /%+( prise your partner, in a good way. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a â&#x20AC;&#x153;gag-proofâ&#x20AC;? way partnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shaft. You can do this by slowly opening and closing your to go deep. Place the tip of your - ( & * "/ %( / )"%-"/ )" tongue on the roof of your mouth $ /%+( "%- ( - #+) " ) - / and then let his member hit the un (%# * +&& ( - #+) " ) * ) derside of your tongue. This trick is still not working, remember that gives the illusion of him going all the way in. practice makes perfect. You could also incorporate using your hands during fellatio to The text box for the submission increase stimulation. This allows form needs to be bigger. 0 % )$4* # ** ( *4) %- you to experiment with using your tongue in other places besides the /%+ +) *

Maria Buttons gives tips for giving blowjobs, and addresses concerns about the Between the Sheets submission form.

Col to w unif

Great Plains Student Editor of the Year Publication: Oklahoma Daily (University of Oklahoma) By: Blayklee Buchanan Judges’ Comments: The Oklahoma Daily writes strong stories and runs them with good photos (for the most part). “This Weekend at Your University” is very reader friendly — a good service addition.

L&A: British songstress brings her charm to the states (Page 8)

Opinion: Marriage equality in the U.S. advanced Monday but not far enough (Page 4)

Sports: Halfway through the season, no team has emerged as a clear Big 12 favorite. (Page 5) The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

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The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

W W W.O U DA I LY.C O M

2 013 PA C E M A K E R F I N A L I S T

GRADUATE LIFE

Free publication comes at a cost Graduate students fear online access will hinder job opportunities

ShareOK.org, an institutional repository that OU shares with He said initially the faculty petitioned the dean because the Oklahoma State University, Williams said. online publication would basically be “killing the careers of their Ph.D. students.” “What the change does is, it takes the English Ph.D. candidate Shannon Toll said English graduate students are “basically pushed” to work on a major option away from me of putting my project like a dissertation or thesis throughout their entire graduate education, so eliminating the chance of that work’s acceptance at a traditional publication house would make all that work for nothing. “They’re putting out graduates that don’t have anything to bargain with at that point,” she said. To be eligible for tenure, most universities require English professors to publish a book through an academic press, Hudson said. “What the change does is, it takes the option away from me of putting my dissertation in a book… publishers don’t want to publish something that’s freely available to everybody,”

ARIANNA PICKARD & MOLLY EVANS

Campus Editor and Assitant Campus Editor

dissertation in a book… publishers don’t OU graduate students are petitioning their college to delay publishing their dissertations and theses online. want to publish something that’s freely In an effort to save their graduate work from free access available to everybody.” online and, in turn, salvage future career opportunities, graduate students are petitioning the college to embargo BRIAN HUDSON, their work from being distributed online for at least six years, ENGLISH PH.D. CANDIDATE said Brian Hudson, English Ph.D. candidate. Printed copies of graduate students’ dissertations and “Formally, the policy on dissertations has not changed,” theses were initially shelved at OU libraries, said Lee Williams said in an email. “However, the understandable Williams, dean of OU’s Graduate College. Since 2000, their concern is that the new format makes the document more work was also made available online by a commercial sys- ‘findable and searchable’ than before.” tem called ProQuest.com. Hudson said he found out about OU using ShareOK about This year, the college switched from using ProQuest to a month ago when one of his professors told him about it.

T U E S D A Y , O C T O B E R 7, 2 0 14

JUST MARRIED

SEE GRADUATE LIFE PAGE 2

VAPORIZERS ON CAMPUS

Vapes popular alternative to cigarettes

Oklahoma same-sex couples benefit from federal court ruling

Since OU has a campus-wide smoking ban, students can smoke vapes to get fix

arly Monday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to not hear the five cases seeking to prohibit same-sex marriage, making gay marriage legal in 30 states, including Oklahoma — one of the five cases turned away.

BRENT STENSTROM L&A Reporter

HEATHER BROWN/THE DAILY

Soon after, a federal court of appeals lifted its stay on same-sex marriage in Oklahoma. After the District Attorney cleared Oklahoma courthouses to issue same-sex marriage licenses. On page 3, read how the day played out for two Oklahoma same-sex couples, same-sex couples lined up to receive marriage licenses.

Since OU’s smoking ban went into effect in the summer of 2012 many students, faculty and professors have been without, their nicotine fix while on campus. Although the smoking ban is still in effect, there is one trendy alternative to smoking cigarettes on campus. Major Bruce Chan of the OU Police Department said personal vaporizers are one alternative that is allowed on OU’s campus. “To my knowledge, the tobacco policy does not address e-cigarettes,” Chan said. This means that although OU’s campuses are tobacco free, e-cigarettes and personal vaporizers are not covered under the current tobacco policy, which is a huge step forward for many “vapers.” Photography junior Mikayla Myskey switched to a vaporizer after smoking cigarettes. She said she enjoys the “smokeless” aspect of the vaporizer. “I think people just like the concept of being able to vape

Mikayla Myskey, a photography junior, uses her personal vaporizer on the South Oval on Tuesday.

SEE VAPES PAGE 6

SCHOLARSHIPS

Boren awards provide money for international studies Students interested in going abroad should attend meeting LAUREN HARTNETT For The Daily

MARY AND SHARON

The Boren Scholarships and Fellowships and International Study program will hold an informational meeting about the Boren Awards for International Study at noon Oct. 24 in the David L. Boren Hall, Rooms 180 and 181. The Boren Awards provide scholarships to students at OU who are studying abroad. The awards provide up to $30,000 for graduate students and $20,000 for undergraduate students. Siera Collins, international studies senior, received a Boren Award scholarship

Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin, alongside another couple, filed a lawsuit in 2004 against Oklahoma’s same-sex marriage ban. On Monday, the two ended their decade-long suit with a marriage outside the Tulsa County Courthouse. Read more about the couple’s legal battle, their wedding and their take on the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear their case.

last spring. Collins received $20,000 to complete her capstone in the Arabic Flagship program in Morocco, she said. “If a student is serious about studying a language and being completely immersed in a culture, and further, is interested in public service, then they should definitely apply,” Collins said. “The Boren staff is extremely supportive of the students they send aboard and have a sincere interest in seeing them succeed to meet their goals.” Members of the staff will discuss details about the scholarship and application process, as well as suggestions in creating a competitive application.

AT A GLANCE Other Study Abroad Scholarships General Scholarships:

Price College of Business:

• Foundation for Global Scholars for all students, the deadline is Nov. 22 for amounts from $1,000 to $2,000.

• Entrepreneurship Department for fulltime entrepreneurship majors in good academic standing. Deadline: Dec. 19 for various amounts.

• Blakemore Foundation for Asian language study, the deadline is Dec. 31 for various amounts. • The Whitaker International Undergraduate Scholarship Program for engineering majors with interest in Biomedicine, the deadline is Jan. 21, 2014 for the amount of $7,500 per semester or $10,000 per year.

Laruen Hartnett lnhartnett.ou.edu

L&A: The OU School of Music is presenting a comedic opera, “L’Elisir d’Amore.” (Page 6)

AMBER AND HOLLY

Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication: • Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication for any Gaylord College sponsored program. Deadline: Oct. 21 for various amounts. Students interested in studying abroad can learn about scholarship opportunities at an informational meeting next week.

Campus: The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma will discuss current legislation affecting the GLBT community at 7 p.m. on Wednesday (Page 3)

INSIDE TODAY

The Cleveland County Courthouse issued seven marriage licenses to same-sex couples as of 5 p.m. Monday. Read about what a marriage license means to one of the couples, Cleveland county residents Amber and Holly Starkman.

READ MORE ON

Campus......................2 Clas si f ie ds................4 L i f e & A r t s ..................6 O p inio n..................... 3 Spor ts........................5 Visit OUDaily.com for more

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Holly and Amber Starkman stand with their new marriage license Monday afternoon outside of the Cleveland County Courthouse. After the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear cases against same-sex unions, same-sex couples across the state — seven in Cleveland County as of 5 p.m. — have been taking advantage of their newly acquired rights.

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY?

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The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

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W E D N E S D A Y , N O V E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 14

WHY WE’RE JOINING A LAWSUIT AGAINST OU OUR VIEW: We’re turning to the courts to define the

limitations of the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Melody Matthews University College freshman

Mason Miller film and media studies junior

Alice Barrett, letters sophomore Cara Alizadeh, history junior

Rachel Cummings University College freshman

“Because people should have the right to love freely.”

“Government should not be the one to validate marriage.”

“Girls like girls who like girls.”

“I like girls!”

POLICE

EVENT

Report released on viral arrest

Traditional OU ring ceremony to honor seniors, alumna

Norman Police Department says it finds no wrongdoing in Sept. 8 campus arrest PAIGHTEN HARKINS Digital Managing Editor @PaightenHarkins

“The levels of force utilized were applied appropriately in response to Mr. Cannon’s continuing non-compliance to officers’ verbal commands.” KEITH HUMPHREY, NORMAN CHIEF OF POLICE

MIKE BRESTOVANSKY Assistant News Editor @BrestovanskyM

Following the release of a viral video showing the arrest of a Norman man on Sept. 8, the Norman Police Department has found the officers’ actions justifiable after the department performed an evaluation, according to a press release. The defendant, Willie Cannon, 23, was arrested Sept. 8, after police received a complaint that he was sexually harassing women on Campus Corner. The video, in which Cannon was heard screaming while officers restrained him, received scrutiny from groups like OU’s Students for a Stateless Society due to what members said seemed to be an act of excessive force. Cannon was arrested on charges of outraging the public decency and obstructing an officer. According to the review, the Norman Police Department WEATHER Sunny today with a high of 89, low of 66. Follow @AndrewGortonWX on Twitter for weather updates.

found the officers’ use of force justifiable given the circumstances. “The levels of force utilized were applied appropriately in response to Mr. Cannon’s continuing non-compliance to officers’ verbal commands,” said Keith Humphrey, Norman Chief of Police. “Although any use of force above the levels of command presence and verbal direction may be viewed unfavorably by some, it is necessary in order to gain and maintain control of non-compliant subjects.” The decision included the evaluation of audio and video from the incident by three of the department’s defensive tactics instructors, an incident evaluation by the professional standards division and a comprehensive report submitted to Humphrey, according to the press release.

INDEX

@OUDaily

News......................2 Classifieds................6 Life&Ar ts..................8 Opinion.....................4 Spor ts........................5

theoklahomadaily

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36 | greatplainsawards.org

WHAT IS FERPA? FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is a federal law protecting the privacy of student educational records. FERPA gives parents or students 18 and over the right to inspect the student’s education records. The act allows students to request that errors in their education records be fixed. FERPA allows for non-consensual disclosure of students’ directory information, including name, phone number, address, photo, honors and awards, year and major, and degrees obtained.

Proceedings will honor students’ commitment to education at OU DANIELLE WIERENGA News Reporter @Weirdenga

A ring ceremony honoring OU seniors and an alumna for their commitment to education will be held Friday. The Ring Ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in Oklahoma Memorial Union’s courtyard. The ceremony will be moved to the Union’s Beaird Lounge if there is inclement weather. The honoree at this year’s Ring Ceremony will be Carol Burr, director of publications for the OU Foundation, who has worked with Sooner Magazine on-and-off since before she graduated from OU in 1959, according to a press release.

SEE POLICE PAGE 2

Today, The Oklahoma Daily is suing OU for withholding records that we believe are public under the Oklahoma Open Records Act. We hope this lawsuit will serve as a precedent for colleges and universities where administrators are misinterpreting an important federal law which, in turn, keeps information from the public. The Oklahoma Open Records Act was created to provide citizens access to information about the government. The act states, “ … People are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government.” Because OU is a public university funded in part — albeit small — by the state government, many of OU’s records are open to the public. Journalists use open records as a reporting tool for stories, but anybody can request records through the OU Open Records Office. For example, we used open records to investigate complaints about former Pride of Oklahoma director Justin Stolarik in fall 2013. Through the Open Records Office, we obtained letters about the band’s leadership that members had sent to the President’s Action Line. Since members were hesitant to voice their complaints to The Daily for fear of jeopardizing their positions in the band, the records provided insight into their concerns. Access to records is essential for journalists to successfully keep a watch on government and public institutions, and for this reason The Daily is joining a lawsuit that was originally filed by journalism senior Joey Stipek in May 2013. Stipek, who is currently the special projects editor at The Daily, sued OU President David Boren and the director of OU’s Open Records Office when the director wouldn’t release students’ parking ticket records. Stipek filed a request for the records in fall 2012 to investigate whether the university was granting preferential parking ticket appeals to any individuals on campus. The Open Records Office denied the request, claiming the records are protected under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA.

SEE CEREMONY PAGE 2

Comment online at OU Daily.com

WHAT IS THE OPEN RECORDS ACT? The Freedom of Information Act is a federal law giving Americans the right to access information about the federal government. In addition to the Freedom of Information Act, all 50 states have public records laws to allow members of the public access to documents pertaining to state and local governments. The Oklahoma Open Records Act was passed in 1985 and is designed to promote governmental transparency and keep political power in the hands of the people. As explained in the Open Records Act,

“The purpose of this act is to ensure and facilitate the public’s right of access to and review of government records so they may efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power.” Go to OUDaily.com for a list of the records we’re requesting. To make a records request at OU, email openrecords@ou.edu. Anyone in Oklahoma can make a public records request. Find out how to make an open records request in Oklahoma here at ballotpedia. org/Requesting_copies_of_public_ records.

JANUX

MOVEMBER

TV resource enchances history class Stop shaving, raise funds for research

OU teams up with the History Channel to offer new online class through Janux

OU students start campaign to increase awareness of fight against prostate cancer

PAGE JONES News Reporter @pageousm

MEGHAN WHITING

Students can earn general education credit and learn about America’s past by taking an online class presented by OU and the History Channel next semester. OU and the History Channel have teamed up to offer an online course through Janux, according to a press release. Steve Gillon, an OU professor and a History Channel scholar-in-residence will teach the course, titled “United States 1865 to the Present,” according to the press release. The course counts for three credit hours, and will last 16 weeks starting Jan. 12, according to the press release. Students taking the course will participate in online quizzes, essays and discussions, just like they would in any other course, according to the website. However, this course will feature more video footage than other online courses, said Erin Yarbrough, OU’s vice presiPHOTO PROVIDED dent for Web Communications. OU and the History Channel are teaming up to create an online class

FERPA was established in 1974 to protect the privacy of student education records in the midst of growing abuse of student records across the nation, according to the Student Press Law Center website. The act defines “education records” as records that “directly relate” to students. Since the law was established, universities and colleges have used it to withhold records related to students. In 1997, the University of Maryland cited FERPA when it denied its student newspaper access to students’ parking tickets. The Maryland Court of Appeals sided with the newspaper and ruled the parking tickets were not protected under the act. A similar situation happened in 2010 when the University of North Carolina’s student newspaper was denied access to students’ parking tickets. The court sided with the newspaper, ruling the tickets were not educational records. This lawsuit isn’t merely about finding out who is getting parking tickets — it’s about a public institution denying access to records and citing an act that does not apply. While we don’t have a reason to believe OU has anything to hide in these parking ticket records, there is no way to know until the records are released. Our View is the majority Student Press Law Center executive diopinion of rector Frank LoMonte said in a March 2013 The Daily’s story that parking citations aren’t educational nine-member editorial board records because visitors can get them when they come to campus. Also, he said they aren’t private records because they are publicly displayed on cars. “A parking ticket is left stuck on the window of a car where passing pedestrians can look at it,” he said. “Would the college put your report card underneath your windshield wiper, or a copy of your transcripts?” We believe this denial of open records exemplifies how FERPA has been used to censor information from the public. The U.S. court system exists to interpret laws, and because of the discrepancies about whether students’ parking tickets are open records, we are turning to the courts to decide. We hope the court’s decision will set a precedent that will more clearly define FERPA and when it actually applies.

SEE JANUX PAGE 2

WEATHER Partly cloudy today with a high of 37, low of 23. Follow @AndrewGortonWX on Twitter for weather updates.

next semester through Janux.

News Reporter @heyitsmeghanw

Students of Lindsey + Asp Advertising and Public Relations Agency are holding a No-Shave November campaign to raise awareness for prostate cancer — an issue that hits them close to home. Early in the planning stages of the agency’s campaign for the awareness event, faculty adviser Robert “Pritch” Pritchard announced to the team that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer last summer, Pritchard said. “I wanted to keep it low-key and not let it define me,” Pritchard said. “But I thought it would be appropriate to share, and I’ve been humbled with the amount of support this whole campaign is getting.” The Lindsey + Asp team put a lot of planning into various events for No-Shave November, Pritchard said. SEE MOVEMBER PAGE 2

INDEX

News......................2 Classifieds................3 Life&Ar ts..................3

@OUDaily

theoklahomadaily

OUDaily

Opinion.....................1 Spor ts........................4

great Plains student editor of the Year Finalist Publication: The Oracle (Oral Roberts University) by: Dominique Johnson Oral Roberts University · Aug. 22, 2014 Tulsa, Oklahoma · Vol. 49, No. 1 www.oruoracle.com

#ORUFROSH50

50th Class Arrives From Alpha to Nu, PAGE 6

Courtesy Photo Oral Roberts University

NEWS Chapel receives tech upgrades PAGE 4

SPORTS Women’s basketball team goes global PAGE 11

SURVIVAL Tips on how to survive your freshman year PAGES 8-9

Oral Roberts University · Sept. 5, 2014 Tulsa, Oklahoma · Vol 48, No. 13 www.oruoracle.com

Oral Roberts University · October 3, 2014 Tulsa, Oklahoma · Vol 49, No. 4 www.oruoracle.com

7750

“I knew so strongly in my heart that this is what I had to do. I knew I had to move forward.” PAGE 10

WHO YOU GONNA CALL? PAGES 10-11

Photo by Austin St. John

NEWS Ten guys compete for “Mr. ORU” PAGE 4

FEATURES Mantosterone Monday makes its return PAGE 7

SPORTS International athletes adjust to NCAA rules PAGE 12

SCENE Be smart with your caffeine PAGE 16

NEWS Changes announced over resident adviser compensation PAGE 3

SPORTS Women’s soccer team takes on UMKC PAGE 13

FEATURES Student hits the style blogosphere PAGE 12

greatplainsawards.org | 37

Great Plains Student Editor of the Year Finalist Publication: The Baker Orange (Baker University) By: Taylor Shuck

Fall Sports Previews pg. 11-13

A NEW VISION August 26, 2014 vol. 122 [issue 1]

Baker University Student Media ~ Baldwin City, Kansas

Football jumps to 2-0 on the season pg. 12 September 19, 2014 vol. 122 [issue 2]

Baker University Student Media ~ Baldwin City, Kansas

A difﬁcult

“Ok, I’m not that now, what am I?” - Marc Carter

decision:

“My vision for Baker is to lead us beyond the horizon,”

As he battles cancer, former Professor of Psychology Marc Carter retires to face whatever comes next.

- President Lynne Murray

Taylor Shuck EDITOR

It began with a weekend off. Then, just a semester off. By the start of the fall 2014 semester, Marc Carter decided not to return to teaching at Baker University. Last December, the former professor of psychology was diagnosed with a brain tumor known as astrocytoma. He took the spring semester off, intending to return in the fall. As his condition continued to tire him, Carter decided retirement would be the best option for both himself and the Baker community.

Photo by Chris Ortiz

Jump to Pg. 2

This Edition The Baker Orange dives deeper into the true cost of a college education. pg. 8 & 9

Senior Gunnar “DJ Gunz” McKenna puts his own spin on campus nightlife. pg. 14

Battling both on and off the football field, coach Mike Grossner inspires success. pg. 11 October 17, 2014 vol. 122 [issue 3]

ARROWHEAD LIGHTS

Baker University Student Media ~ Baldwin City, Kansas

Under the

From their front-row seats, Baker fans cheered on the Wildcats’ football team on Oct. 11 during the NAIA Gridiron Challenge held at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Wildcats and their fans traveled the 51 miles to defeat the Benedictine College Ravens 27-21, bringing the season record to a perfect 6-0. Jump to pg. 12

This Edition Find your way around this year’s Maple Leaf Festival and visit student-run booths. pg. 8 & 9

Zeta Chi fraternity breaks social norms by enforcing an in-house no drinking policy. pg. 5

Photo by Khadijah Lane

This Edition Upperclassmen, faculty and staff give advice to incoming freshmen. pg. 8 & 9

Sophomore Lauren Freking spends her summer on Capitol Hill. pg. 4

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Carry Out (785) 594-2711

Specials 2-6 p.m. every day $1 margaritas

great Plains student designer of the Year Publication: The Sooner (University of Oklahoma) by: Adrianna Doyal Judges’ Comments: Doyal plays with type and color to create dynamic, yet balanced pages that effectively highlight the content. Each choice she makes here complements the next, creating a logical flow for readers throughout the page. The result is a clean, modern design that demands attention. 10 beginning

beginning

it’s

time

begin Many students begin their college experience at Camp Crimson during the summer before their freshman year. Camp Crimson is a three-day orientation camp that introduces incoming students to their new home before they attend their first class. Campers eat on campus, sleep in the dorms and engage in a variety of games and activities to meet new people and get comfortable with life at the university. While originally designed for incoming freshmen, Camp Crimson has expanded to include special sessions for transfer students and students interested in community service. For both the campers and those who work there, Camp Crimson is an experience they’ll never forget. opposite. At Opening Session, Elvie Ellis, music education senior, leads the campers of the OKU Session in singing the “OU Chant.”

By Max Inmon, Photo by Kelly Powers

252 athletics

athletics

253

unexpected

TRIUMPH Going into the Sugar Bowl, the Sooners were a double-digit underdog. But it looked like someone forgot to tell them that.

The Alabama Crimson Tide had, by all accounts, played a fantastic season. Headed full speed ahead to the national championship, their plans for the ultimate prize were derailed at the last second. Literally. In the Iron Bowl against in-state rival Auburn, Alabama missed a last-second field goal that would have won the game. Instead, Auburn’s Chris Davis caught the missed kick and ran it back for a touchdown. Auburn won the Iron Bowl and a ticket to the BCS national championship. Alabama was demoted to the Sugar Bowl, to a game against a team that almost the entire country believed they

would solidly defeat-– Oklahoma. The Sooners’ season had ended better than they’d expected. The losses to Texas and Baylor were rough, but wins against Notre Dame, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State were bright spots. However, no team the Sooners had faced matched the awe circling around Alabama. Stoops remained silent when asked who would start as quarterback for the Sugar Bowl. Knight had appeared to win back his original starting position before a minor shoulder injury took him out of the Bedlam game. Bell was inconsistent, but he had played his best when it mattered most– against the Sooners’

in-state rival, with only one drive left to win. Knight took the first snap for Oklahoma and was intercepted on the first drive. Alabama brought in veteran quarterback AJ McCarron and scored. It had all the makings of a tough game for the Sooners. But then Knight redeemed himself. A 45-yard pass to Lacoltan Bester for a touchdown tied the Sooners with the Crimson Tide, and the game was on. Knight did not throw another interception for the rest of the game. But McCarron threw two. The normally steely quarterback was rattled by the Oklahoma defense for the entire game and was sacked a total of seven times. The Sooner defense could not completely contain the Crimson Tide offense, but after Oklahoma took the lead late in the second quarter, they never relinquished it. Sooner fans were singing in the stands to “Jump Around” as both teams left for halftime. No one had predicted the game would be close, so it seemed almost miraculous that Oklahoma was up at the half, 31-17. Except it wasn’t miraculous, because the team was working hard for every point on the board.

By the fourth quarter, Knight had thrown four touchdowns and a Sugar Bowl-record of 32 completed passes. He didn’t look at all like the same quarterback pulled from the starting position at the beginning of the season. Bester, Saunders and Shepard all caught touchdown passes, and Grissom sacked McCarron twice. On McCarron’s seventh sack, Striker stripped the ball, and Grissom picked it up, running to the endzone for a touchdown. The game was over then. Oklahoma 45, Alabama 31. Knight earned the Sugar Bowl MVP award for his performance. “It’s huge for our program, to get a win like this after no one gave us a chance all year,” Knight said. “We’ve got to ride this into next year. We can’t settle with this... We want the big one.” And Stoops got to gloat a little. “I have the utmost respect for Alabama, and I think this shows that obviously we can play with anybody,” Stoops said. “So, enough of that. And I just watched them go through their entire conference and play pretty well. I’m not pointing any fingers. But I think sometimes the comparisons aren’t necessarily very true.”

166 student life

student life

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PE-ET FORWARD

SUGAR BOWL continued on next page

Photo by Kelly Powers

greatplainsawards.org | 39

Great Plains Student Writer of the Year Publication: The Daily O’Collegian By: Kassie McClung Judges’ Comments: Daring topics, thorough and fair reporting, clear writing with narrative flair.

“Experts doubt effectiveness of OSU’s sexual assault prevention training” Online sexual assault prevention training might not be the most effective method to prevent sexual violence, but for Oklahoma State University, it is the most price-efficient. Beginning this semester, OSU — one of 76 schools being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for potential sexual assault policy violations — is requiring all students to complete an online training course to prevent sexual violence and harassment. In an email sent to all undergraduate and graduate students in late July, OSU mandated all students take the 45-minute course, “Haven — Understanding Sexual Assault,” to enroll in classes for the Spring 2015 semester. Although OSU made sexual training mandatory, some experts say it might not be enough. John Foubert, an OSU professor of higher education and student affairs, who specializes in rape prevention among young men, said OSU’s approach to sexual assault training is not the one he would recommend. “I think, at a very minimal level, that every student needs to be trained on the issue of sexual violence because it’s so pervasive in all universities,” he said. “I think that it’s not enough, for example, just to do a one-hour presentation.” Foubert said the training meets the requirements of the federal Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act, but standards for it seem minimal. Under the 2013 act, universities are required to provide programming for students and faculty addressing the issues of sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence and dating violence. “A comprehensive approach regarding sexual assault prevention should be something every university offers,” he said. “Especially one as large as OSU. I hope to see a change, and ideally, our program should be research-based and it should not just be efficient, but effec-

40 | greatplainsawards.org

tive.” Brief, one-session educational programs focused on increasing sexual awareness or changing beliefs is not effective at changing students’ behavior in the long term, according to NotAlone. gov, a site unveiled by the White House in April that provides tools to schools and sexual assault victims. Comprehensive training with multiple resources is recommended. Although mandatory in-person training is ideal, it would have a higher cost. Lee Bird, vice president for Student Affairs, said online training might not be the most effective, but it is the most efficient. In-person training would require the university to hire more faculty and staff, which could result in higher tuition for students.

“Think about the cost of classes,” she said. “Do we want to make students pay for that? Are the feds providing us a check? It would cost students more to graduate.” For the university, the program is an affordable starting point to ensure everyone gets educated, Bird said. Haven reaches students quickly. Nadir Nibras, president of OSU’s men’s chapter of 1 in 4, a sexual violence prevention group, and mechanical engineering senior, drafted a bill earlier this year asking the Student Government Association to recommend OSU mandate in-person sexual assault training for all incoming students before they arrive on campus or within the first three weeks of class. “I think Haven is definitely a step in

the right direction, and it’s better than anything we’ve had before,” Nibras said. “But we shouldn’t forget that there’s still work to be done.” Nibras said while the bill passed in April, federal legislation like the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act might have also influenced the university’s decision to make the training mandatory. “Even though it’s a good thing that we have it, it being the only program we have mandated for all students is certainly not enough,” Nibras said. “There’s no room for asking questions or getting questions answered, but it’s a good start.” The free training teaches students about Title IX, sexual assault preven-

tion, gender discrimination and sexual harassment, in addition to providing information on reporting an incident and where to go for help. There is an optional question-and-answer portion, and students’ answers remain anonymous. The university contracted EverFi, which also provides its mandatory AlcoholEdu program, to provide the course for $45,000. The Merrick Foundation, an Oklahoma-based foundation that promotes health and wellness initiatives, paid for a large portion of the program, Bird said. The office of the Vice President of Student Affairs at OSU financed the remainder. “It’s designed for students,” she said. “It’s so students can inform themselves,

educate themselves about some of the risk factors, and some of the issues around sexual violence.” The training has two parts. The second part, which is an assessment, must be taken at least 45 days after the first and is not mandated by the university. Information from the assessment will help evaluate the effectiveness of the program, Bird said. “If it doesn’t change any attitudes or values, we’ll cancel that program and try to go to something else,” she said. “There’s no perfect answer, but we need to do more and we need to do our best. We’re going to pay attention and try to make it better.”

greatplainsawards.org | 41

Great Plains Student Writer of the Year Finalist Publication: The Oracle (Oral Roberts University) By: Dominique Johnson

“ORU grad wins Oscar on ‘Frozen’ ” The night finally came. Hundreds of people crowded into Disney Studios for the Oscars’ watch party. ORU alumnus Matt Steele was one of the hopeful animators, wondering if all of the hard work paid off. Will “Frozen” bring home an Oscar? “There was a lot of anticipation building up,” Steele said. “It had been a long run with animation. [Walt Disney Animation Studios] had a very difficult time during the transition from 2D [animation] to 3D. It was really tough.” The past few years presented many challenges for Disney. But under the leadership of John Lasseter, the studio finally earned its Academy Award. When actors Matthew McConaughey and Kim Novak announced that “Frozen” won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, Steele and the other 300 people in the Disney studio erupted into cheers. “[The Oscar] was the culmination of all that work, all those years of pain, to come up with something that was really special,” Steele said. Steele worked on both the rigging and simulation teams for the film. Rigging is the process of taking digital models and turning them into “puppets for animators to perform with,” Steele said. He rigged many of the townspeople of Arendelle. Working with the simulation team, he tailored and built motion rigs for many of the characters. Steele worked on the simulation team at the tail end of production. Simulation is where animators tailor

42 | greatplainsawards.org

the clothing to fit properly and provide controls so the artists can make it move in an art directable way. “I rigged many outfits for the men,” Steele said. “And I did Elsa’s nightgown as well. That dress is what she’s wearing when the girls wake up at the beginning of the film to play in the snow.” Steele said the studio knew they had something special after they finished working on the film, but “expecting to win an Oscar is dangerous.” “’Frozen’ was so much bigger than anyone thought it would be,” Steele said. “We had no idea it was going to take hold of people’s imagination like it did. It really took everybody by surprise. I think we were hopeful that we would take the Oscar. But obviously, you can’t know for sure.” In the past, Steele worked for DreamWorks’ ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and both ‘Kung Fu Panda’ movies. All received nominations but didn’t take home Oscars. Other films he worked on include ‘Arthur Christmas,’ ‘Green Lantern,’ ‘Shark Tale,’ and more. A few of Steele’s favorite parts of the ‘Frozen’ journey were seeing his work come to life and finally wrapping up what was a difficult production. But neither of those things compared to watching the movie premier at the Dolby Theater with his daughter. “It was a really great moment,” Steele said. “Not only to see all of the stuff I worked hard on come to life and look great on the screen—not because of me but because of all the other amaz-

ing artists—but to be there with my daughter and to come full circle. It was a really rewarding experience.” Steele graduated from ORU with a Bachelor of Science in commercial arts in 1997. After interning in print design his senior year and eventually gaining employment from the same studio, he started trying his hand at motion graphics and animation. One job after another led him to be hired as an apprentice at DreamWorks animation, eventually working his way up through the ranks and contributing at Sony Pictures Imageworks. He’s now a technical animation supervisor at Walt Disney Disney Animation Studios. “Don’t get impatient,” Steele said. “Big dreams don’t just happen. I didn’t just wake up one day and all of a sudden [work] on ‘Frozen.’ That came after hundreds, if not thousands, of little tiny sacrifices and baby steps working towards the goal.” Since working on “Frozen,” Steele has already wrapped up his work on another film, “Big Hero 6,” which is scheduled to release Nov. 7, 2014. After that, he started working on “Zootopia,” which is scheduled for release in 2016. “Don’t always be looking forward to the next thing. Have the best attitude you can with the work you’re doing now. You’re always going to be moving somewhere,” Steele said. “If you’re positive and doing your best with the right attitude, you’ll always be moving a bit closer to where you want to go.”

Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year Publication: The Collegian (University of Tulsa) Judges’ Comments: The Collegian is the most ambitious of the entries. This newspaper displays a willingness to tackle tough topics. Creative graphics on front and back pages grabbed our attention, and the content inside was consistently lively.

greatplainsawards.org | 43

Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year Finalist Publication: The Baker Orange (Baker University)

Even during ﬁnals week, students pick Netﬂix over studying.

Battling both on and off the football field, coach Mike Grossner inspires success. pg. 11

pg. 2

December 5, 2014 vol. 122 [issue 5]

Baker University Student Media ~ Baldwin City, Kansas

Your mom hates them, your best friend loves them, but what will your future employer think?

ARROWHEAD LIGHTS

Under the

This Edition

Carry Out (785) 594-2711

Specials 2-6 p.m. every day $1 margaritas

711 8th St. ~ Baldwin City Sunday ~ Thursday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Football jumps to 2-0 on the season pg. 12

A difﬁcult

“Ok, I’m not that now, what am I?” - Marc Carter

decision:

As he battles cancer, former Professor of Psychology Marc Carter retires to face whatever comes next.

Everyone knows the starting athletes, but being a benchwarmer is one of the most difﬁcult roles in athletics. pg. 12

Taylor Shuck EDITOR

Photo by Chris Ortiz

Carry Out (785) 594-2711

Specials 2-6 p.m. every day $1 margaritas

44 | greatplainsawards.org

September 19, 2014 vol. 122 [issue 2]

Baker University Student Media ~ Baldwin City, Kansas

Photo Illustration by Chad Phillips and Taylor Shuck

With new social media apps, many students spend less time hanging out and more time online. pgs. 8 & 9

Find your way around this year’s Maple Leaf Festival and visit student-run booths. pg. 8 & 9

Zeta Chi fraternity breaks social norms by enforcing an in-house no drinking policy. pg. 5

pg. 5

This Edition

October 17, 2014 vol. 122 [issue 3]

Baker University Student Media ~ Baldwin City, Kansas

Jump to Pg. 2

This Edition The Baker Orange dives deeper into the true cost of a college education. pg. 8 & 9

Senior Gunnar “DJ Gunz” McKenna puts his own spin on campus nightlife. pg. 14

Great Plains Student Newspaper of the Year Finalist Publication: The O’Colly (Oklahoma State University)

greatplainsawards.org | 45

great Plains student newspaper of the Year Finalist Publication: The Oracle (Oral Roberts University) Oral Roberts University · November 7, 2014 Tulsa, Oklahoma · Vol 49, No. 6 www.oruoracle.com @oruoracle @oruoraclesports

A SUMMIT RETURN

Korey Billbury tagged for prominent offensive role as ORU returns to Summit League PAGE 12

Photo by Austin St. John

NEWS New Senate majority after elections PAGE 3

FEATURES Marine gets real about Veterans Day and rights PAGE 8

SPORTS Inside the locker room:

SCENE Country belle turns pop princess

PAGE 9

PAGE 16

Oral Roberts University · March. 28, 2014 Tulsa, Okla. · Vol 48, No. 11 www.oruoracle.com

Oral Roberts University · September 19, 2014 Tulsa, Oklahoma · Vol 48, No. 13 www.oruoracle.com

-Anna Syptak

Photo Illustration

“The Diary of Anne Frank” PAGES 10-11

nrich

by River Freude

FROM SOIL TO SAGA TO SCRAPHEAP: Oracle investigates food waste concerns in campus cafeteria. PAGES 10-11

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Photo by Austin St. John

NEWS ORU welcomes new dean PAGE 3

SPORTS Students attend high school football games PAGE 12

FEATURES New worship album premieres at ORU PAGE 6

great Plains student Website of the Year Publication: The Baker Orange, thebakerorange.com (Baker University) Judgesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Comments: The Baker Orange is deserving of student website of the year for its well-rounded depth and great mix of news, helpful information and in-depth features. The interactive project on medical marijuana was outstanding and creative, with a good mix of text, visuals and interactives. The entry also had a particularly strong multimedia package on the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; trip to Mexico and good photo gallery on the NAIA Gridiron Challenge.

greatplainsawards.org | 47

great Plains student Website of the Year Finalist Publication: The Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Colly, ocolly.com (Oklahoma State University)

48 | greatplainsawards.org

great Plains student Website of the Year Finalist Publication: The Oracle, oruoracle.com (Oral Roberts University)

greatplainsawards.org | 49

AMOUR AT A MALL

IOWANS TIE THE KNOT WHERE THEY MET A YEAR AGO — ON A SHOPPING TRIP. NewsTWOPackage Winner

Publication: The Des Moines Register h a r v eDonnelle s t o f C Eller H A N By: Sharyn Jackson, Christopher Gannon,

METRO & IOWA, 3A

G E

I O WA FA R M FA M I L I E S C O N F R O N T A N AT I O N I N T R A N S I T I O N Judges’ Comments: This project was by far the most ambitious of the entries. It was compelling for its breadth and depth. Readers learned about the business of farming, the changes - good and bad - brought by technology | THE NEWS IOWA DEPENDS UPON | DESMOINESREGISTER.COM | METRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 2014 and the emotional connection that these MONDAY, families have22,to the land and to each other. It was an informative and emotional series, and clearly an important subject in Iowa. harvest of C H A N G E

Excerpt from “Harvest of Change” I O WA FA R M FA M I L I E S C O N F R O N T A

On the lawn of a ranch house abutting rolling acres of emerald pasture, a red-haired girl, almost 7, leads a calf in circles with the help of her family. It’s early July, and Jillian Dammann is getting ready to show her bottle calf, Olaf, at the Page County Fair. Her parents, Justin and Jennifer, are teaching her how to lead him, and her little brother, Jayden, is helping. Named after a character in Disney’s “Frozen,” this calf from the Dammanns’ livestock breeding operation lost its source of sustenance when its mother died. So Jillian helps rear it, feeding Olaf milk from a bottle that’s bigger than the pink cowboy boots she wears, here in the southwest Iowa county where Jessie Field Shambaugh founded 4-H clubs more than a century ago. Jillian is currently one of two possible heirs to a business that’s been in her family for five previous generations. Her training with Olaf is more than an extracurricular activity; it’s an investment in the legacy of this family and the future of this farm, this county and this country. For the family to continue its legacy, it will need to navigate the subtle but sweeping forces of change that are transforming America and its place in the world. Two massive demographic shifts head the list: Americans are rapidly graying, and the nation is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. “Either one of these by itself would be the defining demographic drama of its era,” said Paul Taylor, a Pew Research Center fellow and author of “The Next America: Boomers, Millennials and the Looming Generational Showdown.” “The fact that they’re happening together could be a recipe for stresses in social cohesion.” Then layer in other dramatic shifts, including the increasing impact of the global economy, rapid technological advances and concerns about the climate’s health. They combine to leave many Americans with an unsettled sense of the future.

harvest of

N AT I O N I N T R A N S I T I O N

C H A N G E

I O WA FA R M FA M I L I E S C O N F R O N T A N AT I O N I N T R A N S I T I O N

A GANNETT COM

Bradsh expects greater use of camera

But outfitting officers and st video is expen

By Regina Zilberm rzilbermin@dmreg.com

CHRISTOPHER GANNON/REGISTER PHOTOS

Jayden Dammann waits for a tractor ride while his father, Justin, visits with others on the family farm in rural Page County in July. Justin says he feels confident about the management of the family farm one day passing on to Jayden.

In Iowa, these profound changes are tunities in the community for his kids. perhaps best seen through the eyes of As they circle the yard, little Jayden the people who for centuries have fed hangs on to the end of Olaf’s rope, America and the world. followed by Justin. Jillian tugs the rope The Iowa farm family, with its deep where it’s closest to the calf’s face, and community roots, extended family ties Mom, Jennifer, holds its tail. and a large dose of savvy born from The Dammanns have thrown all EVEN A SOLID, CENTURY-OLD FACES CHALLENGES, UNCERTAINTY living close to the soil, finds itselfOPERATION at the hands into a vast and uncertain future, epicenter of a new cultural andByecothe family has for generations. Sharyn Jackson |as sjackson@dmreg.com nomic landscape. If ever a family was equipped to the lawn of a ranch house abutting rolling acres of emerald pasture, a In rural America,nred-haired the aging of the face uncertainty, it would be the Damgirl, almost 7, leads a calf in circles with the help of her family. population and ever-bigger farms Their farm has waves manns. It’s early July, and Jillian Dammann is getting ready to show hersurvived bottle calf, Olaf, at the Page County Her parents, Justin are enabled by technological advances are Fair.of tumult sinceand itsJennifer, 1901 founding by a teaching her how lead him, and her little brother, Jayden, is helping. already depopulating thetocountryside. German immigrant. Named after a character in Disney’s “Frozen,” this calf from the Dammanns’ live“It is almost inevitable that there are The operation outlasted the Great stock breeding operation lost its source of sustenance when its mother died. So Jillian going to be less farmofthe the 1930s, destructive helpsfarm rear it,families feeding Olaf milk from a bottleDepression that’s bigger than pink cowboyaboots she of wears, here which in the southwest Iowa county where Jessie Shambaugh founded ing in the state Iowa, in turn tornado in Field 1964, the farm crisis of the 4-H clubs more a century less ago. means less schools, less than churches, 1980s, consolidations that squeezed the Jillian is currently one of two possible heirs to a business that’s been in her family it just kind of snowcommunities.forAnd family out of the swine and poultry five previous generations. Her training with Olaf is more than an extracurricular balls,” said Justin Jillian’s industries, drought in farm, recent activity;Dammann, it’s an investment in the legacy of this family and the future of this thisyears, and county father. “I think as and wethis gocountry. forward, the the latest challenge, corn prices less For the family to continue its legacy, it will need to navigate the subtle but sweepbig question mark is: How is it going to than half of what they were a year ago. ing forces of change that are transforming America and its place in the world. look?” Outside the boundaries of the famSee DAMMANNS,schoolhouses Page 8A He fears Iowa will one day resemble ily’s acres, one-room have parts of Nebraska and other rural states shuttered, and districts merged. Towns SERIES INSIDE that haveFIVE-PART seen small family operations disappeared from the map. Young The Register examines how the de» The Dammanns: The roots of this swallowed up by corporate farming people moved away, as the old folks mographic, technological and ecofamily farm extend six generations. andnomic consolidation, leaving vast stretchgot older. changes that are transforming » The other farms: One is owned by America are playing out in the lives of an immigrant just brought starting out. One is es of land with few towns in between. The passing years also times four Iowa farm families. converting to organic. Another raises That future would see fewer families of promise, fostered in part by this famchemical-free produce and livestock. DIGITAL EXPERIENCE finding it viable to stay in farming, ily’s commitment to preserving the land » Oculus Rift: Learn about the virtual This project includes an innovative reality headset that allows touring the fewer 3-D shoppers fewer for subsequent generations, as well as experience andin a 2-D option. stores on Main Dammann farm in an immersive, 3-D more atschools DesMoinesRegisJustin Dammann cuts hay in a field the family’s Page Street,Learn fewer and fewer opporitsonadaptability to a changing industry. experience that’s a journalism first.

ROOTS AT RISK O

ter.com/HarvestofChange.

County farm in July.

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Outgoing Des Police Chief Jud shaw expects to department’s equipped with bo eras and other im ments in law enfor technology, a d ment she believes both a benefit fo and a challenge. The cameras, are being worn creasing number enforcement offi tionwide, have praise from the who say the body c hold officers acco Leaders in law e ment say the c help officials wh handle complaints Bradshaw and cal officials sa would like to h cameras. But equipping largest police dep with the devices r a large and ongoin cial investment d time of tight bud creased use of t eras also requires sions about how would be stored a the cameras woul tivated. “The issue wi eras isn’t whethe you support them chief of police or it’s really the bud the cost,” Bradsh

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VIDEO ONLIN

See this story at DesMoinesRegiste hear Des Moines Pol Judy Bradshaw talk a several subjects, inclu moving up the ranks department.

Many laid still jobless

More than 20 p of Americans laid the past five year still unemployed, vey released toda underscoring that a recent sharp dro long-term unempl ment, many peopl work at least six m are still strugglin USA TODAY, Pa

News Package Finalists Publication: Oklahoma Watch and The Oklahoman By: Warren Vieth, Jaclyn Cosgrove, Andrew Knittle, Phillip O’Connor, David Fritze, Greg Singleton, David Morris, Nate Billings, Sarah Phipps, David McDaniel, Bryan Terry, Steve Gooch, Todd Pendleton, Richard Hall, Tiffany Gibson, Moran Elwell, Caroline Duke, Glen Seeber, Amy Raymond

Excerpt from “Addicted Oklahoma” Neither the narcotics bureau, the medical examiner’s office, nor local law enforcement authorities routinely report the names of doctors connected to overdose deaths to the licensing boards to review for potential overprescribing. That’s led to case after case where regulators failed to stop a problem prescriber in a timely manner, allowing them to continue to write prescriptions that led to more deaths and injuries. “At this juncture, we will not know that until somebody is dead and their family member has reported it, and that’s a little late in the game,” said Bruce, head of the state’s Board of Osteopathic Examiners. The narcotics bureau also doesn’t forward its reports on high-volume prescribers and patients to the state’s medical licensing boards so they can intervene quickly with the physicians they oversee. Even in cases where the narcotics bureau or the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency suspends or revokes a doctor’s right to prescribe, neither agency notifies the medical provider’s licensing board of the action. Kelsey, the medical board director, said there needs to be more proactive reporting of prescribing practices and overdose deaths, “so we don’t have to go out and grab everything and find out it’s two or three years old before we even get a hold of it.” Terri White, the state’s mental health commissioner, said she thought it was critical for data to be shared regarding prescription drug overdoses. “We’re supportive of anything that increases the use of data in decision making, particularly in terms of treatment,” said White, who also oversees the state’s substance abuse services. Vorse, the addiction specialist, agreed, saying the investigation’s findings highlighted the need for better information sharing among the various agencies, licensing boards and prescribers, who in many cases may not even know their patient is dead. In a profession where the most important principle is do no harm, doctors need to be aware when their patients die of an overdose, he said. “A lot of these doctors may not realize that they’re the outliers,” Vorse said.

Publication: The Argus Leader By: Steve Young, Joe Ahlquist, Jay Kirschenmann, Michael Klinski

Excerpt from “Tami’s Torment” She stood in the backyard of her neighbor’s house, unannounced and unexpected, with tears trickling down her cheeks. Iraq wouldn’t leave Lt. Col. Tami Mielke alone, wouldn’t quit tormenting the National Guard member with its memories of flag draped caskets and mortuary stench and midnight specters pounding on her door. Desperate to block it all out, she had started wandering a quarter-mile down the road from her home west of Sioux Falls, to an acreage nearby where her family had lived 20 years earlier. There she could crouch unseen among the cottonwoods at the end of the long driveway and listen as the wind drove off the ghosts of Baghdad. Or wander out back alone and stare blankly into the fire pit. Friends and family sense she was searching for something among those familiar surroundings — for a happier Tami Mielke who had lived there long ago and was young and new to motherhood and confidently moving up the ranks of the Guard. Back before the demons took over her life. Before the betrayal of people she believed were more bent on discarding her 28-year military career than pulling her back from the abyss of her post-traumatic agony. Mostly before the growing darkness devoured her spirit, claimed her self-worth and drove her to seek any kind of escape. Whether it was a familar acreage a quartermile down the road. Or when that wasn’t enough, the blast of a gun. They called her “Bulldog” at Sather Air Base on the sprawling complex of Baghdad International Airport, where Lt. Col. Tami Mielke served as Force Support Squadron commander from February to June of 2010. Her high-pressure mission there was to make sure the active-duty and reserve troops were taken care of in a war-time environment. A chair in the dining hall, an assigned place to lay your head at night, an operational Internet that actually allowed for Skyping with loved ones back home — Mielke oversaw every aspect of troop morale, welfare and recreation with a single-minded sense of duty. She was perfect for the job, family members and Air Guard colleagues say. Twenty-five-plus years in the National Guard had transformed her daughter from what Karen Kratochvil called “this little girlie girl ... who couldn’t even figure out how to clean vegetables and push the peelings down the garbage disposal,” into a highly organized and regimented military leader.

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Project/Investigative Reporting Winner Publication: Oklahoma Watch and The Oklahoman By: Warren Vieth, Jaclyn Cosgrove, Phillip O’Connor, Andrew Knittle Judges’ Comments: In a category that featured some excellent reporting, this package stood out. The team covered this story from unexpected angles by mining more than the usual sources. The story got to the human, social, political and economic dimensions of an important community problem in a collection that was quite readable.

Excerpt from “Addicted Oklahoma” On Jan. 27, 2010, Dena Kay Brasfield died in her sleep. Two days earlier, the 40-year-old clothing store worker had gone to see Oklahoma City doctor Cecil Allen Moore, complaining of migraines, anxiety and panic attacks. He prescribed her unusually large doses of alprazolam, an addictive anti-anxiety drug, and oxycodone, a potent opiate painkiller. Police determined Brasfield had taken only a few more oxycodone pills than the doctor authorized. They weren’t sure how much alprazolam she took. The medical examiner ruled it an accidental overdose. Nobody reported the death to the Oklahoma Board of Osteopathic Examiners. It wasn’t until late 2011, after receiving complaints about Moore from pharmacists, other patients and relatives, that the board launched an investigation of his prescribing practices. They soon made a gruesome discovery: Eight of Moore’s patients had died of overdoses in 2010 and 2011. Not one had been reported to the board. By the time the board revoked Moore’s license in mid-2012 for prescribing violations, more than two years had passed since Brasfield swallowed her fatal cocktail of prescription drugs. UNDETECTED DEATHS The eight deaths on Moore’s watch, and others like them, expose troubling gaps in the state’s system for combating an epidemic that has seen Oklahoma surge to near the top of national rankings for prescription drug abuse and overdose deaths. In 2012, unintentional prescription drug overdoses claimed the lives of 534 Oklahomans. State health authorities say about half of them had taken drugs prescribed by their own doctors. While much of Oklahoma’s enforce-

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ment efforts are aimed at drug-seekers, far less effort is dedicated to identifying, investigating and pursuing the problem providers — the doctors who supply the sometimes deadly dosages. Despite the fact that almost one out of every two overdose deaths involves a drug the person was prescribed legally, state investigators don’t check regularly to see whether the prescriber might be linked to other overdose deaths. In some instances, that allowed problem prescribers to escape detection by regulators and to continue to overprescribe, in some cases for years, leading to additional deaths and injuries, an investigation by The Oklahoman and Oklahoma Watch has found. Doctors such as Joshua Livingston, who saw 60 to 100 patients a day at his South Pointe Pain Clinic in Tulsa. Four of his patients died of overdoses. After the first death in August 2011, 18 months went by before Livingston was placed on probation and his prescribing practices were restricted. Or Dr. Joseph Knight, a Tulsa infectious disease specialist who had nine patients die of overdoses from 2009

to 2011. It wasn’t until March of this year that the medical board heard his case, more than five years after his first patient died. Or Dr. Amar Bhandary, an Oklahoma City psychiatrist, who during 2008 and 2009 wrote prescriptions that resulted in the overdose deaths of five people. It wasn’t until 2013 that the state medical board and prosecutors moved against him. Or Dr. Robert Wayne Mosier of Talihina who in 2007 and 2008 had four patients die from lethal overdoses shortly after he prescribed them controlled substances. It wasn’t until 2009 that the narcotics bureau pulled his prescribing license. Had it not been for complaints from the public, their prescribing practices might never have been discovered. “We need a process to speed this up. We need it desperately,” said Deborah Bruce, executive director of the Oklahoma Board of Osteopathic Examiners. “If we’re really going to save lives and reduce the number of deaths, we need a process … that speeds up the attention.”

Project/Investigative Reporting Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Todd Cooper, Matt Wynn, Alissa Skelton, Paul Hammel

Excerpt from “Prison doors open too soon” Convicted killer Marvin Buggs could sniff freedom. The 53-year-old had found himself within two years of release from prison after his manslaughter conviction in the December 2000 strangulation of a mother whose body was left on a snowbank in east Lincoln. He shouldn’t have been. A World-Herald investigation showed that Nebraska prison officials that Nebraska prison officials — using — using a flawed formula to calculate sentences — had wrongly shaved five years off the sentence Buggs received. They had him set for release in June 2016. His actual release date: June 2021. The examination of prison records of Buggs and scores of other inmates also revealed that Nebraska Department of Correctional Services officials Correctional Services officials had released had released or were set to release dozens of prisoners years before their sentences were supposed to end. All told, state officials All told, state officials had carved at least had carved at least 750 years off the collective sentences of more than 200 of the state’s worst criminals. The problem: The department was using a formula that doesn’t square with how sentences should be calculated. After The World-Herald revealed its findings Friday to Corrections Director Michael Kenney, he immediately directed staff to recalculate the sentences. He said he had been unaware of the problem. “We’re in triage mode,” Kenney said. “Public safety is paramount. Correcting the record is paramount. We have people working very hard toward that effort now.”

Publication: The Des Moines Register By: Jason Clayworth

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Chad Day

Excerpt from “State makes secret payouts to ex-workers”

Excerpt from “Youth unit told to scrap restraint, taped helmet”

The state of Iowa has paid more than $282,000 over the past three years in secret settlement deals with six former employees, most of whom claimed their jobs were eliminated because they have Democratic ties. All were asked to sign confidentiality agreements that would have kept the settlements out of public view, according to documents obtained by The Des Moines Register and interviews with the ex-state workers. The state denies that the workers’ positions were cut as political moves, saying the jobs were eliminated as part of a reorganization that saves the state about $730,000 a year. But in grievance complaints filed before the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board and interviews with the Register, the former employees say their complaints and settlements show evidence of systematic efforts by Gov. Terry Branstad’s administration to embrace widespread Republican cronyism. “They are like a group of renegades,” said Carol Frank, a former construction and design engineer who was laid off in September 2011. “They just didn’t care about anyone else or about rules or law. They were just hiring their friends.” The settlements were shuffled through state agencies, avoiding the typical process of being approved by and made public through the Iowa Appeal Board.

The state Youth Services Division has directed the Yell County Juvenile Detention Center to stop restraining children in a manner that the state says is “potentially dangerous” and “exposes the youth to ridicule and humiliation,” according to records obtained Wednesday. In addition to using a restraint device that handcuffed children and immobilized their legs, staff members at the juvenile detention center in Danville placed a motorcycle helmet covered in duct tape over the youths’ heads. The duct tape bore a hand-drawn, cartoonish face and covered the helmet’s face shield, placing the restrained person in near total darkness. Youths restrained in this manner were forced to stay in a sitting position with their hands behind their backs for two hours at a time and up to four hours with a “brief break,” according to a letter from Youth Services Division Director Tracy Steele that tells the juvenile detention center to stop the practice and use of the device, known as The Wrap. “The WRAP restraint system itself has no known therapeutic uses. As modified by Yell County JDC, the system violates the recommended guidelines of the manufacturers, exposes the youth to ridicule and humiliation, and presents serious risk of harm to the juveniles in your care,” Steele wrote. Steele’s letter, dated Sept. 29, directed the 24-bed facility to immediately stop using the device on any youths committed to the Youth Services Division and urged the facility to abandon use of the device altogether.

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General News Reporting Winner Publication: Oklahoma Watch and The Oklahoman By: Warren Vieth, Jaclyn Cosgrove, Phillip O’Connor, Andrew Knittle Judges’ Comments: Through an excellent use of public records, data analysis, heartbreaking anecdotes and powerful photographs and videos, the Oklahoman and Oklahoma Watch exposed a broken system that is failing the thousands of people addicted to prescription painkillers and the families who lose loved ones to overdoses. This project could have easily overwhelmed readers with numbers and data. Instead, it was a clear and compelling look at an epidemic destroying lives across the state. Sidebars spotlighting victims and doctors put faces on this tragic story.

Excerpt from “Addicted Oklahoma” SYSTEMIC SHORTCOMINGS Calls for fixing gaps in the monitoring system come at a time when an estimated 5 percent of the state’s residents over age 11 — about 164,000 people — are abusing prescription narcotics, according to a recent federal survey. Oklahoma ranked eighth among the states for nonmedical use of prescription painkillers. In the past 12 years, Oklahoma has seen the overall number of overdose deaths from prescription drugs more than double, and the number of deaths due to hydrocodone and oxycodone more than quadruple. Overdose deaths now surpass motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of unintentional injury in the state and are the leading cause of death by injury for Oklahomans ages 25 to 64. “Obviously, with the number of deaths we have, we have a problem,” said Dr. Eric Frische, medical adviser to the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision. The investigation also found: • The medical examiner’s office typically takes two to three months — and even sometimes a year or more — to complete its death investigation reports and turn them over to the state narcotics bureau for review. By the time the drug agency finds out about a fatality, more overprescribing and overdoses have occurred. • The state’s primary tool for tracking narcotic sales — the Prescription Monitoring Program — is underused by enforcement authorities and many prescribers. The narcotics bureau does not mine the program data routinely to target overprescribers, relying instead on tips and complaints to initiate al-

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most all cases. Many physicians do not check the program regularly to prevent “doctor-shoppers” from obtaining multiple prescriptions for dangerous drugs. • State agencies and licensing boards do not regularly share with each other information about overprescribing and patient deaths. The medical examiner typically does not record the names of prescribing physicians when it collects evidence in overdose cases. Neither the medical examiner nor the narcotics agency routinely notify the medical boards of overdose cases they might want to review. And the state’s Medicaid agency does not notify the medical boards if the agency pulls a doctor’s Medicaid license for any reason. • State licensing boards rarely discipline doctors involved in overprescription deaths. Since 2007, only 11 doctors linked to overdose deaths have been subject to disciplinary actions by their licensing boards. • State enforcers say local prosecutors are reluctant to pursue criminal overprescription cases against doctors, saying they are expensive, time-

consuming, difficult to litigate and, in some cases, unpopular with the community where the doctor practices. In the past two years, prosecutors have filed criminal charges against just one doctor investigated by the narcotics agency for drug diversion. • Existing state laws hamstring the ability of the narcotics bureau and medical licensing boards from collaborating effectively to detect and deter overprescribing. At the insistence of the medical lobby, all Prescription Monitoring Program data is deemed confidential and its dissemination restricted, making it more difficult for the licensing boards to identify problem prescribers. Some regulators said they were troubled by the findings of the investigation by Oklahoma Watch and The Oklahoman, acknowledging they had not fully recognized the size and scope of the overprescribing problem. Lyle Kelsey, executive director of the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision, said he planned to more aggressively pursue problem doctors in response to the findings shared with him by reporters.

General News Reporting Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Andrea Eger

Publication: The Des Moines Register By: Lee Rood and Patt Johnson

Excerpt from “Inside an ‘F’ school overview: F schools struggle with testing, turnover and poverty”

Excerpt from “Yonkers: An icon gone”

Oklahoma’s A-F grading system is intended to offer parents and other interested community members a quick and easy way to judge the performance of public schools. The Tulsa World decided to take an in-depth look at what’s really going on in one of the city’s schools with failing marks from the state. We went to Hawthorne Elementary School, 1105 E. 33rd St. North, one of 36 schools in the Tulsa district to receive an F in 2013. The reality is anything but quick or easy to understand. “I really believe most people don’t know what’s really going on. Maybe they think these things happen in Chicago, but Tulsa, Oklahoma? It’s here, and unless you come and see the obstacles our teachers face, you can’t understand,” said Principal Estella Bitson. Bitson is in her third year as principal at Hawthorne. She spearheaded an overhaul of the faculty and school climate upon her arrival and the pay-off was swift — overall student proficiency jumped from 29 percent to 46 percent, the third most dramatic improvement in all of Tulsa Public Schools. But significant incremental growth doesn’t count like it used to in the state’s grading system and just like that, Hawthorne watched its D grade drop to an F. Here’s what we found at Hawthorne: Focusing on test results. Teachers and administrators continually pore over the data from dozens of assessments and progress tests taken year-round by students from kindergarten through sixth grade. Staffing turnover. In addition to a state teacher shortage, qualified applicants for openings in at-risk schools are scarce. Vacancies for teachers in kindergarten and special education at Hawthorne went unfilled until January. When confronted with the challenges, many new hires leave quickly — even in the middle of the school year. Meeting children’s basic needs. This includes providing two square meals a day — breakfast and lunch — for 100 percent of the students, plus budgeting each year for nutritious afternoon snacks several days a week and the purchase of dozens of winter coats, gloves, hats, scarves, underwear and socks for children who have none.

A devastating fire of unknown origin destroyed the 115-year-old former Younkers building in downtown Des Moines Saturday, ending restoration of the iconic grand dame and raising questions about fire prevention standards. The blaze, first reported at 12:52 a.m. Saturday, caused smoke and water damage to several adjacent buildings, including the EMC Insurance campus, Hub Tower and Greater Des Moines Partnership Building. The food court in the Partnership Building had a foot of water in it. No injuries were reported. The Younkers building, which was undergoing a $37 million renovation, was set to be a cornerstone for a revitalized Walnut Street. City officials and others called the building’s destruction a setback, but also an opportunity. “Now the city will have the opportunity working with the current developer to think about a wider range of projects,” said Larry Zimpleman, CEO, chairman and president of Des Moinesbased Principal Financial Group. Firefighters from across Des Moines and three suburbs doused the ruins well into Saturday evening, as thousands gawked at what was left of the smoldering structure of steel, concrete and brick. “We saw everything just burst into flames, and the whole city was just a skyline of gray and ash,” said Katie Gieszler, who saw smoke and cin ders billowing over the Polk County Courthouse around 1 a.m. Saturday. Gieszler watched the spectacle from the top of her apartment building in the historic Hotel Kirkwood. “I think a lot of people are going to be really sad to say goodbye to that beautiful building,” she said. Six Des Moines firefighters were inside the building when the top floor collapsed. “It sounded like a jet engine,” said firefighter Travis Hurley, 38. But they emerged unscathed. Damage estimates are not available. “This is the biggest fire to happen in downtown in 15 years,” Des Moines Fire Chief John TeKippe said. “We’re not going to know the full cost of this for a while.” Piles of debris, including bricks and mangled steel, filled Seventh and Walnut streets, and pieces of metal dangled from a heavily damaged section of skywalk. The landmark Younkers building was a touchstone for generations of Iowans who dined in its elegant Tea Room and lined up to peer at its window displays at Christmas. But as shoppers began to flock to suburban malls, its luster faded. The store closed in August 2005.

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Narrative Story/Series Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Erin Grace Judges’ Comments: We winced a bit about not using the women’s names in this two-part series, but the narratives were compelling, the characters sympathetic. With all the national attention on human traffiking, it was important to put these faces on the problem and show the victims’ struggles as well as their crimes. The writing was punchy and really moved the stories quickly. The repetition was effective, “Where’s the baby?”

Excerpt from “Grace: A Bellevue teenager is pulled into prostitution overnight” Her first john looked like Santa Claus. He was heavyset, balding, bearded and, in a fact lost  on neither of them, old. “I’m old enough to be your grandpa,” he told Dawn,  Who had just turned 15. Dawn was disgusted  and scared. And  she was trapped. The door was locked.  The windows barely opened. Nearby were the pimps  who forced her into  this just hours after  Dawn had landed at their house thinking it would  be an escape from home. They told her she owed them because they had given her a spot to crash. The pimps made her put on lingerie. They made her pose for suggestive online ads. And after Dawn had spent a terrifying night job-shadowing a prostitute and bawling with a fellow runaway who was just 13, the pimps brought her to this apartment near Hanscom Park. They told her it was go time. *** We are starting to hear more about people like Dawn who are trapped in an underground sex market. Once called prostitutes, they are now considered victims of sex trafficking if they are forced, coerced or tricked into providing sex for money — money they often don’t see. Technology facilitates “the world’s oldest profession,” pushing prostitutes off street corners and into perfectly legal online classifieds where, on a recent weekday, some 30 “escorts” in Omaha were awaiting your text message. These victims are hidden in plain sight whether online or squirreled away in an apartment on the quiet street

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where Dawn and her 13-year-old friend were held captive. Yet the victims are hard to help and the traffickers hard to catch. Dawn got lucky and got out rather quickly. But it was not quite fast enough. Dawn did not plan to become a prostitute. She had what she said was a normal childhood: She played basketball, went to church, hung out with friends. The trouble started when Dawn — her middle name — experimented with alcohol as an eighth-grader. She broke curfew and butted heads with her mother and stepfather so much that the courts intervened and called her ungovernable. She drove a car without a license and was charged with a misdemeanor. When she didn’t appear for a hearing, a warrant was issued for her arrest. Dawn was made to wear an ankle bracelet for monitoring. She was under house arrest, which meant she couldn’t go anywhere but school at Bellevue

East and home. The teen bristled at all the restrictions. Dawn wanted out of school and out of the house. She and a 13-year-old friend decided to run away. They didn’t flesh out much of a plan beyond stopping first at a house Dawn had partied at before with a man named Ramon Heredia. Ramon was 20. He was married to a woman named Kat. They lived with Ramon’s aunt Merrideth and uncle Nate at 30th Street and Poppleton Avenue. Dawn had seen drugs there. She knew the family had multiple properties. She figured there would be room for two girls. She also figured these were people who knew how to get around the law. She called Ramon. His aunt told her how to slip off the ankle bracelet using butter. That didn’t work, so Dawn cut it off with a knife. Then she shoved clothes, shoes and her flat iron into three bags and called for a ride. She was going to be free.

Narrative Story/Series Finalists Publication: Lincoln Journal Star By: Mara Klecker

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Cathy Frye

Excerpt from “At home in America: ‘I am so thankful’”

Excerpt from “The other side of nowhere”

Hail Mary, full of grace… Two of the five men have flashlights. They all have guns. She hears the slap of their hands echo against the metal boxcar doors. It’s a frigid December night, 2011, in a dark tunnel somewhere in Mexico. She’s 12 years old, maybe 75 pounds. She presses her fragile frame harder and harder against the steel roof, hoping the gunmen who halted the train won’t see her. She peeks over the edge, watching the small band of drug dealers. She hears the muffled words in rapid-fire Spanish. Then she sees it coming— the slow sweep of the flashlight beam rising to the top of the train, where she shivers and prays, trying not to cry, belly down with the other immigrants. Angela Escobar has only a backpack stuffed with three pairs of jeans and a few cotton shirts. She cradles dreams of America — the big houses and the clean classrooms she’s seen in the Hollywood movies with Spanish subtitles. The Lord is with thee… She hasn’t prayed aloud since she left her home in San Jose Cancasque, a poor village of 1,500 in the north-central highlands of El Salvador. She didn’t tell anyone the night she left. Not her drunk father, who abandoned her at birth. Not her mentally-ill mother, who never learned to read. Not her gang-banger brother, who spends his days high on pot and crack. Not her other brother, 34, with the brain function of a firstgrader, maybe younger after all the alcohol the street kids give him for their own amusement. For several years, the girl drifted in and out of the ramshackle schoolhouse. What was the point? Books so old they fell apart at the touch. Teachers who fell asleep in class, skipped out, didn’t show up. By fifth grade, she didn’t know how to use a computer. But she knew this much: She didn’t want to die on the streets of her village. She knew she wanted something else, something more — an education, a life, a hope. So one night, she slipped out of the family’s one-room mud hut and joined a few other villagers bound for Texas.

BIG BEND RANCH STATE PARK, Texas — Crouched on trembling legs beside a stubby mesquite tree, I tried to steady my voice. “You have to leave me,” I told Rick. “You have to go.” I felt a surge of relief. Finally, I’d said the words aloud. Rick recoiled. But I knew from the expression that flickered across his face that he’d been thinking the same thing. “But I don’t want to leave you,” he protested. “We don’t have any other choice,” I replied. “Nobody’s looking for us. Nobody even knows where we are.” For 2½ days now, I had trudged behind Rick through the dense cactus under a searing sun. Only fear of being left alone in the vast Chihuahuan Desert had kept me going. But my weakening legs would no longer carry me. For the past five hours, Rick had pulled me up countless rocky hills. Each time we stopped to rest, he had to help me to my feet. This time, I wouldn’t let him. “I can’t go any far took a short evening hike. Later, I thumbed through park brochures. Rick and I were most intrigued by the West Rim Overlook Trail. It’s a 5-mile round trip that overlooks Fresno Canyon and offers beautiful views of the Solitario flatirons, steeply inclined and inverted V-shaped rocks. The ranger station had run out of maps of the trail. So Barrett Durst, the superintendent, used a small map of the entire park to point out the Puerta Chilicote trailhead, which would take us to the West Rim. “You can do this one in about 45 minutes,” he said, tracing a finger along the first leg of the trail. At the rim, we could either turn back or continue hiking to the old Crawford-Smith Ranch and Mexicano Falls, Durst said. The trail would eventually loop back to the Puerta Chilicote trailhead. Rick was most interested in the rim. I wanted to see the ranch ruins.

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beat reporting Winner Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette by: Chelsea Boozer Judges’ Comments: Strong beat reporting, it’s clear the reporter kept digging and asking questions, it seems one thing led to another and the reporter recognized that. This displays the hallmark of beat reporting — diligence and persistence. In addition the stories are written with authority, with strong analysis of documents that the report acquired. It’s clear the reporting led to results.

excerpt from “Lr r to sack 2 listed on sex registry” F R I D AY committee. sheri Flynn, adtwo of eight city-employed Off on right foot Tesla opens its patents Neymar scores twice as Brazil opens CEO Musk hopes public access ministrator of the sex offender sex offenders will be fired or World Cup with 3-1 victory. boosts electric-car market. screening and Risk assessment asked to resign after little Rock Program, said the ratings were adopted a new policy this week never meant to be used for anythat bans the hiring of higher• • level sex offenders and restricts In the news Youth lockup thing other than to indicate the the employment of lower-level assaults to get level of community notification The higher the rating, offenders to certain positions. monitors’ look required. the more the community should the new policy adopted 98% rise in year alarming, disability rights group says know about an offender’s histuesday states that offenders tory. rated level 1 and 2 — considWhile she said she underered low risk with no, or very stood why employers set such few, prior sexual offenses — will policies, she cautioned against only be eligible for jobs that do using a rating to decide job eliginot require the employees to enIraqi Sunni militants set bility without knowing the facts ter private homes, interact with their sights on Baghdad of the offender’s crime. the public in a secluded setting “We need to link whatever or act as coaches, teachers or decision we make in reference caregivers to children or vulnerto guiding sex offender manable adults. Exxon still Fayetteville vets home lets bills pile up agement to what they do and level 3 and 4 offenders — hasn’t told what their sexual interests are. considered high risk and having utility why pipe broke It would be my preference that histories of repeat sexual of[decision] not be based on a fending or anti-social, violent or number assigned by this office predatory personalities — will Las Vegas officer laid to rest LR to sack 2 listed on that was never meant to govern not be allowed to hold any posisex registry those decisions,” Flynn said. tion with the city. some crimes that result in the policy also prohibits any a person being labeled a sex sex offender, no matter his ratoffender don’t actually involve ing, from being employed by the sexual acts, Flynn said. KidnapParks and Recreation Departping and false imprisonment ment or the little Rock Zoo be17,090 more put on Medicaid rolls in May of a minor and permitting the cause parks and zoos are places abuse of a child are two exfrequented by children. amples. “Without a doubt, we had to certain offenders who are do that. We can’t expose children pedophiles or have multiple victims or fire departments, per state law. that come to our facilities to enjoy our and cannot control their behavior moore said nothing in particular amenities to anyone that is a registered should not be allowed to work around sparked the policy change, adding that sex offender. We felt very strongly children, Flynn said, but she added it was just “the prudent thing to do.” about that,” city manager Bruce moore that they shouldn’t be banned from all the city didn’t research if other municisaid. “People make mistakes, and I work. palities have similar policies, he said. understand that, but I think when it “We do not want sex offenders with the arkansas municipal league said comes to our departments that deal a lot of time on their hands. We want it doesn’t keep records on which towns with children, you just can’t have any them to be constructive and have their have sex offender policies. tolerance for that past behavior.” time filled with doing something posisex offender ratings are assigned sex offenders were already prohibtive,” she said. ited from holding positions in the police by the state’s sex offender assessment — Sports, 1C

— Business, 1D

A R K A N S A S ’ N E W S PA P E R

Printed at Little Rock

m P re s i d e n t B a rac k Obama, who turns 53 in August, is in excellent health, eats a healthful diet, exercises daily and remains tobacco free, according to a two-page memorandum from his doctor released by the White House after an examination last month. m Charles Wright, 79, a Pulitzer Prize winner who has written 24 collections of poetry, was chosen by the Library of Congress to serve as the nation’s next poet laureate beginning this fall. m George H.W. Bush,, the nation’s 41st president, celebrated his 90th birthday Thursday by making a tandem parachute jump near his summer home in coastal Maine, fulfilling a goal he made five years ago after a similar jump even though he can no longer use his legs. m Sherri Lynn Wilkins,, a substance-abuse counselor, was sentenced to 55 years to life in prison for hitting a pedestrian, Phillip Moreno, with her car and driving through a Los Angeles suburb with the dying man on her windshield in November 2012. m Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana, signed legislation that will require doctors who perform abortions to have the ability to admit patients to a hospital that is within 30 miles of where the procedure is performed and that provides obstetrical or gynecological services. m Alison Michelle Ernst, a Phoenix woman accused of throwing a shoe at Hillary Rodham Clinton while the former U.S. secretary of state addressed a convention audience in Las Vegas, was ordered to undergo a competency evaluation. m Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas whose term ends in January, drew on a reference to alcoholism to explain his view of homosexuality while addressing a California audience, saying he “may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.” m Darkyus Raymond was booked in New Orleans on charges of false imprisonment with a weapon and aggravated burglary, and on an outstanding warrant, accused of holding a woman at gunpoint in her home and demanding sex, though police say the two never had sex because Raymond dozed off. m Glenn Hermes of Arlington, Texas, is seeking damages from his urologist and a radiologist after he says surgeons mistakenly removed his healthy kidney instead of his cancerous one.

WEATHER

LITTLE ROCK

Today Sunny. High Mid-80s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Tonight Mostly clear. Low Lower 60s. East winds 5 mph.

INDEX

Arkansas Business Classifieds Comics Crossword Deaths Editorials

1B 1D 1G 4E 4E 6B 8B

MovieStyle Police beat Sports Stocks Television Voices Weather

1E 4B 1C 3D 2E 9B 6D

Home delivery 378-3456 Outside Pulaski County 1-800-482-1121

June 13, 2014

68 Pages

CHAD DAY

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

AP/KARIM KADIM

Iraqi men rally in Baghdad on Thursday against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as they gather to volunteer for military service. Authorities have urged Iraqis to help battle the insurgents.

COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

BAGHDAD — Islamic militants who have seized Iraqi cities and towns vowed Thursday to march on Baghdad to settle old scores, joined by Saddam Hussein-era loyalists and other disaffected Sunnis who hope to capitalize on the Shiite-led government’s political paral-

ysis. The militants also declared they would impose Shariah law in Mosul and other areas they have captured. In northern Iraq, Kurdish security forces moved to fill the power vacuum, taking over an air base and other posts abandoned by the military in the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk. The move

BILL BOWDEN

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

DEBRA HALE-SHELTON

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Exxon Mobil still has not told Central Arkansas Water representatives what caused the Pegasus crude oil pipeline to rupture more than a year ago in a Mayflower subdivision — a key question because the problems identified as contributing to the accident had been present for decades, the utility’s spokesman said Thursday. “They know the hook cracks are ultimately what broke. But as to what caused the rupture at that location at that point in time after the hook cracks had been there for 65 years, they weren’t able to identify a specific cause. … Why here, why now? They said they haven’t been able to limit it down to what specifically led to the rupture at that point,” utility spokesman John Tynan said of Exxon Mobil officials. Oil company officials were, however, “able to rule out a number of causes of the pipe break,” Tynan said after he released two pages of notes taken during a roughly six-hour meeting on March 28 in Houston between Exxon Mobil and representatives of the utility, which provides drinking water to about 400,000 Arkansans. Ex xo n Mo b i l Co r p. spokesman Aaron Stryk said it probably would be today before he could comment on the company’s behalf. The 850-mile-long pipeSee OIL SPILL,, Page 5A

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ArkansasOnline.com

FAYETTEVILLE — The Fayetteville Veterans Home owes $236,000 in unpaid bills from previous fiscal years, said Karen Watkins, who became chief financial officer for the state Department of Veterans Affairs in October. “I discovered several months ago that it was standard practice not to enter invoices into the state ac-

further raised concern the country could end up partitioned into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish zones. Th re e p l a n e l o a d s o f Americans were being evacuated from a major Iraqi air base in Sunni territory north of Baghdad, U.S. officials said, and Germany urged its citizens to immediately leave parts of Iraq, including BaghSee IRAQ,, Page 7A

SEN. PRYOR files bill to curb VA waits. Page 1B.

counting system if there was no money to pay the bills,” Watkins told a dozen state legislators whose committees met Thursday at the veterans home. The legislators were members of the Senate committee on children and youth and the House committee on aging,

A federally funded disability rights group will send monitors into Arkansas’ largest youth lockup in response to a near doubling of assaults reported at the facility between 2012 and 2013. The nonprofit Disability Rights Center of Arkansas has authority under federal law to enter and investigate facilities that house people with disabilities, including the state Division of Youth Services’ lockup. On Thursday, the center’s executive director Tom Masseau said he was “alarmed” by the spike in assaults at the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Masseau Tr e a t m e n t Center near Alexander. The youth lockup reported 327 assaults in 2013, a 98 percent increase over 2012 when 165 assaults were reported. The number of assaults last year was the highest in at least five years. Masseau said his decision to send in monitors came in response to an article published by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that reported the assault figures.

children and youth, legislative and military affairs. The unpaid bills included about 16 months of invoices from Allcare Pharmacy of Arkadelphia totaling about $200,000, she said. Watkins said there was no record of the pharmacy bills in the state agency’s computer system, and there were no hard copies of the bills. Watkins said the problem was worse than she had ini-

9 Sections

$1.00

“We need to get back into the facility and pull some records,” Masseau said. Youth Services Division officials said Thursday that they are open to having the disability center’s staff visit the Alexander facility and that the state agency would cooperate fully with the review. The Disability Rights Center’s interest in the youth lockup came the same day that the contractor that operates the facility offered an explanation for the increase in assaults and as juvenile advocates, researchers and the office of Gov. Mike Beebe weighed in. The newspaper obtained the assault figures from the Youth Services Division under the state Freedom of Information Act. The lockup serves as the intake point for nearly all of the state’s juvenile delinquents and houses about 100 children who are among the state’s most violent and behaviorally troubled. The assaults data were reported to the Youth Services Division by G4S Youth Services, the contractor that has been paid about $10 million per year to operate the lockup. Assaults are classified See YOUTH,, Page 3A

tially suspected. “When I called Allcare, I was shocked,” she said. “The agency had not been paying its bills.” Also, the Fayetteville Veterans Home still owes the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences $36,000 for February 2013 rent. There was no record of that invoice in the system either, said Watkins. See HOME,, Page 8A

CHELSEA BOOZER

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

AP/DAVID BECKER

Andrea Soldo (left) is consoled by a family member Thursday after receiving a flag during the funeral services for her husband, Las Vegas police officer Igor Soldo. Soldo, 31, and fellow officer Alyn Beck, 41, were gunned down by two assailants at a CiCi’s Pizza during their lunch break Sunday.

ANDY DAVIS

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

More than 17,000 Arkansans were approved for coverage under the state’s expanded Medicaid program in May, raising the total to more than 187,000, the Arkansas Department of Human Ser-

vices announced Thursday. Meanwhile, the cost of covering enrollees under the so-called private option continued to drop slightly, with the department paying insurance companies an average of $487.16 per enrollee for this month, compared with

$490.19 last month. Department spokesman Amy Webb said those who have enrolled in recent months have tended to be younger, leading to lower premium costs. But the cost remains See MEDICAID,, Page 5A

Two of eight city-employed sex offenders will be fired or asked to resign after Little Rock adopted a new policy this week that bans the hiring of higher-level sex offenders and restricts the employment of lower-level offenders to certain positions. The new policy adopted Tuesday states that offenders rated Level 1 and 2 — considered low risk with no, or very few, prior sexual offenses — will only be eligible for jobs that do not require the employees to enter private homes, interact with the public in a secluded setting or act as coaches, teachers or caregivers to children or vulnerable adults. Level 3 and 4 offenders — considered high risk and having histories of repeat sexual offending or anti-social, violent or predatory personalities — will not be allowed to hold any position with the city. The policy also proSee OFFENDERS,, Page 8A

Beat Reporting Finalists Publication: Oklahoma Watch By: Nate Robson

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Nolan Clay

Publication: Tulsa World By: Andrea Eger

Excerpt from “Oklahoma Rolls Back Accountability Efforts in Public Education”

Excerpt from “Highprofile losses, criminal investigation hit powerful Oklahoma political consulting firm A.H. Strategies”

Excerpt from “Top TPS exec lacks needed credentials”

One by one, K-12 education reforms passed in previous years by Oklahoma lawmakers are being targeted for weakening or repeal. Among them: Common Core State Standards, the Reading Sufficiency Act, A-F school grades for districts, and middle-school end-ofinstruction exams for history and social studies. These could all be scaled back or revoked by various legislative bills that have passed in both the House and Senate. It is Republicans, who have driven the accountability and testing movement statewide and nationally, who are voting in sometimes large majorities to roll back reforms. It’s too early to tell how far the retrenchment will go, and whether it’s a temporary shift driven by cautionary election-year strategies that will abate after the primary in June and general election in November. But so far the fallback does not appear to be letting up, in Oklahoma or nationally. Education officials and advocates cite various reasons for the tempering of reforms, but one of the most frequent is a pushback from parents, teachers and other voters. “I think their constituents are getting engaged and involved. They are paying attention to the issues, and they will look at their options when it’s time to vote,” said Meredith Exline, president of the Oklahoma Central Parent Legislative Action Committee.

In political circles, A.H. Strategies is known as one of the powerhouses in campaign consulting in Oklahoma. It is widely credited with helping Republicans take over the state House in 2004 and the state Senate in 2008, ending decades of control by Democrats. That success has had its rewards — it and its affiliated companies have been paid millions of dollars by campaigns over the years. Now, the Oklahoma City-based company is on the ropes, dealing both with a criminal investigation into possible campaign illegalities and losses this year in three of its most high-profile races. In one of those losses, the A.H. Strategies candidate was shown in front of jail cell doors at the start of her opponent’s TV ad. “Don’t be fooled by false attacks by campaign operatives under criminal investigation by district attorney for violating election laws,” the ad stated. The firm’s two partners deny any wrongdoing and said they have not lost any clients because of the investigation by Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater. About the campaign losses, they said defeat can happen if just one thing goes wrong. “Winning elections is not just as simple as having a winning strategy,” said A.H. Strategies partner Trebor Worthen, a former state representative.

A top executive at Tulsa Public Schools never obtained a certificate from the Oklahoma State Department of Education but performed duties for a year that by law only certified individuals can perform. Tracee Frazier-Branch, who is listed among the executive staff members on the TPS website as the instructional leadership director in charge of McLain Junior High and High School and seven of its feeder pattern schools, was hired June 24, 2013. But officials at the state Department of Education say FrazierBranch failed to provide proof that she has earned a master’s degree. Her lack of certification calls into question the validity of all of the principal and teacher evaluations in which she took part during 2013-14 and whether Tulsa Public Schools could have its state funding withheld until the district is found to be in compliance with Oklahoma’s law on the evaluation of teachers and administrators. “It would appear, certainly, that there would be potential legal action that might be justified, but that would be up to the (school) district involved and the local district attorney,” said Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. “There would also be some question on the legitimacy of the evaluations.” Public records show that the school board approved FrazierBranch’s hiring at a salary of $102,900 and then adjusted it to $105,987 with a host of other administrative salary increases three months later.

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Feature Writing Winner Publication: St. Louis Post-Dispatch By: Stephen Deere Judges’ Comments: The writer does an impressive job of capturing the atmosphere and the dire needs of the doctor’s patients, as well as the sense of time ticking closer to a deadline. This is a fully-realized portrait of a man determined to do good, despite his own flaws.

Excerpt from “Two Worlds” He straddles two worlds separated by 8,000 miles, the sun-baked patch of India he roamed as a boy and the Town and Country mansion he now calls home. In one, the glare of surgical lights ricochets off his enormous glasses as he reattaches tendons and reconstructs nerves. In the other, rivulets of sweat run down his neck, as he stands under a scorching sky and struggles not against disease and disfigurement, but poverty and ignorance. “We pray to him,” says 16-year-old Ramprasad Puchakayala, one of the more than 300 students in India for whom Subbarao Polineni provides a home and education. “He is a real god, I think.” But, Polineni, 69, a hand surgeon, knows the truth. He is human. He will die. Maybe soon. And here, amid the shunned and forgotten, he hopes to create something that will outlast him. So he wakes before dawn, ambles down the steps of a one-story dormitory built with granite quarried from nearby hills and disappears into the dark. Not long ago, this place was only brush. Today it boasts more than 50,000 square feet of classrooms, dorms, dining and kitchen facilities, along with an auditorium, scattered over seven acres, much of it still a canvas of red dirt and gravel. “We learn so many things here,” says Rakesh Chandanala, 12. “The director spent many rupees for this school.” Polineni and his wife, Dr. Butchamamba Polineni, have poured more than $1 million into the project — most of their life savings. Still, everything about the school feels like an unfinished vision. Stair-

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wells lack handrails. Drywall is unpainted. Even the buildings reach beyond their grasp. Clusters of rebar protrude from the roofs, signaling plans for additional floors. Polineni has worn the same pair of pinstriped dark gray slacks for nearly a week. His face is unshaven, his hair unkempt. A layer of dust covers his black loafers. Another decade. That’s all he wants. “Maybe,” he says, “that is asking too much.” The scar above his stomach reminds him that he is only two years removed from a liver transplant and the cancer that nearly killed him. The end of his life is turning out much like the beginning: He is at the mercy of forces beyond his control. PULLED TO AMERICA He grew up a couple of miles away in a hut — a single room, about 12 by 15 feet — its walls and roof fashioned of mud, its foundation built on a foreboding premonition. His grandfather had a vision, he

said. His mother would suffer at the hands of her husband. So out of pity, he gave his daughter a small parcel of land. Polineni has only a handful of memories of his father — none of them good. Polineni’s mother sheltered her son, splitting time between the hut where she lived with him and the one she shared with Polineni’s father. He was raised mostly by his grandmother. Then when he was 8, his mother sent him to stay with his aunt and uncle in a nearby town so he could attend one of the few schools in the area. His most vivid memory of her is his last. She was walking him to school on a dirt road near a cluster of coconut trees. “Never forget who is feeding you,” she said. “You are at somebody’s mercy.” A few days later, he said, two children, messengers from his mother’s village, woke him with the news: His mother was dead. Police were searching for his father. Polineni, in accordance with tradi-

Feature Writing Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Dirk Chatelain

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Juliana Keeping

Publication: Tulsa World By: Ginnie Graham

Excerpt from “Angels and Dragons: Gretna standout escaped homelessness thanks to the ‘heart of a lion’”

Excerpt from “Reflections on an Oklahoma tornado: ‘It changes you’”

Excerpt from “Finding Help”

She can see the play before it happens. “Throw it deep. Emmitt will catch it.” Friday night in October. Rivalry game between undefeated teams in Class B. Gretna trails Elkhorn 14-9, needing an 80-yard drive in the final two minutes. Throw it deep. Emmitt will catch it. On cold metal bleachers, Gretna parents surround her, gathering hope with every first down. Most of their kids have been teammates since elementary school. She’s new to the scene. She wears her Dragons sweatshirt and a picture pin of No. 1, the team’s leading rusher. Four years ago, she didn’t know Emmitt Knight. Now she calls him her son. She grew up on the northwest side of York County, coming home every day to two steady parents and one overflowing kitchen table, cattle and cornfields far as the eye could see. He grew up a generation later on the northwest side of Chicago, his neighborhood littered with boarded-up buildings and vacant lots. His father was dead, his mother was on drugs. His best meals came the first of the month at midnight. Over a span of five months in 2011, their lives converged. They became family, sharing laughs and tears, learning conflict resolution on the fly. Throw it deep. Emmitt will catch it. “I honestly kept having visions,” she says. “I never felt they were going to lose.” Ten seconds to go. Gretna has driven the ball to the Elkhorn 12yard line. No timeouts.

These storms changed things. In a state long accustomed to the forceful nature of spring weather, the series of storms that roared across central Oklahoma during a two-week period in May 2013 altered so much. From the way homes are built, to how children are protected at school to how mindful we are about dangerous weather. From our sense of security, to our sense of community to our sense of loss. The storms, which destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, injured hundreds and killed 50, transformed the landscape, both physically and emotionally. “When an event happens, it’s not fun watching and experiencing it, and psychologically, it takes you a long time to get over an event,” said Oklahoma weather icon Gary England, who for 40 years forecast weather in the state at News9. “It was traumatic, obviously. We sat there and watched live, the cameras were on the ground, we knew what was going on.” It started May 19, when a typical supercell spawned eight tornadoes that damaged or destroyed dozens of homes and buildings as they swept across Edmond, Arcadia, Luther, Carney, Prague, Norman and the Shawnee area, where two elderly men were killed. The next day brought one of the largest and most powerful storms the state has ever seen. Among 15 tornadoes May 20 was a rare EF5 that packed 210 mph winds as it plowed across Newcastle, south Oklahoma City and Moore. Twentyfive people died, including seven students who perished when a hallway wall collapsed on top of them at Plaza Towers Elementary School.

Steve Lyons looks around the bare, west Tulsa house and explains to his 43-year-old son that some rules must be followed for him to stay. Lyons purchased the home about two months ago out of desperation. His son, Dustin, is a treatment-resistant paranoid schizophrenic and was arrested Aug. 12 for drug possession while homeless. For 20 years, he has bounced between evictions and homelessness because he is unable to manage the violence caused by his disease. As he sat in jail, his dad found a cheap home a few feet from the railroad tracks. It’s a last-ditch effort at keeping his son of the streets. “This is a trial, son,” Lyons said as they sat in the home. “If this doesn’t work, you are out of options. You are back on the street.” “I’m not doing anything wrong, sir,” his son said. “A rule is you have to take your medication every day. Didyou take your medicine this past week?” Lyons asks. “Most of it. Not all of it. I just forgot sometimes,” his son said. “You can remember coffee and cigarettes — you have to take your medication every day,” Lyons said. Dustin Lyons is among the more than 633,000 Oklahomans with a mental illness. Oklahoma is second in the nation for the percentage of people with a mental disease, trailing only Utah. When it comes to severe mental illness, Oklahoma follows just West Virginia, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Yet, about 70 percent of Oklahomans needing mental health treatment are not getting the appropriate services, according to the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

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Business Reporting Winner Publication: The Oklahoman By: Brianna Bailey Judges’ Comments: Excellent characters and research. A great story that is worth the read. It’s something I would recommend for someone looking for a way to combine examples and research.

Excerpt from “Neighbors of Duncan Halliburton plant worry about soil, water contamination” DUNCAN — It was a mystery to Quail Drive resident Voris “PeeWee” Owens why the fish died in his pond filled with the clear, fresh drinking water from his well. “The next morning, there they were — I could see all their white bellies,” Owens, 73, recalls. For years, Owens flooded his vegetable garden with the abundant, sweet-tasting water from the well. For 25 years, he and wife Charlotte drank the well water at their brick ranch house on Quail Drive. “We thought it was good water,” Charlotte Owens said. “It tasted good — we just didn’t know what was in it.” The Owens’ house is a half-mile west of the old Halliburton Co. plant off Osage Road on the north side of Duncan. It’s a semi-rural area on the north side of Duncan near U.S. 81. Before perchlorate contamination was discovered in groundwater around the plant, most residents were not hooked up to the municipal water system and relied on private wells. Halliburton has spent more than $25 million in response to the pollutants found at the Osage Road plant, according to regulatory filings. The company has spent millions of dollars to extend the municipal water supply to residents with contaminated water and continues to pay residents’ water bills in the area. Halliburton has also spent at least $4.3 million purchasing at least 15 houses from residents in the area around where water contamination has been discovered, property records show. The company has agreed to work with state officials to investigate the contamination and clean it up. But some area residents still think Halliburton hasn’t done enough. The Osage Road plant is surrounded with a seven-foot chain-link fence

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topped with barbed wire, and beyond it lies a dense wall of gnarled scrub oak trees. No trespassing signs are posted at various intervals along the road. Some Duncan residents say they can recall seeing a large black cloud hanging overhead on days when Halliburton would burn things in open pits off Osage Road. Records show Halliburton burned reactive waste at the Osage Road site back in July 1991. Today, Owens keeps all of his pill bottles in a gallon-size bag in his yellow kitchen on Quail Drive. The prescriptions include medication for hypothyroidism. Charlotte Owens has liver and colon cancer. PeeWee Owens blames the well water and Halliburton for his dead fish, for his wife’s cancer and all the pills he takes. Duncan City Councilman Ritchie Dennington, whose district includes part of the area where perchlorate was found, thinks that Halliburton has done a lot to address the water problems at Osage Road, but some of his constituents feel that no amount of

money can repair the damage. “When you feel like your water is contaminated, it’s such a personal thing — I don’t know if Halliburton could have done any more than they already have,” Dennington said. “But I can see both sides of it — it’s just a tragedy.” In a written response to The Oklahoman’s questions about Osage Road, Halliburton said, “We continue to work under the supervision of ODEQ (the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality), and in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to address the environmental issues associated with the site. Otherwise, Halliburton does not comment on active litigation.” Halliburton entered into an agreement to voluntarily clean up the Osage Road site in 2011 with the Department of Environmental Quality. The agency has not issued any fines against Halliburton because the company has agreed to study contamination at the site and pay for clean up, said Erin Hatfield, a spokeswoman for DEQ.

Business Reporting Finalists Publication: The Des Moines Register By: Donnelle Eller

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Steve Jordon

Publication: The Des Moines Register By: Victor Epstein, Mary Willie

Excerpt from “Ag losses create economic uncertainty”

Excerpt from “Of two minds on economics: Does teaching at Creighton institute contradict Catholic social thought?”

Excerpt from “Iowa Woman Sees Flood Insurance Premium Spike”

After a half-dozen years of struggling, Dan Hanrahan is snagging prices for his feeder cattle that he says he may never see again in his lifetime. “This year is pretty exceptional,” said Hanrahan, 38, a fourth-genera tion cattleman who runs a cow-calf operation with his parents outside of Cumming. As good as the outlook is for cattle producers over the next couple of years, it is about as grim for Iowa corn and soybean growers, thanks to tumbling commodity prices and the stubbornly high cost of growing crops. Lower grain prices have helped cattle, pork and other livestock producers post improved profits. But the price slump also creates economic uncertainty in a state that leads the nation in corn production and ranks second in soybeans. As Iowa grain farmers brace for potential losses, leaders ask: How much will farm income drop, and how far will it ripple? Chad Hart, an Iowa State University farm economist, estimates that grain production losses in Iowa this year could be as high as $2.6 billion, based on year-end pricing. Farmers who nailed down higher prices earlier in the year will fare better. Overall, improved profits from livestock producers are expected to more than offset grain losses. Another worrisome yardstick: If Iowa matches the 23 percent income decline projected last week for U.S. farmers, in part because of recordhigh expenses, it would be a $2 billion reduction in income this year. The shift would more than erase gains Iowa farmers made last year, when income climbed 23 percent to $8.8 billion, new federal data show.

Creighton University is now part of a loosely connected but growing network of U.S. universities with economic teaching and research funded, in part, by Charles Koch, the Kansas billionaire and backer of conservative candidates and causes. Critics of the new Institute for Economic Inquiry say it favors a brand of economics that contradicts long-established Catholic social thought, endorsed by Pope Francis and his predecessors. One Omaha priest accuses the Charles Koch Foundation of pushing its ideas “to the very doorstep of the Vatican.” The institute is funded 50-50 by pledges totaling $4.5 million over five years by the Charles Koch Foundation and the family of Omaha trucking entrepreneur C.L. Werner. Gail Werner-Robertson said she approached the university, her alma mater, last year about a new economics program because she thinks too few college students, including her own children, get information about the different economic systems at work in the world. “I’m fascinated with the history of many things, but particularly economics and why different countries have different levels of prosperity,” she told The WorldHerald. “We are the most blessed country on the face of the earth. ... It’s really been a passion of mine: What do we have different that maybe other countries don’t have?”

FORT DODGE, Ia. – Danita Burbank was working two jobs to salt away some money for her retirement when her annual flood insurance premium increased in November to $4,923 a year from $729. The 56-year-old Fort Dodge woman said she was amazed to learn she might be unable to afford to remain in the home where she has lived since 1989. Equally alarming: She faced the prospect of financial ruin if she tried to sell her home, which is appraised at $112,000, because the 575 percent increase in her insurance rate would trim its resale value. “I don’t know what I’m going to do — that’s a lot of money to come up with every year,” Burbank said after the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the flood insurance program, rejected her appeal for help last month. “It’s like having two house payments — more than two house payments. … I don’t have the money.” Burbank and those like her are the driving force behind an effort in Washington, D.C., to blunt spiking rates caused by the BiggertWaters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. The U.S. Senate voted to change the law Thursday by a 72-22 vote. The bill is headed to President Barack Obama next and will become law with his approval. The original bipartisan initiative was meant to overhaul the National Flood Insurance Program, which was running a $24 billion shortfall, and insulate the federal government from future deficits amid more frequent natural disasters.

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Business Feature Winner Publication: The Des Moines Register By: Victor Epstein, Bryon Houlgrave Judges’ Comments: Victor Epstein does an very admirable job looking at the impact of the latest technology in retail banking. There are interesting pull-out details about the banks and a clear graphic offer readers important information about how to use new system. I would have liked to have seen additional context about the increasing automation of our retail spaces (cashier-less check-outs in grocery stores, for example) and whether this has caused any problems for customers as well as retailers. Still, this is a strong, well-reported story about an emerging trend with great importance to rural communities.

Excerpt from “Interactive tellers expected to buoy rural banking” CLARINDA, Iowa — One of the oldest and smallest banks in Iowa is among the first in the country to deploy a new kind of ATM that uses a real teller, available by video. The devices, which some industry experts compare to an automated teller machine on steroids, allow customers to interact with live tellers working from remote call centers via real-time video. They’re meant to enhance human tellers instead of replacing them. “It’s a machine, but it’s not, because it’s run by people,” said James Johnson, chief operations officer of Clarinda-based PCSB. PCSB, which changed its name from Page County State Bank in June, is the first in Iowa with interactive tellers. It now has five of the devices and expects to deploy 11 by the end of this year. Industry experts already are lauding interactive tellers as a solution to the departure of banks from rural markets. The city of Clarinda — almost in the middle of a triangle formed by Des Moines, Kansas City and Omaha and an 85-mile drive from the closest metro area of Omaha — has about 5,500 people. The new devices allow human tellers to ask customers if they’d like their withdrawals in 20s, 50s or 100s; verify their identity; and accept stacks of up to 30 deposited checks or bills from local store owners. If a customer should find the new gadgets daunting and need assistance,

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the human teller is there to guide them through the process on screen, just like on a video phone call. “The one snag is that we can’t offer customers a pen when they need one,” said teller Amanda Graves, 31, of Clarinda. “And that’s the only snag.” NCR Corp. is rolling out the devices at an opportune time as national and regional banks abandon their least profitable locations in wake of the financial crisis. In the banking industry, that typically means those with the least foot traffic — rural banks — and those in high-crime areas. Other bankers are closely watching PCSB’s interactive tellers, according to Data Business Equipment, an NCR reseller.

“The ATM on steroids and the ramping up of remote services is really important,” said Jim Chessen, chief economist at the American Bankers Association. “The main thing about the video tellers is that you still have a face-to-face connection without the expense of having someone that’s just serving a single branch. It’s a more efficient way to handle walk-in traffic in areas where it’s less intense.” Duluth, Ga.-based NCR estimates the potential market for video-enabled interactive tellers at $4 billion. As of March 19, it had 80 banks in the U.S. and Canada signed up as customers and about 400 interactive teller machines in service. It has sold more than 1,000 units since launching the product in February 2012. Sussex County Federal Credit Union in Seaford, Del., and Dollar Bank in Pittsburgh were among the first financial institutions to deploy interactive tellers. “These interactive tellers are perfect for rural communities and less populated areas,” said Patrick Jury, chief executive officer of the Iowa Credit Union League. James Johnson said the bank’s callcenter tellers have handled 56.5% more transactions than those in the traditional lobby and drive-through windows since it installed its first four interactive terminals in November. That’s partly because the tellers working them spend less time waiting for customers. One teller can staff up to three machines depending on the time of day.

Business Feature Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Scott Cherry

Excerpt from “Kids in Business: Siblings run El Taco Loco” Henry Vargas came to the interview armed with a business license and tax forms showing that he is the owner of El Taco Loco, located in a strip center on the west side of the 21st Street bridge. Henry Vargas is 15 years old. Ashley Vargas proudly displayed her food handler’s permit. “I’m the manager,” she said with a smile as big and warm as the sun. Ashley Vargas is 11 years old. What started as a routine background interview for a restaurant review suddenly became much more interesting. Henry and Ashley still are in school and have adult help running the restaurant. Their mother, Maria Vargas, keeps watch over the kitchen, and a family friend who has restaurant experience is acting as a consultant. It’s a feel-good story, two nice youngsters running a business, but the question begs: How did a 15-yearold and an 11-year-old wind up so involved in a restaurant? Through subsequent interviews, they told their story. Both children were born in Chicago. They said

they moved to Tulsa with their mother a few years ago after visiting relatives here. “It was a wedding,” Ashley said. “I remember.” “We could be near family, and it was warmer here,” said Henry, just as engaging but more softspoken than his sister. Henry said it was he who wanted to open a restaurant about a year ago, and it was he who filed for all of the necessary licenses. Maria Vargas said through an interpreter that she filed for permanent residency in Chicago with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2000, and her filing still is pending. That means she can’t own a business, but Henry can. The children’s father does not live with them. Henry said his mother and grandfather helped put up the money to get the business going. Currently the family is living with Maria’s sister near 61st Street and Peoria Avenue. The children rise at 6:30 each morning, get ready for school and are driven to the restaurant where Henry catches a bus to Webster High School. Ashley attends Eugene Field Elementary School, located near the restaurant.

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Sports Reporting Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Dirk Chatelain Judges’ Comments: An excellent combination of reporting and writing here. Great exploration of an issue that resonates at all levels of baseball, from youths to pros.

Excerpt from “Excess pitching fuels explosion of elbow injuries” Mitch Ragan walked into the doctor’s office wearing his favorite sweats, his Red Sox hat and his Millard West letter jacket. Mom and dad were at his side, sharing words of encouragement. Good news was coming. Ragan was one month from the start of baseball season, a critical point for a junior who’d targeted college or pro ball since seventh grade. He couldn’t wait to take the mound. At 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, he was pushing 90 mph on the radar gun. And his mechanics were better than ever. He just needed Doc to check his elbow. Two weeks earlier, an early February night at an indoor Omaha baseball facility, Ragan winced during a bullpen session. He’d battled sporadic elbow pain for three years. This time, he felt a clicking sensation. His pitching instructor feared the worst. Across the country, the most valuable elbows in professional baseball were breaking down, casualties of an epidemic that experts couldn’t solve. But those guys were in their 20s. Ragan was still 16. Good news was coming. The doctor, whom the Ragans had known for four years, entered the exam room and echoed the family’s optimism. Probably another case of tendinitis. A few weeks of rest and Ragan would be fine. Then Dr. Doug Tewes laid eyes on Ragan’s MRI. He recognized the fluid around the ulnar collateral ligament, or UCL, signaling a detachment from the bone. When Doc raised his hand to his chin, Mitch knew bad news was coming. Rather than attracting recruiters and scouts, rather than competing with teammates for a state championship, rather than standing 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate and firing his fastball past hitters who could barely see it (let

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alone hit it), Ragan would spend 2014 in rehabilitation. Four months later, the farthest he’s thrown a baseball is 5 feet. Tewes turned the MRI toward the Ragans — “See this ligament here?” — and uttered a name that always gave Mitch goose bumps. Tommy John. *** Baseball has a strange way of recognizing its most gifted pitchers. Stephen Strasburg was the No. 1 pick of the 2009 draft, the most exciting pitcher in the game — until he missed 12 months of action during 2010-11 following ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. Jose Fernandez, the 2013 Rookie of the Year, is out for the ’14 season after his own elbow surgery. So are Matt Harvey and Matt Moore and Patrick Corbin and, well, elbows are beginning to resemble ticking time bombs. Why? That’s what Mitch Ragan wanted to know. Tommy John surgeries, named after the first recipient of successful UCL reconstruction in 1974, have skyrocketed the past decade at all levels of baseball. Twenty-one major-league pitchers have

undergone season-ending surgery, a record pace for one year. But finding consensus among coaches, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists and data analysts is like turning a quadruple play. Somehow devoting more time and resources to arm care has exacerbated the problem. Fingers point in every direction. Is it higher velocities? Pitchers are training more intensely, thus, throwing harder. Maybe the elbow can’t handle the torque associated with a 95-mph heater. What about mechanical inefficiencies? High-speed cameras allow experts to analyze the pitching motion like never before, revealing faults undetected by the naked eye. Some say full-grown pitchers are being abused. Some say they’re being coddled — instead of obsessing over pitch counts, they should actually be throwing more in order to strengthen the arm. Some blame the one-size-fitsall method of training; if pitchers come in all shapes, sizes and physiologies, then why are coaches treating them the same? There’s no magic formula for arm care.

Sports Reporting Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman By: Scott Wright, Jacob Unruh

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Berry Tramel, Jenni Carlson

Publication: Tulsa World By: John Hoover

Excerpt from “Class 3A football playoffs: Late flag costs Douglass in loss to Locust Grove”

Excerpt from “Oklahoma State basketball: Remembering the shot that ‘sneaked’ the Cowboys into Final Four”

Excerpt from “Sports concussions remain a problem at every level”

A subtly thrown flag at the 36yard line changed the outcome of a Class 3A playoff game and ignited a chaotic scene at Douglass’ Moses F. Miller Stadium on Friday night. Quasean Sims of Douglass reacts after a Mason Fine touchdown for Locust Grove during their high school football playoff game at Douglass in Oklahoma City, Friday, Nov. 28, 2014. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman The result was a 20-19 victory for top-ranked Locust Grove over No. 8 Douglass in the 3A quarterfinals, and though the game ended Friday, the story isn’t yet over. “I’m sick and tired of calls like that. It doesn’t make sense. These kids work too doggone hard,” Douglass coach Willis Alexander said. “These kids do everything that’s asked. They play within the rules of the game, and yet an adult takes this away from them. When is it gonna stop? “They can fine me, they can do whatever they want. I’m gonna say what I want. I have a Constitutional right. I’m slamming the referees, and I’m so disappointed in the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association that they keep allowing these things to happen. “The OSSAA, (director of officiating) Mike Whaley, all of ‘em can go to hell for all I care. Quote me on that. Because I’m tired of them screwing our kids over, and nothing’s being done about it.” Douglass was facing fourthand-11 at its 42-yard line when quarterback Patrick McKaufman completed a pass to Quasean Sims along the Douglass sideline.

Ten years ago this month, OSU’s Final Four hopes came down to three sneakers. The shoes John Lucas had put on at halftime, and Joey Graham’s hightop that ripped just as the Cowboy basketball season reached its most critical point. Funny how heroes are made. Lucas is a Cowboy icon forever. His 3-point shot with 6.9 seconds left in the 2004 East Regional put OSU ahead of Saint Joseph’s 64-62, and when Jameer Nelson’s 17-footer at the buzzer grazed only the front of the rim, the Cowboys were Final Four bound. “When I hit the shot, it was like a relief of everything,” Lucas said. “Got to go to the Final Four.” And it might never have happened had the sole of Graham’s sneaker not ripped with the clock ticking down on the OSU season. Pat Carroll’s 3-pointer for the Hawks put OSU in a 62-61 hole with 29.9 seconds left, and the drama was only beginning. With no timeouts, the Cowboys were left to decide their fate on what Eddie Sutton had taught them through all those grueling practices and games. With 13.3 seconds left, Lucas, the point guard, passed back up top to Graham, the athletic 6-foot-7 forward who was a nightmare matchup for most defenders. Graham’s job was to drive the ball. “Coach drew up the play,” Graham said, though it was not drawn up out of a timeout. “It was for me to take the last shot. When I took off, the soles of my shoe actually ripped. I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the basket on a ripped sole.”

It’s Super Bowl Sunday. Of the 106 men suited up for today’s big game, how many of them have had a concussion? Very possibly, all 106. More important questions: How many of them had a concussion and didn’t know it? How many had one and lied about it? How many told someone they had concussion symptoms and were ignored? How many of them will have prolonged, life-changing, even debilitating symptoms after having suffered a brain injury? Possibly 10 percent. That’s the percentage of sports concussions that require care beyond the standard 10-14 days, according to research by Tulsa’s Laureate Institute for Brain Research. “Your brain is who you are. It’s you,” said Dr. Pat Bellgowan, a neurosurgeon and associate professor at LIBR. “If you change your brain, you change who you are.” But it’s Super Bowl Sunday. There are chips and wings and beverages to be consumed, commercials to judge, football to be enjoyed. What do these questions about concussions mean to the average football fan? Consider that some of these Super Sunday warriors got their very first concussion, and probably a few more after that, when they were just children. And it’s all too likely that, for one reason or another, those preteen concussions went unreported and untreated. “The real problem,” Bellgowan said, “is little kids. Their brains are still developing.” It is widely accepted that children take longer to recover from concussions than adults.

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Sports Feature Winner Publication: The Oklahoman By: Jenni Carlson Judges’ Comments: What a hook on this story. Great depth and insight into a prominent figure with local roots. Well crafted and told.

Excerpt from “How changing a dirty diaper helped take Bill Hancock from Hobart to executive director of the College Football Playoff

Somewhere over the farmland of Missouri, Bill Hancock realized he had to do something. He had boarded the TWA flight at the downtown airport in Kansas City — Oklahoma’s assistant sports information director had been working the Big Eight Holiday Basketball Tournament — and he was on his way to New Orleans. The Sooners were playing in the Sugar Bowl, New Year’s Day 1972, and as half of OU’s two-man sports information staff, Hancock had to be there. So did Big Eight commissioner Chuck Neinas. He sat a few rows ahead of Hancock with his sons, including baby Toby. Not long after takeoff, Hancock sensed a problem — Toby needed a diaper change. Worse, it became apparent that the elder Neinas, whose wife was already in New Orleans, couldn’t quite manage it.

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Hancock would become one of the most powerful men in sports, overseeing the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the Final Four, then the BCS and now the College Football Playoff. But that day on the plane, he was only 21, a small-town Oklahoma kid in his early days in the college sports world. He was three-and-a-half years out of Hobart High School. He was self-deprecating. He was slight. Neinas, on the other hand, was big and broad with a booming Wisconsin accent. Even though he was new to the job of Big Eight commissioner, he’d spent a decade working at the NCAA. Hancock was terrified of him. But he willed himself out of his seat and walked the few rows to Neinas. Hancock explained that he had a young son, too, and had handled a few dirty diapers. “Commissioner,” Hancock said to

Neinas, “I’ll change the diaper.” Using his seat and the empty seat next to him, Hancock soon returned a freshly diapered baby to Neinas. Talk about friendly skies. “I was glad to help,” Hancock said. With the inaugural season of the College Football Playoff soon to kick off, Bill Hancock is a name and a face that you will see often. He will be explaining the system. He will be planning details of the semifinals and final. He will be aiding the selection committee, then speaking on its behalf. The Oklahoma native, a man with heartstrings tied not only to OU but also to OSU, is the biggest non-playing player in college football. How did the small-town kid become a college football bigwig? Hancock believes his career and his life changed when he changed that diaper.

Sports Feature Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Dirk Chatelain

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Berry Tramel

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Tom Murphy

Excerpt from “Cat’s out of the bag on Mike Nobler, court jester in Bo Pelini’s kingdom”

Excerpt from “Postconcussion syndrome robs former Tulsa basketball player J.R. Cunningham of a normal life”

Excerpt from “Mary’s baby boy hard to miss now ”

Bo Pelini was preparing for Big Ten media days in Chicago when two long text messages landed in his iPhone. They were from Mike Nobler and they started like this: “I got an idea ...” The Nebraska football video coordinator had been meeting with two NU officials, trying to brainstorm a creative way to unveil the Huskers’ new alternate uniforms. Many of the tricks had become cliché. But Nobler had something fresh. “I think instead of a player surprising the team with the new uniform on,” he explained in the second text, “it should be you. You wear the shoulder pads, jersey, pants, helmet and shoes and run into the auditorium. The players would go crazy. We would film it and post it that morning. After about 10 seconds after you run in you rip off your helmet and show them. Think about it. I think it would be big.” Five days later, Pelini followed the plan, bouncing around the room, throwing the bones, highfiving players. When he took off his helmet, the auditorium exploded in laughter and applause. Nobler’s video crew recorded the scene, put it on Twitter and — boom — the national media were smiling at Nebraska again, just like Nobler had hoped. The Husker football machine is stocked with people who work 12-to-14-hour days behind the scenes. But none quite like Nobler, the life of the office party, the sitcom neighbor who pops in and stirs silliness.

ARGYLE, Texas — The first time J.R. Cunningham fell, back in June 2011, he didn’t even want to go to the hospital. Cunningham was young and healthy and vibrant. He didn’t know his brain was damaged. Didn’t know why his world-class memory had been slipping some over the years. Didn’t know his life was about to change. Now Cunningham walks with a cane and talks with a stutter. When he’s walking and talking. Cunningham currently is in the Intensive Care Unit of Denton Regional Medical Center, just off a ventilator, recovering from cardiac arrest, and yet another blood clot, and more pulmonary embolism, which blocks his lungs. Cunningham’s doctor tells him he suffers from post-concussion syndrome. Cunningham has lost his job. He’s lost his home. Cunningham’s wife, Angela, takes care of him, even to the point of helping him up and down from a chair. He hasn’t driven in two years. Most days are Groundhog Day; he lies down for hours on end, trying to evade the headaches that haven’t left him since that first time he fell, getting out only for medical trips and when he can summon the strength to make one of his kids’ ballgames or dance recitals. J.R. Cunningham is 38 years old. And in July, Cunningham filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in Dallas’ federal court, alleging neglect in the treatment of concussions. Cunningham attended both Arizona State and the University of Tulsa.

FAYETTEVILLE — Sebastian Tretola’s 15 minutes of fame stretched well beyond game day Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Tretola made college football highlight shows across the country when the 6-5, 340-pound Arkansas lineman took a direct snap from center on a fake field goal, rolled a few steps to his right, then launched the 6-yard touchdown pass to snapper Alan D’Appollonio that enthralled linemen from coast to coast. Perhaps the largest man to throw a touchdown pass in college football history, the gregarious Tretola has done an array of national interviews since — including a segment that will air Saturday on SEC Nation — and taped a tongue-in-cheek “Tretola for Heisman” in-house piece for the Razorbacks Sports Network before Coach Bret Bielema cut off the publicity machine and withheld his most famous offensive lineman from media interviews Tuesday prior to the Razorbacks’ visit to No. 1 Mississippi State on Saturday. Tretola’s shining moment wasn’t a work of art — his high-arching spiral thrown off his back foot to D’Appollonio nearly allowed a defender to get in on the play at the goal line — but the novelty of the gadget play turned it into an instant Internet sensation. At least 12 versions of the play are available on YouTube with more than 65,000 combined views. Tretola capped off the touchdown play by striking a Heisman pose. “The big fella did it, yes he did,” said SEC Network analyst Andre Ware, a Heisman Trophy winner himself.

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Sports Column Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Tom Shatel Judges’ Comments: Superbly written. Great command of the material. Excellent range,

Excerpt from “There’s beauty in this baseball; Joe would know” On Friday, I went to a funeral and took in a ballgame. That’s a full day. The College World Series is usually the place to find perspective. But if you dare fall into a baseball funk around here, you need something to slap you out of it. On Friday, I could hear my old friend Joe Brennan talking to me. Joe was usually talking about baseball, when he wasn’t being a city editor at the World-Herald. He was a newsman, in a beautiful old-school way, doggedly pursuing truth whether in the field or office. You may have heard the story by now, of Joe coming into work early on the night of the 2009 Christmas Eve blizzard, so he would be able to make his Christmas Day shift, and spending the night sleeping on two chairs. Joe grew up in Omaha, attended UNO and lived in his old neighborhood. He was an altar boy at Holy Cross Catholic Church, the same church he attended as an adult, the church were he suffered a tragic fall on June 8 and would die of his injuries nine days later. The same church where they held his funeral on Friday, where some of his childhood buddies carried his casket. Some of those old chums used to play in Brennan’s whiffle ball league, on a field tucked away behind the post office at Saddle Creek and Walnut Street. There, a bunch of guys staged daily games, kept stats and occasional beer tabs. Brennan once wrote a story about the league for his UNO Gateway newspaper and claimed to have thrown the only perfect game in “Whiffley Field” history, “with the aid of a perfect slider and three bottles of Bud.” The Joe Brennan story is an Omaha tale. He was born here, married and raised his own family here, worked hard and met enough friends to fill up a church at his funeral. It’s a true story, and Joe was the

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genuine article, and that’s probably why we hit it off. I’m usually allergic to editors, but I hung out with Joe. I would find him some nights at Pauli’s or Barrett’s on Leavenworth Street, his neighborhood haunts. I would pick his brain about local politics, mayoral slapstick and the big top over City Hall. We would discuss and argue passionately about Huskers, Bluejays and all things sports. Joe could talk all sports, but he was a baseball guy first, and a staunch Cubs fan. Rosenblatt Stadium was his Wrigley Field, and he vociferously defended its honor as the CWS moved uptown. I already miss those talks. I miss my friend. Especially this week. I have fallen too deeply into a TD Ameritrade Park funk. No home runs, low scores, tedious games, bring the fences in, shut down the series. We’ve been writing about it and talking about it for at least two years, and all of this week, and the narrative has overwhelmed this series, the way LSU used to 20 years ago. For sure, it’s overshadowed a lot of terrific plays, pitching, hustle and just plain good stuff from the CWS teams. A part of the CWS needs fixing, but a lot of it does not. The CWS is about more than just dingers, the instant gratification of the big score. A lot more. It’s not a bad

thing to be reminded about that. I’d like to know what my friend Joe would say about that. My guess is he would have gone off on how these things wouldn’t be an issue if we had stayed at Rosenblatt. I thought about him earlier this week, on Tuesday, the day he passed. I was walking outside the ballpark, and there are a thousand scenes going on out there, all at once. I happened to walk past two oldtimers, call them late ’60s generation. They stood on Fahey Street, with the giant scoreboard in the background, locked together with their arms over each other’s shoulders. A police officer took their photo. That’s another definition of a CWS home run. Look, the discussion of the ballpark and offense is important. It’s part of the game, and part of the fun. Especially when you have a good friend next to you armed with an opinion. But I’ve been focusing a lot on what the CWS doesn’t have instead of what it does. What we have is Saturday drama, umpires and replays to chew on, good pitching, a player suspension and a setup for an entertaining championship series. What I don’t have is my good friend to talk to about it.

Sports Column Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Dirk Chatelain

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Jenni Carlson

Excerpt from “Tim Miles defies the NU demons, ushering Huskers into a new era”

Excerpt from “Douglass-Locust Grove: Why Locust Grove should agree to replay the game’s last 60 seconds”

Half an hour after the final horn, most of the crowd had finally cleared out when Nebraska athletic administrator Marc Boehm, one of the happiest men in town, convened with the Pinnacle Bank Arena director of operations. Boehm wore a very serious look when he asked this very serious question: “When they’re jumping up and down like that, is that bad on the wood?” The answer: Yes. Bad. Very bad. Put the damage on Tim Miles’ tab. He’s the man responsible for Sunday’s court-storming. He was 20 feet away, taking his 79th photo (approximate number) with a fan. This was a boy, 11 years old, who’d come to Pinnacle Bank from Omaha with his dad. “You a Husker basketball fan?” Miles asked him. The boy nodded. “That’s what Husker basketball feels like, all right?” Nebraska basketball has entered a new world. A world bad for the arena floor. Bad for the ear drums. Bad for work production the next two weeks. But good — oh so good — for the soul. Barring a rash of Cinderellas in conference tournaments, Husker fans will watch their team play in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 16 years. Sunday wasn’t just a win over a Top-10 team. It wasn’t just an 11th conference victory, clinching a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament. It was a hot shower after a cross-country flight. It was a bowl of ice cream after putting the kids to bed. It was the damndest Husker event I’ve witnessed since the glory days of football. Don’t believe me? Ask Dan Cole, who’s been a Husker hoops head since sixth grade, 1986. “This place is magical, man.” Ask Jeff Neuhaus, flabbergasted that “even old people were standing up!” Ask Chris Kuchar, whose daughter posed with Shavon Shields during the celebration. Kuchar and his brothers have waited for “this to happen,” for Husker fans to get behind basketball. “I think this opened their eyes to a whole new level of what we can do as fans.” Ask the students who asked the cop to take a photo of them during the celebration, kneeling and holding up index fingers at center court. Ask the hundreds of folks milling around the Haymarket Sunday afternoon, as if it was football Saturday. Ask Josh Adler and Wilson Long, who were so pumped an hour before tip-off they couldn’t stand still. Two years ago, they were Devaney die-hards “begging friends on Facebook” to come to games. When Miles was introduced as head coach, they showed up at his press conference in their Red Zone T-shirts.

Opportunities come along often. For all of us. Great opportunities come along rarely. A great opportunity has presented itself for the Locust Grove football team. By now you’ve probably heard of the big flap in the Class 3A state quarterfinals Friday night at Douglass High School. Locust Grove beat the Trojans 20-19, after a late Douglass touchdown was erased by an improperly-enforced penalty by officials who didn’t know the rules. Douglass, the Oklahoma City Public Schools and at least one politician, probably more, are demanding justice and a replay of that final minute. Only thing left are the lawyers. But the last thing high school football needs is more court cases. Or more debate under the Capitol dome. More outrage from the wronged. The first thing high school football needs is more humanity. Humanity and humility. The first thing high school football needs is to jump off the just-win-baby treadmill and rediscover its roots. That final minute ought to be replayed, not because of the outcry of the wronged, but because of the benevolence of the righted. Locust Grove ought to take the lead and agree to replay those 60 seconds. Ought to stand up and demand that it be given the chance to win the game unblemished.

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Review Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Sarah Baker Hansen Judges’ Comments: Her warm, relatable writing makes her reviews a joy to read.

Excerpt from Dining review: “Vegan foods you’ll savor at Modern Love” The first thing to do before you go to Modern Love, vegan chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s first restaurant, is get a reservation. You’ll need one, because it’s already got a lively following. The second thing to do is forget what you think “vegan” tastes like, because trust me, this isn’t what you think. This is the “swanky vegan comfort food” that Omaha-based Moskowitz promised would be the focus of her restaurant. In fact, it’s so swanky you might not remember what you’re eating is meat-, dairy- and egg-free. I’ll begin in familiar territory, with Moskowitz’s take on a Nebraska classic: chili and a cinnamon roll. Modern Love’s version comes in a giant bowl, easily enough for two hungry people, topped with a homemade pumpkin cinnamon roll. The lentil and bean chili had a smoky, spicy flavor that belied its meatless origins. My vegetarian dining partner noted that the beans weren’t the kind that come from a can; they clearly started dry and were cooked slowly with rich broth and seasoning, creating deep flavor, a pleasantly chewy texture and just the right thickness. The bowl comes topped with dollops of vegan sour cream, a sprinkle of chopped green onion and chunks of roasted squash. Moskowitz said the meatiness comes from slow-cooked red and green lentils, not a meat substitute, and its spicy warmth from a house blend of three kinds of toasted chili peppers. The cinnamon roll arrived warm, sweet and seemingly buttery, with a light glaze of frosting, loads of cinnamon and a hint of seasonal pumpkin flavor. Moskowitz is the perfect chef to bring Omaha its first vegan spot. The Brooklyn, New York, native went vegan in the 1990s and wrote her first cookbook in 2005. Since then, she’s become one of the most popular vegan chefs and cookbook

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writers in the country. At Modern Love, she’s created an accessible mix; diners might be unfamiliar with ingredients, like seitan or cashew cream, but they know dishes, like mac and cheese and schnitzel. Her brand of comfort food is pure Nebraska, but in her own style. Take, for instance, the mac and shews, the restaurant’s most popular entrée. Cashew cheese coats the pasta in a tasty blanket, but where things get interesting is the rest of the dish. Instead of just serving us the pasta, the chefs — Moskowitz, Michaela Maxwell and Leia Jean Schmelzel (the former of Avoli Osteria and Kitchen Table, the latter of Brushi and both women formerly of the Boiler Room Restaurant) — combine the mac and shews with tangy roasted cauliflower coated in barbecue sauce, a pile of soft, tomatoey braised kale, and a hunk of flavorful pecan crusted tofu. It’s layered and nuanced, unfamiliar and familiar at once. It happens again with a black bean tamale. The smoky Mexican appetizer felt like it could have floated down Saddle Creek Road from a South 24th Street spot, just minus the lard.

Grilled onion and tomato salsa, both sweet and tart, and smoky jalapeño guacamole amped up the flavor. A classic romesco sauce, made with finely ground roasted red peppers, tomatoes, garlic, onion and almonds, brought it together. The texture and flavor of the soft masa and nicely cooked black beans hit the spot, and the colorful plate, full of red, purple, orange and green, looked as good as it tasted. Her version of a classic burger comes in beet form. The Beet Burger Royale is a thick veggie patty that comes on a house-baked potato bun topped with house pickles, cashew cheese, vegan Thousand Island dressing, lettuce, tomato and a hefty layer of avocado. The best thing about it was its texture, which held together but wasn’t too uniform. Veggie burgers sometimes taste almost like a bowl of hummus formed into a patty and fried; that’s not the case here. Even meat lovers from Omaha — let’s face it, this is a steak town — will find something to enjoy here, mostly because these are creative meatless dishes that can transform how and what a diner thinks food should taste like.

Review Finalists Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Emily Van Zandt

Excerpt from “Freshly brewed: Mylo Coffee Co. already at home in Hillcrest” Sometimes a restaurant opens that fills a void in Little Rock that you didn’t even realize existed. The city has no shortage of coffee shops. No shortage of bakeries, lunchtime sandwich spots or places to relax with your laptop. So on the surface, Mylo Coffee Co. seemed like it was just adding one more option to an already flush lineup. They’d be mixing in some local beers and ice cream, but on paper, Mylo held the potential to be easily lost in the crowd. But I underestimated Mylo. Walking in on my first visit, shortly after the grand opening, I was struck by just how needed a place like this was in Little Rock. There is no other cafe doing quite what Mylo is: churning out carefully sourced, pour-over coffee alongside some pretty complicated house-made pastries and desserts. Chickpea rolls? Bacon-spiked kouign amann? Pistachio-studded carrot cake? These are orders you’re only going to find at Mylo. Combine a creative menu and quality coffee with a relaxed, trendy atmosphere (succulents! hardwoods! craft beer!) and you have the things Hillcrest dreams are made of.

Fitting into the neighborhood As much as I wish Mylo had decided to locate downtown for easy midday coffee breaks (fingers crossed for Mylo Jr.), Hillcrest is hands down the perfect location for this restaurant. It blends with the likes of neighbors Hillcrest Artisan Meats and The Afterthought without overlapping another concept. There are plenty of tables to dine in, and also a few barstools near the door for people who can hang out just long enough for their mocha to be ready. Though pour-over coffee — brewed by pouring hot water over a grounds-filled paper cone and letting the coffee drip down into a cup — naturally takes longer than pouring something prebrewed, the crew at Mylo already has the process down pat. On all of our visits, no matter the crowd, the wait for drinks was just a few minutes longer than we’d expect from a busy Starbucks. The grab-and-go move is certainly an option for people who can swing by Mylo on their way into work. And we’re very, very jealous of those who can.

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Food Winner Publication: St. Louis Post-Dispatch By: Daniel Neman Judges’ Comments: Lots of really great stories in this group, especially the nontraditional pieces that help us get beyond what’s on the plate or menu. I loved venturing into forests and beach barbecues and learning about food communities outside my own through the strong voices collected here.

Excerpt from Fair food: “All calories? All fat? Yes, please!” Is there anything more American than the state fair? Small-town pride. Prize-winning bulls. Proud children showing off their favorite ponies and sheep. State fairs are so American, they even have a contest for the best apple pie. Some of us go for the music. Some go for the exhibits. Some go for the rides. But let’s be frank: A lot of us go for the food. Fair food is a world unto itself, a secret, guilty place we visit to indulge in the foods that we would never ordinarily consume, the artery-clogging, brain-rotting, heartstopping, certain-death foods that taste soooo good even while you suspect they may not be the healthiest things you could eat. Only at a fair would you even think of trying a deepfried Twinkie or Snickers bar. Only at a fair would anyone ever serve deep-fried butter. Only at a fair would anyone even consider the concept of deep-fried Coke — and yes, if you haven’t been to a fair lately, that’s a real thing. The Illinois State Fair and the Missouri State Fair begin Thursday and run through Aug. 17. If you want, you can get all of your fair-food cravings at either or both of them and can also enjoy the music, the exhibits and the rides. Or you can make your favorite fair dishes yourself. Just be sure to have a defibrillator nearby and an ambulance service on speed-dial. Making your own fair food is easy. Just: 1. Take something that is very bad

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for you, and 2. Fry it. Take, for instance, a hot dog. Juicy. Fatty. Cholesteroly. It’s great, sure, at a baseball game. But a simple hot dog is not nearly deadly enough for a fair. A fair requires something bigger and bolder, something coated in cornmeal and fried. Something with three times the calories. A fair requires a corn dog. There is no other word for it: Making corn dogs at home is fun. It involves the familiar process of mixing dry ingredients into wet ingredients (including a small can of creamed corn — I told you it was fun). Then you impale a hot dog on

a skewer, dip it into the batter and then toss it into a pot of hot oil. A few short minutes later, you have a golden brown, delectable corn dog. It is vitally important that the oil be 375 degrees; if you don’t have your own fryer, use a candy or frying thermometer. Anything less than that and the coating will not remain on the hot dog; anything much higher and you may burn the coating before the hot dog is cooked. It is also important, before dipping it into the batter, to coat the hot dog with a light dusting of cornstarch. Use your hands to coat it thoroughly, and be sure to knock off all the excess you can. This step will assure that the coating will adhere to the hot dog. I used an old recipe from Alton Brown, and it was sublime. But a vast amount of batter was left over, so I did what any vendor at a fair would do. I used the same method to deep fry a bunch of dill pickle spears. These were so good, I decided to deep fry some thick slices of avocado. Because, you know, avocados are healthy. And yes, they do sell deep-fried avocados at the California State Fair. Of course, they do. If any food were even more associated with fairs than corn dogs, it would have to be funnel cakes. These, too, are fairly simple to make at home, especially when you realize their secret. Funnel cakes are made from flour, eggs, milk, water, vanilla, sugar and baking powder, plus a little salt. Wait — that’s a pancake. Funnel cakes are just deep-fried pancake batter.

Food Finalists Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Emily Van Zandt

Excerpt from “A well-stocked pantry for Hillcrest” Sometimes, the best restaurants aren’t necessarily a brand-new concept, but an old favorite reimagined and improved. At The Pantry Crest, owner Tomas Bohm is hoping to capitalize on the success of his west Little Rock restaurant The Pantry by bringing much of the same menu and vibe to a new central Little Rock location. So far, so good. On a recent Monday night visit, just a few weeks after the restaurant opened, tables were packed and service was running smoothly. But can Pantry Crest live up to the reputation of the original restaurant? We stayed a few rounds to find out. Giving up the house ghost Bottom line, a lot of people are going to be stopping by The Pantry Crest just to get a look at what they’ve done to the place. The old Hillcrest house-turned-restaurant has seen a number of names over the door, including Sufficient Grounds, Laughing Moon Cafe and The House, which ended its run in August 2013. The House’s closing came with some drama attached (see the sites where Little Rock foodies gather on the Internet for more on that), so it was with much anticipation that fans of the location waited to see which restaurateur would snap up the property. Then in January, Bohm announced he would be opening a second location of his much-loved The Pantry, and hearts swelled. The German/Czech cuisine and solid bar offerings at the west Little Rock restaurant were enough to pull loyal visitors from all over the city. So a new, more central, Hillcrest outpost of The Pantry was a dream come true for many fans.

Publication: Feast Magazine By: Brandon Chuang, Jeremy Nulik, Shannon Cothran, Catherine Neville, Liz Miller

Excerpt from “Mike Mills vs. The Smoke Eaters” In the pantheon of food culture, you’d be hard pressed to find anything as universally popular and beloved as barbecue. Barbecue’s status atop the sushi and street tacos of the world stems from one thing: its simplicity. Barbecue doesn’t demand a laundry list of ingredients; it doesn’t take a complicated set of directions and procedures that only a CIA-trained chef could convincingly accomplish. All barbecue is, in its soul, is meat, wood and fire – more specifically and more commonly, beef or pork, wood and fire. But if barbecue legend Mike Mills hands you a chicken wing as his first offering of barbecue, you make damn sure to eat it. Murphysboro, Illinois, is a small town. It’s the kind of town that highways tend to ignore; the kind where unique businesses – say, a combination hardware and pet store – can not only exist, but survive. According to the 2010 census, 7,970 people call Murphysboro home. And amidst the stores peddling goldfish and Allen wrenches, right on 17th Street, sits 17th Street Barbecue. If you were driving down 17th Street in Murphysboro, there’s a fair chance you’d gloss over 17th Street Barbecue, possibly passing it up for the remodeled Dairy Queen up the street. The building itself isn’t much to look at: a basic rectangular structure with grayed siding and neon beer signs glowing in the windows. It’s honestly not that impressive. But what’s inside the building is: a smoke-ringed combination of ribs, brisket, pork shoulder and more, which many people far more accredited than you or I consider to be the best barbecue in the country.

Publication: Tulsa World By: Nicole Marshall Middleton

Excerpt from “Crafting Tulsa tradition” Behind any craft— any art form— there are the true believers. And just hearing Josh Royal and Freddy Lamport talk excitedly about their passion for craft: beer and their motivation for founding Tulsa Craft Beer Week, it’s obvious they believe. Lamport owns Eier Carten Wine & Spirirs in Jenks, and Royal owns and tends bar at R Bar& Grill in Brook-side. Count them among the movement - along with the ever-growing number of brewers, bars and liquor stores — that is making craft beer actually happen in Oklahoma, The second TCBW kicks off Thursday, and these guys tell us it will be bigger and better than last year. Events span nine days to include two weekends and, oh, so many more beers, “People are much more excited about it after seeing what happened last year,” Royal said. And so many more people want to get involved.”

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Entertainment Feature Winner Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Cheree Franco

STYLE

In Travel Judges’ Comments: An interesting story in anyone’s hands, but the writing really elevated this beyond what could Vinalhaven Island have been a typical well-done feature story. The details sprinkled in throughout — Ott’s stature, the green chair off theif coast of can be a day the soundtrack ofMaine his youth — kept me interested and carried the narrative. Enjoyed the story of one man and his trip but it’s better to overnight. passion and the larger story of the bands from the region. PAGE 4E

Excerpt from “Sixties vibe”

ARKANSAS ONLINE www.arkansasonline.com

v v

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2014

SPIN CYCLE

Harold Ott’s childhood bedroom in Jacksonville is a curious place. It’s small and square, the walls lined with industrial shelves laden with JENNIFER CHRISTMAN decades worth of video-game consoles, 30-year-old toys and boxes of old 45s. Neat piles of oddities encroach upon floor space, crowding the only furniture in the room: a shrunken olive armchair, One of the traps social media circa early ’70s, andfoster aniselaborate turna false sense of familiarity. If you follow a celebrity’s tweets, table setup (a wooden brace onandbrass Instagram photos Facebook musings long enough, you might footers, on a metal shelf onlikebrass footers, start to feel you actually know her. You might think of her as a all of it designed to shoot playing vibrafriend or at least “a friend in your tions to the floor). head,” as talk-show host — and friend in my head — Wendy Williams coined phenomenon. This is where Ott, who isthe not a small How you doin’, Wendy? You might, man, sits in a small chair andmylistens toas real-life friend Lisa Fischer and I small records. did, even go so far to send such a Listening to records is an as important “friend” a wedding gift — one part of Ott’s job. It’s not the job he’s paid single napkin, because it was all to do. That would be making prints and Courtesy of you could afford Food Network off her pricey regensuring things runReesmoothly at(hi,BedKim KarDrummond istry dashian from the ford Camera’s North Rock store, KrisLittle Humphries wedding! Thank you, or thank your assistant, for inus withpresence that handwritten where he has been dulging a steady for thank-you note!). Or other you might ask a star for the past 12 years. This business, emergency advice. And expect her to immediately answer. operated out of a quirkily transformed Which is what I did last Sunday. Upon baking the Pumpkin Sheet rectangle of first-generation suburbia, Cake recipe of Food Network personality Pioneer Woman for the the business that eats up countless aftersuggested time, I realized it wasn’t done. And so I posted on her Facework hours belonging to him, to his book page. Pumpkin Sheet Cake question: girlfriend Dakota Norsworthy, and how can you tell me when it’s to done? Toothpick test? After 20 minutes, his sister Rachel Ott, iswas more unique and mine still quite gloopy. Put it in for another 5 min. Same thing; arguably more important. though the edges seem done, the center is still mushy. Don’t want to is in the business That’s because Ott overcook! There. She would answer me. After all, we’re friends. I even know of cultural preservation. all her kids’ names (Alex, Paige, Bryce, Todd) and dogs’ names THE LOST SOULS (Walter, Charlie). But afterjust two minutes, stuIn 1999, when Ott was backI felt from pid. For posting. And for posting with that “me” typo (“how can studying communications at the Uni-you tell me”) — so embarrassing. Why would I think that this versity of Arkansaswoman at Fayetteville, he — a popular blogger and television personality and author attended a Butler Center forcookbooks Arkansas of best-selling and children’s books who home-schools Studies showcase state-based her of children and assists hergacowboy husband with their massive rage bands and bought thecattle accompanyOklahoma ranching operation (does this make me sound ing compilation, The Little Rock Sound, creepy?) — has nothing better to do than answer my amateur kitch1965-69. en questions? Maybe at least some other site user would take pity on and save my cake. Six years later hemebought another Ree Drummond commented on your post. No No No, put garage rock compilation, Whew! Six minutes after posting, someone was attempting to out by Massachusetts-based Arf! Arf! Rerescue me! Wait, Ree Drummond?! That’s cords. The liner notes included the songs’ Pioneer Woman herself! Writing to me! original 45 RPM labels and Ott noticed Jennifer, it should be totally set

Sheet cake query gets Ree-sults

that one of the bands, Lost Souls, was from Jacksonville. The band hadn’t made it onto the Butler Center compilation. Ott asked around. He went to Jacksonville Guitar, in operation since 1975, and asked if anyone had heard of the Lost Souls. Owner Steve Evans sent him to Doug Fritz at Fritz Electronics. Fritz had a phone number for Lost Souls singer/guitarist Mike Petray. “He was kind of excited to be talking about a record he made 40 years ago, so I decided, well, maybe we should just film an interview with him ... it led to, well, let’s try to find the other guys in the band,” Ott says. “And this was the basis for the movie.” In 2005, Ott shot an hourlong documentary. It’s essentially three of the four Lost Souls waxing nostalgic: “We played at every Dairy Queen in town that summer,” Petray says. “We tried to be as polished as we knew how.” (“Polished” consisted of Mike Corbin buying a real bass, rather than playing the top four strings of a six-string guitar, and the guys adopting matching uniforms and synchronized dance moves.)

Sixties vibe

in the center! I couldn’t believe my eyes. But indeed she had responded, con-

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ON BOOKS

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JOHN SYKES JR.

They played enough skating rinks, youth centers and Air Force clubs to buy their girlfriends frequent dinners at Roy Fisher’s Steak House. “We had enough money to do that, man, we thought we was doing great,” Corbin says. PSYCH OF THE SOUTH CHEREE FRANCO Ott started looking for other long-ago ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE arold Ott’s childhoodBill Eginton, 61, the bands. Arkansas bedroom in Jacksonville is a curious place. owner of the Arkansas Record & CD It’s small and square, the walls lined with industrial shelves Exchange inworth North Little Rock, loaned laden with decades of video-game consoles, 30-year-old Ottand45s. found some records through toys boxesHe of old 45s. Neat piles of oddities enestate sales or garage forums and online croach upon floor space, crowding the only furniture in the sitesa shrunken such as eBay. Sometimes he got room: olive armchair, circa early ’70s, and an elaborate records from former turntable setup (a wooden brace band members. Courtesy of HAROLD OTT on brass footers, on a metal Since 2007,use Haroldto Ott has released shelf on brass footers, of it “The sameallthings people four volumes of Lost Souls compiladesigned to shoot playing vibrations, which feature vintage garage tions to the floor). stalk people online, I use to Arkansas find old rock from and nearby MisThis is where Ott, who is not souri towns. amusicians,” small man, sits in a Ott small chair says. He often pays for and listens to small records. tions at the University of ArkanListening to records is an searches on whitepages.com, peoplesas at Fayetteville, he attended important part of Ott’s job. It’s a Butler Center for Arkansas not the job he’s paid to do. That finder.com and classmates.com. Studies showcase of state-based would be making prints and garage bands and bought the ensuring things run smoothly at accompanying “Classmates is really handy compilation, becauseThe Bedford Camera’s North Little Little Rock Sound, 1965-69. Rock store, where he has been Six years later.... he bought these yearbooks Mostanathey steady posted presence forall the past other garage rock compilation, 12 years. This other business, No No No, put out by Massachuof these operated out ofbands a quirkilyare trans-in high school,” he setts-based Arf! Arf! Records. formed rectangle of first-genThe liner notes included Sometheofbusiness them were younger. Ottthe says.suburbia, eration songs’ original 45 RPM labels that eats up countless after-work and Ott noticed that one of the found onetogroup, hours belonging him, to his Electric Sunshine, bands, Lost Souls, was from Jackgirlfriend Dakota Norsworthy, sonville. The band hadn’t made and to his sistermade Rachel Ott, is of Jonesboro fourththat was up it onto the Butler Center compimore unique and arguably more lation. important. graders. Ott asked around. He went to

Harold Ott, founder of Psych of the South, listens to records in his childhood bedroom, where he also stores nonmusical collections. He jokes about being a hoarder, but he says, “I couldn’t do this without hoarders.”

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JOHN SYKES JR.

Harold Ott keeps a list of bands he is seeking information about.

State garage bands find new fans on Psych of South label

That’s because Ott is in the business of cultural preservation.

THE LOST SOULS

Jacksonville Guitar, in operation since 1975, and asked if anyone had heard of the Lost Souls.

In 1999, when Ott was just back from studying communica-

See OTT on Page 6E

Entertainment Feature Finalists Publication: Tulsa World By: Jimmie Tramel

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Nathan Poppe

Excerpt from “The Kow Pasture closes”

Excerpt from “A crippling back injury couldn’t stop Oklahoma City-based musician Brantley Cowan”

OWASSO — Regulars at the very old-school Kow Pasture Lounge — concrete floor, waferboard ceiling, secondhand (and third-generation) smoke — didn’t much care for progress when their juke box was replaced by what they say is an “internet juke box.” They’d put money in that sucker and they weren’t exactly sure how to squeeze a song out of the dang thing. Eventually, they figured it out. That’s good news because maybe they can crank up a perfect-for-the-occasion song: “There’s a Tear in My Beer.” “I’ve done cried,” owner Carol Moore said. “And I’m sure there will be many tears on Friday.” Truth in advertising? Black Friday will be a dark Friday at the Kow Pasture Lounge. The beer joint (let’s call it like it is) opened on the western outskirts of Owasso in 1958 and is going out of business. Last rounds will be served just before 6 p.m. closing time Friday. The counter and six barstools will get a new home because they were sold to Tommy McLaughlin, a customer since 1968. He didn’t want to say what he paid for the counter, but he’s willing to say why. “I drank a lot of beer at it,” he said. “And I ain’t through drinking yet.” The Kow Pasture was cozy enough (capacity is 48) and quiet enough (the “Internet juke box” was silent) for others in the bar to hear McLaughlin’s words, so he got a big laugh. After Friday, will it be a case of where have all the good times gone? McLaughlin could visit any watering hole. But the Kow Pasture is his place because ... “I think it’s the people I know and the friends I’ve got that I visit with,” he said. “I don’t think it’s really that much the alcohol. I think it’s sitting here and visiting with them.” Said Moore, who has owned the bar for four years: “You walk in and everybody knows your name.” So, it’s like Cheers, except that it’s the opposite of a city bar and the guy holding court isn’t Sam Malone. It’s Mark Brown, who says he owned the bar from 1985-2005. Brown started visiting in 1963, when he was “about 17.” Brown said he was told by one of the original owners that everybody thought the Kow Pasture was going to be a dairy barn when the structure first sprang up in the middle of pasture land. Surprise! The Kow Pasture, isolated at 9600 N. Memorial Drive, is so far removed from city streets that its existence has been called into question. Brown said he went to a local newspaper in an attempt to publicize the Kow Pasture’s 40th anniversary and he had to convince a reporter he wasn’t pulling

Brantley Cowan’s 15-foot fall onto a cold, concrete floor shattered a vertebra, severely injuring his spine. His music career came to a grinding halt after the nearly fatal fluke accident last year. If you don’t know Cowan, he’s the 30-something frontman of MRD, an Oklahoma City-based band that makes booming, arena-sized rock songs big enough for the silver screen. Cowan grew up in Oklahoma City and has been passionate about music since his teens. Back when he had one goal. He wanted to play at VZD’s at least once. He did that, and since has toured through Europe with Matt Stansberry, played at Cain’s Ballroom and even graced the main stage at Norman Music Festival 5. He has crossed a lot off of the proverbial Okie musician bucket list. “I’ve done all these things, but it’s been a ton of work, too,” Cowan said. “You get so awesome at the grind that you don’t stop and think about that.” For the past couple of years though, Cowan has had nothing but stops. You wouldn’t have guessed that in 2012. Digging through his Facebook, I found this post from Cowan. “Stay tuned! In the coming months, MRD will be releasing our album we recorded in Prague, Czech Republic. Currently we are wrapping up mixing before being mastered in LA. 2013 will be a great year for MRD!” That was before Cowan cheated death. Before a few MRD members would shrink to a couple of revolving members. Before Cowan’s “Prague EP” effort took a huge nap. But to Cowan, those are just the speed bumps along the way to Friday, when violinist Amanda Fortney will join him at 10 p.m. onstage at Picasso Cafe, 3009 Paseo St. That’s where you’ll be able to get a taste of the “Prague EP” before its official digital release Dec. 12. So, what took so long? It all started with a trip to the hospital. The fall Back in January 2013, Cowan’s former drummer was finishing a construction gig at a local business and asked for help. The two were running cable through a ceiling, and as Cowan finished the last wire, he slipped. The ladder dropped out from under him, and he fell 15 feet. He suffered a burst fracture, with vertebra fragments impacting his spinal cord. This is the kind of injury you don’t usually get up from. The one that puts 32 staples into your back. The one that means you’re wearing a

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Specialty Feature Winner Publication: Kansas City Star By: Sarah Gish, Jennifer Hack, David Eulitt, Tasha Fabela-Jonas, Sarah Morris, Paula Southerland, Elaine Garrison, Katty Delux, Emilia Vonn, Mary Schulte Judges’ Comments: A colorful and ambitious way to tour Kansas City’s barbecue offerings. Smartly uses area experts to point out some of the highlights. The writing is snappy and informative and the photography is outstanding.

Excerpt from “Barbecue bucket list” In honor of National Barbecue Month, we set out to find Kansas City’s best ’cue. Armed with insider tips from local barbecue lovers, we made pilgrimages to the great institutions — Arthur Bryant’s, Gates, Jack Stack — and scoped out newcomers such as Jon Russell’s Kansas City Barbeque in Overland Park and Plowboys BBQ in Blue Springs. We watched slabs smoke in the hickory-fired pit at LC’s and heard the thwack of rib tips chopped to order at Arthur Bryant’s. We inhaled the sweet scent of smoldering Missouri white oak while waiting in a long line at Oklahoma Joe’s for a portobello Z-Man sandwich, and chilled out at Q39’s Get 'cued in on aficionados' bar with an ice-cold IPA favorites at 15 barbecue and a plate of what the restaurants. bold new barbecue restaurant calls “the best wings on the planet.” We discovered barsandwich next to the railroad tracks at becue orders we never knew existed Danny Edwards. Tearing into white — BBQ Sundaes, Hillbilly Bowls, burnt bread-wrapped ribs at the Quick’s Barends burritos and a monstrosity of a B-Q counter. sandwich called the Big Pig — and Between the ribs and burnt ends and convinced a few pitmasters to spill topsecret techniques and sauce ingredients. pulled pork, there were baked beans, golden slabs of cornbread, and cups of Sometimes the scenery was as good coleslaw and cheesy corn. Then there as the food. Imagine eating a smoky was the sauce: traditional sweet and bowl of burnt ends chili on the treesmoky, tangy tomato-based, mustard, lined patio at Woodyard Bar-B-Que. chipotle-cilantro, and even blueberryDevouring the messy burnt ends

2014 Spring/Summer Dining Guide

Smokin'

HOT

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habanero. Confession: Many napkins were harmed (OK, destroyed) in the making of this issue. The hunt for Kansas City’s best ’cue taught us that every barbecue joint — whether it’s a hole in the wall or an internationally known establishment — has its own flavor, and all of those flavors combined make Kansas City the barbecue capital of the world.

Specialty Feature Finalists Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Ron Wolfe, Cheree Franco, Jack Schnedler

Publication: Lincoln Journal Star By: Erin Andersen

Excerpt from “The Sunken Lands”

Excerpt from “Taking back their lives”

Sunken lands. The name endures like the river — the Mississippi River that spilled over a big part of northeast Arkansas more than 200 years ago. The river made a swamp of once-dry land, but even greater forces made the land sink in three Arkansas counties. The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 dealt this part of the state a peculiar blow. Stretches of land sank 20, 30, 50 feet. “It went from abundance and woods to a swamp with mosquitoes and snakes,” says Linda Hinton, director of the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum in Tyronza, population 918, in Poinsett County. The land fell in Poinsett, Craighead and Mississippi counties. “When they started farming these lands, it was just tree stumps [from logging] and swamp,” she says, “and they had to clean it out and drain it.” “Sunken lands” is partly a geologic description: ground lower than it was before the earth shook. People called it the way they saw it — saw the tops of tall trees barely above the water — and the name stuck. But “sunk” is a feeling, too. Feeling low, beaten down, alone, the sense that comes through the lyrics of Rosanne Cash’s song “Sunken Lands”: The children cry, The work never ends ... Who will hold her hand In the sunken lands? The sad sound of the name, sunken lands, has some truth to it as well, Hinton says — or did. People worked hard for not much in the sunken lands. They fought swamp water, fought bugs and fought lawsuits over land rights. The old surveys said one thing, but the river went another way. Homesteaders found new lakes on top of their land grants. Not that farming was ever easy, anyway. But now? “It’s a good place to live,” she says. “People like to live here for the small towns and the schools,” and the schools have ballgames. Jobs, movie theaters and other diversions are just a half hour’s drive either direction, up to Jonesboro or down to Memphis. The new hope is tourism, as people come to see where Johnny Cash grew up and started singing — where artist Carroll Cloar painted some of his Southern landscapes — where some of the most incredible things on earth happened just beneath a person’s feet. “We don’t feel like it’s gloomy around here any more,” Hinton says. “We’re rich in history.”

One week before her first track meet with the Fort Hays State University Tigers, Tiesha Scipio noticed a weird tingling in her feet. “It felt like pins and needles, like when your foot falls asleep,” she recalled. Her coach suggested her shoes might be too tight. Three days later, a Sunday, she was working at Arby’s when she noticed she had trouble lifting her left arm — but not her right. Tuesday she saw the university trainer. He addressed the usual suspects: a pinched nerve, a slipped disc, possible head trauma. “Then the head trainer came out of his office,” Scipio recalled. “He said, ‘What’s that French word we just heard about?’” That word was actually three: Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Hard to pronounce and mostly unheard of. The trainer sent Scipio to the hospital emergency room with a note recommending she be tested immediately. “I drove myself,” Scipio recalled. “I guess I walked like I had a limp. But nothing hurt.” She was admitted within minutes and stayed overnight. The following day she couldn’t walk without holding onto something. By Thursday her father had to carry her up steps and over curbs. On Friday — seven days after first noticing the tingling — Scipio was completely paralyzed, and unable to swallow water without choking. Three-and-a-half months later, the 22-year-old athlete from Manhattan, Kan., is learning to walk again with the assistance of leg braces and a cane. Guillain-Barre Syndrome occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system — literally shorting out the nerves that signal our legs to move, our eyes to close and our lungs to breathe.

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Special Section Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Staff Judges’ Comments: The clear first-place winner. Unique idea; creativity shines on practically every page. Great writing, great visuals. Just look at what you can do when you let the visual people run free! A bit over the top in places and I’m sure some traditionalists were aghast, but I loved the battle bots. The Pelini report was superb in words, artwork and design. Overall, lots of information, well organized and beautifully displayed. And the writing! I read much of the copy all the way through and I’m not a Nebraska or even college football fan. This is a section worth keeping. I want one!

College Football preview 8CF

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 2034

• SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014 • OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 2034 SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014 • SECTION ONE

The weight of change has challenged college football’s elite. The caste system has eroded. New powers have ascended. Is NU evolving quickly enough?

RISE OF THE MACHINE BY SAM MCKEWON • WORLD HERALD STAFF WRITER

Welcome to the Institute of American Football Studies. We continue our ongoing lecture series, “Pigskin Past, Football Future,” with an examination of a collegiate program in the middle of the United States, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. As with all of the studies in this series, we begin 40 years ago, in 1994. Part one of our lecture will zero in on the ﬁrst 20 years of this era, from the heights of three national titles in what fans of that program called “A Decade of Dominance” to a plateau of successful-but-not-entirely-satisfying seasons at the end of this period. We begin with a two-part question: What cultural and strategic dynamics ushered Nebraska out of the top echelon of college football, and how was the man who coached the team in 2014, one Bo Pelini, trying to combat them? • See Machine: Page 11CF

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y M AT T H A N E Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 2034 SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014 • SECTION TWO

With college football rapidly changing its identity,

Nebraska, one of its most traditional programs,

can’t rely on all of its old advantages.

Where does NU fit in this brave new world?

THE FUTURE IS NOW

OUT OF THIS WORLD Husker running back Ameer Abdullah is a star between the tackles and otherworldly when he’s in space. INSIDE THE SECTION A breakdown of every offensive player on the roster. Pages 14CF and 15CF What does the future hold for the 2014 Huskers? Pages 16CF and 17CF

Sometimes a community is 87,000 SCREAMING FANS. 80 | greatplainsawards.org WHYCOMMUNITYMATTERS.COM

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Special Section Finalists Publication: Tri-State Livestock News By: Carrie Stadheim, Maria Tussing, Dale Stradinger, Heather Hamilton Maude, Jan Swan Wood, Amanda Radke, Rhonda Sedgwick Stearns, Eliza Blue, Larry & Robin Reinhold, Nicole Michaels

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Staff

Publication: The Oklahoman By: The Oklahoman staff

D-Day

Outlook

Fall Cattle Journal: Hope After Atlas

D-DAY

MEMORIAL DAY 2014

JUNE 6, 1944

The D-Day anniversary falls just days after Memorial Day, and as the Greatest Generation passes into history, these two solemn days seem more linked than ever. The largest seaborne invasion in history poured 156,000 Allied troops onto a 50-mile stretch of French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy. They gained a costly foothold. By nightfall, more than 10,000 Allied troops were dead or wounded — but more than 100,000 made it ashore. The fight across continental Europe to defeat Hitler was underway.

8DD

• MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

D-DAY

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

Native Nebraskan’s ‘Higgins boats,’ with their unique design, carried troops ashore on D-Day and throughout WWII

U.S. reinforcements arrive on the beaches of Normandy from a Coast Guard landing barge — better known as a Higgins boat — on June 23, 1944. The soldiers were to support ﬁghting units that had secured the beachhead.

THE BOAT THAT WON THE WAR BY DAVID HENDEE

•

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

DOLF HITLER CALLED HIM THE “NEW NOAH.’’ • Gen. Dwight Eisenhower said he was “the man who won the war for us.’’ • Everyone else called him “Mr. Higgins.’’ • Andrew Jackson Higgins was the native Nebraskan who designed and mass-produced the landing craft that carried American troops ashore in the Pacific and European theaters of World War II. Rampfronted “Higgins boats” most famously landed troops during the amphibious invasion of Normandy on D-Day in 1944.

Creighton bestowed an honorary degree on him in 1943.

In 1987, a U.S. Navy ﬂeet oiler was named in Higgins’ honor.

The Andrew Jackson Higgins National Memorial at Pawnee Park in Columbus features a full-size steel waterline replica of a Higgins boat.

A seven-mile segment of U.S. Highway 81 south of Columbus is designated as Andrew Jackson Higgins Expressway.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com

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generals. He knew how things get done.’’ Higgins moved to the Gulf Coast in 1906 to get into the timber business. To reach stands of hardwood trees deep in the coastal swamps, he developed a shallow-draft boat with a propeller set in a tunnel to protect it from stumps and debris. By the late 1930s, Higgins Industries in New Orleans was manufacturing shallow-water boats for oil and gas exploration. The U.S. Navy needed small boats that could carry troops from ships to open beaches. Higgins adapted his Eureka boat to meet military speciﬁcations for a landing craft, including the innovative front ramp, a design U.S. Marines had seen in China. By 1941, before America’s entry into WWII, Higgins was producing landing craft designed to land troops in Europe. He also made a prewar journey to the Philippines to stock up on mahogany, a primary material for his boats. Meyer said Higgins realized that steel would be in short supply if war broke out and he would need wood for producing vessels. Higgins’ designs won him huge government contracts and his business expanded dramatically. In 1938, he operated a single boatyard employing fewer than 75 workers. By late 1943, his seven plants employed more than 25,000 workers. Guise said Higgins’ workforce was the ﬁrst in New Orleans to be racially integrated. His employees included whites, blacks, men, women, senior citizens and people with disabilities. All were paid equal wages according to their jobs. Their loyalty to the man they called “Mr. Higgins’’ was extraordinary, Guise said. Higgins’ workers shattered production records, turning out more than 20,000 boats — 12,500 of them the model used at Normandy — by the end of the war. “Not one of them was exactly the same,’’ Meyer said. “Higgins and his engineers were constantly changing and improving features as the boats went down the production line.’’ Factories across the nation aided in the production. Omaha Steel Works, for example, produced a Higgins design for a larger mechanized landing craft. Guise said Higgins’ name is forever linked to his landing craft. Men did not come ashore in LCVPs (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel), they traveled in “Higgins boats.” His achievements earned him and his company countless accolades from the military and federal government. He held about 30 patents for amphibious landing craft and vehicles. During the postwar years, he designed and built pop-up campers and commercial and pleasure craft, yet struggled to stay in business. Higgins died in 1952. He is buried in Metairie Cemetery outside of New Orleans.

ANDREW JACKSON HIGGINS

Historians say the maverick boat builder was a flamboyant, outspoken, brash, hot-tempered Irishman with a big imagination and the ability to turn wild ideas into reality. Red tape was for shredding, obstacles were for barreling through and bourbon was for drinking. “He was a legendary character,’’ said Kimberly Guise, curator at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, where a replica Higgins boat, video and artifacts tell the story of Higgins and his boat-building company. Without Higgins’ famous landing crafts, the U.S. strategy during WWII would have been much different — and winning the global conflict much more difficult, Guise said. The Higgins boat participated in every major invasion of the war, including North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Normandy and the islands of the Pacific, including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Born in Columbus in 1886, Higgins spent his early years along the Loup and Platte Rivers near the city. Higgins’ entrepreneurial spirit flashed early. As a youngster, he started a lawn-mowing business, hired other boys and tried to corner the market on lawn services in Columbus, said Lt. Col. Jerry Meyer, Nebraska National Guard historian. Meyer was a high school teacher in Columbus when he spearheaded the Higgins National Memorial in a Columbus park. Higgins’ father, John, was a lawyer, judge and newspaperman who died in a fall down a flight of stairs. His mother, Annie, and the couple’s six children then moved to Omaha in the early 1890s. At age 12, Higgins built his first vessel — an ice boat on runners — in the basement of the family’s Omaha home. He neglected, however, to plan how to get it out of the house, so he and a friend cut through a wall to get the boat out a door. Meyer said Higgins was fueled with independence and self-assurance. His high school years at Omaha High School (now Central High) and Creighton Prep were marked by conflict with teachers and principals. Creighton Prep tossed him out for brawling. “Andrew Jackson Higgins would be one of those kids that teachers can’t wait to unleash on the world,’’ Meyer said. “For all the trouble he caused in school, he would be right most of the time. These kids may not go to college, but they make things happen. He was a guy like that.’’ As a teenager, Higgins joined the Nebraska National Guard and served as an infantry officer in the Millard Rifles. William Jennings Bryan, the famed Nebraska political leader who would be the Democratic presidential nominee three times, was his brigade commander. Meyer said the military experience paid dividends for Higgins years later. “He understood the military,’’ Meyer said. “It was easy for him to hobnob with

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HIGGINS BOAT LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel)

During the 1930s, Higgins Industries perfected a work boat, dubbed the “Eureka’’ model, designed for the swamps and marshes of the Gulf Coast. The shallow-draft boat could operate in just 18 inches of water, running through vegetation and over logs without fouling its propeller. It also could run up on shore and extract itself without damage. When a bow ramp was added at the request of the Marine Corps, the design was complete.

STEEL RAMP

ESSENTIAL PART FOR AMPHIBIOUS OPERATIONS A deep vee hull forward led to a reverse-curve section about midship and two flat planning sections aft, flanking a semi-tunnel that protected the propeller and shaft. Aerated water flowing under the forefoot of the boat created less friction while moving and allowed for faster speeds and maneuverability.

The solid block of pine at the bow was the strongest part of the boat and its shallow draft enabled it to run up onto the shoreline without damaging the hull.

The steel ramp at the front could be lowered quickly to swiftly disembark men and supplies.

Then, the boat would reverse itself off the beach and head back out to the supply ship for another load within three to four minutes.

M AT T H A N E Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

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News Page Design Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Tammy Yttri Judges’ Comments: By far the best entry of the lot, this designer is punching up her images to wring every bit of Oomph out of them. I love the tight crop on the Iwo Jima picture, the understated typography on the ebola page that lets the gorgeous portrait do the heavy lifting and the way she stayed out of the way of that jawdropping shot of the twin tornadoes. The inside tornado aftermath spread is a textbook case in how to cover a natural disaster with visual journalism. This portfolio is a masterpiece.

Excess pitching fuels explosion of elbow injuries BY DIRK CHATELAIN WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

VANDERBILT BEATS UC-IRVINE; TEXAS SENDS LOUISVILLE HOME, CWS COVERAGE IN SPORTS

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

ENDANGERED ARMS

This is the ﬁrst in a series of stories that will appear during the College World Series about the pitching injury epidemic in baseball.

Wins for Anteaters, Commodores

RYA N S O D E R L I N / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

JUNE 15, 2014 • SUNRISE EDITION

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014 • SUNRISE EDITION

INDEPENDENT. IN-DEPTH. INDISPENSABLE.

ONLY IN THE WORLD-HERALD

Storms cause the state’s first tornado fatality in 10 years

Governor: Round up inmates to ﬁnish terms

Governor declares emergency, will visit this morning

Watch video of the twisters on the ground on Omaha.com

‘LIKE GOD DRAGGED TWO FINGERNAILS ACROSS THE LAND’

Others say not so fast after the revelation that Nebraska freed 101 prisoners early BY TODD COOPER, MATT WYNN AND PAUL HAMMEL WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS

A roundup of more than 100 already released prisoners. Court challenges. An investigation into the state’s inability to follow simple sentencing steps. A special legislative session. All those possibilities were laid at Nebraska prison officials’ doorstep Monday in the wake of a World-Herald investigation that revealed early releases — or early release dates — for hundreds of the state’s worst offenders. Published Sunday, The World-Herald investigation showed that the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services — using a flawed formula to calculate sentences — had carved at least 750 combined years off the sentences of habitual criminals, drug dealers, gun thugs and child rapists. Attorney General Jon Bruning said Monday he had been advised by Corrections that 101 prisoners had been released early. In turn, state officials set their first priority: rounding up those prisoners already released. See Prison: Page 5

PRISONER APOLOGIZES An inmate gets 18 to 20 years for a fatal work-release crash. Midlands, Page 5B

ERIC ANDERSON /CLOUDEDLENS.COM

A tornado, on the left, hits Pilger, Nebraska, as a second tornado revolves outside town.

INSIDE

Twisters devastate Pilger, leave one dead

Gusts, humidity test crews ﬁghting apartment ﬁre

A WORLD-HERALD SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

A wind-whipped ﬁre heavily damages a three-story apartment building near 99th and Q Streets. Midlands

BY JULIE ANDERSON AND EMILY NOHR WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS

PRISON DOORS OPEN TOO SOON

PILGER, Neb. — Farmer Gene Oswald was in town Monday afternoon when he realized that the weather was turning for the worse. He and a nephew fled to a family member’s basement. At one point, Oswald’s nephew peeked from a basement window. “He said, ‘Gene, there’s stuff flying above the co-op,’ ” Oswald said. Ryan Kruger and five co-workers at the Farmers Co-operative piled into the co-op office’s vault. Other employees huddled in the meat locker of

Omaha weather Today’s forecast High: 95 Low: 74 Full report: Page 6B On Omaha.com: Find the latest weather updates.

36 PAGES 75 CENTS

Index

the Pilger Store next door. “Our ears started popping ... and we heard a swishing sound,” said Kruger, of Norfolk. “About the time we figured it was over, the roof caved in.” From the basement, the vault, the meat locker, all emerged to find Pilger devastated by a tornado delivered by a powerful storm that moved across northeast Nebraska on Monday afternoon. The storm left at least one person dead — a 5-year-old child — and more than two dozen injured, some critically. Cuming County officials issued a press release late Monday saying its office was investigating a traffic fatality about 2½ miles east of Pilger. It See Pilger: Page 3

T H E A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S

Rescue personnel tend to a young tornado victim in Pilger on Monday evening. The child’s identity could not be conﬁrmed as of press time.

SUNNI INSURGENCY IN IRAQ

WORLD CUP U.S. VS. GHANA

U.S. sends a few troops, mulls special forces and Iranian role

U.S. OPENS WITH A ROAR The United States’ Clint Dempsey celebrates his goal in the first minute of Monday’s match against Ghana, which had eliminated the U.S. team in the previous two World Cups. The Americans avenged those defeats by beating Ghana 2-1, thanks to a goal by John Brooks in the 86th minute.

Killers. Gun thugs. Child rapists. Drug dealers. They’re all getting prison terms shortened due to miscalculations by the state. Now prison officials are moving to fix the missteps.

STORY IN SPORTS, PAGE 3C T H E A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is urgently deploying several hundred armed troops in and around Iraq and considering sending an additional contingent of special forces soldiers as Baghdad struggles to repel a rampant insurgency, even as the White House insists anew that America will not be dragged into another war. President Barack Obama notiﬁed Congress Monday that up to 275 troops could be sent to Iraq to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the American Embassy in

CHRISTIANS FLEE MOSUL A northern Iraqi village becomes a Christian refuge. Page 6A Baghdad. About 170 of those forces have already arrived and 100 other soldiers will be on standby in a nearby country until they are needed, a U.S. ofﬁcial said. While Obama has vowed to keep U.S. forces out of combat in Iraq, he said in his notiﬁcation to Congress that the personnel moving into the region are equipped for direct See Iraq: Page 5

WORLD-HERALD POLL: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

OMAHA BUCKS STATE’S PREVAILING SENTIMENT ACLU challenging constitutional ban in Nebraska, one of 15 states where gay couples can’t wed BY ROBYNN TYSVER WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

NO HOLIDAY MAGIC FOR NU

The Huskers rally after falling behind by 18, but USC snuffs out a late drive and holds on to win. Sports

KENT SIEVERS/THE WORLD-HERALD

DECEMBER 28, 2014

THE NEBRASKA EBOLA TEAM MIDLANDERS OF THE YEAR

‘The whole world was watching’ 22 nurses, 10 lab workers, 6 respiratory therapists, 5 care techs and two dozen physicians BY BOB GLISSMANN

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY When children are in business with Dad

Missing the man who instilled love of CWS

Retracing Dad’s service in WWII

Lessons learned from his father and his kids

We introduce you to several people who followed their fathers into the workplace and now share a special partnership. Money

Eddie Bailen, who died last month, raised his kids on CWS baseball. They honor him by extending his attendance tradition. Living

Reporter Steve Jordon and his brothers visit airstrip in England where their dad took off for 30 successful missions. Midlands

Former NFL player and current morning show host Michael Strahan tells how they have — and continue to — shape him. Parade

Omaha weather

Index

Today’s forecast High: 84 Low: 64 Full report: Page 10B On Omaha.com: Find the latest weather updates.

Celebrations.................6E Jobs Listings.............5-9D Obituaries.................... 7B Opinion ...................8&9B Puzzles..........................5E 98 PAGES

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IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Tops in news and entertainment

Lower expectations for Jays, Huskers

Paychecks will get bigger for some

W-H editors recap the region’s biggest stories and the best of the theater, music and book worlds. Midlands and Living

Lee Barfkneckt and Steven Pivovar assess men’s hoops as NU and Creighton prepare to start conference play. Sports

The minimum wage is going up on Thursday, but employers are more worried about Round II in 2016. Money

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Meet some members of the team that treated three Ebola patients. Pages 8&9A

LEARN MORE

» A timeline on rise of Ebola at Omaha.com/ midlanders » Past coverage at Omaha.com/ebola

Omaha weather Today’s forecast High: 31 Low: 23 Full report: Page 14B On Omaha.com: Find the latest updates.

Index Celebrations...............6E Jobs listings............5-9D Obituaries........10&11B Opinion ............12&13B Puzzles........................5E TV ................................8E 118 PAGES

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news Page design Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald by: Tim Parks

Publication: Tulsa World by: James Royal

Publication: Omaha World-Herald by: Sara Connolly

Scene

MONEY

Monday Get that new job Tuesday Home ﬁxups for max return Today Save for retirement Thursday Get organized at work Friday Find a work/life rk/life balance rk

BY CINDY GONZALEZ WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Mutual of Omaha is joining the smoke-free apartment-living movement, adding one of its Midtown Crossing buildings to the smokeless list starting today. The decision to prohibit smoking at the building that houses the Prairie Life Fitness Center came after surveying residents. “This policy change is a great way to reduce ﬁre risks that can come from smoking and protect staff and residents from the dangers of secondhand smoke,” said Molly Skold of East Campus Realty, Mutual’s real estate arm. The Douglas County Health Department and Metro Omaha Tobacco Action Coalition worked with Mutual in providing surveys and other health informa-

tion to area residents. Aja Anderson, the county’s community health educator educator, called the addition of the Midtown Crossing building a “big step,” as it is in a newer development in a thriving area of town. She said many property managers start off designating a smoke-free zone in one or two buildings, then later add more areas. “Mutual of Omaha’s decision will likely encourage others to join efforts to provide smokefree living,” Anderson said. Another highlight, Anderson said, is the addition in January of the Hillsborough Apartments to the smoke-free list. The complex endured two ﬁres in the last few years as a See Smoke-free: Page 2

MARKET WATCH Dow Industrials 16,576.66 (+72.37)

S&P 500 1,848.36 (+7.29)

NASDAQ 4,176.59 (+22.39)

Bloomberg Midlands 677.01 (+3.96)

Crude oil (NYMEX) 98.42 (-0.87) World-Herald 150, 2D

INSIDE MONEY

2013 year-end markets market ets pages Two pages of yearTw end figures for stocks and mutual funds. Pages 4D, 5D

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Cracker Barrel pushes back against inv investor

Her adopts Hertz ‘poison pill’

Home price gains may be le leveling off

Cracker Barrel won’t be sold to Sardar Biglari anytime soon. The restaurant chain’s board ﬁred back at the activist investor this week, saying it plans to continue business as is despite Biglari’s push to put Cracker Barrel on the block. Biglari chided the company’s management in an open letter last week and pushed for a sale, preferably to him. If the board did not “promptly” announce a sale process, Biglari said in a regulatory ﬁling, he would call a special shareholders meeting to vote on such a deal. Cracker Barrel has adopted so-called poison pill provisions in the past to prevent Biglari from taking over.

Hertz, one of America’s biggest car rental companies, has adopted a oneyear shareholder rights plan, commonly known as a “poison pill,” to thwart an investor from gaining control of the board. The plan, which Hertz OK’d because of “unusual and substantial activity” in the company’s shares, would be triggered by any investor acquiring a 10 percent stake or more of the company’s shares.

U.S. home prices rose in October from the previous year at the fastest pace in almost eight years. But price gains slowed in most U.S. cities from September to October, suggesting the increases are leveling off. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 0.2 percent from September to October, down from a 0.7 percent increase from August to September. Monthly price gains slowed in 18 of the 20 cities tracked by the index. Prices have risen 13.6 percent over the past 12 months, the fastest since February 2006.

Consumer conﬁdence highest since ’08 Consumer conﬁdence in the U.S. climbed more than projected in December as Americans’ views of current economic conditions jumped to the highest level since April 2008. The Conference Board’s index rose to 78.1 from a revised 72 a month earlier that was stronger than initially estimated, the New Yorkbased private research group said Tuesday. — From wire reports

11A

The current U.S. Senate, illustrated here, has 53 Democrats, 45 Republicans and two independents who caucus with the Democrats, effectively giving Dems a 10-vote lead over the GOP in party-line votes. With 36 seats up for re-election -election on Nov Nov. 4 — 21 currently held by Democrats and 15 by Republicans — control of the Senate could shift if six seats switch hands from blue to red. Realistically, alistically fewer than a dozen of the elections will be competitive. alistically,

SENATE CIRCLING BACK TO RED? FiveThirtyEight.com, which tracks elections and in the 2012 presidential race correctly picked the winner in each state, says Republicans have a 63.5 percent chance of picking up at least the six seats needed to gain Senate majority majority. The blog’s Senate model predicts the most likely outcome is that the GOP ends up controlling 52 seats, illustrated here, a pickup of seven. The seats up for election that would stay in the same party are outlined in gray and the seats that would change hands in black.

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See a video from the Wizard World Tulsa pop culture convention at Cox Business Center.

Watch the action

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would think, ‘oh, that’s not a good market’.” or maybe not. Vance, seated at a table inside

Cosplayers at the Con. D2 What former OSU player was teammates with a former Superman? D3

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Prairie Nerds assemble

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Check out some of the attendees’ in their cosplaying finest.

All dressed up

Jimmie

Tramel

jimmie.tramel @tulsaworld.com 918-581-8389

TULSA

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y M AT T H A N E Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

More apartments join smoke-free movement

t’s approprIate that four actors from “the Walking Dead” tV series were among celebrity guests at the first Wizard World tulsa pop culture convention. the tulsa con business is officially back from the grave. author Michael Vance has been going to conventions in oklahoma since 1972. he said he attended every trek expo convention in tulsa over a 24-year period. at its peak, trek expo attracted high-profile guests and thousands of fans. then — poof! — trek expo blinked out of sight like a scalosian. said Vance, “I thought that when the industry that produces conventions heard that trek expo finally passed on, they

DAY THREE OF FIVE

JACKPOT

ON RETIREMENT

H, NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS. Has there ever been, throughout all of human history, a more effective tool than this at making us feel bad about ourselves? Each year we stride confidently into January armed with a long list of goals and a gym membership, only to be discouraged with both by the time February rolls around. • How can we break this predictable cycle? Sorry, I can’t help much with your fitness, but I do know a thing or two about finances. Specifically, I’d like to help those whose goal is to get serious about their retirement planning. • Be honest. That’s you, right? We all know we should be saving more for retirement, but every year life seems to get in the way. That’s probably why nearly 60 percent of the population reports having less than $25,000 in retirement assets. How can you do better? • See Retirement: Page 2

Crowds of fans walk the floor of the Exhibit Hall during Wizard World Comic Con Tulsa at the Cox Business Center in downtown Tulsa on Saturday. Photos by

Navigating fifive common ‘failure points’ can finally put you on the road to retirement

JOE HEARN

JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World

MONEY-SMART RESOLUTIONS: SAVE SA FOR RETIREMENT

Wizard World’s roll of dice with Tulsa delivers payoff

A homemade R2-D2 droid from Star Wars, which was built by Patrick Yeary from Oklahoma City, rolls through the crowd outside the exhibit hall Saturday at Wizard World Comic Con Tulsa.

WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY, AY,, JANUARY 1, 2014 SECTION D

THIS YEAR, SOCK IT AWAY

MIDTERM ELECTIONS

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

GOP appears poised to take control Mont.

get their chance to shake things up in November’s midterm elections. The big question is whether the Republicans can win control of the Senate while holding the House of Representatives, which would give them control of the entire Congress for the remaining two years of Barack Obama’s presidency and set the stage for the 2016 elections. At stake this fall are 36 of the Senate’s 100 seats, all 435 House seats and 36 governor governorships. Republicans start with a decided edge: » The most vulnerable Democrats are in states Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won two years ago. » Republicans are already strong favorites to win Democratic-held seats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. » The GOP’s strongest candidates survived primary challengers from Tea Party loyalists, who have often been volatile and potentially losing general election candidates in the past. » Obama’s ﬂagging poll numbers are making him a drag on Democrats. Voters,

Idaho

UISIANA: Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, has tried distancing herself from Obama, but can’t stray too far. African-Americans made up 29 percent of the electorate race six years ago and went for her 96 to 1 percent. n Bill Cassidy, a three-term congressman, is running about even with Landrieu.

Mich.

Neb.

Iowa Ill.

Colo.

W.Va.

Kan. Okla.

N.M.

Sen. Mark Begich, a Democrat, has tried highlight times he has stood up to the president. n Dan Sullivan counters that Begich is a steady yalist. Begich opposed the administration on only 2.9 percent of the time, according to a Congressional Quarterly study.

Maine

N.Y.

S.D. Wyo.

AS: Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat, voted against Obama’s preferred positions 10.3 percent of the time last more than any other Senate Democrat. Still, Rep. Cotton, a Republican freshman, is slamming Pryor for supporting Obama 90 percent of the time.

Va.

Ky.

N.C.

Tenn. Ark.

S.C. Miss.

Texas

Ala.

Ga.

p. Bruce Braley, a Democrat, is deadlocked with n State Sen. Joni Ernst in a contest for the seat cated by retiring Democrat Tom Harkin. Gaffes plagued Braley, notably a dispute with a neighbor about chickens, and a reference to veteran Sen. Chuck as “a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school.” Ernst, barely known a few months ago, surged into contention with a down-to-earth style.

La.

Alaska

SOURCE: U.S. Senate

Who’s more unpopular: Barack Obama or the GOP? Republicans want to make the president an albatross for every Democrat — none more so than those in conservative states.

COLORADO: Colorado Republicans got a boost this year when Rep. Cory Gardner, a personable conservative, challenged Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat. Turnout in the Hispanic community, perhaps eager to show support for Obama’s efforts to revamp immigration laws, could decide this race.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

it’s going to be,” said Nathan Gonzales, deputy editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. Republicans need a net gain of six seats for a Senate majority. Independent analysts predict Republicans gains of four to eight seats. Battleground-state Democrats continue to make good poll showings, since the Republican brand also is tarnished.

by a 41 to 32 percent plurality say Obama makes them ity, more likely to vote for a Republican, according to a recent McClatchy-Marist poll. Forty percent approved of how Obama was doing his job, the second-worst showing of his presidency. “Republicans are going to have a good election night. We just don’t know how good

5 things to watch 1 2

Democrats in Romney states Democrats must defend seven seats in states where Republican Mitt Romney beat Barack Obama for president in 2012.

Vt.

Mich.

Minn.

Ore.

10 states to watch CAROLINA: Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat, and North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Republican, in a clash of the status quos: Washingto shing n vs. shingto Raleigh. Hagan has to be careful not to appear too close to President Barack Obama, but without severing the tie.

Can Mitch McConnell survive? The Senate’s Republican leader, unpopular in his home state of Kentucky, wants to be the majority leader, but ﬁrst he must defeat Kentucky’s secretary of state, Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Home cooking Many Democrats are trying to downplay their connections to Obama by adhering to the adage that “all politics is local” — playing up their support for issues key in their states.

“The public is wary of both parties,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, as last fall’s partial government shutdown continues to hurt the Republicans’ image. If there’s to be a big change, it’ll happen in the Senate, but even that’s no certainty. “This is a Republican year year, but it’s more a tilt than a wave,” Sabato said.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Former senator Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts until losing in 2012, is in a virtual dead heat with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, largely because of Obama’s plunging popularity. KENTUCKY: NTUCK Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, NTUCKY: who rarely has an easy re-election, is slightly ahead of Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes in most polls. This race is likely to go to the wire. GEORGIA: Democrat Michelle Nunn, daughter of former senator Sam Nunn, is by some accounts running ahead of Republican businessman David Perdue. Keys to victory here could be black turnout and whether Nunn can build a strong margin among women.

Third-party rt rty candidates Libertarian Sean Haugh isn’t going to win North Carolina’s seat, but he might attract just enough conservatives to swing the race. Third-party candidates also could have an impact in Alaska, Georgia and Kansas.

KANSAS NS : Three-term incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts, a NSAS Republican, survived a Tea Party primary challenge in August, but with 48 percent of the vote. Complicating the fall political equation is independent Greg Orman, who is making a strong pitch to centrists. Democratic nominee Chad Taylor on Wednesday tried to end his campaign without explanation, which could send left-leaning voters into Orman’s camp. Taylor’s name will stay on the ballot. This report includes material from the Associated Press.

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BY TIM SULLIVAN AND VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Third-grader Amalia Noble (center) and Brooklyn Harvey (left) raise their hands with classmates while Raiden Palanga (right) works from his book at Hawthorne Elementary School, one of 36 schools in the Tulsa district to receive an F on the state A-F grade cards. Photos by JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World

Fighting E

BY ANDREA EGER | World Staff Writer

failure

Poverty, adversity among big challenges at Hawthorne

Tucked away in a dark basement vault, “Portrait of Dirck van Os” hung out of view for years. By 1987, the Joslyn Art Museum had become convinced its prized Rembrandt portrait was not a Rembrandt after all. Stripped of that illustrious standing, the painting eventually lost its place in the gallery. This week, it makes a triumphant return, the latest twist in a centurylong debate over what it means to be a Rembrandt, and who gets to decide. Story, Page 3Y

Kenneth Stanley Sr. watches his son Kenneth Stanley Jr. prepare for class after attending a Donuts with Dads event at Hawthorne. About 120 fathers attended the event and then walked their kids to the classrooms. RYA N S O D E R L I N / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

REMBRANDT REBORN

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very other Friday without fail, Judi Wilson, LaChelle Harris and Kenneth Stanley Sr. can be found at Hawthorne Elementary School ABOUT selling sour pickles THE SERIES and fresh-popped popcorn to raise Oklahoma’s A-F money for the PTA. grading system is It’s a good thing intended to be an they do because easy way to judge they’re three of only the performance five parents in the of public schools. PTA at a school with The Tulsa World 386 students. In took an in-depth December, teachers look at what’s going were the only ones on in one of the 36 who attended the local schools that monthly PTA meetreceived failing ing. marks. “Just show up and Journalists let your kids know Andrea Eger, John you care!” Wilson Clanton, Mike said. “If we had more Simons and Matt volunteers, we could Barnard went to do this every Friday. Hawthorne ElemenThe kids love it and love us being here, tary School during and we raise money our monthlong for student activities project. Here’s what and rewards parties.” they found. The active PTA members’ children Today are proof positive • Outside chalthat kids can not only lenges are oversucceed but also can whelming for at-risk flourish academischools. cally, even in an “F” • Learning is testschool. Wilson’s driven at Hawfifth-grader, Jamarie thorne. Wilson, is student Monday body president, • Teacher turnover and she and Harderails progress. ris’ granddaughter Jordan Silas and Kenneth Stanley Jr., both second-graders, have perfect attendance, and all were just named to the honor roll.

SEE SCHOOL A8

The Tulsa World takes you inside Hawthorne Elementary School in a two-day series that shows the complex social and academic issues facing teachers, students, parents and administrators at Hawthorne. Read both parts of the series, vignettes, watch videos and view all the photos from this project at tulsaworld.com/fschool.

Associated Press

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — Russian troops took over the strategic Crimean peninsula Saturday without firing a shot. The newly installed government in Kiev was powerless to react, and despite calls by U.S. President Barack Obama for Russia to pull back its forces, Western governments had few options to counter Russia’s military moves. Russian President Vladimir Putin sought and quickly got his parliament’s approval to use its military to protect Russia’s interests across Ukraine. But while sometimes-violent pro-Russian protests broke out Saturday in a number of Russian-speaking regions of eastSEE CRIMEA A7

UP FOR PAROLE Larry Chaney: Convicted of murder in the 1977 death of a Jenks woman, he was sentenced to death, but that was later commuted to life in prison.

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is Africa? The short answer: very very. When you try to put a globe onto a flat map, things get a little distorted. Land masses closer to the poles are stretched out and appear to be bigger than they actually are. The maps we’ve gotten used to seeing and may have even had tacked up on our childhood classroom walls are off. Those maps often were Mercator projections, navigation-friendly maps named after the Flemish cartographer who first unveiled his creation in 1569. But in those maps, Greenland and South America often appear to be similar in size to Africa. In reality reality, Africa is nearly twice the size of South America and more than 10 times the size of Greenland. Cartographer Kai Kruse created this map to show just how immense Africa really is — larger than the United States, China, India, Japan and Europe. Combined.

CHINA (PART 2)

U.K.

Visual approximation

JAPAN

SIZE OF THE CO COUNTRIES UNTRIES

AREA 3,794

COUNTR COUNTRY Peru

China

3,748

France

244

Japan

146

New Zealand

India

COUNTR COUNTRY United States

1,269

Spain

195

Germany

138

United Kingdom

Papua New Guinea

178

Norway

125

Nepal

(x1,000 square miles)

Mexico

758

TOTAL OF 16 COUNTRIES: 11,632

BY AMANDA BLAND

AREA 496

COUNTR COUNTRY Sweden

AFRICA: 11,669

AREA 170

COUNTR COUNTRY Italy

AREA 116 104 94 57

MOON’S SURFACE: 14,600 Source: CIA WorldBook

World Staff Writer

An Oklahoma prisoner who nearly became the first man in the United States to die by lethal injection after receiving a death sentence for the murder of a Jenks equestrienne in 1977 is seeking parole. Larry Chaney — who’s used the middle names Eugene, Leon and Lee — was convicted of killing Kendal Inez (Gaither) Ashmore, 35, and sentenced to death by “drug injection,” as it was called at the time. Seven years later a federal appeals court commuted his sentence to life in prison.

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CHINA

The map above twists countries around and rounds off the edges of some to make a point. But the point is valid. The facts:

CHANEY PAROLE

SEE CHANEY A4

Today High 23, Low 7 Ice, wind, snow. More weather on E6

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GALL-PETERS PROJECTION EC ECTION This might look a little off, but it is one of the many alternatives offered to the common Mercator map. The Gall-Peters projection was developed either by Dr. Arno Peters in 1974 or James Gall in the 1800s (Peters claimed he invented it, but Gall’s version was around ﬁrst). The GallPeters map is more accurate in terms of relative size of the land masses, but some masses are stretched, especially around the equator. It would be a poor map to use for navigating the seas.

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Feature Page Design Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Amy Cavenaile

COLD WEATHER FALL FASHION WARM CLOTHES MITTENS LEAVES CIDER SC SCARVES GLOVES AND MITTENS TOO COLD WEATHER FALL FASHION WARM CLOTHES LIVING CRUNCHY LEAVES CIDER SCARVES FA GLOVES AND MITTENS TOO COLD WEATHER FALL FASHION WARM CLOTHES CRUNCHY LEAVES CIDER SC SCARVES GLOVES AND MITTENS TOO COLD WEATHER TWIST, LOOP, FALL FASHION WARM CLOTHES TIE,LEAVES CIDER SCARVES HOHOHO CRUNCHY SMILE COLD WEATHER FALL FASHION WARMW CLOTHES CRUNCHY LEAVES CIDER SC SCARVES GLOVES AND MITTENS TOO COLD WEATHER to try Recipes you’ll want 2E using these spices. Page

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014 SECTION E

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 SECTION E

Think outside the coffee cup, author urges, and create own blend to add dash of fall to any dish BY SARAH BAKER HANSEN WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

ow that fall is nearly here, pumpkin spice season can officially begin. There’s the ubiquitous Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte (which doesn’t actually include any pumpkin, in case you were wondering.) There’s pumpkin flavored Greek yogurt, pumpkin Jell-O, pumpkin gum and pumpkin pie-flavored vodka all on the way this fall. McDonald’s is also jumping on the #PSL bandwagon this year with its own version of the drink, which seems to take over Twitter in the days before its annual release. If it wasn’t already clear, Americans are obsessed with pumpkin spice. Author Stephanie Pedersen, though, thinks it’s high time we all get a little more creative than a spiceflavored latte, especially since we all seem to like the combination of warming flavors so much. See Pumpkin: Page 2

Cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and mace are in a basic pumpkin spice. Cooks may customize their blend by adding a combination of ancho chili, anise, black pepper, cardamom, cocoa powder, fennel, mustard powder, lemon and orange peels, star anise or thyme.

Drape the scarf around your neck backwards, with both ends even down your back

“THE PUMPKIN PIE SPICE COOKBOOK” BY STEPHANIE PEDERSEN

‘Love song’ to ancestors in a wider tale Author of the Omaha Reads selection says readers connect with the strong, self-reliant Nebraskans in her 1918 story

HOW-TO

Throw each end around the opposite shoulder, dangling down the front

BY MICAH MERTES

Karen Gettert Shoemaker “The Meaning of Names” writer extensively researched early-1900s life in Nebraska.

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Last month, the Omaha Public Library selected “The Meaning of Names” by Karen Gettert Shoemaker as its 2014 Omaha Reads selection, putting it at the center of the city’s biggest book club. “Names,” a Nebraska-set novel with a World War I backdrop, follows a German-American woman trying to keep her family safe from anti-German sentiment, inﬂuenza panic and various other hardships in 1918. Shoemaker, 57, lives in

Lincoln and mentors young writers through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing program. “The Meaning of Names,” which was released earlier this year, is her second book. “Names” takes place in Stuart, Nebraska, a town in the

eastern Sand Hills near where Shoemaker grew up. The author answered a few of our questions over email about the book and the process of writing it. The Q&A has been edited for length.

Q: With it being the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, there are countless books (ﬁction and nonﬁction) coming out this year. Your novel takes a unique approach. What was your inspiration for this story and setting? A: “The Meaning of Names” was inspired by family stories.

See Author: Page 2

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BY CHRIS PETERS •

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

hen the seasons change, goosebumps become commonplace and soon it becomes a scramble to cover every inch as you clamor for a few bonus degrees of warmth. It’s time to break out the scarf again. • While scarves are utilitarian in the cold months, fashion options are plentiful. But even for those who have an assortment, the same simple knots can get boring. • Here are a few styles to experiment with this winter as you try to avoid the same tired look with your toasty-warm scarf. Note: Knots may appear different depending on length, width and style of the scarf used. For most knots, longer scarves are preferred.

GET TO KNOW

Environmentalist finds another way to help BY CHRIS PETERS WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

When Tally Mertes arrived in Omaha in 2011, an energyefficient light bulb turned on in her head. Mertes moved here to take a job as the manager at a new Hy-Vee store at 180th and Pacific Streets. The store was built with a strong green foundation, earning certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for its automatic freezer lights, natural lighting and artificial flex lighting, a light-reflecting concrete parking lot and

doors on refrigerated sections, plus other features. In the three years since the store opened, she has added a slew of carbon footprint-reducing features and piloted the installation of new environmentally friendly equipment. Now, she’s ramping up her involvement in the green movement as she prepares to take on a leadership role with the nonproﬁt Keep Omaha Beautiful. “Tally not only talks the talk, but she walks the walk,” said Dianna Johnson, president of business development See Know: Page 2

TALLY MERTES Age: 41 Hometown: Waterloo, Iowa Career: Store manager of Hy-Vee at 180th and Paciﬁc Streets (employee of Hy-Vee since age 16); sits on board for Keep Omaha Beautiful Education: Studied business and accounting at the University of Northern Iowa Family: Husband, Chuck Mertes, and 4-year-old son, Tyler Hobbies: Watching football, golﬁng and cooking

Tie the two ends in a single loose knot at one side of your neck

1. What three U.S.

states have towns named Santa Claus?

. Which U.S. president started the White House tree-lighting ceremony?

When it comes to scarves, don’t get stuck in a rut. Learn ﬁve additional ways to wear the staple, cold-weather accessory. Page 2E

. Chocolate is beloved worldwide. What country gave us fudge — a staple of Christmas candy consumption?

DANIELLE HERZOG

THE SASSY HOUSEWIFE feel like a failure if I quit. How can I stay sane and be a good mother? Sad About Staying Dear Sad: First of all, the proverbial deﬁnition of insanity is repeatSee Sassy: Page 2

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014 SECTION E

• WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT

Merry Christmas, readers! • As a Christmas Day gift to you last year, The World-Herald provided a holiday-themed quiz to share with family or friends, or just to enjoy by yourself. Back by popular demand is another Christmas quiz – again our gift to readers. • So grab a pen, gather ’round and savor. • Merry Christmas! • Answers, Page 2E

Many popular Christmas plants are poisonous to humans, dogs and cats. Name three of these deadly plants. (There are ﬁve possible choices.)

KNOW YOUR KNOTS

Not enjoying stay-at-home role? Strengths as mom may lie elsewhere

Dear Sassy Housewife: I can’t believe I’m going to say this because I’ve never actually said it aloud, but here I go. I hate being a stay-at-home mom. I have three children and enjoyed being home with the ﬁrst two, but now I feel overwhelmed, exhausted and tired of not having a career or professional challenges. My youngest is only 2, so it will be a few more years until she goes to school, but the idea of staying home that long makes me feel depressed. My husband says the decision is up to me, and he’ll support anything I decide, which is wonderful. But I’ll

Tie a second, tighter knot and adjust the dangling ends to your liking

5. What Nebraska town is “Christmas City”?

. How did Christmas Island, a territory of Australia, get its name?

7. What is the name

of Ebenezer Scrooge’s dead business partner in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”?

8. In the same novella, which character said “God bless us, everyone”?

9. According to the

modern-day version of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” what gift did “my true love give to me” on the ﬁfth day?

. Lyrics to George Frederick Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus from “The Messiah” are drawn from which New Testament book?

pull Santa’s sleigh in the song “Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer”?

. Demarcus Christmas plays for which Atlantic Coast Conference college football team?

11. How do you say

17. “I never thought

10. How many reindeer

Merry Christmas in Spanish?

12.

What song from the 2004 movie “The Polar Express” won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media?

13. “Santa! Oh my

God! Santa’s coming! I know him! I know him!” In what movie were those lines spoken?

. President Ulysses S. Grant signed legislation that in 1870 made Christmas an official U.S. holiday. Which state officially recognized Christmas in 1836, making it the first in the nation to do so?

it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all really. Maybe it just needs a little love.” What Christmas TV special contained those lines?

. Besides the Christmas holidays and New Year’s Eve, what does December have that the other months don’t?

19. What is the title

of the 1949 Christmas song whose Carl Sigman lyrics use a sweet confection to describe a snowy winter?

20. What U.S.

government group began tracking Santa Claus’ annual journey in the 1950s?

21. “As It Happens,”

a Canadian program broadcast in the U.S. on National Public Radio, annually features a Frederick Forsyth novella read by the nowdeceased Alan Maitland. The reading is broadcast on Christmas Eve or on the program’s broadcast closest to that day. What is the name of this beloved novella?

22. On what date does the Bible say Jesus was born?

. Bob McCormack began making candy canes in 1919 for sales in Georgia. By mid-century, his ﬁrm (now Bobs Candies) had become one of the world’s leading candy cane producers. However, making the treats was labor intensive. What invention cut production time?

. Garth Brooks’ song “Belleau Wood” pays tribute to what famous World War I event?

25. What children’s

Christmas book marks its 75th anniversary this year?

Should music be released on Fridays? Retailers and others fault the plan, preferring a different day of week BY KEVIN COFFEY WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

John Shartrand buys new music on Tuesdays, but that could change. Shartrand, 41, is a collector, and going to Omaha record stores, poring over the new release list and taking home a stack of albums every Tuesday has become a ritual for him. Now a group representing record labels wants to change the global music release date

to Fridays, and there has been pushback from retailers and others. Shartrand, for one, enjoys his Tuesday tradition, and he’s not alone. Music has been released in the U.S. on Tuesdays since the mid-’80s. In Australia and Germany, music is released on Fridays; in the U.K., on Mondays; and in Japan, on Wednesdays. A global release date is generally supported by the music business, but many are upset about the choice of Friday, a decision made by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a worldwide record label trade group. “I would have a desert in the

store,” said Mike Fratt, general manager of Homer’s Music in Omaha. “Release day drives trafﬁc during the week.” Fratt said a midweek release day helps spread out sales. Right now, Tuesday is typically the third biggest sales day of the week. A Friday release would stack almost all business onto the weekend. “The IFPI should have come to the trade groups and say, ‘We’d like to move to a single street date worldwide. Can you generate some data and research?’ ” Fratt said. Moving to a Friday release day would force businesses to change stafﬁng plans over the

wedding

See Albums: Page 2

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LIVING

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COMEDY

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Stephen Colbertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alter ego takes his final bow, but the comedianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy bodes well for his next role: himself BY C A S E Y LO G A N

â&#x20AC;˘

WO RL D - HER A L D S TA F F W RI T ER

eady the trumpets. Tonight, Stephen Colbert, the South Carolina-raised, Second City-trained comedian with the appearance of a geometry teacher and speed-of-light wit, will take what seems to be his final bow as Stephen Colbert, the bloviating, cable news alter-ego thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s made him famous. After more than nine years on Comedy Central, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Colbert Reportâ&#x20AC;? comes to an end. Now, as the real Colbert prepares to take over for David Letterman next year, fans of the fake Colbert are left to marvel over one of the great satiric runs in entertainment history. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to take it for granted now, but in 2005, there were doubts as to whether Colbertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smug â&#x20AC;&#x153;Daily Showâ&#x20AC;? correspondent character would stand on its own. The spinoff â&#x20AC;&#x153;Colbert Reportâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;Reportâ&#x20AC;? pronounced as Colbert does his surname, with a silent â&#x20AC;&#x153;tâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; drew positive reviews from the start, in part for the way it nailed with eviscerating satire the bombastic production value and ďŹ&#x201A;ag-pin patriotism of cable news. But even then, some wondered if the shtick had longevity. Early on, Colbertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s obvious inspiration was Fox Newsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bill Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly, whose generous self-regard

M AT T M I L L E R / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

BY CASEY LOGAN â&#x20AC;˘ WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that time of year again. Bags are being packed. Tearful goodbyes exchanged. A ďŹ rst layer of dust settling just so on an already forlorn copy of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh, the Places Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Go!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;˘ College time. â&#x20AC;˘ And like lemmings leaping off a life cliff (and somehow gaining weight along their descent), thousands upon thousands of recent high school graduates will have no clue what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing. â&#x20AC;˘ Maybe thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s you. Or maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your kid. In any case, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be that way. â&#x20AC;˘ So many basic college missteps can be avoided if you just heed the warnings and embrace the tips outlined here. To paraphrase Bill Clinton, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing wrong with college that canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be cured by whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right with college. Except student loan debt. â&#x20AC;˘ (Student loan debt is the devil.)

See Colbert: Page 2

THE PROBLEM

THE â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;FRESHMAN 15â&#x20AC;&#x2122; IS REAL BRADY JONES/THE WORLD-HERALD

IS IT HOMEMADE, ONE-OF-A-KIND OR MONOGRAMMED?

Even if the gift is fair game for regifting, the recipient still has to like it when she receives it. When in doubt, ďŹ nd something different. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Never regift ugly,â&#x20AC;? said Diane Gottsman, owner of the Protocol School of Texas. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The adage â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;One manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trash is another manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s treasureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; may hold true, but if you ďŹ nd the gift to be used, old or ugly, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pass it on to someone you care about.â&#x20AC;?

OUT THERE Still confused about evolution? Us, too, sometimes. All that talk about millions of years ago and common ancestors is hard for us to wrap our heads around. Thankfully, we have Bill Nye the science guy to explain evolution using emojis. Emojis? Really? Yep, he breaks down the science using the smiley faces we put in our text messages, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s delightful. Check it out: bit.ly/1vKtSfL

WILL THE RECEIVER LIKE IT?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;If Aunt Mary crochets you an afghan, maybe you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to regift that to somebody else,â&#x20AC;? said Cheryl Samusevich, owner of Lincoln-based Etiquette Solutions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She made that just for you.â&#x20AC;?

HAS IT BEEN OPENED OR USED? If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used it, even once, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t regift it. If you still think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OK, such as

Some people have a lot of time on their hands. Take the folks from one neighborhood where they went all out with the Christmas lights. Instead of each house having a big display, the whole neighborhood had a ďŹ&#x201A;ashing, coordinated display. The light show is best viewed from the air, and they even had a drone capture footage. Watch it: bit.ly/1zfveFy

THE SOLUTION Ex. Er. Cise. As a college student, you almost certainly have access to the best indoor and outdoor workout facilities in town. Take advantage. Start running, lift some weights, play an intramural sport. You can either pack on the pounds or get in the best shape of your young life. Choose wisely.

We are totally blown away by Odeith. This grafďŹ ti artist makes murals that actually pop. His specialty paintings look three-dimensional, and we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get enough. Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s words or a design, but in other instances, crocodiles and other animals seem to pop right out of the wall. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wild. Check it out: odeith.com/anamorphic

See Regifting: Page 2

Gift them a personal shopping spree Â Â? Â? Â?

The Village Pointe Gift Card is redeemable for everything from fashions to ďŹ ne dining at all Village Pointe stores and restaurants. Available at the Management OfďŹ ce (located on the second ďŹ&#x201A;oor next to The Funny Bone Comedy Club) or at VillagePointeShopping.com.

â&#x20AC;˘ SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

THE SOLUTION

College is expensive, but college life doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to be. Make your own healthy meals instead of wasting money on fried cheese abominations. Pick a handful of go-to clothing staples. Get to know the local vintage stores. Price match textbooks online. And make a budget. Knowledge is power, and knowing the difference between what you need, want and can afford is some powerful stuff.

Take it easy. Take a deep breath. And take a nap. Seriously, take so many naps. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; World-Herald staff writers and recent college graduates Leah Becerra and Chris Peters passed on their words of wisdom for this, uh, report.

ES AN BUSIN

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AN CULTU

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AM E

G AN HERITA

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CHAEOLOGY

ARCHERY

THE EYRIE

CHITECTURE

AS TRONOMY

A RT

ATHL CS ETI

TIVE

E MAINT

BA CKPACKING

AVIATION

BIR

BASKETRY

D STUDY

BUGLING

DRAGONSTONE

MARGAERY TYRELL BARATHEON

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing Widow of Renly Baratheon, now set to marry King Joffrey Baratheon.

The Twins Recaptured by the Hound, the surly renegade knight, after learning of the Red Wedding.

BRAN STARK

The North Can control animals and humans, traveling north of the Wall with Hodor and siblings Meera and Jojen Reed.

LADY MORMONT

VISERYS TARGARYEN MANCE RAYDER

North of the Wall Former member of the Nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Watch, leader of a wildling army headed for the Wall.

Brother to Daenerys and killed by Danyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s late husband, Khal Drogo.

GAME OF THRONES, BY THE NUMBERS

Yunkai Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi, aspiring queen of Westeros, is building an army and freeing slaves in her quest to take the throne.

A IP IN THE N

TI ON

ITY UN M M

EN WO SHI P IN THE

CLIMBING

IN C I NG OLLECT

ENERGY

GINEERING

NT R EP

RENEURS

HIP

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TISTRY

DEN

CYCLING

GE ED NCY PREPAR

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NC E

ELE

CTRICITY

IME

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DRAFTING

CARE

ILIT EN IES AWAR

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing Handsome, gallant (and gay) knight. Heir to Highgarden and Margaeryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brother.

FAM ILY LIFE

FA RM M

ECHANI

FIN GERP INTING R

FIRE

SAFETY

FIRST AID

WIL NA DLIFE MA

FLY

FISHING

GA ME DESIGN

FORESTRY

FISHING

GAR

DENING

SHAGGYDOG

RICKON STARK

The Last Hearth Seeking safety among Stark allies.

Dothraki horse-lord. Viserys gave his sister to him in exchange for his aid in the Targaryenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quest to retake the throne.

KING JOFFREY BARATHEON

ROBIN ARRYN

The Eyrie Boy lord of the Vale, shares his motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s odd personality.

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing Brat king ruling over and at war with factions of the seven kingdoms. Son of brother-sister couple Jaime and Cersei Lannister.

MYRCELLA BARATHEON

Sunspear Princess, sent south to Dorne.

TOMMEN BARATHEON

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing Prince, Joffreyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young brother.

GENDRY

Dragonstone Captive of Stannis, probably the bastard son of Robert Baratheon.

DAVOS SEAWORTH

Dragonstone Hand of the King to Stannis, distrustful of Melisandre, helping raise an army for his king.

EALOGY

GE OCACHING

GEOLOGY

JOU R

KAYAKING

G OLF

A P H I C A RT S

HIKING

ME REPAIRS

HO R

SEMANSHIP

INS

IND IAN LORE

ECT STUDY

LADY MELISANDRE Dragonstone Powerful priestess of Râ&#x20AC;&#x2122;hllor, the Lord of Light, in league with Stannis.

INVE ING NT

KHAL DROGO

DAENERYS TARGARYEN

T HE C O

IN IN

TY G IN SOCIE

NALISM

IL SIGN AND BU

APE

ARCHIT

T EC

MO VIEMAKING

TORBOATING

LAW

NATURE

MUSIC

LIFE

ATH ERWORK

CLE

MA MMAL STUDY

SAVING

AR SCIEN

E AN

OGRAPH

MEDICINE

IENTEERING

TALWORK

PAINTING

ALANNYS GREYJOY

WALDER FREY

ROOSE BOLTON

The Twins Very old lord, betrayed Robb Stark and murdered family at the Red Wedding.

The Twins Stabs Robb Stark in the heart, secretly behind plotting against the Starks the whole time.

BALON GREYJOY

GRAND MAESTER PYCELLE

Pyke, Iron Islands Failed rebel, declared himself king, attacking the north.

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing On the kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Small Council and the leader of all maesters (healers) in Westeros.

PETYR â&#x20AC;&#x153;LITTLEFINGERâ&#x20AC;? BAELISH On the sea On the kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Small Council. On the way to the Eyrie to convince that house to join Joffrey.

PU B

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PE RS SS ONAL FITNE

PU B

SO N

G LIC SPEAKIN

AL MANAGEM

PE T S

PU ER LP A ND PAP

RADIO

OTOGRAPH

PIO

E PLA NT SCIENC

NEERING

TIL RE P

284

Deaths in the ďŹ rst ďŹ ve novels of â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Song of Ice and Fireâ&#x20AC;? series.

PAT * HFINDING

RAI LROADING

READING

ST UD Y

ARYA STARK

COOKING

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing Formerly betrothed to Joffrey. Forced to marry Tyrion.

CO MPUTERS

IP I N

LORAS TYRELL

GEN

SANSA STARK

GE ME NT

Youngest brother of Robert, murdered by a shadow demon summoned by Melisandre.

PO A SITE MATERI

R PE

Murdered by his men while leading them back to the Wall.

DOG

RENLY BARATHEON STANNIS BARATHEON

Dragonstone Robertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nextoldest brother, declared himself king, lost most of his army. Has decided White Walkers are the priority now.

LA N

LORD COMMANDER MORMONT

Died after being gored by a boar while drunk. Father to many bastard children (including Gendry) and recognized as the father of Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella. (Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not their father.)

CERSEI LANNISTER BARATHEON

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing Joffreyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother, widow of Robert Baratheon, angry former queen.

UNICATIO

UR E

The King in the North, murdered at the Red Wedding.

JAIME LANNISTER

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing Leader of the Kingsguard, lost a hand and grew a beard.

EN T

ROBB STARK

Married to Robb Stark and murdered along with her unborn child at the Red Wedding.

SUMMER

KING ROBERT BARATHEON TYRION LANNISTER

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Imp,â&#x20AC;? spurned by his father and forced to marry Sansa Stark.

LLECTIONS

DI NG

TALISA STARK

NYMERIA

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hand to Robert Baratheon, killed by poison.

The Eyrie Catelyn Starkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister, widow to Jon Arryn and mother to Robin Arryn. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little off.

CH E S S

DIS

LADY

LYSA TULLY ARRYN

The Twins Brother to Catelyn Stark, Lysa Tully. His wedding to a Frey girl was dubbed the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Red Wedding.â&#x20AC;?

CH E MISTRY

GREY WIND

JON ARRYN

EDMURE TULLY

* PENTRY

Nedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife and mother to the Stark children, murdered at the Red Wedding.

C AR

CANOEING

CAMPING

SUNSPEAR

CATELYN TULLY STARK

Former lord of Winterfell, beheaded at the command of King Joffrey Baratheon.

ESSOS

YUNKAI

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing Rich lord of the Lannister family, Hand of the King. Leading the ďŹ ght against the insurgency.

EDDARD â&#x20AC;&#x153;NEDâ&#x20AC;? STARK

WESTEROS JOANNA LANNISTER TYWIN LANNISTER

HOUSE TARGARYEN Emblem: Dragon Motto: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fire and Bloodâ&#x20AC;?

HOUSE TYRELL Emblem: Golden Rose Motto: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Growing Strongâ&#x20AC;?

I CIT

JON SNOW

Castle Black, the Wall Injured after ďŹ&#x201A;eeing the wildling army, which he was spying on for the Nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Watch.

HOUSE GREYJOY Emblem: Kraken Motto: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We Do Not Sowâ&#x20AC;?

HOUSE BARATHEON Emblem: Crowned Stag Motto: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ours Is the Furyâ&#x20AC;?

HOUSE ARRYN Emblem: Falcon and Moon Motto: â&#x20AC;&#x153;As High as Honorâ&#x20AC;?

GHOST

HOUSE LANNISTER Emblem: Lion Motto: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hear Me Roarâ&#x20AC;?

HOUSE TULLY Emblem: River trout Motto: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Family, duty, honorâ&#x20AC;?

Unknown Nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Watch ranger, disappeared after ranging north of the Wall.

HOUSE STARK Emblem: Direwolf Motto: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Winter is Comingâ&#x20AC;?

WILDLINGS Free people with no creed, colors or lords

ER EM

? BENJEN STARK

NIGHTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WATCH Sworn brothers who protect the realm from things beyond the Wall. Motto: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am the sword in the darkness.â&#x20AC;?

I CIT

HODOR

The North Hodor. Hodor, Hodor. Hodor. Hodor.

OSHA

The Last Hearth Former wildling now escorting Rickon to safety.

CITIZ

BRIENNE OF TARTH

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing Woman who aspires to knighthood, in service of Catelyn Stark, escorted Jaime Lannister to Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing.

KINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LANDING

DE MO

My favorite death was Viserys Targaryen. The way they killed him with the gold was brilliant.

THE TWINS PYKE, IRON ISLANDS

MOLLY WELSH, 33, Omaha

SOLOMON KLEINSMITH, 34, Omaha

THE SOLUTION This oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more general, but understand thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a difference between having fun and being an idiot. Then donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be an idiot.

YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE STRESSED

Skull: Represents a character who has died.

COLOR KEY TO FAMILY HOUSES AND OTHERS

JUSTIN KAUFFMAN, 27, Bellevue

My least favorite death is (the direwolf) Lady. I think Sansa was doomed right then. I want Stannis to die because heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s BORING! I wish for Arya to live through to the end and take them all down.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2014 SECTION E

Direwolves: Supernatural wolves found by Eddard Stark and given to each of his children.

I read the books after I had already seen the Red Wedding, and I remember just being so nervous to read it. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to relive that.

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Small Council: Characters who are members of a small circle of advisers to the king.

DREADFORT

WINTERFELL

FISH

JARED BAKEWELL, 33, Omaha

LAST HEARTH

GRAPHIC BY BRADY JONES â&#x20AC;˘ THE WORLD-HERALD

Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where? Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing what? Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dead? In the sprawling, epic HBO series â&#x20AC;&#x153;Game of Thrones,â&#x20AC;? several noble houses are locked in a civil war for control of their country, Westeros. What almost none of them knows is that the real menace may be in the north in the form of the zombielike White Walkers. We caught up with more than 50 of the showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important characters. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a look at where they were, what they were up to and how they got there at the end of season three.

NICK GUSTAFSON, 30, Omaha

I so want a dragon to bite off Joffreyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head.

LIVING

Crown: Characters vying to be king or queen of the seven kingdoms of Westeros.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not quite a death, but at least part of young Theon is gone. That was pretty bad. Someone carpet-bombing the Dreadfort would be a welcome development.

No you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Probably not, anyway. And youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be better off walking or biking, because more than likely, everywhere you need to go will be conďŹ ned to a relatively accessible area. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re able, buy a bike. A cheap or used one will do you ďŹ ne. But invest in a good bike lock. Any deviant whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll lift your wet chinos from a campus laundromat will steal your wheels.

CASTLE BLACK, THE WALL

JEFF HEYER, 38, Sioux City

SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014 â&#x20AC;˘

Players in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; COMPILED BY KEVIN COFFEY â&#x20AC;˘ WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

THE SOLUTION

THE PROBLEM

That time will come, too. Classwork piling up, social anxieties raging, money gone (because you didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t budget), hormones ďŹ&#x201A;owing like a water-main break. Your life is hard, and no one really understands, especially your parents, because the idea of life being hard in college is the most hilarious thing theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll hear all week.

YOU ARE POOR

THE SOLUTION

That might not sound like a problem, but it can be. Partying too hard. Studying too little. Skipping classes. Falling for the wrong person. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost guaranteed you will know someone who ďŹ&#x201A;unks out after the ďŹ rst year because he or she couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t handle the personal freedom granted by college life.

Good old-fashioned prep work. Walk the campus before your ďŹ rst day of classes. Read the student newspaper. Learn how to use a washer and dryer, and realize you need to watch those machines because people in college will steal your clothes (yes, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a thing).

Nedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death, to me, will always be the biggest because it let you know NO character is safe.

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

DEATH WATCH In â&#x20AC;&#x153;Game of Thrones,â&#x20AC;? you win or you die. And a lot of characters have died. A lot more are about to. We spoke to fans of the series about their favorite deaths of hated characters, the seriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; most shocking deaths, who should bite the dust next and which characters they hope survive.

This one is easy. Depending on your school, there are roughly 1,000 to 49,999 students on campus who are not your disgusting, hateful roommate. Get out of your room. Join a club. Study at the library or student center. Do not tether yourself to a person who was arbitrarily selected to sleep 6 feet from you.

THE PROBLEM

You are. Maybe youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never thought of yourself that way. Start now. Because hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s some psychology wrapped in predictive analytics for you: Unless you are actually rich (youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not), thinking youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not poor at 18 almost guarantees you will be poor at 28. (Signed, Poor People at 38.)

YOU NEED A CAR

D AMPHIBIAN

POTTERY

PR OGRA MING M

ROBOTICS

ROWING

SIGN

SKATING

PLUMBING

RIF

LE SHOOTING

VARYS

Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing On the kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Small Council and spymaster for the king.

SANDORE â&#x20AC;&#x153;THE HOUNDâ&#x20AC;? CLEGANE

The Twins Joffreyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former bodyguard, currently trying to return Arya to the Starks.

S A F ET Y

LES

MANSHI

SC HOLARSHIP

SOIL

R WA T E R C O NS E

TRACKING*

TR AFFIC SAFETY

WA TER SPORTS

WEATHER

PA CE

THEATER

OW SPORTS

EXPLORAT

ILD I ERN RV E SS S U

ICI ARY MED

ITEWATER

CU AND RES

TGU TIN N SH O O

ALING*

S P O RT S

AT R A N S P O RT

TA MP

G WO OD CARVIN

WELDING

WO ODWORK

COLLECT

G IN

SUR VEYING

SU STAINABILITY

SWI MMING

TEXTILE

SCOUTS EARN EVERY MERIT BADGE AVAILABLE BY CHRIS PETERS \\

TE RIN

SCU LP T U R E

UBA DIVING

L-BOAT SAILI

AG U TI NG HERIT

On the sea Racing to the Dreadfort to save her brother.

YARA GREYJOY

The Dreadfort Captured by the Boltons, tortured, missing appendages, now goes by name â&#x20AC;&#x153;Reek.â&#x20AC;?

THEON GREYJOY

IO N

Dreadfort Bastard son of Roose Bolton, torturing Theon Greyjoy for his amusement, threatens to wipe out the Greyjoys.

Yunkai Leader of the Second Sons mercenaries, allied with Daenerys, taken with his queen.

RAMSAY SNOW

VA TIO

Yunkai Former Kingsguard knight now protecting Daenerys.

DAARIO NAHARIS

VA L

Yunkai Disgraced knight, sort of in love with Daenerys, serves as her protector.

BARRISTAN SELMY

JORAH MORMONT

Castle Black, the Wall Saved a wildling woman, writing letters to tell everyone the White Walkers have returned.

YGRITTE

South of the Wall Jon Snowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lover, so upset by his betrayal that she shot him with arrows.

Number of starring characters in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Game of Thronesâ&#x20AC;? that have been killed off.

SAMWELL TARLY

Number of deaths in â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Storm of Swords,â&#x20AC;? the third novel, on which Seasons 3 and 4 are based.

THE SOLUTION

THE SOLUTION Open your dorm room door. You wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe the effectiveness of that simple act. You will meet people. Some may irritate you, but others wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, and the irritating people might just grow on you by yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end. If nothing else, just keep that door open because you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be seen as that person who only hangs with their roommate. Speaking of whom â&#x20AC;Ś

THE PROBLEM

YOU HAVE NO ONE LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER

with an unwanted cologne or perfume you know someone likes, be forward and honest.

THE PROBLEM

YOU LACK BASIC LIFE SKILLS

BY CHRIS PETERS WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

So you opened a present thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh, boy â&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? than â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oh, boy!â&#x20AC;? Now what? You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t throw it out. Someone spent time and money on it. But will you really use it? Of course not. Time to â&#x20AC;&#x153;regift.â&#x20AC;? The idea of regifting has spawned a trend of rewrapping unwanted Christmas gifts and passing them off as new. As you ponder whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OK

to repackage that goofy sweater or lackluster bottle of wine, pass the item through our quick checklist, constructed with the help of etiquette experts.

THE PROBLEM

Unless youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re some kind of Horatio Alger character, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve probably been coddled thus far. Parents did your laundry. Phone gave you directions. Do you even know what a bill looks like? Face it: You have a lot to learn that books donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t teach.

YOU HATE YOUR ROOMMATE

NC E

They could be other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s treasures â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but check here first

THE PROBLEM

It happens. Maybe youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll meet a lifelong bestie, but there is at least a 30 percent chance your roommate will either: 1) hate you for no good reason or 2) annoy you down to a subatomic level.

How to get away with regifting unwanteds

THE PROBLEM

High school is history. Your friends are gone. Now youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re like some Darwinian ďŹ sh-with-legs thing making awkward landfall in a social world occupied by beasts better adapted than you for survival.

YOU DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T HAVE FRIENDS

Campus cafeterias donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help matters, but make no mistake: You are your own worst enemy here. Ease away from the soft-serve machine and settle down already about the Belgian wafďŹ&#x201A;e station (seriously, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a wafďŹ&#x201A;e). Ignore our advice if you want, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be wondering why mom is arm-shielding the gravy come Thanksgiving.

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Most Boy Scouts are lucky to rise to the rank of Eagle. Only about 6 percent make it. It takes commitment. Eagle Scouts have to meet a list of requirements that includes earning 21 merit badges, holding a leadership position for six months and avoiding the well-known attrition of Scouts quitting around age 16. Then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the 0.01 percent of Eagle Scouts like Jake Sindelar and Dylan Stamm who need more than one sash to hold their collection of merit badges. At 16 years old, the pair are the ďŹ rst and only known See Scouts: Page 2

JAK E

SINDELAR

DYL AN STAMM

*Reintroduced for 2010 only for 100-year anniversary

NEBRASKA WEATHER

Nebraskans canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop thinking about the weather for a simple reason: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impossible to ignore. World-Herald weather reporter Nancy Gaarder explains why Nebraskans are always watching the skies. The book also looks back on some of the devastating events that have become woven into the memories of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residents.

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Sports Page Design Winner

Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be a three-time All-American. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the 10 greatest scorers in college hoops history. Doug McDermott is a forever kind of player. And forever kind of players must never be forgotten.

Five Star Champions of Character Institution ion Come cheer on Bobcat football in the newly renovated Historic Oak Bowl! Ribbon-cutting Sept. 6!

SENIOR NIGHT: PROVIDENCE AT CREIGHTON 7 p.m. Saturday â&#x20AC;˘ CenturyLink Center â&#x20AC;˘ CBSSN â&#x20AC;˘ 1620 AM KOZN

MONUMENT MAN SENIOR MOMENT

A PROPOSAL: BY WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST TOM SHATEL

CU fans prepare to bid farewell to four special players. Page 2C

onight, we mortals celebrate a giant. â&#x20AC;˘ We honor a standard. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll stand and cheer for all of the moments and memories, a career of keepsakes crammed into four years that flew by. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll smile because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll always be able to say we were there, had the best seat in the house for history. Because we saw this incredible thing that was like a gift, and it made every Creighton game like Christmas morning. â&#x20AC;˘ For four years, Doug McDermott has been the superstar next door. And now we wave goodbye. But thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a way to keep him â&#x20AC;˘ See Shatel: Page 13

DOUGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DUDS McDermott ďŹ lls us in on his many sartorial superstitions. Page 14C

IN SPORTS: Husker women topple Minnesota, reach Big Ten semifinals. Page 3C

Me emb berr FD DIIC

Put a Cr Pu Cre eiighto ghto gh ton Vi ton Visa isaÂŽ sa aÂŽ De Debi eb biit C Ca ard d in y yo our u wal alle le et to oda ay. y

SECTION DM SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will never be worn again.â&#x20AC;? CREIGHTON ATHLETIC DIRECTOR BRUCE RASMUSSEN

Home to 200+ Scholar Athletes

Which machine is equipped to crush the competition and engineer its way to a championship? Find Big Ten writer Lee Barfknechtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s picks on Pages 30-33CF.

BATTLE BOTS

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ SECTION FOUR

SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014 SPORTS â&#x20AC;˘ SECTION C

BE E A BOBCAT

www.pscbobcats.com

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 2034

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Tim Parks

DOUG McDERMOTT THREE-TIME CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICAN FIFTH-LEADING SCORER IN NCAA HISTORY

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Sports Page Design Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Ian Lawson

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Margaret Riedel BOXING

Crawford eyes November bout in Omaha, but foe is TBA

SPORTS THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2014 SECTION C

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ SECTION CF

POSTGAME 42

BY TONY BOONE WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Anyone want to ďŹ ght Terence â&#x20AC;&#x153;Budâ&#x20AC;? Crawford? Finding a suitable challenger for the WBO lightweight crown appears to be the only thing standing in the way of a second title defense in Omaha for the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst world champion. Top Rank, Crawfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Las Vegas-based promoter, has the CenturyLink Center on hold for the Saturday after Thanksgiving with plans of bringing championship boxing back for an encore performance. On June 28, a frenzied crowd of 10,943 watched Omahaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rising star knock out former champion Yuriorkis Gamboa in the ďŹ rst world championship bout in the city in more than 42 years. The action-packed nine-rounder, between unbeaten boxers, is a ďŹ ght-ofthe-year candidate. Crawford (24-0, 17 KOs) is also a legitimate contender for ďŹ ghter of the

Kenny Bell is determined to make every moment count from the first day of his last offseason to his final game as a Husker

A plan for all seasons

See Crawford: Page 2

BY JON NYATAWA WORLD-HERALD BURE AU

INCOLN â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Nebraskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kenny Bell glanced around the Chicago Hilton ballroom Tuesday, his eyes bouncing from table to table, where dozens of talents sat with an optimistic outlook not much different from his own. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never been this physically fit. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never understood more about the game. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never felt so confident.

Q&A WITH ETHAN WRAGGE AND GRANT GIBBS

Wragge, Gibbs fondly remember days as Jays

Bell considers himself on the doorstep of the prime stretch in his athletic career. But the rest of those potential Big Ten stars believe theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re right there, too. So what will make the difference?How does Bell stand out? The senior receiver hopes his offseason regimen will ultimately answer those questions. Said Bell: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The preparation and time that goes in to playing a football game is unbelievable.â&#x20AC;? And it started two years ago. After Bellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sophomore season, he had an attitude-shifting sit-down with coach Bo Pelini. Bell was having fun with football â&#x20AC;&#x201D; maybe too much â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and not approaching workouts and ďŹ lm sessions as meticulously as the coach wanted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;(Pelini) just made me look in the mirror, man,â&#x20AC;? Bell said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nobody likes the truth sometimes.â&#x20AC;? No such reality check was needed after his junior year, though.

RYA N S O D E R L I N / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

Former Creighton players Ethan Wragge and Grant Gibbs joined â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Bottom Lineâ&#x20AC;? host Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Severe on Wednesday to discuss their experiences as Bluejays, talk about their basketball futures, share roommate stories and much more.

See Bell: Page 5

MORE INSIDE

MORE ONLINE

The Dallas Cowboys demoted but kept Bill Callahan, and the former NU coach is taking it in stride. Page 5C

Watch Kenny Bellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appearance on â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Bottom Lineâ&#x20AC;? during Big Ten media days in Chicago. Omaha.com/bigred

FXFL

Big choice: Omaha team picks Mammoths â&#x20AC;&#x153;We developed a team brand that accurately depicts the type of team that the Omaha community will want to see on the field: big, strong and unstoppable.â&#x20AC;? League Commissioner Brian Woods

Wragge on the biggest difference between coaches Dana Altman and Greg McDermott: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Coach Altman and Coach Mac are similar in the fact that they like to run very long practices. I think their biggest difference is the way they communicate to their players. Coach Altman was just a little bit more indirect; he was a little more old-school. ... I think Coach Macâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very personable guy with his players, and he ďŹ nds a way that gets you to really play hard for him because you feel like heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your friend, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got your back. No matter what you do, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on your side. Playing four years for Coach Mac, I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t his recruit; I was the only kid who probably wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t his recruit, and he makes you feel right at home.â&#x20AC;?

B R E N D A N S U L L I VA N / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

Ameer Abdullahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 341 all-purpose yards broke the NU single-game record of 321 set by Roy Helu against Missouri in 2010. He also posted his fourth 200-yard rushing game this year, matching Mike Rozierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1983 total.

One to remember Abdullah sets mark for all-purpose yards, earns salute from another all-time great LINCOLN â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Tough Tony Davis was in the end zone again. The former Nebraska bronco was walking toward the NU locker room when everyone had to stop. Ameer Abdullah was coming. At that point, one former Husker great stopped to salute another. Yes, Davis knows greatness. No, Davis, who galloped for 2,153 yards on that turf between 1973 and â&#x20AC;&#x2122;75, wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t try to ďŹ t Abdullah into the Nebraska history books. But he sure put the man, and his day, in perspective. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a group of (Nebraska running backs) who have to be

See Gibbs and Wragge: Page 2

MORE ONLINE Check out Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Severeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full interview with Wragge and Gibbs. Omaha.com/bottomline

Having a grand olâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; time

TOM SHATEL

MORE COVERAGE, 6CF-12CF NO CROSSING THE LINE

COLUMNIST considered the all-time best at their position,â&#x20AC;? Davis said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rank him. But Ameer is certainly there. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Johnny (Rodgers) was the greatest player I ever saw. Every time Johnny touched the ball, everyone stood up. See Shatel: Page 11

Nebraskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defensive line helps shut down the Rutgers offense from the start, though coach Bo Pelini isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pleased with the Huskersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; overall effort. Page 7CF

VIDEO: NU BREAKDOWN World-Herald staff writer Sam McKewon offers his key takeaways from the NebraskaRutgers game. Omaha.com/bigred

CHASING ROZIER: WHAT AMEER NEEDS

AMEER SECOND IN BIG TEN ALL-PURPOSE YARDS

If NU plays ďŹ ve more games, including a bowl, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what Ameer Abdullah needs to do to become its all-time rushing leader. Two things to keep in mind: Bowl stats didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t count in Rozierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day, and Abdullah could play six games if NU makes the Big Ten title game.

1. Ron Dayne, Wisconsin Years: 1996-99 Yards: 7,429 2. Ameer Abdullah, Neb. Years: 2011-14 Yards: 6,604

111.0

yards per game to pass Mike Rozier (4,780 yards) as NUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career rushing leader

3. Archie GrifďŹ n, Ohio State Years: 1972-75 Yards: 6,559

yards per game to pass Rozier (2,148 yards) as the Huskersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; singleseason rushing leader

4. Anthony Thompson, Ind.

180.0

Years: 1986-89 Yards: 6,466

BY MARJIE DUCEY WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Omahaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FXFL team wanted a strong name for what it hopes is a strong team. So the Fall Experimental Football League franchise chose a mammoth, a behemoth that disappeared from the American mainland about 10,000 years ago. League Commissioner Brian Woods said the goal was to create a name and logo that would resonate with the squadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fan base. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We developed a team brand that accurately depicts the type of team that the Omaha community will want to see on the ďŹ eld: big, strong and unstoppable,â&#x20AC;? he said. The league ofďŹ ce collaborated with its marketing and branding ďŹ rm to come up with the name. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique to sports, Woods said. Other ďŹ nalists were the Channel Cats

REIVERS ROLL: No. 2 Iowa Western boosts its title-game rĂŠsumĂŠ with a win over No. 4 Hutchinson. Page 3CF

Omaha Mammoths helmet and the Drive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wanted to have a name that was original,â&#x20AC;? Woods said. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s some historical signiďŹ cance, too. The mammoth was designated as Nebraskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ofďŹ cial state fossil in 1967. See Mammoths: Page 5

Count on usâ&#x20AC;Ś game day or any day.

M AT T D I X O N / W O R L D - H E R A L D N E W S S E RV I C E

PI Midwest catcher Mike Emodi, center, is congratulated after hitting a grand slam in the ďŹ rst American Legion Class A National Division championship game Wednesday against Grand Island Home Federal. Emodi hit three home runs in the opener â&#x20AC;&#x201D; two of them grand slams â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and drove in 10 runs. PI Midwest won 13-2 in the nightcap to take the title. Story, Page 3C

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NEBRASKA

RUTGERS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2014

PREGAME

SUPER BOWL XLVIII

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2014 SECTION C

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS VS. DENVER BRONCOS 5:30 p.m. Sunday â&#x20AC;˘ MetLife Stadium â&#x20AC;˘ Fox

Sherman and Manning square off to determine who gets the seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final word

LOWERING THE BOOM No noise off the field could have NU poised to make plenty on it

There was something I needed to say to Bo Pelini the other day. I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite sure how to break it to him, so I just came out with it. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve become boring, Bo. All we do is talk football anymore. All we do is talk about what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing right. You havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t once asked us what we think or what we saw. Some of us, frankly, are starting to feel neglected. Somebody asked you a stupid question recently, and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even remember the response. And your voice. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so, well, calm. Are you awake?

TOM SHATEL

RUTGERS AT NEBRASKA

11 a.m. Saturday Memorial Stadium ESPN2 â&#x20AC;˘ 1110 AM KFAB

MORE INSIDE A SPARTY PARTY? Look for Michigan State to continue its recent dominance over in-state rival Michigan, writes Lee Barfknecht. Page 11C

COLUMNIST I mentioned this to Pelini the other day and you know what he did? He laughed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can pull out another tape if you want,â&#x20AC;? he said. See Shatel: Page 11

MORE ONLINE Live analysis, photos, video and more. Want to chime in? Use the #NEBvsRU Twitter hashtag. Omaha.com/gameday

While learning, Armstrong always ready to take the bull by the horns BY RICH KAIPUST WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The sting of losing had barely worn off when Tommy Armstrong came to Mike Jinks and declared how the recovery would go. The Steele High football team was sitting home in Cibolo as the Texas Class 5A playoffs continued without them in 2009. Armstrong had been pulled up to the varsity a few weeks before to play weakside linebacker as a sophomore. And then came the playoffs. A second-round loss.

Season over. Jinks knew Armstrong was determined and even a bit precocious, but the message was direct and self-assured even for Armstrong. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He told me, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Coach, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to quarterback ya and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to win ya two state championships,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;? Jinks said this week. It was done with that straight face and steady tone that Nebraska fans and the Husker news media have come to know. It was with conďŹ dence from a See NU football: Page 12

HUSKER POWER: A double from ex-NU star Alex Gordon helps move K.C. within two wins of a title. Page 3C

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Graphics/Illustration Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Dave Croy 4DD

• MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

THE DAY OF ALL DAYS

Belgian gates Steel-framed structures

The planning and logistics behind Operation Overlord, the code name for the invasion of Normandy, were unparalleled in history: landing vast amounts of troops and equipment by the end of D-Day. And then there was the fighting. The battles were the most intense — and the casualties the highest — at Omaha Beach (led by the Americans) and Juno Beach (led by the Canadians). The Battle of Normandy began June 6, 1944, and continued until the end of August 1944.

D-DAY TIMELINE How events unfolded on June 6, 1944, with previously published comments by veterans who were part of D-Day:

ENGLAND

Shorehamby-Sea

ld Go

Juno

Om ah a

0309 German radar detects Allied invasion ﬂeet. German Adm. Theodor Krancke orders shore batteries to prepare for invasion.

— Maj. John Howard

Cherbourg

Caen

St. Lô

0200 First bombers take off to attack targets around the beachhead.

Gliders begin to reinforce paratroopers.

First airborne troops begin to land. American paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne make jumps at the western end of the beaches. Because of cloud cover, a number miss their targets and casualties are high.

“Everything was quiet until we hit the coast. Everything broke loose. It went from midnight to daylight.” — Ed Mauser of Omaha, a member of the 101st Airborne Division

0645

1030

Rangers assault Pointe-du-Hoc, one of the most heavily fortiﬁed German positions atop cliffs 85 to 100 feet high west of Omaha Beach; 70th Tank Battalion begins to land at Utah.

115th Infantry lands at Omaha.

0537

0600

“The sight going over was one of the thrills of my lifetime.” — B-17 pilot Lee Seeman of Omaha, recalling the view from his cockpit of the Allied armada in the English Channel

0620 Allied landing craft approach the beach.

“Oh, I was scared on D-Day. I thought if I could wiggle underneath that paint on the deck, I’d get underneath there. But that paint was awful thin.” — Floyd “Marvin” Hood of Grand Island, a sailor on a destroyer escort that was about 3,000 yards from the shore while landing craft took men and equipment ashore

PARATROOPERS Quineville

15,500 troops

“Our bombing and shelling had not been as effective as expected. There was still a lot of fire coming down from the German strong points above the beach.”

23,250 TROOPS U.S. 4th Infantry Division

“Even before the landing craft got to the beach, there was complete confusion. The impression was that somebody screwed this up — this isn’t how it was supposed to be.”

0735

18th Infantry begins to land at Omaha.

— Roger McCarthy of the 149th Combat Engineers, who was among those in the first wave

“During the first hour on the beach, while enduring the intense enemy action and viewing carnage and havoc in all directions to seaward, I had the feeling, which I am sure was shared by many others, that this was our last day on earth alive.” — Herbert Nolda of Ravenna, a Coast Guard boatswain’s mate

British UDT (underwater demolition team) and Royal Engineers land at Gold Beach, followed by infantry from the 50th Division.

1110 101st and 4th Divisions link up on Utah securing the ﬁrst exit from the beach.

0800 3rd Canadian Division lands at Juno Beach.

1300 Troops at Omaha begin to secure the beach.

“The German machine gunners in the dunes were stupefied to see a tank emerge from the sea. Some ran away or just stared, mouths wide open.”

“If I would have known what was in store, I would have run the other way. We lost so many men that day.”

— Sgt. Leo Gariepy

— Ervin Cramer

0830

1800

More landing craft land armor at Omaha.

Elements of the 3rd Canadian Division, North Nova Scotia Highlanders, reach ﬁve kilometers inland. 1st Hussar tanks cross the Caen-Bayeux railway 15 kilometers inland. Canadian Scottish link up with the 50th Division at Creully.

0900 2nd Ranger Battalion soldiers take Pointe-du-Hoc and defend it for the rest of the day.

0641 USS Corry forced to abandon ship because of heavy gunﬁre and mine damage.

1900 1st Division commander, Gen. Clarence R. Huebner, sets up command post on Omaha.

0950 Destroyers engage the enemy at Omaha under orders of U.S. Adm. C.F. Bryant; 18th Infantry goes ashore at Omaha.

Sources for timeline and map Military.com; HistoryLearningSite.com; World-Herald archives and “At War, At Home: World War II”; National D-Day Museum; The National WWII Museum; Encyclopedia Britannica

U.S. 1st Infantry Division

UTAH BEACH

Ravenoville

24,970 TROOPS

eret Merd

St. Germainde-Varreville Les Dunesde-Varreville Ste-MereEglise

British 50th Infantry Division

28,845 TROOPS British 3rd Infantry Division

Pointe-du-Hoc Pouppeville

GOLD JUNO

Grandcamples-Bains

St.-Mariedu-Mont

Vierville-sur-Mer

Vierville

Collevillesur-Mer

St. Laurent-sur-Mer

Brevands

SWORD Arromanchesles-Bains

Formigny

La Riviere

Asnelles

Courseullessur-Mer

Bernieressur-Mer

St. Aubinsur-Mer

Aure

Isiginy-sur-Mer

CARENTAN

PORT-ENBESSINHUPPAIN SteHonorinedes-Pertes

Dovre

St.-Jores

21,400 TROOPS Canadian 3rd Infantry Division

Bay of Seine OMAHA

La Madeleine

Chef-du-Pont

Perierssur-le-Dan

Mostly scattered paratrooper landings (2% hit their marks) German defenses

me Dro

Varaville Pegasus Bridge

BievilleBeuville

Ranville

Orn e

Mu e

Brettevillel’Orgueilluse

N O R M A N D Y

Paratrooper landings in designated drop zones German Panzer counterattack

Sallenelles

Blanvillesur-Orne

St. Leger

St.-Jean de-Daye

HOULGATE

DIVESSUR-MER

Au re

Taute

CABOURG

Seulles

Esquaysur-Seuilles

Agy

Le Mola-Littry

Sainteny

7,900 troops

Merville-FrancevillePlage

Douvres

Creuilly

Blay

Vire

FIVE MILES

British 6th Airborne Division Lionsur-Mer

QUISTREHAM

BAYEUX

Colombieres

PARATROOPERS Lucsur-Mer

Langrunesur-Mer

Trevieres

Invasion force movements

1045 Utah fairly secure, reserve battalions coming ashore.

34,250 TROOPS

St.-Marcouf

KEY: Initial assault and enemy resistance

1030 12th Infantry lands at Utah.

0725 H-Hour for Sword Beach; British 3rd Division begins to land.

1100

— Paul Melville McCollum of Omaha

Landing craft launch their tanks.

— Henry Tarca, on a B-17 with the 8th Air Force

U.S. 101st & 82nd Airborne Divisions

0630 H-Hour (time the military operation begins) on Utah, Omaha Beaches; LCT 535 lands the ﬁrst tanks on Omaha; 116th and 16th Infantry land at Omaha; Higgins boats near the beach; 8th Infantry Regiment lands at Utah Beach.

E-boats ﬁre torpedoes at Allied destroyers.

“As we reached Omaha Beach, all 40 aircraft dropped their bombs. More than 100 tons of bombs exploded in a few seconds. This was the only mission over Europe when I felt the concussion of our own bombs.”

Cotentin Peninsula

0530

0415

Sunrise. Bombers drop ﬁrst bombs on German targets.

To guard against an Allied invasion, Adolf Hitler ordered the laying of millions of mines and miles of barbed wire as the Germans created a defensive barrier along the European coast. The tactic cost many Allied soldiers their lives in the quest to secure the beaches of Normandy. The Belgian gates, teller mines, ramps and hedgehogs were minetipped. The pillboxes were small concrete bunkers shielding machine gun nests and antitank guns. The bunkers, built on cliffs that were hundereds of feet tall, were made of steel-reinforced concrete that protected 75 mm and 88 mm guns.

German shore batteries open ﬁre; Allied naval forces return ﬁre.

Paratroopers seize Ste.-Merè-Eglise, the ﬁrst French town to be liberated.

0520

— Omahan John “Jack” Fox, after German reinforcements moved forward at about dawn to meet the Allied invasion. Fox and 17 other paratroopers drifted to earth just behind Omaha Beach, between the Germans defending it and reinforcements three miles inland. Fox and his group planted their explosives everywhere they could, especially on curves in the road, and hid.

THE DEADLY APPROACH TO THE BEACHES

Concrete bunkers Pillboxes

Hedgehogs

— Leo Tomasiewicz of Omaha, who was with the 9th Air Force, 455th Bomb Squadron

— Resident Raymond Paris

“They got the hell blowed out of them.”

Barbed wire and mineﬁelds

“The Germans were shooting the (antiaircraft guns) at us. You’d see the flashes, and in about 10 seconds the sky would explode and some planes would get hit.”

“(American) paratroopers began jumping out by the hundreds. ... I will never forget the sight.”

0300

0100

FRANCE

Ramps

German E-boat ﬂotillas (dubbed Enemy boats, or E-boats, by the Allies, they were fast-moving torpedo boats) and two armed trawlers get underway.

0030

Le Havre

Low tide

0348

“The landing craft was rolling in every possible direction. The seasickness pills had failed.” — Eric Broadhead, who was headed for Gold Beach with the Durham Light Infantry

The Café Gondreé by Pegasus Bridge is the first building to be liberated in France. Allied troops are given champagne by its owner.

Utah

0100 First Navy hands ordered to man battle stations. Landing craft begin to be lowered into the water; paratroopers cut phone lines and knock down telephone poles.

Sword

Weymouth Dartmouth

0016 Three gliders land just 30 meters from Pegasus Bridge. Commandos capture the bridge.

“The tremendous thing there was that there was no firing at all. We had complete surprise. We had caught old Jerry with his pants down.”

London

Portsmouth Southampton

Teller mines Covered at high tide

High tide

• 5DD

CAEN

Carpiquet

Tilly-sur Seulles

Balleroy

Fontenay-le-Pesnel D AV E C R O Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

St. Joseph Villa Administrator, CPT Hector F. Leguillow, USA (retired) and the Staff and Residents of St. Joseph Villa Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

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THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2014 SECTION E

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RED, WHITE &

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Captain America takes on a mysterious ex-Soviet agent in ‘The Winter Soldier,’ and the Falcon takes flight BY KEVIN COFFEY WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

repare for punches, kicks and a red, white and blue shield bouncing off walls and the faces of lots of bad guys. When “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” hits screens Friday, you’ll see the star-spangled hero battling a mysterious Soviet agent and dealing with the internal workings of international spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. With Chris Evans portraying Captain America for the fourth time, the ﬁlm will feature some familiar faces, but new villainous and mysterious characters will also appear.

CHARACTERS CAPTAIN AMERICA

KEEP UP WITH KEVIN World-Herald music critic Kevin Coffey is once again headed to SXSW to see as many bands as possible, including Nebraska artists and acts from all over. He’ll review shows, snap photos and interview bands the whole time. Here’s what you can expect:

THE FALCON

A longtime ally of Cap’s in the comics, the Falcon will take flight on film for the first time in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” In the film, the Falcon is an exparatrooper who takes to the skies with a powerful winged flight suit.

THE WINTER SOLDIER

A mysterious assassin, the Winter Soldier is a former Soviet asset who seems familiar to Captain America.

» Daily columns Wednesday through Sunday in the pages of The World-Herald and on Omaha.com

ALSO ... Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson): An agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who enjoys tight clothing and kicking the stuffing out of bad guys. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson): The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the boss of the Avengers returns to help Cap fight a new menace. Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford): His role in the film is a little mysterious, but Pierce was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and liaison to Fury in the comics.

» Several updates daily on Rock Candy: Omaha. com/rockcandy » Artist interviews » Photo galleries » A daily update on The Bottom Line: Omaha. com/thebottomline

MORE ABOUT OTHER MARVEL CHARACTERS ON PAGE 2E

For more, follow Kevin on Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Flickr and YouTube.

SXSW OFFERS MORE THAN ONE DIRECTION MASSES CONVERGE ON THE AUSTIN EXTRAVAGANZA THAT’S NO LONGER JUST ABOUT MUSIC AND DEALS BY KEVIN COFFEY

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WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

South by Southwest is a lot of things to a lot of people. First and foremost, it’s a music festival featuring more than 2,000 bands performing on hundreds of stages in Austin, Texas. So SXSW is a chance to discover new music and for acts to ﬁnd greater exposure. Others attend as an excuse to get out of town, in pursuit of the best bloody mary or

simply to explore the city, its music and its culture. Before we headed down to Austin to cover the 28th annual festival, which begins today, we spoke to Nebraska musicians, record label employees, journalists, artists and music lovers about exactly what they get out of going to SXSW. I love it. (I’m) looking forward to soaking up some radiation. I

love to see good new bands and love to people watch.

— Todd Fink of The Faint, Digital Leather and Depressed Buttons

It’s our ﬁrst time going, so we’re excited to go and check it out and see what the chaos is all about. We’re gonna take the shows like any other shows and just have fun. We’re not looking for anything out of it. It just seems like the right

SXSW SLATE

D AV E C R O Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

Empowered with superior strength, speed and endurance via a Super Soldier serum during World War II, Captain America re-emerged from suspended animation in the 21st century. This time around, he’ll face off against the mysterious Winter Soldier while working for spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D.

Find a full list of bands who will be playing at this year’s festival. Page 2E

See SXSW: Page 2

D AV E C R O Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

DreamWorks taps Rowell for ‘Eleanor & Park’ screenplay

OUT THERE A recent video of a woman hearing sound for the ﬁrst time has a lot of us tearing up. Jo Milne is a 40-yearold woman who received cochlear implants and, inside her doctor’s ofﬁce, breaks down after

BY MICAH MERTES WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

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Wil Wheaton

What should you do when someone calls you a nerd? Professional nerd and former “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Wil Wheaton got asked that question recently by a little girl at the Denver Comic Con, and

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that DreamWorks Studios has picked up ﬁlm rights to Rainbow Rowell’s best-selling young adult novel “Eleanor & Park.” Rowell, an Omahan and former World-Herald columnist, has also been hired to write the screenplay. DreamWorks hopes to start shooting in 2015. It should be noted that just because the rights have been purchased, and even if a screenplay is written, the movie is not guaranteed to be

ON OMAHA.COM

REVIEW

311’s latest is fine, but it doesn’t raise bar

Read staff writer Carol Bicak’s review of “Eleanor & Park.” Rainbow Rowell The Omaha author says she is “crazy excited” about an “Eleanor & Park” movie. nervous, but DreamWorks is giving me a chance to write the screenplay. Even though I’ve never written one before.

BY KEVIN COFFEY WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

311, “STEREOLITHIC” (311 Records) Available today Rating: ★★ (out of 4)

Guitar grooves. Funky slap bass. Happy moods. Reggae bounce. Singalong songs. This is what we’ve come to expect from 311, which got its start in Omaha. And this is what they deliver once again with “Stereolithic.” The 15-song album is 311’s 11th release, and though it’s a ﬁne batch of songs, 311 doesn’t break

any new ground here. It’s the band’s ﬁrst album with producer Scotch Ralston since 1997’s “Transistor,” and some similarities are readily apparent. “Sand Dollars” could sit on that album next to “Rub a Dub,” and the new “The Great Divide” feels at home with the old “Borders.” But those similarities don’t stretch on forever. “Transistor” has a dynamic, layered sound that caused a legion of fans to fall in love with 311, but “Stereolithic”

sounds like a lot of the same elements 15 times over: crunchy guitar, bouncing rhythm, glossy vocal track, rap interlude, repeat. The record also suffers from a bad mix that downplays the band’s strong musical abilities in order to bring the vocals out front to make this rock band sound like a pop project. Unfortunately, the thumping rhythm section and heavy guitar tracks with melodic ﬂair are a huge draw for 311. See 311: Page 2

Mediums may not always have the answers, but they can be fun BY DANIELLE HERZOG WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT

When my grandmother was in the last few months of her life, in and out of consciousness, we would sit together and watch “Long Island Medium.” I would tell her that if she ever crossed over and could communicate with me, she should tell the psychic that I was her favorite grandchild. She laughed, slapped my arm and told me I was crazy. Now, two years after her death,

I recently found myself sitting in front of a psychic medium waiting to see if that opportunity arose. A quick ﬁve-minute reading by Jess Coleman, an Omaha psychic medium and owner of Mind Body Spirit of Omaha, turned me from a skeptic to perhaps a slight, possibly, could be, maybe believer. No, she didn’t tell me that I was my grandmother’s favorite, but she did say things that couldn’t be found on the Internet, or read on See Medium: Page 2

Graphics/Illustration Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman By: Todd Pendleton

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Matt Haney

MONEY WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2014 SECTION D

MONEY-SMART RESOLUTIONS: SAVE FOR RETIREMENT

THIS YEAR, SOCK IT AWAY Navigating five common ‘failure points’ can finally put you on the road to retirement

JOE HEARN

ON RETIREMENT

DAY THREE OF FIVE Monday Get that new job Tuesday Home ﬁxups for max return Today Save for retirement Thursday Get organized at work Friday Find a work/life balance

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y M AT T H A N E Y / T H E W O R L D - H E R A L D

More apartments join smoke-free movement

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BY CINDY GONZALEZ tion to area residents. Aja Anderson, the county’s WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER community health educator, Mutual of Omaha is joining called the addition of the the smoke-free apartment-living Midtown Crossing building a movement, adding one of its “big step,” as it is in a newer Midtown Crossing buildings to development in a thriving area the smokeless list starting today. of town. She said many property The decision to prohibit smokmanagers start off designating ing at the building that houses a smoke-free zone in one or two the Prairie Life Fitness Center buildings, then later add more came after surveying residents. areas. SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2014 “This policy change is a great “Mutual of Omaha’s decision way to reduce ﬁre risks that can will likely encourage others to come from smoking and protect join efforts to provide smokestaff and residents from the free living,” Anderson said. dangers of secondhand smoke,” Anotherportfolio highlight, Warren Buffett says building a $100 billion is Anderson “nice.” said Molly Skold of East Campus said, is the addition in January Realty, Mutual’s real estate arm. buy or build? Oh, a few things. What could that “nice” amount of the Hillsborough Apartments The Douglas County Health to the smoke-free list. Department and Metro Omaha The complex endured two Tobacco Action Coalition worked ﬁres in the last few years as a with Mutual in providing surveys and other health informaSee Smoke-free: Page 2

MARKET WATCH

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Dow Industrials

Cracker Barrel pushes back against investor

16,576.66 (+72.37)

Home price gains may be leveling off

1,848.36 (+7.29)

PAY

With $100 billion, you could ... BUY

Hertz adopts ‘poison pill’

Cracker Barrel won’t Hertz, one be sold to Sardar of America’s Biglari anytime soon. biggest car rental The restaurant chain’s companies, has NASDAQ board ﬁred back at the adopted a one4,176.59 (+22.39) activist investor this year shareholder week, saying it plans to rights plan, Bloomberg Midlands continue business as is commonly known 677.01 (+3.96) despite Biglari’s push to as a “poison put Cracker Barrel on the pill,” to thwart Crude oil (NYMEX) block. Biglari chided the an investor from 98.42 (-0.87) company’s management gaining control in an open letter last week of the board. The World-Herald 150, 2D and pushed for a sale, plan, which Hertz BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY SHAREHOLDERS MEETING preferably to him. If the OK’d because board did not “promptly” of “unusual INSIDE MONEY announce a sale process, and substantial Biglari said in a regulatory activity” in the 2013 year-end ﬁling, he would call a company’s shares, special shareholders markets pages would be triggered meeting to vote on such by any investor Two pages of yeara deal. Cracker BarrelBuffett’ has s yearlyacquiring salary of a 10 adopted so-called poison percent stake end figures for stocks pill provisions in the past or more of the and mutual funds. to prevent Biglari from company’s for 1 million years, or ... taking over. Pages 4D, 5D shares. S&P 500

U.S. home prices rose in October from the previous year at the fastest pace in almost eight years. But price gains slowed in most U.S. cities from September to October, suggesting the increases are leveling off. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 0.2 percent from September to October, down from a 0.7 percent increase from August to September. Per-share dividend checks, Monthly price gains if all Berkshire slowed in 18 ofstock the were 20 A, or $40.55 if all citiesClass tracked by the shares were converted index. Prices have risen to Class B, or ... 13.6 percent over (if Berkshire paid dividends) the past 12 months, the fastest since February 2006.

$60,826

$100,000

Consumer conﬁdence highest since ’08 Consumer conﬁdence in the U.S. climbed more than projected in December as Americans’ views of current economic conditions jumped to the highest level since April 2008. The Conference Board’s index SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2014 • 7S rose to 78.1 from a revised 72 a month earlier that was stronger than initially estimated, the New Yorkbased private research group said Tuesday. — From wire reports

12,240,000

The number of U.S. taxpayers whose annual federal income tax payments could be paid. (That’s every resident of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Wyoming and Arkansas.)

Boeing Company, or ...

10.2 BILLION 10-ounce boxes of See’s peanut brittle, or ...

BUILD

151,467 Houses at the taxable value of Buffett’s Omaha home, or ...

421,585

20 BILLION

Houses at $237,200 each, one for each person in Omaha, or ...

1,754 TD Ameritrade Parks, or ...

Pairs of Buffett and Munger rubber duckies, or ...

343

Sets of the British crown jewels.

CenturyLink Centers, or ...

Nebraska Furniture Mart developments like the one being built near Dallas.

Compiled by The World-Herald’s Steve Jordon • Paper sculpture by Matt Haney

@u_nebraska | #FuelingKnowledge

KNOWLEDGE PAYS DIVIDENDS. Warren Buffett Class of 1950

LINCOLN | OMAHA | KEARNEY | MEDICAL CENTER

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Editorial Cartoon Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Bruce Plante Judges’ Comments: Bruce Plante’s work shows that he is in full control of his medium, and his comments are both spare and biting.

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Editorial Cartoon Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Jeff Koterba

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Editorial Portfolio Winner Publication: St. Louis Post-Dispatch By: Tony Messenger Judges’ Comments: This is a powerful and thoroughly reported series of editorials examining the sources of tension in Ferguson and St. Louis and recommending sensible policy responses.

Excerpt from “Michael Brown and disparity of due process” Michael Brown didn’t get due process. The still unnamed police officer who shot the 18-yearold black teenager dead in Ferguson will get plenty of it. This is the root of the frustration that is driving the African-American community to the streets in north St. Louis County over yet another senseless killing of a young black man. “What do we want? Justice!” chanted a crowd of family, friends and community members who gathered after the Saturday shooting. “When do we want it? Now!” They may get justice — in the form of a prosecution of the police officer who shot and killed the recent Normandy High School graduate — but the odds aren’t stacked in their favor, and even if it happens, it won’t happen anytime soon. America’s history is riddled with officer-involved-shootings in which juries give police who perform a dangerous job the benefit of the doubt. Trying to learn from those shootings to prevent further ones is difficult, says criminologist David Klinger, one of the nation’s foremost experts on police shootings. Mr. Klinger, a former police officer, practices his craft just down the street from Ferguson, at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he is an associate professor in the criminal justice department. One of the findings in a 2012 study he did of shootings by police in the city of St. Louis could offer some interesting guidance to whomever ultimately investigates the shooting of Michael Brown. Mr. Klinger recommended that the shooting investigations be handled with more transparency, and that

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ultimately, findings be posted on the department’s website, with the names of officers clearly identified. Few police departments nationwide operate with such transparency, Mr. Klinger’s research has found, and that means little public accountability when a police officer shoots an unarmed civilian. It’s no wonder, then, that leaders in Ferguson, including members of the NAACP, have called for the FBI to take over the lead in the investigation into how an unarmed 18-year-old was shot. That’s a good suggestion, especially considering that the NAACP already has an ongoing federal complaint against the county police department over alleged racial profiling. While answers are likely not to come in this case as quickly as some would like, appointing a federal agency to oversee the investigation will instill the sort of trust that might calm some of the justified anger over the shooting. It’s a good first step. Here’s a second one: Efforts to elevate the importance of annual studies of racial profiling by police in the region and the state should be intensified. Last year, for the 11th time in the 14 years that data has been collected, the disparity index that measures

potential racial profiling by law enforcement in the state got worse. Black Missourians were 66 percent more likely in 2013 to be stopped by police, and blacks and Hispanics were both more likely to be searched, even though the likelihood of finding contraband was higher among whites. Every year these numbers come out to little fanfare, in part because there isn’t enough political will to do the further study to break them down by precincts and individual officers to determine whether there is a cultural or training problem in entire departments or just a few rogue, racist cops who need to find another line of work. Perhaps the tragic death of Michael Brown will spur a little political will. While he wasn’t driving a car when he was pulled over and shot, the concept is the same: Nearly every black man in America has a story of being pulled over, stopped or harassed as a young person for doing something that a white teenager would never imagine might end in being on the wrong end of a police officer’s gun. Driving While Black. Walking While Black. Wearing a Hoodie While Black. In Ferguson, the city where Michael died, the police in 2013 pulled over blacks at a 37 percent higher rate than whites compared to their relative populations. Black drivers were twice as likely to be searched and twice as likely to be arrested compared to white drivers. Those statistics don’t prove racial profiling. But those numbers plus a dead young man in the street make a strong case for deserving a closer look.

Editorial Portfolio Finalists Publication: Yankton County Observer By: Brian Hunhoff

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Aaron Sanderford

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Michael Holmes

Excerpt from “GOP’s closed caucus was elephant in the room”

Excerpt from “Pay-as-you-go has worked well”

Excerpt from “An open letter to NU candidates”

There was an elephant in the room and its unspoken message was clear. The room was at last month’s S.D. Newspaper Association Convention. The session was titled, “Politics and Open Government.” The panel featured three prominent Republicans: Dusty Johnson, chief of staff for Gov. Dennis Daugaard; State Senate Majority Leader Corey Brown; and Attorney General Marty Jackley. The message: “Do as I say, not as I do.” The first hour of the open government program focused on improper executive sessions held at the city commission, county commission, and school board levels in S.D. There was talk of gaining access to e-mail and text records of local officials to ensure they are not skirting open meeting laws with modern communications technology. There was talk about taperecording executive sessions to ensure board members and commissioners do not stray off topic during closed meetings. S.D. County Commissioners executive Bob Wilcox said county boards are learning the limits of executive session. He also acknowledged that some still stretch those boundaries. “Do they talk about other things in there? I’m sure they do,” Wilcox said. “They’re all over the wall in there.” Attorney General Jackley said he is aware that executive sessions are frequently abused. He said “more education” is needed.

Nebraska lawmakers are being asked to turn their backs on the state’s pay-as-you-go tradition. If they do, they will almost certainly learn a potato chip truth about government bond issues: Nobody can pass just one. Legislative Bill 1092 would allow the state to borrow up to $200 million to finance state expressways and other new highway projects. That surely sounds good to the 32 senators who voted for the measure in first-round debate. But it shouldn’t. Just how much of individual lawmakers’ roads wish lists could be financed with $200 million? And how long until the next demand for more borrowing? Resurfacing a lane-mile of Nebraska highway can cost from about $140,000 to about $750,000. Widening a mile of two-lane highway to four can cost from about $500,000 to more than $10 million. Those costs are one reason lawmakers in 2011 voted to earmark a quarter-cent of the state’s sales tax for building roads. But this is about much more than concrete. Roads won’t be the last worthy cause to come calling for borrowed money. Just the first. What lawmakers will say schools, water projects or parks are less worthy? Cities and school districts, with fewer revenue sources to draw upon, do need to borrow from time to time — with the voters’ OK. But there are good reasons that the 1960s was the last time the state borrowed to build roads (Interstate 80).

To those interested in becoming president of the University of Nebraska: As you may have heard, our university needs a new president. As you also may have heard, our governor wants the job. Please don’t think this is a done deal. Sure, Gov. Dave Heineman sent his application on Governor’s Office letterhead and announced his interest at a State Capitol news conference. He’s used to campaigning for election, not submitting resumés. You are probably more low-key when you apply for a new job. That’s OK. We are looking for the best possible replacement for J.B. Milliken — not necessarily the individual with the highest profile. The governor has been a friend to the university and has political and other longstanding ties to many of the regents who will choose the next president. But Nebraska is not Florida State, where the interest of a powerful state senator left university trustees with no one else to interview. Our state’s tradition and law call for a fair and open process when filling top public posts, including university president. The chairman of the NU Board of Regents has assured us that this presidential search is focused “on attracting a deep, rich and diverse pool of applicants from throughout the country” for a “fair and competitive” selection process.

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Personal Column Winner Publication: St. Louis Post-Dispatch By: Tony Messenger Judges’ Comments: Strong entry on timely, relevant issues of race and justice. Video editorial offered fresh, powerful perspective. Writing could be tighter in places, but overall, Messenger’s work stands out.

Excerpt from “Finding empathy is enduring struggle in post-Ferguson world” On Sept. 11, 2001, empathy was easy. For days following the horrific attacks on American soil that killed 2,977 people, all it took was a simple, almost involuntary moment of eye contact to make a connection. Our common bond was clear. We had been attacked. We mourned. We were one. I had my first such moment on Interstate 70 just outside of Kansas City. Having been on one of the last flights to land in Missouri before U.S. air traffic was halted, I found myself driving to Columbia, unable to reach my wife to let her know I was OK. I passed a car on my right. The driver and I locked eyes and nodded. That’s all it took. Empathy today in St. Louis is more elusive. For more than three months following the Aug. 9 killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson, our already divided region has been further split. Much of that divide is drawn along racial lines. The region, historically has been one of the most demographically divided metropolitan areas in the nation. It still is. In most places, blacks live with blacks, whites with whites. In St. Louis, the economic recovery since the Recession has been divided by race. Whites did better than the national average; blacks did worse — the chasm between their economic power grew. Sixty years after Brown vs. Board of Education, some of the region’s most segregated schools are still separate, still unequal. Whether one is black or white in St. Louis, opinions about Mr. Wilson’s guilt or innocence, and views on the underlying causes of the Ferguson unrest, stem from individual experiences and reflect the experiences of those around them. When black and white don’t cross paths very often, agreement is hard to find. So is empathy. But for St. Louis to learn from what

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happened on Aug. 9, and from what has continued to happen to a greater or lesser extent each and every night since, we have to try to learn from each other. We can’t do that by retreating to the safety of our own enclaves, posting social media thoughts to closed networks where people who look and think like us “like” our opinions rather than challenge them. In my Christian faith tradition, empathy begins with a simple act of witnessing, telling one’s story so that others can understand the experiences that educate your views. In some ways, the ongoing protests since the death of Michael Brown have been a form of witness. The Rev. David Gerth, executive director of Metropolitan Congregations United, refers to having a “God moment” on the street with fellow protesters, a recognition that he and others in the clergy had that praying for justice and working for justice aren’t necessarily the same thing. The chants in the streets, he says, are like prayers to some — though the language is sometimes shocking to others. It’s not shocking to young black people in areas of concentrated poverty where the police are seen more as enemy than friend. On Sept. 11, little witness was needed to find common ground. Today, in St. Louis, we need to testify. So here’s mine: I’m a white, middle-class suburban commuter, the son of a teacher and coach, father to six children, husband to a wife, who, as I write this, just texted me, worried that I would get home safe. My oldest daughter is a cop in a big metro area — make that a supercop, a SWAT negotiator who spends some of her nights talking people out of the most violent of situations. A few weeks ago, her husband called me. My son-in-law doesn’t call often. I was in a place without phone cover-

age and missed the call. When I called back, he didn’t answer. For one of the first times as a father of a police officer, I was briefly afraid. I wondered, was my daughter safe? Why was he calling? I texted. Nothing. I checked social media. Nothing. Finally, a response, and a gasp of relief. This is the daily experience of the wives, mothers, sisters, fathers and sons of police officers in the St. Louis region who have been working long hours, often facing verbal assault and sometimes even physical threats from some of the less ethical of the protest community. Maybe they’re outside agitators. Maybe they’re locals who simply can’t hide their spite for police and now feel empowered. Many of my friends and neighbors, nearly all white, respect the badge and tend to instinctively take the side of police, as though there’s a clear line between the sides. I, too, respect the badge, but here’s the thing: I wanted Officer Wilson to be indicted. I thought he would be. Police are held to a higher standard because they have immense power. I wasn’t on Canfield Drive that day, but based on what I think I know, Michael Brown didn’t have to die. He should not have died. So here we are. Officer Wilson is free. Michael Brown is still dead. And a divided St. Louis must find a way to talk to each other, to find common understanding. It is possible in St. Louis to support police officers and still believe the Ferguson protesters are mostly right. It is possible to recognize African-Americans have suffered greatly in this region for decades because of institutional racism, and still worry about violence. It is possible to have differing views of justice in one specific case and still hope for greater justice for everyone moving forward.

Personal Column Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Matthew Hansen

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Erin Grace

Excerpt from “To his left, a life of drugs; to his right, a chance to turn it all around”

Excerpt from “Gone forever, taken by a tornado’s fury, is a 5-year-old girl called ‘Doctor Cali’”

Caleb stands at the edge of the driveway, unsure which way to turn. It’s an April afternoon in 2007. Caleb is 25 years old. He weighs 250 pounds. He is standing in the driveway attached to a Benson house that belongs to his Aunt Cathy, the last relative willing to take a last chance on him. Aunt Cathy recently handed Caleb $100 to pay for his daughter Clementine’s baby formula. He spent every last cent of that $100 on crack instead. She found out this morning. I’m keeping Clementine, she said. Get out. Caleb slams the front door and walks to the edge of the driveway and looks left. There’s a crack house in that direction, within easy walking distance. And Caleb’s final paycheck is screaming at him from his wallet. Turn left, and he will walk the old, familiar route. His first Bud Light and his first joint at 12 years old. Making his first drug deal in the hallways of Fremont High School at 15. Trying coke and then crack and then meth by 18. The first pull of chilled whiskey he takes each morning before he brushes his teeth at age 21. The first night he sleeps behind a dumpster at age 22. Caleb looks right. There’s an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in that direction. It’s 3 miles away. And Caleb doesn’t have a car. Turn right, and Caleb will head toward things like sobriety and a steady job. He will walk blindly toward things that to him are as unknown, as unfathomable, as a meth binge is to a nun. Let’s be blunt about the 25-year-old standing at the edge of this driveway. Caleb is a loser. Caleb is a mother’s worst nightmare. We all know which way Caleb will forever turn. What are the odds for Caleb at this moment? Ten to 1? Twenty to 1? Fifty to 1? Caleb turns. He begins to walk. The walk is long, 3 miles, so he smokes two cheap cigarettes along the way. When he reaches his destination, he goes to the front of the room and says, “My name is Caleb, I’m an alcoholic and an addict, and I don’t have anywhere else to go.” Caleb Smidt stops. He stops because he can’t speak anymore. He can’t speak because he’s doubled over, and he is sobbing. He doesn’t yet know that a single righthand turn has saved his life.

Standing in a corner of their basement, 69-year-old Kay Labenz tried to shield her disabled husband as the tornado raged overhead. The sky roared, windows blew out and concrete blocks fell around them. Kay squeezed her eyes shut and prayed. Just one block away stood a mobile home with no basement where daughter Kandi Murphree and her three children, son Cody and daughters Calista and Robin, lived. Well, the two little girls practically lived with Grandma Kay and Grandpa Les. Gentle caregiver Calista, 5, who wanted everyone to call her “Doctor Cali” because that’s what she was going to be someday, and rambunctious, full-of-energy Robin, 4, whom they all called “Peanut,” spent a lot of time with their grandparents. Their mother worked the early shift at a truck stop in nearby Wayne, and their 21-year-old brother also had a job in Wayne, shingling roofs. The Murphree family was new to Pilger. Kandi, who was raised in Kansas, had spent much of her adult life in Alabama. Then Kay said she could use some help. Les, who is 74, has a muscular problem that makes walking difficult. Kay had to have back and shoulder surgery. In February, Kandi and the girls moved from Alabama to Pilger, into the Labenz home at 200 S. Main St., to help out. A couple of months later, Kandi got her own place, a three-bedroom trailer about a block away, at 100 N. Main St. Having everyone so close was a blessing. Kay and Les got to spend time with the kids. Kandi got help with child care. On Monday, Kandi finished her shift at Prime Stop in Wayne and drove home to Pilger. Around 3 p.m., she picked up her girls from her mother’s home and took them to their place down the street. An hour later, Les’ son called Kay and Les with a warning. Storm’s headed your way. Get to the basement. Kay, who had poked her head out the door, thought the sky didn’t look too bad and scoffed. Les said let’s go anyway. It seemed to take forever to get to that basement, and they barely made it in time. As the sirens screamed, Kay pushed Les up against the corner of the wall, stretching herself to cover him. She remembers the roar. Then the dust. Then how, in seconds, it was all over.

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clear of wrecks

(13) Arizona State (9-2) 13 beat Washington St. 52-31 at (15) Arizona, Fri. (14) Auburn (8-3) 16 beat Samford 31-7 at (1) Alabama DAVID WHITLEY (15) Arizona (9-2) ORLANDO 15 SENTINEL beat (17) Utah 42-10 vs. (13) Ariz. St., Fri. Victory lane (16) Wisconsin DAYTONA (9-2) 14 BEACH, beat IowaFla. 26-24 vs. (25) Minnesota — ZERO 400 After winning Sprint (17) Utah (7-4) 20 his lostfirst to (15) Arizona 42-10 atCOKE Colorado

Maty Mauk threw two instead. FRANKIE FRISCO fourth-quarter touchdown Andrew Baggett’s 43-yard Leaderboard passes and Marcus Murphy field goal broke a 13-13 tie midA 30-foot birdie putt on War Memorial Golf Course, way through the third quarter. two Saturday theran 13thfor hole putscores Chris JenLittle Rock Mauk threw a 73-yard touchnight Missouri defeated (par 64, 4,341 yards) kins backas in position to win down pass to Jimmie Hunt International Tennessee 29-21 for its 10th Final round a record-tying sixth Fourth (18) GeorgiaCup Techrace (9-2) Sunday, 17 OffAric Almi- At Daytona at (10) Georgia Speedway rola thanked the fans, his pit Daytona Beach, Fla. and a 13-yard scoring strike consecutive road victory, setof July Classic championship (19) Southern Cal (7-4) 24 lost to (9) UCLA 38-20 vs. Notre Dame CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT crew, God, his sponsors, Rich- Lap length: 2.5 miles to Bud Sasser in the fourth Sunday War Memorial ting aatschool record.Golf Chris Jenkins 112 of 160 (20) Missouri (9-2) 19Mother beat Tennessee vs.laps Arkansas, Fri. ard Petty and Nature,29-21 quarter. 61-61-66—188 Course. “Everybody said we were FIN. (ST.) DRIVER CAR PTS Tyler ReynoldsTennessee 60-61-68—189 (21) Oklahoma (8-3) 23 enough beat Kansas 44-7 Off who was kind to delTo winto at lose 18, hethis only game, need- too,” (5-6, 2-5) must going 1. (15) Aric Almirola Ford 47 Beau Glover 64-63-62—189 uge Daytona the right (22) Clemson (8-3) NRat just beat Georgia State 28-0 vs. South Carolina to two-putt from 10 feet. week at Vanderbilt AP/WADE PAYNE edMissouri defensive end Shane win next62-66-62—190 2. (30) Brian Vickers Toyota 42 moment. “By the time I got there to Tracy Harris (23) Nebraska (8-3) 21 lost to (25) Minnesota 28-24 at Iowa, Fri. to become bowl eligible for Ray said. “It doesn’t look like Chevy 43 Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk is taken down by Tennessee defen- hit the putt I was shaking so — Complete results, Page 3C He a l s o s h o u l d h ave 3. (40) Kurt Busch the first time since 2010. (24) Louisville (8-3) beat Notre Dame 31-28 vs. Kentucky it.”I couldn’t hardly draw Mears Chevy 41 sive back Emmanuel Moseley in Missouri’s 29-21 victory Saturday bad thanked hisNR fellow drivers for 4. (22) Casey (25) Minnesota (8-3) NR beat (23) Nebraska5.28-24 at (16) Wisconsin ships in 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004 See MISSOURI, Page 9C Missouri can clinch the in Knoxville, Tenn. The Tigers host Arkansas on Friday. going crash-crazy. (23) Austin Dillon Chevy 39 the putter back,” Jenkins said. ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Headline Portfolio Winner

There were almost as many cars in the garage as on the track when the Coke Zero DIGEST 400 ended. That’s not the only reason Almirola won, but it never hurts when you don’t Houston Baptist back Johnhave to running look at Jimmie the rearview Keshawn son Hill inrushed for 242mirror. Or touchdown Tony Stewart, yards, including runsKyle Bus-

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — Complete results, Page 5C “Luckily I was close enough By: Jeff Krupsaw to two-putt.”

ch, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon or most of the leaders in the Sprint Cup series. They were either out of the race or hopelessly behind thanks to the carnage.

A R K A N S A S 3 0 , N O . 8 O L EJenkins’ M I Svictory S 0 tied him

with Jay Fox as a six-time Judges’ Comments: This editor has a gift for the punny hammer head: “Mudder’s Day,” “Half gainer” and “NIT winner of the tournament. UP NEXT No. 20 Missouri, 1:30 p.m, Faurot Field, Columbia, Mo., CBS Title clinched “Getting the sixth one I picking time” are particularly inspired. I’m intensely Brilliant work. Chris Jenkins watches his shot from the 16th hole during Sun- jealous. put a lot of pressure on my-

of 13 and 15 yards, to lead the Bearkats to a 38-31 victory over the University of Central ArkanDIGEST sas and to a third Southland Conference championship in the past four years. The loss effectively eliminated UCA from postseason possibilities. 14C

Bisons eliminated Pittsburg (Kan.) State turned a 21-0 second-quarter deficit into a 38-21 lead after three quarters as it defeated Harding 59-42 Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Gorillas outscored Harding 38-7 in the middle two quarters. 14C

All zeroed in

See NASCAR, Page 5C

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/FRANKIE FRISCO

day’s championship round of the Fourth of July Classic at War Memorial Golf Course in Little Rock.

self to do that,” said Jenkins who won previous champion-

See FOURTH, Page 3C

WIMBLEDON MEN’S SINGLES FINAL All England Club, London

Finger-licking good

Second shutout in a row makes Hogs 6-5, bowl eligible TOM MURPHY

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas is riding the perfect formula for a late-season push to a bowl game: Shut everybody out. The Razorbacks earned a slice of notoriety Saturday, slamming No. 8 Ole Miss 30-0 AP/BEN MARGOT Saturday’s results solid on a rainy senior day before a Samardzija crowd of 64,510 at Reynolds STATE Razorback Stadium and a naJeff FOOTBALL Samardzija pitched seven to win his Oakland detional television audience. DIV. I BOWLinnings SUBDIVISION but the Athletics beat the Arkansas (6-5, 2-5 SEC) Arkansas 30, (8)and Ole Miss 0 Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 Sunday DIV.1 CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION backed up its 17-0 shutout to St. complete a four-game Sam Houston 38, C. Arkansas 31 sweep. of No. 17 LSU by jumping Samardzija, acquired a day earlier UA-Pine Bluff 20, Alabama A&M 19 on the Rebels (8-3, 4-3) right in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, DIVISION II PLAYOFFS out of the gate and becomgave up one run and four hits. He Pittsburg (Kan.) State 59, Harding 42 struck out five and walked one ing the first unranked team while earning his first victory BASKETBALL with back-to-back shutouts since June 7. Samardzija was of ranked opponents. NBA 2-7 with the Cubs despite a 2.83 “I know this, we’re playing Phoenix 106, Indiana 83 ERA. 4C Miami 99, Orlando 92 as good as anybody,” ArkanToronto 110, Cleveland 93 Sunday’s results sas Coach Bret Bielema said. New York 91, Philadelphia 83 “You put us in a room right Houston 95, Dallas 92 BASEBALL now with anybody, I think we Sacramento 113, Minnesota 101 Matt Every could hold our own very, very NATIONAL LEAGUE WashingtonCincinnati 111, Milwaukee 100 4, Milwaukee 2 survives weather, well.” San AntonioArizona 99, Brooklyn 87 3, Atlanta 1 The Razorbacks shut out tied with three for New OrleansWashington 106, Utah2,94Chicago Cubs 1 AP/PAVEL GOLOVKIN back-to-back conference oplead at Valspar Pittsburgh 6, Philadelphia 2 Novakfor Djokovic a blade the All England Club surface after his victory over Roger Federer on Sunday in the Wimbledon men’s singles final in London. HOCKEY ponents the eats first timeof grass from Miami 8, St. Louis 4 earned his second WimbledonChampionship. title and seventh Grand Slam title overall. LA Dodgers 8, Colorado 2 sinceDjokovic 1965 and shut out Ole NHL PAGE 2C Francisco St. Louis 3, San Ottawa 2 5, San Diego 3 Miss for the eighth time in 61 Montreal 2, AMERICAN Boston 0 LEAGUE Stacy Lewis meetings. Cleveland Toronto 4, Detroit 1 4, Kansas City 1 “We knew all along what clings to narrow Baltimore at Boston THE Tampa Bay 2, Minnesota 1 type of defense weON are,” Ar-WEB: www.arkansasonline.com Yankees 9, Minnesota 7 v leadNY in race for NY Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 1 1, Seattle 0 Copyright © 2014, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Chicago White Sox kansas defensive captain Trey Philadelphia 4, Angels Columbus 2 $1 million bonus. LA 6, Houston 1 Flowers said. “I guess it could Buffalo 2, Washington 1 SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2014

S PORTS C

Inside

SPORTS

Inside

Serb savors delicacy of defeating Federer PAGE 2C Give nod Bound for Bama Game sketch to Gators markON THE WEB: www.arkansasonline.com Hogs defend their home More Razorbacks if it’s tight in LR How the CFP Top 25INDEX fared

ne.com

and 2012. “I don’t know why I did, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to tie Jay. This tournament is very special to him. It is special to a lot of us who have grown up in Little Rock that has played in it for years. It means a lot to get that.”

Oakland 4, Toronto 2

JOHN BRANCH See HOGS, Page 11C

C v

FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014

H IG H S C H O O L B A S K E T B A LL S TAT E T O U R N A MENTS

than Roger Federer’s, which THURSDAY’S had been etched seven times. GAMES v GIRLS let it 4A happen WIMBLEDON, England Djokovic nearly CLASS Copyright © 2014, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Malvern 50, Central again Sunday by blowing a Ark. Christian 44 — Novak Djokovic clutched CLASS 4A BOYS RECORDS Ole Miss 8-3, 4-3 SEC; huge fourth-setBrookland lead before the most coveted award in his 60, Lonoke 50 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2014 Arkansas 6-5, 2-5 fifth set to CLASS 7A GIRLS the silver, Tevin two-handled he captured a taut STARS sport, Arkansas defenders on the Web for himself. 74, Fort Smith Northside 67 presented to the win- snare the trophyConway Mitchel,trophy Rohan Gaines and Brooks Shortly afterCLASS his 7A 6-7BOYS (7), Photos ner of the Wimbledon men’s Ellis had interceptions among Arkansas’ North Little Rock 89, Springdale 81 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 victory for Video TOM MURPHY singlesand title. Gaines returned his RK/TEAM (REC.) AP Second OPPONENT NEXT six takeaways, Blogs his second Wimbledon title, GAMES t Coach Bielema ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE TODAY’S “The All England Lawn 2C The Page 100 yards for a touchdown. Commentary Djokovic carried the5A trophy r the game when (1) Alabama (10-1) 3C NBA/Horse 2 beat W. Carolina 48-14 vs. (14) Auburn BOB HOLT won 100-91 at Oregon, endracing/Boxing Tennis Club Single Handed CLASS BOYS Forrest City (23-4) vs. Today’s game Arkansas Coach Dave TURNING POINT With Ole Miss trailing wholehogsports.com through the hallways the 3:30 d them up there,” DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE 4C College basketball Jacksonville (26-4), p.m. winning Championship of the World,” ing theof Ducks’ home (2) Oregon (10-1) 3 beat Colorado 44-10 ARKANSAS at Oregon Van Horn sees parallelHe pro20-0State and threatening, Arkansas safety CLASS 3Aby GIRLS Academy (25Segrest(3)said basketball/Football MEN VS. was greeted FAYETTEVILLE — This to the inscription on Ole itARKANSAS reads.heclub. streak at the 11 Harding games. Florida State (11-0)5C High 1 school beat Boston College 20-17 vs. Florida Rohan Gaines appeared bait grams when compares 8) vs. eStem (28-6), 5:15 p.m. Duke and Duchess of Cam6C NFL during a NO. 10 FLORIDA hasn’t been a quarterback good The week name of his every “All these teams havevs.been Miss Bofor Wallace on awinner baseball teambridge, to Florida. CLASS 1A BOYS (4) Mississippi State (10-1) 4 beatOutdoors VanderbiltINDEX 51-0 at (8) Mississippi known worldwide asConcord (39-2) 7C Arkansas teleconferis etched on16, theintercepted silver-gilded college basketball teams with losing their winning WHEN Noon you look at their throw from the Hogs’ Wonderview (30-8), 7home p.m. “When THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 2C The Second Page 9C College football (5) TCU (9-1) 5 Off at winning Texas, Thurs. William and Kate. TOP 25/SEC ence Friday. urn or,goal since 2009, on a dehome streaks. WHERE Walton Arena, Fayetteville streak,” Arkansas CLASS 1A GIRLS Nemo Vistajunior (31-6) vs.forthe pass at the line and returned numbers, we’re probably 3C 30, Golf/Tennis No. 842-27 Ole Miss 30 vs. Michigan tachable base added AP/BEN CURTIS “Thank you for staying all 8:45 Harris Ohio 7 beat Indiana “ He c(6) am e State (10-1) 10C Arkansas KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Wonderview (33-7), p.m. RECORDS Arkansas 0-1 SEC. Florwhen the 11-3, ward Alandise said. it 100Sunday, yards for awhen touchdown with 3:38 4C 30, Major the same team right now 11C Arkansas No.league 8 Olebaseball Miss 30It started NO. 20 MISSOURI 29,championship Media/MICHAEL WOODS the way through it,” Djokovic ida 12-2, 1-0 Novak Djokovic (left) denied Roger Federer (right) over …(7)and trophy ran out of room. Missouri found a way to winof a record eighth WimbledonNWA San Diego State beat Baylor (9-1) 6 beat Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech “We can’t be part of that.” 5C Scoreboard St. 49-28 left in the third Kansas quarter 12C College football on paper,” said Van Horn, TENNESSEE SERIES Florida leads 16-11 Sunday atternoon at the All England Club incelebrate London. Beanum’s recovery21 Seedefenders WIMBLEDON, Page 3C (97) wa s c(8) om No name appears more Arkansas Tevin Beanum and Brooks Ellis (behind Beanum) of a fumble by Bo Wallace to (4) end the Jayhawks’ 68The Razorbacks (11-3, 0-1 on the road again. KEY STATS Arkansas won the takeaway Mississippi (8-3) 13C College 8 lostfootball to Arkansas 30-061-57vs. Miss. State More high school whose Razorbacks open RADIO Razorback Sports Network plimenting in the second quarter of the Razorbacks’ 30-0 victory Saturday at Razorback Stadium. Wallace (far right) injured SEC) will try and extend game winning streak at Allen battle 6-1 to 0play for 2 tonight against Now, the 20th-ranked East Division and earn a his ankle on the 14C 11 Recruiting/College football t .PSF QIPUPT SEC (9) UCLA (9-2) beat (19) Southern Cal 38-20vs. Stanford, Fri. and held Ole Miss basketball TELEVISION ESPN2 what he and missed several plays. Arena their Walton Fieldhouse against nonconin red zone scoring chances 15C Scoreboard t 7JEFP winning Tigers return home with a spot in the SEC title game by file photo So. 55-9 the Gators in play a and three-game TICKETS $25 lower upper deck, $20 on the Web (10)on Georgia (9-2) 9 beatAP Charleston vs. (18) Georgia Tech had seen streak to 24 games when they ference teams. t 1PMMT chance to earn their second winning at home Friday over loft (west zone above 4th row) series in end Gainesville, Fla. “I Alabama Kif(11)us Michigan State (9-2)has 10 hired beat Lane Rutgers 45-3 at Penn State film from play No. 10 Florida (12-2, 1-0) consecutive trip to the SEC Arkansas. A loss would send Georgia won 70-64 in think this is a wide-open t TFBN JOGP Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK McFARLAND n as(8-2) its new prior to(12) our Kansas fiState 12 offensive beat WestcoorVirginia 26-20 vs. Kansas in their con- Championship OnThe Thursday night Mem- at noon todayt -JWF TDPSFT overtime Wednesday at Miz- series. only advantage Game. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Georgia (9-2, 6-2) to Atlanta dinator. The former Southern Conway’s Jordan Danbery (above, left) and Alexis Tolefree celebrate a ar as special teams ference home opener. phishave wonis73-67 atatLouisville zou Arena to break t 4UBOEJOHTArkan(13) Arizona State (9-2) coach 13 beat Washington at (15) Arizona, Fri. Missou- they they’re home. returns to St. 52-31 Starters Maty Mauk threw two 74-67 victory over Fort Smith Northside in the Class 7A girls chaminstead. NEW YORK — The trade sive line play.(14) Auburn California sas’ 23-game home winning to stop the be defending nationhome winning This (8-3)SEC, where 16 beat Samford at (1) Alabama should a really good the he was head31-7 ri’s 26-game pionship game Thursday in Hot Springs. North Little Rock’s Anton touchdown Andrew Baggett’s 43-yard that put Jeff Samardzija on a was my only interin fourth-quarter al champion’s 15-game home streak is the fourth-longest streak, which had been tied matchup.” NATIONAL LEAGUE in 2009. Beard (left) enjoys an 89-81 victory over Springdale in the 7A boys (15) Arizona coach (9-2) at Tennessee 15 beat (17) Utah 42-10 vs. (13) Ariz. St., Fri. postseason contender field goal brokeAMERICAN a 13-13 tieLEAGUE midpasses cost and Marcus Murphy winning streak California for the nation’s longest. arkansasonline.com/preps SEGREST, Page 5C See HOGS, Pageand 6Ctothe Article, (8-5) final. Danbery CATCHER Yadier Molina, Cardinals CATCHER x-Matt Wieters, Orioles; y-Sal-life and return sucked the outBeard of were named MVP. High school, Pages 4-5C. to hold its breath when Walquarter, Hogs theand true birth of Bretball. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK McFARLAND him a chance pitch in two hisled way through the third quarter. (16) Wisconsin (9-2) 2C. FAYETTEVILLE 14 beat Iowa 26-24 — Heavy vs. (25) MinnesotaLIKE IT IS The Razorbacks ran for scores Saturday FIRSTlace BASEdropped Paul Goldschmidt, Diavador Perez, Royals will send left-hander JaOle Miss. rain and traffic filled the I-49 17-0. Wallace throwing three After throwing a shutout back to pass to first All-Star game. a 73-yard touchnight as Missouri defeated Mauk threw (17) Utah (7-4) 20 lost to (15) Arizona 42-10 at Colorado mondbacks FIRST BASE Josh Donaldson, Athletics len Beeks (3-1, 0.68) to fast LSU team touchdowns A day after Samardzija Pigtrail hours before kickoff toTennessee win thewas game against a tough, There were other big plays what appeared to be an open down pass to Jimmie Hunt 29-21 for its 10th (18) Georgia Tech (9-2) 17 Off at (10) Georgia SECOND BASE Chase Utley, Phillies SECOND BASE Robinson Cano, Mariners the mound toa face dealtafrom Chicago Cubs road of a game that even the most realthe concern. weekFlorida earlier, the Hogs de- was —Miguel too many to mention them receiver inRamirez, the end zone. and a 13-yard scoring strike consecutive victory, THIRD BASE AramissetBrewers THIRD BASE Cabrera, Tigers (19) Southern Cal (7-4) 24 lost to (9) UCLA 38-20 vs. Notre Dame freshman right-hander to Oakland, league-high diehard fan would have had Insteada big Flowers, who fense did itLoagain. all, such as Darius Philon’s Except juniorto safety BudRohan Sasser in the fourth SHORTSTOP Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies SHORTSTOP Derek Jeter, Yankees ting a school record. (20) Missouri (9-2) trouble 19 beat Tennesseeup. 29-21 vs. Arkansas, Fri. gan Shore (0-1, 0.45) in to- about the Ra- graduates six Athletics were Sundreaming nextpicked month with Everything Gaines made the perfect read fumble recovery and 10-yard quarter. OUTFIELDERS Andrew McCutchen, Pi- OUTFIELDERS Jose Bautista, Blue Jays; “Everybody said we were night’s opener. forree the game at Target rates;and (21) Oklahoma (8-3) 23 beat Kansas 44-7 Miss 0.Off Gomez, Brewers; Yasiel ofMike Trout, Angels; Adam Jones,Ole Orioles Arkansas 30, Ole in going economics, zorbacks program has been adaydeg stepped in front the return tomust the Miss 1 that Tennessee (5-6, 2-5) to 15. lose thisCarlos game, too,” “It’s been my dream to Field in Minnesota on July Puig,pass Dodgers DESIGNATED HITTER Cruz, Orioles (22) Clemson (8-3) NR beat Georgia State 28-0 vs. South Carolina A second consecutive fought PAYNE off three blockers to a work in progress since AP/WADE just as it arrived. Gaines, WALLY HALL led to aNelson field goal — but from win next week at Vanderbilt Missouri defensive end Shane start Friday night in the doesn’t include Sax-injured, not out play; the y-injury replacement against a conference a hand on Ray Wallace, who Bret Bielema stepped foot getThat (23) Nebraska (8-3) shutout 21 lost to (25) Minnesota 28-24 at Iowa, Fri. whowilllook sat first half forbowl a start to become eligible for it was a team to finish said. “It doesn’t like SEC,” said Beeks, who is Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk is taken down by Tennessee defenmardzija, selected as a Na— Complete NL, AL rosters, Page 5C ing ahead to arch-rival Mis- on campus, and almost every is generally elusive, and targeting penalty something against LSU,since the first time 2010. victory. (24) Louisville (8-3) opponent, NR beat Notre Dame 31-28 that vs. Kentucky it.” Major from Prairie Grove. sive back Moseley“It’s in Missouri’s 29-21 victory tionalSaturday League All-Star. theEmmanuel Egg week since28-24 1965.at (16)sissippi then another, andhebrought there been visione foot inuniform the end OlePage Miss (25) Minnesota (8-3) hadn’t NR happened beat (23) Nebraska Wisconsin Statein and Seezone MISSOURI, 9Cwas the betting canhad clinch the a Cubs or A’s which is exciting.” our first road game in host thehas Knoxville, Tenn. Tigers Arkansas on Friday. League Baseball saidMissouri is in- wears on The The 64,510 who braved Bowl next week, shame down with bone-jarring improvement. But these him when he took off down the favorite, Oakland, withbut theafter best Flowers’ a generic NL jersey. SEC, and I’veble never been to eligible to play because of the — or the elements were treated to them. efficiency. past two games came against right sideline, where a wall sack and Gaines’ touchdown record in the majors, has its SUN BELT “I won’t get to pitch, which league switch. Florida, so I’m excited to go The highest hopes of Arkansas Hogs Demorat-Gazette/MELISSA a great effort against a faster, Arkansas quarterback ranked teams whoSUE areGERRITS part of blockers developing on the 100-yard interception since 1975: bummer, butwas that’s all most All-Stars The right-hander, who is aof there.” MEN’S TOURNAMENT DIGEST Drywall Coach team. Bob O’Neal (left)became celebrates with Brandon O’Neal (center) andSEC MikeWest’s Brown (right) fans a reality. allegedlyB&B more talented, Allen left with an the feared nucle- Brandon in front of him.said. “I’ll left-handers Sean Doolittle return, few if any of those right,” Samardzija was 2-7 with a 2.83 ERA for See ARKANSAS, Page5C 3C UALR 74, TROY 61 after a Brandon O’Neal’s home the sixth inning. Article, Page The oldrun Boin showed. Bo and Scott Kazmir; catcher It wasn’t day for ratingthree-run brother The in which Three potential tacklers just go through whatever who weathered a wet afterthe Cubs,and won little hisColumbia, American UPhad NEXTus. No. 20division Missouri, 1:30 all p.m,injury, Faurot Field, Mo., CBS first baseman mostly recruiting classes. It was a ParkWallace, whoMEN’S stepped in and drove seven members are Enow bowl Austin were blocked, cut Norris; ceremonies they haveand andGaines just Derek League debut Sunday against noon believed anyone other Championship results at Burns CLASShas C Today’s MEN’S CLASS game TROY SCHULTE Brandonthan Moss; third baseman Houston Baptist running good senior year as day forback players. the team 47 yards — 33 of it eligible. jump over to the AL dugout to his left. He moved inside and Sherwood Sports Complex a very Toronto. He will be introARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE the bowl-eligible ArkanAftershock 16, J&R Logistics 12 DSA 5, McBride 3 ARKANSAS FLORIDA Josh Donaldson; and outfieldKeshawn Hill rushedAfor withthe an NL jersey40, on and duced withto theKeon NL players had AT The r k242 a n s aCONFERENCE s h a d DIVISION t h e the Rebels’ quarterback, a pass Hatcher first play that de- on Rebs’ andhave a second sas Razorbacks would win NEW ORLEANS — Gus CLASS WOMEN’S DIVISION Yoenis Cespedes. WHENDinter6 p.m. Central yards, including touchdown runs and Ole Miss, two fumblesMEN’S fun with the six like otherheer before the All-Star game;kicked still some and two play-makers — as Adam McFain serves a place in Razorbacks before it looked was the game. Leeper waited patiently B&B Drywall 21, ASPNation 15 McKethan Stadium, Rampage 10, Kirby-Whitten/901 Sports 8 lore Bryant Express 7, Lo Trey Bob’s 4Flowers’ a of 13 and 15 yards, to leadgave the to31-yard be decided is whether he dudes we have there,he cutSee ALL-STARS, Page 5C which Alabama its only ceptions. field goal to make Some ofWHERE his probwas senior going to beover tackled, Nashville 3, Tampa FloridaBay 2, SO 7, Detroit 3 Dallas 5, LosINTERLEAGUE Angeles 4 Mets 8,3Texas 4 Colorado 4, NY Carolina Calgary 5, New Jersey 4, SO Chicago 7, Edmonton 1 Arizona at San Jose, (n)

NEW YORK TIMES

against Gator invasion Missouri remains

in SEC East hunt

Six A’s in All-Star Game

BUSCH/PEPSI CLASSIC

Arkansas turns its fans into true Bielemers O PE NI NG D AY AT O A K LAW N PA R K

S E C T O U R N A M E N T SOUTH CAROLINA 71, ARKANSAS 69

Mudders’ day It’s NITpicking time

Trojans’ defense does job

ARKANSAS 30, NO. 8 OLE MISS 0

Title clinched

Bearkats to a 38-31loss victory over season, had turnof the the University of Central overs,Arkanmiscues and the reality sas and to a third Southland of beingConoutplayed for most of ference championship theminutes. past thein60 four years. The loss effectively If the Rebels were lookeliminated UCA from postseason possibilities. 14C

Bisons eliminated

All zeroed in Gainesville, Fla.

14-yard sack lems were forced, RECORDS but some Arkansas 8-5, Florida 11-6of Wallace on a of them weren’t. SERIES Arkansas fourthleads 26-24and-3 play when the Rebs to be grabThere will be two RADIOplays RSP statewide radioappeared network. Notrememall games willbing be carried by momentum. There was that should always be affiliates. Check listings. still 9:11 to play in the third bered, both by the defense, as local

it 20-0. That seemed to rile the Rebels, and Wallace drove them to the Arkansas 16 in a hurry. The crowd seemed

TOM MURPHY ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

INTERNET arkansasrazorbacks.com and ESPN3 PITCHING MATCHUP Arkansas: Jalen Beeks (LHP, 3-1, 0.68 ERA); Florida: Logan Shore (RHP, 0-1, 0.45)

96 | greatplainsawards.org STATE FOOTBALL

Read Wally Hall’s

SPORTS BLOG

Second shutout in a row makes Hogs 6-5, bowl eligible

Pittsburg (Kan.) State turned a 21-0 second-quarter deficit FAYETTEVILLE — Arkaninto a 38-21 lead after three Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORNTON sas is riding the perfect forDIGEST quarters it grandstand defeated Hardmula a late-season push to ns gather near the front ofasthe to watch the fifthfor race on opening day at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs. An announced crowd of 15,031, the smallest ing2003, 59-42braved Saturday the first a bowl game: Shut everybody day crowd since chillyintemperatures and plenty of rainfall. Thursday’s results round of the NCAA Division II out. COLLEGE BASKETBALL playoffs. The Gorillas outscored The Razorbacks earned a Harding 38-7 in the middle two TOP 25 MEN slice of notoriety Saturday, Seton Hall 64, No. 3 Villanova 63 quarters. 14C slamming No. 8 Ole Miss 30-0

Saturday’s results

back to the right sideline. He reached the end zone with a dive a split second before being stripped of the ball, and his 100-yard touchdown

on a rainy senior day before a crowd of 64,510 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium and a na-

No. 4 Arizona 71, Utah 39 No. 5 Louisville 92, Rutgers 31 No. 8 San Diego St. 73, Utah St. 39 No. 10 Kansas 77, Oklahoma St. 70, OT

Wallylikeitis.com

near the free-throw line for an outlet pass in the final minute Thursday night. When the junior forward caught it, he dribbled once, then sent a two-handed dunk through the rim that got his UALR teammates on their feet and put an emphatic exclamation point on UALR’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament opener. UALR used a dominating 13-minute stretch Thursday, holding Troy without a field goal for almost 10 minutes, as it pulled away for a 7461 victory in a first-round game at Lakefront Arena. UALR (15-16) won its first game in the conference tournament since beating

Headline Portfolio Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman By: Don Mecoy

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Dan Golden

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Tim Sacco

greatplainsawards.org | 97

Photo Illustration Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Christopher Smith

“State of Barbecue“

Judges’ Comments: Clever idea.

98 | greatplainsawards.org

General News Photography Winner Publication: Associated Press By: Sue Ogrocki Judges’ Comments: Excellent effort by the photographer in getting a tender intimate moment. A complete story-telling image where words are unnecessary.

With his wife and daughter at his side, Oklahoma City police officer Sgt. Ryan Stark, center, leans over the casket of his canine partner, K-9 Kye, to say his final goodbye during funeral services for the dog in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014. K-9 Kye, a three year old Belgian German Shepard, died Aug. 25 after being stabbed by a burglary suspect on Aug. 24. Kye was laid to rest with full honors after dying in the line of duty.

greatplainsawards.org | 99

General News Photography Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Sarah Hoffman

Heather Black, center, is comforted by her husband J.P. Black, left, both of Beaver Crossing and Rick Ragsdale, right, of Lincoln, during joint church service at the United Methodist Church on May 18, 2014, in Beaver Crossing. On Sunday, May 11, Beaver Crossing was hit by an F3 tornado causing severe damage.

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Kent Sievers

Kevin L. Miserez of West Point, Neb. doesn't let his wheelchair stop him from assisting in the cleanup of twin tornado-ravaged Pilger, Neb. on Wednesday, June 18, 2014. A tornado hit Pilger, Nebraska, causing widespread damage on Monday, June 16, 2014. 100窶ポ窶トreatplainsawards.org

Spot News Photography Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Michael Wyke Judges’ Comments: Very dramatic and emotional image. Good work by the photographer getting the names of the photographed.

Lisa Kepler, age 18, is comforted by Pam Wilkins after Kepler's father, off duty Tulsa Police officer Shannon Kepler, shot and killed Lisa's boyfriend, and Wilkin's nephew Jeremy Lake. Off. Kepler found his daughter outside of Wilkins home and confronted her, when Lake approached to calm the situation, Kepler shot Lake and then fired rounds at others outside the house. greatplainsawards.org | 101

Spot News Photography Finalists Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Staton Breidenthal

Powerful windstorms rake state. Publication: The Oklahoman By: Nate Billings

A firefighter walks past a burning mobile home at a mobile home park near Prairie Lane and Douglas during wildfires in north Oklahoma County and south Logan County, Sunday, May 4, 2014. 102窶ポ窶トreatplainsawards.org

News Photography, Multiple, Winner Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Benjamin Krain, Rick McFarland, Melissa Sue Gerrits, Staton Briedenthal Judges’ Comments: Comprehensive and emotional coverage of the aftermath of a tornado.

Deadly EF4 tornado slams state; 16 fatalities verified in three counties.

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News Photography, Multiple, Winner Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Benjamin Krain, Rick McFarland, Melissa Sue Gerrits, Staton Briedenthal

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News Photography, Multiple Finalist Publication: Associated Press By: Sue Ogrocki

Officer K-9 Kye was honored with a funeral service with full police honors in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014. The 3-year-old Belgian German Shepard, died after being stabbed by a burglary suspect.

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Feature Photography, Single, Winner Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Matt Miller Judges’ Comments: A sweet moment with excellent composition.

Sarah Koung (in military clothes) helps her sister Treza Koung with her makeup in their Kearney, Neb., apartment on Oct. 7, 2014. The sisters are University of Nebraska at Kearney students, models and are in the Nebraska Army National Guard. Both women are from Sudan.

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Feature Photography, Single Finalists Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Rebecca S. Gratz Toni Trovato, 9, Kaylee Phelps, 10, and Bethany Irvine, 11, compete in a sack race during a block party fundraiser in place of a birthday party for Kaylee Phelps in Omaha, Neb., Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014. Though Kaylee's 11th birthday isn't until Dec. 15, she said she decided to throw her fundraiser birthday party in October for the nicer weather.

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Sarah Phipps

Cowboys wait for the start of the International Finals Youth Rodeo in Shawnee, Okla., Sunday, July 6, 2014.

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Feature Photography, Multiple, Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Mike Simons Judges’ Comments: Nice job on a very important subject. Photographer showed great respect for those that were photographed.

Hitting Home: Mental Health and Homelessness

For five days, the Tulsa World series “Hitting Home” took a look at mental health — how it can be intertwined with homelessness and how it affects our community. 108 | greatplainsawards.org

Feature Photography, Multiple Finalist Publication: The Oklahoman By: Sarah Phipps

Filling the Empty Nest

Steve and Cathy Mathes never expected their home to be filled once again with the sounds of an infant crying and siblings fighting. But their 3,000-square-foot home — the one they downsized to after their two children left — is full of their five grandchildren. They adopted them after their daughter, who has as drug addiction, lost custody of them. greatplainsawards.org | 109

Feature Photography, Multiple Finalist Publication: Tulsa World By: Christopher Smith

Fair Meaows

The summer of 2014 was potentially the last season of racing for Fair Meadows. Fair Meadows is not like the Kentucky Derby. There are no mint juleps, seersucker or white shoes here. Instead, there are pearl snap shirts, boots and cowboy hats. There was definitely an Oklahoma touch to the atmosphere. 110窶ポ窶トreatplainsawards.org

Sports Action Photography Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Mike Simons Judges’ Comments: Excellent photo with perfect angle and lens choice.

Oklahoma's Sterling Shepard out of bounds against Morgan Burns of Kansas State Oct. 18, 2014.

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Sports Action Photography Finalists

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Sarah Phipps

San Antonio's Manu Ginobili (20) makes contact with Oklahoma City's Caron Butler (2) as he shoots during Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals in the NBA playoffs between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Publication: Omaha World-Herald By: Brendan Sullivan

TCU's Brandon Finnegan, right, celebrates as teammate Kevin Cron, left, tags out Virginia's Kenny Towns in a run-down at home plate in the bottom of the eighth inning during game 8 of the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, June 17, 2014.

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Sports Feature Photography Winner Publication: The Oklahoman By: Sarah Phipps Judges’ Comments: Incredibly emotional moment from a marathon. Great job by the photographer going outside the competition to make a powerful photograph.

Kendall Glenn of Wilburton, Okla., takes a moment at the chair of Ashley Megan Eckles following half marathon during the 14th Annual Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in Oklahoma City, Sunday, April 27, 2014.

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Sports Feature Photography Finalists Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Benjamin Krain

Tyler Mann, from Little Rock Central, celebrates after defeating Dane Shields, from Fayetteville, in the Class 6A-7A, 160 weight division of the high school state wrestling tournament. The victory is Mann's fourth straight championship.

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Steve Gooch

Kaden Cole, 10 of Washington State reaches out his hand after wining his table tennis match with Ashley McCoy, 9 of Woodward, during the Endeavor Games at UCO in Edmond, Friday June 6, 2014.

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Portrait Photography Winner Publication: Tulsa World By: Christopher Smith

“Beard Master” Judges’ Comments: Excellent portrait. Black and white works well for subject matter.

Josh Lynch said his father caught him trying to shave his beard before he could even really grow one, but these days, he leaves his beard to nature. greatplainsawards.org | 115

Portrait Photography Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman | By: Chris Landsberger

“Gothic Painters”

DNA Gallery owners and artist Amanda and Dylan Bradway pose for a photo in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014. Publication: The Oklahoman | By: Doug Hoke

“Poet Portrait”

Oklahoma City poet Lauren Zuniga on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. 116 | greatplainsawards.org

Magazine Portrait Photography Winner Publication: Sunflower Publishing By: Katy Ibsen, Penny Brockman, Luke Townsend

“Veterans - Manhattan Magazine” Judges’ Comments: Intense portrait. Excellent use of light.

Manhattan Magazine is based in Riley County, Kansas; an area that is shared with Fort Riley Military Base, home of the 1st Infantry Division. It's no surprise that a lot of veterans return to their area after their tours of duty, both young and old. We took the opportunity to visit with four veterans who shared their stories in our fall 2014 edition. The portraits, however, told more of a story as the men thought back to their times of service.

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magazine Portrait Photography Finalists Publication: Slice Magazine | by: Simon Hurst

“Pastor george Young”

UP FRONT

A GRATEFUL SPIRIT

SIMON HURST

Former pastor and lifelong community servant Dr. George Young sits down to chat about the road not taken, and his gratitude for some choices he did make. See page 28.

CHATTER Topics of conversation from around the metro 18

BY THE NUMBERS Checking our figures on Labor Day weekend 26

DETAILS Furnishings and accents to give classic function a sleek modern look 22

MINGLING Glimpses of central Oklahoma’s social scene 30

RETRO-SPECTIVE A quick look back at a piece of local history 24

77 COUNTIES Scenes from M.J. Alexander’s photographic travels across Oklahoma 36 AUGUST 2014 // SLICE 17

Publication: Omaha Magazine | by: Bill Sitzmann

“the handyman diaries”

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Magazine Photo Illustration Winner Publication: TulsaPeople Magazine By: Michelle Pollard

“TulsaPeople Magazine - March” Judges’ Comments: Clean and elegant photo.

the

good life TRENDS ✻ HOME ✻ HEALTH

Spring blossoms Color explodes onto the scene in this season’s dresses, shoes, handbags, accessories and more. by ANNE BROCKMAN Navajo sterling silver and turquoise squash blossom necklace with matching earrings (part of a four-piece set), $3,500, Lyon’s Indian Store.

Splash of fashion P. 58

✻

Mental health P. 66 ✻ Old vs. new P. 73

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Magazine Photo Illustration Finalists Publication: Dainty Obsessions By: Jeff Sampson Photography

“Health”

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magazine Photography, multiple, Winner Publication: St. Louis Magazine by: Jerry Tovo

“the good Fight” Judges’ Comments: Gorgeous work! Excellent use of black and white.

The Good Fight

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magazine Photography, multiple, Finalists Publication: ALIVE Magazine | by: Elizabeth Tucker, Kelly Hamilton, Attilio D’Agostino, David Hsia, Jennifer Dulin-Wiley, Wesley Law, Amy De La Hunt, Jeremy Nulik, Matt Sorrell, Christopher Reilly, Jennifer Wells, Heather Hoehn, Garry Vesper, Sean Funcik

“the buzz List”

THE BUZZ LIST

A toast to St. Louis’ most influential people, organizations and ideas of the year. Come join the party...

Publication: Kansas! | by: Luke Townsend, Katy Ibsen, Jennifer Haugh, Andrea Etzel, Shelly Bryant

“Pioneer Women” the Old West Experience

Dawn LeClere Prairie Band Potawatomi resident

I am very proud of who I am and where I come from. I was raised in a small home on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation. My parents worked hard every single day to make sure my sister and I were given everything we needed to be successful and productive. Not only did my parents teach my sister and I the value of hard work, they taught us a way of life, and about the kind of people we wanted to be. I don’t see myself as being different than any other person. I am Native American every single day; it does not have to be a special occasion for me to celebrate who I am. Every day I will continue to teach my children to be proud of who they are and where they come from, the same way my parents taught me.

32 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2014

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the Old West Experience

Susan Alexander

Wild Women of the Frontier We celebrate the women of the frontier who dared to follow their own paths instead of what was expected of women of their time. Each and every one was a survivor who faced challenges almost unimaginable to us today. Some chose to homestead on their own, others took advantage of opportunities in the gold fields, while some fell in with bad-boy outlaws or developed the skills to outride, out-rope, and outshoot the cowboys. Many of them became the object of “yellow” journalists who sensationalized their lives and even made up outright lies.

33 Kansas!

Magazine fall 2014

Magazine Feature Photography Winner Publication: Kansas! By: Doug Stremel, Katy Ibsen, Shelly Bryant, Jennifer Haugh, Andrea Etzel

“City Slickers” Judges’ Comments: Gorgeous light and layers.

Kansas Dude Ranches have become quite the attraction. From moving cattle to learning to ride a horse, visitors are finding this a unique experience to Kansas. The magazine captured this scene at the Moore Longhorn Ranch.

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Magazine Feature Photography Finalist Publication: Presence Magazine | By: Shane Bevel

“The Queue”

Publication: Presence Magazine | By: Shane Bevel

“Super Squeegees”

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Magazine News Writing Winner Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: William Powell Judges’ Comments: Interesting topic, really well balanced coverage, excellent job of presenting characters. Very impressive story.

Excerpt from “No Shelter?” The Rev. Larry Rice isn’t sticking to the script. Tonight marks the annual Evening with the Homeless at his downtown shelter, the New Life Evangelistic Center. An ambulance, lights flashing, sits outside the front door, greeting the few visitors who show up on this dreary Friday in September. While it’s chilly on the street, it’s stifling here in the worship studio. Rice promises to have someone turn on a fan, but no air moves, and the hot TV lights exacerbate the discomfort. This room is made for TV, the front wall adorned with wood paneling and fake plants, an oasis in the dingy building. Despite the disappointing turnout, the rows of folding chairs are packed. Up front sits the staff, mostly homeless folks who volunteer their labor in exchange for longer-term stays. Behind them are the people who have come for emergency shelter. A war is coming, and tonight, Rice rallies his troops. His son, Chris, also a pastor at NLEC, has set the tone, playing his guitar and leading the crowd in singing “I’m on the Battlefield for My Lord” and “Be Still, God Will Fight Your Battles.” Now, Larry delivers his sermon. The man’s a gifted preacher, the sort who makes such impassioned, pithy pronouncements, everyone around feels compelled to call out “Amen!” He speaks at a driving, delirious pace that makes you feel sorry for the poor chap who has to type out the closed captioning for this broadcast on his station, KNLC Channel 24. His message, titled “The Beloved Community,” centers on how the rich, by neglecting and even showing disdain for the poor, prevent us from truly living together in Christian unity. “The golden rule for these people who are so greedy is that him who’s got the gold makes the rules,” he says. “As a result,

NO SHELTER? THE REV. LARRY RICE’S NEIGHBORS want to SHUT HIM DOWN. While SUPPORTERS FIGHT TO SAVE his

DOWNTOWN HOMELESS SHELTER, others say it does MORE HARM THAN GOOD. by WILLIAM POWELL

| photography by KEVIN A. ROBERTS

60 JANUARY 2014 |

the rich get the gold mines, while the poor and the struggling middle class get the shaft, with efforts made to move them out of the community once they end up homeless. But every few paragraphs, Larry deviates from the material he prepared to take potshots at his enemies. Neighbors have filed a petition with the city’s Board of Public Service to have NLEC’s hotel license revoked, which would effectively shutter the shelter. They accuse its patrons of wreaking havoc on the streets: urinating and defecating, selling and using drugs, littering and committing lewd acts, fighting and panhandling. Larry, they allege, has failed to discourage such behavior. He responds by paraphrasing Jesus, saying, “It would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for one of these rich people to get into the Kingdom of God.” By rich people, Jesus might not have been referring specifically to yuppies living in lofts, but that’s semantics. “Condominium owners move in near a shelter,” Rice says. “They want to buy cheap. But then they want the homeless who were already there gone,

so they can say their property values can go up.” At strategic points throughout the night, Larry brings a few of the shelter’s guests up to the lectern to share their testimony for the cameras. “If it wasn’t for Larry Rice shelter, I wouldn’t have a place,” one woman says. “While being here, I’m also getting closer to God and experiencing new friends. Larry is more like a papa to us.” A man explains that he made bad choices, ran with the wrong crowd. When he hit hard times, he came to St. Louis from Springfield, Mo., hoping to receive services, but found the city inhospitable. He used drapes pulled from a dumpster to keep warm on the cold streets. Eventually, he came to NLEC. “I don’t understand how evil people could choose to shut a place down like this that offers everything that they do for the people out there. They saved my life, because I would have died out on that street,” he says. “There was no place else for me to go.” A guy sitting next to me leans over and whispers, “That’s a lie.”

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Magazine News Writing Finalists Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: William Powell

Publication: Sync Weekly By: Emily Van Zandt

Excerpt from “How We Kill”

Excerpt from “One hazy debate”

Excerpt from “#ARWX Forever”

Welcome to Bonne Terre, a fading mine town, where once the earth was full of lead and now killers become cadavers. It’s just after 10 p.m. on January 28, the air clear and cold, heading toward an overnight low of 1 degree. As you drive down this winding stretch of Highway K, the illumination of the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center hits you before the prison comes into view, its dozens of light poles casting an eerie glow, the better to monitor comings or goings. At the mouth of the driveway, a bundled officer asks the purpose of your visit. You’re here to watch Herbert Smulls die. State law requires that every execution be witnessed by no fewer than eight “reputable citizens.” It’s a single vestige of transparency in an increasingly secret process. When its executioner was deemed incompetent, the state of Missouri hired somebody else, then passed a law prohibiting the press from publicly identifying him or her. When the manufacturer of its lethal injection drugs said they weren’t intended to kill, the state got another drug from another source, then granted the pharmacy anonymity, too. The pattern is consistent: When a problem arises, fix it, then shroud the process, to prevent future complaints. It’s proved an effective approach. Hampered by various issues, Missouri carried out two executions from 2006 to 2012. Now, though questions persist, Smulls will be the third to die in as many months. The officer, friendly yet firm, checks your name against a list and tells you to sit tight in your car. These affairs are scheduled by the Missouri Supreme Court, which issues death warrants, each good for a specific date. The Department of Corrections sets the execution for 12:01 a.m. on the appointed day, to build in leeway for legal delays.

It’s Friday afternoon at Rogue Vapers, and curls of white fog are clouding the air near the register. Through the mist, Tyler Meuret helps a customer holding what, at first glance, looks like a standard tobacco pipe. But there’s no open bowl for tobacco. Instead, the slim stem of the e-pipe includes a refillable cartridge of flavored liquid nicotine, or “e-juice.” Rogue has been open for just six months and Tyler (whose father, Troy Meuret, is the store owner) says the store is already seeing about 100 customers per day. In a 30-minute span just after lunch, five customers come in to ask questions or stock up on the bottles of liquid that feed their habits. Two regulars have been there for hours already, hanging out in the living-room-like lounge in the back, snacking on pizza and nerding out over their shared vaping habit. Stores like Rogue are early adopters, catering to the growing number of e-cigarette users in Arkansas and across the U.S. attracted to the devices because they contain no tobacco. First introduced in U.S. markets in 2007, ecigarettes use a battery-powered heating element that vaporizes a mixture of flavored liquid nicotine as users draw on the device. As the e-cigarette industry has expanded — Bloomberg Industries projects e-cigarette sales could exceed traditional cigarette sales by 2023 — government agencies have scrambled to determine how the devices and their liquid components should be regulated. Arkansas legislators passed two laws last year that stipulate who can use e-cigarette devices, but officials with several federal and state agencies say they know of no regulation that applies to the nicotine-laced liquids that create the vapor. And store owners and others in the growing industry say they’re concerned about the lack of clear rules.

When storms pop up in central Arkansas, Greg Dee makes like the posterboy for the screen-obsessed generation. There’s the laptop, the other laptop, the tablet and two phones. Five screens, each with a purpose. As Dee, a meteorologist at KARK and KLRT in Little Rock, scrolls through emails received on his phone, he keeps an eye on the radar pulled up on his tablet and the laptop screen open to an ongoing chat with National Weather Service personnel. But it’s the never-ending stream of tweets popping up on his second laptop — the one running desktop Twitter application TweetDeck — that Dee keeps turning back to. On the screen, tight columns organize the stream of realtime posts into categories. One for the accounts Dee follows — colleagues and viewers — one for people responding to him directly and one for the hashtag that’s keeping everything going: #arwx. When added to the end of tweets, hashtags allow Twitter users to quickly access all tweets containing that tag. In the case of #arwx, it’s a fast way for local meteorologists, media, storm trackers, weather geeks and Arkansans deciding whether they need an umbrella to contribute to an organized flood of information about severe weather in Arkansas. Even on-air, Dee manages to keep up with those tweets. “We have a large monitor where TweetDeck is usually running,” Dee says. “You can usually see that in the corner of your eye. And any time we have a break, I’ll be pulling out my phone to tweet and check on emails.”

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Magazine Feature Writing Winner Publication: Arkansas Life By: Nick Hunt, Katie Bridges, Jordan Hickey, Kelley Lane Judges’ Comments: Everything I look for in a magazine feature: great topic, fine writing, wonderful characters. I especially appreciated the nuanced presentation of chasers’ motives.

Excerpt from “The Long Chase Home” Racing east on Interstate 40 as fast as the law and the weather will allow, Eric Hopkins calls his wife a second time. His end of the conversation goes something like this: Honey, you and Brittany need to take cover right now. There is a debris ball on the radar. It’s a tornado. He doesn’t have to tell her we’re heading right for it. She already knows. From the passenger seat, Michael Hook, aka the Weather Ninja, a veteran storm chaser and leader of this twoman storm-chasing team, tweets again to his 9,000-plus followers that anyone in Maumelle, North Little Rock and Mayflower needs to take cover immediately. Then he, too, pulls out his cell and starts calling loved ones near the tornado’s path to give them the same warning. After just over 1,000 fruitless miles and 40 hours of chasing storms out and back across the Oklahoma plains, we’ve finally come home to Arkansas, but for all the wrong reasons. A precious handful of minutes earlier, right around 7:06 p.m. on April 27, a tornado touched down 5.4 miles west of Ferndale in western Pulaski County. Just shy of an hour from now, that funnel cloud will dissipate into the gray evening sky. But between now and then, 15 people will lose their lives. One day and 950 miles earlier, Hook, Hopkins and I are slowly being baked by the western sun in a blistering Walmart parking lot in Lawton, Oklahoma. There is a haze to the sky indicating moisture—one of the four elements needed for a tornado—but it’s all too high in the atmosphere. There is not much of a chance for a storm, much less a full-fledged tornado, but that doesn’t mean Hook and Hopkins have given up hope. And plus, if you’re a storm chaser, this potential system is the only game in town. “You just never know what is going to happen,” Hook is telling Greg Ford,

a chaser from Georgia who has pulled up to talk shop after spotting Hook’s vehicle. Storm chasers have a knack for spotting others of their kind. “How many times have you gone out on a severe-risk day and seen nothing, and how many times have you gone out on a low-risk day and gotten on a storm?” “Tenacity is everything, no doubt,” says Ford, a pastor in his non-chase life. They sound like they are trying to convince themselves that driving all this way was really worth it. The stormchasing season, roughly March through June, is nearly halfway over, and nothing much has happened. This weekend was posed to be the country’s first significant chance for severe weather, but so far it’s looking like, as storm chasers say, a monumental bust. It’s no wonder, then, that despite their insistence that they would rather be here than anywhere else, my companions can’t hide their disappointment when they look west into the powder-blue sky. Ford’s chase vehicle is a beast of a truck, complete with a custom-built “hail grate”—a metal frame covered in thick wire mesh and mounted to the roof to protect the cab from falling

debris while still allowing high winds to slip through. On the truck’s tailgate, he’s slapped a magnetic sign that reads “Weather Research Vehicle.” (“Yeah, we do research,” he says and then laughs. “But it’s personal research.”) But despite the sign, one look at the vehicle and you can tell Ford and his partner are amateurs. Hook’s vehicle, on the other hand, is impressive. It’s a small, four-door Honda with NASCARstyle sponsor logos, a police-style emergency lightbar, and a homemade wind-speed-measuring device called an anemometer mounted to the roof. Hook may look the part, but he is the first to admit that he is no professional. “You will hear this a lot from storm chasers. They will say, ‘I’m out there to serve the public. I am out there to save lives.’ I do contact the National Weather Service and stream for the local media, but that is not why I am out there,” Hook says. “I am not going to lie about it. I am out there because this is a hobby. I am not a research scientist. It is just something I love to do. It is a passion.”

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Magazine Feature Writing Finalists Publication: Slice Magazine By: M.J. Alexander

Excerpt from “Bad Medicine in Kay County” Lydie Marland was the daughter of the richest man in Oklahoma when work on her statue began in 1926. By the time the sculpture was finished, she was no longer E.W. Marland’s daughter, but his wife, and his wealth had been swept away like dust on the prairie. The old chief foresaw the future with a two-word prophecy. It was uttered in sadness on a summer day in 1911, near a long sloping hill dotted with scaffolded platforms holding the wrapped bodies of Ponca tribe’s dead on Oklahoma’s northern plain. E.W. Marland, a lawyer from Pittsburgh who had moved to Kay County to search for oil, finally had won permission to drill on the Ponca hallowed ground. It was the allotment of 19-year-old tribal member Willie-Cries-ForWar. Marland promised $1,000 a year for the lease and 12.5 percent of profits from the 160 acres. It was with a heavy heart that Chief White Eagle approved the deal. Then 71 years old, he had led the Poncas in their last war against the Sioux before the tribe’s forced relocation to Indian Territory in 1877. He was seen as open-minded, still hoping for the best despite repeated disappointments. But he was also the tribe’s medicine man and religious adviser, and had a bad feeling about disrupting the sacred site. White Eagle told Marland that the venture would poison both of their lives. He asked him to reconsider, with a succinct warning: “Bad medicine.” Marland was undeterred. He was a wildcatter, tapped out after three years of drilling dry wells and reduced to leaving his gold watch as collateral.

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Publication: Oklahoma Humanities Magazine By: Joe Starita (Author), Carla Walker (Editor), Oklahoma Humanities Council (Publisher)

Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: Jeannette Cooperman, Rosalind Early, Brian Heffernan, Margaret Schneider, Alvin Reid, D.J. Wilson

Excerpt from “The Color of Blood”

Excerpt from “Bridging the Divide”

Somewhere along the flanks of the great river, not far from a valley once flush with buffalo, beaver, bald eagles, and yellowshafted flickers, where two centuries ago the captain explorers looked out and saw both America’s past and future, somewhere near these rugged chalk bluffs lie the bones of a father and son. For as long as anyone could remember—before the horses, fur traders, whiskey, fever, and the pus-filled spots; before the steamboat, glass beads, and another god—their people had lived in this ancient river valley straddling the border of what would become Nebraska and South Dakota. Inside this expansive territory, there lived dozens of Indian nations, clustered in villages along some of the tens of thousands of miles of creeks and streams and rivers. One of those rivers was well known to the father and son. The Niobrara begins as a small stream in the high plains of Wyoming and flows clear and swift 535 miles east, growing steadily as it meanders across arid Sandhills, rugged canyons, rolling prairie, forests of pine and hardwood, and moist, fertile valleys before emptying into the Missouri near the high chalk bluffs. ——— In 1804, the occupant of the White House had long harbored dreams of westward expansion. At the core of Thomas Jefferson’s vision was an almost mystical belief in the powers of ordinary, salt-of-the-earth citizens who could harness the nation’s potential. How exactly the people living in their Niobrara River homeland— and the many more like them—would share in this new reality had vexed the nation’s leaders for a long time.

The whole world’s seen the maps. One starts out hot red or orange for the African-American population in the city’s core and cools to shades of Caucasian blue in the suburbs. Another uses stark black and white to show the Delmar Divide, named by the BBC (95 percent black north of Delmar Boulevard; almost two-thirds white south of it). Others trace that racial divide into St. Louis County, coloring in 90 municipalities like it’s election night. What those maps don’t show are the ghost neighborhoods, once-black communities ripped out of both city and county. Gates and wrought-iron fences that segregate wealth. Tight ethnic enclaves. Blocks, gangs, and country clubs, each with their own exclusions. Two states sharing a metro area and vying for its resources. St. Louis is divided along many lines. And race plays a role in every one of those divisions. It also determines our future, because if you make a transparent map of racial segregation and lay it over other maps—political power, cultural influence, health, wealth, education, and employment— the pattern repeats. It’s 2014. Why does race still shape St. Louis? Why was segregation more dramatic here than it was in similar Midwestern cities? And why hasn’t it lifted as quickly? St. Louis might be Midwestern, but its history is Southern. The city’s founders came upriver from New Orleans, and the Mississippi River kept our ties to the South alive through the Civil War. Unlike most northern cities, we had a 100-year history of slaveholding. Yet unlike most Southern cities, we avoided the crucible of civilrights demonstrations.

Magazine Profile Writing Winner Publication: Arkansas Life By: Jordan Hickey, Katie Bridges, Kelley Lane

Excerpt from “Reconnecting Terry” In the rooms there were constants. Blue and white walls. Subtle though unmistakable hints of routinely applied disinfectant. A reliance on fixed schedules and protocol endemic to assisted living. And every other weekend, and sometimes more often, there was a small woman who, despite the regular turnover of staff at the nursing home in Mountain View, was well-known. Though she’d aged in the 20 years she’d been pushing her way through the doors, heading off down a corridor, she still looked very much the same: large eyes made larger by large glasses, brown hair pulled into a ponytail. It was like she’d always been there, coming to see her son who didn’t speak. He was a man who’d only known 20 years, who’d seen his daughter grow to 6 weeks and no older, whose life—interrupted as it had been by a car accident—had been lived out in the days, hour by hour, where the walls seldom changed. His only expressions of personality were buried in whatever interpretation his family managed to glean from the blinks and grunts and fits that came through what would later be described as a minimally conscious state. And because his family members weren’t altogether certain what was making its way through, they assumed everything was. Twice a month they brought him home, where they’d take him down to the creek or go squirrel or deer hunting because those were things he had enjoyed. They attended family reunions and played country music—his favorite—over the radio around the clock. He was part of their lives, albeit only to the extent that his physical condition would allow. Over the years, all those constants were smoothed, streamlined and refined by routine. And after so many years of the same, after a lack of responses to so many observations and comments and questions, there was little reason for his mother to think anything would be different when she stopped by one June

afternoon. As she walked through the doors, an aide asked him who she was. And to that largely rhetorical question put to him so often in the nearly 20 years he had been silent, he responded: “Mom.” Ten years later, on an August afternoon at a place called Round Mountain, northwest of Timbo and just west of Mountain View, there’s calm for a while, and then there’s motion. Cars arrive licked with belts of rust-colored dust that make it seem as if they’ve just emerged from pools of the stuff. Cars slip from the edges of the red-dirt drive and probe their noses onto the grass, parking sideways and slantways toward the house. Cars fill the gravel drive leading to the house, and once that’s filled, crowd along an elbow of road beneath the sign that identifies the place as Wallis Farm. Stepping from their vehicles as they’ve done so many Friday nights before, people wander up the drive, mingle in the yard, veer off to the detached garage to play pool or make their way up the concrete steps leading to the front door. Motion is everywhere. And inside, there’s music. Played by a five-piece band, twangy, throaty country tumbles from the family

room into the dining room, suffusing the small space, drawing no shortage of toetapping and finger-drumming from the handful of people cresting the last waves of middle age, spaced evenly around the wooden curves of an oval kitchen table. At the head of the table farthest from the band is an older man with narrow eyes and a sloping jaw. Pasted to his lip is a hand-rolled cigarette plugged with a handmade filter made of toilet paper. His name is Jerry Wallis, and he’s sitting beside his wife, Angilee, who draws store-bought Pyramids from her pack on the table. From where she sits, elbows on the table and hands clasped, Angilee can see everything in the dimly lit living room. It’s a space crammed with musicians, as well as amps and a drum set, permanent fixtures even when the musicians aren’t. Sunken couches line the walls below family photos of her four children when they were teens. Every now and again, however, she looks away. Dropping her elbows, she pushes away from the table and wheels back in her chair, fingers locked on the lip of the table, glancing through the door behind her to look at her eldest son, Terry.

greatplainsawards.org | 129

Magazine Profile Writing Finalists Publication: Sauce Magazine By: Julie Cohen

Publication: Omaha Magazine By: Robert Nelson

Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: Jeannette Cooperman

Excerpt from “The Story of Hama”

Excerpt from “War & Peace”

Excerpt from “Will or Grace”

Against the cold, cobbled streets, a chainsaw roared like a weapon, but Naomi Hamamura wielded it like a paintbrush, stroking the 300-pound block of ice softly and deliberately. Seemingly unaware of the crowd pressing in around him or even of the unforgiving late-January chill, Hamamura set his chainsaw down just long enough to wring water from his thin cloth gloves. On his worktable rested a die grinder, household iron, hand broom, chisel and a pair of ski goggles. With these and two more hours, he would transform the icy behemoth into a willowy, winged fairy, his entry for the Master Carver competition at the annual Fête de Glacé in St. Charles. Across the street earlier that day, Hamamura, called Hama or Hamasan by his friends and employees, also competed in the Monster Carver competition where, using a delicate system of melting and refreezing, he and a partner fused five blocks of ice totaling 1,500 pounds. The result was “Dragon & Moon,” a 7-foot-tall crescent moon rising out of an angry ocean, encircled by a serpentine dragon. On the other side of Main Street, Hamamura continued to carve his ice fairy under the afternoon shade, but now “Dragon & Moon” was thawing beneath the direct sun. Ice carvings require patience and precision. If one section of a sculpture is finished too soon, its details might melt before the entire piece is completed. To be truly exceptional, though, a master carver not only knows how to make finishing touches all at once; he also anticipates how the sculpture will look once the melting begins. Hamamura’s friend Gary Suarez, a personal chef and fellow ice carver, attested to Hamamura’s ability to see a sculpture’s future. “His carvings melt perfectly,” Suarez said.

On March 8, 2013, a young man biked to the gates of the Afghan Defense Ministry and detonated a bomb strapped to his chest. The massive explosion, which killed nine civilians, shook a nearby building in which then-new U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel was meeting with military officials. “This attack was a message to him,” a Taliban spokesman emailed to reporters soon afterwards. Hagel wasn’t listening. Inside a briefing room, the twice-wounded Vietnam vet appeared more curious than concerned as the building rocked. Within seconds, he was back on task, discussing the intricacies of winding down the longest war in U.S. history. “No kidding — he barely flinched,” says Hagel’s former press secretary, George Little, who was in the room at the time. “That’s just who he is. He’s so focused on goals that nothing fazes him.” Those goals, if attained, will make history. The former U.S. Senator from Nebraska will guide the U.S. Armed Forces through the transition from an unpopular two-front war he famously opposed into a lean, nimble, cuttingedge force poised for 21st century challenges. High-tech weaponry and cyber defenses designed to defend against more advanced foes will be increased. The Pacific Rim will receive more focus. Aging, cumbersome machines of war will be mothballed. But Hagel hopes to leave more than a legacy of hardware, strategy, and efficient power projection. He wants his legacy to be a sort of antithesis to Vietnam. Empathetic leadership. Conflict seen as only a wicked necessity. A fighting force that can skirt quagmires, disrupt and disable from a distance, and better armor flesh and blood.

Ken Copeland sprinkled powder liberally. After two sons, he was almost as deft at diapering as he was at software development. With his little girl, though, he hummed sweeter songs. Sometimes his mind leaped ahead, imagining the giddy slumber parties, the fights over décolletage at prom time, the feel of his daughter’s hand tucked in his arm as he walked her down the aisle in a froth of lace… Laurie had been sure she was having a girl the first time, so they’d put up wallpaper with a pale-pink stripe and found a floral cover for the changing table. Two boys later, they finally had Grace. As he pulled the Huggies closer and fastened the tabs, Ken fielded the 2 ½– year–old’s nonstop questions: “Daddy, why are there bumps on the ground?” He explained hills. She giggled, the gap in her front teeth showing, then asked another: “Why is the sky blue?” He was just starting in on light waves when she interrupted in a small voice: “Daddy, why did God make me wrong?” Ken pulled back. He looked into his daughter’s thick-fringed hazel eyes, turned as blue as his by the late-afternoon light. “What do you mean? You’re perfect!” “I don’t have the right parts,” she said. “I’m supposed to be a boy.” “Oh no you’re not,” Ken said, laughing. “You’re a girl, and you are perfect!” “No,” she said flatly. “I’m not.” He resnapped her romper, picked her up, and held her close. A memory cut in, unbidden: Grace as a newborn, delicate as a seashell, but with a stripe of peach fuzz running down her back all the way to her tailbone. He’d wondered then, for half a second, if there were some kind of hormone imbalance. But soon the fuzz fell away. So would this silliness, he told himself. Grace was just trying to keep up with her brothers

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Magazine Column Writing Winner Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: Ray Hartmann

Excerpt from “All Hail the War on Taxis? St. Louis’ Cab Services Need Competition, Not Chaos” The Era of Hipster Ridesharing is upon us, and with it comes a blunt message to cities like St. Louis: You can cling to your stinking taxicabs like candlemakers flailing at electricity, or you can get with the program. That would be the “sharing economy,” wherein real people like you and me rent our cars, homes, and other underused assets to other real people, thus sparing the environment and our pocketbooks from the vagaries of tired, 20th-century institutions like taxis and hotels, which aren’t real people at all. In the case of the automobile, start thinking of your passenger seat as a social platform. It all started with a smart concept— actually, a smartphone concept: Build an app to create a community of drivers and passengers, all with their essential information stored in advance, then allow them to connect with one another when one person needs a ride and another is available to provide it. It’s such a good idea that two of the companies advancing it, Uber and Lyft, practically sprang up overnight as instant corporate giants by raising hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital. Here’s the rub, though: Not only do these companies prefer not to be labeled a corporate enterprise—they favor the words “community” and “movement”—they also reject the notion that they are in the business heretofore known as livery. We’re not operating taxicabs, they say, so don’t bother us with your regulations on livery vehicles. So when Lyft graced St. Louis with its presence a few months ago, as part of an ongoing national rollout that by then had reached 34 cities and regions, there was, of course, no need to seek the official blessing of the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission—or anyone else, for that matter. In fact, the Lyft “community” was so independent of any need for regulation, it didn’t seem to

feel obligated to trifle with cease-anddesist orders from the city’s provincial court system. Lyft apparently isn’t a governable entity, at least not from Lyft’s perspective. Sure, there would be resistance from those who failed to grasp the new realities of the sharing economy— something that happened everywhere else where Lyft, Uber, and others were rolling out—but the good karma of Lyft drivers would glide their cars over these bumps in the local roads. “Your friend with a car.” That’s how Lyft markets itself—or how it channels its Zen, if you prefer. I have a slightly different take on this. From what I can discern, a description of the service provided by Lyft should read something like this: “Your friend with a car, who is actually a stranger you’ve never met, providing you with transportation from point A to point B in exchange for a monetary payment that is calculated upon the basis of time, distance, and fuel cost, 20 percent of which is received by a large corporate entity based thousands of miles away.” Lyft tries to advance the counterargument that there are no fares involved here, only “donations.” This fig leaf of a defense is easily obliterated by the

small detail—virtually incontestable— that were a passenger to choose to make no “donation,” or to make one far below the one “suggested” on the basis of time and distance, that passenger would receive the most negative ratings possible from his or her driver. And he or she would be ejected from the Lyft “community” faster than you can say “But I’m a hipster!” If you visit Lyft’s website, you’ll find that drivers have been attracted to the “community” by the opportunity to make $20 per hour. The site even provides a calculator for the math-impaired, in which one can enter the number of hours they’d like to work to learn how much $20 per hour would bring them. If these drivers were just friends looking to make new friends who may or may not choose to make monetary “donations,” then why the pitch about how much one can earn? Pardon me while I untangle myself from the cord on my wall phone, but I believe this is what we low-tech dinosaurs traditionally have called a taxicab service. It might be a taxicab service employing part-time soccer moms who’d sooner pour hot lattes on their children than answer to “Hey, cabbie,” but it’s a taxicab service.

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Magazine Column Writing Finalists Publication: Sync Weekly By: Emily Van Zandt

Excerpt from “The new thief of joy” Sixteen weeks ago, I posted a well-filtered photo of flowers, fresh from my yard, propped up in jars and mugs in my living room. It was colorful and minimal and lovely. And it was a lie. Let’s consider it a lie of omission. Because I didn’t Instagram the dishes still in the sink from a meal two days before. Or the ants that had found their way into the guest bathroom again. Or the dog toys in the hallway and the unfolded clothes piled a foot high on my bedroom dresser. A glance at my Instagram feed would have you assuming I have a yard full of gorgeous plants, own a well-behaved dog and only drink craft beers and pretty cocktails. I’ve photographed the avocado toast with olive oil and salt that I had for dinner a few times but rarely the grocery store fried chicken. I photograph finished craft projects but never the balls of yarn that my dog finds and drags around the house until my living room looks like a weird art installation. Because that’s not what the Internet wants. The Internet wants pretty and trendy. And most of all, the Internet wants it to look like it’s easy to be pretty and trendy. The Internet has no interest in the reality of your life. It has no interest in the actual balance of your bank account or what kind of time you have. Your world should look like Anthropologie married J. Crew and had kids (with bangs and glasses). Thanks to the wonders of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat and iPhone cameras, I have a far more detailed view into the lives of acquaintances and total strangers than I ever would have 10 years ago. And while it can be fun (or at least a guilty pleasure), more often than not, it leads to a dangerous comparison. When an old college buddy posts photo after photo of his international travels and is impeccably dressed in each, do I remind myself that all that is part of his job? No. I feel like I should be doing it, too. The bloggers posting about their daily diets of chia-kale-juice-whatever and evening cycling classes make me feel like a slob for the cheddarand-Ritz combo I had for dinner. When home blogs come up in my NewsBlur feed, I want to sob straight into the screen displaying their perfect gallery walls and string art hangings. The Internet makes me deeply want a life where I walk around in T-shirts by Internet-famous indie designers, American-made raw denim and ankle boots, sporting bold eyebrows and locally made jewelry. I suddenly want to make a cocktail from my bar cart using barrel-aged spirits and enjoy it with gold-foiled coasters on a reclaimed wood table with a succulent centerpiece.

132 | greatplainsawards.org

Publication: Omaha Magazine By: Robert Nelson

Excerpt from “Slogan Explosion”

Back in the day, if a girl was being cajoled into a blind date with me, I would have been described to her as being a “nice guy.” I wasn’t even that nice, especially by the stereotype standard of small-town Nebraska boys, but saying I was nice was a nice way of avoiding descriptions of my gangly limbs and anvil-shaped skull and propensity for vulgar digressions and run-on sentences. In my world, “nice” most often warns of an impending bait-and-switch. Nebraska’s new ad campaign slogan—“Visit Nebraska. Visit Nice.”—has already been injured plenty out in the blogosphere woodshed. No need to add insult. The issue, I suppose: If the word “nice” had one meaning, we’d probably be just fine. But it can have so many connotations, and when things have so many connotations, the haters are going to pounce. In July, Omaha promoters, keeping pace with the international craze to rebrand locales for a jazzier web presence, unveiled “Omaha: We Don’t Coast.” Solid, methinks. Hey, it says we’re a hard driving, happening place. It’s a playful shot at the Left and Right Coast for, well, whatever it is that makes them inferior (Lazy, dope-smoking beach bums. Jersey Shore self-possessed kitsch addicts). Also, it suggests we’re in-shape and eco-friendly, which 12 or so of us actually are. But my all-time favorite Nebraska slogan was Hastings’ old “Thumbs Up City,” which boosters there created back in 1982. People may have smirked a bit when they drove into the “Thumbs Up City,” but they dang well knew where they were. Hokey, sure, hopelessly dated, yes. But it stuck in your head, stuck at once pleasantly and infuriatingly like a chorus from any tune from Grease. As of this spring, though, Hastings now has a new slogan: “Life Wide Open.” It’s already my second all-time favorite Nebraska slogan. It was created by a marketing whiz out of Hastings named Sherma Jones. Note to Nebraska boosters: That’s spelled S-h-e-r-m-a J-o-n-e-s. She’s in the book. I know this because I gave Sherma a call. She’s been in the branding business for 28 years. She’s seen it all, including nice things. “I want to like the whole ‘nice’ campaign,” she says. “But, well, ‘flat’ probably describes it. When I think of ‘nice,’ I think of ‘average.’” Here is the first absolute of successful city or state branding: You can’t do it by committee. Period. Jones, like so many others in her field, has seen countless campaigns bomb because too many interests and too many voices built a Frankenstein of a campaign. “Design by committee equals mediocrity,” she says. “We kept it all very streamlined.”

magazine Page design Winner Publication: ALIVE Magazine by: Elizabeth Tucker, Kelly Hamilton, Attilio D’Agostino, David Hsia, Jennifer Dulin-Wiley, Christopher Reilly, Wesley Law, Adam Bertels

BOOM

ST. LOUIS’ STARTUP BUSINESS SCENE IS ON THE FAST TRACK. BY CHRISTOPHER REILLY

TOWN, U.S.A. Photography by Wesley Law, Illustrations by Adam Bertels Edited by Kelly Hamilton Left: FoodEssentials co-founder Anton Xavier, Chief Product Officer Ronak Sheth and co-founders Dheeraj Patri and Dagan Xavier; Upper right photo: Jim McKelvey

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO SUPPORT A STARTUP BOOM. The success of St. Louis’ startup scene is largely credited to the complex ecosystem supporting it. From the organizations cultivating talent to the facilities where ideas can be incubated to the funders who back it all, St. Louis is quickly becoming known as a city where innovative companies and talent come to thrive. Here’s a snapshot of the who, what and where behind it all.

TALENT FINDER

STL PYTHON

BIOSTL

Beyond funding, entrepreneurs seek support that comes in shared experiences, from women’s startup groups to idea bounce events and niche industry organizations. Community is the main goal, where feedback is given and challenges are addressed.

1 MILLION CUPS

OLIN CUP (WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY)

STARTUP CHALLENGE (SLEDP)

GLOBALHACK

Business plan contests that help entrepreneurs hone interview skills, give them access to peer and professional feedback and provide potential payoffs, including business plan validation, access to mentors, cash prizes or other perks.

COMPETITIONS

ARCH GRANTS

HELIX FUND THINKBIG

Can include venture capitalist firms, private investors, grant organizations and government entities. Funds can also come from accelerators that invest in the companies they induct into their mentoring programs in exchange for equity.

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP PLATFORM AT OLIN

T-REX HOUSES 110+ STARTUPS, AS WELL AS SEVERAL FUNDERS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS.

ACCELERATION

ARCHREACTOR

NEBULA

HELIX BIOTECH

STL VENTURE WORKS (SLEDP) CIC@CET (CORTEX)

UMSL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM CAPITAL INNOVATORS

IN 2013, 19% OF STL STARTUPS WERE WOMEN; 40% OF ARCH GRANTS’ 2014 CLASS WERE WOMEN-LED COMPANIES.

Organizations that promote the growth of business, real estate and community development through a variety of programs and initiatives, frequently providing enhanced services to businesses that contribute to the well-being and vitality of the region.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS

ARCH ANGELS

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ENTERPRISES (UMSL)

THE DOWNTOWN TECH INCUBATOR HAS BEEN CALLED THE FASTEST GROWING IN THE COUNTRY.

WEBSTER UNIVERSITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

SIXTHIRTY

FTL CAPITAL

GLOBALHACK

ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THESE ARE WORKING TO CLOSE THE GENDER GAP IN ST. LOUIS.

LAB 1500 SLU CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

ENSTITUTE

GATEWAY VENTURE MENTORING SERVICE

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF ST. LOUIS ITEN

HARRIS STOWE ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

CULTIVATION CAPITAL

FUNDERS

STARTLOUIS

VENTURE FOR AMERICA

LAUNCHCODER GIRL

INNOVATE ST. LOUIS

SKANDALARIS CENTER AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IDEABOUNCE

50% OF STL STARTUP FOUNDERS ATTENDED COLLEGE IN MISSOURI, INCLUDING YURBUDS (WASH U), FANZLIVE (SLU) AND ROVERTOWN (SIUE).

SIUE ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

MTC IDEA FUND BILLIKEN ANGEL NETWORK

LOCAL UNIVERSITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMS INCUBATE STARTUPS

TALENT and TRAINING

Several local organizations offer help with pitching to investors, business plan development, access to investors or coding education, to name a few, while others may be designed to attract talent to the area through competitions or opportunity.

PROSPER

COMMUNITY STARTUP WEEKEND

LAUNCHCODE

ITEN BUSINESS MODEL VALIDATION

ST. LOUIS REGIONAL CHAMBER

CAMBRIDGE INNOVATION CENTER (CORTEX) T-REX

FACILITIES

CLAIM

BIOGENERATOR

ISELECT FUND REGIONAL GROWTH CAPITAL

ITEN CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

ITEN ENTREPRENEUR IN RESIDENCE

* Because of space constraints and the constantly evolving startup space, this infographic does

not include every community group, funder, event and competition in the vibrant startup ecosystem. This ecosystem map was adapted from the 2013 ITEN annual report. For detailed descriptions of entities, log on to itenstl.org.

MOCK ANGELS (ITEN)

Accelerators (short-term) and incubators (long-term) assist startup businesses by providing money or operational resources such as discounted or free rent and technical, administrative and networking support to increase a company's chance of success. Most local universities have centers to accelerate student entrepreneurship.

CIVIC

GO!-CELERATOR

THE PARTNERSHIP FOR DOWNTOWN ST. LOUIS MISSOURI PARTNERSHIP

SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

ST. LOUIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP (SLEDP)

Facilities meant for startups—which may be for general fields or industry-specific—can offer a wide range of benefits, including reduced rent, shared services, close proximity to other entrepreneurs and community events.

TECH SHOP (CORTEX) TECHARTISTA

REGIONAL BUSINESS COUNCIL

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Magazine Page Design Finalists Publication: Arkansas Life By: Kelley Lane, Katie Bridges, Jordan Hickey

political

seasoning In a state where polItIcs Is personal, communIty events, suppers and festIvals have long held the keys to arkansas’ polItIcal kIngdom. But as the nature of campaIgnIng contInues Its shIft to the dIgItal, the questIon of whether these homegrown events can survIve Is gIvIng polItIcos somethIng more to chew on.

by jordan P. hickey 70 ARKANSAS LIFE

Publication: Sauce Magazine By: Meera Nagarajan

illustrated by brian taylor

here’s something about

food. Something about a shared table. Something about weighing down your plate with variant amounts of homemade dishes, all of which can be best quantified in terms of spoonfuls, helpings, mounds and heapings. There’s something about sitting down together that makes it easy—or easier—to break rank and file and previously held grudges. And yes, in some cases—festivals and suppers for, say, raccoon, pink tomatoes, oysters, watermelon, catfish, and so forth—that food can even be the foundation on which you build tradition, on which communities and friends and the most intimate bonds are constructed. And when you sit down to that table, you become part of something larger. You’re part of the family. You’re part of the tradition. It’s for all of these reasons that it’s not particularly surprising in the hours before the annual Gillett Coon Supper, one of the most anticipated and storied of those gustatory traditions, to find amid a rustic tableau of sawhorses and smell of home cooking touched lightly by the lingering waft of motor oil, the kingmakers of Arkansas politics. Though it’s very important to stress that this, too, is just as much a part of the tradition—as the commemorative cups and

koozies make amply clear: “The Tradition Continues / Berry Farm Pre-Coon Reception Party.” Held by former Rep. Marion Berry each year before the supper proper, the reception is part of an intermingling of politics and community events, and evidence of at least one way in which politics impacts the nature of those events—and has done so since Berry first invited friends over to the house for some pre-supper mingling. In addition to being a pretty darn effective fundraiser (which will raise somewhere in the neighborhood of $18,000 for the Marion and Carolyn Berry Scholarship fund, covering the costs for an Arkansas State University student to take a summer internship at the nation’s Capitol), the reception is an opportunity for politicos of all stripes and aspirations to meet and mingle on even ground before, on years such as this, the thick of the campaign season. It’s why you see a cameraman with worn sneakers closely orbiting Senate hopeful Tom Cotton as he parts the crowd. It’s why you see a very serious-looking man dressed in khakis, a safari vest and Under Armour standing near the governor and a handful of his aides. It’s also why there’s so many mind-bending visual incongruities—clomping nearby an ATV and a 15½-inch drill press, there’s an array of upscale boots that range from ankle-high brown suede November 2014 ArKANSAS LIFe 71

www.arkansaslife.com

Pie,

Crust secrets revealed, p. 46 Pie in a hurry, p. 48

Perfected Everything you need to roll, fill, bake and eat an unforgettable pie

4 seasons of pie, p. 42

By Mary Baker, Garrett Faulkner, Ligaya Figueras, Jacqueline Fogas, Catherine Klene, Meera Nagarajan, Dee Ryan and Stacy Schultz

10 pies to try, p. 40

PHOTO BY CARMEN TROESSER

38 I SAUCE MAGAZINE I saucemagazine.com

Publication: St. Louis Magazine By: Jessica Palazzolo

August 2014

saucemagazine.com I SAUCE MAGAZINE I 39

August 2014

First Comes

Married same-sex couples are fighting Missouri for the right to be what they already are—committed husbands and wives. By William PoWell | PhotograPhy By Kevin a. roBerts

People usually raise an eyebrow when Alan Ziegler tells them he had a shotgun wedding. Of course, neither he nor his fiancé, LeRoy Fitzwater, was pregnant when they wed, but “there was an election coming.” 198 august 2 0 14 |

134 | greatplainsawards.org

| august 2 014 199

Magazine Cover Winner Publication: Omaha Magazine By: John Gawley, Paul Lukes, Ben Lueders

BOOM

ST. LOUIS’ STARTUP BUSINESS SCENE IS ON THE FAST TRACK. BY CHRISTOPHER REILLY

greatplainsawards.org | 135

magazine Cover Finalists Publication: Omaha Magazine by: Bill Sitzmann, John Gawley NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

•

2014

™

Otis XII

Flower power, album rock, Mozart, and, off the air, the hunt for a rapist. Major Jon Grossrhode Pilots the “Doomsday Plane” Modern Love Meatless Dining, Meaty Success Nebraska’s premier wealth advisors

Publication: Feast Magazine by: Catherine Neville, Lisa Allen, Jennifer Silverberg

Pie, Perfected

Crust secrets revealed, p. 46 Pie in a hurry, p. 48

Everything you need to roll, fill, bake and eat an unforgettable pie

4 seasons of pie, p. 42

By Mary Baker, Garrett Faulkner, Ligaya Figueras, Jacqueline Fogas, Catherine Klene, Meera Nagarajan, Dee Ryan and Stacy Schultz

10 pies to try, p. 40

PHOTO BY CARMEN TROESSER

38 I SAUCE MAGAZINE I saucemagazine.com

136 | greatplainsawards.org

August 2014

saucemagazine.com I SAUCE MAGAZINE I 39

Spot News Video Winner

Organization: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Arkansas Online Staff

“April 27 Tornado”

Judges’ Comments: Vine video can be a powerful storytelling tool when immediacy is important. However, it shouldn’t be the only tool in a story like this. It’s simply the first step.

View the full videos at www.arkansasonline.com/tornadovines/

greatplainsawards.org | 137

General News Video Winner

Organization: Tulsa World By: James Gibbard

“Former Spartan employee Henry Miller rides a bi-plane for his 100th birthday”

Judges’ Comments: Good video storytelling holds the attention of the audience through a combination of good characters, compelling audio and visuals.

View the full video at bit.ly/1yru72i

138 | greatplainsawards.org

Feature Video Winner

Organization: Tulsa World By: John Clanton

“Kim and Jerry tried to get married, but ran out of time”

Judges’ Comments: A great way to cover a bigger news issue with a specific story. Short and sweet, touching, tightly edited, and good use of music.

View the full video at bit.ly/1B6PgSZ

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Feature Video Finalists Organization: The Des Moines Register | By: Andrea Melendez

“#TeamBaker documentary”

Organization: Feast Magazine | By: Catherine Neville

“Feast TV: October 2014 Episode”

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Sports Video Winner

Organization: The Des Moines Register By: Charlie Litchfield

“April 27 Tornado”

Judges’ Comments: This piece showed excellent use of fundamentals in lighting, photography and sound, and it had an arresting and creative introduction. What set it apart from others in the competition was the storytelling of the characters involved. Getting away from the gym and into daily life helped to bring the real meaning behind the excellence of the team but more importantly the human impact that related to daily life beyond sports. View the full video at dmreg.co/1a9AjGY

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Sports Video Finalist

Organization: Tulsa World | By: John Clanton

“Mic’d up - Coaches lead their teams to wins during basketball tournament”

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Multimedia Project or Series Winner

Organization: The Oklahoman By: Jason Kersey, Berry Tramel, Damon Fontenot, Tim Money, Richard Hall

“The play that changed it all”

Judges’ Comments: The depth of reporting on this story in stills, writing and video is what set this piece apart from others in the category. Perhaps it would have benefited from a tighter edit in the video. Using a variety of sources to break down the play on the field helped to add perspective from different stakeholders and give the viewer an appreciation of what happened. The reporters’ analysis of why it was significant is what makes a viewer feel educated and more involved in the outcomes of the two teams. What was impressive is how it extended to the league and playoffs over all. Part of the fun of college sports is to riff off of the impacts of certain moments and extend them into “what if” scenarios. This project capitalized on that and leveraged the talents of the organization to maximize their position as an authority on this sport and these teams. View the project at bit.ly/15rzAxD

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Multimedia Project or Series Finalists

Organization: Omaha Magazine | By: Mike Lang, Corey Hart

“The Grandfather of Baseball is making a comeback in Omaha”

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best Website Page design Winner Publication: The Oklahoman by: Richard Hall Judgesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Comments: Uses impactful images, informative location graphs and strong editorial to tell a cohesive story. Sticky top navigation helps ensure a user-friendly website.

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best overall Website design Winner Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette by: WholeHogSports staff Judgesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Comments: Impactful header and clean top navigation; strong, polished and professional overall design. Solid main slider images and cohesive flow and organization of categories, video elements, outbound links and new stories.

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Best Overall Website Design Finalists Publication: The Oklahoman By: Oklahoman.com staff

Publication: Arkansas DemocratGazette By: Arkansas Online Staff

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News Blog Writing Winner Publication: The Oklahoman By: Richard Hall Judges’ Comments: Engaging content that will draw reader eyeballs. Particularly enjoyed the look at Oklahoma counties and the satanic monument content.

“Duncan triple homicide: 5 things we learned about Alan Hruby” Stephens County District Attorney Jason Hicks held a press conference today offering new details in the case of Alan Hruby, the man accused of shooting his parents and younger sister to death at their Duncan, Okla., home. Here are five new facts we learned from the press conference: 1. HRUBY HAS BEEN CHARGED Hruby, a University of Oklahoma freshman, was charged Wednesday in the shooting deaths of his mother, father and younger sister. 2. THE MURDER WEAPON WAS A FIREARM Prosecutors said Hruby shot the victims Thursday. A housekeeper discovered the bodies on the kitchen floor of his parents’ Duncan home Monday. The firearm used in the killings was a Walther 9mm pistol, which was reported stolen from father John Hruby’s truck earlier Thursday. John Hruby reported the theft to police. Alan Hruby then disposed of the gun and a DVR disc from the home’s security system in a nearby lake. 3. WHAT ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY?

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The district attorney said it would “seriously be considered.” 4. FOLLOW THE MONEY Hicks said Hruby confessed to owing $3,000 to a loan shark, and felt if he murdered his family that he would inherit the money to pay off the debt.

5. HRUBY AND OU-TEXAS WEEKEND Prosecutors said Hruby spent a “lavish” time in Dallas for OU-Texas weekend, and had stayed at the Ritz-Carlton. Hicks said the trip was a violation of Hruby’s probation.

News Blog Writing Finalist Publication: The Oklahoman By: Steve Lackmeyer

Excerpt from “Bricktown Towers?” For the past several weeks I’ve been digging into a phantom project – one that as of yet does not exist and yet is eagerly anticipated among those who follow downtown development. Such is the power of good renderings. And the above renderings were created by Humphreys Partners and then placed on the Dallas architectural firm’s website. Typically, when such a project is being seriously developed, the renderings are kept secret so as to not draw unwelcome attention from rivals – especially if the developer has yet to acquire the property. This project had renderings posted online where the location was clearly stated – the lumberyard just south of Harkins Theater in Lower Bricktown. In February, the renderings appeared on the website OKCTalk. Some posters speculated the renderings were speculative, aimed at drawing investors. Others insisted the deal was real. I started making calls. A source clued me into the name of the developer – Lou Christiansen of Tuscon, Arizona. I called his number, left messages, and never heard back. I called Humphreys Partners and talked to their media contact. They indicated they would

pass along my interest in talking to Christiansen. No calls ensued from the architects or the developer. On March 13, a local television station did a story on the “development,” and from what I saw, it was based purely on the discussion that took place on OKC Talk along with the posted renderings. I made a couple more calls. Nothing from Christiansen. I called my sources who track these deals. They were convinced it was going nowhere. The topic next came up in my weekly OKC Central Live Chat: Nick Emenhiser: Hey Steve, is the Lumber Yard project newly rendered by a Dallas architecture firm on the site newly acquired by OKC Mid Rise LLC, in any way connected to the development you’ve been attracted that would purportedly make Dallas and Kansas City “jealous.” Apologies if this question gets asked 60 times before and after I have gotten this in. Steve Lackmeyer: No. Be careful about reading too much into renderings discovered on architects’ websites. Based on what I know, and folks I’ve talked to, I will be very, very surprised if this rendering represents anything real. I have not seen any transactions involving the sale of the lumberyard

or anything transactions involving an entity named OKC Mid Rise LLC. There are some really great rumors that get batted around on a local website. Some are real, some are not real. This one, I suspect, is not real. And folks in the know say it is not real. Pat: Good Morning Steve, Probably been asked, but is there any credence to the conceptual drawings for lumber yard site over by the co-op. Thanks Steve Lackmeyer: I seriously doubt they are any more real than the renderings posted at the same website for a tower designed by a local firm for I-44 and Broadway Extension. Sometimes these renderings are done and posted to attract investor, developer interest. Sometimes they reflect a job that went south. On March 27, Christiansen finally talked to a reporter – Molly Fleming at The Journal Record. He said he had a contract to buy the 5.9-acre site and that his plans also included a hotel. He said he might be interested in selling part of the site to another developer. “There’s room for three midsize high-rise towers,” Christiansen told Fleming. “If there’s a business that wants to build an office, it’s a pretty prime spot.”

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Entertainment/Specialty Blog Writing Winner Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette By: Philip Martin Judges’ Comments: What a fascinating human being. I feel like a bore in comparison. Audio, poetry, a book review, a personal essay. Wow. Great depth and variety in five parts!

“About a thousand words on Donald Sterling” I used to play golf at a club where — every weekend morning — a group of us would show up on the first tee early and choose up teams. Some mornings we’d have eight or 12 players, some mornings we’d have two dozen or more. We had a sage old guy who was familiar with just about everybody’s playing ability divide us up into equitable threesomes or foursomes and we’d go out and play best ball matches. It was fun. It was competitive. I really liked playing these matches. But I quit playing them. And eventually I quit my club. Memphis Grizzlies v San Antonio Spurs - Game OneNow, I don’t want to make it seem like I’m a virtuous person. I quit my club because my work responsibilities changed and it became impossible for me to make time during the week to play golf. And since I was no longer participating in the group matches, I didn’t really want to play on the weekends. Weekend golf, unless you get off early, is too slow for me. I liked playing with a bunch of guys who could play the game at a reasonably high level and I liked being finished by noon or one o’clock. But I quit playing in that group because I didn’t want to put up with the racists. Now, understand I took the path of least resistance here. I didn’t stand up to the racists. I didn’t call them out. When they were assigned to my group, I played with them. I didn’t lay down my clubs in protest and walk off when they said rude things about our president or used racial epithets. Had I been a stronger, better person I might have done that. I might have got in a fistfight with them. I don’t know that it would have done any good. Instead, I quit the group, and subsequently the club. I don’t mean to imply that my club was at fault in any way. It was not a

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fancy country club. It was a club that anyone of moderate means could afford. I imagine I was one of the hoity toity members, though we had doctors and lawyers and real estate moguls in the club. Mostly though it was working folks and small business owners. There were a lot of black members, and some of the best golfers happened to be black. Some of them occasionally played in our group. And there weren’t a lot of racists — I’m thinking of two guys specifically. I’m sure they thought of themselves — I’m sure they still think of themselves — as politically incorrect truth tellers. I’m sure they don’t think of themselves as racist — I know they have black friends and probably even respect some black folks. I’m sure they don’t say inappropriate things in front of their “black friends.” I’m sure they tailor their delivery to their audience. So I guess they thought I was simpatico with their ideas. And since, I never said anything about it, maybe they still think that. Anyway, I quit playing in the group because I’d have to play with one or both of these guys every few weekends and it made me uncomfortable. And that eventually led me to quit the club. (Which is all right, I have other places I can play golf.) Basically I took the path of least resistance. I’m not proud of that, or particularly ashamed of it, it’s just the truth. So now we find out the notorious cheapskate Donald Sterling is also a racist. I’m all for doing what’s been done to him — for heaping on the shame and kicking him out of the club, which is essentially what the NBA is doing. There’s a stupid idea floating around that somehow his First Amendment rights have been abridged or that Adam Silver’s actions are tantamount to the confiscation of his private property but I

suspect anyone who’s reading this blogs understands the deficiencies of those arguments. Sterling doesn’t have a right to own an NBA franchise. But I guess I do understand a little bit why the other owners didn’t try to oust him earlier. I mean I knew about Sterling reputation as a bad owner, I even knew about some of the discrimination lawsuits that had been filed against him. But I imagine he was like the guys I played golf with — his onerous opinions weren’t widely broadcast. It took a surreptitious tape recording to drag it all into the light. If anything, I blame the media for not paying more attention to Sterling’s noxious behavior. As Bomani Jones has pointed out, Sterling had a track record: “When all these guys get up here and stand on their soapbox and wag their fingers and start talking about ‘oh we won’t tolerate this racism, we won’t tolerate what Donald Sterling said’ what they’re not tolerating about Donald Sterling is the fact that what he said was impolite and what he said was gauche. That’s what their problem is. But when Donald Sterling was out here toying with people’s lives on things that really matter, in matters of life in death, the media, the NBA, these sponsors, and all these people now who want to get patted on the back for what good people they are didn’t say a mumblin’ word. They can all kiss my behind, every single one of them.”

Entertainment/Specialty Blog Writing Finalists Publication: St. Louis Post-Dispatch By: Debra Bass

Excerpt from “5 trends in cozy luxe from New York Fashion Week” The biannual designer attempt to woo the ever-capricious American consumer ended with New York Fashion Week earlier this month but continues as an international month of fashion weeks in Europe. The shows were filled with the requisite glamour, oddities and spectacle but ended up expressing the conflicting modern views on what fashionable attire really is. And though most don’t like to speak of it, designers only have so much sway on what the prevailing trends will be. The modern consumer doesn’t like to be dictated to. And it showed on the runways, with an array of items from post-apocalyptic motorcycle gypsy to gothic metallic cloistered nun. But, needless to say, some trends prevailed. All of them share an overarching movement toward comfort luxe. Silhouettes were decidedly relaxed from suiting at Calvin Klein to dresses at BCBG Max Azria. Consumers want to be dressed up but they don’t want to be too buttoned up. And a spree of interesting innovative prints from Nicole Miller, Prabal Gurung, Anna Sui and Tory Burch speak to a gotta-have-it-now consumer. You can buy a black turtleneck any time, so you might wait for a sale. But a provocative print could be much more persuasive. And if finance and hemlines continue to hold any associations, it looks like designers are still ambivalent. The midi (not maxi or mini, but in the middle) remains the most popular of silhouettes. Here are the five trends we’re most excited to see for fall, but make no mistake, we’re all ready to put away the sweaters and not see them for a very long time.

Publication: TulsaKids Magazine By: Betty Casey

Excerpt from “24 Hours in Tulsa” My daughter, Mary, and her boyfriend, Jacob, were visiting from college over the weekend, and we were busy from morning to evening on Saturday, most of it free. Twenty years ago… heck, 10 years ago…most of the things we did wouldn’t have been available. And here’s the cool part, everything we did was something that all ages could enjoy. On Saturday morning, we all went to the Cherry Street Farmers Market. My daughters and I started a tradition of getting coffee and some food at The Coffee House on Cherry Street (CHOC) before heading into the market. I used to take Lucy the dog along, but had to leave her at home. No dogs allowed at the market. Lucy was disappointed, but I understand the reasoning for it. It took some time to get out of CHOC because we saw several friends – one couple had ridden their bikes along the trails all the way from south Tulsa. (Just one more fun activity you can do in town). We sat outside to enjoy our coffee and a little conversation in the beautiful spring weather. If you prefer to get some food as you walk, there are plenty of choices at the booths. Elote has some delicious breakfast tacos, and there are muffins, cinnamon rolls, br eads…you name it. On Saturday, I was in search of some herbs and tomato plants to complete my garden. At the tomato plant booth, I got to witness a fun discussion between the woman selling the plants and her much younger customer who didn’t want to wait 60 days for his tomatoes to grow. He decided he would just buy tomatoes at the grocery store. She chided the young man for his lack of patience (and lack of work ethic, which he took good-natured offense to). I bought my tomato plants and moved on. I found the herbs I was looking for, and, in the process, we spotted a group of friends having coffee at Café Cubana.

Publication: Sauce Magazine By: Catherine Klene, Anne Marie Lodholz, Dan Lodholz, Ligaya Figueras, Garrett Faulkner

Excerpt from “Sneak Peek: Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions” Chris Bolyard announced in February that he would be leaving his post as chef de cuisine at Sidney Street Cafe to open a butcher shop with his wife, Abbie Bolyard. Some 10 months later, the Bolyard’s are ready to unlock doors to Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions at 2810 Sutton Blvd. The boutique butcher shop opens this Friday, Nov. 28 in Maplewood. Old-school, artisanal and wholeanimal all figure into the Bolyards’ approach to their business. Animals are sourced from smaller family farms in Missouri and Illinois that raise their hogs, cows, lambs and chicken on pasture and without hormones, antibiotics or grain. Chris Bolyard got a taste for whole-hog butchery at Sidney Street and honed those skills further, staging at butcher shops in Chicago, Nashville and New Orleans. At their new shop, a glass window provides a view to the cut room, where Bolyard will don a scabbard and break down whole animals like cows into sections like the chuck and brisket, rib and plate primal, hanger steak, short loin and sirloin. A graduate of the Culinary Institute and a member of the Ones to Watch class of 2011, Bolyard will also put his charcuterie skills to work. Among prepared meat products, Bolyard will make sausages like chorizo, andouille, bratwurst, hot dogs, Toulouse (a French sausage of diced pork) and kielbasa. Also behind the deli counter, look for bacon, porchetta di testa and deli meats such as mortadella, pastrami, Bastardo (a bastardized style of salami made with beef and pork), ham and roast beef.

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Sports Blog Writing Winner Publication: The Oklahoman By: Anthony Slater, Darnell Mayberry, Erik Horne Judges’ Comments: Full-coverage blog. Particularly enjoyed the film-room analysis.

Excerpt from “Five observations from the Thunder’s 114-106 Christmas day win over the Spurs” Here are five observations from the Thunder’s 114-106 win in San Antonio on Christmas Day: 1. Best win – The reigning league MVP and the reigning Finals MVP were both rocking suit jackets. Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard didn’t play. So these two teams certainly weren’t the full-throttle title-contenders we expect to see come May. But considering all the circumstances, this stands as the Thunder’s best win of the season to date. There’s not a ton of competition — most of the solid victories came with an asterisk (the LeBron-less Cavs) — but this one was extremely impressive. In San Antonio on Christmas Day with little help from the bench, Russell Westbrook led a furious mid-game run and a frantic late-game push to close out a Spurs team that generally played a pretty good game. It was the opposite of the last two fourth quarter collapses, with the Thunder executing beautifully down the stretch, outscoring San Antonio 28-15 in the final seven minutes. In the grand scheme of a marathon season, it’s just one win — like the recent homestand was just two losses. But it should give OKC a boost of confidence and some potential momentum. Plus, at least temporarily, it should ease the concerns of a simmering fanbase. 2. Bestbrook – Thrust into the national spotlight without his running mate, Russell Westbrook came out with the type of energy and aggression he disperses during roughly 99.999 percent of the activities in his life. So that was no surprise. But early on, it didn’t translate to many points. Westbrook was freely getting to his spots on the floor against a point guard pair (Tony Parker and Cory Joseph) that had little to no chance of staying in front of him. But Westbrook wasn’t finishing. He was 1-of-8 and even airballed a two-foot fingerroll. But the clean looks were readily available. And it felt like only a matter of time before he

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started hitting them. And as expected, the avalanche came. Over the final twoplus quarters, Westbrook went 13-of-20 from the field, completely taking over the game. He did it with some powerful post-ups. He did it on some smooth drives. And he did it with some ridiculous off-balance, falling to the ground jumpers (two of them VINEd below). And though the late-game results were drastically different, Westbrook just did what he’s been doing every night since his return — scoring a ridiculously high and consistent rate. By game, here are his points in the 14 games since coming back late last month: 32, 21, 27, 22, 28, 26, 34, 28, 32, 33, 31, 29, 40 and 34 on Christmas Day. Right now, he’s averaging 28.6 points per game. If he qualified (you need to play in 70 percent of your team’s games, Westbrook has played in 53 percent as of now) that would lead the entire NBA. James Harden would be next at 27.0. He’s playing six less minutes per game than Westbrook. (And oh yeah, scoring isn’t the only thing he does. Westbrook added a

season-high 11 assists, five steals and five rebounds on Thursday) 3. Stone Cold – Quietly, Steven Adams is heating up. Well, quietly until Thursday. Besides Westbrook, Adams was the best player on the floor in San Antonio. The Thunder got their secondyear center going early, with Scott Brooks calling three Adams post-ups in the opening minutes. And Adams delivered, scoring all three times (two shown in a VINE below). Then throughout the rest of the game, he remained engaged on both ends. Adams dominated the glass, pulling in a career-high 15 rebounds to hit double-digit boards for the fourth straight game (and seventh in the past nine). At one point, he had seven offensive rebounds and the Spurs entire team only had four. Adams also finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, two short of his career-high despite missing six free throws. But maybe more impressive than the stacked double-double was the stout defense he played on Tim Duncan all night.

Sports Blog Writing Finalists Publication: Topeka Capital-Journal By: Jesse Newell

Publication: Sync Weekly By: Nate Olson

Excerpt from “3 ways KU basketball can avoid zone woes in 2014-15”

Excerpt from “My one glorious day as a pro baseball player”

The Stanford zone killed Kansas. All season, the KU men’s basketball team had relied on efficient offense to outscore opponents, even during the times its defense was subpar. That script changed, though, in the biggest game of the year. The Jayhawks’ 60-57 loss to the Cardinal in the round of 32 was the result of a KU offense that just couldn’t get going. And the biggest reason for that was Stanford’s mix of 1-3-1 and 2-3 zones. So why was it so effective against KU? And what can KU do next season to avoid getting tripped up the same way? After going over KU’s final-game video with a college coach, here are three ways the Jayhawks can work to avoid suffering a similar fate in 2014-15: 1. Get improved play out of the 4 position One thing became immediately clear when going back over the film of Stanford’s zone: The Cardinal was attempting to expose the weaknesses of one KU player. Take a look at the first-half video above. Stanford played its first possession of zone at the 12:35 mark, the first possession after KU sophomore Jamari Traylor checked into the game. When Traylor subbed out with 8:03 left, the Cardinal went back to six straight possessions of man. That pattern continued nearly the entire game. In the first half, all of Stanford’s 10 zone possessions came with Traylor on the court, and overall, 23 of 26 zone possessions (88 percent) came with Traylor playing. The strategy worked because of Traylor’s limitations offensively. The 4 position is a vital part to KU coach Bill Self’s 2-3 zone-breaking offense, as that’s the player that receives the ball in the high post — the area where an offense can best attack the zone. Ideally, teams want a player there that can make the defense pay there by shooting, passing to open players or driving to attack the defense. Traylor’s offensive game is still in the development stages. Though he made 67 percent of his 2-pointers this year, 71 percent of his shots came at the rim according to Hoop-Math.com, meaning he wasn’t comfortable shooting the ball away from the basket. He also posted the highest turnover rate on the team, which indicates passing isn’t a strength, either. By going to the zone, Stanford put pressure on Traylor to make plays for KU, and for most of the game, he struggled to do that. At times, he wandered from person to person trying to set screens, and other times when he did get it in the high post, he didn’t even turn to face the basket before firing it back out.

As I stood nearby clad in my swamp camouflage uniform, Otey logo hat and cleats, members of the Arkansas Travelers went through a series of warmup exercises. It was a scene I have become familiar with being a sportswriter for 16 years. I was taking it in until I heard Travs strength and conditioning coach Joe Griffin yell, “You want a day in the life, get out here.” It was my “welcome-to-the-minor-leagues moment” while I spent a day with the team for an article I wrote for Sync magazine. And while Griffin was half kidding, I got my 39-year-old butt out there and stretched, jogged, threw and swung with the rest of the Travs players. Thanks to Griffin, manager Phillip Wellman, clubhouse manager Geoff Freedman and all of the other players and staff, I was a member of the team for one glorious day. As we were changing into street clothes after the game, the reality sank in that my pro baseball days were over. As I took my time getting dressed, the energetic catcher, Jett Bandy, who was two lockers down, asked, “Hey Olson, what was your favorite part of today?” I said, “Batting practice,” but really there were too many things to mention. Here is a list (in no particular order) of the best parts of what my wife, Sheena, is calling “Nate’s Baseball Fantasy Camp.” 1. Batting practice: I quit playing high school baseball my junior year during the summer of 1991. The only other times I’ve swung a bat have been in men’s slow-pitch softball and when I took BP with Travs season ticket holders five years ago. I made arrangements to take a few lessons with Jay Sawatski at ProFromance Baseball and Softball Academy, but a power outage at the facility forced a cancellation. So, I stepped to the plate with a big pile of rust on my bat. As has always been my preswing routine, I wound the bat up a couple of times and moved my front foot forward in anticipation of the pitch. Wellman threw it down the middle, and I grounded the ball to the right side. As my teammate Drew Heid informed me, the routine is to take five cuts three different times and take turns amongst the group. I lost track of cuts on the first rotation and probably took about eight cuts, making contact each time. Finally, hitting coach Tom Tornincasa barked, “I don’t care if you are a reporter, you can’t stay in the cage all day.” Point taken. The next round, I took five hacks and made contact on all, fouling one off. That prompted the shaggers in the outfield to chuckle a bit. On the next pitch I drove the ball into left field. Heid yelled “suck it!” to my critics. I drilled another line drive to left, and Heid, who let me use one of his bats, greeted me as I left the cage with, “Two base knocks, that’s not bad at all.” On the final round, I swung and missed, the only time that happened, but hit the ball squarely four more times. Feeling the ball meet the sweet spot of the bat is one of the greatest feelings in the world and an experience I’ve been deprived of for far too long

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Web special section Winner Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette by: Cathy Frye, Rick McFarland, Chad Day, Tim Hicks, Jasen Burkett, Melody Ralls, Stephen Thornton, Kirk Montgomery, David Bailey, Yavonda Chase, Mary Alston

“other side of nowhere” Judges’ Comments: A compelling story made even more so through use of interactive elements and photos and videos. All of these actually seemed to extend and enhance the story-telling rather than function as separate but related elements or distractions. I don’t care much for the graphics, navigation or backgrounds that seem a little ornate, but the organization of the entire project is effective and I couldn’t put it down.

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Web Special Section Finalists Publication: Arkansas DemocratGazette By: Arkansas Online Staff, Arkansas DemocratGazette Staff

2014 Storm Coverage

Publication: The Oklahoman By: Richard Hall

“Addicted Oklahoma”

Publication: Tulsa World By: Tulsa World staf

OU, OSU Sports Extra

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